Trapped in a Tempting Love - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Transmigration

“Su Qianyi, you’re truly shameless. Brother Ye already said he doesn’t like you, yet you still cling to him like a ghost that won’t dissipate.”

“Su Qianyi, stop acting like the victim. Weren’t you the one who insisted on coming here?”

“Brother Ye said it himself: if you win, you two get married next week. You like him so much, don’t you? Do you seriously not even dare to play?”

Jeers and mockery, each louder than the last, filled her ears. Su Qianyi snapped her eyes open. The overhead lights flickered between brightness and dimness, making it hard for her to grasp her surroundings.

She looked around. This appeared to be a luxurious private booth in a high-end club, lined with an array of expensive liquors. Not far away, a crowd had already gathered, clinking glasses and socialising.

Suddenly, a flood of memories rushed into her mind.

Su Qianyi realized she had transmigrated into a book again. Moreover, it was the same old-school “Mary Sue” romance novel she had read before.

The first time she transmigrated, she had been the villain who set up countless obstacles for the male lead’s career, ultimately serving as the stepping stone for his success. This time, she had transmigrated into a cannon fodder character with the same name—someone who existed only to push the leads’ relationship forward before meeting a tragic end.

The original Su Qianyi was the daughter of a first wife; her mother had died young, and she was neglected after her stepmother took over. The Su family’s projects had suffered a break in the capital chain. Compared to her younger stepsister, Su Wanwan—who graduated in finance and had interned at the company early on—the original Su Qianyi, a famous vase entertainer, naturally became a tool for a political marriage.

Currently, the male lead, Ye Jingchen, and the female lead, Su Wanwan, had already developed feelings for each other. If they had been together from the start, they would have been a perfect match. But Su Wanwan wanted the Su family inheritance while refusing to let go of the male lead.

To clear the path for the female lead, the author was ruthless. They designed a safety hazard in a Su family project. Su Qianyi, acting as the link between the Su and Ye families’ business, was logically pushed out to be the scapegoat.

She ended up in prison, meeting a miserable end. Afterward, the hero and heroine naturally lived happily ever after, succeeding in both love and career.

The original soul had left quite gracefully, leaving her to clean up this mess.

Fortunately, during her first transmigration, she had changed the novel’s progression while with the villain, Ye Feiran. Not only did she help Ye Feiran ascend to the head of the Ye family three years early, but she also prevented Ye Feiran from blackening into the heartless villain described in the book.

This proved there were no absolute restrictions in this world; the plot could be changed at will.

“Everyone, please don’t make things difficult for my sister. She doesn’t know how to play this,” a woman said, stepping in front of Su Qianyi. It was Su Wanwan.

Just as described in the book, Su Wanwan had innocent, almond-shaped eyes. Combined with her habit of pursing her lips, her weak and pitiful appearance easily made people side with her.

However, Ye Jingchen, sitting opposite them, stared at Su Qianyi with blatant impatience. He clearly harbored no goodwill toward the original host, even insulting the Su family in the process:

“Su Qianyi, I told you I don’t like you. If it weren’t for your capital chain breaking, your Su family wouldn’t have come crawling to our door. But since you’re here, play a round with me. If you win, we marry next week. If you lose, get out of here immediately.”

A crowd of jeering “rich second generation” heirs surrounded them, their eyes fixed on Su Qianyi, waiting for the show to begin.

Su Qianyi had two choices: follow the original host’s path and lick Ye Jingchen’s boots in hopes of conquering him one day, or play the cannon fodder role to the end and wait for the next chance at rebirth.

But only children make choices; as an adult, she wanted neither! Not only was she going to stay alive, she was going to play a big game. Everyone who bullied the original host would pay the price.

Su Qianyi took another look around, finally clarifying the current plot point. The Su family wanted to latch onto the Ye family, so they sent the original host to Ye Jingchen’s birthday banquet to foster feelings.

Unexpectedly, Ye Jingchen didn’t care at all. He had picked a dice game the original host had never tried, intending to humiliate her in public. The original host thought she was simply not good enough, never realizing it was because Ye Jingchen and Su Wanwan were already seeing each other.

Since she knew Ye Jingchen’s true thoughts, there was no need to pretend.

Su Qianyi gently pushed Su Wanwan aside and let out a light laugh. She picked up a nearby champagne glass, swirling it nonchalantly. “Who said I don’t know how to play?”

Seeing how calm she was, Ye Jingchen emphasized: “Best two out of three. If you lose, stop pestering me and get out immediately.”

Su Qianyi looked at the dice cup on the table. Having spent time in the entertainment industry, she had seen countless games like this. However, this time, she wanted to lose. Losing meant unbinding herself from this scumbag male lead—a great bargain whichever way she looked at it.

