Chapter 2

Fang Yun and I had both transmigrated into a novel.

She was hopelessly devoted to Gu Bochuan, the calculating second male lead. A marriage alliance between their families had made her his wife, but in three years of marriage, he’d treated her with icy indifference.

I was the substitute lover of Chi Wang, the obsessive villain. He’d kept me in a villa for three years simply because I looked so much like the girl he’d cherished as a teenager.

Neither Fang Yun nor I had any complaints about our roles.

After all, the Gu family came from political circles. Their connections ran deep, and no one dared offend them.

Chi Wang, meanwhile, operated on both sides of the law. He would stop at nothing—a rabid dog everyone feared.

What did they have in common? Money. An absolutely obscene amount of money.

For three years, Fang Yun and I had acted heartbroken over our unrequited love while secretly having the time of our lives spending their fortunes.

But things had changed.

The heroine, Shen Mianmian, was back.

According to the plot, Fang Yun’s husband, Gu Bochuan, was Shen Mianmian’s most loyal protector.

As for my boyfriend, Chi Wang, she was his cherished first love. He would destroy anyone who stood in her way, even trade his life for her happiness.

“If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late,” Fang Yun said. “Shen Mianmian is trouble. She called me on purpose, then disappeared so Gu Bochuan would think I’d kidnapped her.

“He isn’t the worst of it. He’ll just give me the cold shoulder. What about Chi Wang? That psycho’s capable of anything.”

I shuddered.

She was right. Once, Chi Wang had taken me to one of his gatherings. A guy there glanced at my chest a few times, and Chi Wang had his legs broken and had him thrown into international waters.

He’d gone that far over a mere substitute.

If he ever believed I’d harmed his beloved Shen Mianmian, even eight lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for it.

We had to go. Absolutely had to.

Hurt my feelings all you want. Threatening my physical safety was another matter entirely.

Seeing I’d made up my mind, Fang Yun asked, “Have you saved enough?”

I shook my head. “No. But I know you have, so I plan to spend yours.”

Fang Yun said nothing.

Luckily, she was my best friend. She was already prepared to support me.

Once we’d established that we had enough money, we began planning our escape.

We went through the possibilities. Only one would work.

We had to fake our deaths.

There was no other way. For three years, we’d each been the woman closest to one of Jiangcheng’s two powerful men.

We knew too many of the Gu and Chi families’ secrets. If we stayed alive, even if Gu Bochuan and Chi Wang let us go, plenty of other people in Jiangcheng would be watching us.

“Who dies first?” I asked.

“Me, then you.”

“Why can’t I die first?” I protested. “I’d rather go first.”

Everyone knew the one who died second would have to clean up the first one’s mess.

“Rock, paper, scissors,” Fang Yun said.

She won.

“Best of three.”

She won again.

“Fine, fine! You die first!” I snapped.