Category: Female Lead Was Coaxed Away by the Villain Again [Quick Transmigration]

Chapter 73: Come and Snatch the Bride (16)-2

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi lay on the bed, holding hands.

“I thought you would rush to do something,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“We should enjoy the atmosphere, are you in a hurry?” Jiang Zhiyan turned to look at Xie Liaoyi. “Does she not come out when we’re not doing anything?”

Xie Liaoyi looked away: “Who said that? I was just afraid of disturbing your heart-to-heart talk.”

“How can you tell us apart? I think we’re indistinguishable now.” She didn’t understand, she had been lucid for shorter and shorter periods recently, unable to distinguish herself, it was a difficult feeling to describe.

“Intuition,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“In any situation?” The other personality emerged. “Then who is this now?”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at her: “Want to play a game again?”

“It’s my turn to set the questions.” Xie Liaoyi sat up and looked at Jiang Zhiyan.

“Old Xie.”

Jiang Zhiyan, seeing her smile, said: “Little Xie.”

The other personality quickly disappeared, looking at Jiang Zhiyan with a blank expression.

“That’s a bit unfair,” Jiang Zhiyan said, grabbing Xie Liaoyi’s wrist. “It seems like we need special methods to determine.”

“Jiang Zhiyan!” Xie Liaoyi exclaimed.

She had said she would be the examiner, but when Jiang Zhiyan started moving, the initiative slipped from her grasp again.

Jiang Zhiyan’s voice was a little hoarse, a seductive whisper laced with honey.

“Why aren’t you asking questions anymore? Is it because the student isn’t trying hard enough? Did I get full marks, Teacher Xie?”

“Why… do you always seem so lucid?” Xie Liaoyi raised her hand and cupped Jiang Zhiyan’s face.

“Look again.”

The distance between them instantly closed. Before Xie Liaoyi could get lost in her eyes, she looked away.

The hairpins scattered on the floor.

Before losing consciousness, Xie Liaoyi realized she still didn’t know where they were.

“The Rong family’s garden,” Jiang Zhiyan said, holding Xie Liaoyi. “I went to talk to Mr. Rong, he sponsored quite a bit of money.”

“How are we leaving?” Xie Liaoyi leaned against Jiang Zhiyan. “I’ve been thinking about this recently.”

“We can only fake your death. If you just disappear and someone sees it, there will definitely be trouble.”

Xie Liaoyi half-closed her eyes: “You’ll send me off.”

“But I don’t want to hold a funeral for you, it’s unlucky,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “You’re still alive and well… Go to sleep, it’s our wedding day, don’t talk about these things.”

Jiang Zhiyan’s voice was muffled, and Xie Liaoyi patted her face.

Although it was an online wedding, it still made it to the hot search because it was so grand. Some people guessed that the wedding must have cost millions, some dug deeper into certain items in the wedding and found that they had never seen them before, they didn’t know if Jiang Zhiyan created them herself, or if she had negotiated with the game company to make them. Either way, it was very expensive.

Jiang’s parents also watched the wedding, then glanced at the invitation card placed aside.

“Why do they have to have two weddings?”

“They haven’t even graduated from university yet, and they’re making such a big deal out of it, so grand, what if they regret it later…” Jiang’s mother sighed.

“They won’t come to see us, and YuYu isn’t coming back either,” Jiang’s father said with a sullen face.

Jiang Yu was their biological daughter whom they had just found. After being brought back, she asked the Jiang family to bring her adoptive parents to City A as well. They had brought them over, and she preferred spending time with her adoptive parents.

“They’re all busy, Qiuqiu called me a few days ago, she’s busy with the company and preparing for graduation, she has a lot on her plate, it’s normal that she can’t come. Isn’t YanYan preparing for the wedding? She doesn’t have time either.”

Jiang’s mother paused, then continued: “It’s fine now, don’t expect anything else, it’s good enough that they invited us.”

“Hmph.” Jiang’s father was still unhappy. “They called us Mom and Dad for so long, and in the end, we’re invited as guests!”

“Then let’s not go.”

“How can we not go!”

…

The real-life wedding was more complicated than the in-game wedding, and the preparation time was longer. After consulting the Chinese almanac, Jiang Zhiyan set the date for winter. She asked the System to check, and if nothing unexpected happened, it would snow lightly that day.

Since Jiang Ciqiu separated from the female lead, Jiang Zhiyan rarely appeared in front of her. Their paths basically never crossed. To avoid disturbing Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi, Rong Ciqiu had completely moved out of the apartment, mostly staying near the company.

Rong Ciqiu was truly very busy. Jiang Zhiyan occasionally ran into her at school, and she was always in a hurry. After working for half a year, her temperament had changed greatly, gradually becoming more like the female lead in the book.

She didn’t see Jiang Zhiyan, so Jiang Zhiyan didn’t greet her.

It wasn’t good for someone who was about to die to be too involved with the people of this world.

The guest list for Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s real-life wedding was limited to one hundred people. Besides some unavoidable guests, the rest were people who truly cared about them, mostly Xie Liaoyi’s good friends, Jiang Zhiyan didn’t have any.

“You actually have so many good friends,” Jiang Zhiyan was a little surprised. “Well, it’s good.”

“The Vinegar King isn’t jealous?” Xie Liaoyi was surprised.

“I’m too busy feeling sorry for you to be jealous.” Jiang Zhiyan indeed didn’t like Xie Liaoyi having other people besides her, but hopes and reality were always different, Xie Liaoyi’s feelings took priority.

“They’re not really friends, they just helped me a lot in the past,” Xie Liaoyi poked Jiang Zhiyan’s nose. “So, no need to be jealous.”

On the day of the wedding, Rong Ciqiu stayed up all night, finishing all her work. Because most of the Rong family relatives weren’t invited, they were openly and secretly complaining about Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s lack of consideration, some even gossiping to Rong Ciqiu. She directly recorded their conversations and sent them to Father Rong to handle. Elders’ matters should be handled by elders. She didn’t tell the two brides, afraid of affecting their mood, although she thought they probably wouldn’t care.

“She hasn’t come out for a long time,” Jiang Zhiyan said, standing beside Xie Liaoyi. They were alone in the room, the guests were outside, and Rong Ciqiu was in charge of entertaining them.

“Mm, perhaps her obsession has disappeared,” Xie Liaoyi looked at herself in the mirror, then at Jiang Zhiyan, staring at her for a long time. “Okay, I’ve engraved it in my mind.”

“Really? Look a little longer.”

Xie Liaoyi punched Jiang Zhiyan’s arm: “We’ll be late.”

Although it was their wedding day, it felt like the prelude to a farewell.

Jiang Zhiyan bent down and hugged Xie Liaoyi tightly.

Hearing a knock on the door, she sighed softly.

“I didn’t want to disturb you, but it’s time,” Rong Ciqiu said, pushing the door open.

“I know, thank you, sister.”

“No problem,” Rong Ciqiu said, yawning.

Jiang Zhiyan: …

Rong Ciqiu was very sleepy, but once outside, she perked up again.

“I suddenly feel like we’re not human,” Xie Liaoyi whispered.

“We can’t really be considered human,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“What?” Rong Ciqiu turned around and asked.

The two shook their heads simultaneously.

Rong Ciqiu rubbed her eyes: “I’ll join the company after graduation.”

“It’s our wedding day, let’s not talk about work.” She would run away immediately after graduation, why work?

Jiang Zhiyan sighed softly. Even after so long, Jiang Ciqiu’s resentment hadn’t dissipated, and it seemed to be intensifying because of work.

Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand and walked onto the red carpet. Just as planned, light snow began to fall. Xie Liaoyi looked up in surprise and at Jiang Zhiyan.

“It’s really snowing,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Of course, how could I possibly miscalculate?” the System said proudly.

The wedding staff were also a little surprised. Jiang Zhiyan had insisted on the specific time, and they didn’t know why at the time, but now they suddenly understood. But how could it be so coincidental that it started snowing right now? The guests didn’t speak, but their eyes were full of surprise, looking up at the sky.

The snow wasn’t heavy, and there was no wind. The snowflakes fell gently, like part of the wedding’s ambiance, landing on Xie Liaoyi’s shawl and on their hair.

“Are you cold?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“No.” Xie Liaoyi’s smile was exceptionally bright. “It would be nice to have a wedding in the snow someday.”

“Okay,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“Such a lack of decorum, who chats while walking down the aisle at their wedding?” Jiang’s father frowned.

“Leave them alone,” Jiang’s mother glared at him, telling him to shut up, then glanced at Rong Ciqiu not far away and sighed inwardly.

There was no emcee, the two walked onto the stage and proceeded with the ceremony themselves. They looked at each other and began their vows, their eyes only seeing each other, as if everything else around them didn’t exist.

The more beautiful the present, the more Jiang Zhiyan wanted to find all of Xie Liaoyi’s soul fragments.

She held Xie Liaoyi as if holding a lost and found treasure.

“Are you crying?” Xie Liaoyi asked, feeling the wetness on her shoulder, somewhat surprised.

Jiang Zhiyan had cried many times, but most of the time it was just acting, rarely a genuine expression of emotion.

Xie Liaoyi cupped Jiang Zhiyan’s face: “Ask the System to take a picture, then hang it in my room, I want to see it every day.”

“I hate you!” Jiang Zhiyan frowned and playfully hit her.

“There’s nothing to be sad about, it doesn’t hurt at all, I don’t even have those memories,” Xie Liaoyi ruffled Jiang Zhiyan’s hair. “And trust me, I’m not that fragile, waiting for you wasn’t painful, when a person has hope, every day is filled with happiness.”

Chapter 73: Come and Snatch the Bride (16)-1

“We’re so old,” Jiang Zhiyan said with a smile.

“Would you forget?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“Just testing to see if you still remember,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at Xie Liaoyi and noticing the change in her eyes, knowing that the unusually active consciousness had emerged again.

“Of course I remember, I have a good memory,” she said, trying to maintain her composure, thinking Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t noticed.

Jiang Zhiyan smiled and looked away. They might not have noticed it themselves, but they were becoming more and more alike. It probably wouldn’t be long before they were indistinguishable.

Perhaps the “obsession” Xie Liaoyi mentioned was disappearing.

However, after walking thirty steps, the other consciousness retreated again.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t walk in the game, after all, it was just thirty steps.

It could only be said that once a person became lazy, they would become increasingly lazy.

Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand tightly. As they stepped onto the last nine steps, pink flower petals began to fall from the sky, fluttering down and landing on them.

She looked at Xie Liaoyi and twitched the corner of her mouth helplessly. The two personalities were indeed fighting for control. Although she appeared calm at first glance, observing the subtle changes in her eyes and the curve of her mouth revealed much.

However, to the guests below, this was a very romantic scene.

“My god, Jiang Zhiyan’s gaze never left Xie Liaoyi.”

“Yeah, she must really love her.”

“Wuwuwu, I believe in love again.”

…

“You’ve held so many weddings with her, what’s wrong with letting me have this one?”

“I’m you, and you’re me, so it doesn’t matter who attends the wedding.”

“Then let me have it.”

“Aren’t you attached to reality? Then I’ll give you the real wedding.”

“No, who knows if you’re being serious or not? I don’t even know if I’ll be able to come out so clearly next time. Although we’re the same person, we’re still different in a sense.”