“Fine,” Su Qianyi’s smile deepened. She displayed a hint of the boldness and rebellion she had before transmigrating, causing the onlookers to daze for a moment.

The music in the room was cut, leaving only the sound of rattling dice.

In dice games, “Brag” was the most common. Each player had five dice and had to guess the total number of a specific face between both players. After one person called a number, the other could either open or call a higher number.

For fairness, the onlookers stepped back. As the cups stopped, Su Qianyi checked her dice: 2, 2, 3, 5, 6. Why couldn’t it have just given her a straight?

“Three 4s,” she called.

Ye Jingchen checked his cup and followed: “Four 4s.”

Su Qianyi was decisive: “Open.”

Before Ye Jingchen could speak, Su Qianyi lifted her cup first. The crowd gasped.

Su Qianyi won the first round.

As if the excitement wasn’t enough, she deliberately teased him: “Letting me win so easily? I knew you couldn’t actually bear to let me go, right?”

Ye Jingchen glanced at Su Wanwan, a forced smile twitching on his lips, but he didn’t answer.

In the second round, Su Qianyi followed the same routine but let Ye Jingchen win. Thus, the third round was the decider.

The cups rattled for the final time. As luck would have it, Su Qianyi rolled 2, 2, 3, 5, 6 again.

Ye Jingchen started: “Three 3s.”

Su Qianyi followed: “Three 4s.”

“Four 3s.”

“Four 4s.”

Thinking of Su Qianyi’s usual playstyle from the previous rounds, Ye Jingchen lowered his eyes in deep thought. “Four 5s.”

Su Qianyi looked at her dice and secretly gauged Ye Jingchen’s expression. Bragging was a test of psychological endurance, but Ye Jingchen had exposed his hand—the number 5 was likely his “bottom card.”

The opportunity had arrived. Su Qianyi stopped hiding and tilted her head back, draining her glass in one go. A drop of wine slid slowly from the corner of her mouth, appearing crystal clear under the revolving lights, adding a touch of allure to her presence.

The empty glass hit the floor with a crisp clink. The sound immediately drew everyone’s attention, as if pre-announcing the grand reveal.

The next second, Su Qianyi’s lips curled. “Open.”

The cups were lifted.

If the total number of 5s was greater than four, Su Qianyi would lose; if less, she would win. On the table, Su Qianyi had one 5. Ye Jingchen had 5, 5, 5, 5, 3. Between them, there were five 5s.

Su Qianyi had successfully lost.

Having achieved her goal, she didn’t want to stay a second longer, fearing Ye Jingchen might go back on his word. She stood up quickly, her peach-blossom eyes twinkling with playful mockery as she blinked at him. “Then I shall await your arrival at the Su residence, Young Master Ye.”

The surrounding crowd immediately began congratulating Ye Jingchen on his single status while throwing cold insults at Su Qianyi, urging her to leave.

However, after she took two steps, Ye Jingchen suddenly stood up, grabbed a nearby glass, and downed it. He blocked her path. “This is a matter between our two families, after all. Do you want to… reconsider?”

Su Qianyi stopped, looking at him with confusion. Could this be a male lead who loved the thrill of the chase? In the novel, he was devoted to Su Wanwan because he couldn’t have her. Seeing Su Qianyi leave so quickly, had his interest been piqued?

But she wasn’t some saintly Bodhisattva here to save him.

Su Qianyi smiled mockingly. “How do you want to talk? Don’t tell me you want to marry me right now?”

Before she could say more, Su Wanwan stepped forward. The cloying scent of her perfume made Su Qianyi instinctively step back. “Brother Jingchen, don’t…” Su Wanwan cried out anxiously.

Su Qianyi watched the drama from the side, unable to resist fanning the flames: “Ye Jingchen, since we’re over, I suggest you stop being petty. If you like Su Wanwan, marry her. Don’t drag an innocent person like me into it. I don’t want you.”

“No, no, Sister, what are you saying? Brother Jingchen and I have nothing between us,” Su Wanwan explained in a panic, her face turning pale.

“Su Wanwan, why bother acting in front of me?” Su Qianyi scoffed, the coldness in her beautiful eyes never reaching her smile. “Your ‘mistress wanting to rise’ act is exactly like your mother’s. You knew Ye Jingchen and I might marry, yet you’ve been carrying on an affair with him. You plan to help the Su family get money from the Ye family while getting him to kick me to the curb—two birds with one stone.”

A single sentence stirred a thousand waves. Countless suspicious gazes fell on Su Wanwan, accompanied by loud whispers.

“I… I didn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Don’t listen to her, you all know my sister has always disliked me!”

“Brother Jingchen and I are innocent!”

