Chapter 68: Come and Snatch the Bride (11)
Jiang Ciqiu and Xie Liaoyi scheduled their meeting for Thursday. Jiang Ciqiu suspected that Jiang Zhiyan might also reveal everything on Friday, so she needed to meet Xie Liaoyi in advance to figure out how to handle the situation.
It would have been easier to just stand by and watch the drama unfold, but she had to worry about these two.
Thinking about it made Jiang Ciqiu angry. She was truly kind-hearted.
On Thursday, Jiang Ciqiu booked a private room in a restaurant with good privacy.
Jiang Ciqiu arrived early. They had agreed to meet at 6:30, but Xie Liaoyi didn’t arrive until 6:50.
“Sorry, I got off work late, and there was traffic,” Xie Liaoyi pushed the door open and walked in, her tone casual, as if they had known each other for a long time.
Jiang Ciqiu was a bit dissatisfied with this casual tone, criticizing Jiang Zhiyan’s taste in her mind. However, when she saw Xie Liaoyi, she froze, her eyes widening slightly.
Before meeting, she thought: How similar could they be?
After meeting, she realized: They were indeed identical, completely the same, even the small mole on their neck was in the same place.
Xie Liaoyi’s clothing and demeanor were much more mature than hers, but if someone didn’t know them, they would definitely mistake them for the same person.
Moreover, looking at Xie Liaoyi, Jiang Ciqiu felt a strange sensation in her heart, as if something was breaking through the ground. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the glass, the words she had planned to say caught in her throat.
Xie Liaoyi sat down opposite Jiang Ciqiu and poured herself a glass of water.
“You must have a lot of questions since you wanted to see me, why aren’t you saying anything?” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Ciqiu.
“Let’s order first,” Jiang Ciqiu said.
“You can order.”
Jiang Ciqiu glanced at Xie Liaoyi, who took off her glasses and placed them aside. She felt like the other party was scrutinizing her, her gaze not malicious, but this feeling of being observed made her slightly uncomfortable. It was as if she was looking at a junior.
After ordering, she looked at Xie Liaoyi, as if looking at herself through her.
“Have you thought about it?” Xie Liaoyi asked.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Jiang Ciqiu said with dissatisfaction, holding the glass and pretending to be calm. In reality, she hadn’t decided whether to ask her questions. Her questions were too strange, if her guess was wrong, wouldn’t people think she was crazy?
“I’m not in a hurry, I just think that if I don’t ask, you might never speak,” Xie Liaoyi looked at her gently.
Jiang Ciqiu pursed her lips, as if having made up her mind, and suddenly asked: “Who are you? And what’s your relationship with me?”
“Since you’re asking such questions, it means you’ve sensed something.”
Jiang Ciqiu didn’t speak; Xie Liaoyi’s words confirmed part of her guess.
“You and I are the same person, you are my past, and I am your future,” Xie Liaoyi looked into Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes. “We’re not from this world, Jiang Zhiyan is looking for us.”
Jiang Ciqiu opened her mouth, then lowered her head and took a sip of water.
“Anything else you want to ask?” Xie Liaoyi continued.
“Why are there two of us?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t know how to describe it, but she felt Xie Liaoyi should understand what she meant.
“There was a small accident, not just two, there are many. We’re just fragments of the original soul. But our spirit is exceptionally strong, so even when fragmented, we can still live normal lives as individuals.” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “Mm… I feel like you might have already realized that you don’t quite belong in this world.”
“Why do you know more than I do?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand. Compared to the person in front of her, she really did seem like a fool. She suspected that this person and Jiang Zhiyan were laughing at her every day.
“Because you seem to be the part of me from the past, and it seems like you didn’t get any of the unusual memories. I’m older than you, so naturally I know more,” Xie Liaoyi chuckled.
Jiang Ciqiu: …
“Mm, there are a few more things you need to know. You’ve landed on a native of this world, but I haven’t, I’m an orphan, so we’re both called Xie Liaoyi,” Xie Liaoyi rested her chin on her hand.
