Lin Mo died at the age of 18.
Her brakes inexplicably failed on the overpass, and to avoid crashing into innocent pedestrians, she yanked the steering wheel hard.
The car smashed through the guardrail and plunged into the river.
As the icy water engulfed the vehicle, in her final moments, she had a dream.
She dreamed that the world she lived in was actually a novel—and her three younger brothers were all villains.
The second brother was a ruthless CEO who wore Buddhist prayer beads, obsessed with the female lead and constantly opposing the male lead, ultimately leading to his own downfall.
The third brother was a controversial, blacklisted celebrity who bullied the award-winning actor (the male lead) on variety shows, only to succumb to cyberbullying and depression, ending his own life.
The fourth brother was a school delinquent who skipped classes to pick fights, hospitalized the male lead’s academically gifted younger brother, and eventually landed in prison.
As for herself? She was the male lead’s long-dead high school sweetheart, existing solely to create misunderstandings between the main couple.
After learning all this, Lin Mo was so furious she came back to life.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a massive shopping mall.
A giant billboard above read: "2025—Year of the Snake, Good Fortune!"
Only then did Lin Mo realize—she had been reborn, but had jumped eleven years into the future, right into the climax of the novel’s plot.
She hurried into the mall, found a restroom, and checked her reflection.
The girl in the mirror still had the same delicate, pretty face, wearing the same black dress she’d put on for her ill-fated date.
Lin Mo’s emotions were a tangled mess.
Eleven years had passed, yet she was still eighteen!
No money, no phone—nothing.
Truly the Year of the Snake; she’d barely arrived and already felt suffocated, as if constricted by a python!
She turned on the faucet, letting cold water run over her fingers, and accepted reality.
One of her greatest strengths was her resilience.
When her parents died unexpectedly, leaving her to raise three brothers—the youngest just two years old—she’d adapted quickly then, too.
After drying her hands with a paper towel, she heard two salesgirls in white blouses and black skirts enter, chatting animatedly.
They were clearly work buddies sneaking off to gossip in the restroom.
"Did you hear? The mall’s closing in half an hour—they’re already clearing out customers!"
"Yeah, yeah! Rumor is the CEO’s coming to reserve the whole place!"
Lin Mo’s ears perked up at the juicy gossip.
A thriving mall, abruptly kicking everyone out?
Classic novel logic—CEOs here were nothing if not extravagantly irrational!
"It’s definitely for Li Huanyu! The CEO doesn’t want her bothered by crowds. I even saw on Douyin that he invested in a movie for her!"
"So romantic! Bet Actor Gu regrets it now. Their on-screen chemistry was fire—can’t wait for the ‘groveling ex’ arc!"
Their chatter made Lin Mo frown.
Li Huanyu—the novel’s female lead.
And "Actor Gu"? That had to be the male lead, Gu Jingchuan.
Which meant this brainless CEO was none other than her dear second brother!
She’d planned to track him down first anyway.
Now, fate had delivered him right to her.
Though right now, she really wanted to buy something—on credit, if necessary.
She turned to the still-gossiping salesgirls. "Excuse me, does this mall have a Seven Wolves store?"
Startled, the two finally noticed the strikingly beautiful girl nearby—her doll-like features more captivating than many celebrities.
One salesgirl, a self-proclaimed beauty enthusiast, gaped momentarily.
The other replied helpfully, "Yes, on the second floor. Shopping for your dad?"
Lin Mo smiled. "No. Shopping for a whip."
The salesgirls: "..."
This mall was clearly high-end, bustling with midday shoppers.
Forcing everyone out would mean massive losses—not just financially, but in customer trust.
Who’d return after being kicked out mid-lunch?
No wonder her second brother faced ruin in the novel. With business sense like this, bankruptcy was inevitable!
When she’d died at eighteen, her second brother was only fifteen—a bright middle-schooler with a knack for business.
Back then, he’d flipped gaming consoles for profit, buying her a designer bag with his earnings.
Their parents had owned a real estate empire; this mall being his wasn’t surprising.
What was surprising was how he’d apparently let zombies eat his brains!
As Lin Mo strode out under the salesgirls’ bewildered stares, a security guard approached.
"Miss, apologies, but the mall’s closing. Please exit promptly."
Politely, she said, "I need to speak with your manager. Could you connect me?"
With the CEO arriving, the manager would surely be available.
Though puzzled, the guard called Manager Zhao, who answered promptly: "What is it?"
The security guard said, "There's a young woman looking for you on the first floor of the mall. Not sure what it's about."
Manager Zhao replied, "I don't have time to deal with it today. Tell her to come back tomorrow."
The guard turned to Lin Mo. "The manager says he's too busy to see you."
Lin Mo smiled politely. "Give me your phone. I'll talk to him myself."
Manager Zhao was busy chatting with a man seated in the office chair—a commanding figure dressed in a sleek black suit, idly spinning Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.
