Standing Next To You - Chapter 40: Old Trick

A calculating merchant of noble birth lives a comfortable life managing his guild's business at the Imperial Academy—until lightning strikes him, leaving him with prophetic visions of a disastrous future. In these visions, he's expelled from his family, branded a traitor who aids demons, and worst of all, becomes a penniless beggar. When the supposed “protagonist” of these prophecies enrolls at the academy, he realizes his countdown to ruin has begun. Now he must use his foresight to rewrite a story where he's cast as a third-rate villain, all while navigating ancient dungeons, demonic threats, and the troublesome “hero” who might be the key to changing his fate.#MoneyIsEverything

In a future city intertwined with science, magic, and various races, a fearsome villain lives.“How dare you try to use such a young child. Do you have no conscience?”“It’s truly regrettable. To think that this girl could be the key to eradicating a den of evil.”“You can rest easy now. We will definitely protect you.”Sorry, but I’m actually that villain…It seems like a serious misunderstanding.

Third Miss Luo relies on her father’s power to create chaos everywhere and is notorious for bullying the weak. When she had nothing to do, she led a group of servants to the streets to flirt with beautiful and handsome boys. For Princess Qingyang, if this kind of person dared to behave wildly in front of her, she would just kill her with a single finger—until she opened her eyes again and found that she became Third Miss Luo, Luo Sheng.

- Description from Novelupdates

Shivam was just a normal guy.A government employee finally living a stable life after surviving an orphan’s hell and fighting tooth and nail through every damn obstacle life threw his way.He love anime, web novels, and his one true obsession light novels.His favorite?Transmigrated as a Third-Rate Villain.The plot? Fire.The fights? Insane.The worldbuilding? God-tier.And the characters? Untouchable—especially Marcus Ardent and Daelen Vorcrest, the last heroes of mankind.But then came the final chapter.Marcus dead. Daelen gone. The entire continent, erased with a single, lazy keystroke.“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”“What kind of brain-dead garbage ending is this?! You killed everyone for shock value! You threw away the best characters like trash!”Shivam didn’t just hate-comment the author. He cursed them.Then went to sleep.And woke up as Ezra Celestrian.The most forgettable side character in the novel.A man who was supposed to be dead.Only… something’s wrong.Ezra isn’t weak.He never was.He was the strongest human side character in the novel—so talented, the author killed him early to keep the power scaling in check.But now Shivam is him.And the story is no longer in the author’s hands.“Why the hell do I keep talking like a noble?”“What the fuck is this ‘Divine Enemy’ trait!?”The world believes Ezra is dead.But Shivam’s done playing along.“You dragged me into your broken story. You killed my favorite characters. You erased everything I loved for a cheap twist.”“Fine. I’ll fix your mess. I’ll rewrite your story.”“And when I find you, ‘Author’—I swear to god, I’m gonna shove that ending down your throat.”