Jiang Zhiyan, looking at Xie Liaoyi’s expression, knew they had probably reached an impasse.

Finally, the two stood on the top level. Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand, faced the crowd, and prepared for the Dao Companion ceremony.

Not many people got married in Cultivation Online, and even fewer held such grand weddings, so everyone cherished this opportunity, wanting to see the hand gestures of the ceremony clearly.

However, Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s hand movements were too fast, either because they were too skilled or simply in a hurry. In the blink of an eye, the contract was complete, a golden light shot up into the sky, the sound of silk and bamboo music drifted from the horizon, perhaps with other instruments as well, sounding festive and grand. Vermilion Birds flew across the sky, and countless invited photographers took “pictures” of the two from various angles.

Xie Liaoyi smiled triumphantly, looking at Jiang Zhiyan: “As expected, I’m still slightly better.”

“Why are you always slightly better?” Jiang Zhiyan leaned closer to Xie Liaoyi. “Why aren’t you kissing me?”

“Kiss you,” Xie Liaoyi wrapped her arms around Jiang Zhiyan’s neck. “I’ll kiss you now.”

For this wedding, Xie Liaoyi had even spent money to redesign her character’s appearance, making it identical to her real-life appearance. Jiang Zhiyan would save all these photos. If she used physical photo albums, she would probably need thousands or tens of thousands of them, there were simply too many photos.

“I still need to earn more points, otherwise, when Xie Liaoyi comes back, there won’t be any space to store the albums,” Jiang Zhiyan said to the System.

“Just use digital albums, it’ll be the year of the monkey before you earn enough points to buy a mansion with a library,” the System couldn’t help but say. “It’s good to have dreams, but be realistic, you and your wife have held so many weddings, and you’ve only accumulated that many points… are you two just messing around?”

“Actually, she had a lot of savings at first.”

“And then you appeared?”

Jiang Zhiyan, feeling annoyed, didn’t answer this question, but the System was telling the truth, so she stopped arguing and deepened the kiss.

She wouldn’t let a small System ruin her good mood.

Xie Liaoyi was startled by Jiang Zhiyan’s sudden force, but quickly wrapped her arms around her neck even tighter.

The surrounding crowd cheered.

“Her temperament is indeed completely different from yours.”

“Mm,” Rong Ciqiu nodded.

“Why do you look so dazed?”

“Oh, because I’m multitasking and looking at work.” Rong Ciqiu looked up at the two in the distance.

Xie Liaoyi, panting, punched Jiang Zhiyan’s shoulders twice.

It was difficult to be kissed to the point of suffocation in the game, but Jiang Zhiyan had managed to do it.

Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan shyly: “There are so many people here… can you be a little less… mm.”

She stammered.

“You were clearly very enthusiastic last time when you said you wanted to participate.”

“Mm, Xie Liaoyi was very enthusiastic,” Xie Liaoyi nodded. “She really wanted to.”

“You are Xie Liaoyi,” Jiang Zhiyan patted her head.

Xie Liaoyi coughed twice, not daring to look down, there were too many people.

They continued with the other wedding rituals, each led by an emcee, an NPC in the game, the same one who had been standing at the entrance of the secret realm when they first met.

Many people didn’t understand the significance of Jiang Zhiyan’s choice, after all, there were so many powerful NPCs in the game, but she chose the guide at the entrance of the secret realm.

However, some observant people guessed Jiang Zhiyan’s intention.

“Haven’t you seen Jiang Zhiyan’s gaming videos? That NPC witnessed their first meeting! Now she’s witnessing their wedding, how meaningful.”

The people next to her looked like they suddenly understood.

“Jiang Zhiyan is so thoughtful, I also want someone to treat me like that.”

“No wonder they’re together, so sweet, my teeth hurt.”

“Such a grand wedding, it’s like a real one.”

“It is real, didn’t you know they’re also preparing for a real-life wedding?”

“Huh?”

…

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s wedding ceremony was nearing its end.

The two hung their names on the marriage tree. Jiang Zhiyan hung hers in the middle of the tree, where the wind and rain couldn’t reach it.

They looked up.

“Doing this every time, don’t you find it troublesome?” Most of the time, it was Jiang Zhiyan who prepared the weddings.

“Most protagonists in novels get married at the end and live happily ever after, we’ve gotten married so many times, we’ll definitely live happily ever after.” Jiang Zhiyan leaned against Xie Liaoyi. “It’s a kind of beautiful hope.”

Xie Liaoyi kissed Jiang Zhiyan’s earlobe.

“When you’re completely back, I’ll talk to the Main God and ask them to officiate our wedding.”

“You’re really good at dreaming things up.”

“Will they actually listen to us?”

“The old Main God didn’t want to work and ran away, the new Main God… I’ve already mastered the art of negotiating with them.”

“Behave, the other parts of the wedding aren’t important, as long as we’re together, that’s enough.” Xie Liaoyi hugged Jiang Zhiyan’s waist and poked her nose.

Jiang Zhiyan suddenly picked Xie Liaoyi up: “It’s not appropriate with so many people watching, so let’s log off?”

“What?” Xie Liaoyi didn’t react for a moment.

“Although there’s also a consummation part of the wedding online, it’s very boring, you definitely don’t like it,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking into her eyes. “So let’s run away.”

Jiang Zhiyan had already experienced everything she wanted from this wedding.

“You’re the one who doesn’t like it, I actually quite like it,” Xie Liaoyi snorted softly.

“So are we going or not?” Jiang Zhiyan asked again.

“Going,” Xie Liaoyi nodded.

The two logged off, letting the System control their characters. There were still other parts of the wedding that could increase intimacy, although they didn’t want to stay online themselves, they didn’t want to miss out on the rewards either.

As soon as Xie Liaoyi logged out, someone covered her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you somewhere,” Jiang Zhiyan said, lifting Xie Liaoyi up.

Xie Liaoyi felt Jiang Zhiyan leaving the apartment and getting into a car.

“You can sleep for a while,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we get there,” Jiang Zhiyan leaned against Xie Liaoyi and yawned.

The car drove for about an hour before reaching their destination. Xie Liaoyi was carried out again. She tried to figure out where they were by listening to the surrounding sounds, but she couldn’t hear anything.

Not being able to see was very unsettling for many people.

But Xie Liaoyi felt very calm.

From the scent and the echoes, she sensed that they had gone from outdoors to indoors.

“Sit here.” Jiang Zhiyan put Xie Liaoyi down. Xie Liaoyi touched the seat; it was a plain wooden chair.

“Okay.” Xie Liaoyi nodded and sniffed. “Incense?”

“Mm, don’t worry, it’s just for the fragrance,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Xie Liaoyi chuckled: “What are you doing? I think I hear something.”

“Guess,” Jiang Zhiyan said, adjusting her clothes and hair in front of the mirror, then walked over to Xie Liaoyi. “Okay, you can take off your blindfold now.”

Xie Liaoyi quickly removed the blindfold, looked at Jiang Zhiyan in front of her, stunned for a moment, then looked around the room.

“You recreated our wedding room from the game?” Xie Liaoyi was speechless.

“More or less,” Jiang Zhiyan pointed to the incense burning on the table. “I made those myself.”

“So you’ve been busy with this recently…” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan, who was wearing a wedding dress. “Where’s my dress?”

“Over there, I wanted to help you change, but I was afraid you’d call me a pervert.” Jiang Zhiyan pointed to another outfit hanging there.

These two wedding dresses were also the same as the ones in the game, the only difference being that the ones in the game were made by Jiang Zhiyan herself, while for these, she had only embroidered a few flowers, she didn’t have time to do everything herself.

“Then wait for me.” Xie Liaoyi’s eyes reddened, and she took a deep breath.

“Why are you crying?” Jiang Zhiyan wiped the corners of Xie Liaoyi’s eyes.

“It feels like the last time was so long ago.”

“I came too late,” Jiang Zhiyan touched Xie Liaoyi’s forehead.

“It’s not your fault.” Xie Liaoyi changed into the dress. Jiang Zhiyan, dexterous, styled her hair the same way it was in the game.

She asked the System to take many pictures of them. After they finished, Jiang Zhiyan muted the System.

“Is this the legendary burning bridges after crossing them?” the System wondered. “Forget it…”

It dutifully started processing the photos. It was currently multitasking on four fronts: controlling its own game account, queuing to receive small gifts at Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s wedding, controlling Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi’s accounts, staying in the wedding room to gain intimacy points, and processing their wedding photos.

The System felt like there was no better system in the world than itself, and it wasn’t even asking for points.

Chapter 72: Come and Snatch the Bride (15)

That night, under Jiang Zhiyan’s insistent requests, Xie Liaoyi stayed. She wisely locked the door, but forgot the window. Of course, she also never expected Jiang Zhiyan to climb through the window.

“Are you a dog?” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan, who had jumped in through the window. “Do you have any idea what floor we’re on? What if you fell? What if someone saw you?”

“Dogs are afraid of heights,” Jiang Zhiyan said seriously. “I’m more like a cute little kitten.”

“I have work tomorrow,” Xie Liaoyi said in a low voice.

“I’m not doing anything, just sleeping.” Jiang Zhiyan lay down beside Xie Liaoyi. “Every meeting is one less meeting we’ll have. I don’t know when I’ll see such a lucid Xie Liaoyi again.”

“Sweet talk.” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan and sternly warned, “No touching.”

“Mm, I’ll just hug you, I won’t do anything,” Jiang Zhiyan said solemnly.

Xie Liaoyi stared at Jiang Zhiyan for a while, then glanced at the time: “You better mean it.”

“Mm.”

Xie Liaoyi snuggled into Jiang Zhiyan’s arms and yawned. Jiang Zhiyan hugged her and nuzzled her hair.

She indeed didn’t do anything.

But Jiang Ciqiu, in the other room, still felt it. She stared at the ceiling.

Hadn’t she told Xie Liaoyi to lock the door! Why did she still let Jiang Zhiyan in! How could she be so weak-willed!

Jiang Ciqiu sighed, Old Xie’s self-control was even worse than hers. How old was she, and she still couldn’t resist such temptation.

Summer vacation arrived. Jiang Zhiyan had fewer exams than Jiang Ciqiu, so her vacation started earlier. Under Jiang Zhiyan’s strong persuasion, Xie Liaoyi moved in. It just so happened that her lease was expiring, saving her a lot of money, and a bigger apartment was more comfortable than a small one.

“I hope you two can behave yourselves,” Jiang Ciqiu said, her gaze shifting between them, her tone meaningful.

Logically, she shouldn’t be the only one who could feel the empathy. She strongly suspected that these two already knew about it, but because they were thick-skinned, they pretended they didn’t, and she suspected they might even secretly discuss her embarrassment.

As expected, thin-skinned people were at a disadvantage.

“Your look is getting creepier and creepier,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu shook her head and looked at Xie Liaoyi with a pained expression.

One takes on the qualities of one’s company. What had she, such a pure and thin-skinned person, gone through to become like this?

Xie Liaoyi: ?

Xie Liaoyi sensed Jiang Ciqiu’s emotions, feeling somewhat numb, not knowing what to say, and too lazy to explain.

