I stared at Lin Yuan’s hand.

His index finger had moved.

Not much.

Barely a twitch.

But I had seen it.

I leaned closer.

—Lin Yuan?

Inside my head, his voice exploded.

“I MOVED!”

I jumped.

“Did you see that?”

—Unfortunately, yes.

“Call the doctor!”

I pressed the emergency button.

Within minutes, the peaceful hospital room became chaos.

Doctors surrounded his bed. Nurses checked monitors. Madam Lin came rushing back, forgetting entirely about the embarrassing scene she had interrupted earlier.

After several examinations, the neurologist finally smiled.

—Mr. Lin is showing signs of recovering consciousness.

Madam Lin covered her mouth.

Her eyes filled with tears.

—When will he wake up?

—It could be hours. It could be days.

Inside my head, Lin Yuan protested.

“Days? Tell him I’m awake right now!”

—I can’t exactly tell the doctor you’re yelling about grilled meat inside my head.

“Why not?”

—Because I would be hospitalized next to you.

He considered that.

“Fair.”

Three days passed.

Lin Yuan gradually regained control over his fingers.

Then his toes.

Then his eyelids.

Meanwhile, something else changed.

Visitors started appearing.

Business partners.

Relatives.

People claiming to be concerned about his health.

And every single time someone entered, I heard Lin Yuan’s thoughts become sharper.

Less ridiculous.

More dangerous.

Especially when Monica Li arrived.

My half-sister walked into the room carrying flowers and wearing an expression of perfect sadness.

“Elena.”

She hugged me.

“My poor sister. You must be exhausted.”

Lin Yuan immediately spoke inside my head.

“She’s acting.”

I remained expressionless.

Monica approached his bed.

“Brother Yuan, please wake up soon.”

“She doesn’t care whether I wake up.”

Then Monica quietly asked:

—Elena, could we speak outside?

I followed her.

The moment the door closed, her sweetness disappeared.

—When Lin Yuan wakes up, you’ll divorce him.

I almost laughed.

—Excuse me?

—You were only sent here because I couldn’t marry a man in a coma. Now things are changing.

There it was.

The original plot attempting to repair itself.

Monica crossed her arms.

—You don’t belong in the Lin family.

—Wonderful. Then tell everyone to prepare the divorce agreement.

She blinked.

She clearly hadn’t expected that.

—You’re serious?

—Completely.

I walked back inside.

Lin Yuan’s voice immediately appeared.

“What did she say?”

—She wants me to divorce you.

Silence.

Then:

“No.”

I stopped.

—What do you mean, no?

“I mean don’t sign anything yet.”

—Why?

His voice was suddenly calm.

“Because someone caused my accident.”

My fingers tightened around the book.

—What?

“I remembered something yesterday.”

Before the crash that put him in the hospital, Lin Yuan had discovered suspicious transfers inside the Lin Corporation.

Millions had disappeared through shell companies.

He had planned to confront the board.

That night, his brakes failed.

Only three people knew where he was going.

One was his assistant.

One was his uncle, Lin Jian.

And the third…

was Monica.

I slowly looked toward the door.

—You think my sister was involved?

“I don’t know.”

His mental voice hardened.

“But someone believes I’m still unconscious.”

That gave us an advantage.

So we said nothing.

For the next two days, I continued behaving like the lazy substitute wife everyone underestimated.

I read novels.

Ate snacks.

Complained about hospital coffee.

And listened.

It worked.

People spoke freely around a man they believed couldn’t hear them.

The breakthrough came late one evening.

Lin Jian entered alone.

He stood beside his nephew’s bed for several minutes.

Then he made a phone call.

—The doctors say he’s improving.

Pause.

—I know.

Another pause.

—If he wakes up before the shareholder meeting, we’re finished.

My heart began pounding.

Lin Yuan’s thoughts turned icy.

“Record this.”

My phone was already in my hand.

Lin Jian lowered his voice.

—Monica said Elena doesn’t know anything. Once Lin Yuan is gone, we can still complete the transfer.

Monica.

My own sister.

I felt cold.

Then Lin Jian said the sentence that destroyed whatever doubt remained.

—The first accident failed. We won’t make the same mistake twice.

I sent the recording directly to Madam Lin and Lin Yuan’s lawyer.

Twenty minutes later, security quietly surrounded the floor.

But Lin Jian didn’t know.

He walked toward the bed.

Reached into his coat.

And Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

His uncle froze.

I froze too.

For two months, Lin Yuan had existed only as a voice inside my head.

Now those dark eyes were looking directly at me.

Then at his uncle.

His voice was weak but unmistakably real.

—Uncle.

Lin Jian went pale.

Lin Yuan smiled faintly.

—You should have checked whether I was truly unconscious before confessing beside my bed.

The door burst open.

Security entered.

Everything collapsed after that.

The investigation uncovered falsified accounts, bribed employees, and evidence linking Lin Jian to the tampering with Lin Yuan’s car.

Monica hadn’t arranged the accident herself, but she had discovered the truth afterward and remained silent because Lin Jian promised her shares and a future marriage alliance with the Lin family.

My father tried calling me fourteen times.

My stepmother called twenty-seven.

I blocked them both.

Two months later, Lin Yuan walked out of rehabilitation with a cane.

I met him at the family mansion with an envelope.

He stared at it.

—What’s that?

—Divorce papers.

His expression immediately darkened.

I smiled.

—Our agreement was simple. You wake up. I leave peacefully.

Lin Yuan looked at the papers.

Then at me.

—I’m not signing today.

—Why?

He sat down calmly.

—Because you forgot something.

—What?

A faint smile appeared.

“You can still hear my thoughts.”

I froze.

His lips hadn’t moved.

But the voice inside my head was perfectly clear.

“She saved my life.”

I said nothing.

“She never tried to use me.”

I looked away.

“And she thinks she’s leaving with half the snacks in my kitchen.”

I immediately turned back.

—Those were compensation for emotional damages.

He laughed for the first time.

A real laugh.

Then he took the divorce papers.

For one terrible second, I thought he might tear them apart.

Instead, he signed.

I blinked.

—That’s it?

—That’s it.

Three months later, I opened a small bookstore using the settlement money Madam Lin insisted I accept for protecting her son.

No conspiracies.

No rich families.

No villains.

Just books, coffee and peace.

On opening morning, the bell above the door rang.

Lin Yuan walked in.

Healthy.

Annoyingly handsome.

And carrying an enormous bag of barbecue.

I stared at him.

—Why are you here?

He placed the food on the counter.

—Celebrating your opening.

Then his thoughts floated into my head.

“Also because I missed her.”

I nearly dropped my cup.

He smiled.

—Something wrong?

I narrowed my eyes.

—Nothing.

His thoughts continued.

“Good. Start slowly. Don’t scare her.”

I stared at him.

Then at the barbecue.

Then at the bookstore that belonged entirely to me.

Perhaps transmigrating into a doomed supporting character hadn’t been the worst thing that could happen.

After all, I had escaped my original death.

Exposed the real villains.

Built a life of my own.

And gained one very strange ability.

Unfortunately, that ability came with a permanent side effect.

Lin Yuan sat down, opened the food container and immediately thought:

“I wonder if Elena would notice if I stole the last piece.”

I slapped his chopsticks away.

—Don’t even think about it.

He froze.

Then he burst out laughing.

And for once, I laughed too.

THE END.