After Transmigrating into a Sadistic Novel, the Socially Anxious Sickly Beauty Just Wants to Sleep - Chapter 1

Today was a fine day, bright and sunny. Jian An Mian could lie in bed and still be warmed through by the sun, his pale face tinted with a little red, almost like the last flush of life before death. Only his eyes, as he gazed out the window, looked hollow and empty, as if he were waiting for something, or perhaps simply spacing out.

The nurse helped him change his IV bag. After hesitating again and again, she still could not help comforting him. “Little Jian, your mom and dad are probably just too busy with work. They didn’t forget your birthday on purpose. Maybe you’ll see a surprise tomorrow.”

Jian An Mian paused, then came back to himself. His thick black lashes trembled faintly as they lowered, and he answered very softly.

He had been slow-natured since birth, and he was afraid of people. Although he had already been around this nurse for several weeks, he still grew nervous whenever he spoke.

He knew the nurse was comforting him. Last time, when his parents had brought his younger sister over, they had said they were going to Disneyland during this period.

They thought he had been asleep and could not hear them. In reality, he had not fallen asleep at all. Because of the pain, he rarely slept.

Not a single person had realized that the date they had chosen was actually his birthday.

The nurse looked at him and sighed, then gently closed the door and left.

Never mind today. During the weeks she had been looking after him, his parents had not come to visit even once.

It was as if… they had completely forgotten they still had a child who was so quiet he almost did not exist.

Once the room was empty, Jian An Mian finally relaxed. He quietly basked in the sun for a while, then opened his phone and began writing today’s update.

He could not sit up for long, so he had specially downloaded iFlytek and used voice input on his phone to write.

Every time he entered a sentence, he would poke at the typos with his finger and fix any awkward or incorrect phrasing.

His keyboard used double pinyin, which was a little faster than full pinyin, but he was still unhurried, pouring his whole heart into it. He was doing the thing he enjoyed most.

He wrote very slowly. After every one or two thousand words, he had to stop and rest for a while, or else his head would hurt terribly.

But for some reason, his head seemed to hurt much more today than usual.

By the time he finally finished writing today’s update, the sky had already turned dark.

Jian An Mian first went to the backend and previewed it once. After confirming that there were no blocked-out characters or garbled text, he clicked send. But just then, Little Green suddenly lagged. He was already used to it, though. Little Green always lagged a little every night.

So Jian An Mian backed out and opened the comment section instead. So many little angels with gold ingot icons were waiting hungrily to be fed, and Jian An Mian could not help revealing a faint smile.

Although his doctor was always warning him not to overuse his brain, he knew that if he had not been writing, he would never have survived until now.

Only when he was creating did he feel that he was truly alive.

Jian An Mian ignored the unpleasant comments and earnestly replied to his little angels’ questions.

Reader: “Author, when is today’s update coming? My legs have gone numb from squatting here, boohoohoohoo.”

Author’s reply: “I’m feeling a little unwell today, so I wrote a bit slowly. Sorry for making my babies wait so long. Today’s update is already finished, but Little Green lagged and kicked me out. I’ll go back in and try again. Babies who leave comments on the new chapter later will all get red packets. Hugging and kissing you all.”

Jian An Mian returned to the backend again and was just about to click send when suddenly, a heart-piercing pain, like a sharp sword, stabbed violently through his brain. A violent ringing sounded in his ears, and his throat felt as though it had been tightly gripped by a large hand, leaving him unable to breathe.

In the quiet hospital room at night, the medical equipment suddenly let out a shrill alarm.

In the second before he died, Jian An Mian was thinking—

I’m sorry, my little angels. You’ll never be able to wait for today’s update and red packets. In the end, I still broke my promise.

…

“Could the two of you move a little closer? Hold that pose. Yes, yes—smile!”

When Jian An Mian regained consciousness, a flash of white light went off in front of him. The camera clicked. Jian An Mian blinked half a beat late, then looked around. His expression could only be described as blankly stupid.

What was going on? Hadn’t he already died? Why had he suddenly appeared in a photo studio?

At the same time, Yan Zhi Mo, who was sitting beside Jian An Mian, also felt dazed for an instant.

