Transmigrate into a book*
Jiang Zhi transmigrates into a cannon-fodder supporting character in the historical romance novel The Heir Apparent Is Above All: Heir Apparent’s Wife, Don’t Run.
After the Jiang family falls apart, her maternal grandmother from the Shen family takes her in at the marquis’s residence. In the original story, the supporting character obsessively pursues the male lead, Shen Tingsi, only to be driven out of the capital and disappear without a trace. Jiang Zhi has no intention of meeting the same fate, so she sets herself three goals: take good care of her grandmother, keep well away from Shen Tingsi, and save enough money to run away.
She keeps a low profile, copies Buddhist scriptures, and tries to blend into the background. The silver coins hidden beneath her pillow keep piling up, and her escape route grows clearer by the day. She thinks that if she stays quiet and careful enough, she can make it out of the book’s plot unscathed.
But at some point, the heir apparent Shen Tingsi, who should have looked down on her, begins bringing her charcoal, ginger, green oranges, dried osmanthus, and mint. He remembers where her courtyard is, what hours she keeps, and whether she’s dressed warmly enough. He even steps in to block a marriage arrangement for her, buys her mother’s old shop, and then clears a path for her through the west side gate.
Clutching the silver coins she has saved, Jiang Zhi stands at the west side gate and looks back. Shen Tingsi stands in the shadows at the end of the covered walkway. He doesn’t stop her.
Jiang Zhi runs away.
Shen Tingsi chases after her.
Later, when someone asks how long he pursued her, Shen Tingsi thinks for a moment and says, “Probably a lifetime.”
Reward yourself.