Doggo, Take Me In

[The completed novel The Story of Giving Up Is Over. Upcoming works: What Do I Do? I Really Fell for the Second Male Lead, Welcome to the Death Game, and The Villain Family Collection. Check them out on my author page!]

[Money-making girl x terrible men]

Yan Mian spent all day watching cats and dogs online. She was so broke her pockets were emptier than her face, and she dreamed of having something fluffy to cuddle.

Her best friend, a struggling writer from the same poor neighborhood, tried to reason with her: "Taking cats and dogs to the vet costs more than taking people. Let's just look at them online. Love them, but don't get in over your head. If you can't give them a stable life, don't interfere."

But then Yan Mian and her friend went under a truck together.

And yet, miraculously...

Yan Mian discovered that she wasn't dead. She was younger and prettier, and even poorer.

Yan Mian took her new lease on life in stride. Thank God! On her way to her daily convenience-store shift, she'd crouch outside a cat cafe, gazing longingly at the Ragdolls inside and looking back every few steps as she walked away.

Her best friend, now a calico cat with paralyzed hind legs, thought: "..."

Then she meowed outside Yan Mian's apartment:

That damn Yan Mian! Get your ass over here and take me home! Why are you looking at Ragdolls, you shallow face-lover!

Yan Mian stroked her friend's head and patted her disabled hind legs with a sigh. "Oh, kitty, I can barely support myself right now. Loving you means leaving you alone!"

Her friend's cat face tilted to one side. She swatted Yan Mian across the face with a paw and struggled to form human words:

"Idiot!"

Yan Mian: "..."

To pay for the treatment of her money-gobbling friend's leg, Yan Mian's life went from two meals a day to one meal of leafy greens. On the way to the hospital, she even picked up a dog.

Ah, cats and dogs. Life is beautiful!

Especially since the dog was incredibly smart and mighty, and went viral before they knew it, making Yan Mian a famous "dog mooching" streamer. Netizens all said, "We've seen people mooch off their parents, but never their dog!"

She was soon drowning in sponsorship deals. Yan Mian rubbed the dog's head, tears of excitement in her eyes. "Old Black, you're the only one keeping this family afloat!"

Only her best friend, munching on expensive cat treats, felt terribly guilty. Her pupils shook as she watched Yan Mian kiss "Old Black" on the ear again and again. Her cat eyes went dark.

"The story of how I used my best friend Yan Mian's name for my novel, made her the heroine, and gave her a CEO, melodrama, and a groveling ex arc~"

Reading Guide: One-on-one romance. The heroine and her best friend transmigrate into a book together. Her best friend, a melodramatic writer, became a cat because she abandoned her novel and left it unfinished.

Practicing writing romance.

With the college entrance exams approaching, they were in the classroom.

Her deskmate nudged Qiao Wan Feng and asked, "Do you think our world is like a game?"

Qiao Wan Feng kept her head down over her practice papers and said miserably, "A massive Earth Online survival game!"

The next day, her deskmate, who had promised to go hiking with her to relax, disappeared.

When Qiao Wan Feng ran to her deskmate's home, she found an apology note and a pair of glasses.

[Welcome to the Sweet Dating Sim!]

[Complete affection missions to earn a golden finger reward!]

Qiao Wan Feng covered her mouth in horror, staring in disbelief at the item menu that had appeared in midair:

A pink diary that could reveal the male lead's preferences and information.

A badge that let certain people hear your thoughts when you wore it.

System lipstick that could prolong the life of a short-lived male lead through intimate kisses.

Choose a target, and you could switch bodies with a mysterious man.

It turned out that Qiao Wan Feng's world really was a massive dating sim online.

There were four players. After death, they would fight for the one and only slot. Whoever won this dating-sim war and earned the male leads' undying love could stay in this world.

She would have vast wealth and stunning beauty.

And high-quality male leads straight out of Green River would fight over her.

Take Male Lead Number One, for instance: the campus heartthrob, a testosterone-fueled athlete and tyrant of the court. He'd occasionally lift his shirt to wipe off his sweat, exposing his honey-colored abs and making girls blush and swoon.

Then there was Male Lead Number Two, a sickly, fastidious campus prince. His long fingers would lightly undo the button at his collar. So aloof and restrained, he seemed impossible to reach.

Male Lead Number Three was the elite son of a powerful family, with pale skin, gold-rimmed glasses, and the air of a refined scoundrel. Just looking at him made you want to tear off his tie.

And then there was Male Lead Number Four, the older domineering CEO at the height of his power. No matter how much you acted up, he'd only give you an indulgent smile, making you exclaim, "Older men are so hot!"

But Qiao Wan Feng couldn't smile.

Because the System reminded her:

[There are currently three other players.]

[The solo instance route, "An Angel's Salvation," has begun.]

[The ordinary school belle died from bullying at school. No one dared to stand up for her, except for those angelic hands that reached out...]

Qiao Wan Feng was the ordinary school belle who was destined to die in the dating instance.

The players would step over her corpse to win the cold-hearted male leads' affection.

Theme: Even in adversity, keep growing toward the light!