The System Put Me in the Wrong Cannon Fodder Role—So I Ran Off with the Heroine - Chapter 1

Ji Xunchuan shot up from the bed, her mind reeling. How am I still alive? I didn’t die?

But… she remembered the high-voltage line. The blast had paralyzed her entire body, leaving her soul nearly detached. Has modern medicine become so advanced that it can pull off a miracle like this?

But this didn’t look like a hospital or her home. Where am I? The surroundings were far too luxurious for the kind of dump she was used to. The bed was so comfortable it felt like her bones were melting into it.

Who among my acquaintances got rich and decided to sugar-baby me?

Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in her ear:

[System loading… Worldview loaded. Plot data loaded. Character loaded.]

Huh? System? What the hell is that?

Wait! Plot? Character? What’s going on? And where is this voice coming from? Inside my head?

What’s my status? Am I dead or alive?

[Welcome, esteemed Transmigrator. You are currently within the plot of the novel Old Love Is Hard to Chase…]

Oh, I transmigrated into a book. Ji Xunchuan never expected she’d actually experience this one day.

She’d often read web novels about transmigrating into some story, where the protagonist would either defy fate or conquer a handsome man or beautiful woman. Transmigration—a cliché, but she understood the drill.

Still, she was completely bewildered.

[What book? I don’t recognize it!]

[…] The System remained silent for a long time, leaving her waiting anxiously.

[Hello? There’s a person here! Can you hear me?] Ji Xunchuan protested, asserting her presence. Is the network lagging? Why is it so slow?!

The System seemed to be organizing its thoughts. [It shows you read this novel just two days ago. It’s about 450,000 words long. Although you dropped it near the ending, the plot you’ve grasped is definitely sufficient for our requirements.]

[But I really have no memory of it.]

The System went silent again. This thing isn’t very smart, she thought. It’s always lagging. Whenever it hits a tough question, it just spams those damn ellipses.

I don’t know what it was thinking, but the atmosphere was so awkwardly silent. Ji Xunchuan didn’t know what to do.

[Why don’t you tell me the protagonists’ names?] she asked tentatively.

[The female lead is Ji Antang, the male lead is…]

[Oh! That standard “tragic heroine” who’s so brain-dead she keeps offering her face for everyone to slap, all while inexplicably swallowing her pride and wallowing in self-pity! The male lead isn’t important—just some generic name like Gu, Fu, Shen, Lu, or Qin, with a “su” given name. His brain is on par with a paramecium.] She finally remembered and interrupted.

[Host, please show some restraint with your words. Wait, you knew who they were all along? You just swore you didn’t recognize them!] the System retorted.

[I just saw a video about it and clicked through. Who remembers the names of these brain-dead novels these days?] Ji Xunchuan chuckled and turned the tables. [You didn’t introduce the book to me either. Otherwise, I would have made the connection sooner.]

[Did you even let me finish? You cut me off! I only got the title out before you claimed not to recognize it. How was I supposed to continue?] The System was fuming.

It was true that he’d interrupted. The key was that the System had been speaking so stiffly and devoid of emotion that Ji Xunchuan had simply wanted to tease it to lighten the mood. However, after this exchange, the System’s tone had indeed become much more lively.

As if trying to correct its lapse in composure, the System reverted to its original tone. [Your current identity is the heiress protagonist, Ji Antang. The plot is currently loading at the point where you are about to go to your engagement with the male lead, Gu Yunzhou, only for it to be ruined by the “white moonlight” green tea woman, Xu Wanxuan. You have also been framed by her and embroiled in a scandal. Host, please proceed according to your own thoughts and pace. As long as you do not collapse the plot, you are free to act as you wish.]

This truly surprised Ji Xunchuan. [Does this book really give me this much freedom?]

How strange. There were countless ways to avoid risks without collapsing the plot. As long as the key plot points were fulfilled, he could do whatever he wanted, completely according to his own desires.

[Of course. As long as each major plot point is achieved, you can tear down the green tea woman, conquer the male lead, or even start a harem with eighteen other men—it won’t affect anything,] the System said flatly.

This System is a keeper! It understands me! Ji Xunchuan felt gleeful.

Under normal circumstances, a young lady raised to be a female CEO would never abandon her self-respect and be heartbroken over a man’s love. She didn’t know who the target audience for this kind of novel was, but such an illogical idea should never have appeared in her presence.

And yet, here she was, about to change the plot and refuse to be the miserable female lead begging for love.

[Another question: What happened to my original body? What state is it in after being hit by that high-voltage power line?]

This was the question that had been troubling Ji Xunchuan all along: Now that I’m here, don’t tell me she really died in such an unheroic way?

The System seemed to fall silent for a few seconds. Ji Xunchuan waited without any one saying a word, but she knew the System was still there. She didn’t rush it, just waited.

[I’m sorry to inform you.] The System finally broke its silence and replied to her. [Your original body was declared brain dead after unsuccessful resuscitation efforts at 3:59:23 AM on April 26, 2026. You are now truly sharing life and death with this world.]

As if to offer some comfort and support, the System added, [You may act boldly in any way you wish, but please remember: you must not destroy the world’s overall logic. And one more thing—we will always be with you.]

Ji Xunchuan said nothing.

She had no choice but to walk this path to its end. There was no turning back.

Though she had anticipated such an outcome, the formal pronouncement of her death—especially with the precise time of brain death, still sent an indescribable wave of emotion through her.

She had truly died once.

The System, sensing the mood, fell silent again.

Well, what else could she do? she thought. Her death was just bad luck. Who would have thought a simple camping trip would end with a freak windstorm? The wind didn’t even blow away her tent, yet it managed to hurl that lethal object right at her.

The fact that her consciousness still existed was already a stroke of immense luck.

Ji Xunchuan wiped her face, decided to immerse herself in the role, and pushed aside the chaotic emotions swirling in her mind.

The best way to stop the brain from spiraling into an emotional vortex was immediate action.

Clad in her white nightgown, she flung the door open. Here I come, my life as a female protagonist!

“Young Miss, you’re awake! It’s rare for you to get up so early. You’ll be able to have breakfast after all, otherwise you’d hurt your stomach again.”

A woman dressed as a maid at the door looked at her with pleasant surprise and smiled.

Wait, that’s not right! Ji Xunchuan froze, backed away, and shut the door. [System, come out.]

[What’s wrong?]

[Am I really the female lead? I remember Ji Antang wasn’t in the habit of waking up early, was she?] she asked the System. She was certain she couldn’t have misremembered!

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