Ever since the vacation started, Jiang Zhiyan had taken on the role of chauffeur, mainly driving Xie Liaoyi around, occasionally giving Jiang Ciqiu a ride. Jiang Ciqiu wanted to move closer to the company; this apartment was close to the school, but too far from the company.

“Now I truly believe you two are truly in love,” Jiang Ciqiu said. “Being able to wake up early during summer vacation to be a chauffeur and stick with it, your relationship must be extraordinary.”

“Your eyesight is bad, only realizing it’s true love now.” Jiang Zhiyan waved her hand.

“It would be even better if you could also drive me,” Jiang Ciqiu continued, looking at Jiang Zhiyan expectantly.

“It’s too far, someone’s picking you up, why should I drive you?”

“Love has disappeared!” Jiang Ciqiu said dramatically. “If you drove me, I would only have to act when I arrive at the company. If the chauffeur picks me up, I have to start acting as soon as I get in the car.”

“And they won’t even let me drive myself.” Jiang Ciqiu had tried to negotiate, but Father Rong said that having someone else drive allowed her to sleep on the way. Although that was true, she was afraid she would actually fall asleep, leading to uncontrollable situations.

Jiang Ciqiu was in despair. She had originally expected to experience the pain of working life in a few years, but she was already experiencing it now.

She had initially thought that this summer vacation would just be about “familiarizing” herself with the company, never expecting… they seemed eager for her to take over as soon as she graduated. Although she quickly learned how to handle many things, it was too tiring. Perhaps because she was too capable, she had more and more work recently. She was really curious about Father Rong’s health, but Jiang Zhiyan had said he would live to be ninety.

“When are we leaving?” Jiang Ciqiu asked. She wasn’t averse to working, but seeing her friends all going on trips, while she worked hard until eleven every night, was truly painful. If there was no comparison, she wouldn’t feel so bad, but those people, not only did they go on trips, they also had to drag her into their group chat to see their pictures.

“No more attachment?” Jiang Zhiyan raised an eyebrow and asked.

“I suspect you’re taking revenge on me,” Jiang Ciqiu narrowed her eyes.

What attachment? All she did every day was work, she didn’t even have time to think about anything else. She would occasionally be woken up in the middle of the night by the noises coming from Xie Liaoyi’s room, and she had to wash the bedsheets every few days, she was worried the housekeeper would think she had a problem.

Jiang Zhiyan didn’t drive Xie Liaoyi the next day. Jiang Ciqiu worked overtime until late at night and developed a fever. When she woke up at noon, she was a different person.

Jiang Zhiyan, holding a bowl of porridge, looked at the person in front of her, whose appearance hadn’t changed, but whose aura was unfamiliar. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

Literally worked herself into separation.

But… Xie Liaoyi wasn’t having an easy time either. Working at a Grade-A Tertiary Hospital, there were few opportunities to slack off, and she might even be woken up by phone calls in the middle of the night.

Jiang Zhiyan and Rong Ciqiu looked at each other in silence.

Fortunately, the other party had inherited part of Jiang Ciqiu’s memories, so she didn’t have to explain most things again. But after removing the memories related to “she and Xie Liaoyi are the same person,” from Rong Ciqiu’s perspective, things were truly bizarre.

Her younger sister, whom she wasn’t particularly close to, had found a girlfriend who looked exactly like her, their relationship had improved, and although her memories were lost, Rong Ciqiu still retained those feelings of jealousy and frustration.

The atmosphere was strange for a moment.

Jiang Zhiyan put down the bowl and walked out: “Since the soul fragment has separated from her, will her appearance change?”

“Mm, it will change gradually, she’ll still look a lot like Xie Liaoyi, but not exactly the same,” the System said.

“Then when are we leaving?”

“After completing your mission as a vicious female supporting character! Have you forgotten what you’re here for?” The System said loudly. “Or we can wait until the female lead takes over the company, we can leave once her career storyline is complete.”

Jiang Zhiyan touched her chin and opened the door again. Rong Ciqiu was still sitting on the bed, the confusion in her eyes still lingering: “Get some rest, you still have to go to work tomorrow after your fever subsides.”

Rong Ciqiu: …

“I’ve put your work documents on the table, you can look through them if you’re bored, just to pass the time.”

Rong Ciqiu’s eyes widened slightly, and she coughed softly. She really wanted to ask if the other party was being serious, but her manners prevented her from doing so.

Jiang Zhiyan closed the door again, waiting for Xie Liaoyi to call her during her lunch break.

“You called me, why aren’t you saying anything?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

Xie Liaoyi, on the other end, covered her forehead, facing the window. If she hadn’t been at work when the Jiang Ciqiu fragment returned, she might have buried herself under the blankets to recover: “I’m a little embarrassed.”

The empathy had appeared much earlier than she expected, during the “muscle identification” session, and because the scene was too shocking, Jiang Ciqiu, who had lived for more than twenty years, had never experienced anything like that, so she remembered everything very clearly, including the details. Thinking about secretly washing the bedsheets made her feel her face burning up.

Jiang Zhiyan: ?

“Ahem, it’s fine, is everything okay on your end?” Xie Liaoyi asked, feigning composure.

“Besides being a bit confused, I’m fine, I never expected her to separate because of something like that.” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled. “Who would have thought a workaholic would be scared away by work? I thought she would separate because of us, not because of work.”

“Who wants to be a workaholic when they’re young, no… no one wants to be a workaholic.” Xie Liaoyi took a sip of water. “When are we leaving?”

Jiang Zhiyan said softly: “The System suggested I watch the female lead’s career storyline, I was planning to supervise her work, do you really want to leave? We can stay in this world a little longer, I can also…”

“Then let’s rest for a while longer, it’s fine.” Xie Liaoyi lowered her head. “I also want to spend more time with you, I really miss you.”

The corners of Jiang Zhiyan’s mouth turned up slightly: “Mm, then there’s no rush, I won’t supervise her anymore.”

Dinner seemed no different from usual, but the atmosphere was clearly different.

Fortunately, the female lead’s persona was stable. She ate while looking at her computer, handling work. She had been a little puzzled by the strange feelings of jealousy and frustration in her heart, but after being ruthlessly ordered to work by Jiang Zhiyan, Rong Ciqiu, who had no experience in love and had never liked anyone, realized she was probably jealous of Jiang Zhiyan’s leisure.

“Jiang Zhiyan,” Rong Ciqiu looked up.

“Hm?” Jiang Zhiyan looked up.

“Aren’t you bored during summer vacation? Come intern at the company, I’ll have someone arrange a position for you.”

“No,” Jiang Zhiyan refused decisively.

“Don’t you want to have a more fulfilling and rewarding summer vacation?”

“No.” Jiang Zhiyan continued to shake her head. As a veteran, she wouldn’t be fooled by such superficial remarks.

Rong Ciqiu looked back at the screen, slightly disappointed, but still not giving up: “Start working now, and you’ll be twenty years ahead of your classmates.”

“The female lead seems to be going crazy,” the System commented, then continued, “Well, although she has the memories, she’s never experienced it before, so for her, it’s no different from starting work right after birth, tragic, so tragic.”

Rong Ciqiu was a true workaholic. She quickly went from “passively working” to “actively working,” and to save time commuting and devote more energy to work, she temporarily moved out.

“Sister, take a break, don’t work so hard,” Jiang Zhiyan said with concern.

“I love work,” Rong Ciqiu patted Jiang Zhiyan’s shoulder. “Take care.”

Jiang Zhiyan watched Rong Ciqiu leave: “Her career progression is too fast, like flying, why is she in such a hurry… How many hours of sleep does she get a day?”

“Five and a half hours,” the System said. “Precisely five and a half hours.”

Jiang Zhiyan was speechless. Her intimacy with Xie Liaoyi had already accumulated to over 20,000. To be able to hold the wedding, Jiang Zhiyan had the System control Xie Liaoyi’s account while she was at work, completing all the intimacy-gaining quests. When Xie Liaoyi logged in, they just had to hold hands and go on dates, she knew Xie Liaoyi didn’t like doing quests.

“Why not have a real wedding?” Xie Liaoyi sat cross-legged on the bed, looking at the pictures on the tablet, all wedding design drafts drawn by Jiang Zhiyan.

“Adults make choices, both of us have to agree,” Jiang Zhiyan leaned closer to Xie Liaoyi, wanting to kiss her lips, but the other party deftly dodged.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Zhiyan was a little confused.

“She said you should abstain for three months,” Xie Liaoyi said, a little embarrassed. “I think I should try to fulfill my childhood wish, sorry, there are still eighty-odd days left, please bear with it.”

Jiang Zhiyan: ???

“Wife, are you serious?” Jiang Zhiyan asked softly. “Not even a kiss? That’s too strict, we’re so close, can’t you make an exception?”

Jiang Zhiyan unbuttoned two buttons of her shirt, leaned against Xie Liaoyi, rested her head on her chest, and didn’t speak, just looked at her with watery eyes, gently scratching her palm.

Seeing Xie Liaoyi didn’t react, Jiang Zhiyan bit her lip, tears about to fall from her eyes.

Xie Liaoyi lowered her head and bit her lip, as if venting something, her movements lacking finesse, seemingly wanting to use force, but hesitant.

“You said I had no self-control, clearly you don’t either.”

“I didn’t kiss her, I bit her, are we having a split personality now?”

“No, it’s just that we haven’t fully merged yet, why does it only appear at times like this? I don’t see you during the day when I’m at work.”

“Don’t you know? It’s an obsession, it’s all your fault, you’re so bad.”

Jiang Zhiyan felt that Xie Liaoyi was slightly different today, for example, there was occasionally a flicker of novelty in her eyes, she was more easily embarrassed than usual, and she covered her face more frequently, reminding her of their first time.

Jiang Zhiyan was born without a sense of shame, but Xie Liaoyi was very shy. She had to turn off the lights, draw the curtains, making sure not a single ray of moonlight entered. If possible, she would rather hide under the blankets.

Later, they did try it under the blankets, and she wanted to escape, but because her limbs were weak and her mind was in a daze, she was trapped in the small space.

Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s wrists, pinning them behind her back.

“Sister, I’ve been teaching myself to paint these past few days, do you want to see?”

Jiang Zhiyan took a clean brush from the table and dipped it in fresh dew. This brush was a prop she had exchanged from the System when she was rich, very suitable for “painting.” As long as she used a special liquid, it would show color. She didn’t know who designed it, but she liked it at first glance, and she knew Xie Liaoyi would definitely like it too.

The flower trembled, its stem also quivering.

With each stroke, it seemed like she could hear the mewing of a kitten. Jiang Zhiyan looked at her expression and covered Xie Liaoyi’s eyes.

“Guessing game, sister, what flower am I painting now?”

“Peony…” Xie Liaoyi randomly guessed, her mind too muddled to think clearly, being able to recall one flower was already impressive.

“Which kind?” Jiang Zhiyan continued to ask. “There are many varieties of peonies, you have to be more specific.”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s the punishment? Is it to make sister guess five more times?” Jiang Zhiyan said somewhat helplessly, her voice laced with a mischievous smile.

“Didn’t you say you were going to show me? How can I know if you don’t let me see?” Xie Liaoyi’s voice was weak.

A minute later, the two were sitting in front of the mirror in the dressing room.

