I’ve become the antagonist in this story, but I’ve stopped trying. The reason? The novels in this world are just too good. After being transported into this classic CEO romance novel, I became addicted to reading and couldn’t stop. I never bothered the main couple again. But after I gave up, everyone else seemed to follow suit. The passionate CEO and the innocent girl only talked about sex, not love. The evil mother-in-law decided to mind her own business and went on a shopping spree around the world… Even the devoted second male lead became a big shot and got married young. And guess what? I’m his wife. Oh boy, the plot has completely fallen apart. When I arrived in this world, the future CEO Jasper Sinclair, in his early twenties, had just started to fall for the stubborn and pure-hearted Dahlia Frost. He was constantly trying to impress her. My first scene as the antagonist, Seren Thorne, was supposed to be confronting Dahlia, looking down on her and taunting, “You have nothing to offer. You’re not good enough for Jasper. Stay away from him in the future…” This was meant to trigger Dahlia’s rebellious nature, pushing her and Jasper together. But now that I, Seren Thorne from the real world, was in this body, I couldn’t bring myself to taunt anyone! To hell with the original plot! “Seren, when are we going to confront Dahlia and warn her to stay away from Jasper?” one of my sidekicks asked. Ah, the classic brainless followers of the antagonist had appeared. “Confront her for what? If Jasper likes her, how is that her fault?” I rolled my eyes and retorted. My two sidekicks were stunned. One of them asked, “Seren, don’t you like Jasper? How can you stand this?” “Who said I liked him?” Hearing my question, they looked even more confused. After all, I had been revolving around Jasper my entire life. “My parents are always traveling, and my sister is so domineering. I just wanted to find a brother figure who could spoil me. How does that count as liking him?” That’s right, Seren Thorne was just a self-centered young lady. I wasn’t going to break character. “But… aren’t we going to do anything about Jasper pursuing Dahlia?” the other sidekick hesitated before asking. “Do what? Should I write him a love letter and buy roses to help him chase her?” I said sarcastically. “Pfft.” A stifled laugh came from behind us. “Who’s eavesdropping? Come out!” I was startled. A tall, handsome young man stepped out from behind a large willow tree. His skin was fair, with defined brows and bright eyes. Despite his striking features, his demeanor was gentle and non-threatening, creating an intriguing contrast. Callum Reeves? The legendary second male lead who was supposed to be constantly at odds with me and in love with Dahlia? I had always preferred the gentle, refined type of male characters, whether before or after being transported into this novel. Callum was the epitome of this type. Now that he was standing under the tree, he looked like a perfect 2D character come to life. The sunlight filtering through the branches cast a dappled pattern on him. He only needed to stand there silently to outshine everything around him. My heart involuntarily began to beat faster. “Miss Thorne, I wasn’t eavesdropping,” he said with a slight smile. “I’ve been here since early morning. You’re the ones who came later.” “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you,” I apologized reflexively. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt the atmosphere freeze. Looking around, I saw their surprised expressions and felt dumbfounded. Oh, my misplaced politeness. It seemed that I hadn’t fully adjusted to this arrogant young lady’s identity yet, causing my character to crumble so unexpectedly. Feeling my face heat up, I quickly excused myself and dragged my two sidekicks away from this awkward situation. In my haste to leave, I completely missed the intrigued look in Callum’s eyes as his smile faded.
