The Vicious Female Supporting Character and The Sadistic Heroine Got Together [Through the Book] - Chapter 1

“Shen Chou, do you think that if I die, he’ll love you instead? You’re wrong! He never loved me—how could he possibly love you?! Shen Chou, I’ll be waiting for you in hell, waiting for you to come down and keep me company…”

A shrill, bone-chilling laugh followed.

Shen Chou jolted awake on the bed, eyes snapping open. She sat up, staring blankly at the antique-style room around her.

What the…? This isn’t my room. Why am I here? Where even is this place?

A string of questions tumbled through her head. Just as she was about to get out of bed to look around, the door creaked open. A maidservant carrying a copper basin stepped inside.

The maid looked up and met Shen Chou’s gaze. Seeing her awake, the girl’s face lit up with excitement.

“Your Highness, you’re finally awake!”

Your Highness? Shen Chou was baffled. From the girl’s reaction, she half-expected her to rush forward and throw her arms around her. Instead, the maid remained standing properly in place, not daring to move.

With no choice, Shen Chou asked, “Can you first tell me where this is?”

The girl who apparently named Xiao Lian looked confused. “Your Highness, this is your home.”

“My home?” Shen Chou rubbed her eyes. No, her memory wasn’t faulty. But when had her home turned into this? And when had she become a “princess”?

Was she filming a drama? She immediately dismissed the thought. Which meant only one thing was left—she had transmigrated.

Once she reached that conclusion, Shen Chou forced herself to think about what to do next. First, she had to figure out her current identity and get familiar with her surroundings.

Since the last question got her nowhere, she tried another. “Then… do you know what my name is?”

Her string of questions made Xiao Lian uneasy. Why did her mistress seem to remember nothing? Could it be that falling into the water damaged her brain?

She muttered inwardly but didn’t dare voice it. Shen Chou’s gaze, however, was intent and expectant, clearly waiting for her answer. Xiao Lian hesitated, thinking of the princess’s temper. In the end, she lowered her head in silence.

Is this girl afraid of me? Shen Chou wondered.

So she added gently, “Don’t worry, just say it. I won’t be angry or punish you.”

Encouraged, Xiao Lian finally whispered, “Your Highness’s name is Shen Chou.”

Shen Chou? Wait—so she hadn’t transmigrated? No, that wasn’t right. A sudden thought struck her, and she grabbed Xiao Lian by the shoulders, voice trembling with excitement.

“Do you know Tang Suan?”

“Tang Suan?” Xiao Lian frowned in confusion. “Why would Your Highness mention her? Don’t you hate her the most? She’s the one who caused you to fall into the water and lose consciousness.”

Hearing this, Shen Chou felt her suspicions confirmed. So she had transmigrated—no, not just transmigrated. She’d fallen into the very novel she had been reading.

It all clicked: the recurring dreams she’d had these past few days, where she became the vicious supporting actress Shen Chou who poisoned the heroine Tang Suan to death.

She hadn’t expected it to really happen. Could it be that the heavens had heard her frustrations and decided to send her here to change the ending?

As Shen Chou’s gaze wandered around the room, Xiao Lian asked nervously, “Your Highness, what are you looking for?”

“Shh!” Shen Chou pressed a finger to her lips. Startled, Xiao Lian instantly clamped a hand over her own mouth, wide-eyed and trembling.

“Who’s there? Who’s speaking?” Shen Chou had just heard a voice. She looked up toward the ceiling but found nothing.

Silence. Only Xiao Lian stared nervously back at her.

Was I hearing things? She had just lowered her head when the voice rang again in her mind.

“Welcome, Host, to the world of Phoenix Ascending: Sovereign of All.”

It wasn’t the cold, robotic tone she expected, but a soft, melodious young woman’s voice.

Because she had half-anticipated this, Shen Chou wasn’t panicked. Instead, she began conversing with the voice in her head.

“You’re the system?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Perfect! Then you must know why I’m here. Is it because I rewrote the novel’s ending and changed the story’s course, so now I’m being punished by entering the book to carry out a mission? My task is to win over the heroine and rewrite the ending, right?”

Just thinking of the ending made Shen Chou grit her teeth. It was infuriating. Every time she remembered it, she wanted to mail razor blades to the author. How could such an outstanding heroine meet such a tragic fate? The author was heartless!

If not for that unbearable finale, Shen Chou never would have created her own pen name just to write fanfiction and give the heroine a better ending. But before she could even finish, she got dragged into the book itself.

The original story, Phoenix Ascending: Sovereign of All, serialized on Green River, was a long historical romance full of palace intrigue. It followed Tang Suan—the mistreated daughter of a general’s household—and Li Changsheng, an unloved fifth prince. Together, they fought against fate and injustice. With its sharp writing, compelling characters, and rollercoaster plot, the novel soared in popularity.

