Chapter 1: The Villainous Wife Who Seduces Her Husband’s Brothers

I shot upright in bed, ready to take on the world.

Unfortunately, half a second after sitting up, my head started spinning like a pinwheel.

I had no choice but to obediently collapse back onto the mattress.

I’d been recovering in bed for five days.

The doctor said I only had a mild concussion, but I still needed to take it easy and get plenty of rest.

Five days ago had been the third anniversary of my marriage to Lu Mingqi.

The elders of both families had decided to throw a grand celebration.

First, it was to celebrate three successful years of cooperation between the two families.

Second, a new joint project had officially gone into operation, so they needed an appropriate occasion to announce it to the outside world.

There was no holiday coming up, and no elderly relative was celebrating a birthday, so naturally, my wedding anniversary with Lu Mingqi was brought out and put to good use.

As for the opinions of the two people actually getting married—me and Lu Mingqi…

Honestly, no one cared.

Fortunately, we were both practical people.

We were long past the rebellious phase where we fought our families just for the sake of it.

If something benefited both ourselves and our families, putting on a little show was hardly going to kill us.

In front of outsiders, we played the loving husband-and-wife act so convincingly, you’d think we’d rehearsed the script a hundred times.

That day, as usual, I looped my arm through Lu Mingqi’s and put on my most elegant, perfectly composed rich-wife smile as we made our way down the ridiculously long staircase.

That was when his phone rang.

It was an important business partner.

He told me to go downstairs first. He’d take the call and catch up with me afterward.

I was well into my twenties. I wasn’t a preschooler who needed someone holding my hand on every step.

So I waved him off generously.

“Go handle your business.”

Surely a little thing like this wasn’t going to give me trouble.

But Lu Mingqi still looked worried.

“Your heels are pretty high. Be careful.”

I shot him an annoyed look.

“I’m not mentally disabled, you know.”

And then—

I slipped.

Right in front of Lu Mingqi and an entire ballroom full of guests, I tumbled down the staircase like a ball rolling downhill.

I passed out on the spot.

…

When I woke up, I was already in the hospital.

The doctor said it was only a mild concussion and that I’d be fine after a few days of rest at home.

Lu Mingqi sat beside me, carefully asking about everything I needed to watch out for.

While filling out my chart, the doctor reminded me,

“You may experience symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, ringing in your ears, vomiting, or even temporary memory loss.”

Seeing that I was awake and alert, he asked me a few questions before giving his verdict.

“Nothing to worry about. You remember everything you’re supposed to remember, and there are no signs of memory loss.”

Hearing that, I almost wanted to protest.

There was a huge problem!

A gigantic one!

It was true that I hadn’t lost my memory.

But my head had been flooded with bizarre memories that clearly didn’t belong to me.

For the past five days, all my other symptoms had gradually faded.

Those strange memories, however, had only become clearer.

By this morning, they had practically pieced themselves together into a complete story.

If those memories were real…

If I really was living inside a novel…

Then I was definitely the villainous female lead.

Lu Mingqi was the devoted second male lead who secretly protected the heroine.

His younger brother, Lu Mingxing, was the heroine’s on-again, off-again ex-boyfriend.

And their eldest brother, Lu Mingli, was the full-package domineering CEO male lead.

The heroine’s name was Lian Rong.

She came from an ordinary family, worked hard to make something of herself, and was exactly the kind of girl the entire world seemed destined to adore.

She had just graduated from college and was currently giving Lu Mingxing the silent treatment for what felt like the millionth time.

Soon, she would interview at Lu Corporation, officially stepping into the love story involving both the male lead and the second male lead.

And me?

I disliked the heroine from the very first time I met her.

After seeing one man after another fall for her, jealousy completely clouded my judgment.

I picked fights with her every single day.

And the funniest part was…

I was already married.

My husband was handsome, gentle, and came from an impeccable family.

Yet somehow, I spent three whole years pining after my brother-in-law.

Of course, Lu Mingli was famous for being devoted to one woman and had never spared me so much as a second glance.

After being rejected again and again, I hated Lian Rong even more.

Then, apparently, something short-circuited in my brain and I decided to seduce Lu Mingxing.

In other words…

My own brother-in-law.

…

Somebody save me.

What year was this supposed to be? Some eight-o’clock soap opera from the Stone Age?

Even TV directors nowadays would be embarrassed to film something this ridiculous.

It made no sense.

And even worse, it was nothing like me.

I was the kind of person who treated money like my lifeline.

To me, love was nothing more than a little seasoning. Nice to have, but hardly essential.

In our world, genuinely loving married couples were the rare exception.

Most marriages were like mine and Lu Mingqi’s.

A business arrangement.

A mutually beneficial partnership.

Who had the time to go looking for true love in a marriage like this?

When I was twenty, my family arranged a blind date for me.

I met Lu Mingqi three times.

The fourth time, we discussed the wedding.

Before we got married, the total number of words we’d exchanged probably hadn’t even reached a hundred.

Falling in love would have been the strange part.

All three Lu brothers were ridiculously handsome.

But neither Lu Mingli nor Lu Mingxing was my type.

One had a permanently cold expression, like he was constantly collecting debts.

The other had a temper like a powder keg waiting for a spark.

Compared to them, my husband was much better.

Lu Mingqi was gentle and polite. No matter what happened, he was always willing to sit down and talk things through.

He was patient to an almost absurd degree.

Even our married life was perfectly harmonious.

More importantly, he always respected me.

He had never once interfered with my personal interests or decisions.

There was just one thing…

He didn’t love me.

He married me for his career.

If it hadn’t been me that year, he would have married another wealthy heiress and treated her with the same kindness he showed me now.

Lu Mingqi was a bona fide workaholic.

Love and a fulfilling marriage had never been anywhere near the top of his priority list.

And honestly, that suited me just fine.

After all, the security money provided was far more reliable than love.

So I didn’t love him either.

I barely had any special feelings for my own husband.

How could I possibly wake up one day and suddenly go crazy over my brother-in-law?

What a load of nonsense.

That fall must have knocked my brain’s operating system out of whack.

I should definitely get myself checked again.

With that thought, I opened WeChat and messaged Lu Mingqi.

“Hubby, I’m craving French fries. Can you pick me up a large order on your way home tonight?”

Fast food was my fatal weakness.

Five days without it had left me practically dying of starvation.

Three minutes later, he replied:

“I asked the doctor. He said you should stick to a light diet for a few more days. If everything looks good at your follow-up tomorrow, I’ll buy you some.”

I immediately tried to negotiate.

“What if we go for the follow-up today?”

“No. I’m busy today.”

“I can go by myself.”

“No.”

After a few rounds of back-and-forth, he finally gave in.

“Have Xiao Li go with you.”

I had no choice but to accept.

…

On the way to the hospital, Xiao Li suddenly asked me for a favor.

She had a friend who had just graduated from Haicheng University and wanted to apply for a job at Lu Corporation.

I nodded when I heard that.

“Sure. Have her send me her résumé first.”

Xiao Li immediately looked delighted.

I casually asked,

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Lian Rong.”

I had been staring out the car window.

At those words, I froze.

A few seconds later, I slowly turned my head.

“What did you say her name was?”

“Lian Rong.”

Me: “…”

I didn’t care about the French fries anymore.

Something was seriously, seriously wrong.