Part 1Tea Master vs Green Tea

After pulling a 38-hour shift, I found myself transmigrated into a cheesy romance novel—as the doomed sister of the devoted second male lead.

In the novel, my brother not only pines after the popular female lead for years, but he also drains the family fortune for her. In the end, he even sacrifices himself to save the male lead, earning nothing but a few worthless tears from the girl.

The moment my brother dies, the original owner of this body, a pampered heiress, is instantly orphaned. Targeted by the female lead’s admirers, she ends up destitute on the streets, freezing to death.

What a joke. I spent twenty years utterly alone in the real world. There's no way I'm letting this ridiculously handsome and wealthy brother of mine walk the same tragic path.

I swear on my life, I will protect my golden goose of a brother!

So when the female lead, her eyes red-rimmed, holds my brother’s black card and says to him with deep emotion, "Alistair, why did you take so long to get here..."

I dash forward and flash Penelope a sweet smile.

"Don't be sad, Penelope. My brother was late, it's not like he died young!"

"So, does this mean your boyfriend's black card isn't activated for you yet?"

...

Penelope, who had been crying dramatically in my brother's arms, freezes mid-sob. She whips her head around to look at Alistair.

My brother is stunned by my words. He slowly pushes her away, his eyes filled with a new kind of scrutiny and doubt.

"Penelope... are you and Conrad together?"

Penelope clearly didn't see that coming. Her expression flickers for a second before she adopts a look of tragic, romantic indecision. "Alistair, has your sister misunderstood me?"

"It's true that Conrad has been pursuing me," she says, her shoulders trembling with a perfectly pitched, nasal tone. "But I haven't made up my mind. He's not as thoughtful and gentle as you are."

Her whole masterclass in manipulation sets off alarm bells in my head.

Seeing the softened look in my brother's eyes, I can practically hear the sound of money flying away again.

"That's not right, Penelope," I cut in, swiftly derailing her pity party. "Didn't you and Conrad make it official last night?"

As I speak, I snatch her phone with a playfully innocent expression. I quickly find a specific post on her Instagram and shove it in Alistair's face with a naive grin. "Silly brother, look! You missed it! You didn't get to congratulate them!"

It was a post Penelope made last night. The photo showed two hands, fingers intertwined under candlelight. The caption was pure saccharine bait:

[After all this time, I'm so lucky to have finally found you.]

Of course, Alistair could never have seen this post. Penelope had long since put him on a restricted list.

After my performance, I clap a hand over my mouth as if I've just realized my mistake. "Oh! Did I say the wrong thing?"

Alistair's face turns to stone. He stares at the two entwined hands on the screen, his eyes slowly turning red. His voice is hoarse when he finally confronts Penelope.

"Why did you block me from seeing this?"

"What am I to you?"

Penelope shoots me a venomous glare before scrambling to do damage control. "Alistair, I blocked you because I care about you so much! I was afraid it would hurt you to see it..."

"Wow, you're so thoughtful, Penelope!" I say, looking at her with wide-eyed admiration. "Since you're so considerate, you definitely won't be asking my brother for money anymore, right? I mean, what if Conrad found out? He might get the wrong idea and think there's something going on between you two."

My words land like a punch to the gut. Alistair's expression darkens even further. He coldly plucks his credit card from Penelope's hand.

"I'm sorry, Penelope. If you're in trouble, you should ask Conrad. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Penelope bites her lip. She's always maintained an image of a pure, independent woman in front of Conrad, turning down his lavish gifts only because she had my brother as a personal, bottomless ATM. Now that I've shattered that illusion, how can she keep up her "I'm-above-money" act?

She opens her mouth, ready to try again.

I immediately link my arm with Alistair's. "Brother, let's go. You two were just wrapped around each other. What if someone starts a rumor that you're the other man?"

The phrase "the other man" stabs Alistair right where it hurts. He nods, his voice weary. "Penelope, we should probably see less of each other from now on. To avoid any... misunderstandings."

Without another glance at her, he pulls me into his car.

But I know this is just the beginning. A main character like her has the tenacious life force of a cockroach.

Sure enough, late that night, the phone in the Sterling family mansion rings.