Chapter 1: Time Loop

The world was dim and blue, with sparse stars and scattered clouds.

Ye Wanlan could not control her own body because it had been occupied by an external soul!

Countless noisy sounds filled her ears. She had been thrown into the lake after her right finger bones were snapped.

She woke up half an hour later.

"Miss Ye, you're awake." Standing at the head of the bed was Zhou Hechen's secretary. He offered a formulaic smile. "Your hand is broken, but Mr. Zhou does not allow you to receive treatment until you admit your mistake. You need to understand his good intentions."

Ye Wanlan’s expression was indifferent. She slowly clenched her left hand.

After so long, the external soul had finally left; she had regained control of her body!

"Your expression is wrong again. Please remember to use the muscles on both sides of your mouth to smile at all times," the secretary continued. "When you smile, you look more like Miss Yunyi, and you can better please Mr. Zhou."

"Also, there is one more thing: you need to know your place. Mr. Zhou does not like people who are clingy and shameless. You—"

"Crack!"

Ye Wanlan had reset her own finger bones.

The secretary’s words came to an abrupt halt.

He looked at the girl in shock and uncertainty, only to see her grab a coat, drape it over her shoulders, and get up to head downstairs.

After a second of stunned silence, the secretary quickly followed. He sighed, "Miss Ye, although you resemble Miss Yunyi, you are ultimately not her. There are no privileges for you here with Mr. Zhou. It won't do you any good to keep making a scene. Haven't you suffered enough?"

Zhou Hechen could travel from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere just to celebrate Sheng Yunyi’s birthday, abandoning business meetings, but Ye Wanlan did not have that qualification.

Ye Wanlan was acting a bit unusual today, but the secretary didn't think much of it. He greeted the person walking into the villa entrance respectfully: "Mr. Qin, you've arrived."

Qin Xian was Zhou Hechen’s childhood friend.

He lifted his chin. "What’s going on with her?"

The secretary’s gaze was filled with pity. "Miss Ye is throwing a tantrum and running away from home."

He was accustomed to such tactics.

Two years ago, after Ye Wanlan began following Zhou Hechen, she had always been submissive and tolerant. Occasionally, when her self-esteem flared up, she would leave on her own, but with just one word from Zhou Hechen, she would willingly return, devoid of all dignity.

Qin Xian bit down on his cigarette and smiled nonchalantly. "Throwing a tantrum?"

All of Jiangcheng knew that Ye Wanlan was merely a substitute for Sheng Yunyi.

Originally, she could have continued to stay by Zhou Hechen’s side as a replacement, but a month ago, the "real deal," Sheng Yunyi, returned from her studies abroad.

Ye Wanlan, the substitute, immediately lost her value, yet she refused to give up and continued to pester him.

But Ye Wanlan should never, ever have laid a hand on Sheng Yunyi, nearly breaking her right hand.

Sheng Yunyi was the top student and painter of their circle; men and women alike looked up to her as a role model. She was everyone’s "white moonlight."

Qin Xian was no exception, so naturally, he couldn't let Ye Wanlan, the culprit, off the hook.

At midnight today, he and a few other brothers and sisters had lured Ye Wanlan out in Zhou Hechen’s name, broken her fingers, and pushed her into the water to avenge Sheng Yunyi.

Water droplets were still trickling down the girl’s hair. A sudden evening breeze blew, disheveling her locks. Once the hazy mist of water dispersed, her stunningly beautiful features were revealed—her appearance was exquisite and captivating.

Yet, her beautiful brows and eyes held a chilling sharpness, like a thorn rose swaying in the cold wind. The cold scent mixed with the aura of slaughter made one’s heart tremble.

Her gaze swept past them, as if a long-sealed beauty had awakened, shaking the mortal world.

Leaves fell in silence. A moment of stillness followed.

Qin Xian paused, momentarily unable to find the words to describe such a face.

How could he have thought a substitute was more beautiful than the original?

Absurd.

Qin Xian felt a surge of irritation. He saw the girl stop and turn to walk toward him.

He raised an eyebrow, his smile ambiguous. "What, have you come to your senses and want to apologize? I won't—"

"Snap!"

The sound of bone breaking was very clear in the quiet night.

Ye Wanlan’s tone was flat. "Why did it break?"

Before Qin Xian could react, his right hand was seized, and there was another cracking sound.

"This one is broken, too."

The pain of ten fingers connected to the heart made Qin Xian’s legs go weak. He knelt on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably; he was in so much pain he couldn't even scream.

His face turned deathly pale, filled with disbelief.

Ye Wanlan stepped on his ankle. After two crisp cracks, she smiled. "Why are they all broken?"