Jiang Zhiyan had directly painted a peony, her skill masterful.

“It’s a good thing she moved out,” Jiang Zhiyan whispered, kissing Xie Liaoyi’s earlobe. “It’s so hard to please sister, I’ll have to think of more tricks next time.”

Xie Liaoyi, already exhausted, had closed her eyes. Hearing Jiang Zhiyan’s words, she forced her eyes open and looked at her in shock.

“The good sister at home, or the good sister outside?” Jiang Zhiyan asked, arranging the hair by Xie Liaoyi’s temples.

“How many good sisters do you have?” Xie Liaoyi closed her eyes again. “I want to take a shower.”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan carried Xie Liaoyi, smiling inwardly, and didn’t ask any more questions.

Xie Liaoyi glanced at the mess in the dressing room, then looked away: “Tidy up before you go to bed tonight.”

“It’s almost morning already.”

Xie Liaoyi looked at the clock on the wall and punched Jiang Zhiyan’s arm twice, but because she had no strength, it felt more like a caress.

Jiang Zhiyan helped Xie Liaoyi clean up, tidied the bed, and then cleaned the walk-in closet. By the time she finished and came back, the sun had already risen. She returned to Xie Liaoyi’s side, lay down, and pulled her into her arms. Her movements weren’t gentle, but Xie Liaoyi showed no signs of waking up.

Because of Xie Liaoyi’s words, Jiang Zhiyan became even busier.

She informed the Rong family about the wedding and chose the Rong family’s private island as the venue. She didn’t need many guests; she only wanted to enjoy the ceremony with Xie Liaoyi. After all, she didn’t know if the guests would truly bless them.

Rong Ciqiu didn’t understand why Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi had already set a wedding date within just one summer vacation, and she hadn’t heard anything about it.

“Focus on your career before starting a family. Since you’re getting married, come to the company, it’s time for your senior internship anyway,” Rong Ciqiu said. “Come and help me.”

“No.” Jiang Zhiyan didn’t understand what this person’s obsession was.

Rong Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan sincerely: “There’s a subsidiary that perfectly matches your major.”

“Don’t even think about it, handle your own affairs,” Jiang Zhiyan waved her hand dismissively.

Rong Ciqiu left disappointed again. Jiang Zhiyan couldn’t guarantee what the original owner would do after they left, so it was best not to join the company. She was considering disappearing with Xie Liaoyi. The body Xie Liaoyi was currently using was part of a soul fragment, so it would disappear when they left.

Liang Yan had come looking for her a few times, but his attitude was completely different from the one in the novel. He apologized and offered gifts, his expression showing no unwillingness.

He had also looked for Rong Ciqiu, waiting at her door several times, and even went to the complex where she was currently living. However, Rong Ciqiu hadn’t noticed him at all. If others hadn’t told her, she might never have known about it. Of course, after knowing, she didn’t react at all.

Jiang Zhiyan had initially thought that after Jiang Ciqiu left, the male and female leads’ relationship would restart, but it didn’t. The two met, learned each other’s game identities, and then became rivals. It was a healthy competition, but it seemed to have nothing to do with romance.

Several months passed. When Rong Ciqiu and Xie Liaoyi stood together, there were already noticeable differences in their faces, but because of the world’s self-correcting mechanism, none of the NPCs noticed these changes.

“I’ll write a commendation letter to the world consciousness later,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “Good world consciousnesses should be encouraged and set as examples.”

System: …

The in-game wedding came earlier than the real-life wedding. Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi didn’t have any friends in the game, but Rong Ciqiu had many, and they all came. There were no special requirements to attend their wedding; anyone could enter as long as they offered their blessings. And this wedding had a server-wide announcement, which meant they had spent a lot of money on it, so many people came.

“Why are you so down?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi. “Are you going to cry?”

Xie Liaoyi sniffed: “They didn’t notice the difference in Rong Ciqiu, I feel bad.”

“Then take a moment to compose yourself.” Jiang Zhiyan pulled Xie Liaoyi into her arms. “I can tell the difference between you two.”

“I’m okay.” Xie Liaoyi wiped away her tears and looked at Jiang Zhiyan with some exasperation.

“Haven’t you merged yet?” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled.

“She always appears at special moments, she said she wanted to participate in this wedding, but she’s already participating like this…” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan. “It’s all because you keep provoking her.”

“Is this really not a split personality?” Jiang Zhiyan frowned.

“It’s not, I’m sure of it.” Xie Liaoyi turned her head and looked at the mirror. “She just wants to annoy you.”

“Why?” Jiang Zhiyan didn’t think she was that evil.

“Because you’re playing favorites, this wedding should be mine, you’ve already been married so many times, make it up to my young heart, you know I can feel it… you keep doing it, and you don’t include me, it’s too much.”

“Include you? You wanted to join in? I thought you were embarrassed.” Jiang Zhiyan looked like she suddenly understood.

Xie Liaoyi’s expression changed drastically, she covered her mouth, and after a while, put her hand down: “Her independent consciousness is indeed a bit too strong…”

“I was too conservative.” Jiang Zhiyan sighed.

Xie Liaoyi glanced at the time and punched Jiang Zhiyan twice, wanting to push her out. Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head and kissed Xie Liaoyi’s lips before leaving.

Weddings in Cultivation Online involved the couple walking up ninety-nine steps together, then signing a Dao Companion contract under the witness of the “Heavenly Dao.” The wedding venue varied depending on how much money was spent. Jiang Zhiyan chose the most expensive venue, the closest place to the sky in the entire game, and also Xie Liaoyi’s favorite place. Everything here was designed and decorated by Jiang Zhiyan herself.

Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand and stepped onto the first step. It was night, but the sky was as bright as day because of the constantly exploding fireworks.

“How many times is this?” Jiang Zhiyan whispered.

“Eight hundred and twenty-seven.”

Chapter 71: Come and Snatch the Bride (14)

The two people who were found and returned were very calm, the gossip enthusiasts were very excited, and the hospital staff were very worried that Xie Liaoyi would resign and run away. However, she went to work as usual, as if nothing had happened.

“If I were you, I’d run away,” a colleague said to Xie Liaoyi, who was washing her hands.

“It would be boring if I didn’t work,” Xie Liaoyi replied.

“Go traveling, lying around every day is more interesting than working.”

“No sense of accomplishment.”

“That’s true, but it’s still okay to take a break for a while… so many hospitals want to poach you, the Third City Hospital is too tiring.”

Xie Liaoyi smiled: “But I still prefer the atmosphere in our hospital.”

Her colleague looked at Xie Liaoyi, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Xie Liaoyi didn’t attend the press conference; she didn’t want to be exposed to the public.

After all, she might disappear any day, and her situation wasn’t quite the same as Jiang Ciqiu’s.

Jiang Zhiyan accompanied Jiang Ciqiu to the press conference. When the latter was silent and expressionless, she looked like she was about to ascend the throne, but as soon as she spoke, the illusion was shattered.

“I’m nervous,” Jiang Ciqiu grabbed Jiang Zhiyan’s arm and took a deep breath. “Will they ask tricky questions?”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, you’re a good person in the game, what’s there to be afraid of?” Jiang Zhiyan paused, then continued: “Besides, everyone here has been vetted by the Rong family, they won’t ask anything out of line. If you don’t want to answer a question, just refuse.”

“So arrogant?”

“This press conference is just to share the joy, you haven’t joined the company yet, and you don’t have any position, so there won’t be any problems. If you really care about what others think, just maintain a smile and be approachable.” Jiang Zhiyan helped Jiang Ciqiu fix her hair.

“I wish you could go up there with me,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“You’re not really a child.”

Jiang Ciqiu sighed. Before even going on stage, she already missed the days when Jiang Zhiyan acted as her spokesperson.

“I’m so rich, what’s wrong with having a spokesperson?” Jiang Ciqiu looked back at Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan smiled: “Go up there yourself.”

“You’re so mean, I’m going to complain to Old Xie, no wait… I’ll remember this, and when we merge, hmph.” Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan; she wouldn’t let her touch her for at least a month.

“You have a very sinister look in your eyes.” Jiang Zhiyan narrowed her eyes. “What wicked thoughts are you having?”

“Don’t get too cocky, you’ll find out later.” Jiang Ciqiu lifted her chin and walked out to meet Father Rong.

Her household registration had been transferred, and her name changed to Rong Ciqiu, but Xie Liaoyi didn’t have to change hers. She said that it was too troublesome to change everything at her age, and the patients were already used to calling her Dr. Xie, her reasons were sound, and no one objected.

“Two people, three surnames…” Jiang Ciqiu muttered to herself, then suddenly realized something, her household registration was now with the Rong family, so she and Jiang Zhiyan were no longer on the same household registration.

Jiang Ciqiu looked back at Jiang Zhiyan, who was standing not far away.

“What do you think she’s thinking about?” Jiang Zhiyan asked, hands in her pockets.

“Doesn’t Xie Liaoyi know what you’re thinking with just a twitch of your finger?”

“I’m not familiar with Xie Liaoyi at this stage.” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “But I think it’s probably nothing good.”

Although she was nervous backstage, once on stage, Jiang Ciqiu calmed down considerably. She sat beside Father Rong, a calm smile on her face, composed and graceful. When answering questions from the media, she wasn’t nervous at all, her voice steady and clear.

“Didn’t she say she was nervous?” The System didn’t understand.

“She’s always been good at improvising, but that doesn’t mean she’s not nervous.” Jiang Zhiyan walked behind the media, looking at the person not far away.

Jiang Ciqiu sat upright on the stage, her expression management excellent, not showing any strange expressions even with the flashing lights.

“She really cares about her image,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

All the media’s questions were standard, and most didn’t require Jiang Ciqiu to answer. But towards the end, a bombshell question was asked. The media these days were always chasing hot topics, and for the sake of a hot topic, they were willing to take risks.

“Miss Rong, we heard that your younger sister, who grew up with you, is in a relationship with your older sister, who looks exactly like you. What are your thoughts on this?”

The smile that Jiang Ciqiu had maintained for half an hour faded considerably: “Is this question relevant to today’s topic?”

“They met in the game, and her in-game appearance is completely different from her real-life appearance, it can only be described as fate. They fell in love because of their soul connection. I’ve also met her a few times in the game, and I didn’t recognize her at all, otherwise, we could have been reunited earlier.”

Jiang Ciqiu chuckled softly.

“Besides, who she likes and who she’s with is her freedom, I don’t like restricting my younger sister’s personal freedom, nor do I like giving unsolicited opinions.”

Jiang Ciqiu stared at the reporter, her smile fading further. Although she didn’t directly show her displeasure, it was clear she wasn’t happy.

She didn’t answer any of the following questions.

After the press conference, that reporter was approached by someone.

Jiang Zhiyan posted a pre-edited gaming vlog on her personal Weibo account.

Thankfully, the game had a recording function, and the original owner, who had planned to be a content creator, always had the recording on, and Jiang Zhiyan, being lazy, never turned it off. The original owner had operated this account for a while, accumulating 100,000 followers with her rich girl vlogs, but since Jiang Zhiyan took over, she hadn’t updated it.

The game recordings had timestamps, and with the Rong family’s help in promoting it, the video spread quickly.

