The Plan to Save the Villainess Supporting Actress [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 1

“Ranran, that necklace was a gift from my family for this show. If you like it, I can get you one after the program, ”

“I told you, I didn’t take it.”

A tearful voice was cut off by another, colder one. A brief silence followed before the first voice spoke again, now fully choked with sobs.

Nanzhi blinked, her gaze sweeping over the group before settling on the lone figure standing apart.

The girl was tall and slender, with long, straight legs. She wore an oversized light green T-shirt paired with plain black sweatpants, the cuffs revealing a glimpse of pale skin at her ankles.

Perhaps she had just returned from the practice room her loose T-shirt was damp with sweat, clinging to her waist and outlining her curves. Nanzhi couldn’t help but let her eyes linger.

Big chest, long legs, slim waist so tempting.

System: “…”

System: “Ahem, Host, you have entered a crucial plot point. Please focus on completing your mission!”

Right. She was here for a mission.

Nanzhi reluctantly tore her gaze away and quickly skimmed through the information the system had provided.

She was in the world of an entertainment industry novel.

The original female lead, Shen Jiaying, was sweet-faced and came from a wealthy family. Passionate about performing, she signed with an entertainment company as a trainee and soon joined a nationally popular audition show, debuting in third place.

But that had nothing to do with Nanzhi’s task. Her target was the second female lead standing before her, Zhu Ran.

Nanzhi was from the Three Realms Quick Transmigration Bureau.

This mission was to save the blackened second female lead, Zhu Ran, and prevent the novel’s world from collapsing.

Zhu Ran’s parents were both orphans.

Her mother passed away when she was young, and her father later went into business with his friend Shen Yan. Just as their venture was thriving, Zhu Ran’s father died in an accident.

Left orphaned at a young age, Zhu Ran was taken in by the Shen family and grew up alongside Shen Jiaying as childhood friends.

In the original plot, Zhu Ran had always been introverted and awkward with words, never making any friends except for the kind-hearted Shen Jiaying, who willingly reached out to her.

In the early stages of the novel, Zhu Ran wasn’t a villainess but the female lead’s best friend.

Shen Jiaying, naive and cheerful, believed Zhu Ran to be her closest companion. However, Zhu Ran eventually grew jealous of her, turning hostile and sabotaging her at every turn. In the end, the male lead exposed her true nature, and after suffering online harassment, Zhu Ran took her own life.

At this moment, Zhu Ran’s blackening level had already reached 55%.

“Whoa, how is it this high?” Nanzhi muttered as she scanned the number.

Though 55% might not seem like much, once the blackening level exceeded 50%, the balance was broken, and the risk of rapid deterioration leading to world collapse became imminent.

Zhu Ran and Shen Jiaying had joined the show together. During the initial performance, their team received high praise, with all members except Zhu Ran placed in Groups A or B, she ended up in Group C due to a minor mishap.

Because of this, the cannon-fodder antagonists who disliked the female lead also treated Zhu Ran with disdain.

Following the plot, Zhu Ran’s dorm happened to house one such malicious cannon-fodder.

During the show’s pre-broadcast livestream, this girl deliberately hinted in front of the cameras that Zhu Ran had stolen from her.

Zhu Ran adamantly denied it, but under the accusations of her roommates, she had no way to defend herself, ending up trending on social media as viewers flooded the livestream with hate.

After the incident, the original female lead arranged for someone to buy an identical necklace to compensate the cannon fodder character and also apologized on behalf of Zhu Ran online, barely managing to quell the uproar.

“Zhu Ran, we know your family isn’t well-off, but this doesn’t belong to you. No matter how much you like it, you can’t just steal it.”

Another girl spoke while discreetly nudging Nanzhi with her elbow.

Nanzhi turned her head in confusion, her face blank.

The girl tilted her head slightly, ensuring the live camera wouldn’t capture her expression, then glared at Nanzhi and mouthed impatiently: Hurry up and say something!

Nanzhi suddenly understood.

She had hastily skimmed through the information about the second female lead earlier and completely missed her own role: the sidekick in the cannon fodder squad.

Nanzhi quickly signaled that she got the message. Under the girl’s satisfied gaze, she cleared her throat.

[System! My dear! Quickly replicate an identical necklace for me!]

System: […That service isn’t available, thank you.]

Nanzhi: [Do you have one in the shop? I’ll buy it!]

System: [Shop items require points to exchange. Host, your current points are 0. You cannot redeem any items.]

Nanzhi: [I really look down on you.]

System: […]

Her coughing lasted a bit too long, making even Zhu Ran turn around and ask, “Is your throat bothering you?”

“Uh, the air’s a little dry.”

Nanzhi lifted her eyes halfway to reply and suddenly met Zhu Ran’s gaze.

It had to be said Zhu Ran’s looks were truly exceptional.

The slightly upturned corners of her eyes carried a hint of alluring charm, yet the half-lowered lids added a touch of coldness.

Her black, slightly wavy hair was carelessly swept back into a loose ponytail, with only a few damp strands rebelliously framing her face. The tips of her hair just grazed the delicate curve of her neck, as if guiding one’s gaze toward the fair, smooth skin beneath.

Elegant, yet undeniably captivating.

With looks like that, it was almost a shame she wasn’t playing the role of a deranged, dark beauty.

