The passionate midsummer was full of the sound of cicadas.
It was graduation season. Wang Mingyu had just graduated from college and arrived in the city he had always yearned for.
Unfortunately, he did not have a job yet.
He squeezed into a rented room, his eyes fixed on the computer screen as the aroma of instant noodles wafted through the air.
"Mom, I'm doing great."
"Mm-hmm, I found a job, don't worry."
"Chinese New Year? I might not go back for Chinese New Year."
"Yeah, anyway, there's still plenty of time, we'll talk about it when the time comes."
"Mm, you take care of your health, too."
"Sigh." Wang Mingyu hung up the phone and let out a sigh.
How he wished his situation was as wonderful as what he had told his mother on the phone.
Wang Mingyu opened his phone and checked his remaining balance: one thousand yuan left.
After paying this month's rent, there wouldn't be much left.
He lit a cigarette, the cheap tobacco leaving a very unpleasant taste in his mouth.
Even so, it made him feel much better.
He would rather go without food than buy cigarettes; after all, this could also be considered a small contribution a smoker like him could make to society.
Night came, bringing insomnia.
Wang Mingyu sought pleasure in the virtual world.
Reading trashy web novels was one of his hobbies.
The novel he was reading was somewhat brainless, but it was purely satisfying!
Besides, Wang Mingyu had checked his brain at chapter one of this book long ago.
The problem was, not many people were reading this novel.
He was one of the few followers keeping up with the updates, but today, it had finally come to an end.
He lay on his side, his phone plugged into the charging cable.
The final chapter ended right here.
Wang Mingyu pressed the "urge for more" button for the first time and gradually drifted off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
He turned his head to an unfamiliar room.
When he sat up, intense pain wracked his entire body.
"Where... where is this?" Wang Mingyu examined his body, which was wrapped tightly in bandages. "What is going on? Hiss~ It hurts."
"Thud—" The door was pushed open.
A beautiful figure followed right behind.
"Awake? Looks like I still went too easy on you." The woman clenched her fists, making a cracking sound.
"Who are you?" Wang Mingyu frowned.
"Ha, playing amnesia? Do you think that will save you from a beating? Let me tell you, I am your worst nightmare: Wang, Qing, ying."
Wang Qingying?
Wang Mingyu felt like he had seen this name somewhere before. It seemed, it seemed like...
Wasn't this a character from the novel he was reading before going to sleep last night?!
Or perhaps it was just a coincidence of having the same name.
"I'll give you one minute to put on your clothes and get out." Wang Qingying crooked her finger, her expression icy.
Wang Mingyu endured the pain in his body and put on his clothes.
The clothes he put on happened to conceal all of his injuries.
He followed Wang Qingying out of the door, and the lavish, magnificent mansion left him in shock.
Compared to it, his room was simply worlds apart.
Wang Mingyu turned back to look at the room he had just come out of—it didn't even have a doorknob.
He found it surprising that such a dilapidated room could exist inside such a luxurious mansion.
But why was he here?
Did he really transmigrate into a book? How could such an absurd thing happen?!
Wang Mingyu followed Wang Qingying to the dining area, where two people were already waiting at the table.
"Mingyu, you're too lazy!"
The man sitting in the master seat shouted, causing Wang Mingyu's body to tremble slightly, as if struck by a fear originating from the depths of his soul.
"Don't be like that. Come, Mingyu, sit down quickly." The woman beside him was much gentler.
"You just spoil this brat too much! That's why he's so arrogant and dismissive of everyone!"
Wang Mingyu frowned and blurted out, "Who are you people? Where on earth is this?"
Hearing this, both of them looked startled.
"I am your stepmother, Shen Ruoyun? Do you not recognize me anymore?" The woman named Shen Ruoyun appeared somewhat anxious.
As for the man, his expression remained as stern as ever. He sized Wang Mingyu up without saying a word.
Wang Mingyu fell into a state of disbelief.
Shen Ruoyun and Wang Qingying—these two names both belonged to characters in the novel he had read before bed yesterday.
Wang Qingying was also observing Wang Mingyu suspiciously from the side.
Did he really get amnesia?
She remembered not hitting Wang Mingyu on the head, right?
"Alright, stop acting. Do you think playing amnesia will let you escape this house?" Wang Qingying whispered softly in his ear.
Wang Mingyu remained silent, still unable to believe he had truly transmigrated into a novel.
And what's more, into a utterly miserable minor supporting character!
How is anyone supposed to play this hand? It's a completely ruined starting layout!
Why wasn't he the male protagonist?!
That guy had a ton of harem girls, sob, sob.
Even Wang Qingying in front of him would eventually become one of the male protagonist's harem members.
As for the character he had transmigrated into, his name was identical to his own, and he remembered him—he was the male protagonist's fake best friend.
He had started reading the novel in the first place because there was a character with the same name as him.
Whenever he saw the guy with the same name suffering more than he did, he would feel an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
Never had he expected to actually transmigrate into this guy who had it even worse than him!
Why? Why did he transmigrate into a book?!
Did the charger explode? Was there an electrical leak? Or was it a natural disaster?
Was he dead or alive back in his original world?
Wang Mingyu had no way of knowing and could only accept the ruthless reality.
It was just a pity for his parents—having to send off someone of the younger generation in white hair.
The disappointment in Wang Mingyu's eyes was hard to conceal; his vision gradually blurred, and he collapsed onto the floor.
When he woke up, he was already in the hospital.
"Qingying, what on earth happened to Mingyu's injuries?" Shen Ruoyun asked softly.
"How would I know? He probably got beat up by a bunch of punks. Given his gloomy personality, he'd be better off dead." Wang Qingying spoke ungraciously, even in front of Shen Ruoyun.
After all, Shen Ruoyun was not her biological mother.
Wang Qingying's gaze fixed on Wang Mingyu's face, an indescribable expression surfacing on her features.
She did not know how long it had been since she last saw that face.
That face had once clearly been able to make her smile.
But now...
The Wang Mingyu in the original novel was a timid and gloomy person, an absolute background character from childhood to adulthood.
Furthermore, he always wore glasses and a mask, and his bangs were so long that almost no one knew his true appearance.
However, how many people would care about the face of a marginal character?
The hospital examined Wang Mingyu's brain, and there were no abnormalities.
However, because his injuries were too severe, he still recuperated in the hospital.
This also allowed Wang Mingyu to successfully miss the entire vacation after high school graduation.
As it happened, the story in the book began right at the start of college.
Wang Mingyu, as a character in the plot, appeared at the university gates.
He was about to act as the male protagonist's sidekick and fulfill his duty of driving the plot forward.
He had already completely accepted his new identity, yet he felt somewhat different.
He cut away his thick bangs, unwilling to be as cowardly as the Wang Mingyu in the original book.
He was going to live a fiercely satisfying life in this world of the book!
He was going to be a model student who loved... studying!