章)The music halted, signaling the end of a dance practice session. Emily Zhang, exhausted, collapsed onto the light-colored wooden floor of the practice room, gasping for breath.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, and a shadow loomed before her.
"Here you go," said Amber Xiong, offering her a sports drink.
Emily sat cross-legged, took the drink, twisted the cap open with ease, and guzzled half the bottle. The cool liquid slid down her throat, bringing her back to life.
"Thanks," she replied.
Amber, sitting beside her with legs together and chin resting on her hand, looked at Emily with curiosity. "Zhang, youve been acting differently these past few days."
Emilys hand, clutching the drink, paused.
**
Emily Zhang, formerly known as Emily AiTang, hada week ago.
At first, she was quite pleased. In her real world, she had no family, no friends, and was burdened with enormous debts left by her father who had fled with the money.
Becoming gave her a fresh start, free from those pressures—it was fantastic!
But soon, her joy waned.
She realized she had become part of a novel she had recently read. She wasnt the protagonist favored by the author, nor the foolish, wealthy female side character, but a minor, functional villain designed to advance the plot.
The novel, "Sweetest Actress," tells the story of the protagonist, Ji Chaotian, who starts from a talent show and, with her sweet and healing smile, conquers the entertainment industry, eventually becoming a celebrated actress. The subplot follows her love story with the talent shows mentor, Yu Jingran, a top star in the entertainment world and a wealthy heir, leading to a happy marriage.
The entire story is a popular romance, where the protagonists path is smooth, and anyone with ill intentions towards her suffers repercussions.
The character "Emily Zhang" appears only twice in the novel.
The first time is at the beginning, when the foolish, wealthy female side character, Amber Xiong, bullies the protagonist in the talent show. As Ambers follower, Emily naturally follows her lead, with Amber doing the talking and Emily taking action. When she is caught in the act by the male lead, he rescues the damsel in distress. This incident not only promotes the relationship between the male and female leads but also results in Emily suffering from the protagonists aura rebound, being expelled from the talent show, and disappearing from the story.
The second appearance is two-thirds into the novel. The plot reveals that the now-popular actress has taken on a major action film and travels to an undeveloped forest for shooting. Staying with a local villager, the protagonist recognizes Emily, a former participant in the talent show. By this time, Emily has married, borne two daughters, and is pregnant with another child.
The protagonist learns that after leaving the talent show, Emily was taken home and sold to an impoverished bachelor deep in the mountains. Married life turned her into a breeding tool, toiling in the fields, malnourished and poorly dressed, and frequently beaten by her husband for not bearing a son. Trapped in the mountains, she had no one to turn to.
The protagonist rescues Emily and other girls trafficked into the mountains. Her heroic deeds go viral online, and she is praised by society as a "kind and beautiful idol" with a "sweet smile." As her career reaches new heights, her secret romance with the male lead, a top star, is exposed and met with blessings across the internet.
As a functional villain, Emilys story ends here.
When reading, Emily found this part of the plot satisfying and meaningful.
But now, waking up to become Emily Zhang, the one who failed in the talent show, was taken home, sold to a mountain bachelor to be a breeding machine, and suffered beatings—
This was no longer about the plots excitement…
For her, this was a survival crisis!
Becoming was dangerous; this was not a trip to a resort!
Open the door, let me out! I want to pay my debts, send me back to my world!
The doors were locked, and the windows were welded shut; there was no getting off.
After the initial despair of crossing over, Emily AiTang quickly calmed down.
She haded…
At least the gods werent completely heartless, not sending her to the part where she was sold to the mountain bachelor—that would be hell mode.
At this point in time, the plot of "Sweetest Actress" hadnt started, and she still had room to maneuver.
As long as she didnt go against the protagonist, she shouldnt face the worlds malicious rebound.
With this guiding principle, her appearance was about 80% similar to her previous self, with a clear and healthy body, plus various survival skills honed from years of working to pay off debts. Finding a job to support herself in a society governed by law, being a quiet onlooker—shouldnt be a problem.
After thinking it through, Emily AiTangs mood also calmed down.
Bearing the name Emily Zhang, she began a new life in this new world.
**
"Sweetest Actress" is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Ji Chaotian, with all plots revolving around her. There is almost no description of the minor character "Emily Zhang," only brought out when needed to advance the plot, a complete cardboard figure.
A week into this new world, Emily Zhang had figured out the situation of her small corner of the map.
The original owner had escaped from home, all the way to City S, and by accident, signed with a company called Star Up, becoming a trainee in the companys namesake girl group.
Star Up sounds impressive, but its essentially a family-run workshop. It only has the girl group she is in, and from the boss to the agents, to the signed artists, the entire company can be counted on one hand.
The workshop owner is Amber Xiongs father.
No matter how small the scale, in this company where Xiongs father holds 100% of the shares, Amber Xiong is the absolute little princess.
Given this foundation, in "Sweetest Actress," the original owner acted as Amber Xiongs follower in the talent show, which is completely explainable.
When she first figured this out, Emily Zhang wanted to run.
Just as she got up to pack her luggage, she found the original owners brokerage contract under the pillow in the dormitory.
The original owner signed a five-year contract with Star Up, and if she terminated it, she would have to pay a penalty.
The penalty amount is not much, but its not something she can afford at this stage.
Because of poverty, she had to bow to reality.
**
Although she had to stay with high-risk people due to reality, within her capabilities, Emily Zhang tried to distance herself from them as much as possible.
Suddenly distancing herself would be too deliberate, and after much consideration, she chose "studying."
She practiced vocals and dance in the practice room and studied at the desk when she returned to the dormitory. She tried to keep herself busy to reduce unnecessary contact.
She had been doing this for a week.
Before crossing over, she had been thinking about not being late for work after school, as being late would dock her pay. Now she could study without pressure, and in contrast, she found a bit of joy in it.
The dance practice was the same. So when Amber Xiong said "shes changed so much," Emily Zhang was taken aback.
Has the change been too unusual?
She raised her drink to hide her surprise and finished the remaining half, adjusting her mindset.
"Changed? How do you think Ive changed?"
"Youve suddenly become very hardworking, practicing dance and vocals in the practice room and studying hard when you return to the dormitory. Youre no longer like before, always... "
Amber Xiong turned her head, her innocent face a little embarrassed, "always finding time to chat with me and DanDan."
As she finished speaking, the last member of the girl group, Tang LiDan, also came over from the other corner of the practice room, "Ive also noticed, Zhang, youve been working really hard lately."
She thought they had noticed the change in the bodys core.
It was a false alarm, and Emily Zhang put down her