A more intense wave of pain surged like a tide. Qin Xian couldn't bear it; his vision went black, and he fainted.

The girl strode away, her silhouette sharp as a blade.

The secretary was also stunned. After a long while, he contacted Zhou Hechen with trembling fingers: "Mr. Zhou, something has happened..."

**

Outside the villa, the smile on Ye Wanlan’s lips faded.

She had a secret: her body had been possessed when she was fourteen.

For these four years, Ye Wanlan had watched the transmigrator turn her peaceful life into a mess.

The transmigrator wanted to be a model, so she gave up her studies to enter the industry and walk the runway.

The transmigrator liked Zhou Hechen, so she signed a substitute agreement.

The transmigrator looked down on her uncle’s family, causing her to be estranged from everyone and unable to return home.

In the end, the transmigrator grew bored and left lightly to find a new life, and only then did she finally regain control of her body.

But before she could clean up the mess, she was trapped by time.

No matter what she did, the new day was exactly the same as the day before.

The vase broken today would be intact again tomorrow.

The rice ball eaten today would reappear in the refrigerator tomorrow.

She had lived such days for exactly nine hundred and ninety-nine years.

From initial irritability to calmness, and then to indifference, Ye Wanlan finally got used to it and began to use her infinite rebirths to enrich herself.

She had walked every corner of Jiangcheng and the surrounding cities, remembered every event that happened at every point in time, and mastered countless skills and hundreds of languages.

She also learned cultural relic restoration and Kunqu opera to cultivate her character and suppress her murderous nature, but life remained dull and endless.

Ye Wanlan put on her helmet, rode her motorcycle, and sped away to carry out her daily plan.

Practicing calligraphy, martial arts, painting, singing...

As the last song ended, the sky had turned dark.

"Rumble—"

Dark clouds gathered, and the thunder seemed to split the sky. Lightning and neon lights intertwined into a sea, and rain and mist swallowed the night.

It was a bit cold.

Ye Wanlan pulled her coat tighter and booked a hotel room for the night.

After swiping her card to open the door, her footsteps paused.

The window was wide open, and the gale rushed in. There was already an uninvited guest in the room.

It was a man.

He was leaning against the bed, facing away from her. His figure was perfect, with tough and fluid lines; his back alone displayed both strength and beauty.

A few damp strands of hair clung to his cheeks, and the veins on his long, powerful forearms were visible. He was clearly enduring great torment.

Ye Wanlan stepped back out to check the room number. "This seems to be my room."

The man’s lips were pressed tight, and he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Get... out!"

Ye Wanlan walked in and closed the door.

A lost stranger was very interesting for her dull life; she cherished such moments.

After all, she had already crippled Qin Xian over three hundred thousand times. Every one of his bones had been shattered by her; there was no novelty left.

Ye Wanlan approached unhurriedly, bent down, pinched the man’s chin, and lifted his head.

It was a stunning face, one that could be described as "toppling all living things."

The moonlight dyed his brows and eyes silver-white. He frowned tightly, his gaze unfocused, carrying a sense of brokenness and dangerous beauty.

Ye Wanlan raised an eyebrow.

She had seen many people in Jiangcheng, but she had never seen this man before.

"Bang!"

The man suddenly moved.

His eyes were still unclear, but his attack was swift and lethal.

Ye Wanlan’s expression remained unchanged, and she countered at the same time, parrying every move with ease.

"Bang!"

"Ring-a-ling—"

Her phone rang abruptly. Ye Wanlan freed one hand to press the answer button.

The call connected, and Zhou Hechen’s cold voice came through: "Ye Wanlan, playing hard to get doesn't work on me. Get to the hospital in ten minutes."

Ye Wanlan didn't respond; her attention was focused on the man who had broken into her room.

He seemed to have exhausted his strength, stopped, and looked at her with damp eyes.

The man’s pupils were dilated, and he was delirious.

Ye Wanlan’s hand had already gripped his throat, pinning him to the bed, unable to move.

The man’s eyelashes fluttered. His complexion was pale, like cold porcelain. He suddenly found an angle of attack she hadn't anticipated.

He tilted his head slightly and kissed her lips.

To be precise, he bit them.

His lips were cold, but the moment they touched, it was as if a wildfire had ignited, and their staggered breaths were scorching.

Ye Wanlan’s lower lip was bitten until it bled.

This blood seemed to calm him down. He gasped and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall.

The long night was very quiet. The man’s broken breathing was very clear, like a feather drilling into the bottom of her heart, jumping back and forth.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

Three seconds later, Zhou Hechen asked coldly: "Ye Wanlan, what are you doing?"