Damn that useless boss. I hate you!
Xu Wanci flipped off the boss’s office, which had been empty for several hours already.
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in her head.
Before she could react, her eyes rolled shut and she passed out.
When she opened her eyes again, Xu Wanci felt cold all over. The chill prickled her skin and made her shiver.
She tried to raise a hand and rub her head, only to discover that she was leaning against one side of the doorframe in an oddly seductive pose, facing a lavishly decorated hallway.
Xu Wanci looked down and instantly felt her cheeks burn.
Her awful, hastily thrown-together work outfit had turned into a pure-white, alluring silk camisole nightgown.
Someone had clearly arranged her in this position with great care. The nightgown hung precariously from her body, exposing half her chest.
Her body was twisted into a pose that rivaled the three bubble-butt cousins of Tom himself.
What—what was going on?
An inappropriate thought popped into her head: My butt is so perky now, it could practically—
No, no, no.
Xu Wanci shook her head and tossed aside those wild thoughts.
Who had dressed her like this?
Wasn’t she working overtime at the office just a moment ago?!
Before she could think any further, a click sounded. A door opened somewhere nearby.
Steady footsteps echoed through the hallway. A man emerged from a room more than thirty feet away and walked toward her at an unhurried pace.
Under the bright ceiling lights, his features appeared deep-set and sharply defined. His strong brows and bright eyes, combined with his expensive, perfectly tailored suit, exuded an air of nobility.
That face, that figure—he was the very definition of a top-tier male specimen.
She must be dreaming, Xu Wanci thought.
Perhaps she had been working too hard lately, and her brain had created this dream to reward her.
Aww, what a good little brain. Such a good little brain.
Could you just give me a different type next time, though?
Looking at a face as expressionless as that of her old school dean—or her exploitative boss, the kind who sucked the soul out of every office worker—Xu Wanci instantly lost all enthusiasm.
Sensing her scorching gaze, the approaching man glanced back coldly.
When he saw the woman standing by the door in such a provocative pose, his brows drew together. A flicker of annoyance and regret passed through his eyes.
He rubbed his brow wearily.
Jiang Yunyu walked toward the bedroom without changing expression. Just as he passed her, he paused.
“Allow me to remind you: your responsibility is to take care of Jiang Yan. Nothing more.”
With that, he left without waiting for Xu Wanci to respond. His footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Hey!
What on earth was he babbling about?
Xu Wanci was baffled by the completely unwarranted lecture. She turned around, intending to stop the man and argue with him.
But she had no idea what was behind her until she turned.
Behind her was an outrageously luxurious master bedroom—the kind of place where you could set up a camera and shoot an entire rich-family drama.
She pinched her cheek hard.
“Ow!”
It hurt. This whole situation really wasn’t a dream?!
Xu Wanci lowered her head and thoughtfully replayed the man’s words.
Jiang Yan?
Why did that name sound so familiar? Had she heard it somewhere before?
In the next instant, a flash of white streaked across her vision, and the headache struck again.
Her body swayed. She had no choice but to stop and brace herself against the wall to keep her balance.
But this time, something else came with the pain.
A fragment of memory that did not belong to her appeared in her mind.
—
After absorbing all the information, Xu Wanci fell silent.
The transmigration trend had finally reached her.
The next second, she sprinted to the bed, grabbed the phone from the bedside table, and moved so quickly she nearly left afterimages behind.
She unlocked the phone, opened the app for one of the major banks, tapped her profile, and checked her account balance.
One zero, two, three… five, six, seven.
Sure enough—seven zeros!
The good news: she was now a washed-up actress who had married into a top-tier wealthy family. From now on, she would never have to worry about food or clothing, and her convenient husband even gave her a monthly allowance of one million yuan.
The bad news: she had transmigrated into a sweet romance novel as the wicked stepmother of the male lead’s rival.
The even worse news: she would eventually be sent to prison for abusing the child, where she would shed tears behind bars while enjoying the prison cuisine.
That was a lot to take in.
Xu Wanci staggered, then simply used the bedside to support herself as she lay down peacefully.
The original owner barely appeared in the main storyline at all.
This minor nobody mainly showed up in the male second lead’s extra chapter, in the backstory explaining how he became connected to the male and female leads.
The three of them had first met as children when they participated in a parent-child reality show called Little Treasures’ Journey 2.
On the show, the sweet and adorable female lead’s warm interactions with the bright, gentlemanly male lead attracted countless mom fans. The two became the most talked-about pair on the program.
As for the male second lead, he was quiet and withdrawn. He was the least noticeable and least-discussed child on the show.
Because of one kind gesture from the female lead, the male second lead came to regard her as the warm light in his heart.
That affection lasted for many years.
As he grew older, the male second lead’s personality became increasingly dark. In order to move closer to his light, he transferred to the female lead’s school and became a formidable obstacle in the romance between the male and female leads.
Toward the end of the novel, he even forced his love on the female lead against her will.
Unfortunately, villains were still villains in the end.
Even though his father had left him billions in assets, he did not cause trouble for long before meeting his downfall. His family business was also gradually devoured by others.
And where did the male second lead’s obsessive personality come from?
That required a look at his upbringing.
A father too busy with work, and a mother who was both unhinged and hypocritical—together, they had raised a dark and twisted child.
It could be said that the male second lead’s descent into darkness was partially related to his stepmother, the original owner.
At the age of twenty-six, after failing to make it in the entertainment industry, the original owner entered into a marriage of convenience with the male second lead’s father. From that day onward, she gained a four-and-a-half-year-old little boy under her name and took on the responsibility of raising him.
Married with a child, rich and free, the original owner was still dissatisfied.
She fell in love with her husband in name only and repeatedly tried to seduce him, hoping to become the true Mrs. Jiang.
After being rejected without mercy time and time again, the original owner turned evil.
She went to great lengths to ruin the boy, emotionally manipulating him while privately beating and cursing him. Several times, she even tried to kill the young Jiang Yan.
Unfortunately, secrets could never stay hidden forever.
After the truth came to light, the original owner was thrown out of the Jiang family and sent to prison. Once released, she wandered the streets and eventually died in poverty.
What a miserable fate.
Faced with all this, Xu Wanci had only one thing to say:
Girl, if you don’t want this blessing, I’ll gladly take it off your hands.
Where else could she find such a wonderful job? It was practically like picking money up off the street.
She worked from nine in the morning until ten at night, occasionally got a weekend off, and nearly worked herself to death at her desk while her boss mercilessly ground her down. Even then, she only made eight thousand yuan a month.
Now she had a mansion, didn’t need to do anything, and would receive a seven-figure monthly allowance just for spending time with a child.
Who said being a stepmother was a bad deal?
This stepmother gig was fantastic!
The former office drone, Xu Wanci, beamed with delight and even threw a combination of punches at the empty air.
She should currently be half a month into her marriage to Jiang Yunyu.
On the day they registered their marriage, her convenient husband had flown abroad on a business trip. He had only returned home that evening.
Taking advantage of Jiang Yunyu’s visit to see his son, the original owner had deliberately dressed herself up, intending to make her first attempt at seduction.
Thinking of this, Xu Wanci silently tugged the quilt over her silk camisole.
She wrapped herself up like a silkworm chrysalis, leaving only a pair of blinking almond-shaped eyes exposed.
Now that she’d finally gotten rich, she couldn’t keep seducing people anymore. She had no intention of following the original owner’s old path.
In short,
Xu Wanci’s main priorities now were:
Save money! Raise her child!
She’d do her best to hang on for as many years as she could before her sugar daddy got tired of her.
By then, even if their agreement was terminated, she’d still be able to live well in this world.
