Eighteen-year-old Jasmine Fairwood was dead.
Up on the overpass, her brakes had gone out for no reason. To keep from plowing into innocent people, she yanked the wheel hard.
The car smashed through the guardrail and dove straight into the river.
Water swallowed the entire vehicle. In those fading seconds, she had a dream.
In it, she saw that the world she lived in was actually a novel, and her three little brothers were all destined villains.
The second brother was a ruthless CEO who always wore prayer beads, secretly crushing on the heroine, picking fights with the hero nonstop, and ending up completely ruined.
The third brother was a troublemaking, black-and-red trending superstar who kept targeting the Best Actor male lead on variety shows—until cyberbullying wrecked him so badly he ended his own life.
The fourth brother was a campus tyrant who never studied, spent his days fighting, and even beat the hero’s top-student brother into the hospital, which eventually landed him in jail.
And she herself? She was the hero’s high school first love, the tragic white moonlight who died young just to create misunderstandings between the leads.
The moment Jasmine learned all this, she was so furious she practically came back to life on the spot.
When her eyes snapped open, she was standing in front of a massive shopping mall.
A huge LED billboard read: “2025—Year of the Snake, Good Fortune!”
Only then did Jasmine realize she had been reborn—but skipped forward to the eleventh year after her death, right into the peak of the novel’s mess.
She hurried inside the mall, found a restroom, and rushed to check herself in the mirror.
The girl staring back still had that same delicate, beautiful face, still wearing the black dress she had put on for her date that day.
Jasmine’s mind was a jumble of emotions.
She’d jumped eleven years ahead… yet she was still eighteen!
No money, no phone, nothing at all.
Yep, definitely the Year of the Snake—she’d barely arrived and already felt like a python was wrapped around her chest.
She turned on the faucet. Cold water slid across her fingertips, and Jasmine finally accepted reality.
She’d always had one solid advantage in life: her mindset was ridiculously good.
Back when her parents died in that sudden accident and left her with three little brothers, the youngest barely two years old, she’d accepted the situation faster than anyone expected.
Turning off the faucet, Jasmine Fairwood grabbed a tissue from under the mirror and wiped her hands.
Just then, two girls in white shirts and black skirts walked in. One look and it was obvious—they were shop assistants sneaking into the restroom to slack off, arms looped together like besties on break.
“You heard, right? The mall’s shutting down in half an hour. They’ve already started clearing people out!”
“Yeah, yeah! I heard the big boss showed up and wants the whole place to himself!”
That little piece of gossip was way too juicy. Jasmine’s ears practically perked up like a cat smelling tuna.
A perfectly normal mall suddenly kicking everyone out?
Classic novel plot. CEOs in these worlds were always allergic to logic.
“It must be because Yvonne Dawson is coming to shop! The boss definitely wants to make sure she isn’t bothered by random people. I even saw on TikTok that he invested in a whole movie just for her!”
“They’re so shippable! I bet Movie King Kieran Ashford regrets everything now. Their CP used to trend nonstop. I’m waiting for his ‘regret-and-chase-her-back’ arc!”
The more the two girls chatted, the more Jasmine’s smile slowly disappeared.
Yvonne Dawson… wasn’t that the female lead of this whole story?
And if they were bringing up that movie king… that had to be the male lead, Kieran Ashford.
So this brainless CEO clearing out an entire mall… was her dear second brother, Ethan Morrison?
She’d planned to find him first anyway.
And now he just delivered himself right to her doorstep. Zero effort required.
Still… she really needed to buy something before doing anything else.
She turned to the two assistants who were still buzzing with excitement and asked, “Hi, excuse me—do you guys have a Seven Wolves store in this mall?”
The two shop assistants finally noticed there was a girl in the restroom—a girl who looked pretty young.
Her face was small and delicate, almost unreal in how pretty it was, easily beating half the actresses on TV.
The assistant who was obsessed with pretty faces stared for a solid two seconds, completely zoning out.
