Villain, Don't Fall for Me

[A sweet little cannon-fodder character with a busy inner monologue x a scheming, tea-loving villain who is hopelessly romance-brained]

Both transmigrate, marriage first, love later

“Ji Yan, we can go back, right?”

“We worked so hard to make it to this life, but we were both deceived, Lin Yu. He tricked us.”

Synopsis: One day, Lin Yu woke up to find that she had transmigrated and somehow gotten married.

Only later did she learn that she had transmigrated into a book, and was a cannon-fodder female supporting character. Worst of all, she was one who had wronged the villain. She became the villain’s beloved, only to fall madly in love with the male lead, end up as his human shield, and die.

She was going to leave this world eventually anyway, but looking at the poor guy in front of her, she couldn’t bear to see him suffer the tragic fate he had in the original story...

Lin Yu: You absolutely mustn’t fall in love with me. There’s no way we could ever be together!

Ji Yan: How do you know it’s impossible if you haven’t tried?

And so, she ran while he chased her. She couldn’t escape even if she sprouted wings.

Later, halfway through the plot, the System told her that her mission was complete. All she had to do was take a sword for the male lead and fall off a cliff, and she could leave. Everything was going smoothly, until the villain protected her and fell off the cliff with her...

Lin Yu: ???

Excuse me? I’ve finished my part of the plot, but you haven’t! Why are you copying me?

Ji Yan lost his memory after falling off the cliff. Later, restarting the plot and going back failed, so they had to go through the whole story from the beginning. Lin Yu, driven to the brink of madness, thought she might finally escape, but unexpectedly ran into the main cast again.

Only later did she learn that their connection ran deeper than that.

Excerpt 1

So we really are jumping off a cliff...

Fine, if I have to die, I have to die. She shouted, “Get out of the way!”

Then she rushed over. Ji Yan also noticed the danger above them and charged forward without hesitation. Lin Yu shoved Lin Zijian aside first and spread her arms, but the pain she expected never came.

Instead, she saw an arrow buried in Ji Yan’s chest, the one that was supposed to hit her.

She cried out, “Why would you...!”

Before she could react, he collapsed toward her. Lin Yu had already backed up to the edge of the cliff. She’d been afraid of ending up dead in an ugly position, so she’d carefully chosen this perfect spot. She never imagined it would be the decision she regretted most.

Ji Yan landed on top of her, and her body couldn’t keep its balance. She toppled backward, and the two of them fell off the cliff together.

They plummeted. Lin Yu opened her eyes and looked at him above her.

Blood was still pouring from his chest, soaking his clothes.

What was he trying to do? This was supposed to be her ending. Why did he have to save her? Didn’t he know this would only make the story, which could have returned to its proper course, more and more chaotic?

Excerpt 2

“I see you don’t have a woman by your side. Does that mean I still have a chance?”

Suddenly, Lin Yu felt her body slip out of her control.

A terrible feeling instantly welled up inside her.

She screamed in her mind, No!

She didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire at a time like this!

She tried to grab Ji Yan’s sleeve, but before she could even reach out, her body had already started moving toward them on its own.

She couldn’t even close her eyes. She could only stare wide-eyed as she walked toward them in an eerie, mechanical way.

I’m going to start talking. I’m going to start talking!

No!

Whatever comes out of my mouth is definitely going to be awful!

“Who says I don’t?”

Just then, Lin Yu suddenly appeared from nowhere and spoke those words mechanically.

Excerpt 3

“Why did you come looking for me? If you don’t like me, then please stop doing things that make me misunderstand. You’re really making me doubt myself. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but do you realize how much this is bothering me...”

Ji Yan’s head was ringing from her scolding. “Xiao Yu.”

But he continued speaking calmly, his hand patting her shoulder with the familiar ease of old times.

His gesture left Lin Yu stunned.

“Even though I don’t know what happened between us before, these past few days you’ve kept me awake night after night. I want to ask you, did you give me some kind of drug? Can you give me the antidote? I asked the miracle doctor, and he said it’s a sickness of the heart that can only be cured with the right remedy. You must have the cure.”

A sickness of the heart?

Hearing him say that, she understood. “Ji Yan, do you know what kind of sickness it is?”

“What kind?”

A very suspicious idea began to form in her mind.

Lin Yu clenched the clothes at her sides, lifted her arms around his neck, and rose onto her toes, leaning close to him.

The faint scent of gardenias drifted closer and closer, until something soft touched his lips.

This was...

He stepped back, his ears turning red at once.

His voice was already trembling a little. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you medicine. They say fight poison with poison.”

“You kissed me,” he said, sounding aggrieved, making her seem like some lecher who had forced himself on an innocent woman.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s medicine,” she defended herself.

Lin Yu quietly watched his flustered movements and found him adorable.

“You took advantage of me.”

Ji Yan kept pressing the point.

“I’m giving you the antidote. Didn’t you just ask me for it?” she retorted.

Ji Yan was so angry that he pressed his lips together, his face turning red.

But all he could say was, “You... are impossible!”

“That’s not fair. I sacrificed myself to give you the antidote, and now you’re blaming me?”

[Lighthearted story in an alternate setting]

This story is entirely fictional.

Theme: Even in adversity, you must stand on your own and strive to become stronger.