In the end, the true heiress, in an attempt to prove herself, was egged on by a group of wealthy heirs and leaped off a bungee platform. She died from sheer terror during the fall.
The system skimmed through the ending and, seeing its unfazed host, continued to intimidate her: "Even if you’ve transmigrated into the true heiress, you only have a month left to live—unless you publish literary works and accumulate enough reputation points to exchange for lifespan."
Qi Quan lowered her head, examining her calloused palms, and calmly accepted her new identity.
Born an orphan, she had been taken in by her master and raised in the world of metaphysics, becoming a once-in-a-century prodigy. Yet, due to her frail health, she died at 22. She had thought her story ended there, but then this so-called "Writer System" dragged her into a novel, transmigrating her into the body of a tragic true heiress who shared her name and age.
In her past life, Qi Quan had handled many supernatural cases and interacted with numerous wealthy families, some of whom had cases of switched daughters. Back then, she had privately mocked how such a mix-up could even happen. Who would have thought she’d one day become one of those switched children herself?
The original host’s life was simple: her adoptive parents died in an accident when she was five, leaving her to grow up in an orphanage. At eighteen, she graduated high school and began working odd jobs until, at twenty-two, she was discovered by the Qi family.
The Qi family was one of Longjiang City’s most prominent dynasties, with assets worth billions. To be part of such a family was a dream beyond the reach of most.
The original host, a lonely and destitute girl, was struck by this sudden fortune. Yearning for familial love and a happy life, she eagerly returned to the Qi household without hesitation.
However, life with the Qi family was nothing like she imagined.
Despite being the true bloodline, everyone doted on the fake heiress instead. Her parents deemed her unrefined, Qi Eldest Brother ignored her coldly, Qi Younger Brother bullied her with disdain, and even the household staff fawned over the fake heiress while secretly undermining her.
The same went for the other elite families who associated with the Qis.
Under such circumstances, the original host grew resentful. She repeatedly clashed with the fake heiress, repeatedly embarrassed the Qi family in high society, and repeatedly deepened everyone’s disgust toward her.
Tonight was no exception.
Standing by the pool, Qi Quan gazed through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the dazzling banquet hall inside, where guests in lavish attire mingled with glasses in hand, their smiles as polished as their masks.
The banquet hall’s lights shimmered across the water’s surface, flickering like stars in the night sky.
From the original host’s memories, she knew the entire Qi family had come to celebrate Old Master Du’s birthday banquet tonight—except the fake heiress hadn’t arrived with them.
The fake heiress had come arm-in-arm with her fiancé.
As the only son of Longjiang City’s real estate tycoon, the fiancé was worth billions himself, with striking looks that made him the dream man of many wealthy heiresses.
After enduring repeated cold shoulders from the Qi family, the original host’s mentality had twisted. Consumed by jealousy, she resented the fake heiress for stealing the happiness that should have been hers—especially when it came to the fiancé.
Just moments ago, she had publicly accused the fake heiress of stealing her betrothed, ignoring the Qi family’s furious expressions, before being forcibly dragged out by Qi Eldest Brother.
Once again, the Qi family became the laughingstock of their social circle.
Now, Qi Eldest Brother stood beside her, his handsome face dark as ink.
"You’re running a fever and not thinking clearly. I’ll have someone take you home." The "fever" was nothing more than a flimsy excuse.
In her past life, Qi Quan had never bothered with the melodramas of wealthy families. Now that she’d been given a second chance at life, she had even less desire to get involved. Qi Eldest Brother’s suggestion suited her just fine.
She nodded indifferently. "Alright."
Qi Eldest Brother: "…?"
He shot her a surprised glance. In the past, she would’ve thrown a fit—why was she so compliant this time? Was she plotting something bigger?
Of course, he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He promptly called for the driver and instructed him to keep a close eye on her during the ride back.
The driver maintained a respectful demeanor, though inwardly, he was sweating bullets.
If this troublemaker decided to act up on the way, what was he supposed to do?
Qi Quan stepped into the car in her stilettos, quietly lifting the hem of her dress as she settled into the backseat. The moment the door closed, she kicked off the heels and leaned back, finally free to respond to the Writer System.