At the exact moment the photo was taken, it was as if many things had suddenly surged into his mind. But those things seemed to be wrapped in a shell. He could not open it, so he could not see clearly what was inside. Very soon, however, he returned to normal. Perhaps it was just because he had been under too much work pressure.

“All right. Please come over and take a look at the photo.”

Jian An Mian walked over as if sleepwalking. The moment he looked at the camera, his pupils dilated, and his ears buzzed.

This was not his face.

Although this appearance was seventy or eighty percent similar to his own, it was definitely not him.

“What are you thinking about? Come back to yourself.” A deep male voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

Jian An Mian instinctively raised his head and met Yan Zhi Mo’s unfamiliar eyes. His breathing immediately grew hurried. He clutched the hem of his clothes and asked nervously, “May I ask who you are…?”

“Gone stupid?” Yan Zhi Mo laughed and did not pay it much mind. “I’m Yan Zhi Mo. Of course, to put it another way, I’m about to become your husband.”

“Husband…” Jian An Mian froze.

Since when could same-sex couples marry in China?

Wait. Yan Zhi Mo… wasn’t that the name of the main top from the novel he had read two days ago?

He… had transmigrated into a book.

This was an old-fashioned melodramatic angst novel. The protagonist was a sickly bottom with the same name as him.

In the novel, the protagonist and the top entered into a contractual marriage. He suffered both physically and emotionally at the hands of the top’s stepmother, white moonlight, childhood friend, friends, nephew, secretary, white lotus, green tea, and so on. In the end, he died of illness in the top’s arms.

The top was filled with unbearable regret and followed him in death. A double-death bad ending.

And right now, it was the beginning of the novel, when the protagonist and the top went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate, thereby starting their path of angsty love.

Yan Zhi Mo finally noticed that something was off. He frowned and scrutinized Jian An Mian, then asked in a low voice, “I’ll ask you one last time. Are you sure you’re marrying me of your own free will?”

Jian An Mian trembled in fear. The man was truly too tall. When his expression was serious, his sense of oppression was especially strong, his powerful physique standing before him like a mountain. Jian An Mian was so frightened that he hurriedly nodded. Even if it had not been voluntary, it was voluntary now.

He had no intention of escaping the plot. Nor did he have any thoughts about possibly dying of illness again. He only wanted to lie flat and give up, to be a salted fish drifting with the current, then quietly die as he had in his previous life.

Yan Zhi Mo nodded in satisfaction. It was best if Jian An Mian was obedient. He also did not want to waste time on these useless entanglements, so he led Jian An Mian next door to collect their marriage certificate.

…

Half an hour later, outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Yan Zhi Mo held the freshly issued marriage certificate and extended a hand toward Jian An Mian. “Starting today, I am your husband in the eyes of the law. The contract has officially taken effect. I hope we can get along amicably in the days to come.”

Although the corners of his mouth were smiling, his slightly lowered brows and eyes carried an innate coldness and distance. His tone was strictly businesslike. Despite carrying the title of husband, he truly did not take a small character like Jian An Mian seriously.

Jian An Mian stretched out a finger and quickly touched Yan Zhi Mo’s fingertip, then instantly pulled it back. The tiny bit of his fingertip, pale and white like the tip of a bamboo shoot, twisted together nervously with his other fingers.

Yan Zhi Mo grasped a handful of air. “…Here’s to a pleasant cooperation.”

Without even looking at him, Jian An Mian said, “Mm.”

Yan Zhi Mo: “…”

Yan Zhi Mo withdrew his hand and said without changing expression, “Then I’ll send you back.”

It just so happened that Jian An Mian did not know where he should go either, so he quickly agreed.

The original owner had an extremely serious allergic constitution. Even in the height of summer, he still wore a long-sleeved outer jacket, with a mask on his face. His thin figure was wrapped up tightly, revealing only two delicate eyebrows and a pair of timid eyes.

However, Jian An Mian was afraid of people, so this sort of outfit instead gave him a full sense of security. He accepted it without any psychological burden.

Apart from the driver, Uncle Chen, the car also held Yan Zhi Mo’s accompanying secretary this time, Liu Yuan Xiang. Some of the procedures just now had also been handled by Secretary Liu.

Secretary Liu was beautiful and charming. When she saw Jian An Mian, she smiled politely and nodded. “Madam.”

