**Chapter 1: The White Moonlight Doesn't Love the Madman**
Gu Yao scrolled through the novel while mercilessly roasting it in her mind.
*The White Moonlight Doesn't Love the Madman.*
The title alone was cringe-worthy enough, but the plot was even more ridiculously melodramatic. The obsessive second male lead, Jiang Yanli, had fallen irrevocably in love with the female lead—his "white moonlight"—at first sight. Unable to attain her, he spiraled into madness and self-destruction, becoming the ultimate epitome of a lovesick fool.
A colleague had recommended it to her: *"You have to read this—the male lead is insane, it's so intense!"*
But by the end, all Gu Yao felt was frustration.
*"The female lead has plot armor, and the second male lead is just a tragic plot device. This is so unfair."* She closed the page, ready to leave a one-star review, when suddenly—
The subway jolted violently. The lights in the carriage flickered out.
Gu Yao barely had time to gasp before everything went black.
---
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing at a classroom door.
Worn wooden desks. A creaking ceiling fan. A blackboard still smeared with chalk dust. A middle-aged teacher droning on at the front.
This was…
*High school?*
No.
She looked down and saw herself in a school uniform. At her feet lay a math workbook, its cover scrawled with a name in ballpoint pen:
—*Jiang Yanli.*
Her brain short-circuited for three full seconds before an absurd realization struck her:
*She had transmigrated into a novel.*
Not just any novel, but the very one she had just finished reading—and was about to rage-review—*The White Moonlight Doesn't Love the Madman.*
And her identity? A background character so insignificant she didn't even warrant a footnote: *Gu Yao.* A nobody with zero plot relevance, appearing fewer than five times in the entire book.
At first, she thought this was the safest role possible—stay in the shadows, let the plot play out, and she'd return to reality unscathed.
But soon, she realized things were already going off-script.
***Thud.***
A crumpled paper ball hit her forehead.
Gu Yao flinched, frowning as she turned around.
A group of boys sat in the back row, smirking at her.
*"What's your problem? Why're you spacing out?"*
The paper ball wasn't meant for *her*—in the original plot, this was how Jiang Yanli's bullying arc always began.
But she had accidentally intercepted it.
Gu Yao shot them a cold glare. *"Cut the crap."*
Her voice was quiet, but sharp enough to slice through the air.
The boys stiffened, muttering *"freak"* under their breath before backing off.
Gu Yao turned back around, mentally cursing herself: *I shouldn't have interfered. I shouldn't have changed the plot!*
But she didn't notice Jiang Yanli lifting his head from the back row.
His dark eyes, ink-black and unnervingly calm, fixed on her with something unreadable flickering beneath the surface.
*She's different.*
He remembered this girl—always sitting quietly in the front, so transparent she might as well not exist.
But just now, she had blocked that paper ball. And the way she looked at those guys…
Not fear. Not resignation.
*Wariness.*
A strange, curling interest stirred in Jiang Yanli's chest.
Like watching a docile little rabbit suddenly bare its teeth.
And he had always been fond of… *changes* like this.
---
The dismissal bell rang.
Gu Yao slung her backpack over her shoulder and hurried out, her mind racing.
*Avoid the main plot. Don't interact with the original leads. And whatever you do—stay away from Jiang Yanli.* She had transmigrated into a *"Villain Corruption Trope"* story. The farther she stayed, the safer she'd be.
At the end of the hallway, footsteps echoed behind her.
Gu Yao whipped around.
Jiang Yanli stood at the corner, watching her with a faint, unreadable smile.
*"You… Gu Yao, right?"*
His voice was low, smooth like night-dark water—gentle, yet carrying an undercurrent of something unsettling.
Gu Yao froze for a second before forcing a smile. *"Yeah. What's up?"*
Jiang Yanli didn't answer. His gaze trailed over her face, slow and deliberate.
Like he was examining a newly hatched curiosity.
Then, softly, he said:
*"You've changed."*
Her heart lurched.
*Oh no. He's noticed me.*
*The plot… is already derailing.*