TVDC 1: Transmigrated into a Book

The weather had turned much cooler today. When Qiu Zhaozhao came to the hospital, she brought an extra coat for Qiu Xuning.

But since it was warm indoors, the coat was of no use and was placed in the cabinet by Qiu Zhaozhao.

“Ningning, does your head still hurt?” Qiu Zhaozhao took a thermos container out of the bag, quickly served the food inside into a bowl, and placed it in front of Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning still had a look on his face as if he had been startled. Even when Qiu Zhaozhao brought him the food, he just stared blankly, forgetting to take it.

Looking at his expression, Qiu Zhaozhao called out cautiously, “Ningning?”

Qiu Xuning came back to his senses, his eyes looking at Qiu Zhaozhao like a little rabbit’s—red and watery, as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

“Hey, don’t cry, okay? If Dad sees you, he’ll scold me again. Here, I brought you this, don’t cry.” As she spoke, Qiu Zhaozhao pulled a Dove chocolate from her pocket and waved it in front of him, wearing a fawning smile. “Want some? Don’t you really like these? I bought it just for you.”

Even seeing the Dove chocolate didn’t cheer Qiu Xuning up. Hugging his pillow, he stared at the face before him. It was strange yet familiar and he couldn’t hold back the large tears that spilled from his reddened eyes, soaking into the white pillow and leaving dark, damp marks.

Qiu Zhaozhao panicked. “Why are you crying? Does your head still hurt? It’s all that bastard He Zhiyuan’s fault. Our family feeds him, clothes him, and he still dares to hit you. Dad said he’s going to kick him out. Don’t be afraid, once you’re home, you won’t see him again.”

She thought those words would make Qiu Xuning happy, but to her surprise, he only cried harder.

Qiu Zhaozhao was completely flustered now. Qiu Xuning wasn’t crying the way he usually did—loud and wailing, as if he could lift the roof off. Instead, his tears flowed silently yet fiercely, and that only made Qiu Zhaozhao’s heart ache more. “Don’t cry, please don’t cry. What do you want? Just tell me.”

Qiu Xuning said nothing. He only lifted his red, tear-filled eyes to glance at her once before lowering his head again, letting the tears fall in silence. He tried to wipe them away, but the more he wiped, the faster they came.

Qiu Zhaozhao was so anxious she was pacing in circles. In the end, with no other choice, she decided to call their parents. Just as she pressed the number and was about to make the call, Qiu Xuning suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. “Don’t… don’t tell Dad and Mom.”

He paused strangely on the word “Dad,” but Qiu Zhaozhao didn’t notice the oddity. She only felt relieved that Qiu Xuning had finally spoken, and her panic eased a little. Watching him with concern, she asked softly, “Does it hurt a lot?”

“No.” Qiu Xuning’s voice was still thick with a nasal tone. Qiu Zhaozhao quickly pulled a few tissues and handed them to him. He took them, but instead of blowing his nose, he just wiped away his tears.

“Really doesn’t hurt?” Qiu Zhaozhao was skeptical. “You got five stitches, just looking at it makes me hurt. Luckily it didn’t touch your face.”

Qiu Xuning’s little face was pale and tender, with big eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth. He was the best-looking child in the family. Even without their parents constantly reminding her, Qiu Zhaozhao doted on this younger brother. Spoiled as he might be, he was still easy to love.

Especially now, with his eyes rimmed red and those black-grape-like eyes shimmering with tears as he looked at her, he tugged even more at Qiu Zhaozhao’s heart. She couldn’t help but curse, “It’s all that damned He Zhiyuan’s fault. Our family took him in, and he still dared to hit you, does he think he’s some rich young master? It’s perfect that Dad’s kicking him out; it’ll save us a mouth to feed. Better to give that food to a dog—at least a dog knows how to wag its tail. All he knows is how to bite. Good thing your face wasn’t hurt, or I’d have scratched his face up too.”

The three characters of “He Zhiyuan” drilled into Qiu Xuning’s temples like an electric drill. After a stab of nerve-like pain, he couldn’t hold back. The tip of his nose tingled, and he lowered his head, tears falling again.

He knew the name He Zhiyuan all too well—so well that it filled him with terror.

Before going to sleep, he had secretly read a BL novel under the covers. It was called The Movie King Who Was Loved All His Life, a story about the male lead, Yi Yang, entering the entertainment industry and gradually rising to its peak.

Qiu Xuning didn’t like watching TV dramas and had no interest in the entertainment industry at all. The only reason he read this novel was because it had a “male-male romance” tag, which hooked him completely.

He had only gotten through the beginning when a suitor appeared beside the male lead, Yi Yang, a man named He Zhiyuan. He was astonishingly wealthy, spending lavishly on Yi Yang, rescuing him from a harsh, bloodsucking company, and shielding him every step of the way. No matter how many times Yi Yang was slandered or attacked online, He Zhiyuan stayed firmly by his side, never abandoning him.

Qiu Xuning was captivated by such a man, reading on without so much as blinking. He thought He Zhiyuan was simply another male lead. Then the plot took a sharp turn, another man appeared beside Yi Yang. At first, they had nothing to do with each other, and this man never showed any sign of romantic interest in Yi Yang. Yet after they gradually became friends, the man told Yi Yang about the oddities in He Zhiyuan.

It turned out that Yi Yang’s rocky start in the entertainment industry was all because He Zhiyuan had been laying obstacles and traps ahead of him—only to later appear like a hero, sweeping them away.