The entertainment industry in this world was highly developed, with web novels flourishing in particular. There were all kinds of genres, including mature content. Many well-written stories had excellent character development and plot twists that kept me hooked. As an avid reader arriving in this world, I felt like a mouse that had fallen into a rice bin. I had money, free time, and even a housekeeper to take care of me. My parents were always traveling, and my sister lived near her company. As for me, I was unsupervised. Whenever I didn’t have classes, I would rush home, sprawl on my bed, and stay up all night following various authors’ works. Especially “Thousand Mountains” on the Storylove platform. In an era dominated by exaggerated styles, she upheld the banner of traditional romance novels. Her character development, plot progression, sweet moments, and heart-wrenching scenes had me constantly oscillating between feeling giddy with happiness and crying my eyes out. I became her die-hard fan, not only showering her with all the virtual gifts I could afford, quickly becoming her top supporter, but also breaking my usual habit of only focusing on the text itself—I joined her fan group and chatted enthusiastically there. After staying up late for a long period, immersing myself in the online world, I looked quite haggard when I finally returned to reality. It was Jasper who dragged me out to drink with him. “You refuse to see me and end up looking like this. She’s been avoiding me more and more these days,” he said, downing glass after glass of alcohol in confusion. “What are you girls thinking? I really can’t understand either of you.” It seemed that without me, the villainess, stirring up trouble, Jasper and Dahlia’s relationship had become quite rocky. It had been two months, hadn’t it? They still hadn’t officially become a couple. Thinking back to the original story, they were supposed to be madly in love after about a month, envied by everyone around them. “Stop, stop, stop, Jasper. I really only see you as a brother. I didn’t end up looking like this because you’re having relationship troubles,” I said. I didn’t want to drink, so I poured myself a soft drink instead. “I just found your dating situation interesting, and after hearing some classmates discuss the plot, I went to read some web novels. Who knew I’d get so hooked that I couldn’t climb out of that hole?” “I stayed up late for a long time reading, so I look a bit haggard. It really has nothing to do with you two.” “As for what Dahlia is thinking, I really don’t know, but I wholeheartedly support you two dating.” My stance on not interfering with the main couple’s love story had to remain firm. As the official couple, they would surely end up together, so there was no need for me to be the villain. “What dating? It’s been so long, and no matter what I do, she still won’t accept me,” he said, becoming more dejected as he spoke, continuing to drink glass after glass. His words became fragmented, with only Dahlia’s name occasionally being clear. I wasn’t sure what their current issue was, and I didn’t dare to speak carelessly. I just sat quietly beside him, keeping him company. He was the only son of the Sinclair family, and he had genuinely treated my original self like a sister for so many years. I couldn’t just abandon him at a time like this. His phone rang, flashing Dahlia’s name. “What? Dahlia has a high fever and is in the hospital? I’ll be right there.” Seeing that he wasn’t very sober, I took his phone, asked for the location, and then drove him there. The call hadn’t been hung up, and I could faintly hear Dahlia repeatedly calling Jasper’s name. The comforting voice coming from the phone was clear and low—it must have been Callum. Jasper, sitting in the passenger seat, was quite drunk and kept calling Dahlia’s name. It was ridiculous. They were just one with a fever and one drunk, yet they were acting like star-crossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet torn apart. They truly lived up to their roles as the protagonists of a passionate CEO romance novel. After sending him into the hospital room, watching them calm down as soon as they embraced each other, Callum and I looked at each other awkwardly, the uncomfortable atmosphere continuing to build. We barely knew each other, yet neither of us could leave at a time like this. We were literally two third wheels, helping to build up someone else’s love story. He poured a glass of water and handed it to me, nodding slightly as he introduced himself in a low voice, “Callum Reeves.” I took the water, smiled at him, and replied, “Seren Thorne.” This could be considered our formal introduction. He returned my smile before walking to the hospital bed, wringing out a towel to wipe Dahlia’s face. His expression was very calm, and he didn’t seem to mind Jasper’s status as a love rival, taking care of him just as attentively. The bedside lamp cast a soft halo of light around him. That calm and serious expression kept drawing my gaze to him. I said I would stay to help take care of them, but in the end, I just assisted him a bit. Later on, I couldn’t stay awake and fell asleep on the hospital table. When I woke up, I found a thin blanket draped over me. I have to say, Callum really knows how to take care of people. Whether it’s his words or actions, he’s always gentle and appropriate, truly deserving of the title “gentleman.” I couldn’t help but wonder, with such a childhood friend by her side, how could Dahlia fall for the domineering and moody Jasper?
