Chapter 10: The Rooftop Confession (And a New Mission)

The wrap party was loud, messy, and full of cheap champagne. Xiao Mei ignored her. Ning Yu glared at her from the corner. Director Lin cried twice. Shi Xi endured it for exactly one hour before slipping out to find Gu Yan.

He was on the rooftop of the warehouse, sitting on the edge, legs dangling over the drop. The city sprawled below, a sea of lights.

“You’re going to fall,” she said, sitting beside him.

“Probably.” He didn’t look at her. “I fall a lot. Figuratively.”

They sat in silence. The wind tugged at her hair.

“I know you’re not Xi Nian,” he said finally. “I know you’re not even really Shi Xi. Not the one the Shis raised. You’re… someone else. Someone who appeared three days ago and started changing things.”

Her heart stopped. “That’s crazy.”

“Is it?” He turned to her. His eyes were dark, searching. “I’m not from this book either.”

The world tilted.

“What?” she whispered.

“I woke up here five years ago. In the body of a minor character—a villain, originally. Someone who was supposed to die in a car chase in chapter 62.” He smiled, bitter. “I refused. I built my own company. I changed the plot. And then you showed up, and you’re changing it too.”

[DING! CRITICAL REVELATION: Gu Yan is a transmigrator. Original identity: unknown.]

Unknown?! What kind of system didn’t know?

“Who were you?” she asked.

“Someone like you. An actor. A has-been. A person who wanted a second chance.” He reached out and took her hand. His fingers were cold. “I’ve been looking for you for five years, Shi Nian. Or whoever you are.”

She should pull away. She should run. This was too much, too fast, too real.

But she didn’t.

“I’m Shi Nian,” she said. “Retired. Dead. Reborn. And I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He laughed—a real laugh, warm and surprised. “Neither do I. But I’d rather be lost with you than found alone.”

[DING! NEW MAIN MISSION UNLOCKED]
Survive the novel. With Gu Yan.
Reward: A second chance. A real one.
Failure: The fish are still very excited.

Shi Xi looked at the city lights, at the boy who wasn’t a villain, at the system that was trying to help her.

“Okay,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Let’s be lost together.”

Far below, in the dark water of the harbor, a single fish jumped.

It was, perhaps, a warning.

Or perhaps, just perhaps, it was applause.