The Supporting Character Wants To Be So Close To The Heroine! - Chapter 1

“Bang!!”

A deafening explosion rang in her ears.

Lu Manxin’s eyes flew open as she sat up straight.

The room before her glittered with warm light. Gold-threaded balloons floated gently in the air, crystal beads of water clinging to their sides. Fresh flowers adorned every corner, and colorful confetti lay scattered across the plush carpet, catching the light in shimmering hues.

A faint glimmer brushed the tips of her long eyelashes, reflecting the dazed confusion in her clear pupils.

“Happy eighteenth birthday, Manxin?” she read aloud from the floral wall display, eyebrows slowly furrowing.

Since when did she have an eighteenth birthday? Add another five years and that would sound more realistic.

“Hss… my head hurts.” Lu Manxin raised a hand to press against her temple but only to freeze in shock when she caught sight of the golden strands cascading over her chest.

Wait. When the hell did she dye her hair blonde?!

If her boss saw this, he would have a stroke on the spot!

A creeping sense of dread began to rise in her chest.

Unfamiliar room, mismatched age, the exact same name as hers…
Don’t tell her she had actually….

“Manxin-jie, did I scare you?”

The sudden voice beside her startled her thoughts apart.

A sweet-looking girl in a pink dress stood there nervously, holding a deflated balloon between her fingers. “I’m sorry, Manxin-jie. My new nail gems scraped against the balloon and it popped, so you woke up… Please don’t be mad. I’ll take the nails off tomorrow.”

She bit her lip and looked up carefully, trying to smile. Then she glanced mournfully at her manicured nails, tugging the balloon’s remains in frustration.

“No need…” Lu Manxin rubbed her temple and gave the girl’s pink nails a quick glance. Under the other’s wide-eyed stare, she added, “No need to take them off.”

“…They’re pretty.”

“Hiss!” The girl gasped audibly, staring at Lu Manxin in disbelief, as if the woman had suddenly turned into someone else.

Was this really the famously spoiled Miss Lu, the only daughter of the powerful Lu family, known for her arrogance and temper? Normally, if someone so much as annoyed her, they would get a “Get lost!” straight to the face. Even if the victim’s parents came to complain, they’d end up apologizing instead.

The girl blinked rapidly, eyeing Lu Manxin’s calm expression. Then, as if something clicked, her eyes lit up in realization.

“Manxin-jie, are you… upset because he didn’t come?” she asked tentatively.

“Who?” Lu Manxin frowned.

“You know, that guy. The one you never let us mention!” The girl pouted, glancing sideways.

“So I was that controlling?” Lu Manxin thought wryly.
All that over a name? What was this, Harry Potter? Was the man supposed to be Voldemort?

Her gaze drifted to the table, searching for her wand; no luck. Instead, she spotted a half-full glass of pale blue liquid. Feeling parched, she lifted it for a sip.

“Manxin-jie! Don’t drink anymore!” the girl cried out in alarm. “If Li Yan didn’t come to your party, he must’ve had his reasons. Drinking’s bad for your health!”

“Pff! cough, cough!”

Lu Manxin covered her mouth, wiping away a smear of lipstick-stained liquor with her thumb.
Li Yan. The name echoed in her mind as she turned a startled look toward the girl, who had gone pale and was now clutching her mouth.

“You said who?”

“I….I was wrong, Manxin-jie! I shouldn’t have said his name!” they both blurted at once.

The girl looked ready to cry.

“Forget it… Wait.” Lu Manxin’s head throbbed harder, as if someone was drilling through her skull. She set down the glass and straightened her posture. “I’m Lu Manxin?” she asked, pointing to herself.

“Y-Yes,” the girl nodded nervously.

Lu Manxin squinted, taking in the pink dress and anxious eyes. “Then you’re… Ji Songyu?”

Ji Songyu froze. How did Manxin-jie just guess her name? She nodded timidly, “It’s me, Manxin-jie. I really know I was wrong, I shouldn’t have woken you, or—or mentioned that person! You can punish me however you want, just please don’t tell my parents!”

Lu Manxin’s brain went completely blank.

Li Yan. Lu Manxin. Ji Songyu.

Wait a minute, weren’t these the exact names from that old dog-blood romance novel she had read as a kid, Burning With Love?

Right, add one more female lead, and you would have a full sixty-episode drama of love triangles and mutual torment!

“What was the heroine’s name again?” she muttered, pressing her temple.

As a woman who happened to share a name with that infamous villainess, she had begged her parents to let her change it back then. After all, the novel’s Lu Manxin was a masterclass in pettiness: waving around her title as the male lead’s fiancée, sabotaging the heroine at every turn, and pulling every dirty trick once she learned he was in love with someone else. All to help “build” their tragic love story.

Burning With Love was the founding father of melodrama, filled with scumbags, tears, and misunderstandings that tortured every character before finally giving the leads a “happily ever after.”
Everyone else? Dead, gone, or jailed.
As for Lu Manxin, the main villainess her own family shipped her overseas, never to return.