It was He Zhiyuan who orchestrated things so Yi Yang would sign with a ruthless, bloodsucking agency, then show up to “save” him when he was driven to a dead end. It was He Zhiyuan who had people fabricate baseless scandals to ruin Yi Yang’s foundation before he was even famous, only to then spend a fortune to secure him the lead role in a renowned director’s film. It was He Zhiyuan who plotted with a senior actress from the same company to frame Yi Yang, smear his name, and make him hated across the internet, even his own company abandoned him, before stepping in forcefully to pressure the actress into apologizing, prompting the company to scramble to make amends and restore Yi Yang’s reputation…

There were countless such schemes, all masterminded by He Zhiyuan.

In the name of love, his methods were in fact terrifying and appalling. Yi Yang had almost fallen for him, almost accepted him, but after learning the truth, he gave up completely.

He Zhiyuan tried to win Yi Yang back, confessing his feelings to him and in his story, Qiu Zhaozhao’s entire family was involved as well.

He Zhiyuan had only mentioned it in passing, never naming Qiu Zhaozhao or the others, but after Qiu Xuning entered this body and absorbed its memories, he was horrified to realize that he seemed to have transmigrated into the world of the novel.

Because this world also had a He Zhiyuan. One whose experiences were exactly the same as those He Zhiyuan had described in the novel. When he looked up the names of several veteran actors and movie kings who were supporting characters in the story, they really existed here too—though they were still young, without any movie king titles yet, just moderately known actors.

Qiu Xuning was still reeling from the shock of discovering the true face of the man he had just been infatuated with, and now this had happened so how could he not be terrified?

But fear was useless; sooner or later, he would have to face that frightening man. The Qiu family wasn’t wealthy, and after the original Qiu Xuning had his head split open by He Zhiyuan, got stitches, and stayed two more days in the hospital for observation, all of the family’s savings were gone. So by the afternoon, he had to be discharged and go home.

Along with Qiu Zhaozhao, the original Qiu Xuning’s mother also came over.

She was an ordinary-looking woman, with high cheekbones, sallow skin, and tight facial features that gave her a slightly sharp, harsh look. Yet when she faced Qiu Xuning, she managed to show a gentle smile. “Ningning, does your head still hurt?”

Qiu Xuning shook his head. He found himself unable to call her “Mom.”

In his original life, he had grown up in a single-parent household. Aside from himself, there had only been his mother, and he had taken her surname as well. Ms. Qiu Yanru had always been strong-willed and uncompromising; whatever she said went. His life and studies were arranged down to the last detail, with no room for deviation. He both loved and feared her. When he realized he liked boys, he cried for a long time because this was something outside his mother’s carefully laid plans. She had even decided in advance how many grandchildren she would have, but he had crushed that possibility right from the start.

Now, with this new “mother,” Qiu Xuning sneaked a few glances at her and pressed his lips together. He still hadn’t decided whether to call her “Mom.”

For the moment, he just wasn’t mentally ready.

His little thoughts were unknown to Zhou Mingmei. She turned Qiu Xuning’s head to check the injury—the wound was right on the top of his head, where a patch of short hair had been shaved off, revealing pale skin. Across it ran a twisted, centipede-like line of stitches, not pleasant to look at. Still, it had healed quite a bit and in another week, he could return to the hospital to have the stitches removed.

Knowing her younger son cared about appearances, Zhou Mingmei had bought him a hat on the way over, just the thing to cover the stitched area.

Qiu Xuning softly said “thank you,” but his voice was still hoarse and rough, so it wasn’t clear. Zhou Mingmei didn’t hear it.

Still, she could sense that ever since the incident, her younger son had become much quieter. Her heart ached for him, but the truth was, they couldn’t just drive out that money-draining burden, He Zhiyuan.

Thinking about the scene that might happen later if Ningning threw a fit and demanded they kick He Zhiyuan out, Zhou Mingmei felt troubled. She even hesitated over whether to tell him that raising that burden until adulthood would earn them a villa. But her younger son was still a child and couldn’t keep his mouth shut. If the elder son found out, there would be nothing left for the younger one.

With these thoughts on her mind, Zhou Mingmei had no energy left to notice anything unusual about Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Zhaozhao followed behind, packing up all of Qiu Xuning’s clothes and carrying them in her hands. She spoke softly, “Let’s go.”

The hospital wasn’t far from the Qiu family home. There’s no need to take a taxi, just a ten-minute walk.

Though the Qiu family wasn’t wealthy, their grandfather’s generation had saved a little and bought a standalone house with a yard, which wasn’t bad at all for this small county town.

Just as Qiu Xuning lifted the brim of his hat, he saw someone step out from the house, carrying several bags of trash. The person walked toward them, but upon seeing Qiu Xuning and the others, he stopped in his tracks.

Qiu Xuning’s gaze met the newcomer’s, and it was like a clap of thunder exploding in his mind. The image of He Zhiyuan from the book slowly surfaced, and the injury on his head—no longer painful just moments ago—felt as if it had been split open again under that blade-like stare, the dull ache surging back in waves.

He Zhiyuan took a step closer in his direction. Qiu Xuning’s face went pale, and he instinctively backed away, eyes reddening, while the black-and-white of his pupils misted over as if a single blink would send the tears spilling down.

He Zhiyuan stopped in his tracks, his gaze locking onto him with a deep, unreadable intensity.