Devoured by Desire

Emily Davis woke up early at nine, despite her fondness for sleeping in, due to an afternoon appointment.

She pulled open the curtains, and the morning sunlight streamed in through the bay window, casting a warm glow on her face. Squinting, Emily stretched like a cat, feeling her mood brighten just like the early light.

Being young was wonderful; no matter how tired she was from the previous days work, a good nights sleep would rejuvenate her for a new day full of energy! Emily tiptoed downstairs, her steps falling in rhythm like notes on a piano, until she reached the dining area on the ground floor.

Her home was a cozy three-story villa with an attic and terrace on the top, and her bedroom on the second floor, while the living room and guest rooms were downstairs. When Emily had just graduated from college, she had secretly used all her savings, reportedly incurring quite a bit of debt, to purchase this villa on a mortgage. The news had sent shockwaves through her family.

At that time, Emilys actions were more than just "unconventional."

Now, six or seven years later, while she continued to pay her mortgage, the value of the properties in the area had skyrocketed like a rocket, making Emily an accidental millionairess. The friends and relatives who had once laughed at her foolishness now praised her for her good judgment, as she had always been clever since childhood.

For all the praise and flattery she had heard growing up, Emily had long since become indifferent.

As a woman who had transcended time, she felt her life was not Mary Sue enough, perhaps due to limited potential.

Before her transcendence, Emily had been a model student. After the excitement of finishing her college entrance exams, she had found herself back in her younger body, a classic case of extreme joy leading to extreme sorrow. She had no choice but to start over and face lifes challenges again.

As a woman who had transcended time, although Emily had never understood the connection between this identity and her original self鈥攕ince they shared the same face and parents, yet her environment and experiences were completely unfamiliar鈥攊t was as if she were another version of herself in a parallel space.

But since she had transcended time, not living a Mary Sue life would be a disservice to her fellow protagonists in novels who thrived no matter where they went.

Thus, Emily had been working hard to better herself.

Yes, effort was still required to become excellent, even after transcending time. Life offered no shortcuts because Emily still had to face numerous exams, and at home, her voice only carried weight through her grades. To get into her dream university, she still had to study late into the night.

It was completely different from the imagined scenario of becoming naturally gifted and dominating after rebirth, with no real competition in sight.

Because she was still the same person鈥攈er aptitude, appearance, and intelligence unchanged.

The only difference was that Emily, more than her peers, knew how to cherish and was clearer about what she wanted.

She dedicated herself fully when it was time to work and completely relaxed when it was time to enjoy herself. This was the principle Emily set for herself after her rebirth, and she had been doing well.

For example, on her path to becoming an academic ace, she didnt miss out on lifes pleasures, like secretly holding hands with a popular boy after school in her youth, playing a daily game of cat and mouse with the disciplinary director...

Although first loves rarely ended well, Emily, when recalling her youth, still felt that this was not a wasted adolescence.

As Emily reminisced about her youth, the housekeeper had already prepared breakfast and set it on the table.

Aunt Lin, who was indeed Emilys distant aunt, hailed from Province G. Both of Emilys parents were still working, and she lived alone in the capital, where her schedule was erratic. A couple of years ago, her parents took leave to accompany her in the capital for half a month. After they returned, they contacted this distant aunt to take care of her daily needs.

Gradually, Emily got used to Aunt Lins care. Her status had changed slightly; she was now a public figure, a frequent guest on social media trends. Who knew that a small-time host like her, who didnt mix in circles or hype herself, would be so concerned about her love life by netizens! Today, a guest on her show expressed interest in her, and tomorrow, it was rumored that a popular young star had confessed to her. Without the news, Emily wouldnt know she was such a charmer.

Emily only considered hosting a profession, and she was fortunate. The first program of her life had been a hit from the start and had become the stations ace program. As one of the hosts who had been with the program from the beginning, Emily was valued by her superiors. As long as the program continued, her job was secure.

Even if given ten chances to be reborn, Emily would not want to be a star. Without the ability, she wouldnt take on that task. Emily was content to be a good host.

Therefore, Emily had not signed with any company, nor did she have an agent or assistant. It was also not appropriate to be without someone to take care of her. Aunt Lin, being a known family member from her hometown, was better than just any caretaker.

"Yinyin, its time to eat. We have your favorite egg pancakes today," Aunt Lin called, using Emilys nickname, which later became popular among her fans after she became famous, and even guests on her show used it to express intimacy.

Hearing Aunt Lin, Emily responded, "Ill be right there, Auntie. You eat first."

With that, Emily turned on the TV. She intended to watch her performance in the last episode of the show while eating. After each episode aired, Emily would spend a few hours reviewing it to summarize her performance. However, these days, she had been busy with fitness, beauty, and body training for a fashion magazine shoot, and hadnt had the time to watch the last episode.

As the TV screen gradually lit up, a handsome face appeared on the liquid crystal display, the man smiling at the camera with sparkling, causing the female host on TV to exclaim, "Charm overload, cant take it."

The sudden display of male beauty made Emilys hand holding the remote control pause, and she had to admit in her heart, he was really handsome.

Although the outcome of her first love wasnt very good, the fact that such a man who made women across the country boil with excitement was once her first boyfriend made Emily feel that her life was complete.

As the "only woman in the world who dumped the captain of the Burning Band," she was quite proud for her fellow time-transcended friends, right?

The title "the only woman in the world who dumped the captain of the Burning Band" was not self-proclaimed by Emily. It had been circulating among the bands fan base for a while.

Burning Bands captain, Shen Jiarui, was a recognized creative genius. Since his debut, he had been the main producer of the bands albums, and he was particularly adept at writing love songs with profound lyrics and melodies that resonated with the youth.

As art comes from life, many times a songs lyrics are an experience or story from the songwriter. Thus, enthusiastic fans dissected all the lyrics written by Shen Jiarui personally and concluded that he was a boy who had been hurt in love and then became unrestrained.

Shen Jiaruis rich love life was undeniable. His unit had to do an annual summary at the end of the year, and for Shen Jiarui, a review of his rumored girlfriends had become an annual internet event, a carnival for joke makers.

But such a typical Bad boy who had experienced a thousand sails, when fans dug into his early love songs, they found that he had also yearned for true love and had written lyrics like "wishing to win one persons heart."

Then the fans imaginations ran wild. Their idol must have loved at first and then been heartlessly abandoned. The early love songs of his debut period still carried a pleading tone, definitely hoping for the other party to change their mind. Later, the idol who was completely heartbroken became unrestrained.

However, Shen Jiarui has never responded to his love life, and only his die-hard fans still remember this "naughty woman". The onlookers dispersed after watching the excitement.

Emily carried the pot innocently, wanting to explain but having nowhere to reason, because everyone didnt know she was the legendary bad woman.

However, Emily really felt very innocent. Although she was the one who proposed the breakup, they were also good together, and after the breakup, she was busy with the college entrance examination, and he was busy with his debut, and they seemed to have never met again.

After that, they