The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 5

Xie Zhitian took out a sheet of white paper from her space, a little rusty as she used a small knife to cut it neatly and wrap it around the book’s cover, making a book jacket.

It was a skill she had learned back in elementary school, something she never thought she’d use again after so many years.

“The Self-Cultivation of an Aloof Beauty No. 1”…

Could this really be considered an ordinary book? No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem common at all.

The corners of Xie Zhitian’s lips twitched, and she couldn’t help but curse Xiao Yi inwardly.

The moment she’d heard Luo Yang read the title aloud, with such cadence and emphasis, she already had a bad feeling. Now, recalling how she had just said “read it over and over again,” she suddenly had the urge to grab a rocket and blast herself off the planet.

“This book is about little stories of women helping each other.”

She smoothly drew the book from Luo Yang’s hand, doing her best to act calm as she explained, “The title isn’t important. What matters is the meaning inside, which moved me deeply. But don’t read it yet—focus on recovering your health first.”

Luo Yang, unsuspecting, replied, “Understood.”

Xie Zhitian let out a sigh of relief. She realized that although Luo Yang was quiet and seemed distant, her heart was unexpectedly pure.

She settled Luo Yang in the comfortable large bed in the inner room of the bedroom, then went to find Xiang Nan to tidy up the smaller room next door, preparing some daily necessities and a change of clothes. Afterwards, she sat down on the sofa in the outer room.

There was only a partition between her and Luo Yang—taking a small turn, she could see her. Since Luo Yang’s condition hadn’t fully recovered and her fever still hadn’t gone down, Xie Zhitian didn’t plan to stay too far away, just in case.

During the time Luo Yang was resting, she could finally read the book Xiao Yi had given her and understand the story’s background.

The book wasn’t too long—just over six hundred thousand words. The plot was draggy, but easy to memorize. From dawn until dusk, Xie Zhitian read through it, memorizing most of the storyline.

After finishing, she finally gained some understanding of Luo Yang’s past.

Luo Yang had been frail since birth, constantly sick. There’s a saying, “there are no filial children by the long sickbed”—and the same could be said for some parents. After a child falls ill too many times, even parents may grow weary.

One cold winter day, three-year-old Luo Yang was abandoned at the gates of an orphanage.

Whether it was luck or misfortune, she was found in time by the staff and treated, surviving that winter—but from then on, her “beautiful, strong, tragic” life truly began.

The orphanage didn’t have many children, so relationships there were relatively simple. Her life was poor and lonely. By the time she turned ten, the apocalypse suddenly broke out.

All order and stability collapsed, and the orphanage was no exception. The underage boys and girls lost their shelter and could only hide and wander, living in constant fear.

By the second year of the apocalypse, alien creatures were rampant, production slowed, and weapon manufacturing couldn’t keep up with public demand. The government issued a recruitment order, calling for volunteers to fight the aliens.

The only mission of these volunteers: fight for humanity. The work was both grueling and dangerous, and the first task was to undergo forced mutation induction through various methods—activating latent human potential to become superhuman soldiers.

But the technology was far from mature. It hadn’t even gone through proper clinical trials before being rolled out. Every volunteer was an experiment: succeed and live, fail and die.

Luo Yang joined without hesitation.

She was a pure-hearted person. Even though the world had treated her cruelly, her innate sense of justice never wavered. If her effort could bring peace, she was willing to fight for it.

Besides, given her frail condition back then, her chances of survival weren’t much different from joining the program versus struggling to scrape by.

The transformation process was brutal. Countless people died in the labs. Sometimes, even the strong couldn’t survive the first stage, while the sickly and weak made it all the way—there was no pattern.

Some underwent mental instability during modification, attacking others indiscriminately. Because of this, every modified soldier was implanted with a chip—a self-destruct system. If their mutation became uncontrollable, they would be terminated instantly.

Luo Yang survived.

The endless training was exhausting, pushing their bodies to the brink every day to meet the institute’s demands.

Companions frequently collapsed on the training grounds. On the battlefield, death was even more common. A person who had been laughing with you a moment ago could be a cold corpse the next.

Emotions grew increasingly numb; everyone thought only of survival.

From the moment Luo Yang completed her genetic modification, she displayed astonishing talent. Her physical abilities soared, and her combat prowess surpassed most others. Though the battlefield was cruel and unpredictable, she never faltered, holding fast to her mission.

Thanks to the united effort of humanity, most of the alien creatures were eliminated, and things started looking up.

During the alien rampage, humanity relied on the modified soldiers’ strength. Life was harsh, but Luo Yang enjoyed privileged treatment—food, clothing, housing, all of high quality.

But once the aliens were mostly gone, the modified soldiers’ position became awkward. Humanity was arrogant and forgetful. With peace returning, people craved better lives and grew dissatisfied with the privileges of the modified.

Many argued: back when aliens were rampant, modified soldiers deserved their rewards, but now, with no great battles, their treatment should be reduced.

After all, plenty of ordinary people struggled to eat, and some even starved to death. Yet the government still provided modified soldiers with luxurious conditions—how could that be fair?

