Shen Wei, a sister, a rural middle school, transferring to Qinglin in her second year, with Shangguan Xianxian accompanying her the whole time.
All these elements had appeared in her dream. If the pain in her palm wasn’t so distinct, Ye Yuhuan might have even suspected she hadn’t woken up yet.
What the hell? It was actually real? The world she had lived in for sixteen years was a novel?!!
But more important than the truth of the world was the fact that she was part of its construction. This added a dose of reality to Ye Yuhuan’s shattering worldview. Ah, so the villainess was her boss. She wasn’t like the novel described, always sneering viciously or screaming hysterically. She was just a chuunibyou girl trapped in an infatuation, a school tyrant trying her best to be domineering.
Ye Yuhuan had vaguely sensed before that Song Zhiqing would never successfully win over Shangguan Xianxian. But she could never have imagined that not only would Song Zhiqing fail, but because of her excessive scheming during the pursuit, she would be taken down by the protagonist’s group, ending up with the tragic fate of the Song family’s ruin.
Right now, Song Zhiqing was, at most, a suitor full of schemes. Would she really evolve into the final form of a villainess?
Ye Yuhuan subconsciously rejected the possibility.
The girl before her grew anxious at her prolonged silence, a hint of condemnation already in her eyes. It wasn’t a heavy accusation, but light and airy, more like a playful complaint. The girl’s moist almond eyes were captivating, as if any desire that flowed from them would be fulfilled without a word of protest.
Ye Yuhuan knew she was exactly like that.
After establishing herself at Qinglin through her academic achievements, she’d had many opportunities to cut ties with Song Zhiqing, but she never did. Firstly, Song Zhiqing had helped her. Secondly, Song Zhiqing looked like a sweet, delicate beauty. Though Ye Yuhuan never said it aloud, she was actually a sucker for her type, which was why she could never refuse her requests and continued to play along in this absurd game of love.
She had thought it was just a game of adolescence. How could it cost someone their entire life?
She had thought it was just a game of adolescence. Why would Song Zhiqing later become so extreme as to use her family’s power to slander Shen Wei online?
In that seemingly real dream, Song Zhiqing was completely different from the one she knew. She was arrogant, conceited, and emotional, her rebellious nature compelling her to hurt someone, anyone. That was why, this morning, Ye Yuhuan had been so certain it was just a dream.
Perhaps her expression was too complex, because Song Zhiqing leaned in and pinched her cheek. Her voice was also sweet and delicate, but she deliberately spoke like a school tyrant. “Hey, snap out of it. What’s wrong with you? You zone out just from hearing a name. Don’t tell me she’s some old crush of yours. Let me tell you, Ye Yuhuan, you’re not allowed to date until you’ve helped me win over Shangguan Xianxian. I’m not about to be force-fed someone else’s public displays of affection!”
Ye Yuhuan snapped back to reality. No matter how bizarre and crazy the plot was, that was all for later.
What mattered now was not making the current situation worse.
Ye Yuhuan forced a smile for her boss, suppressing the shock that filled her heart. “No, I was just surprised that Shangguan Xianxian would go to such lengths for a relative.”
Hearing this, Song Zhiqing sighed with worry. She was surprised too. Shangguan Xianxian was, for all intents and purposes, completely unapproachable, as aloof as a snow lotus on a high mountain—she brought an iceberg with her wherever she went and was curt with everyone. Yet, that was exactly what Song Zhiqing liked about her. It was love at first sight, and she especially wanted the ice queen to melt for her. She had even planned out their future: they would adopt two children, one with the surname Song, the other Shangguan. Alas, in reality, she had exchanged fewer than twenty sentences with Shangguan Xianxian, the most emotional of which was last night’s “Are you insane?”
However, Ye Yuhuan secretly glanced at Song Zhiqing. If she remembered correctly, in the dream last night, Shangguan Xianxian was the bottom in her CP with Shen Wei. And although Song Zhiqing deliberately maintained a “boss” persona in public, small details revealed that she was, at heart, a tsundere girl who loved pretty things. Otherwise, her school gang would be called the Dark Sanctum, not the Cosmic Beauty Garden.
She was clearly a bottom.
No, my thinking is too limited, Ye Yuhuan calmly pushed up her glasses. Girls are all switches.
Thus, Ye Yuhuan, who had been forced by Song Zhiqing to become a veteran yuri scholar, convinced herself.
Seeing Ye Yuhuan zone out again, Song Zhiqing couldn’t help but huff. What was this about? She had clearly dodged the question just now. Ye Yuhuan must know Shen Wei. Since hearing her name, she had spaced out several times in just a few minutes.
The huff startled Ye Yuhuan back to her senses. She remembered that her boss was still waiting for her romantic advice, so she collected her thoughts and continued, “You could start by getting to know Shen Wei. Seeing how much Shangguan Xianxian values her sister, and since they’re in the same class, they’re probably together most of the time. You could also leave a good impression on Shangguan Xianxian in the process.”