The other one, more outgoing, quickly answered, “Yeah, we’ve got some on the second floor. Beauty, you buying one for your dad?”
Jasmine Fairwood gave a light smile. “Nope. Buying it to smack someone.”
The two shop assistants: “…”
Jasmine had already walked around this mall. The design, the décor—everything screamed high-end. And right now, it was noon, peak customer traffic.
Kicking everyone out? The losses from just one afternoon would be insane.
And that wasn’t even the biggest issue. The real problem was how badly this would tank the mall’s reputation.
You’re eating lunch, minding your business, and someone suddenly chases you out?
Who on earth would still come back afterward?
No wonder her second brother ended up going down the drain in the novel. With business instincts like this, if he didn’t go bankrupt, who would?
Back when she was eighteen, Ethan Morrison had been only fifteen, still in his final year of middle school.
He had great grades, sharp mind, crazy good business sense.
He’d made tens of thousands just reselling game consoles and even bought her a little designer purse.
Their parents used to run a real estate company before they passed, so it wasn’t surprising the mall eventually became his.
What was surprising was how his brain now seemed… half-eaten by zombies.
Under the stunned gazes of the two shop assistants, Jasmine walked out of the restroom—just in time to see a security guard heading her way.
“Sorry, miss,” he said. “The mall won’t be open this afternoon. Please head out as soon as you can.”
Jasmine responded politely, “I need to speak with your manager. Can you get in touch with him?”
Since the big boss was here, Manager Thurley definitely wasn’t going to refuse to meet.
The security guard had no idea what this pretty girl was planning, but he was used to customers showing up with all kinds of requests for the manager.
“Alright, I’ll give him a call.”
He pulled out his phone and dialed the manager.
The call connected fast. “What’s going on?” the manager asked.
“There’s a girl on the first floor asking for you. Not sure what she needs,” the guard explained.
“Not today. Tell her to come back tomorrow,” the manager replied.
The guard looked at Jasmine Fairwood. “Manager says he doesn’t have time.”
Jasmine gave a polite smile. “Can I borrow your phone? I’ll talk to him.”
Manager Thurley was in his office, chatting with the man seated in the boss’s chair—Ethan Morrison—fingers idly rolling a string of prayer beads, the kind of presence that filled the whole room without him even trying.
Just as the manager was about to hang up, a crisp, slightly irritated female voice burst through the speaker.
“Manager, hello. Are you with Ethan Morrison? Put him on the phone.”
Manager Thurley froze.
Who on earth was this?
She sounded polite enough to him, but she’d straight-up called Mr. Morrison by name.
Was she one of Mr. Morrison’s admirers?
Considering how the Northern Capital practically worshiped him—young, rich, absurdly good-looking, that whole ‘Buddhist prince’ aura—it wasn’t exactly surprising women went crazy for him.
But anything involving the CEO wasn’t something the manager dared decide on his own.
He muted the call and turned respectfully to Ethan. “Mr. Morrison, there’s a girl downstairs asking for you. Should I take the call?”
He expected a refusal.
Instead, Ethan reached out his hand almost instantly.
Manager Thurley scrambled to unmute and carefully placed his phone into the CEO’s palm.
Ethan Morrison picked up the phone, his voice clipped and icy. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“I’m your sister! I’m—”
Ethan’s eyes instantly chilled, sharp as a blade cutting through her words. “Get lost.”
The temperature in the office seemed to drop several degrees on the spot.
Manager Thurley felt his scalp tighten. He snatched the phone back and hurriedly sent a message to security.
[Get that woman out ASAP!]
The man in the boss chair looked like he’d walked out of a luxury ad—striking features, black suit perfectly tailored, but his aura right now was colder than winter rain.
Manager Thurley was terrified, but he still forced himself to speak. “Mr. Morrison, please calm down. I’ve already asked security to take care of it.”
He hadn’t heard what the woman said, but he could guess—another random girl clinging to the CEO.
