A searing, white-hot pain exploded through Zi Han's ribcage, so violent it stole the air straight from her lungs. The blinding glare of high beams vanished, swallowed instantly by a sudden, suffocating darkness.
When her eyes snapped open, the roar of the highway was gone.
Instead, a profound, eerie silence filled the room. Zi Han gasped, her hand flying to her chest, expecting to feel shattered bone and wet blood. There was nothing. Her breath hitched as she looked down. She was sitting in a cheap, familiar swivel chair. Beneath her fingers was the rough fabric of her old sweatpants.
On the cluttered desk in front of her sat a bowl of instant noodles, the broth completely cold, a film of congealed grease floating on the surface. Right next to it lay her smartphone, its screen illuminating the darkness of her cramped, messy apartment. On the display, the web novel application was open, showing the final chapters of "The Bossy CEO Wants Me".
