Chapter 1: This Female Lead Is an Idiot
I threw my phone onto the bed and buried my face in my hands, groaning so loudly I was sure the neighbors could hear me.
"Three million again? She actually bought him another car?!" My voice rose in disbelief as I muttered, practically yelling at the glowing screen.
I had just finished the chapter, and my blood was boiling. The male lead, a useless, arrogant, and absolute worst devil disguised as a human being—was grinning smugly in the text, while the female lead… the heiress… just smiled and paid. She actually paid! For a car he commanded her to buy. Even when he was openly flirting with her so-called shameless best friend.
I picked up my phone again and kept reading.
The next scene was even worse. The male lead insulted her in public, and she just brushed it off like it was nothing. Her best friend clung to his arm right in front of her, and still, she paid for their dinner, bought the friend a necklace, and even stupidly apologized for "being in the way."
I couldn't stop myself. I skipped a few pages, hoping and praying—that maybe she'd finally snap out of her delusional state of mind. Probably she'd break up with him, and even throw her wealth in his face, and walk away. But no.
"You claim you love me yet you can't pay for a simple meal?" the male lead sneered at her. "You only know how to express fake love and expect me to actually continue dating you?."
"I'm sorry Lu Zhen, I–I'll pay right away."
I slammed my phone down so hard it bounced off the bed (poor phone). My heart raced, a mix of rage and pity clawing at me.
"And she…apologized?!" I yelled, now very annoyed. "What she apologising for? existing?! What is wrong with you Shen Qing?!"
Who even came up with a ridiculous plot like this?
"If I had your money," I said out loud, sitting up straight, "I'd be eating dumplings every day, traveling, sleeping peacefully, and not chasing after any man—especially not funding my own humiliation!"
This is the stupidest thing I've ever read! You own half the city, and you're funding your own humiliation! You're practically begging for heartbreak!
But the story didn't care about my outrage. I read faster, desperate to see her grow a backbone, to watch her stand up for herself. But she didn't, not one bit.
The male lead kept insulting her, flirting with her best friend in every paragraph, and she… just smiled.
Then came the ending. Predictable, of course. She was poisoned, betrayed, and died alone in a hospital bed while the man she loved proposed to her best friend and married her less than a month later.
"That's it? That's how it ends?!"
I stared at the final words, my eyes wide with disbelief.
She had wasted her entire life chasing after a man who never loved her. And her family couldn't talk sense into her?
I sighed heavily, my anger simmering into bitter disappointment. "Men are not the prize, sister. Peace and a lifetime of enjoyment is the prize."
The app buzzed, interrupting my thoughts.
I read the last scene again, it talked about her best friend wearing her engagement ring with a beaming smile.
My anger exploded, and I threw the phone onto the pillow. This is the stupidest thing I've ever read!" I groaned.
You had money, power, and freedom. And you chose to be miserable over a man who treated you like an ATM!
You could've opened ten restaurants. Bought an island, lived your best life. But no… you chased a walking red flag who couldn't even pretend to like you!"
I flopped back onto the bed, still fuming. "If I were you," I muttered to the ceiling, "the first thing I'd do is dump him. Second thing? Enjoy that family money properly. Good food, good clothes, and most importantly, a peaceful life. No toxic romance."
My phone buzzed beside me again, snapping me out of my rant. The novel app was asking if I wanted to rate the book. Without hesitation, I hit one star.
"Waste of wealth," I typed in the review box. "The female lead is too rich to be this foolish."
I tossed the phone back onto the bed, huffing. "If I wake up inside that novel… I swear I'm spending every cent on food first…"
The screen flickered, catching my attention. I frowned. Was this a glitch?
But then… the screen flickered.
I sat up, frowning. "What the hell?"
The review box I'd typed into started changing on its own.
"Okay… that's weird," I murmured. The words blurred and rearranged themselves until they formed a new sentence:
Then fix it yourself.
I picked up the phone, my heart pounding. "What the—"
My name was there, not my username. My actual name.
"N-no, no, no!" I stammered, trying to shut the app down. But my head felt heavy, like someone was pressing their hands on my skull.
The last thing I read before everything went black was:
Transmigrated Inside a Toxic Romance Novel