When Shen Chou first saw the title, she thought it was a strong heroine story and immediately dove in. She adored the smart, beautiful, clear-headed Tang Suan—no fragile white lotus, but a heroine with true strength. She even showered the author “Peach Blossom in Spring” with gifts and comments urging updates.

But the plot twisted. To seize the crown prince’s seat, the male lead married the vicious supporting actress—also named Shen Chou—and forced the heroine into becoming a concubine, letting the villainess torment her. Once he ascended the throne, he even made the villainess his empress.

Shen Chou was furious. Wasn’t he supposed to make the heroine his empress? Her fists clenched in rage. And it only got worse: when the heroine, despairing, tried to leave, the male lead locked her away rather than let her go.

What kind of garbage plot was this?! How could someone be so shameless? Shen Chou practically choked with anger reading it.

That’s when it hit her—this wasn’t a strong heroine novel at all. It was a dog-blood tragedy straight out of the early-2000s. And those dreams she’d had before transmigrating? They were scenes from the ending.

When the finale dropped, readers were just as shocked as she was. They all believed a twist was coming—that the heroine would be reborn and take revenge. But then the author disappeared. The novel was left unfinished, and its reputation tanked. To this day, whenever “worst endings” were discussed, this novel was dragged out and flogged again.

After a few seconds of silence, the system finally replied, “That’s correct. Because you rewrote the ending, you accidentally triggered the transmigration system. Your mission is to change the ending and save the heroine.”

Shen Chou’s eyes lit up. “So what should I do now?”

“Your Highness, who are you talking to?” Xiao Lian had been watching Shen Chou mutter to herself, glancing anxiously around the empty room. There was no one else there. Could it be the princess had seen a ghost? The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.

“Aah!” When she saw Shen Chou gesturing at thin air, Xiao Lian finally screamed.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Shen Chou asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”

The next second, Xiao Lian collapsed limply into her arms. Luckily Shen Chou caught her in time, or she would have hit the floor.

“What happened to her?” Shen Chou stammered.

“She’s fine,” the system said calmly. “She fainted from fright. She’ll wake up after some rest. Don’t worry about her. What matters now is familiarizing yourself with your surroundings and figuring out how to meet the heroine.”

“All right,” Shen Chou answered, though she still laid Xiao Lian gently on the bed and covered her with a quilt.

“Do you think I scared her unconscious?” she muttered as she dressed and stepped out the door.

The system didn’t answer.

Shen Chou figured it just wasn’t talkative. From their exchange earlier, she’d realized it only responded to mission-related questions. Everything else it ignored. It made sense—it was only an AI, after all. And yet, for one fleeting moment, she had almost mistaken it for a real person. Silly thought.

“Ah Chou?” A gentle voice called out. She turned to see a dignified woman, poised and elegant, staring at her in disbelief.

“You are…?” Shen Chou searched her memory, a sudden ache piercing her head. Hesitantly, she asked, “Are you… Mother Consort?”

“Ah Chou, it’s me.” Tears spilled from the princess consort’s eyes as she rushed forward to embrace her daughter. Stroking Shen Chou’s soft hair with trembling hands, she choked, “What’s wrong? Do you not recognize me anymore?”

The sudden hug made Shen Chou stiffen. She wasn’t used to this kind of affection. The only one who had ever treated her like this before was the orphanage director. Warmth welled up in her chest. Was it because this woman was the body’s mother? She hadn’t felt something like maternal love in so long.

Once, she’d had it all: parents alive, grandparents doting on her, a beloved little princess of the family. But then illness took her grandparents, and a car accident claimed her parents—leaving her all alone.

She became an orphan. At the funeral, she hadn’t cried. She’d just clutched her teddy bear, silent, as relatives shoved responsibility for her around like a burden. Not one of them was willing to take her in.

No one mentioned how much her father had helped them in the past, how much money he had lent them—debts they had never repaid. Each of them just made excuses, claiming financial hardship, just to avoid raising her.

Her father had been kind all his life, only to die tragically. And in the end, his daughter was tossed out like trash.

“No,” Shen Chou shook her head, eyes burning as she hugged the consort back. Her voice was hoarse. “I’m just… a little emotional seeing you, Mother Consort. Xiao Lian said I’d been unconscious for days, and you must have been so worried. It’s my fault for making you suffer.”

“Ah Chou, you seem different from before.” The consort studied her daughter, puzzled.

Her memory of Ah Chou was of an arrogant, willful girl—proud, competitive, even dismissive of her own mother.

“Do I?” Shen Chou smiled faintly. Of course she was different. This “Shen Chou” wasn’t the same as the original.

But how could she explain that? Instead, she squeezed her mother’s hand, apologetic. “Mother, I’m sorry. I was selfish and reckless before. Waking up, I realized how many things I’ve done to hurt you. I won’t ever be like that again…”

Tears brimmed in the consort’s eyes at her words. She smiled through them, moved beyond measure.

So the original Shen Chou must have hurt her deeply, Shen Chou thought wryly. For just this little change to make her so emotional…

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