IDMLA 01

The spring breeze was gentle, and the warm sun was soft.

On the school playground, layers of onlooking students surrounded a man and a woman at the center, discussing in voices that weren’t exactly quiet.

“Look, isn’t that Jiang Zhu and his girlfriend? Why are they pulling and tugging here? Are they fighting?”

“Seems like it, and it looks like Jiang Zhu is the one trying to placate her.”

“No way? I always thought his girlfriend was clinging to him. Isn’t she afraid of making Jiang Zhu angry enough to break up with her??”

“You guys don’t know yet, let me tell you—Jiang Zhu was kicked out by the Jiang family. He’s not part of the Jiang family anymore! I bet this girl looks down on him now that he’s been kicked out, so she’s making a scene to break up!”

***

Jiang Zhu heard all the voices around him, but he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that his kind, gentle, cute, and innocent girlfriend could be such a shallow, materialistic person!

Jiang Zhu spoke softly, reaching out as usual to hold Tang Tang’s small hand: “Let’s not fight anymore, okay? After I get my paycheck today, I’ll buy you your favorite cake.”

Tang Tang twirled her parasol lightly with her fingertips, a mocking smile curling on her delicate, fair face. She slapped away

Jiang Zhu’s outstretched hand and said coldly, “Get your dirty hands off me.”

Jiang Zhu visibly stiffened, his expression freezing slightly.

He called out softly, “Tang Tang.”

The tone was filled with disbelief, tinged with a sorrowful desolation, as if all her fragility had surfaced in that very
moment, laid bare without a trace, following her words. But that wasn’t enough. Tang Tang continued, cruelly reciting lines that belonged only to a cannon fodder character.

“Jiang Zhu, there’s no future for us. I’m warning you, stop pestering me.”

Tang Tang performed brilliantly, even adding her own improvisation. She lifted her hand with a flirtatious air, hooking the man’s perfectly sculpted chin, her fingers gently caressing it.

“Do you still think you’re the young master of the Jiang family? Stop dreaming. You’re nothing but a useless waste now. Talking about buying me my favorite cake with the money you earn from a day’s work, do you really think you can afford it?”

“And I forgot to mention, compared to cake, I prefer exquisite, luxurious cosmetics and handbags. I think you’d better stick to washing dishes and stop dreaming about being with me.”

Jiang Zhu’s eyes visibly dimmed. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, yet the touch on his chin remained so warm, so achingly nostalgic.

He made one last desperate attempt.

He asked, “Is everything you said truly how you feel?”

Tang Tang withdrew her hand from his chin and patted his handsome face.

“Is there anything about you left worth deceiving?”

Could it be that everything before had been a lie?

Jiang Zhu felt the tightly wound string in his heart snap completely. He took a deep breath, then abruptly reached out and seized the woman’s wrist, the one that had just patted his face. His eyes seemed laced with venom, chilling and terrifying to
behold.

Jiang Zhu gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his pale forehead.

“I’ll ask one last time, is all of this truly how you feel?”

Tang Tang was startled, hesitating for a moment. But soon, years of line-reciting practice allowed her to quickly handle this unscripted situation. She wore an expression of disgust, trying to wrench her hand free from his firm grip.

“Of course it’s how I feel. Let go of me right now, do you hear me?”

Jiang Zhu stared deeply at her. Three years of love, yet it felt as if he suddenly no longer knew her.

The shadow lurking in his eyes sent a chill down Tang Tang’s spine. Ignoring the slight discomfort in her heart, she silently marveled at how not just anyone could play the role of the male lead.

This plot was too cruel!

After being driven out of his family, the male lead worked multiple jobs every day just to earn money to please her, yet she not only wanted to break up but also intended to humiliate him. Now, she was worried that Jiang Zhu might just snap and kill her with his bare hands!

Fortunately, Jiang Zhu still had his sanity. A minute later, he shifted his gaze away and released his grip.

“Remember what you said today,” he said coldly.

Tang Tang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though a fine layer of cold sweat had broken out on her back. She knew this was her final confrontation with the male lead. After this scene, she could finally book her ticket back on the time machine.

Watching Jiang Zhu’s retreating figure, she put on one last mocking expression and let out a cold, disdainful “Hmph.”

She successfully noticed his footsteps suddenly stiffen before he continued forward, leaving without looking back. People around them pointed and whispered, but soon dispersed.

As Tang Tang completely relaxed, she felt a slight sting in the tip of her nose. Perhaps she felt too much pity for this male lead. In the novel, his story was only briefly described, but experiencing it in real life was unexpectedly heart-wrenching.

Tang Tang wiped away the tears welling up beneath her eyelids and connected with the system that had brought her into this novel world.

Tang Tang: System, I’ve finished all the scenes with the male lead. Can I book the time machine to go back now?

***

That’s right, she wasn’t from this world.

Originally, she was just a reader who enjoyed novels. One night, she stumbled upon this post-apocalyptic story and discovered that this white moonlight cannon-fodder character shared her name. She was about to quietly exit the page when, suddenly, a blinding white light flashed before her eyes, followed by a loss of consciousness. When she woke up again, everything around her was no longer familiar.

