After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Turned on Easy Mode - Chapter 1

Wu You never imagined she would choke to death on a mouthful of water. Dying from choking would have been bad enough, but when she opened her eyes she found a sword in her hand — and she was stabbing a white-robed, ancient-dress beauty seated in a wheelchair.

Her mind went blank; before she could react she was shoved aside. Unprepared, Wu You was pushed down, landing on the ground; she got up ready to curse.

She looked up and saw a man in a blue robe anxiously asking about the wounded white-robed woman’s condition. The woman’s breathing was erratic and her face was unnaturally pale, like a fish on the verge of death. The man’s expression turned ugly; then he spun to glare at Wu You with murderous intent and spoke: “Wu You! Why would you do such a thing? What hatred do you bear toward Miss Qingzi that you’d try to take her life?”

The scene felt very familiar — she’d seen it somewhere before. Qingzi??? That name sounded like the ultimate villainess from that melodrama she’d read not long ago. So this scene must be…

The famous moment when the cannon-fodder villain Wu You brings about her own doom…

Wu You glanced at the bl00d on her sword; drops ran down the blade, tick-tick, hammering at her nerves.

Ah!! God! I transmigrated into a book and became the cannon-fodder villain with the same name. And not just any cannon-fodder — the lowest-grade kind; calling her a ridiculous show-off wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

The original was the typical big-bust-no-brains type: fearless and reckless, offending both the male and female leads and getting on the wrong side of every antagonist in the story. After stabbing Zhao Qingzi, the original was secretly stabbed into a sieve by Zhao Qingzi’s men and her body dumped in the wilderness.

When that role died in the story, Wu You had been overjoyed — this character clung to the male lead like chewing gum, unpleasant if not downright disgusting. She was fierce and unreasonable; apart from a pretty face and decent martial skills she had nothing remotely admirable.

A gust of wind passed; Wu You shivered, her complexion even paler than the wounded Zhao Qingzi’s. What to do, what to do? Now she had become that Wu You — does transmigration even check names? Getting stabbed into a sieve is way worse than choking to death!!!

Zhang Boyu crouched, gripping the wheelchair’s armrest, eyes fixed on Wu You not far away. Seeing her silent for so long, pale and trembling, he assumed she had realized the grave trouble she’d caused and was about to speak — when Wu You’s anguished voice rang out.

“Why! Why, Qingzi, do you always run toward someone else? I love you! Look at me!”

Zhang Boyu was stunned by that line — his mouth slightly open, eyes wide.

Zhao Qingzi was equally astonished. She had gone out to accompany her gege to meet a friend; Zhao Qingzi already knew her gege had someone he liked, and that woman was present today, so Zhao Qingzi had deliberately tried to stall Zhang Boyu to give her gege time with that woman.

She hadn’t expected the suddenly appearing Wu You to stab her, nor had she expected to hear words so shameless as a declaration of love.

In shock, Zhao Qingzi even forgot the pain in her shoulder; her mind whirled as she frantically tried to figure out what had gone wrong. It shouldn’t be like this! Everyone in the capital knew Wu You liked Zhang Boyu — how could this be?

Seeing both the male lead and the villain dumbfounded by her grandiose proclamation, Wu You felt mortified; she wanted to rub her nose, but she had to keep up the expression of overwhelming grief.

In the original novel, Wu You’s answer had been that she loved the male lead; she was jealous, and in the end Zhao Qingzi quietly had her stabbed into a sieve.

Wu You thought for a moment. Since she knew the plot, could she change it? A sudden idea struck — she shifted the subject of the original line.

Her eyes landed on Zhao Qingzi in white, her lids slightly widened and full of confusion. The white robe on her shoulder had already been stained red, like a single blazing maple leaf had fallen on it.

Wu You winced at the sight — was the male lead an idiot, still standing there? If he didn’t call a doctor soon, things would go badly!

With that in mind, Wu You took two steps forward, shoved the male lead aside, and lifted Zhao Qingzi from the wheelchair. The woman smelled faintly sweet and was frighteningly light; the original Wu You had trained in martial arts for years, so she had no trouble scooping her up and running for the estate’s physician.

Wu You ran fast and soon put distance between herself and the pursuing Zhang Boyu. Guided by the original’s memories, she zigzagged through the estate and finally reached her destination.

The woman in her arms stayed quiet and didn’t struggle; her beautiful eyes kept looking up at Wu You.

Wu You kicked the door open, laid the compliant girl on a bed, and called the doctor to examine the wound.

Sitting beside them, Wu You inadvertently met Zhao Qingzi’s steady gaze. Caught by the stare, she felt awkward and quickly looked away.

The doctor said there was nothing serious: the wound was superficial and hadn’t hit any vital organs. With calm recuperation she would recover.

At the doctor’s words Wu You breathed a sigh of relief. Wait! Had she just saved the person who was supposed to stab her into a sieve…?

Thinking this, Wu You couldn’t help giving herself a loud slap — a bright red mark bloomed on her face.

The doctor was startled by the sudden outburst; knowing this young lady’s reputation in the capital, he carefully asked, “Miss Wu, what are you doing?”

Wu You forced a forlorn laugh. “Heh… nothing. I was just swatting a mosquito.”

Thinking that Zhang Boyu and the others would arrive soon, she decided it was time to leave.

At the doorway she softened a bit, still worried, and glanced back at the bed. The woman in white still stared blankly at her.

The white-robed girl was petite and delicate, lashes long, skin fine — at this moment her eyes seemed to hold light, like a spirit who’d accidentally wandered into the mortal world, evoking pity.

Wu You stared, momentarily entranced. The villain really was as beautiful as the book described. Wu You was a faithful reader of this novel and had seen many fan artists’ renditions, but none compared to the real person.

