Chapter 156

Tang Mingxi opened the extra with a heart full of excited happiness.

Before she clicked in, she had expected the content to be a satisfying power-fantasy story about how Ye Zheng traveled across multiple world lines, discovered the flaw in Wen Xiaoxing’s ability, and then counter-killed him.

But after she actually entered the extra, Tang Mingxi’s eyes grew more and more serious as she read. At some point the smile on her lips had faded. By the time she reached the end, her eyes felt strangely sore. She blinked hard once.

Only after finishing this extra could anyone truly understand just how heavy Ye Zheng’s return in the main story really was.

It turned out that Wen Xiaoxing’s ability was not as simple as sending Ye Zheng to other world lines. The moment she tried to struggle, the 【Fate Singularity】 would drag her into even worse world lines. Ye Zheng never gave up. She patiently explored again and again inside that cruel vortex of fate.

The alliance with Wu Shu hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Even before the competition began, right after Ye Zheng met Wen Xiaoxing, she’d already sensed something ominous and developed a bad premonition. She took the initiative to approach Wu Shu, offering to help her win the competition. In return, Wu Shu promised to protect her. It wasn’t the one-sided exploitation those people who slandered Ye Zheng kept insisting it was.

Ye Zheng possessed a mysterious method that allowed her to make contact with other worlds. The extra chapter hadn’t illustrated it clearly, but Tang Mingxi felt an inexplicably strong premonition. This had to be foreshadowing, and not just any foreshadowing, but something extremely important.

What shocked her the most was that after Ye Zheng and Wu Shu used Pei Xi’s ability to shatter the 【Fate Singularity】, Ye Zheng had actually been transported into a world that resembled a manga.

【My name is Ye Zheng.】

【Right now, it seems I’m inside a book.】

The moment she read this, Tang Mingxi felt as though her heart had been struck without warning. She covered her mouth, unable to believe what she was seeing. She knew that this so-called “manga world” was only a setting, something akin to the common meta elements in two-dimensional works that Li Yixin had once mentioned. It was clearly a deliberate technique by the creator to produce the effect of breaking the “fourth wall.”

And yet, as she looked at Ye Zheng on the screen calmly narrating her situation, those composed black eyes carried a strange, almost comforting power. It felt as if Ye Zheng were looking straight through the screen at her, quietly telling her not to worry.

But how could Tang Mingxi not worry? Ye Zheng had turned into nothing more than a paper person within a manga. What other path was left for her to claim victory?

When she saw Ye Zheng use her ability to guide the Amber Lake of that two-dimensional world, letting flowing water seep through and saturate everything, twisting the paper-like reality into a Möbius strip, and then elevating the entire world’s dimension as if she were a true god, Tang Mingxi was so stunned that her mind went completely blank.

By the time she finally snapped back to her senses, Ye Zheng on the screen was walking with her gaze lowered along the Möbius strip, like a deity who had fallen into endless solitude.

Yet in the very next panel, Ye Zheng lifted her eyes and revealed her usual faint smile, as if to say that this entire world was nothing more than that.

Tang Mingxi’s hand moved on its own, reaching out to touch the screen. How strange. Ye Zheng had clearly won and broken free from her predicament, so why did Tang Mingxi, standing outside the screen, feel such an inexplicable tremor in her heart, along with a dull, aching soreness?

All of a sudden, she remembered why she had started chasing stars in the first place. Back during her rebellious phase in junior high, her parents had always been busy with work and never had time to keep her company. In frustration, she’d thrown tantrums and spent her fairly generous allowance recklessly on chasing celebrities. She’d even traveled to different places just to follow their schedules, hoping that, somehow, this would draw her parents’ attention.

Tang Mingxi hadn’t managed to win her parents’ attention in the end, but her intense dedication to chasing stars had unexpectedly brought her quite a bit of attention online. To keep that attention going, she always chose to follow the most popular celebrities, indulging in the sense of influence and halo that came with being a major fan within those circles.　　

She wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Whether she was chasing three-dimensional female idols or chasing Ye Zheng, the stormy tide of public opinion wouldn’t make her back down. If anything, it only pushed her to fight harder, because it made her own existence feel more significant, like a brave, fearless warrior.

But at this moment, the dull, aching sourness in her chest told her that she wasn’t a warrior at all. She was just an underage girl who liked to escape into the halos of others.

She was nowhere near as intelligent, powerful, or all-capable as Ye Zheng. More often than not, instead of her supporting Ye Zheng, it was Ye Zheng’s image that supported her, while she lived parasitically on the internet.

Reality was harsh. The weight gain and acne of puberty had once made her unable to face herself in real life. That was why she’d fallen for a female idol her own age. That idol was popular, beautiful, and lived under the spotlight, surrounded by countless people’s love and attention. Watching her, Tang Mingxi felt as though her own life had gained some form of compensation, yet every now and then, a trace of unspoken inferiority would surface.

Then what about liking Ye Zheng? Tang Mingxi thought carefully, retracing her feelings. It seemed to have started at the moment when Ye Zheng stood before the shelter and said she wanted to save everyone.

How strange. Ye Zheng was only a two-dimensional character on paper, so why did she stir such complicated emotions in her?

Tang Mingxi fell silent for a while. She scrolled back to the beginning of the extra and read through it again. When Ye Zheng entered the fourth world line, Tang Mingxi stared at the screen and noticed that Ye Zheng had also revealed a fleeting moment of confusion.

For that brief instant, Tang Mingxi felt as though Ye Zheng was truly a girl her age, living in another world. Aside from her halo and her legendary experiences, their hearts seemed to resonate on the same frequency many times, separated only by a thin screen.

Tang Mingxi stared for a long time at that fleeting trace of confusion on Ye Zheng’s face in the manga. Then, all at once, she felt a sense of relief.

If her original intention had only been to seek a sense of presence on the internet, she could’ve easily chased more popular male stars or followed Court Intrigue, which had far greater popularity at the time.

The powerful, vivid images of those female idols were dazzling, so dazzling that they sometimes stung her eyes. And yet, it was precisely that sting that allowed her to feel her own existence through them. From that moment on, she was no longer alone, and she finally had a direction to run toward.

✧✧✧✧✧

【1L: Ye Zheng, getting close to you means getting close to pain, yet staying away from you means staying away from happiness…】

【2L: After going through the extra, my feelings are honestly super complicated. On one hand, I feel bad that Zheng had to suffer so much. On the other, I’m completely in admiration. Ye Zheng’s value just keeps climbing!】

【3L: Sometimes I wonder if Zheng had been born male, Zheng fans wouldn’t have had to deal with so much drama. But then I think it over—if Ye Zheng were a guy, I probably wouldn’t like her this much. I really can only empathize with female characters.】

【4L: After finishing the extra, I’ve only got one feeling left: I’m done. I’m seriously going to be Ye Zheng’s dog for the rest of my life!】

【5L: How did they even come up with the Möbius strip? Ye Zheng actually managed to come back from a manga within a manga to the original world. It feels like it won’t be long before Ye Zheng reaches our world too!】

【6L: This meta element is seriously brilliant. It really feels like my girl is about to break through the dimensional wall. It makes me want to rescue Ye Zheng from the old uncle’s pen (crying emoji)】

【7L: Wen Xiaoxing’s ability is so vicious, yet it wasn’t mentioned even once in the main story. Some people actually thought Ye Zheng broke the situation so easily with a cheat. Old uncle, you’ve really done so many bad things!】

【8L: Stop talking. Someone’s already deleted their post. Before deleting it, they were still stubbornly insisting “Ye Zheng contacting Wu Shu was just a cheat.” I can’t stop laughing.】

【9L: It looks like a Wen Xiaoxing fan stirred up a whole wave of drama and then tried to delete the post. However, this female celebrity’s name is all over the internet. Everyone already dug up her other social accounts, and it turns out she’s actually a Zhao Mei solo stan!】

【10L: Case closed. The clown OP turned out to be Ye Zheng’s twisted fan after all.】