[Damn, this opening, I thought it was the beginning of a TV drama.]

[A perfect match from their names alone? Such coincidence, such fate.]

[I know this Zhiyan, she’s the one who was hunted down by Old Six in the game. Old Six said she was dragged into it by Maple Leaf… so Maple Leaf is the second princess? What a pity, Old Six deleted his account, otherwise I’d really like to interview him and ask for his thoughts.]

[The second princess has everything but love, lol.]

[But even if they started an online relationship in the game, finding out that the person looks exactly like your sister after meeting offline, how can they continue?]

[Because the second princess and Jiang Zhiyan weren’t close.]

[Dramatic and absurd.]

[Usually, when people start online relationships in Cultivation Online, they look for attractive characters, the older princess’s character looks so ordinary, the fact that Jiang Zhiyan is in a relationship with her shows that she doesn’t care about looks at all?]

[Damn, yeah, how far did they go before meeting offline?]

…

Public opinion was being steered in the direction Jiang Zhiyan and the others wanted. They had originally planned to wait a few days before revealing it, but unexpectedly, a reporter brought up the question at the press conference.

Jiang Ciqiu was in a bad mood.

“You answered well,” Jiang Zhiyan said, watching the replay. “Your demeanor was also good.”

“Stop watching,” Jiang Ciqiu covered the tablet with her hand. “It’s too embarrassing.”

“I haven’t seen you so thin-skinned before.” Jiang Zhiyan turned off the tablet.

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan: “Did you know it was her when you saw her name?”

“Mm,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“Then what about me?”

“I knew it was Xie when I saw you,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu frowned: “Then why did you go after her first, instead of me?”

“Why do I feel like I’ve answered this question before?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu’s anxious eyes.

“No, because I’ve never asked so directly.”

“Then why are you asking so directly now?” Jiang Zhiyan was curious about where she got the courage.

Jiang Ciqiu paused: “Because we’re no longer on the same household registration… No, I’m asking you a question! Why are you always taking over the conversation?”

“Tell her it’s because you two were having a fight,” the System said.

“That makes me sound so childish.” Jiang Zhiyan refused, then put on a sad and wronged expression, cupping Jiang Ciqiu’s face. “Because you disliked me! I took the initiative, but you didn’t even look at me, what else could I do?”

“She came when you were ignoring me the most, of course I got together with her.”

“I did invite you to play together the day we met,” Jiang Ciqiu remembered clearly, because she had also been feeling down that day.

“Because I was feeling wronged, even if I played with you, your friends wouldn’t welcome me, and I wouldn’t enjoy the game, so why bother playing together? Everyone would just end up unhappy.” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her hand. “Sacrificing one person for the happiness of the group.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked away: “Then I can’t help it, I didn’t know you… you didn’t have the patience to explain it to me clearly.”

Jiang Ciqiu’s voice became softer: “It would have been better if you had told me earlier that you weren’t the original person.”

“I couldn’t just casually say it because of the world rules. If I told you directly and you remembered, it would be fine, but if you didn’t, a mental breakdown would cause world instability,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Didn’t you say my soul was very strong?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand.

“Why take unnecessary risks? You were already by my side, I could wait for you to slowly wake up. When you weren’t awake, you had part of the female lead’s personality, it wasn’t entirely based on your soul strength.” Jiang Zhiyan ruffled Jiang Ciqiu’s hair.

Jiang Ciqiu looked up at her, her slender neck seemingly inviting a kiss, her eyes conveying the same message.

Jiang Zhiyan kissed her forehead.

Xie Liaoyi, who was performing surgery, didn’t stop her movements, but subconsciously frowned.

After finishing the surgery, she touched her forehead, realizing what she had just felt. It was a good thing those two hadn’t done anything more.

She called Jiang Zhiyan.

“Please don’t mess around when I’m at the hospital,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“We didn’t do anything, just a kiss on the forehead… Sorry, did we disturb you?”

“No, I didn’t notice it during the surgery, I’m not that easily distracted.” Xie Liaoyi chuckled. “I only realized what it was after I finished.”

“It won’t happen again,” Jiang Zhiyan sighed. “Let’s leave this world soon, I feel like I’m having a mental breakdown.”

“She hasn’t had a breakdown, what are you breaking down for?” Xie Liaoyi’s words were meaningful.

“Whose fault is that? I wanted to stop that day, it was clearly you who…” Jiang Zhiyan drew out her words. “You were holding my hand, not letting me stop.”

“Shut up, I want hot pot tonight,” Xie Liaoyi decisively changed the subject, not wanting to continue this topic with Jiang Zhiyan. Her skin had become thick enough, but looking at the colleagues passing by, her cheeks still burned.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up after work, should I bring her?”

“Let’s eat at your place, we just made the headlines, it’s too conspicuous. We’ll eat at your place, you can buy the groceries.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan agreed, turned around, and called out to Jiang Ciqiu.

The two gave the menu to Jiang Ciqiu’s personal assistant, who quickly brought over a bunch of groceries, and even a chef, who would prepare the hot pot base for them after Xie Liaoyi got off work.

Jiang Ciqiu had been a young lady before, but this was the first time she had seen someone prepare a hot pot base at home, the pungent aroma filling the air.

The assistant prepared the hot pot for them and left. After they finished eating, there would be a cleaning service, the service was very attentive.

The three sat around the table. Jiang Zhiyan initially thought this seating arrangement was quite good, but later realized it wasn’t so ideal.

“Why did you pour a drink for her, but not for me?”

“YanYan, I also want you to peel shrimp for me.”

“I want beef, feed me.”

“Why did you feed her, but not me?”

…

Jiang Zhiyan suspected these two were teaming up to mess with her, but she had no proof.

She sighed deeply: “Sooner or later, I’ll split into several people to torment you.”

“My god, you actually call this torment, don’t you like eating with me?” The two widened their eyes, looking at Jiang Zhiyan’s expression, then burst out laughing.

In the end, Xie Liaoyi let her off the hook.

“Staying the night?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi.

“Absolutely not tonight, I have work tomorrow,” Xie Liaoyi immediately said. After what just happened at the dinner table, if she stayed, Jiang Zhiyan would definitely get her back, she had already learned her lesson last time, and it felt awkward thinking about Jiang Ciqiu being able to sense it, she could completely sense what absurd things Jiang Zhiyan was doing through her actions.

Now she could even feel kisses, the empathy was growing stronger.

“There’s a guest room, I’ll take you to work tomorrow morning,” Jiang Zhiyan said, somewhat helplessly. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“A perfect person,” Xie Liaoyi said, her eyes gentle.

Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand.

“Is this the helplessness of adulthood? Always having to say things that go against your conscience,” Jiang Ciqiu interjected.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu, who looked back without fear.

At this moment, their thoughts were surprisingly similar.

[After merging, after merging…]

Jiang Zhiyan poured Jiang Ciqiu a drink: “Eat and drink more, talk less.”

“Old Xie, she thinks we’re too talkative,” Jiang Ciqiu raised her hand to speak.

Chapter 70: Come and Snatch the Bride (13)-2

Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu went back to the Jiang family the next day. They hadn’t been back since their allowance was cut off. The Rong family was already helping the Jiang family find their real daughter, and Jiang Zhiyan secretly gave them some guidance, they should be able to find her soon.

Jiang’s parents, in all their years, had never experienced such chaos. If they had heart problems, they would probably be in the hospital by now.

It was the same familiar living room, the same familiar seating arrangement, the four of them sitting facing each other in pairs.

Jiang’s father looked much older than the last time they saw him, looking very tired, clearly having not slept much last night.

It was understandable. The daughter they had almost disowned not long ago was actually a member of the Rong family. If he had known this earlier, he would have directly broken off the engagement, so their relationship wouldn’t be so strained now.

They had just recently discovered that Xie Liaoyi looked exactly like Jiang Ciqiu, and were planning to talk to Jiang Zhiyan about it, who knew, Xie Liaoyi had also taken a paternity test with the Rong family.

Just thinking about it made him dizzy.

How could there be such coincidences? It was so coincidental that it felt unnatural.

None of the four spoke, the atmosphere extremely awkward.

Jiang Zhiyan picked up the juice on the table and took a sip: “Don’t worry, we won’t cause you any trouble. After all, we’ve been family for so many years, and we understand that we’re able to live such good lives because of you.”

Jiang Ciqiu glanced at Jiang Zhiyan; this person really wasn’t a crybaby, and she knew exactly how to make the atmosphere even more awkward.

Jiang’s father looked at Jiang Zhiyan: “You’re in a relationship with someone who looks so much like your sister, you…”

“We’re not blood-related, and we like each other, there’s nothing wrong with being together, even sister has no objections.” Jiang Zhiyan raised her glass. “Speaking of which, my ability to bet on the right person is indeed much better than yours.”

Jiang’s mother looked at Jiang Zhiyan, trembling slightly: “YanYan, you’ve changed so much that I don’t even recognize you.”

“That’s normal, because when you forced her to go through with the engagement, I also felt like I didn’t recognize you. This family is very different from what I imagined, it seems like you’ve never respected us, never treated us as independent individuals.” Jiang Zhiyan put down her glass.

“I know why you asked us to come here, rest assured, we really won’t take revenge on you. And the Rong family is already helping you find your real daughter. Not only that, but the Rong family will also express their gratitude to you,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Are you planning to sever ties with us?!” Jiang’s father slammed the armrest, his voice loud.

“Anger only exposes your panic, you’ve already received the promise you wanted,” Jiang Zhiyan looked at him, her tone unexpectedly calm.

Jiang Ciqiu felt like there was no need for her to speak, and honestly, she wasn’t feeling well right now. Jiang Zhiyan had no feelings for this family, but she still did, the three of them had shared many happy times, she couldn’t understand how things had become like this.

“Let’s just coexist peacefully from now on.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu. “Let sister be happy, don’t listen to unpleasant things. When the paternity test results come out, regarding the engagement… you can discuss it with the Liang family yourselves.”

“Are you so sure that Qiuqiu is the Rong family’s child?”

“We’re pretty sure,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“Let’s eat,” Jiang’s father said, regaining his usual composure.

The three stood up. Jiang Ciqiu walked beside Jiang Zhiyan: “This atmosphere is so awkward.”

“Just be thick-skinned, you’re the only one who’s embarrassed.” Jiang Zhiyan patted Jiang Ciqiu’s shoulder.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

Jiang Ciqiu looked at the two people in front of her; she felt like her long-held impression of them was constantly crumbling: “I’m too sentimental, looking at it now, it’s all about benefits.”

“I’ve always believed that most relationships in the world are ultimately related to benefits, unconditional love is rare,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “When benefits are involved, many so-called loves have to take a backseat.”

“Then what about you? You and Xie…”

“We are indeed unconditional,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“You’re really good at praising yourself.” Jiang Ciqiu paused. “Oh, that includes me too.”

The four of them were mostly silent during dinner.

Jiang Zhiyan ate the most heartily, the strange atmosphere not affecting her appetite at all. Jiang Ciqiu initially couldn’t eat, but looking at Jiang Zhiyan, she finished everything in her bowl.

“You two should move back tonight,” Jiang’s father said.

“Okay,” Jiang Ciqiu immediately agreed.

