"Yun Xiaoran, let's break up."
Puyang District, Linshun City.
A black BMW sat by the roadside, with two women and a man facing off inside.
A smartly dressed, short-haired middle-aged woman sized up the man before her.
Beside her, a woman with an exceptional figure and bearing tossed an agreement at him and said:
"You can't give me the life I want."
Yun Xiaoran gazed at that face, both innocent and alluring. Any passerby who saw it would surely cry out in recognition.
She was Li Qingxi, the dark horse of the recent hit show I Am a Singer, whom the public called their innocent sweetheart.
Yet now, the beautiful female star with her considerable following looked rather impatient.
It had been four years since Li Qingxi and he had met and fallen in love at university. Although they had no children, Yun Xiaoran only loved her more.
But after a talent scout discovered Li Qingxi, she debuted, signed a contract, and became an overnight sensation, rising to a second-tier artist under Sky Star Entertainment.
Behind the scenes, Yun Xiaoran served as something of an assistant and bodyguard.
For every bit of brilliance Li Qingxi showed onstage, Yun Xiaoran put in just as much effort behind it.
As Li Qingxi shone ever brighter, she grew increasingly dissatisfied with Yun Xiaoran's mediocrity and uselessness.
Since graduating from university, the two of them had slept in separate beds for two and a half years.
"Yun Xiaoran, here's five hundred thousand yuan. Once you leave Li Qingxi, I hope you won't bother her again."
As Li Qingxi's manager, Liu Yi had been the one egging her on. Coupled with Li Qingxi's inflated ego, that had led to today's breakup.
Yun Xiaoran looked at Li Qingxi without a flicker in his eyes, though pain stabbed at his heart. He had transmigrated to Blue Star a month ago.
He had initially thought this place was just like Earth. But after going online, he discovered that certain events had left Blue Star almost entirely without the treasures of modern human culture found on Earth. He didn't recognize any of its wildly popular international stars or performers, either.
Having inherited the original owner's feelings when he arrived here, Yun Xiaoran had initially felt that this life wasn't so bad.
But a month ago, his mother had started urging him to marry. Simply mentioning marriage to Li Qingxi had provoked intense aversion from her.
Thinking about it now, he had probably long since become her stepping stone, destined to be discarded.
The innocent girl and reckless young man from their university days had ultimately lost the sweetness they should have shared to the entertainment industry's money and extravagance.
All that remained was a complete mess.
Afraid that Yun Xiaoran's love would turn to hatred after the breakup and that he would ruin Li Qingxi, Liu Yi had offered him five hundred thousand yuan in hush money.
Yun Xiaoran accepted nothing, including the five hundred thousand, and simply packed his belongings.
The car, the house-everything had been bought by Li Qingxi.
Only a few days earlier, Yun Xiaoran had realized that he owned nothing at all. Through the original owner's memories, he knew the man had loved listening to music and possessed musical talent, but had gradually moved behind the scenes to support Li Qingxi.
"This is a song I wrote for you..."
Yun Xiaoran took out a sheet of A4 paper. On it was a song he had written down from his previous life, a massive hit called "Silence."
It suited Li Qingxi's voice perfectly. He had carefully written out the music and score for the fifth anniversary of their first meeting, which was a month away.
But now, it seemed there would be no use for it.
Looking at the A4 sheet covered in revisions, Li Qingxi cut him off and said in disappointment:
"Keep it for yourself. Maybe with that musical talent of yours, you could do all right as a resident singer somewhere."
Then Li Qingxi gazed at Yun Xiaoran, her feelings complicated, and said:
"If I were ordinary too, I would share an ordinary life with you. But I was born for more. Your mediocrity would only hold me back."
After a moment of silence, Yun Xiaoran said:
"I'll move out of that house today. As for the five hundred thousand, I never imagined that after four years together, you still wouldn't understand me."
After getting out of the car, he spoke with a determined light in his eyes:
"Yes, my ordinary life isn't good enough for someone as proud as you. But no young man stays mediocre forever, and no one spends their whole life failing."
Liu Yi regarded Yun Xiaoran in his cheap street-stall clothes with utter disdain and said to Li Qingxi:
"A fresh university graduate who can't find a job, yet still wants to marry you? He's clearly trying to tie you down with marriage and limit you.
Marrying him would only restrict your career. You'd have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
And listen, Shen Muge from China Star Entertainment has also been invited to join the starting lineup of I Am a Singer."
"Shen Muge?"
Hearing that name, Li Qingxi frowned.
Their paths had quite a few parallels. They had debuted around the same time, one with Sky Star Entertainment and the other with China Star Entertainment, and their looks, styles, and vocal qualities were somewhat similar.
But Shen Muge was already an acknowledged queen of the music world and the nation's sweetheart.
Meanwhile, Li Qingxi was still struggling to climb through the second and third tiers, with many people mockingly calling her "a budget Shen Muge."
If Shen Muge joined I Am a Singer too, their similar styles and the enormous gap in star power would spell trouble for her.
But Liu Yi paused, then added:
"Don't worry too much. Shen Muge has been getting a lot of bad press lately. This might be your chance to replace her."
"Replace Shen Muge? Become the next queen of pop?!"
Li Qingxi no longer made any attempt to hide the ambition and desire on her face. Now that she had cut off her romance, it was time to take her career to the next level.