Just as he was about to hang up, a pleasant yet irritated female voice came through the phone.
"Manager, hello. Are you with Shen Yihan right now? Put him on the phone!"
Manager Zhao stiffened.
Who was this?
She was polite to him, but she actually dared to address the CEO by his full name!
Was she one of Shen Yihan’s admirers?
The CEO was young, handsome, and filthy rich—not to mention famously known as the "Buddha of Beijing's Elite Circle." Plenty of women chased after him.
But since this involved the CEO, Manager Zhao didn’t dare make a decision on his own.
He muted the call and asked respectfully, "Mr. Shen, there’s a woman on the first floor demanding to speak with you. Should I put her through?"
He expected the CEO to refuse outright, but to his surprise, Shen Yihan reached for the phone without hesitation.
Manager Zhao unmuted the call and carefully handed his phone over.
Shen Yihan took it, his tone clipped. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Lin Mo: "I’m your sister! I—"
Shen Yihan’s eyes instantly frosted over. "Get lost."
The temperature in the office seemed to drop five degrees.
Manager Zhao’s hair stood on end as he took back the phone and quickly texted security.
[Get rid of this woman immediately!]
The man in the chair was strikingly handsome, his black suit accentuating his icy, unapproachable aura.
Manager Zhao swallowed hard but forced himself to speak. "Mr. Shen, please don’t be upset. I’ve already instructed security to handle it."
He hadn’t heard the exact words exchanged, but it was clearly another woman shamelessly chasing after the CEO.
Everyone knew Shen Yihan was smitten with Li Huanyu—the dazzling A-list actress.
These women needed to take a hard look at themselves before throwing themselves at him. Pathetic!
Shen Yihan couldn’t believe someone had the audacity to impersonate his sister. He flicked the prayer beads in his hand, suppressing the fury simmering beneath his calm exterior. His long, elegant fingers picked up his own phone.
He opened the pinned chat and sent a message.
[We’re clearing the area now. Let me know when you’re close, and I’ll come down to meet you.]
The last message—where he’d asked if she’d left yet—had gone unanswered.
But she’d been busy promoting her latest film. Now that she finally had some downtime, it made sense that she was slower to reply.
Seeing the usually cold and ruthless CEO soften slightly, Manager Zhao knew he must be texting Li Huanyu.
"Mr. Shen, I watched Ms. Li’s new movie—it was incredible! I’ve already taken my family to see it three, four times!"
Shen Yihan glanced up, the faintest hint of a smile on his otherwise indifferent face. "Oh?"
Manager Zhao nodded eagerly. "Absolutely! I’m planning to rally all the mall staff to go see such a masterpiece!"
Shen Yihan’s expression warmed further. He took a sip of tea. "Fine. The company will cover the expenses."
Manager Zhao grinned like a blooming chrysanthemum and promptly refilled the CEO’s cup.
Starlight Plaza was one of over a hundred malls under Starlight Group, with eight locations in Beijing alone.
This was a rare chance to meet the CEO in person, and Manager Zhao was determined to score enough brownie points to secure a promotion to regional manager next quarter.
Meanwhile, Assistant Jiang, standing off to the side, massaged her temples at the sight of her boss acting like a lovesick fool.
They’d abandoned an important meeting halfway through—all because Li Huanyu mentioned she wanted to go shopping for clothes.
She could’ve waited until the mall was cleared, but no, the CEO had to rush over and wait like an eager puppy!
Assistant Jiang’s phone was blowing up with messages about the postponed meeting.
But with this bootlicker around, she couldn’t even bring up work matters.
This job was doing terrible things to her stress levels.
Manager Zhao beamed. "Mr. Shen, about the brand Ms. Li endorses—"
"Manager Zhao," Assistant Jiang cut in sharply, "why don’t you go supervise the clearance process?"
Manager Zhao shot her an annoyed look. "Assistant Jiang, rest assured, everything is under control!"
Shen Yihan flicked a prayer bead and gave the assistant a cold glance before nodding at Manager Zhao. "Go on."
Assistant Jiang nearly choked.
The words "Ms. Li" seemed to trigger some kind of brain-melting effect on the CEO!
Manager Zhao smirked inwardly. How had this woman even become an assistant? No tact at all—and a female, no less!
But he was too polished to show his disdain openly. Instead, he continued, "The brand Ms. Li endorses has been performing exceptionally well in our—"
Before he could finish, the office door creaked open.
All three looked up.
A girl who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen stood in the doorway, a security guard hurrying after her.
Manager Zhao’s face darkened. "Who let you in? Get out! Security, hurry up and remove her!"
Assistant Jiang remained silent, noticing there was something familiar about the girl's face.
Shen Yihan didn't speak either—his mind went blank, freezing him in place.
Then the girl stomped over, grabbed his ear, and snapped, "Shen Yihan, you’ve got some nerve!"
[The radiant, dazzling heiress vs. the seemingly noble but secretly possessive, obsessive tycoon]
