Chapter 2
She had never wanted to transmigrate into the novel The Biography of a Fujoshi in the Cultivation World.
As mentioned before, the moment she had glanced at the synopsis, she possessed an intuitive certainty that she would end up inhabiting the body of the cannon fodder character who shared her name—Yan Tangtang.
While Yan Tangtang identified as bisexual, she had to admit that her greatest passion lay within the realm of BL (Boys' Love) novels. Although she occasionally read GL (Girls' Love) stories, they were like a mere drop in the ocean compared to the vast sea of BL she had devoured.
She was deeply enamored with gay couples, a fascination she couldn't quite explain. Furthermore, she harbored a desperate longing to have been born a man. Why? Simply because she dreamed of being one half of a gay couple herself.
It might sound a bit absurd—after all, she was bisexual and attracted to both men and women. Yet, the desire to be male remained an unyielding part of her.
If transmigration was her greatest prayer, her second was to be reborn as a man. Her third, of course, was for that new life to be in a cultivation world.
Though the novel The Biography of a Fujoshi in the Cultivation World granted two of her greatest wishes, she had an unsettling intuition that if she were to cross over into this specific story, becoming a man would be an impossibility. That was why she had dreaded this world. If her frustration at not being male accounted for ninety percent of her resentment, the remaining ten percent stemmed from the sheer wretchedness of the character she was destined to inhabit.
The role of "Yan Tangtang" in that novel was nothing short of disastrous.
True to its title, the story revolved around a fujoshi who had transmigrated into a cultivation realm. The entire narrative was told from the perspective of this female lead—a woman who was as brilliant and sharp as she was powerful. In her previous life, she had successfully commanded one of the nation's top business conglomerates. However, burdened by the weight of her family's empire, she had been forced to bury her fujoshi heart in the deepest recesses of her soul.
But then, she transmigrated. Finding herself in a cultivation world as the youngest child of her family, she was finally liberated from the shackles of corporate duty.
What's more, her new family was one of the most formidable powers in the cultivation realm. Her path would be paved with endless resources, ensuring she would never have to worry about the hardships of cultivation.
With such freedom, why wouldn't she fulfill the dream she had suppressed in her past life? And so, driven by her ultimate desire, the female lead made it her grand mission to "bend" the young men of this world—turning them into the stars of her very own BL fantasies.
Between the original "Yan Tangtang" of the novel and the female lead, there existed an inescapable twist of fate.
It was the classic, legendary trope: the switching of infants.
Indeed, Yan Tangtang was the true-born daughter of that formidable family. However, she had been swapped with the female lead at birth.
The circumstances were as follows: as powerful as that family was, they possessed enemies of equal magnitude. Originally, their foes had intended to murder the newborn—the youngest of the clan—outright. However, they realized that such a direct strike would not only trigger a global manhant for their annihilation but would also be too merciful. The enemies wanted the family to suffer a far more agonizing torment.
This was because the family had already sired five sons and had been desperately yearning for a daughter. Even before her birth, they had cherished the idea of her, ready to protect her like a precious pearl in the palm of their hands.
The enemies surmised that if this family were to pour all their love and resources into raising a "treasure" who wasn't even their own blood—only to later discover the truth and realize their biological daughter had been struggling just to survive—the heartbreak would be enough to kill them.
And so, the fates of Yan Tangtang and the female lead were cruelly exchanged.
After a meticulous search, the enemy discovered a pregnant woman within a mercenary group he had once employed. Coincidentally, she was due to give birth on the very same day as the great family's matriarch, and a quick check confirmed that her child, too, would be a girl.
As for this mercenary couple, their unborn child was nothing more than an accident. Their sole focus was on their own cultivation, and the impending arrival of a baby was merely an unwelcome complication. In their line of work, resources were scarce and life was a constant struggle. To make matters worse, they were ordinary cultivators, lacking any innate special powers. Reaching higher levels required their absolute devotion; where would they ever find the time to raise a child?
If their daughter could be raised within a powerful family, they would gladly give her up. They had no desire for her to share their hardships. Should the family later discover the truth and exact their revenge, they would simply dismiss it as the child's destiny.
And the baby they would receive in exchange? Since it wouldn't be their flesh and blood, they wouldn't spare her a second thought.
Thus, with very little effort, the enemy secured their cooperation for the switch. However, infiltrating the great family's estate was a different matter entirely. As one of the most powerful clans in existence, their defenses were formidable and absolute. To create even a momentary breach in their security before the birth, the enemy had to make immense sacrifices and undergo exhaustive preparations. It was, as the story tells, a feat of monumental difficulty.
Since the female lead had transmigrated at the very moment of her birth, it was only natural that she overheard parts of the adults' hushed conversations. She was fully aware of the fact that she was a switched infant.
While it might seem impossible for the enemy to infiltrate the estate and swap the babies without anyone noticing, the household guards had assumed the intruder's only intent was to harm the child. The possibility of a calculated kidnapping and exchange never even crossed their minds.
Despite his exhaustive preparations, the enemy barely managed to escape the estate, fleeing with grievous wounds.
The family, seeing that their "daughter" was unharmed, rejoiced in their perceived safety, remaining blissfully unaware of the truth. This oversight was partly due to the fact that newborns, with their flushed skin and underdeveloped features, look remarkably alike. Moreover, the swap had taken place in the dead of night on the very day of their birth, making detection nearly impossible. However, the enemy's greatest stroke of luck was that both infants possessed striking blue eyes.
While the subtle differences in their gaze would become apparent as they grew older, they were indistinguishable at the moment of birth.
And thus, the exchange was successfully—and fatefully—completed.
Yan Tangtang let out a long, weary sigh and decided to observe a moment of silence for the original "Yan Tangtang" of the novel.
When she had first read these chapters, the emotions hadn't cut quite so deep. But now, dwelling upon the story from within Yan Tangtang's very own body, a profound sense of sorrow washed over her.
In truth, this girl was the one who should have been raised as a pampered princess.
Initially, Yan Tangtang hadn't thought much of the fact that the female lead knew about the swap from the beginning. Upon further reflection, however, a spark of resentment began to flicker. Because the novel was written from the female lead's perspective, it framed her decision to wait twenty-five years before revealing the truth as perfectly justified. It even went as far as to portray this eventual confession as an act of immense magnanimity on the female lead's part.
One must remember that while twenty-five years might seem like a mere heartbeat to a cultivator, twenty-five years is still twenty-five years.
It was a span of time more than sufficient for two children to grow into adulthood—and perhaps, more than enough for a life to be irrevocably ruined.
By the time twenty-five years had passed, the female lead—having exploited the family's finest resources to rapidly ascend in rank—had already secured her place within a prestigious sect. In stark contrast, the original Yan Tangtang of the novel had been reduced to nothing more than a common prostitute, a direct result of the mercenary couple's ruthless exploitation.
The current Yan Tangtang felt a wave of revulsion at using such a label for the person she had now become, yet there was no denying the grim reality portrayed in the novel: the original Yan Tangtang's life had indeed descended into the depths of sex work.
The novel had spared no detail in recounting the tragic specifics of her downfall.