In a daze, Jiang Yuntan felt a large, calloused hand pressing against her forehead. The next second, bitter medicinal liquid was poured into her mouth. A man's low voice rang in her ears, "She's taken the fever reducer. Now we'll see if she can pull through. Did you make the porridge you were supposed to?"
"Yes, it's ready. Miss Jiang can have it when she wakes up." After a while, hearing the door close, Jiang Yuntan drifted back to sleep amid waves of discomfort.
When she woke up, her stomach was painfully empty. Remembering the voices she'd heard before falling asleep, she forced herself up and stumbled out the door, her mind solely focused on food. Her head was spinning, so she didn't notice any changes around her. But when she opened the door, she saw a group of people sitting in the living room, all staring at her.
Just then, an elegant woman walked over, steadying her shaky frame, and asked gently, "Miss Jiang, are you okay?"
Jiang Yuntan recognized her voice—it was the one who had offered to make her porridge. She said pitifully, "Sister, I'm hungry."
Qi Ruoshui was a bit surprised but quickly responded, "Alright, I'll get it." She helped Jiang Yuntan to the sofa.
Jiang Yuntan looked at the unfamiliar faces around her, puzzled. Oh, right—she seemed to have a lot of new memories in her head. Before she could sort them out, she heard a sarcastic voice.
"Some people push their teammates into a zombie horde and then have the nerve to sit here like nothing happened," Xia Chujing sneered.
"Xiaojing, Yuntan just woke up. Don't say that," Lin Tingxue advised.
Xia Chujing was indignant. "Tingxue, you're too kind. Jiang Yuntan pushed you right into a zombie's mouth to save herself. It's lucky you awakened an ability, or you'd be dead now. She can't just do whatever she wants because she's President Shen's fiancée, can she? Who would dare stay in a team with her now?"
While the accusations flew, Jiang Yuntan processed the memories flooding her mind. Tingxue? President Shen? Shen Hegui? No way—she had transmigrated into a book? She had become the vicious female supporting character with the same name in an apocalyptic novel. She was just a recent college graduate who grew up in peaceful times. Had she done anything terrible? Had she died from staying up late? Or maybe it was that wish she made in front of some emperor's temple? The rumors said wishes made there would come true in all sorts of ways. Well, she certainly felt it now.
She had wished for wealth—bam, she was now a wealthy young lady, with a Blood Jade Bracelet on her wrist. Rich enough, wasn't she? She had wished for a rich, handsome, and fit partner—and now she had a noble, refined fiancé. But her role was a spoiled and vicious female supporting character. She knew the male lead had no romantic feelings for her, yet she clung to him relentlessly, causing trouble in his work before the apocalypse and earning even more hatred after it started. Whenever the female lead, Lin Tingxue, got close to Shen Hegui, she would go out of her way to target Lin Tingxue, doing all kinds of stupid things. This made Shen Hegui, who had originally seen her as a little sister, despise her too, and he shifted his protection to the female lead. Later, the female supporting character alienated everyone who had been kind to her, and eventually, she was tricked out of the base by the female lead, tortured, and killed. It would have been better to be eaten by zombies...
So, all of the original owner's malicious actions had only brought harm to herself and served as a catalyst for the main couple's relationship. And now, she had died of a high fever, while she herself had died from staying up late... Well, hadn't her wishes come true? Could she still take them back?
Jiang Yuntan wanted to cry but had no tears. She was already drained, and now her mood plummeted. But then Xia Chujing's next words made her perk up.
Xia Chujing said matter-of-factly, "Even though Tingxue said she doesn't blame you, you should at least apologize and make amends. I think that bracelet on your hand would suit Tingxue perfectly. Give it to her as an apology. It's the apocalypse now—these things are worthless. If Tingxue accepts it, she's doing you a favor."
Jiang Yuntan looked down at the Blood Jade Bracelet on her wrist. Oh, so she wasn't just a catalyst for the main couple; she was also a tool to deliver a golden finger to the female lead. The golden finger was this Blood Jade Bracelet. But in the original story, it wasn't given to Lin Tingxue voluntarily. Lin Tingxue heard it was a family heirloom passed down from Shen Qingshan to his future daughter-in-law, so she stole it. Later, she accidentally dripped blood on it, bonded with it, and relied on this golden finger to thrive in the apocalypse. But now, sorry, the bracelet was on her hand—it was hers.
Jiang Yuntan snorted and retorted, "All that buildup just to covet my bracelet? This is a family heirloom that Uncle Shen gave me, his future daughter-in-law. How dare you even think of it? And you expect me to thank you for 'helping' me get rid of it? Shameless."
She continued, "If I had pushed her into the zombie horde to use her as a shield, would I have been scratched by a zombie myself? How do you know it wasn't Lin Tingxue who used me as a shield? The zombie scratches on me are worse than hers. Just because she woke up first doesn't mean her accusation that I pushed her is true. If I had woken up first, I'd say she pushed me. A bunch of idiots." Jiang Yuntan insulted everyone present.
Then, before they could react, she quickly walked back to her room and slammed the door shut.
The most important thing now wasn't arguing—it was getting the golden finger for herself!
She was about to study the bracelet when she heard a knock at the door. "Miss Jiang, it's me."
Jiang Yuntan opened the door to see Qi Ruoshui holding a bowl of porridge. She took it and smiled. "Thank you, sister."
"It's nothing. Get some rest," Qi Ruoshui said softly.
Jiang Yuntan nodded. She saw Lin Tingxue and Xia Chujing both looking her way, so she glared back at them before closing the door.
Lin Tingxue dug her nails into her palm, while Xia Chujing was practically fuming.
Just then, Shen Hegui came out of another room and said coldly, "No one saw what happened. Both of you were injured, so there's no reason to blame each other. If you insist Yuntan had ill intentions, we'll split up to avoid more misunderstandings. Also, Yuntan's belongings are hers. If she doesn't want to give them away, I advise you not to covet them. I don't want to see anyone scheming against the Shen family." His words were full of warning.
—
P.S.: The protagonist is not a saint, will not cater to the original female lead, and will not change Jiang Yuntan's original personality into one of kindness and beauty. It's the apocalypse—who knows when we'll die, so we'll be arrogant for as long as we can. Yuntan is not the type to immediately dominate; in the early stages, to survive better, she'll latch onto powerful people. Later on, she'll grow stronger and her golden finger will become more powerful. This story has a male lead who is not scummy; before, he only saw the original owner as a little sister, and he only loves the current Yuntan. There is a CP, but she won't be a tool for the male lead. I hope our Yuntan has the courage to charge forward, love and hate boldly, and always make the choices that benefit her most, living as unruly and carefree as she pleases.