In this genre-bending tale of fate and rebellion, two modern souls find themselves trapped in the clichéd world of a cheesy romance novel-with disastrous predetermined endings.  Ivy Liu, a sharp-tongued frontend engineer, wakes up as Sylvia Shui's "best friend," doomed to disfigurement for the sake of the heroine's plot armor.  Shen Lang, a rational AI specialist, inhabits the body of Su Yunyi, the malicious female celebrity destined for prison as the story's villainess.

United by their shared awareness and desire to survive, this unlikely pair forms an alliance to rewrite their fates.  As Ivy navigates her role as assistant to the now-Shen-Lang inhabited Su Yunyi, they must contend with the original novel's unshakable protagonist force: Sylvia Shui, the pure-hearted beauty with an entourage of admirers including Arthur Murong, the icy影帝;  Jay Zhao, the arrogant pop idol;  and Ethan Qi, the overprotective lawyer "brother."

With their modern sensibilities and technical expertise, Ivy and Shen Lang disrupt the narrative at every turn-turning villainous schemes into tech solutions, exposing plot holes with engineer precision, and accidentally triggering romantic subplots no algorithm could predict.  As they battle against the story's deterministic forces, they discover that changing their endings might require confronting not just the novel's tropes, but the very nature of identity and destiny itself.

I was two minutes late meeting the female lead.


"Can't you hurry up? Do you have any idea how long Sylvia's been waiting for you?"


I refused the fried food the female lead offered.


"What's wrong with you? Sylvia went out of her way to be kind! Is this how you treat her?!"


Good lord, why didn't the original owner just get rid of you two sooner? Truly one of life's great mysteries.


When I left home that morning, the female lead, Sylvia Shui, was already waiting downstairs with soy milk and youtiao.


Her non-blood-related brother, the story's third male lead, Ethan Qi, stood beside her, hands in his pockets, looking thoroughly annoyed.


Seeing me amble over slowly, Ethan's face darkened. He snapped, "Ivy Liu, can't you move faster? Do you know how long Sylvia's been waiting?"


See that? The female lead's name is Sylvia—exquisite. Meanwhile, her 'bestie' is just... Ivy. Could the author be any lazier?


I opened my mouth to speak, but Sylvia cut in first: "Brother Ethan, don't be like that! Xiao Yi didn't mean to be late!"


My eye twitched. Sylvia held out the youtiao and soy milk. I said earnestly, "Sorry, I'm on a diet. No fried food."


Ethan saw this and immediately scolded me: "Ivy Liu, what's wrong with you? Sylvia was being thoughtful! Is this how you repay her kindness?!"


How did I "repay" her? Did I smash the youtiao over her head?


I knew without asking: if this were the original Ivy Liu, she'd have taken the breakfast with a flustered apology, batting her eyelashes at Ethan. After all, in the original plot, Ivy was secretly in love with him—obedient to every word.


And Ethan? This jerk exploited her feelings, making her protect Sylvia unconditionally while never returning her affection. Later in the story, Ivy even gets disfigured by burns after confronting thugs to save Sylvia—only for Sylvia's shallow guilt to evaporate amid arguments with her suitors.


Just thinking about it makes my head throb. I tried to distance myself from the female lead, but she threw herself at me, clinging to my arm:


"Xiao Yi, don't be angry! Brother Ethan didn't mean it... He's just... really worried about me..."


Seriously, why didn't the original Ivy finish you off instead of playing 'bestie'? Some mysteries defy logic.


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