At the same time, a somewhat cool, mechanical voice, the system, suddenly echoed in her mind, informing her that she was the chosen one, selected for a rare reader experience event. As long as she completed all the plotlines of her assigned role, she could return to her original world!

Tang Tang was very reluctant at first. After all, she had been ready to abandon the novel upon discovering a character with her name. Being dragged here against her will was hardly voluntary! But there was no other choice. The system also warned that if she didn’t follow the script, she would never be able to return.

Well…

Fine then.

And so, the earlier scene unfolded.

The original plot mainly revolved around the post-apocalyptic world, where the innocent and kind-hearted female lead, armed with healing abilities, overcame numerous challenges, won over various handsome men, and ultimately reached the peak of her life, a classic Mary Sue story.

It sounded quite thrilling, if only she hadn’t been assigned the cannon-fodder role of being devoured by zombies in the end. Tang Tang now had only one final plotline left: waiting for the apocalypse to arrive, being surrounded by a horde of zombies, and officially receiving her “exit ticket.” She wasn’t in a hurry anymore. After all, the hardest part, the confrontations with the male lead, was already done. What else was there to fear?

The system is now online.

[Alright, host, let me retrieve all the relevant information for you.]

Several minutes passed, but Tang Tang still hadn’t received a response.

She asked: What’s wrong? Haven’t you found it yet? Didn’t it usually take only three seconds to get all the information before? Could it be that the system was already arranging her return flight?

While Tang Tang was still speculating, the system finally made a sound. [Um, host, it’s about that…]

The system stammered, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time. But for some reason, Tang Tang felt an uneasy premonition upon hearing its voice.

Her heart skipped a beat: “What do you mean by ‘that’? Explain clearly.”

[Report, host! I just received news that your body in your original world is gone.]

Gone, gone…

It felt like a bolt from the blue. Tang Tang staggered, nearly tripping over her own feet.

She exclaimed, “What do you mean by ‘gone’? Explain it clearly!”

[The main system in your original world thought you were no longer there, so it disposed of your body as a routine procedure.]

Tang Tang leaned against the wall, trembling with anger.

“You, you, you… Didn’t you contact that main system? You promised it wouldn’t affect my original world! Do you have any credibility left?”

[I’m sorry, host.]

Although the system apologized sincerely, Tang Tang couldn’t bring herself to forgive it. She was on the verge of a breakdown.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

[For now, host, you can only stay in this world.]

Tang Tang: …

No, I won’t! Waaah—

Tang Tang slid down the wall and sat in the corner, shutting herself off.

Perhaps seeing how pitiful she looked, or maybe to make up for its mistake, the system quickly tried to think of ways to comfort Tang Tang.

[This situation has been unfair to you, host. To make up for it, I can offer you some assistance in the upcoming apocalypse.]

Tang Tang couldn’t believe it. “You got me into this mess, and now you’re offering just one favor?”

[…]

[I can add a few more.]

Tang Tang: …

Tang Tang said gloomily, “If you hadn’t suddenly dragged me here, my body in the original world wouldn’t have been destroyed. I might have lived a long, healthy life, maybe even forever. Now I’m forced into this apocalyptic world, facing dangers and uncertainties. Who knows when I might just… disappear? Can your few favors really make up for my loss?”

[…Then what do you want, host?]

Tang Tang: “Create a new body for me in my original world. I want to go back.”

[That’s not possible, dear.]

Tang Tang: “Then make the main system spit my body back out.”

[That won’t work either.]

Tang Tang: … “Then what good are you?!”

[The system just stated that it can offer you assistance. You must understand that you currently possess a cannon fodder identity and have thoroughly offended the male lead. Once the apocalypse arrives, you will soon be buried in the zombie tide, ending this brief life.]

Tang Tang’s expression darkened. “Are you threatening me?”

[You could say that. I hope you, the host, will think carefully.]

Tang Tang was practically seething with anger. This damn system, where the hell can I even report it!

[There are still twenty-four hours until the apocalypse arrives. I hope the host will think more about themselves.]

Tang Tang felt utterly exasperated. Haven’t I been thinking about myself all this time? Am I thinking for you, damn it! But just as the system said, there was no time to waste. The apocalypse would arrive tomorrow, and the script she held in her hands, well…

System, you better damn well remember this!

***

Hi, Everyone!

NightOwll is here,again. I’m back and will try to translate this one. No schedule at the moment but will drop chapter updates from time to time.

This is one of the novel I have read in my early days and it has been years since I last read it(naturally I read some of the chapters through MTL and persisted but too lazy to finish) but it’s still one of my favourite novels.

This is my first time doing translations, though I’m just using MTL’s. So there will be inaccuracies, grammatical errors and a splash of my daily dose of insanity. Read at your own discretion.

The plan was to only translate 1-7 chapters to fill in the gap since access to the early chapters were gone and someone was already translating this, but coming back and seeing the novel dropped, I felt like continuing. So here we are again.

It might not be the best translation but oh well.

Special thanks to my Sis! Who let me use this site to share this.

***

[OP: 08/04/2024][Edited:07/07/2026]