"Will the plot of my book change because of my appearance? Will that have any impact?"
Liu Muye sat on a bench beneath the teaching building, recalling the scene of the male and female protagonists meeting for the first time just moments ago.
After a few seconds of thought, Liu Muye gritted his teeth, as if making up his mind.
He muttered to himself, "To hell with it! Now that I've transmigrated into a book and become a filthy rich guy, I might as well enjoy my brand-new life!"
He should look out for his own pleasure first. As for all the other messy complications... none of his damn business.
At this thought, Liu Muye's mood instantly cleared up. He stood up, headed toward the gates of Silia Academy, and hailed a taxi right outside.
"To Changong Manor."
"You got it!"
***
Changong Manor.
One of the top-tier properties in Liu Muye's book, and also one of the few that had virtually nothing to do with the male lead.
Changong Manor was situated in the prime, exorbitantly expensive inner ring of Shangjing City. The waters of the Shang River converged there, forming a cornucopia-shaped lake with an island right in the center. Viewed from above, the layout resembled a golden toad squatting atop a cornucopia, which was how the place got its name—Changong, the Toad Palace.
The soil here was fertile and the trees grew lush. Even after being developed into a private residential area, the original vegetation had been largely preserved.
The car stopped outside Villa Number 1 of the manor. Liu Muye casually pulled a few bills from his wallet and handed them to the driver. Too lazy to even say "keep the change," he got straight out of the car.
He was getting better and better at acting like a wealthy heir—no, what did he mean by *acting*? He really was one now.
Villa Number 1 faced Juabao Lake directly. Gazing into the distance, Liu Muye could even make out the luxurious, magnificent architecture on Lake Center Island.
That island was called Changong Winery, the very place where the male and female leads attended a masquerade ball together—a masquerade ball, a staple activity in melodramatic Mary Sue novels for breaking the ice and deepening the bond between the main characters.
Whenever such large-scale events were described, there was bound to be the classic trope of passersby putting down the female lead while vicious female supporting characters deliberately ruined her dress—clichés from twenty years ago that were still going on today.
Ahem, getting off track. All those plot points were for the future.
With his hands in his pockets, Liu Muye turned and walked into the courtyard of Villa Number 1.
"Oh, the young master is back!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Young Master."
"Did you have a smooth first day at school, Young Master?"
The moment Liu Muye stepped through the courtyard gate, two neat rows of servants bowed and greeted him in unison.
Listening to the flattery all around him, Liu Muye felt a mixture of happiness and an indescribable, bittersweet ache...
Thinking back to when he had just graduated from college and was struggling alone in the big city, nobody had ever cared about him like this.
Every day when he got off work and returned to that coffin-sized rental apartment, there wasn't even enough floor space for anything besides a bed and a toilet. Sitting on the bed eating a cheap, pre-made takeout meal packaged in trendy national style with a liquid spoon and a complimentary off-brand little drink, then lying back down on that cold single bed, he had felt like his life was completely over.
Fortunately, those bitter days were all in the past. Now, he was a rich guy.
With this thought, Liu Muye's resolve to stay in the world of the book grew even firmer.
He muttered inwardly to himself, "I am never going back to the real world!"
To Liu Muye's surprise, aside from the servants, there was no one else in the villa.
He had originally expected to run into his "parents" from the world of the book upon coming home.
Better that they weren't here, though. If his parents had been home, it would have only made him feel awkward.
Liu Muye sank straight into a heavy, boneless lounge posture on the luxurious oversized sofa.
The villa's butler walked over and asked quietly, "Young Master Liu, would you like anything to eat right now?"
"Do we have soy milk?"
"Yes."
"Bring me two bowls."
"Right away."
Soon, two beautiful maidservants walked out, each holding a bowl of soy milk.
"I'll drink one, and pour the rest into the trash."
As he spoke, Liu Muye picked up one cup of soy milk and downed it in a single breath.
The maid asked in confusion, "Pour it out?"
"Mhm." Liu Muye nodded.
The maid didn't press further and immediately opened the trash can to dump the remaining cup of soy milk.
Liu Muye asked her, "Why didn't you ask me why I wanted to throw it away?"
The maid smiled and said, "Whatever the young master does must have its reasons; it's not my place to ask too many questions."
"—Fine."
Liu Muye pursed his lips with a look of wanting to say something but stopping himself, though in the end, he said nothing at all and stood up to head toward the villa's elevator.
The reason he had wanted to pour out that second cup of soy milk was because once upon a time, during a quiet, solitary night after finishing writing chapters, he had slurped down instant noodles and sworn an oath:
"Once I've got money, I'll buy two bowls of soy milk—drink one and pour one away."
[Behavior in the book is not advocated; we do not waste food.]
Now that the vow from the past had been so easily fulfilled, Liu Muye felt a strange sense of emptiness inside instead.
***
After spending the entire afternoon in the villa and experiencing everything there was to try, Liu Muye suddenly felt a profound sense of boredom.
Lying in the oversized swimming pool spanning over a thousand square meters, sipping a fresh air-freight coconut fed to him by a sexy swimsuit-clad beauty, Liu Muye sighed indifferently, "So this is the life of the wealthy? Truly dull and uninteresting."
The beauties giggled and asked, "Does the young master want to play something else?"
As they spoke, they formed a circle in the water, hemming Liu Muye right in the middle.
Yet Liu Muye felt no interest in them. It wasn't that the beauties weren't beautiful enough; it was just that there was a lingering shadow in his mind...
Those pretty, deep, sexy eyes tinged with a hint of mystery belonged to...
Han Juyou?
"We've literally only met once, so why am I thinking of her at a time like this?"
Liu Muye was startled by his own thoughts.
*Whoosh—*
Liu Muye abruptly hauled himself out of the swimming pool, and a servant by the poolside immediately draped a pure white, soft bath towel over him that gave off a faint scent of white camellia.
White camellia?
This scent again!
The exact same scent as the one on Han Juyou.
Liu Muye frowned and said to the person beside him, "I don't like the scent of this towel. Make sure you change it."
"Then, Young Master, this..."
The servant started to reach out and remove the towel draped over Liu Muye, but Liu Muye stopped them. "Never mind this time."
Wiping his damp hair with the towel, Liu Muye walked barefoot through the oversized floor-to-ceiling glass doors at the back of the pool and into the villa.
After changing his clothes, Liu Muye picked a sports car at random from the garage. Once he got a feel for the luxury vehicle's controls, he drove away from the villa.
With the convertible top down and the cool lakeside breeze blowing past, Liu Muye felt his mind clear up considerably. Touching the shield emblem on the steering wheel, he let the corners of his mouth curve into a smile.
His brand-new life had only just begun—how could he not be happy?