Waking up one morning, Wu Pianpian found herself inside a sweet romance cultivation novel she had read.
Unfortunately, she was neither the heroine of the romance nor a rich, beautiful, and alluring young lady who was the second female lead.
She was just a poor, stupid, low-level cultivator who was destined to be cannon fodder, a homewrecker who tried to steal the male lead away after he and the heroine got engaged. Her ending was utterly tragic.
Her most famous quote was: "The one who isn't loved is the third party."
And the scene she had entered was precisely after she had spent a whole month sending the male lead pastries and love letters, but received no response.
She had blocked his way when he returned from hunting, intending to confess to him in front of everyone and say that famous line.
Wu Pianpian looked at the male lead, whose expression was cool and distant, the heroine beside him watching her with curiosity, and a crowd of onlookers eager for gossip.
The male lead asked, "What do you want to say?"
She absolutely mustn't get involved with the leads!
In a panic, Wu Pianpian blurted out, "I want to say that I like Qin Jibai. I'm really worried about him. Could you take me to see him?"
Qin Jibai was the male lead's friend.
A month ago, he had been taken back to Jinling to recuperate from his injuries.
Everyone present froze. What? She liked Qin Jibai?
As soon as the words were out, Wu Pianpian regretted them.
Qin Jibai came with a whole stack of debuffs.
He was naturally frail, coughed up blood, was sensitive to bright light, preferred staying in the dark, had extremely sharp hearing, hated people speaking loudly, and suffered from an old injury that caused him excruciating pain on rainy days.
He was someone who couldn't go outside on a sunny day, and still felt awful when it rained.
So although he appeared gentle and harmless, he was actually a lunatic: bad-tempered, and even more ruthless than the male lead when it came to killing. Sometimes, even the male lead had to stop him.
As for his affections, he had once been gentle only with the male lead, but later the heroine was added to that list.
In the novel, Wu Pianpian was eventually killed by Qin Jibai.
Wu Pianpian thought, Maybe I should pack up and run away. I'll only stay alive if I keep my distance from the main characters.
But some irresistible force wouldn't let her run away, and even insisted that she pursue the male lead just as she did in the novel.
So Wu Pianpian seemed to have a split personality: she kept saying she liked Qin Jibai while constantly drawing closer to the male lead.
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Qin Jibai looked like a scholar, both in appearance and physique: slender and handsome.
But reading had given him headaches since childhood, and he preferred martial arts.
Because of his health, he was bad-tempered and impatient, and often flew into a rage.
This contrast meant that many people who got close to him eventually grew to dislike him and left.
Besides, he had a good friend whose family background was more prestigious, whose talent was greater, and who shone more brightly than he did.
He had never been popular with women.
When a foolish, clueless girl barged into his life and said she liked him, he felt nothing but annoyance.
He hated spending time with girls most of all.
But he couldn't be bothered to respond. She would give up soon enough.
Yet day after day, she kept declaring that she liked him, claiming that she would have no one but him for the rest of her life and wouldn't stop until she won him over.
But...
Why was his good friend there every time she confessed?
Why did she always hand the gifts meant for him to his good friend?
Why did her gaze always fall on his good friend?
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One rainy, dreary night.
Wu Pianpian held Qin Jibai, whose old injury had flared up, hoping to comfort him and ease his pain.
But he held her even tighter, almost as if he wanted to crush her into his bones.
He bit fiercely into her neck. His voice was as harsh as ever, though, if you listened closely, there was a hint of grievance in it.
"You're a liar. Who is it that you really like?"
*A girl pretending to be devoted, struggling to survive in the cracks × a sickly man with a fiery temper
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Theme: Striving to stay alive
