Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Girl Who Dreamed of an Ordinary Tomorrow
The rain had been falling since before sunrise.
It wasn’t the violent kind that arrived with thunder and fierce winds, demanding everyone’s attention. Instead, it was gentle and persistent, like an old friend quietly tapping against the windows, content to be ignored. Tiny droplets gathered on the glass before slowly sliding downward, leaving behind winding trails that distorted the bustling city beyond into a sea of blurred lights and muted colors.
On the eighteenth floor of an aging apartment building, a single window glowed with warm yellow light.
Inside, the modest apartment was neither luxurious nor shabby. Every piece of furniture had been chosen carefully over the years, not because it was expensive, but because it was practical. A beige sofa sat beside a small bookshelf overflowing with novels of every genre imaginable. Fantasy, mystery, romance, science fiction... their colorful spines leaned comfortably against one another, evidence of countless evenings spent escaping into fictional worlds after long, exhausting workdays.
A tiny cactus rested on the windowsill.
Its round body was decorated with two tiny googly eyes someone had glued onto it years ago.
The sight was admittedly ridiculous.
Yet every time she looked at it, she couldn’t help but smile.
The apartment carried the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee mixed with butter melting over warm toast. It wasn’t a scent anyone would describe as luxurious, but it felt like home. Outside, the world hurried through another rainy weekday. Inside, time seemed content to slow down for just a little while longer.
Soft footsteps padded across the wooden floor.
A young woman emerged from the hallway, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her oversized cream-colored sweater hung loosely from one shoulder, nearly swallowing her petite frame. Her long black hair, hastily gathered into a messy ponytail, had already begun escaping its hair tie, several strands framing a face that still carried traces of sleep.
She yawned so widely her eyes watered.
“Morning...”
Her voice sounded hoarse.
There was no one else in the apartment.
Still, she greeted the empty room anyway.
It had become a habit after years of living alone.
Stretching her arms high above her head, she wandered into the tiny kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The shelves were organized with almost obsessive neatness. Eggs occupied one corner. Milk rested beside neatly stacked containers of vegetables she had prepared over the weekend. There wasn’t much, but everything had its place.
She reached for two eggs.
“...Today’s the day.”
The words slipped from her lips so quietly they were nearly swallowed by the rain.
Today marked exactly two years since she had started working at Yuantai Technology.
Two years.
Somehow, it both felt like forever and no time at all.
She placed a frying pan over the stove, poured in a little oil, and waited patiently as it warmed. Tiny ripples shimmered across the surface before she cracked the first egg with practiced ease.
The yolk landed perfectly in the center.
She smiled.
“Maybe today’s my lucky day.”
The second egg...
Wasn’t nearly as cooperative.
The shell slipped from her fingers.
The yolk burst instantly upon contact with the pan.
Golden liquid spread everywhere.
She stared at the ruined egg in complete silence.
“...Never mind.”
With exaggerated disappointment, she grabbed the spatula and began scrambling everything together.
“So much for luck.”
The quiet kitchen soon filled with the comforting sound of food sizzling.
While breakfast cooked, she wandered toward the living room and pulled open the curtains.
The city greeted her immediately.
Countless umbrellas drifted along the sidewalks like colorful flowers blooming beneath the rain. Buses crawled through slow-moving traffic while cyclists weaved carefully between puddles. Far in the distance, skyscrapers disappeared into low-hanging clouds, their upper floors hidden from view as though swallowed by the sky itself.
It was beautiful.
Not because it was extraordinary.
Because it wasn’t.
This city had millions of people.
Millions of dreams.
Millions of stories unfolding simultaneously.
She was simply one among them.
And honestly...
She liked it that way.
No one expected greatness from her.
No one placed impossible responsibilities upon her shoulders.
She wasn’t the smartest.
She wasn’t the richest.
She wasn’t especially talented.
She was just...
Ordinary.
The thought didn’t make her sad.
If anything, it filled her with quiet satisfaction.
Ordinary people were allowed to live ordinary lives.
That sounded wonderful.
Breakfast finished cooking a few minutes later.