Jiang Ciqiu understood, no wonder she had felt strange when she saw “Liaoyi,” because that was originally her name.
“The future me and Jiang Zhiyan are a couple?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.
“Mm,” Xie Liaoyi responded.
Jiang Ciqiu gritted her teeth: “And she still deliberately angered me.”
“She said you wronged her first.”
“But I didn’t know it was a different person at first,” Jiang Ciqiu defended herself. “After I realized it, I didn’t do anything to her.”
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Xie Liaoyi: “I feel like your personality is completely different from mine.”
“Because although it seems like only ten years have passed between you and me, it’s actually thousands or tens of thousands of years. I haven’t actually calculated it. We have different experiences, so naturally we’ll have different personalities. And at your age… I didn’t have any particularly noteworthy experiences.”
Jiang Ciqiu opened her mouth: “Am I even human?”
“Yes,” Xie Liaoyi nodded.
Jiang Ciqiu suddenly remembered Jiang Zhiyan saying “love at first sight,” was she actually being serious?
Thinking about it now, it felt rather cheesy. These two were even a couple in name, truly sickeningly sweet. She wondered who came up with whose name.
“I’ll talk to my parents about breaking off the engagement tomorrow night, I think Jiang Zhiyan might take the opportunity to reveal that she has a girlfriend,” Jiang Ciqiu said.
“Then please help me put in a good word.”
Jiang Ciqiu: Why was this person so matter-of-fact? Was her future self this thick-skinned?
Although she was the one in the relationship, she wasn’t the one who was actually in it. The sweet romance belonged to Old Xie, but Little Xie had to deal with the mess, how was that fair?
She already felt awkward looking at Jiang Zhiyan, now it would probably be even more awkward when she got back.
“So what’s my relationship with Jiang Zhiyan now?” Jiang Ciqiu suddenly realized this question.
“Didn’t you say she was just your younger sister?” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “Just treat it as whatever relationship you had before, after all, you weren’t in a relationship with her back then.”
Jiang Ciqiu stared at Xie Liaoyi. She felt some emotions surfacing, but those emotions were inexplicable: “Are you envious of me now?”
Xie Liaoyi didn’t speak.
“She slept with me a few nights ago, and I was too embarrassed to touch her back then. It would have been fine if I had touched her, right?” Jiang Ciqiu looked at Xie Liaoyi. “Whether as an older sister or as a girlfriend…”
“Anyway, I’m you, and you’re me.” Jiang Ciqiu felt satisfied, also resting her chin on her hand, imitating Xie Liaoyi’s smile.
The waiter serving the dishes interrupted their conversation. Jiang Ciqiu was in a very good mood. Because of her good mood, she ate more than usual. She had initially thought she wouldn’t be able to eat anything when meeting Xie Liaoyi.
But now it seemed that Xie Liaoyi was the more frustrated one.
“Why are you unhappy? Aren’t we the same person?” Jiang Ciqiu raised an eyebrow.
“I’d like to know too, but human emotions are complex, sometimes it’s difficult to explain clearly.” Xie Liaoyi took a sip of the soup gracefully.
“Is she coming to pick you up?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.
Xie Liaoyi looked at her phone: “No, I told her in advance that we would meet in the game.”
“Hmph,” Jiang Ciqiu snorted softly.
“She invited you first, didn’t you refuse yourself?” Xie Liaoyi raised an eyebrow and asked.
Jiang Ciqiu: …
“We’re accumulating intimacy points recently, planning to have an in-game wedding when we reach thirty thousand.” The corners of Xie Liaoyi’s mouth turned up, every expression showing her happiness. “We’ve had many weddings already, she planned them all, she even made my wedding dress herself.”
“Shut up, just eat, don’t show off your affection so casually,” Jiang Ciqiu couldn’t help but interrupt her.
“Didn’t you want to know what happened between us?” Xie Liaoyi asked innocently.
“Suddenly I don’t want to know anymore.”