Jiang’s father and mother breathed a sigh of relief; they thought Jiang Ciqiu was accepting their olive branch. In reality, she simply couldn’t stand the two of them making trouble in the middle of the night.

“Great, little sister, we’ll move back right away, I’m so sorry for disturbing your girlfriend for so long,” Jiang Ciqiu clapped her hands, smiling kindly.

“Indeed, good sister, I can’t wait to go home,” Jiang Zhiyan said, imitating Jiang Ciqiu’s tone, her hands clasped together by her cheek.

“I’m not that pretentious!”

“You can look in the mirror,” Jiang Zhiyan said with a charming smile.

On the day the paternity test results came out, Xie Liaoyi took a day off from the hospital, and Jiang Zhiyan went with her.

“As your girlfriend,” Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s hand in one hand and Jiang Ciqiu’s in the other, “and as your best little sister, I think I have the right to participate in such an important occasion.”

“Ha.”

Jiang’s parents were also invited to the scene. Many people from the Rong family came. Judging by the number of people, Xie Liaoyi and Jiang Ciqiu’s identities were confirmed.

“Thank you, fate, for allowing our family to be reunited. I initially thought I could only find my younger daughter, but I didn’t expect…” Father Rong wiped away tears. He originally wanted to hold both his daughters’ hands, but seeing Jiang Zhiyan standing in the middle, he put his hands down.

“As expected, the bug automatically fixed itself,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “One child lost here, another child lost there, impressive.”

“Whose fault is it?” the System asked.

“Not mine anyway.”

Jiang Zhiyan let go of their hands, patted their shoulders, and didn’t participate in the father-daughter reunion scene any further. She glanced at the Rong family members with their various expressions, then at the male lead standing in the corner, who had been offline for half a century.

“Has this person appeared in the game before?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“He has, Jiang Ciqiu beat him up in the arena… mm, five times in a row,” the System said. “They were supposed to team up and go to a newly opened secret realm, but because he was beaten up by Jiang Ciqiu five times, when the male lead applied to join the team, Jiang Ciqiu thought he was too weak and didn’t let him in.”

“Never would have thought, as expected, the plotline has gone off the rails.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “She’s truly something.”

“Indeed unexpected, the rage buff gave Jiang Ciqiu a huge advantage, originally, the five matches should have been draws, thanks to you.”

“Don’t say that, you also contributed.”

The male lead looked over, and Jiang Zhiyan looked away.

Father Rong’s attitude towards Jiang’s parents was very amiable, making it impossible to tell what he was actually thinking. The Jiang family’s biological daughter was already on her way back. Originally, “finding their daughter” would have taken at least two years, but with Jiang Zhiyan’s cheating, the progress was rapid.

In the evening, everyone went to a pre-booked hotel. The Rong family members were unhappy, but they still had to put on congratulatory smiles.

They had already planned how to divide Father Rong’s assets, who knew two inheritors would suddenly appear.

“What a pity, my nephew is about the same age as Xie Liaoyi.”

“Perhaps we can start with that Jiang Zhiyan, I’ve investigated her, she’s easily swayed by material possessions, the fact that she likes her shows that the older princess is nothing special…”

“Didn’t they say the second princess and her younger sister had a bad relationship? Why do they seem to be getting along so well now?”

“They’ve become close recently.”

“Being with someone who looks exactly like her older sister, heh, who knows what their relationship is like.”

…

Everyone was smiling, whispering to each other.

This dinner was just an ordinary family gathering. In a few days, the Rong Corporation would hold a press conference to announce Xie Liaoyi and Jiang Ciqiu’s identities.

“So many people are looking at me, I’m a little nervous,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“You’ll get used to it.” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her voice. “Be careful recently, some people from the Rong family might cause trouble for you.”

“Like what? I don’t have any dirt on me.” Jiang Ciqiu flicked her hair. “I’ve been a model student since I was young, actively involved in charity, never bullying others with my family’s influence.”

“They can write eight hundred gossip articles just about the relationship between the three of us.” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head and cut a piece of steak, putting it in her mouth.

Jiang Ciqiu put down her hand and gave a strained smile: “Haven’t even been in a relationship for a day, and I’m already carrying so much baggage.”

“I’m still working at the hospital, don’t worry, I’ll be easier to find,” Xie Liaoyi said. “You’re not the one in the relationship, it has nothing to do with you.”

“If you get scolded, just redirect it to me, public opinion can be manipulated. Anyway, I’m not afraid of being scolded, Xie Liaoyi didn’t know you at first, and you didn’t know Xie Liaoyi, I’m the only one with ulterior motives,” Jiang Zhiyan said casually.

“Sigh, I can’t do that.” Jiang Ciqiu smiled, stood up, clinked glasses with someone who came over, exchanged a few words, and sat back down.

“You don’t have to do anything, I’ll handle it,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “This is something we have to face eventually.”

“I’m not afraid of being scolded either, as long as she’s protected,” Xie Liaoyi held Jiang Zhiyan’s hand.

Jiang Ciqiu felt a pain in her left hand. Did they have to hold hands so tightly? She really didn’t understand, secretly rubbing her left hand.

After dinner, the three went to Father Rong’s private room. He didn’t speak, but his assistant briefly explained the reason for this meeting, which, as expected, was related to the current power struggle within the Rong family.

“I’m old, and my health isn’t very good, I’ll have to rely on you in the future,” Father Rong said. The assistant behind him handed over a thick stack of documents. “Everything you need to know is basically in there, if you have any questions, you can ask me.”

Father Rong looked at Xie Liaoyi: “Actually, I also hope you can come back to the company, but I won’t force you, after all, it would be a pity to waste your talent in medicine, I respect your choice.”

Father Rong then looked at Jiang Ciqiu: “I’ll arrange an assistant for you, you’ll be a senior in the second half of the year, come to the company this summer vacation and learn the ropes, is that okay?”

Jiang Ciqiu felt her vision darken. She had actually planned to travel for three years after graduation, but looking at his expression, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

“Finally, you.” Father Rong looked at Jiang Zhiyan. “I don’t object to your relationship, so I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“Regarding the public opinion later…” Jiang Zhiyan shared her thoughts.

“The Rong Corporation will handle it, we have a professional and trustworthy team,” the assistant said. “Please don’t worry about this.”

“The Rong Corporation isn’t so incompetent as to let a child bear all that alone.” Father Rong took a sip of tea, looking much older than he actually was.

Jiang Zhiyan just thought it would be more convenient this way, they wouldn’t be staying here for long anyway.

When they left, the Rong family gave them many gifts, even Jiang Zhiyan received one, a property worth eight figures, the transfer procedures would be completed tomorrow.

“So rich,” Jiang Zhiyan exclaimed.

“Didn’t you say my good days would start with the Rong family?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand, flipping through the documents she brought back, feeling overwhelmed. She didn’t know who compiled it, but it was a very detailed account of the current situation within the Rong family and the various relationships.

“You’ll grow rapidly during this period and gain a lot of support, those people are all cannon fodder, don’t worry, you can do it,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“I thought my good days would be like a pie falling from the sky,” Jiang Ciqiu sighed. “As expected, I was dreaming, I suddenly feel so busy.”

Jiang Ciqiu turned her head and looked at the two holding hands: “I’m so jealous, can we switch my and Xie Liaoyi’s soul fragments?”

“Can you perform surgery?” Jiang Zhiyan looked over.

“No.” Jiang Ciqiu paused, then her eyes widened. “We can really switch?”

“No, but it’s possible to separate you and merge you with Xie Liaoyi,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at Jiang Ciqiu’s expression. “But I suggest you don’t, communicating with the female lead is too troublesome, have some confidence in yourself, you can do it, good sister, I’m relying on you to take care of me.”

“You only call me good sister when you want money,” Jiang Ciqiu said expressionlessly.

Although the press conference hadn’t been held yet, well-informed reporters had already gotten wind of the news. Many rushed to the school, wanting to interview Jiang Ciqiu to get firsthand information. They were quickly driven away by security, but there were always some with good disguises who weren’t discovered. At the hospital, Xie Liaoyi no longer went to the outpatient clinic, she stayed in surgery. The hospital was crowded, and Xie Liaoyi’s disguise skills were excellent, no one could find her. Many people also gathered at the entrance of the Jiang family’s company, but those two were working remotely.

Some also tried to interview Jiang Zhiyan, but they couldn’t catch her, she was too agile and too fast.

Finally, only Jiang Ciqiu was cornered when she left school in the evening. She stood there, looking at the people in front of her, and suddenly regretted not bringing bodyguards, and also regretted not practicing with Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan was originally planning to run away herself, but thinking about Jiang Ciqiu’s pitiful appearance, she went back, called the police, and during the chaos, pulled Jiang Ciqiu out and into an inconspicuous car parked by the roadside.

“It’s already so hot, they were surrounding me so tightly I could barely breathe,” Jiang Ciqiu said, clutching her chest. “Those people are so scary, should I just skip school for the next few days?”

“I’ve contacted the assistant, he’ll handle it, there won’t be so many people tomorrow, so just focus on your studies.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan, her expression extremely dejected.

She didn’t like going to school in elementary school, and she still didn’t like going to school in university.

“Of course, you can say you suffered a huge psychological trauma today.”

“I’m not that thick-skinned yet.” Jiang Ciqiu waved her hand. “But don’t worry, I’ll study hard with you two.”

Chapter 70: Come and Snatch the Bride (13)-1

“Don’t overthink it, what if it’s not what you think?” Jiang Zhiyan whispered, holding Xie Liaoyi tighter in her arms. “I’ll go check on her later.”

Xie Liaoyi: ?

Xie Liaoyi raised her hand and punched Jiang Zhiyan’s arm twice: “Are you crazy?”

“She’s not a child, and she’s the same person as you,” Jiang Zhiyan held Xie Liaoyi’s wrist.

“It’s still embarrassing,” Xie Liaoyi said in a low voice.

Jiang Zhiyan’s gentle kisses landed behind her ear: “Aren’t you always embarrassed when we do this?”

“It’s fine, she’s even more embarrassed than you, she won’t say anything, just now she only told us to keep it down.”

“Jiang Zhiyan, you…” Xie Liaoyi couldn’t find the right words to describe Jiang Zhiyan for a moment.

“What?” Jiang Zhiyan stopped moving, waiting for Xie Liaoyi’s answer.

Xie Liaoyi, caught in an awkward position, glared at her.

“Okay, sorry, I’ll stop.” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “Do you want to take a shower before going to sleep?”

“Jiang Zhiyan!” Xie Liaoyi bit Jiang Zhiyan’s chin. “You’re really something else.”

“Hiss… You bit me there, how am I supposed to face people?” Jiang Zhiyan covered her chin.

“It’s fine, you’re thick-skinned, you’re not afraid.” Xie Liaoyi snorted softly and nudged Jiang Zhiyan’s leg. “Hurry up.”

“You asked for it, not me, so you can’t blame me later.” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “She shouldn’t directly separate from the female lead’s consciousness, right? It would be troublesome if she did… Forget it, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Jiang Ciqiu, who had finally managed to rest for a while on the sofa, opened her eyes.

She suspected these two were doing it on purpose.

It was a good thing she didn’t have classes tomorrow, otherwise, she would have barged into the room and made all three of them suffer.