After that night, Jasper and Dahlia officially got together. Their relationship caused quite a stir in our elite university. After all, it was like a Cinderella story come to life, naturally attracting attention. However, I, who originally had quite a significant role in their love story, completely gave up. I never actively approached them anymore. Because those two were synonymous with trouble. Unexpectedly though, Callum and I became closer. Because there were many conflicts between Jasper and Dahlia, but they always reconciled in a strange way, I found it quite astonishing. Sharing my thoughts with Callum, who had a similar position in this relationship, became a rare pleasure. Moreover, Callum was about to graduate, had extensive knowledge of various web novels, had contact with many authors, and was even starting his own web novel publishing company. This gave us even more topics to discuss. I had subtly asked him about “Thousand Mountains” several times, but each time he just smiled without saying anything and changed the subject. I had no choice but to give up. From any perspective, getting along with Callum was an extremely relaxing thing. He had high emotional intelligence and was always gentle and polite, almost never letting my words fall flat. How could there be such a gentle person in this world! My days passed leisurely between attending classes, reading novels, and chatting with Callum. But these beautiful days didn’t last long. Suddenly one day, my parents who had been traveling around the world and my sister who had been so busy at work that she was barely visible, all appeared at home, giving me a big shock when I entered the door. “Dad, Mom, Sis,” I complained, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” “You little brat, do we need to report to you when we come home?” My mom, who was still charming despite being in her fifties, rolled her eyes at me. I went over and hugged her arm, swaying it gently as I called her “Mom” in a sweet voice, but she immediately pushed me away. “Don’t try that with me.” “Seren,” my always serious father spoke up, and I immediately became serious too. “It’s been a few months now, have you figured out your true feelings for Jasper?” When Jasper was pursuing Dahlia, I had shut myself away for two months reading novels, and my haggard appearance had scared them terribly. Fortunately, I later adjusted my schedule and returned to a normal appearance, which finally convinced them that I had just found a new hobby, rather than being lovesick over a boy. “I’ve figured it out, Dad,” I replied seriously. “I’m very sure that I only see him as a brother, with no romantic feelings. We should cancel that engagement.” That’s right, Jasper and I had a childhood engagement. Although we had only exchanged tokens, we had both acknowledged it. Now that we felt it wasn’t suitable, we needed to meet with both families face-to-face to dissolve it. Jasper was never a detail-oriented person. Even though he was already in a relationship, this hidden danger still needed me to take the initiative to eliminate. My sister, Celeste, came to my side and stroked my head, “No matter what choice you make, we will always be your strongest support.” The tip of my nose tingled a bit. Before my transmigration, my parents had died early, and for so many years, I had been drifting alone, even unfortunately dying suddenly at my advertising copywriting workstation. I had never had this feeling of having someone to back me up. Now that I had suddenly transmigrated and gained it from them, I naturally couldn’t be as reckless as the original owner. The original Seren had constantly brushed against the law for the sake of so-called love, eventually dying in a foreign land, causing a good family to fall apart. The two families set the time for this Saturday evening. After saying goodnight to my family, I returned to my room. I opened my phone and saw that Thousand Mountains had updated. In addition to the consistently updated angst novel “Eastern Mountains and Rivers,” her recently started randomly updated “Falling into the Trap” was surprisingly sweet. The fan group was all guessing that the author had started dating in real life. Because she had never written two books at the same time before, and they were all set to update at fixed times. This time there was such a big exception, it must be because she had met someone she really liked. Ah! After reading her update and sending some virtual gifts, I hugged my pillow and rolled around on the bed a couple of times. I also want to have a sweet love like Thousand Mountains. After silently indulging in my fantasy, I lay on the bed ready to sleep. Somehow, Callum’s face, always wearing that gentle smile, appeared before my eyes. I suddenly woke up, sitting bolt upright, and started to question my life. Oh no, could it be that I’ve talked to him so much that I’ve actually fallen for him?
Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday evening. My family and Jasper’s had always been close friends. Although they were a bit regretful about not becoming in-laws, they still politely annulled the engagement. After all, you can’t force these things. However, after everything was settled, Jasper’s mother’s face visibly darkened. But this anger was clearly directed at Jasper, not really related to me. Alright, no matter what, from now on I was completely out of their tumultuous love story. The anxiety that had been buried in my heart since I arrived in this world finally dissipated. I was no longer the villainess in someone else’s love story, but myself—Seren Thorne. They were still inside exchanging pleasantries, so I excused myself to use the bathroom and went out for some air. I hadn’t been standing by the window for long when Jasper also came out, standing beside me and lighting a cigarette. The smoke swirled, blurring his expression. “I should thank you this time,” he spoke first. “If I had brought it up, and my family found out about Dahlia, it probably would have turned into a huge mess.” “No need to thank me,” I replied, “I’m doing this for myself too.” Seeing the questioning look on his face, I added, “I think I like someone too.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “The little girl has grown up. Do I know this person?” I felt a bit embarrassed by his question, “Oh come on, I don’t even know if he likes me yet!” “When I actually catch him, you’ll know.” “If you like someone, you should chase them quickly. Otherwise, you might miss your chance forever,” he said, ruffling my hair and smiling, “I’ll be waiting for your good news.” I nodded. After all, Jasper was a childhood friend who had grown up with me like a brother. Without the major conflict of drugging and kidnapping Dahlia from the original plot, he still retained that affection for me as a sister. “Let’s go back, or they’ll start to worry,” he said. Feeling that enough time had passed, I followed him back to the private room. Just before I entered, I thought I caught a glimpse of Callum’s profile. Was he here today too? I was puzzled for a moment before pushing the thought to the back of my mind. His publishing company had just started, so he probably had a lot of social engagements. It wasn’t strange for him to be here. The dinner finally ended, and having accomplished something big, I didn’t want to do anything when I got home. After washing up, I just sprawled on the bed reading novels. “Eastern Mountains and Rivers” updated punctually at 7 PM. I hadn’t had a chance to read today’s new content yet, but it seemed like it was approaching the end. In just 3000 words, it made my heart ache. After sending the usual virtual gifts, I quickly went to read “Falling into the Trap” to soothe my emotions. Who knew that after I reread the previous chapters, a random update suddenly dropped. I excitedly continued reading, but ended up feeling sour to my teeth. What’s going on? Although it wasn’t abrupt, the style had changed drastically. I quickly ran to the fan group to check, and found everyone “hahahahaha”-ing. I couldn’t help but laugh too. They were all as sour as I was. “Wah, who exactly is this person?” “So sour, so sour. I can smell the vinegar from the author all the way from overseas!” “I’m envious. The author is really putting her heart into it.” “What should we do? The author has finally tasted the bitterness of love, but I just want to laugh hahaha…” “I advise that person to be sensible and come out to explain clearly. Don’t let the author keep feeding us vinegar!” “Give us back our sweet author!” I also followed the trend and posted. Just then, Callum sent me a message.
“Are you asleep?” he asked. “Not yet,” I replied. “I saw someone who looked a lot like you at Ming Fu Restaurant tonight.” “That was probably me. I was there tonight too.” “I see.” I stared at that “I see,” not knowing how to respond for a moment. Did he want to chat with me or not? He must want to, right? But I couldn’t guess what he wanted to say to me. So I sent a cute emoji and didn’t say anything more. After switching back to the fan group chat, I continued to chat with them, joining in their dramatic pleas for the author to update more, although it usually never worked. I had just typed a few messages when an account named “Thousand Mountains” popped up. The group instantly exploded, and I quickly took a screenshot for posterity. After the group calmed down a bit, Thousand Mountains posted a question: What should I do if the person I like seems to still have feelings for their childhood friend who’s now in a relationship? “Ah! Is this why your update today was so sour?” “Although it’s not very nice, I really can’t help laughing.” “Now it’s your turn!” In other types of novels, being extremely objective and calm in narration might be a good thing, but in traditional romance novels, it inevitably made the author seem a bit cold and detached. Thousand Mountains had always positioned herself as an outsider, analyzing this world in her writing. Since her debut a few years ago, she had always maintained that composed demeanor. But recently, she suddenly seemed to have become a bit love-struck, with a drastic change in style. The fan group had been speculating that she had tasted the bitterness of love, suddenly being pulled into the mortal world. Today’s question seemed to confirm these rumors. “Have you confessed?” someone asked. “No,” Thousand Mountains replied quickly. “Why don’t you confess first?” I chimed in.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294689”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #重生Reborn #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #擦边Steamy
Leave a Reply