I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 1

The golden ginkgo trees adorned the lakeshore villa with the golden hue of autumn.

Mang Ke sat by the half-open window, gazing at the avenue covered with fallen ginkgo leaves in the distance.

In the empty room, only her own sigh echoed.

She had transmigrated.

Mang Ke rested her cheek in her hand. She still remembered worrying about making a living just a month ago when she received a call from a company named the “Female Lead Committee.”

“You are the person we have been looking for a long time, the one most suitable to be the female lead!”

The person on the other end said this.

Mang Ke thought it was a scam call and hung up three times.

When the fourth call came, the person on the other end was clearly anxious: “What I’m saying is true, please stop hanging up the phone, bang, bang, bang—”

It could be discerned that the person on the other end was genuinely kowtowing.

“Alright then,” Mang Ke said helplessly, “What does your company need me to do?”

“Do you read novels?”

“Only when I have nothing better to do.”

“Do you read CEO romance novels?”

“…If this is a sales pitch, then no need; I can just watch television.”

Regarding her skepticism, the caller did not show impatience but calmly told Mang Ke: “Your job is to be the female lead, and then act out the story according to the plot until the ending.”

“Ah…” Mang Ke suddenly realized, “Are you a publishing company? Do you need to find a proofreader?”

“???”

“As long as the salary is high enough, I can do proofreading work too.”

“Although I don’t understand what you are saying, it’s good that you agreed.”

Just like that, Mang Ke received a contract via express delivery, signed her name, and only when her vision blurred upon arriving in the current world did Mang Ke realize what the other party meant by ‘act until the ending.’

It truly meant, literally, acting until the ending…

Mang Ke sighed softly, supported her long hair, and drew her gaze back from the ginkgo avenue. She was in no mood to admire the romantic scenery; all she wanted to know now was what she should do next.

This was a body-substitute novel, and the novel’s title was The Substitute Bride Heiress: CEO Xun’s Darling Pet.

Just by the sound of it, this was not a proper novel.

The plot was also very easy to understand: The protagonist, who came from an orphanage, was adopted by a wealthy man when she was young. The wealthy man also had a spoiled daughter whom Mang Ke called her little sister.

The spoiled sister had an engagement, but she didn’t want to marry. She wanted to run off to an unknown distant place to find her true love, and she left resolutely… ran away… ran away…

The person ran away, but the marriage still had to happen.

With no other option, Mang Ke, the wealthy man’s adopted daughter, naturally took her place and married Xun Fangyun, the other female lead in the novel.

Mang Ke’s internal suffering was immense; ‘too many words to describe the current mood’ was perhaps the best phrase for her feelings.

She took out her mobile phone and casually scrolled through it, only to see the news of her impending marriage to Xun Fangyun spreading across every corner of the city.

However, the privacy measures were well-done; people still did not know what this CEO Xun’s fiancée looked like.

Most importantly, Mang Ke had only met Xun Fangyun twice in total.

The first time was for a meeting over dinner to set the wedding date. Xun Fangyun sat there in a black long dress, expressionless, looking as if Mang Ke owed her millions.

The second time was when she moved into this house. Xun Fangyun, in a white long dress, was expressionless, acting as if the person moving into her house was a mannequin.

Mang Ke had been in this world for a month and already felt that this woman, Xun Fangyun, was truly something else.

“Miss Mang Ke, it is time to eat,” Aunt Liu, the housekeeper in the villa, pushed the door open and said to Mang Ke: “Shall I bring it up to you, or will you come down?”

“I’ll come downstairs to eat,” Mang Ke replied, “I’ve been in the room too long; I’m getting stale.”

Aunt Liu thought Mang Ke was bored, so she smiled and said: “Miss Xun is very busy with work and often stays at the company; she doesn’t come home often.”

Mang Ke nodded. She didn’t care if Xun Fangyun came or not; if she didn’t come, Mang Ke would have an easier time.

Aunt Liu’s cooking was excellent. Her braised pork was sweet but not greasy, leaving a lingering taste. If Mang Ke’s current identity weren’t so special, she would have wanted to ‘marry Aunt Liu home’ herself.

After lunch, with nothing to do, Mang Ke decided to go out for a stroll.

“The sun is strong outside; take the sun umbrella with you,” Aunt Liu advised Mang Ke.

Mang Ke nodded, shouldered her small floral sun umbrella, and walked out.

As for what to look at when going out, there wasn’t much to see. She had moved in for half a month and had already explored the vicinity completely. Besides mountains, water, flowers, and grass, there were basically no people. There weren’t even any grandmothers doing square dancing at night, which took away a lot of the fun.

She walked along the ginkgo avenue she had just looked at, and not far ahead, she could see the community gate.

Just as she reached the entrance, Mang Ke spotted a red Ferrari parked on the road opposite the complex.

The red sports car had smooth lines and a vibrant color. The headlights and front face had some black and gold decorations, giving it a more premium feel than ordinary cars. However…

Mang Ke focused her gaze on the two people standing next to the car.

