Chapter 1 — His Cinderella
His Cinderella was the most-read book on the platform.With 1,057 published chapters, it was the kind of story people joked they would never finish.And yet, every time a new chapter appeared, thousands of readers were waiting.Among them was Page.She had started reading the book months ago. The story was announced to end at Chapter 2,000.The story followed a kind young girl whose life seemed determined to get worse.Her father was still alive, but that hardly made things easier. Her stepmother and stepsister had mastered the art of manipulating him, making sure the girl remained at the bottom of the family.They bullied her.They humiliated her.They found new ways to make her life miserable whenever things began looking up.Then she met him.The richest man in the world who seemed to have eyes for no one but her.He loved her in a way that made everything else disappear.Naturally, her stepmother and stepsister hated it.The more the girl became important to him, the more obstacles they created.And somehow, despite everything, the story remained addictive.Page sat comfortably on her bed, phone in hand, completely absorbed.She had just finished chapter 1,057.She stared at the screen for a few seconds.Then she smiled.“Again?”She knew she should probably do something else.But the author had ended the chapter with another cliffhanger.Page sighed.At Chapter 1,058, the troublesome stepsister died from poisoning.The stepmother was devastated.She was sent to a psychiatric hospital after losing her only child.Page stared at her phone.“Who is going to cause her trouble now?”She continued reading.For the next twenty chapters, Cinderella's talents were displayed one after another.She could cook.She could sing.She could dance.She could paint.She could play several instruments.She could solve difficult mathematics problems.And, apparently, she could look at a stone and immediately tell whether it contained diamonds or other valuable minerals.Page slowly lowered her phone.“What can't she do?”She continued reading.At Chapter 1,079, Cinderella identified a rare gemstone hidden inside an ordinary-looking rock.At Chapter 1,080, everyone was amazed.At Chapter 1,081, the rich husband praised her again.Page rolled her eyes.She kept reading.And reading.And reading.Then she reached Chapter 1,083—She had lost track.In that chapter, Cinderella casually mentioned that she loved swimming.The next morning, her rich husband had responded by having a massive artificial lake built specifically for her overnight.Page's mouth fell open.“You've got to be kidding me.”She kept reading anyway.Six chapters later, Cinderella looked toward the night sky and said that it was beautiful.Her husband heard her.And what did he do?He bought a star.Not metaphorically.He actually bought one and named it after her.Page stared at the screen.Silence.Then she slowly placed her phone on her lap.“This woman says she likes something…”She looked at the screen again.She couldn't take it anymore.Page genuinely felt tired of it.The story had begun with a poor girl being mistreated by her stepmother and stepsister.There had been conflict.There had been mystery.There had been things to overcome.But now?The stepsister was dead.The stepmother was in a psychiatric hospital.Cinderella was apparently good at everything.And her husband could apparently purchase countries and stars whenever she said she liked something.Page sighed.“What exactly is this author going to write for the next thousand chapters?”She looked at the chapter count.1,089.She shook her head. “Cinderella makes the world go round, it's getting cringe.”A shiver ran through her.Page dropped her phone beside her.“Cinderella, my ass. I'm done.”She pulled her blanket over herself.Within minutes, she fell asleep.Her phone remained beside her.The screen was still glowing.Then the screen lit up again.A new chapter appeared. Chapter 1,090.