The next morning, the three sat at the dining table, all somewhat silent.

Jiang Ciqiu stared at the mark on Jiang Zhiyan’s chin, smiled, and gave Xie Liaoyi a thumbs-up: “Well done.”

“If anyone at school asks who did it, I’ll say it was you,” Jiang Zhiyan looked up at Jiang Ciqiu.

Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened slightly, looking at Jiang Zhiyan: “You’re really something else.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jiang Zhiyan smiled.

Jiang Ciqiu then looked at Xie Liaoyi: “You can tolerate this?”

“You’re taking the blame, so it’s fine,” Xie Liaoyi smiled.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

This was unbearable.

“People can be so cruel, even to themselves,” Jiang Ciqiu said, taking a bite of a youtiao angrily.

Jiang Zhiyan’s skin was too delicate; even though Xie Liaoyi hadn’t used much force, the mark on her chin remained for several days.

At lunch, when Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu were eating together, Jiang Ciqiu’s friends asked about the mark.

Jiang Ciqiu nervously stared at her bowl; she felt like her reputation was about to be ruined.

“My girlfriend has strong teeth,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu: ???

“Girlfriend?” Her friend looked at Jiang Zhiyan in shock.

“Yes, girlfriend,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

Her friend blinked, lowered her head to eat, and didn’t ask any more questions, but she was clearly very shocked.

After all, in their eyes, Jiang Zhiyan had always been a green tea schemer trying to seduce her sister’s fiancé, even though she always called Liang Yan “brother”… They looked up at Jiang Zhiyan again, their minds short-circuiting.

When they left, their steps were a bit unsteady.

“Then why does she always target you?” Her friend looked at Jiang Ciqiu and lowered her voice.

“She said she has a histrionic personality,” Jiang Ciqiu thought for a few seconds and also lowered her voice. “But I think she might have a crush on me, trying to get my attention. A few days ago, at home, she supported me in breaking off the engagement, drawing fire away from me.”

“Huh?” Her friend stopped and looked at Jiang Ciqiu. “Damn… then what about her girlfriend?”

“Her girlfriend looks a lot like me,” Jiang Ciqiu said, looking at her friend’s shocked expression and lowering her voice. “Keep it a secret, don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” her friend immediately nodded. “I didn’t tell anyone about Jiang Zhiyan’s parkour either.”

“Mm,” Jiang Ciqiu nodded.

Making up stories was so much fun.

“Suddenly I think, she might actually have a crush on you,” her friend said, touching her chin. “She gets angry when you don’t spend time with her, she gets angry when you’re cold to her, you have a fiancé, so she goes and seduces him, then encourages you two to break off the engagement!”

“Your sister, really, I wouldn’t have guessed.” She sighed. “So what about you? What do you think?”

Jiang Ciqiu: …

Jiang Ciqiu wanted to say something, but ultimately decided against it.

The previous Jiang Zhiyan definitely only had malicious intent towards her. The current Jiang Zhiyan… this person said that she and Xie Liaoyi were the same person, but she always felt like Jiang Zhiyan treated them differently, after all, she had never kissed her.

“Mm, I definitely don’t have any expectations,” Jiang Ciqiu muttered.

“What did you say?” her friend asked.

“Nothing,” Jiang Ciqiu shook her head. “I didn’t say anything, and I’m not thinking anything.”

“You remind me of an idiom.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked over.

“Trying to hide something only makes it more obvious.”

“You’re overthinking it.” Jiang Ciqiu put her hands in her pockets and walked forward quickly. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Jiang Ciqiu! Watch where you’re going!”

Jiang Ciqiu looked back, then twisted her ankle and fell.

Several people stopped in front of her. Jiang Ciqiu looked up and saw an elderly man, over fifty, looking at her with shock.

Jiang Ciqiu suddenly realized that this was probably what Jiang Zhiyan meant by “they’ll come find you.”

But…

Why in this situation?

What followed were the most dramatic few hours of Jiang Ciqiu’s life.

The man helped her up, then burst into tears, saying she looked a lot like his deceased wife, spent half an hour reminiscing about his deceased wife on the spot, and then insisted on taking her for a paternity test.

Jiang Ciqiu very opportunely mentioned that she had an older sister who looked exactly like her, and so Xie Liaoyi, who was resting at home, was also brought along.

In the car, the man started reminiscing about his deceased wife again, and Xie Liaoyi very opportunely talked about her childhood as an orphan, shedding tears of sadness.

Jiang Ciqiu: So Old Xie was just as good at acting as Old Jiang.

The entire car was filled with an extremely sad atmosphere, even the driver was wiping away tears.

Jiang Ciqiu had been worried that the man would ask about their ages, but fortunately, he didn’t ask anything. She was really curious about how this bug would be fixed, even if he didn’t ask, the bug still existed.

After arriving at the paternity testing center, Xie Liaoyi called Jiang Zhiyan. The man didn’t show any surprise upon hearing that Xie Liaoyi had a girlfriend, he was the calmest person so far upon learning about their relationship.

After the test, the two were sent home. Jiang Zhiyan was waiting for them at the entrance of the complex.

“I thought he would take you away,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at the car behind them. She could feel someone watching them from inside.

“I said I had school tomorrow,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“I said I had work tomorrow, mm, and I have to accompany my girlfriend, she’s young, she might cry if I don’t go back.” Xie Liaoyi held Jiang Zhiyan’s hand.

Jiang Zhiyan kissed Xie Liaoyi’s cheek. Jiang Ciqiu subconsciously wanted to touch her own cheek, but stopped herself.

“I wonder what the results will be,” Jiang Ciqiu said, pretending to be nonchalant.

“There won’t be any problems… The Jiang family has already received news that you were taken by the Rong family, they called me several times, but I didn’t answer,” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu.

Jiang Ciqiu, looking at their intertwined hands, walked to the other side of Jiang Zhiyan and calmly held her hand: “This looks more harmonious.”

“Tsk.” Jiang Zhiyan looked up at the sky. “So what is the Jiang family going to say?”

“Let my biological father handle it, I’ve already told him what happened recently,” Jiang Ciqiu said, then sighed. “But unfortunately, my acting skills aren’t as good as yours, but he just found his daughter, he seemed very excited and didn’t really pay attention to my acting.”

“It’s okay, you’ll improve.”

“I was being sarcastic,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“I could tell, but you’re still young, so we’re more tolerant.” Xie Liaoyi leaned over and looked at her.

Jiang Ciqiu gritted her teeth: “Truly a match made in heaven.”

“Are you praising yourself or insulting yourself?” Jiang Zhiyan asked curiously.

“It depends on how you interpret it,” Jiang Ciqiu snorted softly.

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi couldn’t help but laugh.

“You two should go to bed early tonight,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“Why? We’re not disturbing you even if we’re in the room,” Jiang Zhiyan looked over.

Jiang Ciqiu tried to make her expression look normal: “Because there might be a lot of things to do tomorrow, get more sleep to conserve energy.”

“Really? I’m full of energy even if I don’t sleep all night,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Xie Liaoyi pinched Jiang Zhiyan’s arm: “But I’m not, we’re sleeping properly tonight.”

“Ganging up on me…” Jiang Zhiyan muttered.

“Who can bully you?” Jiang Ciqiu said, exasperated.

Chapter 69: Come and Snatch the Bride (12)

Early Friday morning, Jiang Zhiyan ran into Jiang Ciqiu in the dining room. The latter was in a strangely excited state, though what exactly she was excited about was unknown. However, upon seeing Jiang Zhiyan, she tried to appear calm.

The two sat facing each other, exchanged glances, and didn’t interact further.

“Suddenly being so reserved, I’m not used to it,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“I’ve always been reserved.” Jiang Ciqiu paused. “It’s only online that I’m a little more unrestrained.”

Jiang Ciqiu gestured with her hand: “Only this much.”

“Did you suddenly feel embarrassed after sleeping?” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at her.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

“You don’t have to be so blunt.” Jiang Ciqiu covered her mouth and coughed softly. “I’m finished eating, going to school, take your time.”

Jiang Zhiyan watched Jiang Ciqiu’s retreating figure and smiled.

[Jiang Zhiyan: If I could, I’d really like to see what you were like as a child.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Nothing much to see, boring and uninteresting.]

Jiang Zhiyan wiped her mouth and left with her bag.

Because she had said she was going home in advance, Jiang’s mother drove directly to the school gate after work.

Jiang Zhiyan came out earlier than Jiang Ciqiu, but she didn’t get in the car. She waited near the gate, and only went over after Jiang Ciqiu arrived.

“Why didn’t you get in the car? It’s so hot outside.” Jiang Ciqiu was startled by Jiang Zhiyan, who suddenly appeared beside her. “Are you scared?”

“What does this have to do with being scared? I’m just too lazy to deal with them.” Jiang Zhiyan put her phone in her pocket. “Let’s go.”

The topic of conversation that night was breaking off the engagement, so Jiang’s mother wasn’t in the best mood. However, she was emotionally stable and didn’t say anything in the car, only asking what the two of them wanted to eat for dinner.

“I’m fine with anything, I’ll have whatever sister wants,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at Jiang Ciqiu.

“I’m fine with anything too, I’ll eat whatever is made at home, I’m not picky,” Jiang Ciqiu immediately added.

“It seems like there might be more than one unpleasant piece of news tonight?” Jiang’s mother asked. Having lived for so many years and worked in the upper management of a company for so long, she still had some perceptiveness.

“If you’re not old-fashioned, it’s actually pleasant good news,” Jiang Zhiyan said, leaning forward. Jiang Ciqiu looked at her expressionlessly.

Jiang’s mother chuckled: “So if I’m unhappy, I’m old-fashioned?”

“Yes,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

Jiang’s mother looked in the rearview mirror: “It’s rare to see you like this.”

“You have to have the right attitude when discussing serious matters,” Jiang Zhiyan continued.

Jiang’s mother, who still saw Jiang Zhiyan as a child, couldn’t help but laugh hearing this.

The Jiang family had prepared a table full of dishes again. Based on the principle that they might not be able to eat if they were discussing serious matters, they didn’t talk about those two things during dinner, only after they finished eating and sat down in the living room.

“Why do you want to break off the engagement?” Jiang’s father asked directly.

“Because he’s a scumbag, I already told him, I only see him as an older brother, but he keeps pestering me. I also told him it’s not good for sister, but he still pesters me, he doesn’t believe that I really don’t like him, I have proof.” Jiang Zhiyan took out her laptop and projected the evidence she had prepared.

“Does he usually talk to you like that, so disgusting?” Jiang Ciqiu’s jaw dropped in shock.

“I’ve always treated him as an older brother, who knew he had impure thoughts.”

Jiang’s parents also looked at the projection in shock, clearly not expecting Jiang Zhiyan to be so well-prepared.

“I was too naive… I’ve always wanted an older brother.” Jiang Zhiyan bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. “But I don’t think someone like him is suitable to marry sister.”

The marriage between the Jiang and Liang families was a significant matter. Before coming, Jiang’s father and mother had made two decisions. The first was to persuade Jiang Ciqiu. They were very aware of the ambiguous relationship between Jiang Zhiyan and Liang Yan, but the two hadn’t crossed the line. A business marriage didn’t require much affection. The second was to discuss with the Liang family the possibility of transferring the engagement to Jiang Zhiyan.

