[19th Century] The Slum Socialite

My next novel: "The 99 Essential Dream of the Red Chamber Questions for the College Entrance Exam." Synopsis at the very bottom.

In the painter's quarter of Soho, Rebecca was a well-known figure.

Before she was even sixteen, she had already displayed a gift for socializing and earned the title "the slum's social butterfly."

But in a place full of poor people, being a social butterfly offered no financial prospects.

To make the most of her beauty and intelligence, she had to claw her way up.

At first, he thought little of that pale, short tutor:

"She looks like a dancer constantly ready to take the stage, working herself up to use her charms to bombard high society. Considering her surname is Sharp, it's only natural that she doesn't know how to keep her edge in check..."

Later, he said, "Your ceiling is marrying a doctor, a clergyman, or an officer. I know you think they're beneath you, so why not set aside your ridiculous pride and come to me?"

"If I become your mistress, you'll soon grow tired of me. I want our feelings to last forever. I'd rather stay far away from you and make you miss me."

Rebecca had gently turned down many people like that.

Not because she wanted her feelings for every rejected suitor to last forever, but because she knew very clearly that she had to climb higher, not lower.

No one believed in her, but she used the sharpness they desired to cut a path through high society.

Much later, he went to France on business and met her again.

By then, she had finally succeeded.

People introduced her to him: "This is Baroness Enholand, the queen of Parisian society, the heart of its social network. Men and women alike adore her. If you're doing business in Paris, you must meet her first."

The heroine is the protagonist of Thackeray's Vanity Fair. She's materialistic, vain, and greedy, and in the original, she kills for money. Her morals are appalling. This story is an alternate take on Vanity Fair, and its plot is largely unrelated to the original.

For those born into status and wealth, everything in Vanity Fair is just an ordinary, dreary routine.

She knows that the things she so relentlessly pursues will amount to nothing a hundred years from now, but she still chooses to throw herself into that dreary routine with unflagging enthusiasm.

Some people despise Vanity Fair. Some flee from it.

Only she loves fame and fortune with all her heart, without a single regret.

Content warning: Both leads are villains. After the male lead goes through a long, painful pursuit to win her back, the heroine marries three times before she finally ends up with him. The heroine is sexually experienced; the hero is not.

A selfish, shrewd social butterfly from the lower classes x a cold-blooded elite who is determined to marry a wife who can further his ambitions

Her first three relationships are with:

A man who seems frivolous, crude, eccentric, and nasty, but is actually a loyal, sincere, warmhearted, lively hidden gem of a big puppy; an older business tycoon who is indulgent and devoted, quietly giving everything; and a younger nobleman who reforms from a playboy and willingly becomes an obedient political puppet under her control.

Upcoming: "The 99 Essential Dream of the Red Chamber Questions for the College Entrance Exam"

The characters of Dream of the Red Chamber from a modern parallel world travel back into Dream of the Red Chamber.

When everything returns to its rightful place and the dynasty is nearing collapse, how can they solve their personal predicaments?

As the first person to enter the book, Shi Xiangyun has an answer: do practice questions!

During summer vacation, Shi Xiangyun uses her desire to have Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai tutor her as an excuse to turn down the cram school her uncle and aunt signed her up for. She goes to visit her great-aunt instead, and accidentally finds a book titled "The 99 Essential Dream of the Red Chamber Questions for the College Entrance Exam."

When she blinks, she's become the newborn daughter of the Marquis of Baoling and inexplicably bound to the Dream of the Red Chamber Question System.

"In Chapter Two, Lady Jia passes away in Yangzhou. Which of the following can replace 'passes away' without changing the meaning?"

A. Ascend to heaven

B. Die

C. Transcend to immortality

D. Pass away

Xiangyun: Aren't A, B, and D the same thing? Then I'll pick C!

System: A, B, and D do have similar meanings, but the first principle of multiple-choice questions is to pick the best answer.

Wrong answer. Punishment activated.

The Lin residence in Yangzhou.

Jia Min, who had been gravely ill and unconscious, suddenly rose into the air, bed and all, and flew away!

The authorities then sent people to investigate.

The people of Yangzhou all said that they had indeed seen a bed flying over the Lin residence that day.

After Jia Min ascended to heaven, Daiyu and Lin Ruhai grew healthier day by day.

Jia Min, now recognized by the imperial court as the Pure Beneficence and Purification Immortal Lady, said: Now that I've become an immortal, surely I can bless my family with good health?

"What is the title of Chapter Sixteen? Jia Yuanchun is selected for the ( )."

A. Phoenix Palace

B. Hanlin Academy

C. Calabash Temple

D. Begonia Society

Xiangyun: I don't know which is right, but B should be the best choice for Big Sister.

A servant hurried into the Jia residence with the news.

"Master and Madam, wonderful news! Our eldest young lady passed! His Majesty personally named her top scholar and appointed her a Hanlin compiler. She'll be paraded through the streets on horseback in a moment!"

"Oh! She passed! My daughter passed!" Master Zheng got so excited that he fainted.

System: I'll let the last question slide as a careless mistake, but how could you get this one wrong too? As a high school student from the 21st century, have you never studied Dream of the Red Chamber?

Xiangyun: In the 21st century where I used to live, my second uncle was called Shi Nai, my third uncle was Shi Ding, and my great-aunt was the wife of the chairperson of the Jia Corporation. All my relatives, even the servants, had the same names as the characters in the book. Guess whether my world had this book?

System: I see. Your whole family has never read Dream of the Red Chamber, so let's all come here and study it firsthand.

Xiangyun: No, no, no!

Daiyu, Baoyu, Baochai, Xifeng, and the others, who had been living just fine in the 21st century, shouted angrily: You were the one who brought that System here?

Xiangyun: Would you really stand by and watch another version of yourselves suffer? Since we're already here, we might as well figure out how to answer the questions.

The System handed out copies of Dream of the Red Chamber: Everyone, take a look. Really study it carefully.

After reading the book, everyone fell silent, furious and thoughtful.

The rise and fall of a family follows the laws of history. That makes sense. But why must each of the Twelve Beauties meet such a tragic fate?

Because of mistakes, bad luck, or flaws in their personalities?

No! None of those are the main reason. Their circumstances were created by their era!

Want to save yourselves? When the nest is destroyed, how can any eggs survive? In an era where countless girls like the Twelve Beauties are doomed to tragedy, saving yourselves alone is nowhere near enough!

Xiangyun slapped the table, indignant: Reform! We have to reform! What a rotten feudal society!

Through the efforts of this group of people whose average age was that of high school students, the Great Xi Dynasty caught up with the times and rode the wave of the Industrial Revolution...

Possible ending:

Xiangyun (Duke of Baoling, prime minister): Women are strong by nature.

Xifeng (Minister of Finance): No small room can cage great ambition, and no inner household can kill a phoenix.

Daiyu (Minister of Education and president of a women's university): Talent is not confined to the women's quarters. It belongs in the company of scholars across the land.

Baochai (Minister of Foreign Trade): Free of the burdens on her shoulders, she need not wait for the wind to rise before soaring into the clouds.

Tanchun (reform pioneer and diplomat): She still crosses the seas in this life, not for a political marriage, but to study abroad.

High school students save the world. A silly, feel-good story. Don't overthink it.

The Industrial Revolution, constitutional monarchy, and similar plotlines come much later. The early part focuses on family life and court politics. Baoyu and Daiyu won't end up together (after all, they're modern people, and marrying close relatives is a no-go). I'll do my best not to vilify or glorify anyone, and to view the original characters with compassion.

Theme: Relentless pursuit