What to do if I've locked myself in a book! - Chapter 1

The summer night was at its peak, yet the light in a single-unit apartment on the seventh floor of an ordinary residential building was still on.

Hot air carrying the drone of cicadas poured in through the wide-open window. At the desk, Ling Qianqian was typing frantically, racing to finish the final touches on a commissioned novel.

The glow of the screen washed over her face, outlining features that were beautiful by nature. A faint flush colored her cheeks, her delicate brows tightly knit. Her long, jet-black hair hung loosely over her shoulders. A thin, blue silk robe draped lazily on her frame, hanging open enough to reveal glimpses of white lingerie beneath. Her well-proportioned body rose and fell with each breath, graceful and alluring.

A full-time writer for three years now, twenty-five-year-old Ling Qianqian was still an unknown author. Most of her time was spent rushing manuscripts at her computer, earning money the hard way. Socially inept, she had not bothered to look for a new boyfriend after breaking up with her ex—out of sheer laziness—wasting such a good-looking face.

Another message popped up on her phone from her editor, Ji Shi, urging her to submit. She was already nearly two hours late past their agreed deadline. If she delayed any longer, that man would show up in person, kick the door open with his long legs, sit beside her, and stare her down until she typed the very last word.

This was originally a dull, old-fashioned custom romance novel. But since she was someone with standards, she had secretly added many personal tweaks, making the story far more lively—and costing her much more time.

Just as she was about to type the final line, whether due to a keyboard malfunction or a virus, the text suddenly began deleting and altering itself.

“…What?

She cried out. No matter how she hammered the keyboard, nothing worked—not even a restart.

The novel seemed to have developed a will of its own, automatically deleting and rewriting the plot.

The situation was so bizarre that her heart began pounding wildly.

At that moment, the phone on the desk buzzed. She caught sight of Ji Shi’s name and was about to reach for it when a blinding white light burst from the laptop screen, illuminating the entire room. Accompanied by a sharp ringing in her ears, Ling Qianqian was suddenly engulfed in pure white, as if sucked into the screen, vanishing without a trace.

“Ah!!!”

Her consciousness felt instantly hollowed out. She had no idea how much time passed before sensation rushed back into her body. Her head felt heavy and dizzy. The next second, a biting cold sliced across her skin like blades, making every hair stand on end.

Icy wind whistled as it slipped into her loose robe, chilling her until she shivered uncontrollably. In the blink of an eye, her bare feet stepped firmly onto cold, rough gray tiles.

Everything before her had changed.

It was as if the season had leapt from midsummer straight into late autumn. The damp, earthy scent unique to fall filled her nose. Under the night sky, melodious music intertwined with noisy voices, drifting faintly into her ears. Judging by her surroundings, she was standing on the terrace of some banquet villa.

No one was around. She rushed to the white stone railing and looked down. Three floors below lay an extravagantly designed central fountain and neatly trimmed clusters of dwarf poplars, forming an exquisitely symmetrical garden layout.

She sucked in a sharp breath and pulled her robe tighter. The unfamiliar yet strangely familiar environment made her scalp tingle.

This was clearly a scene from her novel—down to the season itself.

Unable to believe it, she shook her head hard and pressed her palm to her temple, firmly convinced she was dreaming.

Just then, steady footsteps sounded behind her, approaching from afar and snapping her thoughts back into focus.

As she turned around, an “extremely familiar” yet unfamiliar man came into view, making her heart jolt.