According to the book, not many people knew about their feelings in the early stages; everyone thought they were just friends. By exposing them so bluntly, Su Qianyi had ripped away Su Wanwan’s secret. Most people there had dealt with cheating elders and detested mistresses. In an instant, the way they looked at Su Wanwan changed.

Thinking of the original host, Su Qianyi gave a slightly regretful smile. Her long hair draped over her back, and because the corner was dim, she looked mysteriously beautiful—far more pitiable than Su Wanwan to the onlookers.

“Is what Su Qianyi said true?”

“Ye Jingchen’s attitude toward Su Wanwan is much better. He even helped her make connections at the last bidding gala.”

“Then why doesn’t he just marry her?”

“To let her get the Su inheritance, obviously. It’s complicated.”

Using the gap while the two were busy explaining, Su Qianyi seized the chance to walk quickly toward the door. The crisp sound of her heels echoed until she finally stopped a distance away and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, her heart filled with joy—both for her new life and for avenging the original host. She laughed unrestrainedly, as if venting all the grievances the original host had suffered.

After laughing her fill, she slowly entered the elevator.

Stepping out of the club, the cold night wind made her shrink back. Her vision suddenly blurred. She knew she could usually hold her liquor; perhaps the original host’s body was a lightweight.

But as she walked away from the “Paris Sunshine” club, Su Qianyi finally noticed something was wrong. A wave of heat rose from deep within her body.

This clearly wasn’t caused by alcohol.

At that moment, several voices came from behind her: “She’s right there! Don’t let her get away!”

“Quick, grab her!”

The joy from moments ago vanished as her mind raced. She suddenly remembered—in the book, the original host was drugged at this party. The next day, she was caught in bed by people arranged by Su Wanwan, and her reputation was completely destroyed. Su Wanwan’s provocative look before she left wasn’t just about the canceled engagement—it was because the host had unknowingly consumed drugged food before she transmigrated.

Su Qianyi bit her lower lip hard. The stinging pain cleared her head slightly. There were many drunk people leaving the club, so she didn’t draw suspicion from passersby.

The footsteps behind her grew closer and closer. Those people realized the drug was taking effect and weren’t in a hurry to catch her, following at a steady distance instead. Su Qianyi was like a young animal that had fallen into a trap, waiting for the hunter’s final judgment.

She stumbled forward, her vision blurring as a sense of powerlessness deepened her fear.

Just as she was about to collapse, a hand appeared and wrapped around her waist from behind. A cool female voice rang out: “I’m taking you away.”

Simultaneously, she heard the person say to someone else: “Go deal with those people.”

Su Qianyi found the voice very familiar, but her brain could no longer process information. She strained her eyes to see the person, but their features remained a blur. Her strength was fading along with her consciousness. She could only feel the voices of the pursuing men getting further and further away.

I must have met a kind soul, she thought. Her eyelids grew heavy. She felt herself being carried into a car, and her uneasy heart made her start to struggle again.

“You’ve had too much to drink. I’ll find you a doctor,” the kind soul said patiently, adding, “Be good.”

“Don’t… I… I want to find Ye Feiran.” Her vision was gone, but she struggled by instinct, calling out the only name she was willing to trust in this world.

The person beside her stiffened. Because she was the Ye Feiran Su Qianyi was calling for.

Ye Feiran remained silent for a long moment before asking: “Why are you looking for her?”

The heat inside caused tears to well in Su Qianyi’s eyes, her voice laced with sobs. “Ugh… she’s the only one I know.”

Ye Feiran leaned closer. Su Qianyi felt her shoulder being gripped tightly. “Then why did you leave back then?”

Su Qianyi shifted restlessly. Feeling the slightly cool temperature of the person beside her, she couldn’t help but press closer. Half-conscious, a scene of her losing the dice game flashed in her mind. Having finally regained her single status, she bragged: “Because… there are plenty of pretty girls waiting for me.”

Perhaps provoked by those words, Ye Feiran’s eyes darkened. she reached out to caress Su Qianyi’s lips. “So, you’re going to leave again?”

“Hmm?” Warm breath hovered over her cheek; a slight tilt and they would touch.

The car stopped. Su Qianyi was carried into a room until her back hit a soft mattress.

“Don’t leave this time, okay?”

Then, Su Qianyi felt as if she had fallen into a dream. As her thoughts drifted, her physical sensations became sharper. The person beside her tenderly cherished every inch of her skin, their technique becoming increasingly skilled. Her excitement surged, and she reached out for the person’s lips. But as she turned her head, her earlobe was bitten first.

Su Qianyi’s body trembled as she was pulled back, and a warm, moist kiss finally descended. The curtains fluttered in the wind, hiding the beautiful scene within the room.