After the Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character in an Era Novel Kissed Her Ex’s Older Brother

Lin Wanwan is a university student in Beijing during the 1980s who secretly possesses the memories of a modern woman from the twenty-first century. Having transmigrated into this body years ago, she has worked tirelessly to adapt, securing a place at a prestigious university and building a reputation as a campus beauty. She dates Jian Ming, a kind-hearted young man from a military family, with the hope of establishing a stable future in the city. Her roommate, Mao Xiaomin, is her only close confidante, providing emotional support as Lin Wanwan navigates the social and economic challenges of her new life.

The narrative shifts when Lin Wanwan experiences a prophetic dream that reveals her true role in this world. She discovers that she is a cannon fodder supporting character in a melodramatic novel, destined to be abandoned by Jian Ming for the female protagonist, Shen Mingyue. The dream foretells a humiliating event where Jian Ming leaves Lin Wanwan stranded in a freezing car on the day she is supposed to meet his parents, choosing instead to rush to the aid of Shen Mingyue, who has fabricated a crisis. Upon waking, Lin Wanwan resolves to alter her fate and reject the passive role assigned to her.

When the predicted day arrives, Jian Ming indeed picks Lin Wanwan up in his brother’s car. However, when Shen Mingyue appears in a staged emergency, Jian Ming repeats his dream behavior, jumping out of the vehicle and telling Lin Wanwan to wait. Instead of sitting passively and enduring the cold as the story dictates, Lin Wanwan exits the car. A traffic officer stops her, forcing her to wait for the vehicle’s owner to retrieve it. This deviation creates a new outcome: instead of waiting for Jian Ming, she is rescued by Jian Shen, Jian Ming’s older brother. Jian Shen, a serious and accomplished engineer at a national research institute, offers her his warm military coat and drives her back to campus.

Lin Wanwan returns to her dorm heartbroken but resolute. She decides to end her relationship with Jian Ming, recognizing that his prioritization of Shen Mingyue over her well-being indicates a fundamental incompatibility. The next day, she learns from campus gossip that Jian Ming has been detained for obstructing justice after taking the blame for Shen Mingyue’s altercation with hooligans. Rather than rushing to his defense as the original plot would demand, Lin Wanwan chooses to distance herself further from the Jian family drama.

Seeking closure and to return the borrowed coat, Lin Wanwan travels to the remote research institute where Jian Shen works. On the way, she encounters Jian Shen and his colleagues. In a moment of instinctive politeness, she addresses Jian Shen as "brother," prompting a sharp rebuke from him that he is not her brother and that she should not use that term casually. Despite his cold exterior, Jian Shen offers her a ride and invites her to lunch at the institute cafeteria. During their meal, Lin Wanwan pretends to be concerned about Jian Ming, but she ultimately asks Jian Shen to convey her decision to break up with him. Jian Shen agrees, though he appears displeased by the situation and the emotional display.

The encounter leaves Jian Shen with a lingering impression of Lin Wanwan’s sorrowful eyes, planting the seed of a complex attraction that contrasts with his disciplined nature. Meanwhile, Lin Wanwan begins to navigate her life with a newfound agency, determined to escape the narrative constraints of the novel. The story sets the stage for her evolving relationship with Jian Shen, who stands as a protective yet enigmatic figure separate from the chaotic romantic entanglements of her past, while she moves toward a future defined by her own choices rather than predetermined plotlines.