Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

In June, the campus was dappled with sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves, and the chirping of cicadas poured down from the branches, making people drowsy.

On the basketball court, the sound of sneakers rubbing against the ground mingled with cheers, and sweat glistened in the sunlight.

Occasionally, bicycles and electric scooters would pass by on the tree-lined path, bringing with them a gust of hot wind that would stir up the skirts of the girls.

"Damn it, I almost flashed!" Yu Huanhuan frantically pressed down on her pleated mini-skirt, muttering under her breath, "I forgot to wear my safety shorts today."

"Are you serious, Yu Xiaohuan? You've gone to such lengths to attract a crush. You've practically emptied Xiaomi's wardrobe." Yuan Wei glanced at her, her words merciless. "This kind of American-style fitted T-shirt only looks hot on Xiaomi's figure. You, old A, should just give up."

"Yuan Xiaowei, I'm giving you a chance to rephrase your words!"

Yu Huanhuan lunged at him with a chokehold, but Yuan Wei quickly slapped her hand and whispered, "Zhou Yanchen, Zhou Yanchen... quick, quick, keep your composure, your crush is coming!"

"Who are you kidding?" Yu Huanhuan said, not believing it, but when she glanced up, she almost choked on her own saliva.

They actually came!

The straight-line distance is getting closer and closer.

I heard that Zhou Yanchen comes from a powerful background; he's a princeling in Beijing's elite circles. He's wasting his access to great resources and insists on going against his family. His decision to attend this school is purely to defy them.

In the bar, someone asked him if he regretted it. He tilted his head back, took a swig of his drink, and put the glass on the table: "Regret what? The thing I hate most in my life is having someone pave the way for me. The path I paved myself, no matter how badly I trample it, is still my own."

His unruly demeanor has won him many female fans.

The two blinked as they watched Zhou Yanchen's tall figure pass by them and then stop in front of the girl behind them.

The girl was wearing white overalls with a light blue short-sleeved shirt underneath, looking like a vibrant young woman straight out of a manga. Her khaki baseball cap was pulled low, and a single braid was tied diagonally under the brim, the ends wrapped in two light blue floral scrunchies, swaying loosely at her shoulders as she looked down at her phone.

She seemed completely unaware that someone was standing in front of her, staring intently at the screen, occasionally biting her lip.

Fresh, cute, and clean.

This was Zhou Yanchen's first impression.

He held the basketball between his fingers, glanced down at her for two seconds, and handed her his phone screen: "Junior, let's add each other on WeChat."

This isn't a discussion; it's a notification.

Chai Xiaomi lifted her eyelids slightly. Normally she would have politely declined, but at this moment she was a little annoyed. She was paying attention to a very important Weibo post.

Married individuals please do not contact.

Four words were enough to dismiss the person.

Zhou Yanchen raised an eyebrow: "Junior, even if you want to reject someone, you should at least come up with a reasonable excuse, right? Don't you know who I am?"

He gestured with his chin toward the sidelines of the court, where a blue Maserati supercar gleamed in the sunlight. "My car matches your outfit perfectly today. Would you like to come in and have a ride?"

"Can your car grow wings?"

Zhou Yanchen: "?"

Chai Xiaomi poked her phone screen: "Look carefully, this is my husband, and his car can fly. I'll say it one last time, I'm married."

She was referring to a page from a novel, or more precisely, two characters on it—Wu Li.

"..." Zhou Yanchen stared at the picture for two seconds, his brows furrowing into a knot: "You've become obsessed with reading a romance novel? There are so many dream girls these days."

"Dream Girl!? I'm his lawfully wedded wife—"

Yu Huanhuan and Yuan Wei reacted quickly, covering Chai Xiaomi's mouth and dragging her away.

Xiaomi is usually cheerful and gentle, and easy to get along with, but there's one red line she absolutely cannot cross.

Her parents had come to the dormitory beforehand to say hello and brought a lot of delicious food to treat everyone. They said that Xiaomi might be showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and asked them to keep an eye on her and take care of her. That's how they found out what was going on.

It is said that Xiaomi had been missing for a long time in the mountains of a scenic area. Her family reported her missing to the police and dispatched multiple search and rescue teams. After many unsuccessful searches, the search and rescue teams withdrew, but her family never gave up and finally found her.

Strangely, when they found her, she wasn't wearing the clothes she was wearing on the day she went missing, but rather a simple, ancient-style white dress.

There were no signs of injury on his body, and he even looked a bit plumper than before he went missing.

That mountain was deserted, with only a small section developed for tourism. I heard that her parents went to a fortune teller, who only said one thing: "It's nothing, she just went to see her ancestors."

It sounds incredibly mysterious.

Who wouldn't be scared in something like this?

It's no wonder that Xiaomi would find solace in a novel called "Alien Land".

I read it while walking, while eating, and even under the covers at night. I read it over and over again until it's practically worn smooth. I wish I could immerse myself completely in the novel.

Even more outrageous is that she doesn't enjoy watching the main characters' scenes, but rather the scenes where the villains appear.

