Chapter 1

Page 1/3

Midnight. Torrential rain poured down as a bolt of lightning split the silent night sky.

Inside the empty company building.

Xia Wansheng stared at the now-black computer screen and the final plan unsaved due to the power outage, his heart sinking into despair as he answered his boss’s call.

On the other end came an angry roar: “You promised to give me the proposal before you got off work! Do you know what time it is now? Do you still want your bonus?!”

It was obvious the boss had been holding back frustration for a while. The project was nearing completion, and now was the perfect time to swap someone in to claim the credit. Yet Xia Wansheng stubbornly refused to step aside.

“I don’t want it. Just fire me,” Xia Wansheng replied with an almost unnatural calm.

“What did you say?!” The boss’s harsh reprimand cut through even the chaos of the rain. “You think we can’t finish the project without you? Getting bold now, aren’t you?!”

Xia Wansheng listened quietly to the tirade, then ended the call and crossed the pitch-black corridor, preparing to head back to his rented room for a bit of rest. He was exhausted.

The matter of moving out of that cheap apartment could wait—he’d need a transition period to find a new job, after all.

He had barely closed his eyes in the back seat of a taxi when, at a crossroad, a truck barreled straight toward him.

As the blinding headlights approached, Xia Wansheng thought: Well, at least I won’t have to work overtime tomorrow.

——

Inside the Yu family villa.

Yu Congyan, having waited like a hunter by his own trap, pressed on the bedroom light with a snap—illuminating Xia Wansheng, who was holding a stack of confidential documents.

Blinking in confusion, Xia Wansheng had yet to process what had happened, not knowing where this accident had brought him.

The air was tense and frozen.

After a long moment, the man’s voice cut through, hoarse and cold, laced with mockery.

“Wansheng, your brother said you’d sneak in tonight to steal the contract. Just what do you think you’re doing?” Yu Congyan’s tone was gentle as ever, but his eyes were chilling.

“I trusted you so much. Why would you betray me?”

What is going on here?

Xia Wansheng listened woodenly as a voice echoed in his mind:

[Hello, host. You’ve transmigrated into a novel.]

[Before you stands the protagonist, Yu Aotian. In his previous life, Yu Aotian was consumed by his career, never suspecting that his lover would betray him and leak secrets, leading to the ruin of his family. Reborn, he is determined to rise again, trample his rivals, vanquish his false love, and become the richest man on Blue Star—reclaiming all that was his!]

A textbook protagonist setup, but it had nothing to do with him.

He couldn’t fathom what kind of strange dream this was—he hadn’t even had time to read a web novel lately.

“So noisy,” Xia Wansheng muttered, ignoring the system’s continued mission prompts. “Let’s end this farce quickly. When I wake up, if I haven’t been fired, I’ll still have to work overtime.”

Perhaps the standoff had lasted too long, and the culprit’s silence was fraying Yu Congyan’s patience.

Page 2/3

“Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” Yu Congyan stared at the unmoving figure before him, coldly waiting to see what kind of excuse he would invent this time.

With both evidence and witnesses in hand, Yu Congyan was thoroughly disappointed in Xia Wansheng’s betrayal.

Xia Wansheng frowned.

Explain? Explain what? After a day at work he was already annoyed enough, and now, even in a dream, he had to play this tiresome cosplay with some rich guy.

Was he born to suffer?

He sighed. “I have to work overtime.”

Turning, he opened the window and prepared to jump out.

Past dream experience told him that disrupting the scenario would wake him up.

Yu Congyan hadn’t yet processed what he’d said. In the split second that followed, he saw Xia Wansheng’s intent and his pupils contracted in shock.

Yu Congyan: “!!!”

More than half of Xia Wansheng’s body was already out the window, cold rain lashing against his chest.

Just as he was about to return to the drudgery of working life, a powerful force yanked him back by the waist, brooking no resistance!

“!”

Xia Wansheng nearly lost his breath, staring in disbelief at this Yu Aotian.

What was going on—did NPCs in this dream have interactive functions?

He frowned and turned his head, seeing Yu Congyan clutching him tightly, refusing to let go.

Suppressing his lingering fear, Yu Congyan’s eyes grew icy, as if he could see straight through him: “Xia Wansheng, are you so guilty you’d resort to this? What trick are you playing now?!”

“You think threatening me with your life will make me forgive you?”

Xia Wansheng went quiet.

After a moment, he muttered in confusion, “Why is this nightmare so tenacious?”

Yu Congyan was momentarily taken aback, not quite understanding.

But already, a flood of melodramatic plotlines surged through his mind.

“President Yu, please don’t pester her, your wife really has amnesia.”

“The caged canary turns simple-minded, President Yu, please behave yourself…”

His grip tightened even more as he roared, “Don’t think you can get away with this by pretending to be crazy!”

[Transmigration mission: Play the ‘canary’ and exit the stage at the right moment, becoming the violent CEO’s eternal white moonlight.]

Page 3/3

The system’s voice resounded in his mind, and at last, Xia Wansheng sensed something was off.

[Mission reward: five million, which you can bring back to the real world!] The system tried hard to assert its presence.

[Five million! Five million!]

Xia Wansheng’s movements stalled for a moment, his struggle ceasing.

This dream certainly understood his nature.

He calmly patted Yu Congyan’s hand. “I’m not jumping. Let go of me first.”

Having just witnessed Xia Wansheng nearly leap to his death, Yu Congyan naturally refused to release him. “Step away from the window first.”

Was this five million always going to be such a hassle?

Xia Wansheng cleared his throat and tried his best to recall the canary’s coquettish tone from the book. “Let go, please, President Yu, you’re hurting me…”

He hadn’t even finished speaking before Yu Congyan released him as if possessed by a ghost.

Irritation flashed across his face, his expression growing even more inscrutable. “What nonsense are you spouting now?”

Yu Congyan had only just been reborn. After suffering a disastrous fate in his previous life, he had sworn this time to avoid ruin. He had planned to catch Xia Wansheng red-handed, but Xia’s conduct tonight was completely unexpected. It was only now that Yu Congyan felt in control again.

He sneered inwardly: Playing the victim, are you?

He would never forget, not even at death’s door, how in his past life, after being framed by the villain, he’d gone to demand justice, only to be forced to kneel with his hands bound behind him.

And when he looked up, he saw Xia Wansheng laughing brightly on the villain’s arm.

But now, after rebirth, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall that person’s face clearly.

All he remembered was Xia Wansheng’s crisp, familiar voice above him: “You really are easy to fool.”

It rang in his ears, deafening and stabbing pain through his heart, filling him with shame.

After losing support, Xia Wansheng realized just how weak his body was—he couldn’t even stand. He slid down the wall and sat slowly, eyes closed, catching his breath—actually pondering how to respond.

“Thinking up another excuse, Xia Wansheng?” Yu Congyan coldly observed his vulnerable expression. He had once adored this face, but now it seemed nothing but deceitful.

After a long silence.

Xia Wansheng lifted his head, dark lashes quivering, tears hovering on the brink, as if he’d given up all struggle.

“No, I stole it.”

“Call the police.”