The New Heroine
Chapter 22: The New Heroine
Lin Zhaoxi didn't remember how she got back to her apartment.
The last thing she recalled was Shen Muyan's arms around her—and the pain, sharp as knives, behind her eyes.
Now everything was still. Quiet.
Too quiet.
Her phone lay face down on the nightstand. Dozens of unread messages. All from him.
She didn't open them.
Because she knew what she'd see.
Concern. Anger. Maybe even… love.
But none of that mattered now.
Because the System had warned her.
And when the System warns you…
It never does so twice.
System Voice:
"Emotional deviation has exceeded acceptable limits. To preserve narrative stability, a new Host Candidate will be activated."
"Stand by."
She stared at the glowing text in horror.
New host?
She was being replaced.
And just like that—the storyline was shifting.
The next day on set, she felt it immediately.
A new actress had been added to the production. Unannounced. Unexplained.
Everyone called her Lin Yao.
She was radiant. Sweet. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke.
The kind of girl the world wanted to protect.
The kind of girl Lin Zhaoxi had once pretended to be… before she stopped pretending.
Lin Yao walked onto the stage like she already owned it.
And everyone—including the director—smiled at her like she was a blessing.
Zhao xi clenched her fists.
She didn't know why, but something deep inside her screamed:
She's not real. She's part of the System.
Backstage, Shen Muyan caught up with her between takes.
"Zhaoxi," he said softly. "Are you okay?"
She turned away. "I'm fine."
"You weren't yesterday.
"I said I'm fine."
He stepped in front of her. "You don't get to do that. Not after what happened."
Her voice cracked. "I'm not your responsibility, Shen Muyan."
"But you—"
He stopped himself. "You were crying. You were hurting. You said—"
"I didn't mean it."
A lie. A knife.
His expression crumbled, just for a second.
But then he caught sight of someone over her shoulder.
Lin Yao.
The new girl smiled sweetly at him. Tilted her head. Winked.
Zhaoxi felt it—a shift. Like the air around her was being rewritten.
The script was reassigning the male lead.
System Voice: "Host designation updated. Emotional energy rerouted to Candidate Lin Yao."
She staggered.
No one noticed.
No one except Shen Muyan—who grabbed her arm as she swayed.
His eyes searched hers. "Zhaoxi… don't shut me out again. Please."
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
But the words that came out weren't hers.
"You should go. She's waiting for you."
And then she walked away.
System Notice:
"Narrative control restored. New emotional arc initializing
"Previous host downgrade initiated."
But deep inside Lin Zhaoxi's heart—beneath the grief, beneath the programming—
something sparked.
Something that wouldn't go quietly.