"No, this can't be real," I whispered. "This is impossible."
I had to be hallucinating. Yeah. That had to be it.
Or maybe I was dead.
Or maybe someone had slipped something into my drink—because there was no way I was accepting this as real.
No way. Absolutely not.
I refused.
****************
It had been a few weeks since the day I woke up here.
I sighed as I carried a heavy barrel of water across the field, my arms aching with every step.
I'd finally decided to accept my new reality. I thought as I dropped the barrel.
I sat beside the horse barn, watching the dust drift lazily in the air.
It had taken a lot of denial, shock, and desperation to get here.
The first week?
I'd completely lost it.
"No—get away from me! Take me home!"
"Stay back! I'm not Shen!"
I'd screamed, thrown things at the people who claimed to be my family, acted like a madman.
Thinking back on it now, I almost laughed.
Running away. Attacking people.
Yelling. Crying.
I'd done it all.
But after all that… I'd finally accepted it.
This was my fate.
This was my reality.
I was inside a book.
I didn't know how.
I didn't know why.
But it was real.
Now that I'd finally accepted it, I felt a little more at peace.
But I still needed to find a way back.
This wasn't my world. Staying here was too risky.
I was lost in thought when—
"Shen."
I looked up and saw her.
Xue Li walked toward me with a bright smile on her face.
"Hey, Xue Li," I said as she dropped down beside me.
"You look like you're about to collapse any second," she said, laughing.
I sighed. "How wouldn't I? I've been working in the fields all day."
Even though I'd accepted my situation, my past actions hadn't gone unpunished.
Everyone thought I'd been pretending to lose my memory and acting crazy on purpose. To them, this was just regular old Shen—up to his usual antics.
That thought made me shiver.
Just how bad had the original Shen been for that behavior to seem normal?
"What are you thinking about?" Xue Li asked.
I smiled faintly. "Nothing. Just wondering how I'm going to survive another day of punishment. I'm already at my limit."
"Well, you kind of deserve it," she said casually.
I stared at her.
"I mean," she continued, counting on her fingers, "you attacked people, bit them, threatened to run away, screamed in the streets, and ran around like a lunatic—"
"Alright, alright, I get it!" I cut in, my face burning as all those memories came rushing back.
They didn't sound funny anymore coming from.
someone else
But none of that had been my fault.
I'd just been stressed and in denial.
"Hahaha!" Xue Li laughed so hard she nearly fell over.
"Oh my gosh, Shen. This has to be your best prank yet."
Ugh.
I was going to kill this girl.
From what I remembered, Xue Li was Shen's best friend—and his partner in crime.
Troublemaker. Instigator.
She'd helped him pull off more than a few pranks.
As she laughed,
I just faced forward and watched the sun sink behind the fields.
This world… it might be completely different from mine, but somehow it felt peaceful. Familiar, even.
"Hey, Shen, remember that time…" Xue Li said, smiling as she leaned back beside me.
I listened as she told the stories of all the pranks Shen had pulled.
And, for the first time in weeks, I laughed.
Really laughed.
Hearing those crazy stories… it almost made this place feel like home.
Just as I was finally enjoying myself, I heard it—the thing I had dreaded most since arriving in this world.
A royal declaration.
I froze.
Far off in the fields, I could see a man riding in a chariot, flanked by other horsemen, speeding toward my home.
Oh no… it's time already, I thought, my stomach twisting into knots.
"Shen, what's going on? Why is there a declaration here?" Xue Li asked, her voice tense.
"Let's go," I said, jumping to my feet.
I reached out and helped her up, and together we ran toward the house.
The horses and riders were closing in fast, their pounding hooves echoing across the fields.
Our feet pounded against the ground as we ran.
Finally… we gasped, both of us, as we reached the house.
But it was too late. The delegation had already arrived.
"Come on," I muttered as we pushed the door open.
Inside, the scene made my heart sink. My parents looked tense, shock and worry written across their faces. The delegation, along with the elders of the clan, were already seated, watching us.
My stomach tightened.
"Shen," my father said solemnly. "Come sit here, my dear." He pointed to an empty seat at the far end of the room.
I walked over slowly and sat, feeling every eye on me. It felt like I was a performance instead of a person.
"Xue Li, dear, come sit near me," my mother said, making space beside her.
She slid in beside her, and I noticed she looked just as nervous as I felt.
"Why have you come here, Sire?" my father asked the man leading the royal delegation, his voice tense.
He looked equally worried, almost scared.
Everyone in the room felt it—and with good reason. What was coming wasn't good.
"Good evening, head of the clan," the man began, standing. "And all clan members."
He bowed slightly, then continued. "I have come on behalf of the Grand Commander."
The moment he said the name, murmurs spread across the room.
"He has sent me for the son of the head of the clan… Shen Yucheng," the man said.
All eyes turned to me. The murmuring grew louder, whispers passing from one person to the next.
"To compensate him for the accident," the man continued, "he is to be rewarded with a position as a servant in the royal family."
My mind shattered.
I didn't hear anything else.
But everyone else—everyone else was celebrating, praising, cheering, dancing.
Little did they know… that was where Shen's troubles truly began.
That was the moment that would get him—and everyone else in this room—killed.