The Heartthrob Got Dragged into the Rat Race After Rejecting Everyone

[Early writing practice, immature prose. Read with caution]

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This is a ridiculous, feel-good story where the heroine saves everyone and becomes the center of a harem in the first half, only for everyone to start competing with her in the second half.

*This novel includes:

A feast for all tastes | Periodic one-on-one romances | Brothers competing for favor | Raising a younger love interest | Corruption and madness | Tsundere secret crushes | Master-disciple rivalry over a wife | Yandere episodes | Puppy love | A deity's special favor | Replacement romance | Jealousy-fueled battle royales | Dark, twisted types beating each other up

Blurb:

Xie Duchun, a college girl who stayed up all night working on her thesis, suddenly dies and transmigrates into the body of an official's daughter in a time of chaos.

Overjoyed Xie Duchun: My first choice is Wu Zetian, my second is Empress Lu, and my fallback is Shangguan Wan'er.

But when she opens her eyes, she sees:

A father who died young, a mother who hanged herself, a younger brother who took the money and ran, and a broken him.

Xie Duchun: Easy. Watch me work my magic and build a bright socialist future.

From the start, she gets rich by ruthlessly taking down wicked servants. Early on, she loots bandit hideouts. By the middle, an obsessive older sister has fallen for her, making it easy to topple the powerful clans.

Xie Duchun: ? What is this about an obsessive older sister? Never mind. I'll pick up some people to help me build my career.

What's this? A pure-hearted younger puppy with fox eyes. Gotta save him.

"Are you my husband?"

"..."

What's this? A cute, gifted younger fellow disciple in medicine. Gotta stick close.

"Can I be your older sister?"

"..."

What's this? A tsundere little cat with peach-blossom eyes and an air of fragile imperfection. Gotta rescue him.

"I... Wait, if you're going to cry, don't tackle me!"

Just as everyone secretly in love with her is getting ready to confess, they discover that...

Ack, Xie Duchun is dead.

And all those romantic interests she saved along the way have gone mad, too.

The fox-eyed puppy who once cried in her arms now gazes down over the Nine Roads and Ten Isles of the Southwest. The young general rides his horse, searching in vain for the place where spring returns.

Her younger fellow disciple gives his soul to the sword. The sword cultivator stands unmoved atop a million corpses, sword in hand. The only thing he kisses again and again is her plain white sash.

After being resurrected, a bewildered Xie Duchun finds herself surrounded by a group of powerful figures and learns that she has become their unattainable first love.

Xie Duchun: Thanks, but I still love the realm the most-

The dark and twisted types fight each other and conquer the realm: Hee hee hee, now that the realm is gone, you can only look at us, Chun~ Hee hee hee hee.

Xie Duchun: ...Don't hee hee at me. Stop competing with me, you guys!!!

The dark and twisted types: We'll compete anyway! If we can't be lovers, we'll be rivals. If I can't have you, nobody else can!!!

Xie Duchun: #Are you guys nuts?# When I find a career I like, I devote my life to it. So what? #Tutorial on making rat poison, please

Reader's guide:

1. The emperor and the obsessive character are not virgins due to their unusual circumstances. Skip if that bothers you.

2. The heroine is all business and has no interest in romance. The other characters' romantic storylines fluctuate with the main plot. Fans of a single character can post a summary of their appearances in the comments.

3. The main story focuses on competing for affection and jealousy. The heroine ends up single and slaying.

There will be periodic one-on-one romance and a group outing in the bonus stories, [We Won't Let You Go to Tsinghua] and [What If This Were a Play]. Stay tuned.

4. The sequel is available next door: the no-CP power fantasy [After I Was Resurrected, I Blew Up 2077 with Zhu Yuanzhang].

Theme: Loving your career is one of humanity's greatest virtues