She carried the plate to the small dining table positioned beside the window before returning for her coffee. Steam curled gently from the ceramic mug, carrying the rich aroma throughout the apartment.
Rain.
Coffee.
Warm food.
A quiet morning.
If happiness had a shape...
Perhaps it looked something like this.
She reached for her phone.
The lock screen lit up almost immediately.
Three notifications waited patiently.
[Salary Successfully Deposited.]
A grin spread across her face.
“Finally.”
She tapped the notification before opening her banking app.
The familiar numbers appeared on the screen.
She stared at them for several long seconds.
Then...
She opened another application.
Her budgeting app.
Rent.
Utilities.
Groceries.
Transportation.
Emergency savings.
Retirement fund.
Entertainment.
She carefully divided every amount into its proper category, her fingers moving with the ease of someone who had repeated this ritual every month for years.
By the time she finished...
The exciting salary looked considerably less exciting.
She rested her forehead against the table dramatically.
“...Being an adult is expensive.”
The apartment remained perfectly silent.
No one argued.
No one comforted her.
After another moment, she laughed at herself.
“I guess talking to myself is free.”
That, at least, fit within the budget.
Her laughter faded naturally into comfortable silence.
Outside, the rain continued falling without pause.
She loved rainy days.
Most people complained about them.
Traffic became worse.
Laundry refused to dry.
Shoes got wet.
Plans were cancelled.
But to her...
Rain made the world feel slower.
People walked instead of running.
Coffee tasted better.
Books somehow became more enjoyable.
Even the air carried a freshness that sunny days couldn’t imitate.
Rain reminded everyone to pause.
To breathe.
To simply exist for a little while.
She finished breakfast leisurely before washing the dishes.
Unlike many people, she hated leaving dirty dishes behind.
“There.”
She admired the clean sink with quiet satisfaction.
“Future me will appreciate this.”
Returning to her bedroom, she stood before the mirror while fastening the last button of her white blouse.
The woman reflected back looked...
Normal.
Black hair.
Dark eyes.
Average height.
A face that blended easily into a crowd.
Nothing particularly remarkable.
Yet she smiled anyway.
Because she recognized that face.
It belonged to someone who had worked hard.
Someone who had survived university.
Survived difficult interviews.
Survived impossible deadlines.
Survived heartbreak.
Survived loneliness.
Survived becoming an adult.
Some days hadn’t been easy.
Many hadn’t.
But she had made it this far.
And perhaps...
That alone was worth being proud of.
She grabbed her umbrella from beside the front door before slipping on her shoes.
Just as she reached for the doorknob...
Her gaze drifted toward the bookshelf.
More specifically...
Toward a familiar novel resting on the highest shelf.
Its cover depicted two impossibly handsome men standing back-to-back beneath an endless galaxy.
The title shimmered in silver letters.
《The Beast King’s Beloved Guide》
She narrowed her eyes.
“...You.”
If books could feel guilty...
This one certainly should.
It had stolen countless hours of sleep from her.
She had laughed.
She had cried.
She had screamed into her pillow because of certain plot twists.
Then...
She had spent nearly three weeks complaining about the ending online.
Crossing the room, she picked it up carefully.
“I still haven’t forgiven the author.”
She flipped through several pages absentmindedly.
“The worldbuilding was amazing.”
“The romance was sweet.”
“The academy arc was perfect.”
“...But did everyone really have to suffer?”
She remembered one particular side character.
A girl.
Hardly anyone remembered her.
She appeared briefly during the academy arc before disappearing from the story forever.
A cannon fodder.
One of countless tragic characters sacrificed to move the protagonists’ story forward.
She couldn’t even remember the girl’s full name anymore.
Only that...
She had deserved better.
Closing the novel gently, she slid it back into place.
“Maybe that’s why fiction is fiction.”
She smiled faintly.
“In real life...”
“I’d rather everyone gets a happy ending.”
She switched off the apartment lights.
Locked the front door.
And stepped into the rainy morning.
She had no way of knowing...
That somewhere beyond the gray clouds...
Beyond the stars hidden from human eyes...
Someone—or something—
Had heard those words.
End of Chapter 1
