Playing an Extra in a Mary Sue Novel

[Advance notice: After the Heartthrob Is Reborn as the Beloved Daughter in a Dotting Family Novel]

In her original world, Mu Cangmeng was a wealthy young woman with a perfect family background and appearance. But after transmigrating into an old-school Mary Sue campus novel, she became an "unnoticed passerby."

She was neither a tragic casualty in the romance between the hero and heroine, nor a vicious supporting female character who schemed against and framed the heroine for the hero, only to meet a bad end.

In the original novel, she was merely a "passerby," described in just a few lines. Her family was sufficiently prominent and she was beautiful, but she had little presence.

She took no part in the love and hate between the hero and heroine, remaining detached and aloof. The only thing she had to do was avoid the fate of a mere passerby: injuring her wrist and never being able to pick up a paintbrush again.

Mu Cangmeng had always done just that, and done it well.

Of course, that was only what she thought. In everyone else's eyes, she was a perfect goddess, aloof and otherworldly, like an untouchable bright moon.

But unbeknownst to her, the male leads who should have been devoted to the heroine seemed to be acting strangely...

"Whatever it takes, I'll make you stay!"

"Please, just give me a little of your attention."

"Why are you looking at someone else? No one could ever love you more than I do!"

Even the silly, sweet heroine she had imagined wasn't as simple as she seemed...

"Having me by your side is all you need, Big Sister."

By the time Mu Cangmeng finally noticed something was amiss, it seemed everything was already too late.

And amid all these strange happenings, she finally uncovered the unspeakable truth of the original novel.

Reader's guide: 1. The original heroine is not vilified. The heroine is adored by everyone because she is so beautiful that the whole world loves her.

2. Old-school, cringey, indulgent wish fulfillment. An old-school Mary Sue story. Please check the cover.

3. Open ending, which can be understood as a bad ending. There are bonus chapters, no harem. Gu Lantian is the male lead in the plot. The romance is a smaller part of the story and only appears in the second half, so proceed with caution if that bothers you.

[Advance notice: After the Heartthrob Is Reborn as the Beloved Daughter in a Dotting Family Novel]

What makes a proper doting-family novel?

A sweet, adorable, innocent, and cheerful protagonist, surrounded by supporting characters who hold the reins of various industries and can always protect her or him...

Most importantly, in this kind of novel, the whole world revolves around the protagonist. Everyone else, no matter their status, either becomes one of the people who dote on the protagonist or serves as a foil to them.

They dare to harm the protagonist, only to be repeatedly put in their place and punished by the protagonist's devoted admirers.

Gu Xi happened to transmigrate into such a book, but with one difference: she came from another fictional world herself.

A world from a novel about a universally adored heroine. If the heroine of a doting-family novel is a little princess cherished and protected by the whole world, then Gu Xi is the distant, untouchable moonlight that everyone keeps in their hearts, too aloof to approach.

She doesn't need sweetness, innocence, or cheerfulness. She possesses the most perfect appearance, an utterly free soul, and every quality that could make anyone proud, lonely, or cold willingly break their pride and drown in love and longing for her.

She is the free wind, a flake of snow at the farthest reaches of the polar ice fields, the deepest blue sea at the edge of the world, and a splendid yet lonely divine palace hidden deep in an impenetrable forest.

Whether in her original world or anywhere else, Gu Xi doesn't need the "perfect life" ordained by "destiny," nor is she interested in the ending chosen by "fate." She was born to break free of shackles and restraints, even when they are adorned with dazzling halos like "flowers" and "protagonists."

And when someone like Gu Xi enters the world of that doting-family novel, the gears of everyone's fate begin to turn quietly...

The once innocent, adorable heroine of the doting romance, adored by everyone, now only wants to be by her side. She wants to stay with her forever and be the only one to catch her eye. The fledgling no longer needs anyone else's protection, because she has found the moon she truly wants to pursue.

The people who once surrounded the protagonist, including her brothers and admirers, can now only set aside their status and take care not to overstep in the slightest. All they hope for is a single glance from her.

"We all understand that she doesn't need anyone to protect her or shelter her. But who wouldn't want to stay by her side and see all the world's more beautiful scenery with her?"

"Even a tiny place in her eyes would be enough. Please, look at me just once."

"If we're all stars circling an unreachable moon, begging for its silvery light, then why can't I be one of them?"

Theme: Live as your true self. Everyone is the protagonist of their own life.