【11L: Pei Xi fans were still blindly following her to curse Ye Zheng. Then they looked back and realized this Zhao Mei and Wen Xiaoxing solo stan had already been cursing Pei Xi and Pei Xi fans a lot on other platforms too.】

【12L: The anti-Zheng allies were originally plotting with a tiger for its skin. Now that things got tough, they realized everyone was just throwing stones into a well. Aren’t the Pei Xi fans going to cut ties with the Wen Xiaoxing fans yet?】

【13L: Why are Wen Xiaoxing fans just as fond of acting like clowns as Wen Xiaoxing himself?】

【14L: Before reading the extra: How could Ye Zheng possibly beat the Fate Singularity? After reading the extra: Sorry Wen Xiaoxing didn’t let Ye Zheng have enough fun.】

……

【74L: I went back and looked at the bullet comments from when Ye Zheng first appeared. Back then everyone was still cursing her for being useless, refusing to accept her as the female lead, and rejecting the Pei Xi romance line. Ye Zheng really shut everyone up step by step with her actions. So Zheng!】

【75L: Oh my god, I was one of those people who disliked Ye Zheng back then. I naively thought her appearance was just there to push the romance line, and then I ended up becoming a little steam fan.】

【76L: Ye Zheng pushed my romance line. Doesn’t that count?】

【77L: If we look at the early atmosphere and the initial setup, it really seems like the old uncle originally planned for Ye Zheng to become a romantic female lead. But Ye Zheng basically went completely off-track and chose the villain path, and she never even thought about turning back again…】

【78L: There’s a rumor that the old uncle even kept giving Ye Zheng traditional Chinese medicine, trying to “correct” her into a male-lover type heroine. In the end, Ye Zheng secretly swapped all the medicine for iced Americano instead.】

【79L: After seeing Ye Zheng and Wu Shu’s interaction, I’m fully convinced now — Ye Zheng, you definitely didn’t drink any of that Chinese medicine at all.】

【80L: Right after the extra chapter dropped, those so-called male-baby moms didn’t even dare to wear the Wu Shu fan identity to come after Ye Zheng anymore, because Wu Shu herself actually wants to compete for the championship against those male babies too!】

【81L: It would honestly be way too awkward to keep wearing the Wu Shu skin now. What if next week Wu Shu ends up taking the championship again? Wouldn’t that instant face-switching be way too embarrassing to watch…?】

……

【203L: I can only say both Ye Zheng and her fans have really had a rough journey. But all this unreasonable outside criticism only ends up making us more united, and it makes Ye Zheng’s existence feel even more precious. I’ve genuinely never regretted liking Ye Zheng.】

【204L: This extra contained a massive amount of information. I’m planning to organize everything and post a detailed speculation thread later. Even though everyone already knows Ye Zheng is strong, her power really seems to have no ceiling. She’s only going to keep getting stronger from here.】

【205L: Aaaah, I’ve caught the upstairs Milk Tea No Sugar Lady! It’s amazing how she can write dream-girl style content while also doing such sharp plot analysis. Zheng fans really can’t survive without you!】

【206L: Every time someone claims Ye Zheng’s plot is just forced cheating or doesn’t make sense, I honestly feel like laughing. Some other characters have even more ridiculous cheats, but people just selectively treat those as completely normal.】

【207L: Author: Ye Zheng, your ability is called “Stream”, it lets you control water. It can heal and also be used for offense~ Pretty strong, right?

Ye Zheng: That sounds good. May I ask about my opponents?

Author: Your opponents? They’re just average. One can destroy anything they want, one can turn any object into metal and manipulate it while also reversing time, and another can throw people into endless trash world lines.

Ye Zheng: …】

【208L: Anyone who actually understood the comment above has already eaten Chongqing spicy noodles. Each opponent is more outrageous than the last, so what? Zheng will handle all of them anyway!】

【209L: Liking Ye Zheng is honestly exhausting, but the spiritual strength she gives me makes me want to charge forward and sing loudly together with her. Saintess, please keep winning forever!】