“Don’t… don’t…” Jian An Mian immediately became flustered. Red instantly climbed up to the tips of his ears.

His skin was thin and extremely fair, so when he was shy, it especially showed on his face. A peach-blossom flush covered his slender neck and went all the way up behind the roots of his ears, like overturned rouge.

Yan Zhi Mo looked at him, then suddenly reached out and tucked a loose strand of his hair behind his ear. In a low voice, he said, “My spouse is shy. Just call him Mr. Jian.”

In front of outsiders, he still had to put on a show. Only, Jian An Mian’s ears, which had already been red, immediately turned even redder.

Secretary Liu’s gaze shifted slightly, but her smile did not change. “Of course, Mr. Jian.”

After a while, the car arrived. Yan Zhi Mo personally sent Jian An Mian to the door of his home.

Yan Zhi Mo said, “After you go back, remember to pack your luggage quickly and move out. I sent the address to your phone. The door code is today’s date. Let me know when you arrive. After you get there, you can register your fingerprint yourself.”

Jian An Mian agreed and nodded to each instruction. The whorl at the top of his head swayed along with the movement, making him look very well-behaved, like some kind of furry little animal.

For some reason, Yan Zhi Mo’s hand felt a little itchy. He stretched out one hand, wanting to pat Jian An Mian’s head.

The man was too tall and imposing, as though his shadow alone could swallow Jian An Mian whole. Jian An Mian was very afraid of him and did not dare resist at all. He stood stiffly in place, his fingers nervously wringing the hem of his clothes as he waited for the man to pat his head.

Seeing him like this, Yan Zhi Mo suddenly developed a bit of a wicked thought. His arm changed direction in midair, and he took off the mask straps hooked behind Jian An Mian’s ears, revealing a palm-sized, plain white little face. His cheeks had been steamed pink under the mask, and his lips were moist, red, and soft, like a flower stamen damp with dew.

“You’re already home. There’s no need to keep wearing it, right?” Yan Zhi Mo hooked the edge of the strap with his fingertip and lifted the limp mask in front of Jian An Mian to show him. “It’s already wet.”

Jian An Mian’s head went boom. His breathing became chaotic, and he said with trembling lips, “Please… give it back to me.”

Yan Zhi Mo smiled and said, “It’s fine. I’ll throw it away for you. You can go straight inside.”

“…Wu.” Jian An Mian looked at the mask in Yan Zhi Mo’s hand, then looked at Yan Zhi Mo, his eyes reddening.

As expected of the scumbag main top. His personality really was awful. Bullying someone the very first time they met!

But what could he do? He was only a half-dead sickly bottom. The man could poke him to death with one finger.

“All right, here you go.” Once Yan Zhi Mo had had enough fun, he tossed the mask back, knowing when to stop. “Go inside.”

Jian An Mian felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He quickly held the mask and fled.

Yan Zhi Mo folded his arms and watched his figure run away in panic, then smiled in a good mood.

Little friend, he really could not handle being teased.

…

Jian An Mian opened the door with his fingerprint. Xu Pei Ying glanced behind him and frowned. “Why are you alone? Mr. Yan didn’t come back with you?”

Jian An Mian lowered his head and said, “He left.”

Xu Pei Ying said unhappily, “You child, why are you so thoughtless? It wasn’t easy for Mr. Yan to come over, yet you didn’t even invite him in for a cup of tea. Is this how I usually teach you?”

Jian An Mian turned a deaf ear. With his head lowered, he went patter-patter toward the elevator. The moment the elevator doors opened, he ran straight into his stepfather, Qin Bi Xian.

“You’re already an adult, yet you still have no respect for your elders. No matter how you’re taught, you never learn.” Qin Bi Xian watched Jian An Mian slip into the elevator while cursing under his breath, then said with disdain, “Little ungrateful wolf.”

Following the original text’s description, Jian An Mian found his own room on the second floor and began carefully packing his luggage item by item.

The protagonist’s mother, Xu Pei Ying, was a cold, selfish, career-driven woman who put profit above all else.

She and Qin Bi Xian had the protagonist’s older brother, Qin Luo Chen. Because she was dissatisfied with Qin Bi Xian’s male chauvinism, she divorced him and later had the protagonist with her second husband.

