Chapter 1 - Whatever, I will Strike
Inside the high-end apartment living room, a man and a woman sat facing each other.
The man started with a cold aloofness:
"One million, to dissolve the marriage contract."
"......"
In response to his icy words, the woman across from him just lowered her eyes soundlessly, playing unconsciously with a pen in her hand, making it impossible for him to gauge her present mood.
"What's the matter, are you not speaking now? Weren't you still asking me on the phone for 500,000?"
Seeing her silence, Lu Heng grew impatient and frowned, with undisguised disgust on his face:
"I'll give you an additional 500,000, just stop nauseating me with this marriage contract!"
"......"
It wasn't that Jiang Qiyu didn't want to speak, she was merely worried that the phrase "Damn it, I really hate show-offs," might accidentally slip out.
Heaven knows, it was only last night that there was a terribly pompous tone to the voice over the phone, prompting her to casually say 'Rich guy, show me your strength with a transfer of 50k.'
Who would have expected this guy to actually show up at her doorstep the next day, even boasting about giving her one million!?
Didn't male protagonists in romance novels spend their days showing off, and never get online to surf the web?
Her name was Jiang Qiyu, formerly an obscure stand-up comedian who was diagnosed with breast cancer before achieving her dream of comedy.
Late stage.
Luckily for her, she had just been diagnosed and before she even had time to suffer, she'd been transmigrated into a book.
A romance novel she once read, set in the entertainment industry, entitled "The Film Emperor's Darling Pet."
Unfortunately, though, she'd transmigrated into a character with the same name as hers, a minor character with a tragic fate—
She's the infamous ornamental figure in the entertainment circle, a supposed rich heiress yet a real illegitimate cousin.
In the original book, she's the antagonist who always gets a slap in the face, a hurdle that is always overcome.
She's option E, she's plan B, she's the passerby that gets stepped on.
How should it be put...
As an antagonist, she just wished the author would keep one eye open even while sleeping.
Although the situation seemed rather absurd, upholding the optimistic belief of making home where one falls, Jiang Qiuyu quickly accepted this reality.
After all, she was alone and forlorn; she could only be granted another life because she had always believed in not wasting anything in this life and praying devotedly, even breaking the electronic prayer beads due to overuse.
She deserved this opportunity.
Moreover, if she held the script in her hands, so what if she was the antagonist?
She didn't mind, she would take action.
Right when Jiang Qiuyu was brimming with confidence and all set to take back everything that was hers, she received an unexpected phone call—
"Jiang Qiyu, have you had enough yet?!"
"......Who are you?"
"Don't play dumb! Do you think just because of a verbal marriage agreement, I will marry you? Stop dreaming, you can't even compare to a finger of Jiang Mian! Your persistence only makes me feel disgusted!"
"Are you okay?"
"Hm... I see, you want money, don't you? Name your price."
"No, dude, are you really confused? Would you prefer I Venmo you fifty first to prove my capability?"
"Jiang Qiyu, remember your words!"
"......"
After hanging up the phone, the bewildered look on Jiang Qiyu's face lasted for only a brief three seconds, as she quickly realized something and her eyes widened.
Sss... something appears slightly off.
She quickly sorted out the plot of this novel in her mind, wishing she could engrave every small detail into her lungs through smoke.
Soon, she discovered a potentially fatal problem:
She was late.
In the original story, this scenario should have happened in the middle or later part of the story—
The female supporting character's career, family, and love life have all collapsed, and she is then left with no choice but to exploit the marriage agreement to manipulate the male protagonist.
As for how she ended up in this hopeless situation...
Framed by the fake heiress and backup female character, she was accused of plotting against the female lead and kicked out of the Jiang family house and trust fund by the old patriarch, completely losing her eligibility to inherit the Jiang family fortune.
In her career, she was anonymously accused of having black material, of seducing Film Emperor Lu Heng, suppressing newcomers, bullying in the workplace, and acting like a big star. Now her public image has collapsed, scandals surround her, and she can't even get a film.
...
It doesn't matter, she would find her own way out.
Thus, cherishing the belief that 'where she fell, there also she must be buried', Jiang Raccie Qiyu
on the verge of being washed away
decided to just give up.
When in doubt, sleep it off. Who cares about tomorrow?
But she hadn't even been able to sleep off her worries when she was woken up by this haughty man standing before her.
Lu Heng, 27 years old, currently the hottest top-tier Film Emperor in the entertainment industry, and the male lead of this Mary Sue romance novel.
He was also the fiancé that the original owner had been engaged to since childhood.
Um... not for much longer.
"Jiang Qiyu!"
A reprimand interrupted her increasingly drifting thoughts, his tone colder and colder:
"I will give you a million, remember what you promised me."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiyu lazily lifted her eyelids: "What?"
"Terminate our engagement, stay far away from me and Mianmian!"
"Everything you've said..."
She glanced up, her eyes indifferent, "I can't do that."
"You..."
Lu Heng's gaze abruptly sharpened, wishing he could slice the woman before him into pieces:
"You asked for fifty, I gave you a million, what now, you're going to raise your price on the spot? Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew..."
"What should we do then?"
Faced with his thinly veiled threat, Jiang Qiyu simply leaned back casually on the sofa, calmly saying:
"Why don't you call the police? Accuse me of... extortion?"
"..."
Looking at the man who was suddenly speechless, her narrow eyes slightly curved, waving her hands in jest:
"Just kidding."
No, of course, she wasn't kidding.
If she really took Lu Heng's million, it wouldn't be long before the recording of their meeting today would be all over the internet.
Blackmail, a million.
This was a grave crime.
Once it happened, she would become a mockery to the law, nailed to the pillar of shame, unable to turn things around.
Jiang Qiyu always believed that no one could be completely immune from folly.
If you consider someone flawless, they must be acting foolishly in some hidden corner beyond your sight.
And Lu Heng was just such a ruthless, unscrupulous fool.
Not only did he spend money to smear her behind her back,
But he was willing to pay a million to ruin her stardom.
What a scoundrel he was!
"If Mr. Lu has more money than he knows what to do with, he could pay more taxes to the government..."
Jiang Qiyu said with a sincere smile, as if it were a friendly suggestion,
"...Or, he could use the money to see a top expert in a psychiatric hospital."
"Emergency room."
Lu Heng, not being a fool himself, quickly comprehended his plans had been detected by her. In his heart, a moment of panic gave way to regained composure.
As he faced Jiang Qiyu, who suddenly seemed altered, his disgusted look gradually morphed into scrutiny.
After a good while, he slowly stood up, his face still held the same aloof and cold expression as when he first arrived:
"I will be on that romance show with Mianmian, you better not interfere, or else, I will surely make you regret it."
"......"
Silently watching his retreating figure, Jiang Qiyu still remained casually leaning on the sofa.
It wasn't until the man's figure disappeared into the foyer that she slowly withdrew her profound gaze, and, playing with the pen in her hand, she murmured:
"What to do? I, oh, how I love to cause trouble for others."