What does death feel like? Lin Qi had never known. Born into a well-off family, she had been doted on by her parents since childhood. After participating in a talent show, she skyrocketed to fame, debuting as the center and becoming a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry within a year, thanks to her stunning looks and professional skills.

This was her first foray into acting, yet an accident occurred.

On set, someone suddenly rushed forward, plunging a knife into her left chest. The sharp pain contorted her delicate features as a suffocating sensation enveloped her. A metallic taste rose in her throat, and below her blurring vision, her pure white coat was stained with blood, spreading like watercolor on paper.

Countless images flashed through her mind. In those fleeting moments, she thought of her parents waiting at home for her work to end, the fans on Weibo eagerly anticipating her costume photos, and the ABO novel she had stayed up late reading but hadn’t finished—she never got to see the ending for the female lead, Jiang Ming.

Time seemed to slow. The sounds around her grew chaotic the anti-fan who stabbed her was restrained, and many people crowded around her fallen body, shouting worried questions. But she could no longer hear them. Her vision blurred, and Lin Qi plunged into darkness.

Stripped of her senses, her thoughts became more active. The knife had gone straight into her left chest, she wasn’t a superhero, so this was undoubtedly fatal. Her only regret was not having the chance to properly care for her parents.

The unbearable pain gradually faded, and suddenly, light pierced through the darkness, stinging her eyes. With a jolt, she opened them.

Before her was a breathtakingly beautiful face filled with terror. Even as someone accustomed to seeing stunning faces in the entertainment industry, Lin Qi was stunned. The woman’s skin was so fair it seemed translucent, though marred by a bright red handprint on her cheek, did I do that?

The woman beneath her had long, ink-black hair cascading across the bed like a waterfall. Her features were exquisitely delicate, like an untouchable goddess from a painting. The corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint pink, and her gaze clear and innocent like a deer’s was laced with unease, fear, and barely concealed hatred. Tears welled in her eyes, hot and accusing, as if they could physically pierce Lin Qi.

Before she could process the situation, the softness beneath her told Lin Qi she was pinning this woman down.

They were so close their breaths mingled. Lin Qi could even smell the faint floral scent of the woman’s exhales, close enough to see the trembling of her lashes like a trapped butterfly fluttering its wings, desperate to escape a hunter’s grasp.

Why wasn’t she dead?

Who was this woman?

And why was she pinning her down?

Countless questions swarmed Lin Qi’s mind, leaving her momentarily frozen.

“Let me go!”

The voice, naturally cool and composed, was now laced with tears. Lin Qi was startled not by the woman’s softened, crying tone, but by the unfamiliar language. It was Japanese. The woman was speaking Japanese!

As a college student who had studied abroad in Japan, Lin Qi naturally understood the language. Though years had passed and she was a bit rusty, she could still make out the words. But the situation remained utterly confusing.

What the hell? Had she gone back to her college days?

Lost in thought for what felt like an eternity, yet mere seconds in reality, Lin Qi snapped back to awareness and instinctively rolled off the woman beneath her. As someone known in the entertainment industry as the “old cadre” and “model gentleman,” she knew pinning another girl down like this was hardly appropriate.

Back on solid ground with a clearer view, the room’s decor left Lin Qi utterly stunned. She’d never seen such an overwhelming concentration of pink in her life. But when her eyes landed on the name tag by the bed, everything clicked.

Had she transmigrated into that ABO idol competition novel?

And the beauty she’d been pinning down could she be Jiang Ming, the novel’s female lead?

Her heart skipped a beat. Pressing her lips together, Lin Qi took in Jiang Ming’s icy gaze and couldn’t help recalling the novel’s ending where her character ended up imprisoned with broken legs. Her knees ached sympathetically at the thought. Offering an awkward smile, she ventured, “How about I teach you Chinese?”

She’d said it in Chinese, of course, and predictably received nothing but bewilderment from Jiang Ming. Clearly, the novel’s protagonist hadn’t mastered the language more like hadn’t even begun to learn it.

Lin Qi understood perfectly. Between the grueling training schedule during the competition and the original host’s daily bullying, when would Jiang Ming have found time to study Chinese?

Switching languages, Lin Qi repeated her offer more carefully, “I’ll teach you Chinese, okay?”

Expecting her conciliatory tone to work wonders, she was instead met with the sight of the seated woman rising to her feet. Jiang Ming looked at her as if she were something filthy, deliberately taking the long way around to avoid passing too close as though mere proximity would bring bad luck. Any native Chinese person would be looking for a purification ritual by now.

Returning to her desk, Jiang Ming’s voice regained the cool detachment Lin Qi had imagined: “Get out.”

That perfectly enunciated, accent-free command froze Lin Qi in place.

Silence reclaimed the dorm room, Jiang Ming buried herself in Chinese study materials while Lin Qi struggled to recall the novel’s plot.

Fortunately, she’d binge-read the entire story the night before getting stabbed, so the details remained vivid. Moving to the desk parallel to Jiang Ming’s, Lin Qi reached for paper and pen to document the plot points. But several steps away, she couldn’t miss the other woman’s trembling silhouette.

Was she really that terrified?

Exhausted, Lin Qi took a deep breath and softened her voice: “I’m just getting some paper and a pen. Don’t worry, I won’t bully you anymore.”

This time, she made sure to use language Jiang Ming could understand.

The response was even more violent trembling. As Lin Qi leaned over to retrieve the stationery, she could see Jiang Ming’s fingers whitening from their death grip on the desk, trembling like bowstrings stretched to breaking point.

