Impulsiveness is the root of cause of many misfortunes. An Ning had never given much thought to this truth until now, as her eyes swept across her surroundings.
What greeted her was neither her large, spacious apartment nor the ocean-view window. Instead, she was standing in a courtyard decorated with fairy lights, camera tripods, and pastel-coloured lounge chairs set around a fake fountain.
She had unfortunately transmigrated into a novel that she just read - a fluffy romance her best friend had shoved into her hands while saying, "You'll like this one! There's even a character with your name in it."
If only, she could turn back time and remembered how unrealiable her best friend could be at times, An Ning would have slammed the book shut without a second thought.
Because unlike her, the An Ning in this novel wasn't the heroine. She was the cannon-fodder, the "problem guest" of _Heartbeat Cottage_, a dating show in which a total of eight men and women living under the same roof while cameras broadcasted every fluttering heart and awkward silence.
The original An Ning wasn't the adored female lead. She was a supporting guest on the dating show, her quiet personality quickly become her downfall. In the novel, she rarely spoke up, preferred to keep her thoughts to herself, and avoided the constant chatter of the other guests.
And if that weren't enough, the original heroine, Sun Qiaolian, had a way of effortlessly making herself shine. With her high EQ and carefully measure words, she appeared kind, approachable and charming while inadvertently - or perhaps instinctively - highlighting the flaws and awkwardness of those around her. For the original An Ning, every misstep, every quiet moment, and every hesitation seemed to magnified in comparison. In this way, Sun Qiaolian used the original An Ning as her stepping stone.
By the halfway point, An Ning had become a constant source of drama - not in a fun way. The audience loathed her, the other guests distrusted her, her reputation was nearly irreparable. And now…she had to step into that very role, where every misstep could be broadcast and judged.
An Ning deeply regretted her impulsiveness. She should have stopped herself from writing that short essay criticizing how horrible the book was and how nonsensical the plot seemed. That single act of defiance somehow sealed her fate - and landed her inside the novel itself.
However much she wished that this is dream, she knew for certain that it wasn't. Because the moment she opened her eyes in this unfamiliar courtyard, fragments of the original An Ning's memories had flooded her brain. Every humiliation, every online insult, every carefully dug pit Sun Qiaolian had pushed her into - it all played back like a highlight reel of failure.
And yet…none of it had actually happened here. In this world, the story hadn't unfolded. The scandals, the betrayals, the messy showbiz life - they were all still ahead, waiting to happen. She had the memories, yes, but she also had something the original An Ning never had, a chance to rewrite the entire plot from the very beginning.