Xie Liaoyi was satisfied. Although bickering with herself seemed childish, it was… really interesting, especially seeing her puff up like a pufferfish.
After dinner, the two couldn’t wait to go home, mainly because they didn’t want to see each other. A simple conversation was fine, but sometimes they could sense each other’s emotional changes, which was awkward.
Jiang Ciqiu parked her car in the underground parking lot, stood at the door of her apartment, staring at the door, lost in thought.
What should she say after going in?
What should she say to Jiang Zhiyan?
Would Jiang Zhiyan’s attitude change?
If it did change, how should she respond?
Jiang Ciqiu decided not to talk to Jiang Zhiyan for now. She couldn’t figure out what she felt about Jiang Zhiyan now, whether that strange feeling originated from herself or was due to empathy.
She planned to quietly open the door later, sneak back to her room, and lock the door.
However, she only managed to complete the first step, “opening the door.” When she was about to sneak back to her room, she was caught. Jiang Zhiyan was sitting right in her path, on the small sofa, holding a glass of juice.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan, her gaze flickering for a second: “Hello.”
Jiang Zhiyan: ?
“What’s wrong with you?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
Jiang Ciqiu’s composure instantly crumbled.
“Why do you seem so at ease?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand. “Aren’t you even a little embarrassed?”
“Because I’m not as sensitive as most people, and why should I be embarrassed?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu with infinite tolerance. “I’ve seen you in all sorts of states.”
“You’re not embarrassed, but you know how to make other people even more embarrassed with just one sentence.” Jiang Ciqiu recalled the feelings from that night and subconsciously took a step back.
“Mm… are you thinking dirty thoughts?”
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan. She admitted that she did have some dirty thoughts, but it was mainly because Jiang Zhiyan wasn’t exactly a decent person either.
“I just wanted to say that I’ve been with you for a long time and witnessed your growth, although you’re more naive and childish now than when I first met you,” Jiang Zhiyan explained, then laughed. “She always says that I’m the one who led her astray, but she’s clearly already overthinking things now.”
Jiang Ciqiu: !!!
Jiang Ciqiu really wanted to explain why she was having dirty thoughts, but she ultimately kept quiet: “I’m not naive or childish at all, thank you.”
“Are you going to talk to Mom and Dad tomorrow?” Jiang Ciqiu changed the subject. She didn’t want to argue with Jiang Zhiyan anymore; her intuition told her that discussing this kind of issue with Jiang Zhiyan wouldn’t end well.
“Mm, to prevent them from pushing the engagement onto me,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.
“Are you going to introduce her to your parents? How are you going to explain it?”
“Why do I need to explain?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “We’ll be leaving this world soon, we won’t be staying here long.”
“Then why bother saying anything! There are many ways to avoid the engagement.” Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened.
“I want to tell them.”
“I don’t understand your logic.” Jiang Ciqiu sat down on the other side.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu: “Are you having a headache?”
“I thought you wouldn’t notice.” Jiang Ciqiu leaned against the sofa. “As long as you appear in front of others with her, people will come and ask me about it.”
Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu and sat down beside her: “Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“She and I are used to not caring about the opinions of others in small worlds, and we don’t take the emotions displayed by people in small worlds seriously.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “You still care, your connection to this world is deeper than we imagined.” And the memories she had regained were fewer than they had imagined.
“Besides the memories of this world and some sense of incongruity, I have nothing else. To me, I grew up in this world. Although I can accept the things you’ve told me, it’s difficult for me not to take them seriously.” Jiang Ciqiu looked down at her hands. “No wonder you two have such a good relationship.”
“When did she come to this world?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.
“We arrived at the same time, but you landed at different points in time, so she’s been in this world longer than you.” Jiang Zhiyan drew a timeline on the coffee table, marking two points on it.
“It’s impressive that she hasn’t gone crazy living with those thoughts until now.” Jiang Ciqiu found it hard to imagine how Xie Liaoyi had lived for thirty-one years with the mentality of an observer.