But her second husband was only an ordinary, unremarkable university professor. Xu Pei Ying looked down on him. During her pregnancy, she still worked at high intensity, stayed up late, and attended business dinners. In the end, this caused the protagonist to be born prematurely, and from birth, his body was full of problems.

Xu Pei Ying could not tolerate her own child being an incompetent, weak little invalid. At this time, she also suddenly felt that Qin Bi Xian was her true love after all, so she swiftly divorced the university professor and got back together with Qin Bi Xian.

Even her first child, Qin Luo Chen, became the crystallization of their love.

As for the protagonist, he became a great stain on Xu Pei Ying’s life.

The protagonist’s mother and stepfather were not good to the protagonist, and Jian An Mian had no intention of giving them a pleasant face either.

When dealing with verbal abuse, ignoring it was enough. In any case, he had social anxiety and did not like communicating with people. He would just pretend he was both deaf and mute.

The original owner had been frail and sickly since birth and stayed indoors all year round. There were barely two pieces of clothing in his wardrobe, but he did have an entire suitcase packed full of medicine.

Jian An Mian dragged his suitcase into the hallway. When he neared the study, he heard Xu Pei Ying and Qin Bi Xian talking.

Qin Bi Xian said, “Chen Chen, really. Yan Zhi Mo liked him for so many years. If he had married into the Yan family, how many benefits would he have brought our family? And what happened? At the last moment, he ran off abroad! Such a good opportunity was wasted by that little sickly invalid!”

Xu Pei Ying advised him, “I actually think things are quite good this way. Our Chen Chen has been clever and capable since he was young. He has a bright future waiting for him. How could he marry a man? Would he still want his future or not? An Mian, on the other hand, has been in poor health since childhood and can’t do anything. He might as well marry Yan Zhi Mo and exchange it for some benefits for our family. That can be considered him repaying us for raising him.”

“Then what if Chen Chen comes back in the future? What should we do about Yan Zhi Mo then?”

“By then, Chen Chen will also have completed his studies. If the two children truly want to be together, we won’t be able to stop them, will we? As for An Mian… it was never his to begin with. He would merely be returning something that was lent to him. I think An Mian will be able to understand. After all, Chen Chen is his biological older brother.”

This was a melodramatic novel, so naturally, there were many melodramatic settings.

For example, the main top’s white moonlight was actually the main bottom’s half-brother, born from the same mother.

The conversation in the study above also existed in the original novel. From then on, it planted a thorn in the main bottom’s heart, while also laying the groundwork for the angsty, deeply tangled love that would come later.

Jian An Mian was not the original owner, and he did not like Yan Zhi Mo, so naturally, he could not be hurt by it.

As for whom Yan Zhi Mo liked, that had nothing to do with him either.

He only felt terribly embarrassed. He had accidentally overheard the villains gossiping about him behind his back.

Jian An Mian scratched at the hem of his clothes, dragged his suitcase, and carefully retreated.

He should… come out again in two minutes.

…

At the same time, Yan Zhi Mo was sitting in the car, eyes closed in rest, while listening to his secretary briefly report on the recent state of work.

Usually, it was his special assistant, Yuwen Chi, who followed him around. But today, for some unknown reason, Yuwen Chi had suddenly eaten something bad and upset his stomach, so Secretary Liu from the secretarial department had been temporarily reassigned.

Suddenly, a truck driving against traffic sped toward them from ahead.

The driver was so frightened that he hurriedly turned the steering wheel. They narrowly brushed past the truck, but because of that, the car also changed direction and tipped over toward the side of the road.

“Careful—”

Along with a series of glass-shattering sounds, a slender figure threw herself over without regard for anything and shielded Yan Zhi Mo.

Because of inertia, Yan Zhi Mo’s body slammed hard against the roof of the car. The hard shell inside his mind shattered. Vast, chaotic pieces of information surged into his brain, and before Yan Zhi Mo had time to sort through them, he instantly fainted.

…

Elsewhere.

Jian An Mian, who was just about to carry his luggage to his new home, suddenly received a call from the hospital. He could only put down his luggage and hurry to the hospital.

…

Half an hour later, Yan Zhi Mo, lying in a hospital bed, suddenly opened a pair of sharp, dark eyes filled with disbelief.

He had awakened.