Back when that book was popular, her classmates mocked her for having the same name. When it finally fell out of fashion, her friends teased her, saying, “Better memorize it in case you transmigrate into it someday!”

Who could’ve guessed that she actually did!

Now, her head wasn’t the only thing aching; even her organs were starting to ache in sympathy.

But panicking wouldn’t fix anything.

She exhaled slowly. “Stop crying.”

“Sniff, oh!” Ji Songyu wiped her tears and obediently sat back down like a scolded kindergartener. Her legs were pressed tightly together, her face still wet with tears but she forced a bright, wobbly smile anyway.

Lu Manxin: “…”

Well, that was… something.

In this world, the Lu family was the richest in the country. The original Lu Manxin was born into power, used to being admired and obeyed. Ji Songyu’s family, on the other hand, was a distant relative. Because Lu Manxin liked having her around, the Songs had ridden her coattails all the way up.

Unfortunately, Ji Songyu’s fate as a side character wasn’t any better. She’s utterly loyal to Lu Manxin until the very end, when she got thrown in jail and killed off by the male lead’s schemes.

Thinking of their shared tragic endings, Lu Manxin could only sigh helplessly.

“Manxin-jie, should I call a doctor?” Ji Songyu asked nervously.

Lu Manxin shook her head, just about to reply when she heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, she saw a group of boys swagger in with hands in their pockets, their mocking gazes sweeping over the two of them.

“Hey, Ji Songyu,” sneered the one in front, “don’t you get tired? Following Lu Manxin around like a dog every day?”

“You!” Ji Songyu flushed crimson. “Dai Ning, can you not talk like that?!”

Her furious voice only drew more laughter. Dai Ning exchanged smirks with his buddies before turning back to Lu Manxin with a taunting look.

“So what, Lu Manxin? You’re just gonna let her talk to us like that?”

Lu Manxin’s face remained impassive as her cool gaze swept over them. The boys faltered, laughter dying in their throats.

“I don’t see anything wrong with what Songyu said,” she replied evenly, lowering her lashes as she picked up her glass again.

The elegant rim reflected the faint image of the girl sitting within one arm draped lazily over the sofa, fingers tangled in soft golden curls, her pale skin glowing under the light. The custom-made gown hugged her tall, slender frame, layers of gauze trailing like a spill of snow at her ankles.

She looked like a snow fairy wrapped in sunlight. Exquisite and untouchable.

“Are you serious right now?” Dai Ning frowned, uncertain.

Even Ji Songyu was stunned. In the past, Lu Manxin never lifted a finger when they bullied her especially since these guys were Li Yan’s close friends. Yet now, she was defending her?

“Manxin-jie?” Ji Songyu whispered.

“Mm?”

Ji Songyu fidgeted, then gave a sheepish grin. “Nothing! Just checking!”

“…Sit.”

“Okay!” Ji Songyu plopped down beside her immediately, puffing out her chest and shooting Dai Ning a triumphant glare.

Somehow, even sitting down, the two girls had more presence than the boys standing across from them.

“Lu Manxin,” Dai Ning sneered, “don’t you want to know where Yan-ge (Brother Yan) went tonight? I came here just to tell you. Old rules ten thousand per word.”

“You’re robbing her!” Ji Songyu shouted the words right out of Lu Manxin’s heart.

Relax. I’m not as dumb as the original owner.

With calm eyes, Lu Manxin reached for her phone. The screen showed the call history over a hundred missed calls to someone labeled My Dear Yan.

She gave a short, cold laugh, then swiftly blocked and deleted the contact, clearing the entire call log. After that, she did the same on WeChat before opening Dai Ning’s chat window.

Thinking she was about to pay, Dai Ning smirked. “That’s more like it. You know what, add another hundred grand as an apology, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

Ding!

His phone buzzed. Grinning, he opened it only to find not a transfer, but a voice recording of his own words.

Lu Manxin’s lips curled faintly as she scrolled through their chat history. The location messages, followed by large transfers. The amounts made her jaw tighten.

“You have three days,” she said coolly, “to pay back every cent I’ve ever sent you.”

“What?” Dai Ning scoffed, folding his arms. “Don’t joke with me. Money that’s already in my pocket isn’t coming back. You crazy or something?”

“In that case…” Lu Manxin smiled sweetly and dialed a number.

Her tone was pleasant, almost playful, as she said, “According to the Criminal Law of Huaguo, fraud involving over half a million yuan carries a minimum of ten years’ imprisonment or life plus fines or confiscation of assets. I was young and naive, tricked and threatened… Surely it’s not too much to ask the police for help?”

The room went silent.

With a soft click, she set the silver phone down on the table.

Everyone’s eyes followed it, to see the three glowing numbers on the call screen.

“*110.”

***********

[The term “110” is the emergency telephone number for the police in the People’s Republic of China. It functions as the direct equivalent of “911” in the United States and Canada, or “999” in the United Kingdom. In the provided context, a character dials this number as a threat to report a crime (fraud and coercion), demonstrating its role as the go-to number for contacting law enforcement.]

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