Beautiful though she was, she was poisonous. Wu You pinched herself to come back to her senses, then turned and bowed with a sorrowful expression. “Miss Qingzi, this was my fault. Today I carelessly injured you and spoke reckless words. I will come by another day to apologize in person and give you an explanation.”

Having played the part of a woman who loved deeply yet must repress it, Wu You then turned and ran like the wind.

The original Wu You had ridden back on a horse after hearing the news; Wu You found that horse and returned to the General’s residence. As soon as she entered she locked herself in a room, bolting the doors and windows to feel even a little safe.

Sitting on the bed, Wu You hugged her knees and stared at the locked door, slightly dazed.

Aside from being a bit stunned right after transmigrating, Wu You now fully possessed the original’s memories and martial skills.

Wu You was the only daughter of General Wu Zhan. Her birth mother died early, and her father was too busy with frontier affairs to care for his daughter; combined with the fact that the original’s circle of friends were all second-generation heirs, this had shaped the original’s unpleasant personality.

She rubbed her forehead — from the memories it seemed the original hadn’t had an easy life either.

She wondered if she would end up with the same fate as the original, but now that it had happened she could only take it one step at a time.

She got out of bed and picked up a bronze mirror, letting out a soft hiss. The face in the mirror had brows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn waters, bright red lips, and a mole at the corner of the eye — an unbounded allure.

Who would have thought this face, fit for dancing, could also lift a five-hundred-pound stone like it was nothing…

Shaking her head, she couldn’t help thinking of the villain’s stunning looks. The male lead Zhang Boyu she’d seen today was also very handsome.

Wu You examined herself from left to right in the mirror, and the more she looked the more her spirits buoyed; her mood lightened considerably.

While one side was lost in self-admiration, on the other side someone’s thoughts had been thrown into turmoil.

After returning home, Zhao Qingzi’s mind remained unsettled. Previously she would listen to her gege’s words very attentively, but this time something was different. She lay on her bed, slightly distracted.

Zhao Qingshu watched his sister’s absent-minded state with some worry and recalled the rough outline Zhang Boyu had described earlier. He frowned slightly and reached out to probe his sister’s forehead — there was no fever.

Zhao Qingshu’s touch snapped Zhao Qingzi out of her reverie; she shifted her gaze to the gege sitting by the bedside.

Seeing his sister look at him, Zhao Qingshu sighed. Guilt washed over his face. “It’s my fault, I didn’t protect you well enough. Don’t worry — I will make that Wu You give you an explanation. She stabbed you, and on top of that she even dared! Dared to—”

Zhao Qingshu couldn’t finish; his sister’s legs were crippled and her body weak. If her future husband didn’t treat her sincerely, her life would be even more miserable. He thought that if his sister could never form a proper family, he would raise her for the rest of his life.

Who would have thought that someone would set her sights on his sister — and it was a woman no less! A woman who was completely reckless!

All of that might have been tolerable, but Zhao Qingshu noticed his sister’s unusual expression — as if she might actually like that Wu You.

Zhao Qingzi couldn’t know the complex mental gears turning in her gege’s head. She gently held his hand, shook her head, and offered a very understanding smile.

“Gege, don’t be angry. Miss Wu You did it without meaning to.”

At those words a warning bell rang in Zhao Qingshu’s mind. He felt as if his small cabbage (i.e., his precious sister) was about to be plucked by swine.

“Qingzi, what do you feel toward that… that Miss Wu You?”

Seeing his gege’s cautious expression, Zhao Qingzi immediately knew what he meant.

“Gege, I have no other feelings for Miss Wu You. I only find her somewhat interesting. You know me — I’m like this with everyone.”

Remembering her sister’s overly gentle nature, Zhao Qingshu exhaled and felt a large weight lift from his chest.

After a short chat the two siblings bade the maidens take care of Zhao Qingzi, and Zhao Qingshu stood to leave.

They watched Zhao Qingshu walk farther and farther away until he disappeared from view. Zhao Qingzi folded away the smile on her face, had the maid help her up from the bed, and wheeled herself to the window.

It was late autumn; a rain yesterday had knocked all the osmanthus blossoms from the courtyard trees. The wind stirred the wisps of hair at the girl’s brow and carried a faint sweetness.

Zhao Qingzi looked at the view outside, hoping the cool autumn breeze would carry away the agitation inside her.

But whenever she closed her eyes, that person’s anguished voice kept echoing in her ears and would not let her be. A flash of annoyance passed through her — she felt too gullible, falling for a few flowery words and getting caught in the hunter’s net.

The scent of osmanthus nodded at her nose, strong enough to fill the lungs and make the heart feel sweet. She couldn’t help but curve her lips, thinking of that person’s appearance: so intense, it was unforgettable.

She also thought of how that person had slapped herself when the wound was being tended to — perhaps out of guilt after mistakenly injuring her.

Zhao Qingzi saw clearly that the sword had been aimed at Zhang Boyu; it was just that the wet ground had made the attacker unstable and the blade had struck her instead.

After stabbing her, the attacker’s face had actually looked worse than hers; their body trembling slightly — they certainly hadn’t expected this and felt guilty.

On leaving, they stubbornly claimed it was a false accusation, but the sadness on their face couldn’t be hidden. How endearing.

Her mouth kept pulling up into a smile she couldn’t stop; the maid watching her mistress acting like a lovestruck girl nearly dropped her jaw.

The sun has risen in the west today!!

Snapped back out of the endless sweet thoughts, Zhao Qingzi’s eyes flashed with a pained expression. She clutched at the cloth on her leg.

So, which version of me does he really like…?

Wu You was still admiring herself in the mirror, completely unaware that the great villain had just successfully fallen for her.