Lin Xiaoqing was twenty-five years old. According to her esteemed mother, that meant she had reached an age when merely staying alive was a waste of the nation’s food and resources.
Sitting on the sofa with a novel, Xiaoqing plugged her ears. Only after her mother’s endless muttering about blind dates faded and the front door closed behind her did she breathe a sigh of relief. Her mother had gone shopping.
Xiaoqing took out her phone and returned to her novel.
*Huh? There’s an update—and thirty new chapters appeared all at once!*
*Holy crap! Is the world ending? Is this real?*
She rubbed her eyes. The thirty chapters were still there. Xiaoqing reached the only possible conclusion: the author had lost her mind.
But this was wonderful! It soothed her soul! The author had finally updated! Xiaoqing was so happy she could cry. She hoped the woman lost her mind every day. Kisses!
First, she tossed the author a flower in support. Then she slowly began savoring those precious chapters.
*Huh? The eldest senior brother is cannon fodder? That makes no sense! How can such a gentle man be cannon fodder? Bad review!*
*Wait, wait—the master confessed? Why did the heroine reject her? Didn’t you have a secret crush on Master before, Lady Heroine? That rejection was awful. Bad review!*
*Hold on. That supporting woman everyone thought was her love rival… confessed too?!*
This! Made! No! Sense!
The author had planted so many clues around that supporting woman. She fought for attention, competed over the eldest senior brother, mocked the heroine to her face, and plotted against her in secret. She was the classic large-chested, empty-headed female side character.
And now she had confessed her love?
What the hell?
Xiaoqing kept reading, her mouth hanging open.
Even if the supporting woman had sacrificed so much for the heroine—even if she had abandoned everything, even if she had nearly died obtaining a rare spiritual herb the heroine needed—the heroine had to stay strong. She could not say yes!
Wait. Had Xiaoqing worried for nothing? This was a straight romance, not a girls’ love novel. Surely the author would not court disaster like that.
Well done, Lady Heroine! That was how it should be. Use the supporting woman. Frame her. Shed a few tears and make her take the blame for you. Yes, shove her forward whenever danger strikes. Her only reason for living was to be useful to you. Kisses!
By the time she finished those precious thirty chapters, Xiaoqing had quietly emptied an entire drawer of tissues. Then, for the first time in her life, she posted a negative rating.
> User No. 1: Malt Candy
> Review of *Cultivation: I Shall Seal the Heavens*
> Rating: -2
> Posted: March 28, 2015, 8:10 p.m.
> Chapter reviewed: 50
>
> You’re a cruel stepmother to the supporting woman, aren’t you? Aren’t you?!
The author replied:
> Heh. Since you’re the one giving me a negative rating, I’ll accept it. The supporting woman is based on me, and the heroine has traces of my best friend. In real life, I confessed to her, and my ending was miserable. I know she’s reading this story. I want to ask her why she can never see everything I’ve done for her. Lin Xiaoqing!
> User No. 2: What! The! Hell!
> User No. 3: The plot just turned into a melodrama… but why am I suddenly shipping the two women?
> User No. 4: Original poster, just accept the author already. Love and fight for the rest of your lives!
Xiaoqing stared at the screen.
“…What?!”
She refreshed the page. The author appeared again.
> Heh. You should have guessed who I am by now, shouldn’t you? I know you’re pretending to be dead again. I decided this story’s ending long ago. The supporting woman will never obtain what she desires and will spend her life alone. The heroine will fall in love with the young master of the demonic sect, and they will live happily ever after. Do you like that ending? I do. I love it… because she’s just like me, destined never to have the person she loves in this lifetime!
And that was how Xiaoqing transmigrated.
After reading the author’s reply that day, her mind had filled with a stampede of curses. When had this supposed best friend ever confessed to her?
No, that was not right. Xiaoqing did not even have a best friend!
She had a cyclical mental illness—what doctors now called bipolar disorder.
She had once maxed out her cards in a single night. She had driven at insane speeds more than once. She had spent months in police custody and several more in hospitals.
Once people learned about her condition, they left her one after another. So when had this mysterious best friend appeared?
What a joke.
“Fifth Senior Sister.”
The speaker was a small, delicate girl with pale skin, lively features, and wide, innocent eyes. A trace of cruelty crossed her youthful face, and she made no effort to hide it.
“That Li Li doesn’t know what’s good for her. Should we find someone to teach her a lesson?”
“No. Don’t.”
*You can’t beat her, young lady. She’s the mighty heroine who eventually reaches the very summit.*