Everyone knew Mr. Morrison liked Yvonne Dawson, the superstar shining brighter than half the entertainment industry.
And these women still dared to throw themselves at him? Seriously, what were they thinking?
Ethan hadn’t expected someone to pretend to be his sister. He slowly rolled the prayer beads around his fingers, forcing down the irritation boiling in his chest. His long, well‑defined fingers reached for his own phone.
He opened a pinned chat and sent a message.
[The place is already cleared for you. Text me when you’re close, I’ll come down to get you.]
The message above it was his earlier one—asking if she’d left yet.
She’d been busy with her movie promotions lately, barely getting a break, so a slow reply wasn’t exactly surprising.
Seeing the cold, untouchable CEO’s eyes soften a little was almost surreal.
Manager Thurley instantly knew this must be Yvonne Dawson.
“Mr. Morrison, I watched Ms. Dawson’s latest movie! It was amazing. I dragged my whole family to rewatch it three… no, four times!”
Ethan lifted his head. His face stayed cool, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Yeah?”
Manager Thurley nodded. “Exactly. I’m planning to get every staff member in the mall to go watch such an insanely good movie!”
Ethan Morrison’s expression finally softened a bit. He picked up his teacup and took a slow sip. “Sure. Put it on the company tab.”
Manager Thurley’s grin bloomed so wide it was practically a sunflower. He hurried to top up Ethan’s tea again.
Starspark Plaza was part of Starspark Group’s chain. There were eight in Northern Capital alone, and over a hundred nationwide.
Catching the president in person was rare. He had to rack up as much favorability as possible—maybe even squeeze out a chance to become regional manager next quarter.
But the special assistant standing off to the side looked like she had a headache forming. Her own boss was acting way too… cheap.
The meeting had been scrapped halfway through—all because Ms. Dawson said she felt like shopping for clothes.
The mall could’ve been cleared first and she could’ve come later, but no. The president insisted on rushing over to wait for her.
Meanwhile, her phone was exploding. Every message was about issues they were supposed to discuss in that meeting.
And now this bootlicker was glued to Ethan’s side. She couldn’t even bring up anything work‑related.
Honestly, she felt like this job was doing serious damage to her chest health.
Manager Thurley chuckled again. “Mr. Morrison, about that brand Ms. Dawson is endorsing—”
“Manager Thurley, maybe go check on the clearing process outside,” the assistant cut in, finally unable to hold back.
He shot her an unhappy look. “Ms. Riverside, relax. I’ve got everything under control.”
Ethan rolled the prayer beads in his fingers, shot the assistant a cold glance, then turned back to the manager. “Go on.”
The assistant went speechless. Those three words—Ms. Dawson—were like some kind of cheat code that instantly tanked her boss’s IQ.
Manager Thurley secretly curled his lip. How did this assistant even get hired? No awareness at all. And she was a woman too!
But he was smart enough not to show it. He simply continued, “The brand Ms. Dawson endorses, in our mall…”
But this time, he didn’t even get to finish his sentence.
A sharp creak cut through the air.
The door to the manager’s office swung open.
All three of them instinctively looked over.
A girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen stepped inside, a security guard hurrying after her.
Manager Thurley’s face darkened. “Who let you in? Get out! Security, move it, drag her out!”
Ms. Riverside stayed silent, brow slightly furrowed. The girl’s face… looked strangely familiar.
Ethan Morrison didn’t speak either. His mind just blanked, and he froze like someone had hit pause on him.
Until the girl stormed straight up to him, yanked his ear without hesitation, and snapped, “Ethan Morrison, are you begging for trouble or what?!”
———
Bright, fiery heiress vs. the man who looks elegant on the outside but is actually a possessive, shadow‑clingy ghost of a boss.
Shadow‑clingy means he’s that obsessive, sickly-sweet type who watches the heroine like a ghost in the dark but would never hurt her. If that’s not your vibe, no hard feelings. If it is, toss it on your shelf—updates steady!
