Chapter 3: Two Male Leads

[Everything you're doing is pointless. The plot of this world has already been written. Even if you sell the wedding shoes from your marriage to Shen Lanxi, it won't change how they see you.]

Ding-dong —

The voice in her head had barely faded when another trending notification pushed its way onto her phone.

#[EXPLOSIVE] Love Turns to Hate!! Suspected Alt Account of Mrs. Shen Sells Wedding Shoes on Secondhand App — One Last Desperate Gamble!

Jiang Huashan: "..."

[See? Your character tag is locked. No matter what you do, you can't change the status quo. No one will ever know your true intentions.]

"That's fine." Jiang Huashan couldn't have cared less. "I know. That's enough for me." She moved to power off the phone.

Then the screen lit up. An incoming call.

The caller ID read: Husband.

Jiang Huashan's thumb stilled. The weariness in her eyes crystallized into something harder. This was the first time Shen Lanxi had reached out to her since Grandfather passed. After a moment's hesitation, she answered.

"..."

She said nothing. Neither did he.

Same old distance. Same old chill. Jiang Huashan found it tedious. She spoke first, lazy and drawling. "Shen Lanxi. Talk."

The person on the other end paused, clearly thrown. Then came that low, cold voice. "Delete the account. Don't make waves for a while."

Make waves? Jiang Huashan raised an eyebrow. "Shen Lanxi, I step out to see a doctor and that's 'making waves'? Then what do you call checking into a hotel with another woman? Summoning a hurricane?"

He paused again — clearly not expecting to be talked back to like that. After a beat, a thread of impatience crept into his tone. "Jiang Huashan, drop these petty, underhanded tricks. You and I both know what we are to each other. If it weren't for Grandfather's sake—"

Jiang Huashan couldn't be bothered to let him finish. "My apologies, Master Shen. I'm a lunatic now! I can't control myself! So I can't hold back my 'tricks' even a little." The Book Spirit had said it herself — the tag was locked. Nobody was changing anything.

"..." Another stretch of silence from Shen Lanxi. When he finally spoke, it was ice. "It seems something really has gone wrong with your brain."

Instead of angering her, that made her laugh. Her tone even softened a fraction. "That's right! Shen Lanxi, it's not just my brain — my actions are out of my control too. So stop bossing me around. I won't listen even if you do. Got it?"

"..." His voice dropped several degrees. "So you're making excuses about the Suier matter. Jiang Huashan, Grandfather has been gone for three years. How long do you think I'll keep tolerating you? You'd better behave yourself, or else—"

The moment he mentioned the old master, the easy smile on Jiang Huashan's face vanished. Her voice dropped to freezing. "Shen Lanxi. I told you. Stop bossing me around."

Having made her position clear, she hung up at once. She was about to power off when another explosive headline crashed onto the screen.

#[BREAKING] South Bay Governor Shen Guiling Arrives in Jinggang Today to Launch Congressional Campaign — New Policy Proposals Win Widespread Public Praise. After "Most Outstanding Governor," Shen Guiling Poised to Become Country A's Youngest-ever Speaker of Congress.

Shen Guiling is back in Country A?

A quiet current stirred in Jiang Huashan's eyes.

No wonder Shen Lanxi had lost his composure enough to call her.

Who would have thought that the illegitimate son once written off as the least promising of the Shen Garden household would climb to such heights? She wondered what Grandfather would have felt if he'd known.

Probably happy. They were all children he'd raised with his own hands, after all.

Just then, the Book Spirit cut in.

[The story world you inhabit is called "Grand Ambition." It chronicles the passions and power struggles of two heirs of Country A's most powerful family — the Shens. Shen Guiling is the other chosen male lead of this saga. But unlike Shen Lanxi, who was born at the finish line, his arc is an underdog's rise to the top.]

"What does that have to do with me?" Jiang Huashan couldn't be less interested.

Book Spirit: "..."

Jiang Huashan powered off the phone, folded her arms behind her head, and lay back. Since effort was pointless, she might as well lie flat and check out of the whole thing. Scheming and fighting and clawing for power didn't suit a beauty like her anyway.

The thought had barely formed when a flicker of light crossed her mind. A book wrapped in green vines appeared once more in her inner consciousness — thick, radiating a faint green glow. The vines had just begun to bud, their leaves tender and new.

[Jiang Huashan, you are a character in a book. You only have value if you fulfill the mission the story has assigned you.]

Jiang Huashan kept her eyes closed, resting. "More of the same nonsense. Don't you people ever push updates?"

[Correction: I am not a system. I am a Book Spirit — a guide tasked with returning characters to their designated tags.]

Jiang Huashan kept her eyes closed. "Shut up. 'Return to your tag'? That sounds noble. Did you forget what my tag actually is? Vicious. Stupid. Selfish. Cowardly. Who in this day and age actually encourages someone to be evil? What kind of Book Spirit are you? You're an Evil Spirit, clearly."

This level of snark couldn't ruffle the Book Spirit. It continued its guidance work unperturbed.

[Haven't you noticed your health deteriorating these past three years? Characters who no longer serve the plot have no reason to exist. You will soon be erased by the rules.]

Jiang Huashan shrugged. Completely unbothered. "Fantastic! I haven't wanted to live for a while now. Vanishing into dust sounds perfect."

"..."
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