A Love Across Realms

Feng Ruyi's brown eyes drifted to the television in her office break room as the evening news played. The anchor smiled brightly as she announced tonight's unusual event: a shooting star would be visible in the night sky. "It's a rare and brilliant celestial event," the anchor explained, encouraging viewers to step outside and make a wish.

Ruyi rolled her eyes with a small, amused scoff. "Shooting stars? Like a silly wish will change anything for me," she muttered. Her attention was fixed on something far more intriguing. She glanced up at the office clock, watching the minute hand crawl slowly toward nine.

The instant the clock struck, she gathered her things, clocked out, and left the office behind. Her routine was always the same—clock in, do her work, clock out.She wasn't close to any of her coworkers, and they returned the favor. Feng Ruyi never attempted small talk, and they never went out of their way to include her in lunch plans or office gossip. To them, she was too aloof, too serious. Not that she cared much; in her eyes, solitude was a blessing.

But little did her coworkers know that her cool, reserved demeanor was only a facade. Once she was home, nestled under the covers, a book in her hands, the stone-faced 28-year-old vanished entirely. With every plot twist and turn, Ruyi's lips would quirk into a smile, her eyes dancing as she giggled at the unfolding drama. Her true joy, her escape from the mundane, came from the pages of Chinese novels, especially those filled with tales of transmigration and rebirth. She lived for stories where the female protagonist triumphed over evil, exacting revenge on those who wronged her, while an impossibly handsome male lead doted on her every move. Just thinking about it made Ruyi's heart swell.

Tonight, she was engrossed in Back in Time: Everyone Wants Me!, the latest sensation sweeping across China, with over 50 million readers eagerly devouring each chapter. Though she'd only bought it yesterday, she was already two-thirds of the way through. The story followed Feng Qingqing, a modern woman with a fierce, independent spirit, who finds herself transported back to a world resembling ancient China. Her charm and sharp wit captivated everyone, especially Tian Weilong, the Crown Prince of Qilin Country. But, naturally, this world was filled with jealous women plotting her downfall, including the main antagonist, Feng Ruyi—a name all too familiar to Ruyi herself.

Yes, as if fate were playing a trick, the novel's villainess shared her exact name. Out of all the names in the world, of course it had to be hers. Ruyi couldn't help but laugh at the irony each time she saw her own name described as cold, cunning, and ruthless.

She wanted to keep reading, to lose herself in the fantasy a little longer, but her eyes grew heavier with each passing sentence. As she drifted into sleep, her voice trailed off into the quiet, murmuring, "If I were the protagonist of a Chinese novel, I would…" And just as she slipped into her dreams, a bright flash of light shot across the night sky, stopping momentarily above her apartment before fading into the darkness.