Love Rival Turned Lover - Chapter 6

The original Ye Qian Xun had no parents; she was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. Timid by nature and inherently kind, she rarely made enemies.

Ye Qian Xun was the first love of the male lead, Gongliang Bingyi—and he was her first love as well. Because of the shadows lingering from her childhood in the orphanage, Ye Qian Xun was deeply insecure. So back in her first year of high school when faced with the tall and handsome Gongliang Bingyi’s intense pursuit, the original Ye Qian Xun only agreed to date him after spending a long period of time in panic and uncertainty.

She didn’t know the specifics of Gongliang Bingyi’s family background, but she knew enough to understand one thing: her boyfriend was either rich or powerful—most likely both—and the gap between their worlds was enormous.

So, from the very beginning she never dared to think about a future with him.

After all, the disparity between their identities was far too great.

Growing up at the very bottom of society, the original Ye Qian Xun had long been tempered by life’s harshness—forced to grow up quickly, forced to see through people and circumstances. Because of that, her mindset was far more mature than other girls her age.

And precisely because she understood too much, she knew very clearly that she and Gongliang Bingyi had no future. Reality was not a fairy tale. A penniless orphan girl does not get chosen by a prince, marry into luxury, and live happily ever after.

Such things, the original Ye Qian Xun didn’t even dare to dream about. She feared that if she allowed herself to fantasize, she might start holding unrealistic hopes. But even so—even knowing that their future was uncertain and fragile—she still treated that relationship with utmost sincerity.

Yet she never imagined that her cherished, trembling first love would end in such a way: assaulted, humiliated, misunderstood by the boy she loved, a string of nightmares piled onto her until she collapsed completely, and in the end she could only choose to leave this world full of regret.

The life of the original Ye Qian Xun was a complete tragedy. Though she was Gongliang Bingyi’s “first love,” in truth she was nothing more than a pitiful cannon fodder character—someone who existed only in the male lead’s memories, never truly appearing in his real life.

“Cannon fodder, huh.”

Qian Xun leaned against the wall with a faint laugh. Yes. She was nothing but cannon fodder. In this novel-based world, the original body was just a small, insignificant stone blocking the path of the destined male and female leads’ romance.

And that stone was effortlessly swept aside by the male lead Gongliang Bingyi.

It hardly affected the story at all.

Remembering the exact moment she transmigrated, the smile on Qian Xun’s face slowly faded, replaced by a tangle of emotions. The girl in red last night—the one with a stunning face—was the very culprit who destroyed the original Ye Qian Xun’s life.

Ling Qiao’er.

The eldest young lady of the Ling family—and the novel’s supporting female antagonist.

In the original plot, Ling Qiao’er was madly in love with the male lead Gongliang Bingyi. It wasn’t just the original Ye Qian Xun—even the female lead An Yu, and every other girl who had ever gotten close to him, had been secretly “taught a lesson” by Ling Qiao’er. Last night’s scene? Ling Qiao’er had repeated something like that countless times to girls who admired the male lead.

But committing too many misdeeds brings its own downfall. After several attempts targeting the female lead were discovered, the male lead Gongliang Bingyi completely cast aside their former childhood friendship. In a fit of anger, he destroyed the Ling family’s influence and even had people assault Ling Qiao’er.

All for the sake of avenging An Yu.

Which meant that Ling Qiao’er’s ending was just as miserable.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Qian Xun shook her head—she wasn’t sure whether she was sighing for Ling Qiao’er or for herself.

The more time passed, the clearer the events of last night became in her mind. And now, Qian Xun’s feelings toward Ling Qiao’er were complicated.

By logic, she should have been hostile toward Ling Qiao’er because of everything that happened to the original Ye Qian Xun. But strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to feel even the slightest real disgust toward her.

This feeling was clearly not right.

She tapped her head lightly, deciding to put Ling Qiao’er aside for now. Her mission was to capture the male lead and break up the official couple. She had nothing to do with the original body nor the supporting female character.

She was just a mission taker.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

After lightly sorting through the original Ye Qian Xun’s memories and the general plot of this world, Qian Xun stretched lazily and finally walked out of the hotel.

Since she wasn’t sure whether the “brother” in Ling Qiao’er’s contact list was truly her biological brother—and whether he might harm her—Qian Xun didn’t leave the hotel after exiting the room. Instead, she leaned against the stairwell, watching everything closely.

She had clearly heard the man’s shout earlier, as well as the heavy thud of his kick against the door. In that desperate, anxious call, she could feel it—whether that man was Ling Qiao’er’s blood brother or not, he would never hurt her.

And after absorbing the complete plot of this world, Qian Xun matched that man to the right character.

He was Ling Qiao’er’s second brother—the villainous boss of the story, Ling Junqing.

The Ling family and the Gongliang family were both top-tier clans with underworld ties. Their rivalry wasn’t limited to public business arenas; they clashed fiercely in the shadows as well. In the end, the Ling family was defeated. Ling

Qiao’er, along with Father Ling, Mother Ling, and the eldest young master, all died tragic deaths. Only Ling Junqing escaped with his life.

It could only be described as utterly miserable.

The escaped Ling Junqing endured humiliation and bided his time. Several years later, he returned stronger than ever and became the ultimate villain of the story, causing devastating consequences for the protagonists.

But a protagonist is always a protagonist. No matter how ruthless or powerful Ling Junqing became, they always managed to turn danger into safety. By the novel’s finale, the male lead Gongliang Bingyi and the female lead An Yu walked away together, while the villain boss lay on the ground, soaked in blood—unwilling, yet still slipping into death.

“Ugh.”

Shaking off those distracting thoughts, Qian Xun followed the original memories back to her former residence.

It was a rented room of barely ten square meters. The place was run-down, with nothing inside except a bed, a cabinet, and a table—not even a small stool.

Sitting on the bed, Qian Xun looked at the grayish-brown wall and felt her lips twitch.

There was nothing to be done. The original owner had already done incredibly well; if she was in her shoes, she might not have managed any better. At twelve, the original owner had left the orphanage and begun supporting herself. The room was shabby, but the rent was cheap, and with extreme frugality, she barely sustained her living expenses.

Calculating the time, there was still one month left before summer break. And the original owner—no, she now—seemed to have only a bit over five hundred yuan on her.

Subtract a little over a hundred for remaining rent, and that meant she only had two to three hundred yuan of spare cash. Which meant, moving forward, if she didn’t want to starve, she would have to scrimp and save even more—again.

And during the two months of summer vacation, she needed to earn enough money for next semester’s tuition, living expenses, and everything else.

Qian Xun’s only thought was: I’m going to lose my mind.