Chapter 1
It was the height of summer—blazing sun, suffocating heat.
Outside, cicadas screeched on and off, and even the breeze drifting through the window carried a restless, scorching dryness.
Rania Xia was completely dumbfounded.
Her vision slowly refocused.
The loud ringing in her ears faded bit by bit.
Her consciousness gradually returned.
The first thing she saw was a snow-white ceiling—
And the strong smell of disinfectant lingering in the air.
Heatstroke… was it really this serious?
Did they actually send her to a hospital?
Rania struggled to sit up on the bed.
In the TV screen opposite the hospital bed, she caught a blurry reflection of her own face.
The only thing clearly visible was the circle of white gauze wrapped around her head.
Instinctively, Rania lifted a hand to touch her forehead.
Her fingertips brushed the texture of the gauze—
The moment she pressed down, a sharp, burning pain shot through her skull.
She sucked in a cold breath.
It hurts!
The vivid, unmistakable pain instantly crushed any hope that she was still dreaming.
But then… what on earth was going on?
Just a second ago, she had been squatting by the roadside curb, waiting for the director to call action.
How did she end up in a hospital the very next moment—
and in a private room at that?
Right then, the two people standing by the window turned around at the sound of her movement.
An elderly man rushed in from the hallway, almost at a jog.
"Rania! You're finally awake! How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
But Rania didn't recognize him.
Not only him—
Even though the other two stood with their backs to the sunlight, dressed in sharp suits, she didn't need to see their faces clearly to know she had never met them.
The unfamiliar room, unfamiliar people—
A classic setup straight out of some melodramatic soap opera.
Had she… hit her head and gotten amnesia?
In the face of such bizarre circumstances, even the throbbing pain in her forehead suddenly felt insignificant.
"Rania?"
His voice pulled her back.
Seeing the genuine worry on the elderly man's face, Rania pressed her lips together and replied,
"I'm fine."
She had just woken up, her body weak.
Her throat was so dry and hoarse that even saying one sentence made her frown.
The elderly man quickly poured her a cup of water.Then, remembering he still had guests in the room, he poured two more cups and hurried over to them, saying awkwardly,"Leon, please, have a seat."
Rania's gaze followed him to the other side of the bed.
She truly didn't know either of the two men.
The one standing in front had a tall, upright posture.His suit fit perfectly, every line sharp and immaculate.His jet-black hair was brushed neatly back, making his already handsome, chiseled features even more cold and striking.Even standing still, he carried a natural sense of authority that压迫了整间病房.
So handsome!
Rania's line of sight was level with his hand resting at his side.
His fingers were long and well-proportioned, the knuckles defined.The watch on his wrist—only a corner visible—was clearly an expensive, luxury piece.
A rich man!
Her gaze moved to the assistant behind him, both hands full of gift bags.The assistant was smiling politely, silent and disciplined—clearly very well-trained.
Seeing this, Rania immediately sobered up.
A rich man.A rich man who looked scary.
She still had no idea what was going on, but if possible, she absolutely didn't want to get involved with someone who looked that difficult to deal with.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, the man's eyes shifted slightly and he turned his head toward her.
Just then, the elderly man stepped between them, blocking their line of sight."Here, Rania, have some water."
The moment he faced the elderly man, Leon's expression softened a little.He gestured for his assistant to set down the gifts and said,
"Mr. Xia, my grandfather asked me to send his regards.He'd like to invite you to Fu Manor another day.He hopes you'll give him the honor."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice came roaring from the hallway—
"Rania Xia! Are you out of your damn mind?!"
Rania: "…"
Well.That was… rude.
She couldn't help glancing toward the door.
A man stormed into the room, fury written all over his face.He looked ready to curse her again, but the moment he lifted his head and saw who was standing inside—
He froze.His foot caught the door frame, and he stumbled so hard he almost fell.
"F-Fu… Mr. Fu—"His anger vanished in half a second, replaced with an obsequious smile.He rushed over, fumbling through his pockets before pulling out a business card, holding it up with both hands.
"Mr. Fu, my name is Fannian Fan. I'm Rania's agent."
He held the card up for so long that his arm began to shake.Only when the awkward tension had practically solidified in the air did the card finally get taken from his hands.
Leon didn't speak to him, though.He simply responded with a curt,"Mm."
Nate took one big stride to Rania's side and lowered his voice."What is Leonard Fu doing here with you?"
Rania frowned.Nate? Leonard Fu?Why did those names sound so familiar?
But—
"Uh… bro, who are you again?"
Nate let out an incredulous laugh."Who am I? Rania, did you roll down the stairs and smash your brain?"
Seeing that Leonard was talking to someone else and not paying attention to them, Nate continued in a harsh whisper,"I don't care if you really hurt your head or if you're trying to pull some stunt. Let me tell you this—whatever mess you've made this time? I'm not cleaning it up for you!You want hype? Fine. But couldn't you use that pig brain of yours to think for a second? Of all people to latch onto, you went after Leonard Fu? You think his notoriously combative fanbase are a bunch of pushovers?Well, congratulations. The internet is tearing you apart. If hate translated into fame, you're hotter than Marina Hong these days!"
Hearing that name, Rania paused.
Nate, Leonard Fu, Marina Hong—
Wait.Weren't these all characters from the novel she had been reading right before she passed out from heatstroke?
The man didn't notice Rania drifting off."Oh right—since Leonard is here, go apologize to him now! If you're lucky, this whole mess might still turn around!"