“It’s also impressive that you haven’t gone crazy now,” Jiang Zhiyan patted her shoulder.
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan and carefully leaned against her, feeling a strange sensation. She touched her chest; her heart was beating quite fast.
“You don’t have to worry about tomorrow’s matter if you find it troublesome,” Jiang Zhiyan said.
“Ha, do you think I can ignore it?” Jiang Ciqiu sighed. “It’s just who I am, a busybody. But they probably won’t do anything to you, they might not even cut your allowance, but I’m not so sure…”
After all, the engagement had been going on for so long, and she hadn’t said anything.
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan, suddenly thought of something, and took out her phone: “Come on, let’s take a picture, to make her jealous.”
Jiang Zhiyan: ???
“We’re the same person, you can’t play favorites, what are you running for?” Jiang Ciqiu pulled Jiang Zhiyan back. “You kiss her all the time, why are you so reluctant to take a picture with me?”
Jiang Ciqiu didn’t realize how sour her words were.
Jiang Zhiyan looked back at her helplessly. She could break free from Jiang Ciqiu’s grip, but Jiang Ciqiu would definitely be unhappy. She rarely felt a headache.
They were the same person, after merging, she definitely wouldn’t argue with herself, she would probably find it amusing, but it was very likely she would use this to “make trouble” for her.
[Jiang Ciqiu: Old Xie, we’re getting along very well now [picture]]
[Xie Liaoyi: ?]
Jiang Ciqiu, looking at the question mark the other party sent, let out a sigh of relief: “That feels good, hahaha, serves her right for always making me angry.”
“You two didn’t interact before, how did she make you angry?”
“That’s between us, it’s normal that you don’t know.” Jiang Ciqiu crossed her arms. “She was making me angry just by looking at me, she angered me the first time we met.”
Jiang Zhiyan understood the general idea.
“She and I are the same person, but when you met her, she knew everything, but she kept it from me.”
“That was your own decision,” Jiang Zhiyan tried to shift the blame to Xie Liaoyi.
“I wanted to know, but you listened to her.” Jiang Ciqiu crossed her arms. “I’ve wanted to meet her for a long time! You’re playing favorites.”
“I think I should still give you some time and space to calm down.” Jiang Zhiyan stood up with her orange juice and ran away. She remembered that she had agreed to play games with Xie Liaoyi, and she glanced at the time, she was already late.
“I’m coming too,” Jiang Ciqiu stood up. “You’re going to play games with her, right? She told me.”
…
Seeing Jiang Ciqiu also appear, Xie Liaoyi wasn’t surprised at all; she knew Jiang Ciqiu would definitely follow.
“I thought you needed some time to process things,” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Ciqiu.
“I did need some time, but thanks to Jiang Zhiyan, that time has been greatly reduced.” Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan.
Jiang Zhiyan stood there expressionlessly. After Jiang Ciqiu and Xie Liaoyi met, their way of speaking had taken on some of her own characteristics, she didn’t know if it was intentional or not.
“Host, interview time, how do you feel right now?” The System asked.
“Not so good,” Jiang Zhiyan’s voice sounded a bit faint.
The System laughed: “I really want to watch the drama unfold, but I’m afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.”
“Heh.” Jiang Zhiyan gave a couple of dry laughs.
Xie Liaoyi nodded at Jiang Ciqiu: “I’m glad you were able to accept it so quickly, then join us for the quests, have you finished yours?”
“Mm,” Jiang Ciqiu responded coldly. Thinking about Jiang Zhiyan calling her childish, she decided to speak less.
“Then please guide us, the next few quests seem quite troublesome.” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan. “Let’s go.”
Jiang Ciqiu watched Jiang Zhiyan take out her sword, and then watched the two sit on the sword in an intimate manner.
Jiang Ciqiu usually enjoyed flying on swords, but now she suddenly didn’t feel like it anymore. She didn’t want to squeeze in between them, it would be too embarrassing.