Song Zhiqing gave her an appreciative look, then followed up with a hint of confusion. “I didn’t tell you they were in the same class.”
Beads of sweat nearly formed on Ye Yuhuan’s forehead. She struggled to remain calm and explained, “I guessed. If Shangguan Xianxian is even accompanying her to handle the paperwork, why wouldn’t she arrange for her sister to be in the same class?” Ye Yuhuan paused, then added, “Besides, it’s not like the Shangguan family lacks the connections to make it happen.”
Wow, is this the intelligence of the city’s top student?
With her as my love strategist, Shangguan Xianxian and I will probably get our marriage certificate right after graduation, hehe.
Clearly, Song Zhiqing was daydreaming again.
Meanwhile, Ye Yuhuan guiltily accepted Song Zhiqing’s admiration and then coaxed her back to her seat using the excuse that class was about to start.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. Ever since she accepted the premise that the world was a novel, everything from the dream had been seared into the depths of her mind, mingling with her original memories. This created a rather serious problem: she seemed to have trouble distinguishing between reality and the events of the dream. In essence, what the dream depicted wasn’t so much a plot as a prophecy of the real world. The characters, places, and relationships were all identical, differing only in their timeline. But if she knew about things happening elsewhere when she wasn’t present, or knew today what would happen tomorrow, everyone would probably think she was a monster.
Ye Yuhuan’s hand froze. Wait, that’s not right. There was another very obvious problem that she had overlooked because of her omniscient perspective.
The character Ye Yuhuan did not exist in the novel’s plot.
In the story, Song Zhiqing had many followers, but none of them were named Ye Yuhuan. Otherwise, given her dedicated efforts to help Song Zhiqing pursue Shangguan Xianxian, she should have at least earned the title of a villainous cannon fodder.
How did I come to be here?
Why did I disappear from the plot?
And why have I appeared here now?
What did her, Ye Yuhuan’s, presence by Song Zhiqing’s side truly signify?
Just as these questions made Ye Yuhuan’s head spin, the class bell rang. The math teacher walked in. He was new, poached from a public school where he had an outstanding teaching record, lured to Qinglin with an apartment and a high salary. He was thirty-five, married, with a daughter. Later, when his daughter fell ill and he desperately needed money, Song Zhiqing gave him two million yuan on the condition that he provide false testimony to frame Shen Wei. When the matter was exposed, he was fired from Qinglin. Although his daughter’s life was saved, they struggled to afford her subsequent nutritional needs, and her future was uncertain.
Information about this person automatically surfaced in Ye Yuhuan’s mind. She bit her lip hard, trying to suppress her panic, but her fingers still trembled uncontrollably.
Her deskmate, Tang Xue, glanced at her and asked with concern, “Are you not feeling well?”
Ye Yuhuan shook her head. Thankfully, Tang Xue wasn’t a character in the plot either, which helped her regain some composure.
Seeing her pale face, Tang Xue added in a low voice, “If you feel sick, let me know. I’ll take you to the nurse’s office.”
Ye Yuhuan whispered back, “I’m really fine. I just remembered a nightmare I had last night. It scared me.”
Tang Xue couldn’t imagine a top student like Ye Yuhuan being frightened by a nightmare. She nodded blankly and offered some comfort, “As long as you’re okay. Um, dreams are fake, so don’t worry about it too much.”
Ye Yuhuan thanked her deskmate for her kindness, a bitter smile touching her lips.
But my dream is real.
This means I will have to live between reality and illusion.
In the legends of the Trojan War, there was a princess of Troy named Cassandra. For refusing a god’s advances, the enraged god cursed her with the gift of prophecy. From then on, her everyday life was distorted. Everything that seemed ordinary concealed the fuse leading to the war’s disastrous end. She warned everyone to be wary of the Athenians, for they would burn Troy to the ground. This long and arduous war would not end well; the Athenians would emerge from the wooden horse and utterly destroy everything in Troy.
No one believed her.
Because the war was going well.
Because the ending was so tragic, people subconsciously dismissed it as alarmist talk.
Even her own father, the king, grew tired of her ravings and had her locked away.
Only Cassandra herself, filled with despair and struggling within that despair, hoped someone would listen to her. But it was difficult, because she was so close to madness.
No one would accept that simply by living as they always had, they would meet such a painful end.
In the end, Cassandra died in the flames, along with her city.
Will I become a Cassandra?
Ye Yuhuan asked herself.
She couldn’t give a precise answer. She thought she could only try her best to restrain herself, not to let the dream drown out reality. She would be like Shen Wei, using it merely as a tool.
Cassandra shouldn’t have placed her hopes in others. If she had been able to expose the Greek soldiers inside the wooden horse herself, no one would have doubted her. So, Ye Yuhuan told herself, since I am the only one who knows how this will all unfold, then I am the only one with the determination to change it. And I don’t intend to save a city, just a single person.
Just as Cassandra could not bear to see Troy fall, she could not bear to see Song Zhiqing’s life descend into darkness.
After all, this was her boss.