Some even pointed to cases of soldiers losing control, claiming they were dangerous and unpredictable. They compared them to the alien creatures, demanding strict centralized control: activate the self-destruct the moment abnormalities appeared. Human selfishness was laid bare.

Though a few voices defended them, saying that even if privileges had to be reduced, former heroes shouldn’t be cast out, such opinions were rare. Especially when most people themselves were struggling.

In the end, the government compromised: modified soldiers were distributed across districts as guard troops, with their benefits slashed to a third of before.

They were clothed and fed but socially marginalized. When aliens were rampant, everyone sought them out for protection. Now, with peace, people kept their distance, fearing they might lose control.

The government both relied on and feared them. Modified soldiers were rarely allowed to hold important posts. The remote controls for their self-destruct chips were handed over to district governors as a precaution.

Reading this, Xie Zhitian finally understood why Luo Yang was so submissive to her: the remote control for her chip was in the hands of the original host’s parents. Of course Luo Yang dreaded her, fearing she might meddle and harm her.

Her gaze lingered, then she kept reading.

In the story, the male lead Xiao Wen appeared not long after Luo Yang was assigned to the district.

He coveted both her power and beauty, carefully catering to her preferences. His disguise was flawless—bombarding her with sweet words and attentiveness, noting even her most casual remarks.

At the same time, he strung along the original host, showering her with daily flattery and ambiguity but never confessing outright.

Suspicious and insecure, the original host took out her frustrations on Luo Yang, cutting back her rations when her parents weren’t around, leading to injuries in battle.

Learning of Luo Yang’s injuries, Xiao Wen actively visited and cared for her, even defending her in front of Xie Zhitian multiple times. Luo Yang, who had never been treated so kindly before, soon fell under his spell.

This couldn’t be allowed to continue.

Xie Zhitian’s eyes darkened.

The book also said that early on, her parents held Xiao Wen in high regard. He was excellent at acting—courteous and refined in public, without the slightest flaw. He tirelessly worked for the district, even injuring himself on purpose to win their trust little by little.

Closing the book, Xie Zhitian thought deeply.

But her parents were upright and kindhearted. They knew their daughter wasn’t reliable, so compared to her, they likely thought better of Xiao Wen. She would need to find the right moment to impress them.

Thinking about this, she slowly drifted off on the sofa. She didn’t know how long had passed when she awoke to the sound of a light knock at the door.

After the apocalypse, her senses had grown keen. She opened her eyes instantly.

The blurred lights in her vision gradually sharpened. She froze for two seconds, then quickly recalled everything that had happened yesterday, sitting up slowly.

Rubbing her eyes, she called clearly, “Come in.”

The door opened a crack.

Luo Yang stood at the entrance. She looked as though she had already washed up, her plain face fresh as a lotus emerging from clear water. Her long black hair spilled down her back like seaweed.

She wore new clothes too—a soft, comfortable cotton dress in pale green, covered by a cream-colored long cardigan. The skirt reached just to her knees, revealing her slender, straight legs.

She stopped two meters away from Xie Zhitian. “Miss, I got up at six and ran into Xiang Nan outside. He said the new room was ready, so I took a bath and changed clothes.”

Reporting to her? This so-called “combat machine” was acting more like a child unacquainted with the world.

But it made sense—Luo Yang had grown up in an orphanage, then entered the labs as a volunteer at ten. She had picked up bits and pieces of knowledge, but her life had been monotonous and isolated, with little human interaction. Naturally, she didn’t understand social nuances.

Xie Zhitian’s heart softened, and she gently reminded her, “When bathing, be careful not to let water touch your wounds.”

As she spoke, she rose to check Luo Yang’s forehead, but as soon as she moved, Luo Yang instinctively stepped back, lips pressed tight, clearly unwilling to let her come closer.

Xie Zhitian could only raise her hand in surrender, showing harmlessness. “I won’t touch you. Don’t be nervous.”

“Miss, yesterday you said the district wasn’t very safe.”

Luo Yang fixed her gaze on her, eyes clear as fine crystal. “My condition has already recovered. I’m ready to fight anytime.”

Xie Zhitian hadn’t expected the excuse she had made up offhandedly would be remembered so earnestly.

She recalled what she had read yesterday. By now, the world was largely stable. Luo Yang and other modified soldiers’ tasks were mostly patrols and clearing the occasional alien nearby—ample manpower covered it.

After some thought, Xie Zhitian smiled softly. “The district is peaceful right now; there’s no need to fight. But I’ve reconsidered—I’d like to find a bodyguard to protect me closely.”

Meeting Luo Yang’s eyes, she asked gently, “Luo Yang, would you be willing?”

The woman before her had warm eyes and a soft smile. Sunlight traced faint gold along the ends of her hair, wrapping her in a glow.

Luo Yang felt her heart lurch, as if something inside had been lightly stirred. The sudden pang made her lower her gaze, dodging Xie Zhitian’s eyes. Her glance drifted to the coffee table, where the book lay closed.

Though its cover was now hidden, the size and thickness were unmistakably the same as yesterday’s.

For a fleeting moment, Luo Yang’s thoughts wandered.

She had even gone so far as to add a cover.

Miss truly cherishes this book, she thought.

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