Sometimes I would dream at night and call out the villain's name—Li Li, Li Li—in a sweet and affectionate way, which would leave my roommates looking at each other in bewilderment.

It's fine if her roommates know about this, but if it gets out in school, they'll most likely be mocked for being crazy.

Chai Xiaomi knew that her roommates were all very nice and cared about her a lot. They even called her by her name in the format of "X Xiao X"—Yu Xiaohuan, Yuan Xiaowei, Chen Xiaomeng, each one easier to pronounce than the last.

Despite their close relationship, no one believed what she said.

However, she was too lazy to explain too much. Her mind was focused on one thing: the author of "Alien Land" posted a notice on Weibo that the physical book was out and that there would be an additional 20,000-word extra chapter. She immediately placed an order.

My roommate picked up the package the day it arrived, and she also asked them to open it and check it.

Chai Xiaomi rushed back to her dormitory. When she opened the door, she saw three people looking up at her, all holding a book in their hands, their expressions subtle.

Yuan Wei spoke first, her tone tinged with suspicion: "Tell me, did you give the author some kind of benefit?"

"What does that mean?" Chai Xiaomi's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly grabbed the book.

She turned to the extra chapters, her gaze landing on the first line.

He was completely stunned.

In the side story, a new character appears—Chai Xiaomi.

According to the side story, she is the descendant of the male and female protagonists in the distant future, living in the 21st century. And her only purpose is to save one person.

The book tells the story of her traveling back to the past, but doesn't elaborate much on what happened afterward, leaving it as an open ending.

The rest of the story continues to focus on the happy daily life of the male and female protagonists.

She clutched the page with her name on it, her mind blank.

Just then, my roommate's surprised voice came from beside me: "Wow, this bookstore that ships books is called 'The Book Transmigration Administration,' and it's located on Pingjiang Road in Suzhou. Isn't that right near your house? Xiaomi, have you ever heard of it?"

Chai Xiaomi is studying at a university in Nanjing, not far from home.

During the short holiday, her father insisted on driving to pick her up, but she refused, as it only takes two and a half hours by high-speed train.

As soon as she got off the bullet train, she went to the address.

I have no idea when this bookstore called "Transmigration Bureau" came about.

The decoration is simple, and the storefront is clean and tidy, without any fancy signs.

Pingjiang Road is a popular spot for taking photos, and it was already bustling with people before the holiday. Only this bookstore was deserted, as if it had been forgotten by time in a corner.

It's so secluded that it seems to be located outside the bustling city center.

They just stayed there quietly.

There weren't even any shop assistants inside; she was greeted by a smart robot.

"Welcome to the Transmigration Bureau, host. We are the Restoration Department of the 37th Civilization Relic from the future. Our purpose is to restore the characters that the authors have forgotten in the gaps of the story."

The robot's voice was flat, but a soft blue light was slowly rotating in its chest cavity.

Hearing that familiar address, Chai Xiaomi's heart raced, and she asked almost unconsciously, "Excuse me, do you have fried dough sticks here?"

After a few seconds of searching, the robot replied: "Youtiao is an old system whose number has been cancelled and is about to enter the destruction phase. If you want to say hello to it, follow me."

This was the first time Chai Xiaomi had ever seen the wafers inside a fried dough stick.

Just as it said, it was very, very broken.

The massive data core is housed in this square chip, about the size of a fingernail. The optical path at the edge is broken, and the surface is covered with a nano-coating. There is also a faded cartoon fried dough stick sticker on it, probably left by the programmer who originally wrote it.

"I have a favor to ask: could you please not destroy it? I'd like to buy it."

"If you like it, I'll give it to you for free. You can choose a carrier for this system chip."

Is this for real?

Chai Xiaomi looked up at the light screen, where virtual models of various animals and insects slowly rotated before her eyes, including butterflies, birds, and fish...

Her gaze, however, was drawn to a jet-black scorpion in the corner. It lay quietly lurking at the edge of the light and shadow, its stinger slightly raised, as if waiting for her.

"Let's choose that scorpion."

"Okay. After the chip is implanted, I will send someone to deliver it to your home."

Immediately afterwards, Chai Xiaomi asked her most pressing question: "By the way, do you have any medium here that can transport people into the world of novels?"

The robot in front of them suddenly began to blur, but the voice continued, as if coming from across a distant body of water: "To be precise, it's time travel."

"The world you exist in is a novel. And you yourself are a character in a side story, a two-dimensional persona..."

The bustling voices woke Chai Xiaomi.

"Is the little girl alright? Oh, is she having a hypoglycemic episode?"

"Want to sit down for a bit? I have a candy here." The auntie from the shop next door took a fruit hard candy out of her apron pocket and put it in her hand. "These young people nowadays, they don't even eat breakfast properly."

"That's right, that's right. I just passed by and saw her sitting on the ground without moving. I thought she had heatstroke," another passerby chimed in.

Chai Xiaomi blinked blankly, then looked up. The bookstore that should have had the Book Transmigration Administration sign was surrounded by construction railings. There were construction notices on the railings, just a few exposed steel bars and scattered cement bags. The inside was empty, with nothing there.