"How is reputation calculated? What’s the exchange rate between reputation points and lifespan?"
Qi Quan cherished her life. If there was even the slightest chance to survive, she wouldn’t let it slip away. In her past life, she had tried countless methods to prolong her life, only to lose to fate in the end.
Fortunately, fate had cracked open a window for her, granting her a second chance.
The system replied: "After analysis, this world’s online literature is highly developed. We recommend starting there. Reputation points are tied to your work’s collections, tips, and comments. The exchange rate is 1,000:1—meaning 1,000 reputation points buy you one extra day of life. Any other questions?"
Qi Quan: "If your goal is to change the true heiress’s fate, why didn’t you bind to the original host instead of pulling in my soul?"
She didn’t want to die, but if she was stealing someone else’s chance at rebirth, she’d rather not live at all.
The system explained: "My purpose is to help the host achieve fame through the Writer System, not to alter the ending. The original host had lost the will to live and already made a deal with the system. After evaluation, your survival instincts are exceptionally strong, your soul’s stability is high, and your name, age, blood type, etc., perfectly match the original host’s. You’re the most suitable candidate."
Qi Quan understood now.
The original host hadn’t wanted the task, and she happened to fit the criteria—hence her selection.
She had no lingering attachments to her past life. If she could keep living in this absurd novel world, so be it.
The car glided smoothly into the Qi family’s villa estate.
Seeing Qi Quan return alone, the servants exchanged knowing glances. Once she went upstairs, they huddled together, whispering among themselves.
They assumed she couldn’t hear them, unaware that Qi Quan’s soul had been replaced—and that her cultivation had followed her here.
As a top-tier metaphysics expert, her senses were razor-sharp. The servants’ murmurs reached her ears with perfect clarity.
"Why’s she back by herself?"
"She must’ve done something outrageous again and got kicked out!"
"I don’t get why she keeps provoking Miss Yingxue. Isn’t she just humiliating herself?"
"If I were her, I’d just enjoy the money and stop making trouble."
"Enough, all of you."
Qi Quan’s room was on the second floor, separated from Qi Yingxue’s by a single wall.
Materially, the Qi family hadn’t mistreated her. Her bedroom was decked out in lavish luxury—a style Qi Quan, a self-admitted money-lover, thoroughly appreciated.
The room was fully equipped, complete with a dedicated study for work or leisure.
The moment the system spotted the computer, it urged excitedly, "Quick! Go register an author account!"
Qi Quan: "…"
She ignored the system, grabbing her pajamas for a shower first before finally heading to the study.
In her past life, she’d never read—let alone written—fiction. She was clueless about the craft and didn’t even know where to begin looking for publishing platforms.
Earning reputation points by writing novels was by no means an easy task for her.
But while taking a shower earlier, an idea had struck her.
[System detected: The most renowned female-oriented fiction website in this world is "Scream Literature City." Host is advised to register an author account there. Mission One: Successfully sign a contract with the website and become a contracted author. Reward: One day of lifespan. Penalty: None.]
Qi Quan raised an eyebrow: [There are missions too?]
System: [Missions are issued to help the host establish clear phased goals.]
Qi Quan nodded. One day of lifespan was still lifespan—no loss there.
She searched for Scream Literature City, registered with her phone number, and chose the pen name "White Water Sage," planning to brainstorm overnight and start writing the next morning.
The system promptly reminded her: [After registering a pen name, it is recommended to publish content as soon as possible to avoid wasting time that could be spent climbing the New Authors Ranking.]
Qi Quan: "…"
After carefully reading the website’s ranking guidelines, she decided to write and post a chapter that very night.
Qi Quan didn’t read web novels, so she simply followed her own instincts and typed "Diary of the Elite" into the title field. The moment she pressed the spacebar, the system vehemently objected.
[No. This title lacks impact. It’s not eye-catching at all and won’t attract readers. Change it.]
Qi Quan humbly asked: [Then what kind of title do you think would be attention-grabbing?]
[Is this novel about your experiences and observations after returning to a wealthy family?] the system inquired.
[Correct.]
