"Wait, did Lucia Reeves really secretly have a kid? How do we know he’s not just some random love child?"

"She’s getting paid to be on the show, isn’t she? Otherwise, why would the crew even invite her?"

"Compared to the others, Lucia’s drama is just too much to handle!"

…

"Mommy Shines Bright" is a parent-child reality show featuring five celebrity families, with cameras following them 24/7. For maximum buzz, all the footage gets livestreamed online as it happens.

The lineup includes top actress Grace Langley and her daughter Joyce, supermodel Clara Perkins and her son Ryan, comedy star Lily Hart with her son Felix, rising star Isabelle Reeves and her twins Elijah and Chloe—and of course, actress Lucia Reeves, appearing with her newly-revealed son, Ethan.

As soon as the cast list dropped, online chatter went through the roof. The first four families? Got people hyped. But when it came to Lucia’s name popping up last—people couldn’t help but raise serious eyebrows.

"When did Lucia ever get married?"

"Is that kid even hers? Could’ve just hired someone! First time hearing she even has a child—when did this happen?"

"Get real. He’s probably just some random kid. Bet she doesn’t even know who the dad is!"

"Lucia will do anything to get attention, huh? Even fake a kid? How many rich backers is she juggling, anyway? Why would the show even cast someone like her? Hard pass on her stream—I don’t need that visual assault in my life!"

…

After the lineup reveal, Lucia instantly trended online, but for all the wrong reasons. Her Weibo blew up with hate, and her comment section became a war zone. Safe to say, public opinion wasn’t exactly on her side.

Today marked day one of the show’s official livestream. The moment Lucia's stream went live, trolls flooded in like it was their job, ready to roast her into oblivion.

Meanwhile.

Lucia herself was sitting in her room looking totally lost, eyes locked on the half-unpacked suitcase on the floor, while the film crew stared at her like she was from another planet.

Her brain was still trying to process one massive question:

Did... did she just time-travel?

Ten minutes ago, she was deep in an assassination mission. As the top-tier sharpshooter of the year 30333, popping a bullet through the head of R's head of state was no sweat. But just as she was gearing up to leave, a terrorist out of nowhere decided to go full Michael Bay with a bomb.

Boom—

The blast wave sent her flying, her head slammed into a wall, and when she opened her eyes again—she was here. In this weird room. Surrounded by people she didn’t recognize. And in her mind? A fresh set of memories that definitely didn’t belong to her.From what she remembered, this world was actually the setting of a novel called *The Real Daughter’s Rise in the Entertainment Industry*. The real daughter, Isabelle Reeves, was not only the main lead but had also regained her memories in advance. Armed with insider knowledge about future events, she dove headfirst into showbiz, choosing unpopular roles that later turned into massive hits. Before long, she became a household name.

And Lucia? She had the misfortune of waking up in the body of the fake daughter—the “compare and contrast” character whose downfall was meant to highlight the real daughter’s success. The more Isabelle triumphed, the harder Lucia was supposed to crash. Ever since Isabelle’s return, Lucia had been kicked out of the Reeves family. She tried to fight back out of spite, only for Isabelle to skyrocket to fame while she was drowned in hate from all corners of the internet.

This reality show? It was supposed to be Lucia’s farewell gig before getting canceled for good. On the show, Isabelle would charm audiences with her warm, gentle parenting and flawless image, becoming the golden standard for young moms everywhere. Her adorable, well-mannered twins would steal the spotlight and rise as beloved child stars.

Meanwhile, Lucia was fated to be vilified for exploiting and mistreating her son for publicity, getting flamed online to the point where haters resorted to personal attacks. The scandal would force her to quit the entertainment industry completely, with no chance of making a comeback.

So while Isabelle lived the dream—successful and surrounded by love—Lucia would be left with nothing. Her reputation in ruins, abandoned by her husband and estranged from her child, her lingering bitterness would drive her mad. Eventually, she'd be roaming the streets like a lunatic, picking through garbage.

“Seriously…”

After assessing the plot, Lucia had zero motivation to compete. The main character already had the story tailored for her; no matter how hard Lucia tried, she was just a side character meant to be slapped down. She’d never win against someone blessed by the narrative.

Her last life still left a bitter taste. She’d nearly made it into the global top-ten assassins list—just needed one more big score. Instead, she got randomly blown up by some psycho.

Yeah, she was done. Totally done.

Now looking at the comfy situation the original Lucia had? Rich husband always out traveling, a nanny taking care of the kid, meals served on time, money to burn on shopping sprees... Come on, who'd give that up just to battle the heroine out of some pointless grudge?

Living the good life didn’t sound so bad. Why set herself up to be destroyed?

And let’s be real—according to the plot, as long as she didn’t mistreat her kid and acted halfway decent, there was no way she’d be divorced. She could chill, spend money, and nobody would come for her. Easy life, no risk.

Compared to her hellish past—dodging enemies while doing hit jobs, collecting bounties only to use that money to survive the next manhunt—this was heaven. Her account was stacked, but she'd barely had time to blow a cent.

Thinking along those lines, Lucia looked up at the camera, flashed a bright, fake-mom smile, and cheerfully said, “Noah loves going out with me. He’s been looking forward to this show forever. He was so hyped last night, he could barely sleep.”

But before she could even finish the sentence—

Mrs. Smith suddenly stormed into the frame, panicked and breathless. “Ma’am, the young master’s run away!”