Transmigrated as a Doomed Villain
Inside a high-end club in Riverdale City, amidst melodious music and the crisp sound of clinking glasses, Sophia Reed felt someone hook an arm around her neck. In her dizzy state, she could feel warm breath brushing against her ear.
"Once tonight is over, there'll be no chance left for Ethan Carter and Miss Grace."
"I can already imagine the look on Ethan's face after you post the video online, haha."
Sophia only managed to catch a few scattered keywords.
"Ethan Carter... that name sounds so familiar. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
Frowning, Sophia slowly opened her eyes.
"Where is this?"
"It looks like a nightclub."
"Wasn't I rushed to the ICU because my condition suddenly worsened?"
"What's with that expression?" the voice beside her complained. "I was the one who suggested drugging him in the first place!"
"We agreed that after it's done, you'd buy me a sports car. Don't even think about backing out now!"
The arm draped around Sophia's neck gave her shoulder a firm slap.
Only then did she get a clear look at the young man beside her. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with bright red dyed hair, freckles scattered across his face, and two small fangs that showed whenever he smiled.
Sophia's eyes flickered before suddenly widening.
"Oh my God, I remember now."
She had spent years bedridden. To pass the time, she often borrowed novels from her cousin, a devoted bookworm.
Not long ago, she had finished reading a melodramatic tragedy-romance novel titled Deep Affection. The male lead of the story was named Ethan Carter, and there was also a vicious female villain who happened to share her name.
As for the red-haired young man in front of her, he was Dylan Brooks, the villain's sworn brother in the novel. He looked exactly as he had been described.
"This has to be a dream!"
Sophia silently recited a few calming phrases before decisively pinching her thigh.
"Ding! Congratulations, dear host! You have successfully unlocked the Transmigration System through pain stimulation. I am your personal assistant system. Feel free to ask me anything."
Time seemed to freeze as a mechanical yet strangely friendly female voice echoed inside Sophia's mind.
Clutching her aching leg, Sophia fought back tears.
"What the heck?"
"Transmigration? And now there's a system too?"
"That's correct, dear host. You could not be revived in your original world. The system detected your exceptionally strong will to live and selected you as a host. You have been transported into this novel and reborn as the villain, Sophia Reed, allowing you to continue your life."
Sophia's heart immediately sank.
Her will to live had indeed been incredibly strong. Doctors had predicted that she wouldn't survive for more than a year, yet she had stubbornly clung to life in a hospital bed for five whole years before finally passing away.
Being able to continue living in another body sounded wonderful, but did the system really think the villain had a good ending?
The Sophia Reed of the novel was the spoiled heiress of the powerful Reed family. Ever since childhood, she had been pampered beyond reason. Simply because she disliked Ethan Carter, she did everything possible to sabotage the relationship between the male and female leads, creating one problem after another and constantly stirring up trouble.
Not only that, but she was also jealous of Ethan Carter because he was always the "perfect child" in the eyes of her parents. As a result, she did everything she could to humiliate him and destroy his reputation.
In the end, the troublemaker drugged a hotel room, lured Ethan there, and planned to use a hidden camera to record a compromising video of him with someone else.
That act completely enraged the male lead.
After the Reed Family went bankrupt, Ethan settled every score. He handed Sophia over to the Reed Family's former enemies, and she was ultimately abused to death.
The system hurriedly tried to comfort her.
"Don't be discouraged, dear host. The original owner suffered her fate because she committed too many wrongdoings. As long as you make amends and turn over a new leaf, you can change the original ending of the story."
"Really?"
A glimmer of hope appeared in Sophia's eyes.
"Then how far has the plot progressed?"
After a brief pause, she asked in a trembling voice,
"Um... has the drugging already happened?"
The tiny spark of hope that had just been ignited was instantly extinguished.
Sophia froze.
Then she felt as if she were shattering into pieces.
The original owner had already done everything she shouldn't have done, and according to the story, the Reed Family would go bankrupt in just two months.
What was left to save?
Most transmigrators arrived at the beginning of a story, or at least somewhere in the middle.
But she had been thrown directly into the final act.
Wasn't this basically a death sentence?
Sensing the host's growing despair, the system quietly went offline and pretended not to exist.
As soon as the system disappeared, time resumed.
The people around her began moving once more.
Dylan Brooks came from a wealthy family and certainly wasn't lacking a sports car.
When Sophia ignored him, he didn't seem bothered. He casually wrapped an arm around a young woman beside him and was about to continue boasting when Sophia suddenly interrupted him.
"Ethan Carter has already gone upstairs."
The drugging and hidden camera had been arranged by the original Sophia, while the person responsible for luring Ethan to the hotel had been organized by Dylan.
Dylan thought for a moment before lazily waving a hand.
"Huh?"
"Not yet... but my people said he's already on his way to the hotel."
Then he grinned drunkenly.
"Hey, relax."
Suddenly, Sophia jumped to her feet.
Thankfully, fate hadn't completely abandoned her.
As long as she got rid of the hidden camera and the drugs before Ethan arrived at the hotel, everything could still be fixed.
Before Dylan could react, Sophia shoved away the two hostesses leaning against her and rushed out of the private room.
By the time Dylan finished his story and turned around to clink glasses with her, she was already gone.
He blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Where did she go?"