The system rattled off suggestions without hesitation: [The True Heiress: Writing Her Way to the Top After Binding with a System, The True Heiress: Getting Rich by Writing in a Wealthy Family, The True Heiress: Slapping Faces and Crushing Enemies Through Writing—any of these would work. Pick one.]
[……]
Qi Quan winced, her toes curling so hard they could’ve drilled through the ceiling. She tactfully declined: [I prefer shorter titles.]
The system sighed inwardly. A newbie’s stubbornness—she’d learn the importance of a compelling title once she hit a wall.
When it came to the synopsis, Qi Quan simply wrote: "Experiences and observations after returning to a wealthy family."
Minimalist to the extreme.
The system couldn’t bear to look. It wanted to paste examples of well-crafted synopses for the host to learn from, but seeing Qi Quan’s unyielding expression, it decided to wait.
Only when the host lamented her icy-cold readership stats would she be open to advice.
Unaware of the system’s thoughts, Qi Quan typed swiftly, her mind and fingers flying. In half an hour, she finished a chapter, copied it, and hit "Publish."
The system had watched her write the entire first chapter before commenting: [You’re really writing a diary? First-person narratives have a small audience these days. This won’t attract traffic.]
[It’s fine.]
Qi Quan had her own plans and didn’t care about the numbers.
By the time she finished the chapter, it was already 10 p.m. She collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly, free from the anxiety most authors felt—constantly refreshing their stats every few minutes after posting.
The system, however, spent the entire night monitoring the data.
A restful night later, Qi Quan woke at 5 a.m., meditated for two hours, and went downstairs for breakfast at 7.
The rest of the Qi family was already seated at the dining table. Upon seeing her, Qi Father and Qi Mother showed no particular reaction, Qi Eldest Brother ignored her outright, Qi Yingxue offered a gentle smile, and Qi Younger Brother—Qi Yuan—flipped her an exaggerated eye roll.
"Some people should look in the mirror. A toad lusting after swan meat!"
Qi Mother scolded sharply: "Qi Yuan!"
The others pretended not to hear.
Qi Quan calmly took her seat, glanced briefly at his face, and dismissed the childish tantrum, focusing on her porridge instead.
...
Her indifferent expression only fueled Qi Yuan’s anger. He raised his voice even louder: "What’s with that look? You think you’re better than me? You freeload every day, and you dare look down on me?!"
Qi Quan: "…"
She sighed and replied, "Aren’t you freeloading too?"
In her past life, Qi Quan had never enjoyed dealing with people, and this life was no exception. She found the noise grating.
Qi Yuan choked, his face flushing red. Clenching his fists, he retorted, "I’m a minor! What’s wrong with eating at home?"
"When I was a minor, I didn’t get to eat at home," Qi Quan responded evenly.
Qi Yuan: "…"
Amid his embarrassment, a flicker of suspicion arose.
In the past, Qi Quan would’ve already been shouting in fury. Why was she so composed today? Was she plotting something?
Meanwhile, Qi Mother felt a pang of guilt.
She looked at her slender biological daughter and, for once, spoke gently: "You’ve suffered in the past. From now on, you don’t have to do anything. The family can support you for life."
After all, the Qi family owed her.
Qi Quan lifted her head, her delicate features exuding an air of quiet elegance. "Thank you. But I’ve already found a job."
"Don’t tell me it’s another café waitress gig?" Qi Yuan sneered.
When the Qi family had first found Qi Quan, she’d been working as a café waitress—a fact Qi Yuan never missed a chance to mock her for.
Qi Father and Qi Eldest Brother paused their eating.
"Don’t say that, A-Yuan," Qi Yingxue interjected with a gentle smile. "No job is inferior. A-Quan can do whatever she likes."
Qi Yuan, who adored her, merely snorted and glared at Qi Quan, waiting to ridicule her new job announcement.
Under everyone’s gaze, Qi Quan replied leisurely, "I don’t enjoy socializing outside, so I’ll be writing novels from home. The website is Scream Literature City, and my pen name is ‘White Water Sage.’ Feel free to support me when you have time."
Everyone: "…"