With a sigh, Lin Qi retreated to her bed, where lingering floral notes still clung to the sheets as if Jiang Ming’s presence remained. That image of the rigid yet quivering back, like duckweed battered by rain, stirred an unfamiliar tenderness in her chest.

Shaking off the distraction, Lin Qi focused as the story’s details gradually crystallized in her mind.

The female lead, Jiang Ming, had a tragic past. However, Lin Qi was too drowsy while reading to remember the details clearly. She only knew that something had happened to Jiang Ming in Japan, after which she was confined in a mental institution for four years. It wasn’t until two years ago that her aunt brought her out and enrolled her in a music academy. With outstanding grades, Jiang Ming was invited to participate in a talent show.

But because she hadn’t presented her secondary gender by age nineteen, Jiang Ming initially ranked in Class C was forced to share a double room with Lin Qi, an undifferentiated Class A trainee who also hadn’t presented by eighteen.

Lin Qi, however, took advantage of her privileged background and popularity. During the long, monotonous training sessions, the isolated Jiang Ming became her punching bag. The original Lin Qi seemed to think that since this pitiful girl only had an aunt living far away in Japan, couldn’t speak Chinese, and couldn’t communicate with other trainees, she could get away with anything. Even if Jiang Ming managed to stammer out a complaint to the dorm supervisor, Lin Qi could just flash a charming smile and the matter would be dropped only for her to return and torment Jiang Ming even worse afterward.

Later, plagued by scandals, Jiang Ming was eliminated in the first round, ranking 89th in the initial public voting. She became a D-list celebrity following the “infamous-to-famous” path. A year later, she presented as an SSS-grade omega, only to be forcibly and permanently marked by Lin Qi, who had presented as an SSS-grade alpha, plunging her into a living nightmare.

Fortunately, Jiang Ming also encountered her salvation. During repeated forced markings, she realized she was on the verge of becoming a slave to pheromones. In desperation, she gouged out her own scent gland. After being admitted to a VIP ward by Lin Qi, she met the occupant of the neighboring room, Song En, the blind CEO of the entertainment company managing Lin Qi’s girl group.

When Jiang Ming hummed a tune to herself, Song En happened to pass by. In the darkness, Song En’s hearing grew exceptionally sharp. Through that song, she seemed to envision a beautiful butterfly trembling in fear, and thus fell in love.

Jiang Ming and Song En clicked instantly. Thinking Song En couldn’t see her and wouldn’t know her identity, Jiang Ming poured out all her suffering to her. It wasn’t until after her discharge, when she received an offer from a top entertainment company, that Jiang Ming met Song En again in the CEO’s office now with restored vision and smiling eyes and realized she was about to emerge from her cocoon like a butterfly.

The subsequent plot was straightforward: Jiang Ming and Song En joined forces to send Lin Qi to prison, even arranging for someone to break her legs, leaving her to live in humiliating agony without the release of death.

At this point, Lin Qi looked up at the now-bright sky and set down her phone, planning to finish the novel’s ending after today’s filming. But plans changed before filming could begin, she was stabbed through the left chest and died, only to transmigrate into this very book.

Well, one could only do their best and leave the rest to fate. Naturally, she wouldn’t bully Jiang Ming again. The inherently upright Lin Qi even felt profound guilt though she hadn’t committed those vile acts herself, Jiang Ming’s hatred was now directed squarely at her.

After summarizing the plot, Lin Qi folded the paper and tucked it under her pillow. Before she could turn her gaze toward Jiang Ming, a broadcast sounded outside the door: “All trainees, please assemble immediately at the main square. A new mission will be announced shortly.”

After repeating it three times, Lin Qi saw Jiang Ming pick up the simultaneous interpretation headphones and leave, so she quickly followed. Truthfully, she thought that although the start was hellishly difficult, at least she hadn’t died yet. There was still a chance to reach even greater heights than in her previous life.

So what if it was a talent show? She was a “recycled talent” now.

Arriving at the so-called “grand plaza”, an open area with tiered seating sections color-coded by class, Lin Qi pursed her lips. The color representing Class A was pink. Wearing her pink uniform skirt, she took her seat on the steps, thinking she had never seen such an overwhelming concentration of pink in her life.

A few more Class A contestants arrived and struck up a conversation with Lin Qi. They seemed to have gotten acquainted after entering the training camp, their tone casual and familiar.

Lin Qi could only respond in a question-and-answer manner, as there were many things she didn’t know. Thankfully, the show’s host soon arrived and announced the task they had to complete over the next three days.

“Following the initial evaluations, the first class reassessment will be based on the theme song performance. Starting today, each class will have three days to learn the theme song’s singing and choreography. Three days later, we’ll gather here again, and each contestant will perform individually for evaluation. Seize this opportunity, it’s your best chance to enter Class A. For those already in Class A, guard your position well. Now, please watch the theme song video.”

The lively, youthful melody began to play. Lin Qi turned her gaze to the large screen ahead. The benefits of having learned dance since the age of three were fully evident, she could almost break down every single move and memorize most of them after just one playthrough.

With her mind at ease, Lin Qi glanced toward Class C. She had thought it would be difficult to spot Jiang Ming among the large crowd, but she found the frowning beauty at first glance.

Standing alone amid the clamor, Jiang Ming stayed in a corner, diligently memorizing the moves on the screen, seemingly unnoticed by anyone around her.

Yet Lin Qi noticed. Looking at the contestants laughing and chatting around her, she recalled the original description: “Jiang Ming, too, longed for friendship, but her hopes had been crushed time and again, leaving her in despair.”

Her heart ached inexplicably.