“Do you have to be so close?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.
“This sword is only this big.” Xie Liaoyi gestured. “There’s nothing wrong with being this close, besides, we’re a couple.”
Xie Liaoyi kissed Jiang Zhiyan’s cheek: “There’s nothing wrong with this either.”
Jiang Ciqiu, seeing Xie Liaoyi’s calm demeanor, also gave a nonchalant smile.
“Old Xie is truly impressive,” Jiang Ciqiu looked away. “I haven’t quite completed the role transition from older sister to girlfriend yet.”
“It’s fine if you don’t transition, after all, you’re already family,” Xie Liaoyi said. “If you do transition, your parents might not be able to accept it.”
“Even if they can’t accept it now, they will eventually, with time,” Jiang Ciqiu still smiled. “My parents have always doted on Jiang Zhiyan.”
“By then, we might have to leave already.” Xie Liaoyi’s eyes were gentle. “You should cherish the warmth of your family, and besides, didn’t you always say you felt uncomfortable? Just choose whatever feels most comfortable for you.”
Jiang Zhiyan, listening to their back-and-forth, felt like her head was about to explode. Their tone sounded calm, but upon closer inspection, it felt strange everywhere. She finally couldn’t help but interrupt: “Where are we going?”
“Isn’t there a quest guide? It’s right there in the anniversary quest section.” Jiang Ciqiu looked over.
“Mm…” Jiang Zhiyan responded. “There is, but we still have to find our own way.”
“I’ll lead the way, as expected, you can’t do anything without me,” Jiang Ciqiu continued.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu. This person had just said she was embarrassed, so why was she suddenly so combative when facing Xie Liaoyi? Well, it made sense, she and herself were so familiar with each other, of course, there wouldn’t be any awkwardness.
Jiang Ciqiu’s gaze fell on the two of them: “Are you wearing matching outfits?”
“Couples wearing matching outfits is perfectly normal,” Xie Liaoyi said.
“It is normal, then I’ll change into one too, otherwise I’ll look out of place with you two.” Jiang Ciqiu wasn’t only at the top of the arena rankings, but also high on the spending leaderboard. She basically had all the outfits, every single one she could get her hands on. Her account could probably be sold for an apartment.
“Why do I feel like Jiang Ciqiu’s IQ increased after meeting Xie Liaoyi?” the System said.
“She was never stupid, maybe Xie Liaoyi stimulated her potential.”
Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi did the quests, and Jiang Ciqiu followed along, diligently helping to solve all the difficult parts of the quest, seemingly very enthusiastic.
Jiang Ciqiu stood to the side, watching the two go to the designated location to complete the quest.
She had to admit, although their communication wasn’t extensive, they clearly seemed more in sync. But it was normal, after all, they had spent so much time together, those times had fostered their tacit understanding, while she didn’t know Jiang Zhiyan at all.
Although she followed closely, she was still excluded from their little world.
Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan. This person, who usually wasn’t proactive about anything, was now very proactive, well… she was always attentive to anything related to Xie Liaoyi.
[[Friend] Maple Leaf: So heartless, not even looking back.]
[[Friend] Zhiyan: Huh? Can you still see us? I thought we were invisible during the quest.]
[[Friend] Maple Leaf: I’m going to do my own thing, you two have fun.]
Jiang Zhiyan looked back in Jiang Ciqiu’s direction; the other party waved and flew away on her sword.
“She’ll be fine, she just needs some time alone,” Xie Liaoyi said.
“Why were you so antagonistic towards her just now?” Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand.
Xie Liaoyi looked into Jiang Zhiyan’s eyes: “I’m jealous that she met you so early, met you during such happy memories.”
“You’ll eventually become one person, and when you recall these memories, you’ll remember that you also met me so early.” Jiang Zhiyan kissed Xie Liaoyi’s cheek and hummed softly. “You didn’t even like me that much when you first met me…”
“Did I? I don’t remember.”
“You really don’t remember?”
Xie Liaoyi shook her head firmly.
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