Both women were slender with flowing long hair. The woman with her back to Mang Ke was wearing a black jacket and trousers. Her waist was slim, and her sleek, black long hair draped down her back. A slight breeze made her look a bit like a back-view assassin.

The woman facing Mang Ke was someone Mang Ke recognized.

Her name was Yue Yin (悅茵), who was Xun Fangyun’s ‘white moonlight’ (the first love/idealized figure) in the original text. Xun Fangyun had argued with Mang Ke, her ‘female lead,’ several times over her, which almost cost Mang Ke her life in the end.

Since Yue Yin was here, the woman in the black outfit was undoubtedly the other one.

While Mang Ke was hesitating, she saw Xun Fangyun turn her head, and their gazes met right away.

DANGER!!!!

Mang Ke quickly shielded her face with the sun umbrella, feeling that this was not a good place to linger. Xun Fangyun was such a dangerous woman; she couldn’t let her catch her doing anything.

She just wondered if the police would accept her case if she reported it in advance.

The thought of being locked in a dark room by this woman later, being pinned to the bed and bitten, made Mang Ke shudder involuntarily.

Good heavens, this woman was a pervert!

Mang Ke looked at the ground and stood there for a few seconds. Then, she cautiously lifted the umbrella to glance, only to see that Xun Fangyun had already crossed the road and was standing not far in front of her at some unknown time.

Mang Ke gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, hefted the umbrella onto her shoulder, and prepared to turn and leave. If she didn’t run now and got caught, who knew what would happen!

But before she could turn, a cool female voice came from behind her: “Why are you here?”

Mang Ke could only shrink her neck, turn to look at Xun Fangyun, and smile, saying: “I just finished eating and came out to digest. I didn’t know you were back so early.”

She glanced at the woman standing next to the Ferrari. Yue Yin was currently staring over with a mournful look in her eyes, filled with resentment towards Mang Ke.

“Aren’t you going back to accompany her?” Mang Ke said to Xun Fangyun. “Miss Yue Yin seems to be waiting for you.”

Xun Fangyun was slightly surprised that Mang Ke knew Yue Yin, but she still said nothing. She simply reached out, took the umbrella from Mang Ke’s hand, leaned in close, and said: “No need to mind her.”

Mang Ke wanted to say something else, but she felt her waist being encircled by Xun Fangyun’s arm. Then, before she could react, she was pulled toward home.

The gaze from behind felt sharp and uncomfortable. She struggled a bit, found she couldn’t shake off Xun Fangyun’s hand, and said helplessly: “Are we… going back like this?”

Xun Fangyun gave her a confused look.

Mang Ke pointed her finger behind her: “The Ferrari, that great car, are you just going to leave it parked outside the complex?”

Xun Fangyun was surprised that Mang Ke was worried about the car. She couldn’t help but curve her lips, then pressed them shut and said: “Just leave it outside; it’s not anything valuable anyway.”

Listen to that, listen to that. Did a normal person say that?

Damn capitalist society.

They had been out for less than two minutes when they returned, bringing back the person who rarely came home. When Aunt Liu opened the door, she was somewhat surprised to see Xun Fangyun and Mang Ke together.

“Miss Xun?” Aunt Liu let her in. “Weren’t you supposed to be working overtime today?”

Xun Fangyun took off her shoes, stepping barefoot on the floor, and placed her belongings aside, saying: “I’m mostly done, so I came back.”

Aunt Liu thoughtfully took the items and hung Xun Fangyun’s shoulder bag and jacket on the coat rack by the door.

Mang Ke watched the woman walk around the living room barefoot and stared for a long time before asking: “Aren’t you cold with bare feet?”

Xun Fangyun turned back and glanced at her.

Mang Ke turned to the shoe cabinet, took out a pair of plush slippers, walked over to Xun Fangyun, and said: “Put these on. Autumn has arrived, and it will get colder.”

Aunt Liu couldn’t help but purse her lips in a suppressed smile and quickly retreated into the kitchen with the items.

Xun Fangyun looked at Aunt Liu’s retreating back with some helplessness but did not refuse Mang Ke’s kindness, putting on the pink and white plush slippers in front of her.

The pink and white color scheme clashed slightly with Xun Fangyun’s black top and trousers, yet it somehow added a touch of cuteness, creating a uniquely charming look.

A cool older sister who is so beautiful will surely become ugly if she always keeps a cold face.

Mang Ke couldn’t help but chuckle: “Are you going out again tonight?”

“I’m not going out.”

Xun Fangyun turned back to her own business, seeming to recall something. She turned to Mang Ke and said: “You have a gown, right? I remember buying you a few sets when we were ordering the engagement dress.”

Mang Ke nodded.

Xun Fangyun said: “That’s good. I have to attend a banquet tomorrow evening, and you will come with me.”

Mang Ke’s eyes widened. She had never attended a formal party before.

Seeing her reaction, Xun Fangyun said: “It’s just an ordinary dinner party. I will pick you up tomorrow; you just need to dress yourself up beautifully.”

Mang Ke thought for a moment and nodded, saying: “I understand.”

Being a beautiful vase, she could certainly manage that!