The Reflection Of Doom

The soft glow of a phone screen illuminated the dark room.

A young woman lay comfortably on her bed, scrolling through the final chapters of a popular historical romance novel.

The title had caught her attention weeks ago, and now she was finally reading the ending.

A few moments later, she let out an annoyed sigh.

"What kind of ending is this?"

She stared at the screen.

The final scene showed the villainess, Li Ruoxi, kneeling in the palace courtyard while everyone celebrated her downfall.

Honestly, she wasn't surprised.

Li Ruoxi had spent the entire novel making life difficult for the heroine.

She lied.

She schemed.

She manipulated people.

And in the end, she paid the price.

The young woman shook her head.

"She deserved it."

Her eyes moved to the next paragraph.

Shen Mochen stood beside the heroine, Jiang Meilin, while the villainess awaited execution.

The ending everyone wanted.

The ending every reader had been waiting for.

Still...

The young woman frowned.

"I don't understand why she was so obsessed with him."

She tossed her phone onto the pillow beside her.

"If I were Li Ruoxi, I would've left him immediately."

The thought made her laugh.

Why chase a man who clearly loved someone else?

Why throw away your life for someone who would never choose you?

"Seriously," she muttered.

"If I were in her place, I would never act like that."

Outside, thunder suddenly rumbled across the night sky.

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then darkness swallowed the room.

The young woman sat upright.

"Huh?"

A cold wind brushed against her skin.

The room suddenly felt strange.

Unfamiliar.

And before she could react—

Everything went black.

....................

"Xiao... Lan?"

Ruoxi repeated the name slowly. The maid looked relieved when she heard her speak.

"Yes, Your Highness. It's me, Xiao Lan."

Xiao Lan.

The name echoed in Ruoxi's mind.

Why did it sound so familiar?

She frowned.

Then suddenly—

A memory surfaced.

A novel.

A historical romance novel.

The villainess's loyal maid.

Xiao Lan.

The color drained from Ruoxi's face.

"No..."

Her heart skipped a beat.

It couldn't be.

There had to be countless Xiao Lans in the world. She forced a laugh.

"Right..."

But the uneasiness in her chest only grew stronger. The maid took a step forward.

"Your Highness?"

Ruoxi stared at her.

The familiar name.

The ancient room.

The strange clothes.

A terrifying thought appeared in her mind.

"No, no, no..."

She shook her head.

"That's impossible."

If this maid was really Xiao Lan...

Then...

Who was she?

Without warning, Ruoxi jumped out of bed.

"Your Highness!"

Ignoring Xiao Lan's cries, she rushed across the room. Her gaze landed on a bronze mirror resting atop a carved dressing table.

Her footsteps slowed.

For a brief moment, she didn't dare look.

Her hands trembled.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

She raised her head.

The reflection staring back at her was breathtakingly beautiful.

Long black hair.

Delicate features.

Phoenix-embroidered robes.

A face she knew all too well.

A face she had seen countless times while reading.

Li Ruoxi.

The villainess.

The room spun.

Ruoxi stumbled backward.

"No..."

The word escaped her lips in a whisper.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

She remembered it now.

The novel.

The tragic ending.

The execution.

And her own words from the night before.

"If I were Li Ruoxi, I would never make those choices."

A bitter laugh escaped her.

"You're kidding me..."

She looked at her reflection again. Then at Xiao Lan. Then back at the mirror. The truth was impossible to deny. She had become Li Ruoxi. The words echoed inside Ruoxi's mind again and again.

"No..."

She took another step back. This had to be a dream. A ridiculously realistic dream. There was no other explanation.

Yesterday, she had been lying comfortably in her bed reading a novel. Now she was standing inside that very novel?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Yet the reflection in the mirror remained unchanged.

Li Ruoxi.

The most hated woman in the entire story. The woman readers cursed in every comment section. The woman she herself had criticized countless times. Ruoxi pressed a hand against her forehead. Fragments of the novel continued to surface. Li Ruoxi was born into a prestigious noble family.

Beautiful.

Talented.

Admired by many.

If things had ended there, she could have lived a comfortable life. But she had fallen in love with the wrong person.

Shen Mochen.

The man who never loved her.

The man whose heart had always belonged to another woman.

Jiang Meilin.

The novel's heroine.

Ruoxi remembered throwing her phone onto the pillow the night before. She had been frustrated while reading.

Frustrated by Li Ruoxi's decisions.

Frustrated by her obsession.

Frustrated by how desperately she chased a man who clearly loved someone else.

And now...

Now she was Li Ruoxi.

"Of all people..."

Ruoxi groaned.

"Why couldn't I become the heroine instead?"

Xiao Lan looked completely confused.

"Your Highness?"

Ruoxi immediately shook her head.

"Nothing."

She couldn't exactly explain that she had somehow entered a novel. No one would believe her. They would probably summon a physician.

Or worse.

A priest.

Ruoxi took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Think.

She needed to think.

What point in the story was this?

Her eyes suddenly widened.

The wedding.

Today's wedding.

The color instantly drained from her face.

"No way."

The novel had begun with Li Ruoxi's marriage to Shen Mochen. Everyone praised the match.

The Li and Shen families celebrated. The capital envied her. But readers knew the truth.

That marriage was the beginning of her tragedy.

After marrying Shen Mochen, Li Ruoxi became increasingly jealous of Jiang Meilin. The conflicts grew worse.

The misunderstandings deepened.

And eventually...

The villainess died.

Ruoxi swallowed hard.

She remembered something else. Something she had almost forgotten.bShen Mochen had never wanted this marriage.

The entire union had been arranged by their families. At the time, she hadn't paid much attention while reading.

But now?

Now it terrified her.

If she remembered correctly...

At this point in the story...

Shen Mochen was already in love with Jiang Meilin.

The room suddenly felt colder. Ruoxi stared at her reflection. Her wedding robes were being prepared. The maids were waiting.

Outside, the entire capital was preparing to celebrate. Meanwhile, she was standing here knowing exactly how the story would end.

A wedding.

A marriage.

A betrayal.

A grave.

Ruoxi clenched her fists.

"No."

The word came out firmer this time.

"No, absolutely not."

If the universe had truly thrown her into this story...

If she had really become Li Ruoxi...

Then she only had one choice.

She would never walk down the same path.

Never.

Because unlike the original Li Ruoxi...

She already knew where that path led.

And she refused to die for a man who didn't love her.

To be continued.....

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