Before Ai Cao opened her eyes, she heard a man's passionate and impassioned voice.

"We should treat each other as our future marriage partners, and work through difficulties together when they arise. It's not about choosing a so-called 'better' partner..."

The sound faded into the distance.

Ai Cao opened her eyes. She turned her head to look in the direction the sound had gone, but only saw a white sedan drive out of the intersection outside the window and disappear around the next corner.

She placed her hands on the warm wooden dining table and picked up the dark gray porcelain cup in front of her. The cup was filled with a slightly bitter-smelling liquid; she only smelled it before putting it down.

Opposite her was a woman wearing a long black dress.

The woman casually withdrew her gaze from examining the mugwort and slowly stirred her coffee with a spoon.

The bracelet on her wrist glittered, reflecting in the sunglasses of the bodyguard in the suit behind her.

The woman asked, "Who are you?"

The system was buzzing and yelling in Ai Cao's head: "You chose the wrong time to enter the small world! The female lead still has one day before she meets the male lead—her family hasn't gone bankrupt yet!"

Amidst the system's mournful cries, Ai Cao quickly reviewed the stories of this world in her mind.

The female protagonist was originally a wealthy young lady. After her family went bankrupt, her father committed suicide, and her mother took her away from the villa that had been sold to pay off debts. At that time, the female protagonist encountered her former classmate, the male protagonist, once again.

The male protagonist was once penniless, having lost both his parents at a young age. But now, he has become a highly sought-after young tycoon in City B. During a merger, he accidentally discovers that his former love interest, the female protagonist, is now within his reach.

He chased, she fled. He forcibly took from her, she fought back fiercely.

In the end, it will naturally be a happy ending where both parties are in love and live in harmony... right?

No.

After the female lead marries the male lead, and the story reaches its finale—

She strangled the groom with her handmade wedding veil studded with tiny diamonds, then jumped to her death.

Ai Cao mentally went through the whole scenario before finally answering the woman's question.

She said, "I am mugwort."

"Artemisia?" The woman's lips curled slightly. The bodyguard behind her leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

The woman's slightly upturned lips pressed down. She calmly glanced at the mugwort and said, "I don't care if you're mugwort or mugwort leaves, I'm not someone you can reach with just a cup of coffee."

She stood up. A small ripple appeared on her untouched coffee.

Her bodyguard draped a coat over her shoulders.

"I know you're having some trouble," Ai Cao said, lowering her voice as much as possible. "Do you need my help?"

The woman simply said, "No need. Please pay."

The bodyguard glanced at Ai Cao, then quickly went to pay the woman's bill. The two left the coffee shop quietly together, paying no further attention to Ai Cao.

Ai Cao sat back down. Only now did she have the energy to look at what she was wearing—a well-tailored suit and black high heels with five-centimeter heels.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the world's latest smartphone.

Ai Cao asked the system, "Do I have money?"

The system said, "Yes!" It guided Ai Cao to tap the blue bubble on her phone screen, proudly displaying her balance number, "The system is here, one is worth two!"

"Can I use this money to buy the male lead who committed murder?" Ai Cao asked, counting the string of numbers.

The system retorted dryly, "No. This world... shouldn't allow killing."

Artemisia said, "I understand."

She kept her head down and fiddled with the smartphone for a while. She quickly figured out how to use the machine and also learned that the cup in front of her contained a trendy beverage called "coffee".

Ai Cao picked up the cup, took a sip, and then, without changing her expression, poured in two whole bags of white sugar, drinking it all in one gulp.

Ai Cao asked, "Where should I go to find the female lead next?" She sat down and stretched her ankles, then changed the question, "Where is the nearest place where I can change my shoes?"

The system provided her with a map and directions. After walking a few steps from the cafe, Ai Cao simply took off her shoes and continued walking barefoot.

She went into a nearby shopping mall and picked out a pair of men's shoes—not to mention that all the women's shoes were the same style with high heels and narrow lasts, and besides, Ai Cao's feet were size 42—

Ai Cao tried on almost every size 42 men's shoe in the entire mall. But in every pair, her heels were firmly stuck in the heel, and even Snow White's wicked stepmother couldn't squeeze her feet in.

The mugwort was lifeless.

She simply said, "Give me a pair of size 45 shoes."

The sales clerk chuckled awkwardly as he ran into the warehouse and retrieved a shoebox with creases from being pressed.

She successfully put on her first pair of flat men's shoes, size 42—or rather, size 45.

Ai Cao asked the system, "Aren't women still alive in this world? Why don't we even have a pair of suitable women's shoes?"

The system gave a few dry "uh" sounds, failing to provide her with an answer.

After changing her shoes, Ai Cao went to buy a few pairs of men's socks. She looked at a pair of pink and white socks embroidered with cute rabbits and bows, and then at another pair of men's socks made of a similar material.

Why would she spend the money for five pairs of socks just for one pair of pretty but not pretty socks?

Ai Cao settled the bill after a moment of contemplation.

On her way out of the mall, she heard that familiar, passionate male voice again.

Ai Cao stared in amazement at the advertising screen next to her.

She asked the system, "Why is this man still alive?"

She opened the skill panel, hesitated for a moment among the skills, and then, out of caution, used the [Menstrual Period] skill on him.

Add a small anomaly.