But Rania wasn't listening anymore. She was concentrating hard.
The reason she connected the dots so quickly…was because one of the side characters in that novel had the exact same name as her.
In the book, the Rania Ran character was an infamously scandal-ridden actress.She had been elementary school classmates with the heroine and hung around her after reconnecting.But unlike the kind, hardworking female lead, this Rania was known online for being low-tier yet arrogant, talentless, tone-deaf, vain, dramatic—basically a walking compilation of every possible flaw, topped off with a face as thick as a fortress wall.
And precisely because her shamelessness reached legendary levels, she managed to glue herself to Leonard Fu—relying on an old childhood engagement promise made by her grandfather during wartime,spinning it into endless gossip fodder.The tabloids ran wild, and even passersby were starting to believe they were actually together.
Seeing their idol being "bloodsucked" by a Z-list nobody, Leonard Fu's fans finally snapped.His entire fanbase mobilized, teaming up to dig up receipts of other celebrities who had been used in similar clout-chasing schemes.For three straight days, they waged war on the trending topics.Rania was dragged, dogpiled, and brutally roasted the entire time.By the end of it, she had become a laughingstock across the whole internet, and naturally, her career went into freefall.
When Rania had read this part in the novel, she'd already been annoyed—but somehow she still wanted to know what kind of ending the author would give this villainess.So she kept reading.
She hadn't expected the story to get even worse.
The hype-baiting tactics Rania used in the book finally backfired.Her agency half-shelved her, cutting off her only source of income.Her parents, instead of helping, only demanded money from her every day.With no choice, she had to follow her agent's advice and join a trashy, scandal-bait reality show that used her black reputation as its main selling point.
Predictably, she was instantly dragged onto the trending list again—being flamed nonstop by netizens—though, ironically, the show's ratings spiked because of her.
Seeing the business potential in her ability to attract controversy, a bunch of lukewarm, mid-tier variety programs rushed to invite her next, all wanting to revive themselves through her scandal magnetism.These shows kept arranging deliberately provocative segments for her, making viewers—who already disliked her—hate her even more.
But that still wasn't the end.Because of her terrible people skills, during a rare chance on a major variety show, Rania had an on-camera conflict with the story's heroine.Though the heroine was mostly at fault, the promotional teaser twisted the footage with heavy clickbait editing, making the tension look entirely like Rania's doing.Netizens took the bait and immediately flamed her back onto the trending list.
Even though the heroine later visited in person to apologize and salvage their friendship, the already fragile and paranoid Rania thought she was there to mock her.From then on, she held a grudge against the heroine.Under the manipulation of ill-intentioned people, Rania tried everything to "expose the heroine's true colors," wanting the heroine to suffer the same online hate she had endured—even just once.
But the heroine seemed blessed by plot armor; every scheme backfired.Instead, it was Rania who kept getting burned.After repeatedly "targeting" the heroine, she finally angered the male lead—who adored the heroine.He publicly declared Rania blacklisted.
And that was how her acting career ended for good.
In the latter half of the novel, the author gave this villainess only a few casual lines—her ending was a lonely suicide, swallowed by regret and despair.
It made sense, though.From Rania Xia's standpoint: she had lost her only income; her family treated her like a bottomless ATM; the internet hadn't finished turning her into a meme; she had to disguise herself every time she stepped outside, terrified of being recognized.And after offending the industry's biggest powerhouse, even her so-called friends kept their distance—eventually cutting ties completely…
A girl living in a bustling metropolis, yet forced into a life as isolated as exile.
In an environment like that, how could she not fall into despair?
But despair aside…
Rania stared at her reflection in the TV screen, her expression slowly collapsing—
When she'd read the book, no one told herthat this villainess—hated by the entire internet, drowning in scandals, living a life like hell—would one day become her?!
Fanny Yan saw her spacing out and snapped, "Are you dumb or just pretending? Get your ass over there and apologize!"
He'd completely forgotten to lower his voice.Not only Rania—Leonard Fu, standing not far away, heard every word loud and clear.
Fanny froze, then immediately straightened his posture and stammered,"M-Mr. Fu—about… about what happened before, it was all the media twisting a single photo into some fake story. We've already clarified everything online. Things blowing up like this was really a huge misunderstanding!"He gave Rania a shove."Rania! Apologize!"
Rania had already regained her composure.
She turned toward Leonard Fu.
His expression was cool and unreadable; nothing on his face betrayed emotion.His dark, star-bright eyes were sharp enough to see through people—the kind of gaze that made ordinary folks look away instantly.
Fanny did exactly that.
But Rania stayed calm.
She steadied herself and stepped off the bed.Without avoiding Leonard Fu's gaze, she spoke directly:
"Mr. Fu, I'm sorry.Because of my personal actions, I brought trouble to you."
Her tone was sincere—no excuses, no deflection. Because she meant it.
There was no point arguing.A mistake was a mistake.Since she had replaced the original Rania Xia and inherited her life, then she should also be the one to offer this apology.
Her calm, unflinching honesty did not escape Leonard Fu's notice.
Finn Fan immediately added, "Mr. Fu, look, Raya didn't mean to cause you any trouble. For the sake of your past… uh, connection, maybe you could just let it slide—"
Leon Fu gave him a cool glance.
Finn froze on the spot, stammered twice, and shut up.
"We have no such connection," Leon said, looking back at Raya. "Since you know the media likes to make things up, stay away from me from now on."
Raya: Perfect timing, man— I was thinking the exact same thing!