Only after the system had dinged incessantly for a while did Nanzhi snap out of it. She smiled and said, “Uh, Lin Fei, stop crying. Zhu Ran really didn’t take your necklace.”

Lin Fei, who had been crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, and the roommates comforting her all froze in place.

The girl who had earlier prompted Nanzhi to speak looked awkward. “Nanzhi, what are you talking about? Didn’t you say earlier that you saw Zhu Ran take it?”

Nanzhi: ?

I didn’t, I wouldn’t, don’t slander me!

System: [Before the host transmigrated, ‘Nanzhi’ did say that.]

Nanzhi frantically searched through the information and finally found the relevant plot buried in a dense wall of text.

Nanzhi: [Why wasn’t this key plot point bolded and underlined?!]

The system went completely offline.

With everyone’s eyes now fixed on her even Zhu Ran’s gaze held a trace of confusion, Nanzhi’s mind raced, and she quickly improvised:

“Actually, here’s what happened. Earlier, your necklace was left on the shared table. When I was cleaning up after my snack, I think I accidentally threw it away with the trash. I said Zhu Ran took it because she was the one who helped me take out the garbage. I… I was too embarrassed to admit it earlier and let Zhu Ran take the blame. I’m really sorry.”

Then, she turned to Lin Fei and apologized. “I’m so sorry, Lin Fei. Once I leave the training camp, I’ll definitely compensate you.”

“Nanzhi, you, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lin Fei was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly remembered the live stream in the dorm was still running. She could only force a strained smile and feign surprise, acting as if she was utterly baffled by Nanzhi’s behavior.

Someone immediately chimed in, “Yeah, Nanzhi, your story keeps changing. Which one is true and which one is false? We only blamed Zhu Ran because of what you said.”

“Nanzhi, are you just covering for Zhu Ran by saying this on purpose?”

“The dorm cameras are on 24/7,” Zhu Ran said coldly, glancing at Nanzhi before turning to Lin Fei and the others. “I’ll go find the production team right now and pull the footage. The truth will be clear as day.”

At these words, the expressions of the group darkened.

This whole thing had been their setup to get Zhu Ran criticized during the live broadcast. If they actually checked the footage with the production team, all they’d see was Lin Fei hiding the necklace herself.

Lin Fei bit her lower lip. “We’re all roommates. There’s no need to escalate this to the production team…”

“Ranran, since this is just a misunderstanding and Nanzhi has already admitted it, maybe we should just drop it and not make a big deal out of it.”

“It’s all Nanzhi’s fault for not explaining clearly earlier and making us misunderstand you.”

They expected Zhu Ran to refuse to let it go, but to their surprise, she simply watched coldly as they performed for the camera. Then, picking up her clean class uniform from the edge of the bed, she turned and left the dorm.

[Target’s corruption value has stabilized. Current plotline successfully cleared. System points +1. Friendly reminder: All actions taken by the host may arouse suspicion from the target or other characters, accelerating the collapse of the world. Please proceed with caution.]

Nanzhi paid no attention to her roommates’ stares, furiously pestering the system in her mind: [Only 1 point?! What can I even get with 1 point?! System, you’re so stingy!]

The system ignored her, and Nanzhi didn’t dwell on it.

This plotline had only been a few lines in the original novel, not particularly significant, so she hadn’t expected many points from the start.

What did bother her, though, was Zhu Ran’s words.

While the turning point had been Nanzhi’s betrayal of the cannon-fodder group, it was Zhu Ran’s threat to check the footage that had ultimately resolved the situation.

So why, in the original novel, had Zhu Ran still been vilified online? Had she not thought of checking the cameras back then?

It didn’t make sense.

Nanzhi shook her head and decided to set the matter aside.

The mission was complete, and that was what mattered.

With nothing else to do, she pulled up the live stream to pass the time.

She hadn’t expected to be shocked by what she saw.

At some point, their dorm’s live stream had been flooded with viewers. The barrage of comments was scrolling so fast that even the quick-transmigration system lagged for a second while processing the information.

[I hate people like this in dorms, always eyeing what others have. Can’t afford to buy it yourself? Disgusting thief!]

[Zhu Ran’s family isn’t well-off, right? Taking other people’s things without asking is just awful.]

[Came here from the leaks. Thought I’d found a new beauty to stan, but turns out she’s a thief. Unfollowing.]

[Caught red-handed and still denying it. Boycott trashy celeb Zhu Ran!]

[What kind of plot twist is this? Is Nanzhi insane?]

[I’m so confused, did Zhu Ran steal it or not?]

[All these nobodies acting up, a whole dorm of drama queens.]

[The roommates’ expressions are so sketchy. Why are they scared to check the footage?]

[srds, Zhu Ran and Nanzhi are both so pretty!]

[Chinese Entertainment is Beyond Saving]

No matter what, the online backlash was no longer solely targeting Zhu Ran. As long as the female lead’s corruption value didn’t rise, it was fine.

So all she had to do was alter the plot to save the female lead?

This mission was way too easy!

Outside the door, Zhu Ran stood in the camera’s blind spot, pressing the lock button on her phone, deep in thought.

[Warning: Target corruption value has increased to 55.5%. Host, please be mindful of your words and actions.]

Nanzhi, who had been using the system to scroll through videos for fun: ?

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