"I know, Mom. Stop pushing me."
Yun Xiaoran hung up, sitting heavyhearted in an elegant, luxurious café. Li Qingxi's words filled his mind, leaving his thoughts in knots.
Unable to bear his parents' pressure any longer, he had found a woman through his friend Zhou Zeyu and arranged a sham marriage-a marriage in name only.
They had agreed to meet at the café before going to the civil affairs office across the street to get their marriage certificate and silence both families' nagging.
"Hello, are you the person who's supposed to get a marriage certificate with me?"
Just as Yun Xiaoran sat there, dejected and dispirited.
A tall woman slowly approached, bundled up in a brown trench coat, a white scarf, and black sunglasses.
She had an extraordinary air about her. What showed of her lovely face, her red lips, and her elegantly sculpted nose kept Yun Xiaoran staring for a long moment, even though he couldn't see her eyes.
"Yes, that's me. I'm the person you're supposed to marry."
Yun Xiaoran stumbled over his answer, though he found the woman rather strange.
They weren't committing a crime or stealing anything.
Did she really need to cover herself up so thoroughly for a fake marriage?
But who else here would be using a sham marriage to get their family off their back?
Having reasoned it out, Yun Xiaoran managed a faint, strained smile.
The woman gracefully took out her phone and said softly to him:
"We'll be seeing quite a bit of each other from now on. Let's add each other on WeChat first. My name is Shen Jin."
Yun Xiaoran nodded and took out his phone.
Shen Jin studied him through her sunglasses, a little surprised. Yun Xiaoran was tall and well-built, with handsome features, and looked to be about 180 centimeters tall. He simply seemed rather stiff sitting there.
"What a shame."
After offering that assessment, Shen Jin said:
"The civil affairs office is right across the street. Let's get the certificate while we have time. I'm very busy with work."
Yun Xiaoran froze briefly at her words.
What was a shame?
And weren't they even going to sit down and talk?
But as she spoke, she had already reached out and caught his wrist.
The cool, smooth touch jolted Yun Xiaoran. Standing 178 centimeters tall in her heels, Shen Jin pulled him toward the civil affairs office across the street without waiting for a response.
Yun Xiaoran was even half a head shorter than her.
The woman clearly had martial arts training. Her slender arm was strong as she pulled Yun Xiaoran out through the door and headed straight for the civil affairs office.
Yun Xiaoran kept pace with her.
It was all just for show anyway. They could divorce when the time came.
Getting married really was fast.
The woman had power and connections. She went straight to the VIP reception room, and everything seemed to have been arranged well in advance.
Yun Xiaoran had only gotten a brief look at her face before a staff member placed two little red booklets in front of him.
Shen Jin showed no awkwardness at all. Calm and composed, as though she were handling an everyday task, she slipped her certificate neatly into her bag without even opening it.
Yun Xiaoran took his marriage certificate and opened it. The bride's name was clearly written there: Shen Jin.
When his gaze reached the photograph, Yun Xiaoran drew a deep breath.
Across two lifetimes, this was the first time he had ever seen such a beautiful woman.
She was pristine and breathtakingly cool in her beauty. Her smiling face was utterly flawless; one glance was enough to tell that she had been born beautiful.
Yun Xiaoran stared at their photograph. Finding his reaction a little odd, Shen Jin took hold of him and led him outside.
At the entrance to the civil affairs office.
Shen Jin pressed a key, an access card, and a personal business card bearing her phone number and WeChat details into Yun Xiaoran's hand and told him:
"These are the key and access card for house 101 at Dragon Lake Blue Shore. We'll be living there for the next month."
Yun Xiaoran ran his fingers over the marriage certificate while putting the card into his trouser pocket. Its matte texture felt unreal, but he nodded in bewilderment:
"All right."
Seeing how readily he cooperated, Shen Jin nodded, and they left the entrance to the civil affairs office.
After parting with him, Shen Jin went to a nearby underground parking garage and drove away in an Audi.
Back at the café, Yun Xiaoran still felt as though none of it were real. He had never expected to get married in just twenty minutes. After setting the marriage certificate on the table, he began gathering his things to leave.
Just then, another exceptionally beautiful woman spotted the glaring red booklet on the table and called his name:
"Yun Xiaoran?"
With everything settled, Yun Xiaoran had been about to leave. Hearing his name, he paused.
He turned to find a woman pointing angrily at the marriage certificate on the table:
"You're already married, yet you came here to arrange a fake marriage with me? Do you think toying with people like this is fun?"
"You're... I'm... Then she was..."
His mind still hadn't caught up, and he stammered:
"You're the person who was supposed to marry me?"
"Who else? I even brought my household registration booklet."
What was going on? Were sham marriages really this common now?
When bad luck struck, it really struck hard. All he'd wanted was a quick marriage, and he'd even married the wrong person.
If the woman before him was the one he was supposed to marry, who had that other woman been?
Yun Xiaoran opened the red booklet while the people around them watched with interest.
After a string of complaints, the woman stormed off, leaving him all alone in the café.
I'm done for!
I think I married the wrong person!
Yun Xiaoran stared in stunned disbelief at the beautiful, smiling woman in the red booklet.
He opened WeChat and fixed his gaze on the lone new friend request, still sitting there conspicuously, waiting for him to accept it.
This wasn't some parallel timeline, so who was that woman on WeChat?
Before you continue