They preferred the first option, because the Jiang family business would ultimately be inherited by Jiang Ciqiu. If Jiang Zhiyan and Liang Yan were together, it might threaten Jiang Ciqiu’s position. They doted on Jiang Zhiyan, but in matters like this, they were very clear about the distinction between family and outsiders. However, now, with Jiang Zhiyan’s series of moves, they were suddenly at a loss for words.

“A business marriage doesn’t actually require affection,” Jiang’s father said. “You’re not young anymore, you should be more sensible.”

“But Liang Yan disgusts me.” Jiang Ciqiu frowned. “You want me to marry him? If it’s just for show, I don’t mind, but you’ll definitely force me to have children. I hate him, he disgusts me, what’s the difference between that and being raped?”

“Jiang Ciqiu!” Jiang’s father interrupted her angrily. “Feelings can be cultivated over time.”

“I see him as a beautifully packaged pile of shit right now, how can I cultivate feelings with shit? If he can act like this while we’re engaged, and after Jiang Zhiyan clearly rejected him, then he can do even more outrageous things after we get married.” Jiang Ciqiu frowned at the two of them. “You believe an outsider whose character is clearly questionable, but you don’t believe I can manage the company on my own?”

“We didn’t mean that,” Jiang’s mother said somewhat helplessly.

“Everything we do is for you,” Jiang’s father said sternly. “Watch your tone when speaking to your parents! Have we ever mistreated you in all these years?”

“Then I don’t need it.” Jiang Ciqiu looked away. “I’ve made myself very clear, everything you’re doing now makes me feel like… you only see me as a bargaining chip, you don’t care about what I think at all.”

“Actually, does it even matter if the engagement is broken off? Won’t it be automatically void once she’s taken back by the richest man?” The System asked.

“Yes, but isn’t she too attached to this world?” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“You’re so cruel.”

“If you don’t resolve this, I’ll go to Liang Yan myself,” Jiang Ciqiu said. “It might get even uglier then.”

“Can’t you think about anything other than yourself when you do things?” Jiang’s father was extremely agitated.

“Then can you ask for my opinion before you do things? My marriage, my future, I can’t even decide these things myself?” Jiang Ciqiu’s emotions also flared up.

Jiang Zhiyan pulled Jiang Ciqiu, who was about to stand up, back down: “If the engagement isn’t broken off now, it will be even more difficult to divorce after we get married.”

“Zhiyan, don’t join in on your sister’s nonsense,” Jiang’s father said.

“I was the one who brought this up.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at him, his expression turning even uglier. “Also, I’m in a relationship, with a girl.”

Jiang’s father clutched his chest, gasping for air. Jiang’s mother looked at Jiang Zhiyan in disbelief.

Jiang Ciqiu also looked at her with some exasperation: “You really know how to pick your moments.” However, she knew that Jiang Zhiyan was just trying to divert the anger directed at her.

“What did you say?” Jiang’s father asked.

“I said, I have a girlfriend.” Jiang Zhiyan spread her hands. “So I’m really not interested in Liang Yan, I just simply want more family.”

“Do you know how many people will gossip about this?” Jiang’s mother tried to calm herself down.

“Why should I care about their gossip? We’re not breaking up, so don’t bother trying to persuade me.” Jiang Zhiyan’s tone was calm, just a simple notification.

“Did you two plan to anger us to death today?” Jiang’s father slammed the table.

“I burned incense, my parents didn’t appear in my dreams to scold me, so they approve,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “So, everyone just needs to give us their blessing.”

“Are you saying we can’t control you anymore?” Jiang’s father retorted.

“If that’s how you interpret it, there’s nothing I can do.” Jiang Zhiyan said apologetically. “I think I have the right to decide who I spend the rest of my life with.”

“You two really are… your wings have hardened.” Jiang’s father clenched his fists. “I hope you understand, everything you have now, we gave it to you!”

Half an hour later, Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu were sitting on the sofa in Xie Liaoyi’s apartment.

“So you were kicked out?” Xie Liaoyi asked, arms crossed, looking at Jiang Zhiyan. “You said you’d take care of me.”

“It’s fine, let Jiang Ciqiu take care of us,” Jiang Zhiyan patted Xie Liaoyi’s arm.

Jiang Ciqiu: ?

“Are you kidding me?” Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened. “I’m just an ordinary university student in her early twenties.”

“Actually, you’re not the Jiang family’s biological daughter, you’re the daughter of the richest man,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu: ???

Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened, looking at Jiang Zhiyan in disbelief: “Then it seems like it doesn’t matter if I break off the engagement? The engagement is with the Jiang family, and I’m not part of the Jiang family.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi, who shrugged.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand, looking at the two blankly.

“Aren’t you sad?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at her. “About leaving the family you’ve lived with for so long?”

“I have to leave this world eventually.” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t directly answer the question. “And… this family is very different from what I imagined.”

“This family was never a safe haven for you, your good days will start after you’re retrieved,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “If there are any problems now, it’s just damage control… although they haven’t done anything yet, it would feel bad to completely break ties with them.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan: “How do you know everything? Are you still hiding something?”

“Didn’t I tell you? This is a novel, and you’re the protagonist.”

Jiang Ciqiu froze for a moment, then a look of realization dawned on her face: “No wonder.”

Jiang Zhiyan didn’t quite understand.

“What?”

“No wonder I often feel like I’m too perfect to be an ordinary person,” Jiang Ciqiu exclaimed.

Jiang Zhiyan hesitated, then nodded in agreement: “Mm, yes, you’re the protagonist wherever you go.”

“I suddenly realized something.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi, who was about to speak, and stopped her just in time.

This person definitely wasn’t about to say anything nice. When these two talked to each other, they were antagonistic, but when they joined forces to find fault with her, they were like a single person.

“You two look exactly alike now, why not take a paternity test together?” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“As long as they don’t compare your DNA, it’ll be fine, but even if they do, I can tamper with the results,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Then how do we explain it? They only lost one child, and we’re so many years apart in age…” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t understand.

“No need to explain, if the results show you’re their child, they’ll take you back, after all, they’re not short of money,” Jiang Zhiyan said, sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Jiang Ciqiu was stunned for two seconds, then nodded: “Then what? How do we contact them? It would be difficult to meet them directly, even though I have connections.”

“Just wait, you’re the female lead, they’ll come find you,” Jiang Zhiyan yawned. “It should be soon, just live your life normally, and don’t act suspiciously when you’re out and about.”

“How could I possibly act suspiciously! Where are we sleeping tonight?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, looking at Jiang Zhiyan, then at Xie Liaoyi.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa, you two can take the bed,” Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her eyes.

Neither of them objected.

“Your apartment is really too small,” Jiang Ciqiu sighed.

“It’s a studio apartment,” Xie Liaoyi reminded her. “The rent for this place isn’t cheap.”

Jiang Ciqiu stood up: “I hope we won’t be scared by each other when we wake up tomorrow morning.”

“I won’t do anything like that, but I can’t say the same for you.” Xie Liaoyi ruffled Jiang Zhiyan’s hair. “I’ll go find you a blanket.”

“Mm,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded. “I also need a pillow.”

“Okay.” Xie Liaoyi lowered her head and kissed her forehead.

Jiang Ciqiu put her hands on her hips: “I think I’ll go to a hotel.”

“Do you have any secret savings?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Don’t you?” Jiang Ciqiu retorted.

“I do,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“Then why are you two staying at my place?” Xie Liaoyi asked, frowning.

“I’m your girlfriend,” Jiang Zhiyan said loudly. “Isn’t it normal to sleep at my girlfriend’s place! My heart has been deeply wounded today!”

“I’m you, and it’s perfectly normal for you to take in your younger, homeless self,” Jiang Ciqiu nodded.

“Younger self.” Xie Liaoyi twitched the corner of her mouth. “Go to sleep, you childish people.”

“Speaking of which, who’s older, us or Jiang Zhiyan?” Jiang Ciqiu followed behind Xie Liaoyi.

“She’s older than us,” Xie Liaoyi said.

Jiang Ciqiu looked back at Jiang Zhiyan: “But she looks like a childish crybaby, I thought she was at least half your age.”

Jiang Zhiyan was already lying on the sofa, too lazy to pay attention to her.

“But she’s a good actress,” Jiang Ciqiu continued. She had been stunned when Jiang Zhiyan shed tears in the living room earlier.

“Does she really look like that? And do we really look like this?”

“We’re similar, but her real appearance is a bit more aggressive,” Xie Liaoyi said. “She toned it down a bit this time because of her persona.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked back at Jiang Zhiyan, thinking for a few seconds: “I really want to see it.”

Jiang Zhiyan heard the door close, the two of them hadn’t stopped muttering, she stared at the ceiling and yawned.

“Do you want to hear what they’re saying about you?” The System asked.

“No, it must be about how much they like me.” Jiang Zhiyan closed her eyes peacefully.

“Confidence is indeed a good thing.”

Jiang Zhiyan smiled: “Don’t talk to me, I’m going to sleep, you’ve been playing this trick for so long, aren’t you tired of it?”

“It’s free this time.”

“I don’t want it even if it’s free, I wouldn’t do something as boring as eavesdropping.”

“You’ve done much more boring things than this,” the System commented.

…

Xie Liaoyi always thought she wasn’t very talkative, but she felt like she might have misjudged herself. Jiang Ciqiu was really talkative.

“What are you thinking about?” Jiang Ciqiu, noticing Xie Liaoyi hadn’t spoken for a long time, couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m wondering, was I this talkative before?” Xie Liaoyi closed her eyes.

“Just say I’m annoying, you don’t have to be so subtle, go to sleep!” Jiang Ciqiu pulled the blanket. “It’s Saturday tomorrow, do you have work?”

“No, and you’re pulling my blanket, I gave you one, share it.” Xie Liaoyi tugged her blanket back forcefully.

“I’m so sorry, Old Xie,” Jiang Ciqiu said in a syrupy voice. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You’re welcome, Young Xie.”

“Heh.”

…

The three people in the studio apartment quickly fell asleep, but the two people in the Jiang family were still in the living room, hadn’t left yet.

“The older they get, the less obedient they become,” Jiang’s father sighed. “The path is already paved, why don’t they want to walk on it?”

“Zhiyan has also changed a lot, I don’t know who influenced whom,” Jiang’s mother took a sip of water, her expression melancholic. “How are we going to explain this to the Liang family?”

“We won’t tell them for now, the collaboration is at a crucial stage.” Jiang’s father sneered. “Flowers raised in a greenhouse don’t know how harsh the outside world is, stop giving them money, and don’t let them live in that apartment anymore. I want to see how stubborn they can be, we’ve been too good to them.”

“Did you find out anything about Zhiyan’s girlfriend?” Jiang’s father asked. “Who is she?”

“It should be that female doctor she met online,” Jiang’s mother looked down at her phone. “I had someone investigate, her name is Xie Liaoyi…”

“A lowly doctor?” Jiang’s father said with some disdain.

“I asked around, she’s a doctor they’re focusing on training, I didn’t really understand the information they sent, but she can already perform many high-difficulty surgeries.” Jiang’s mother rubbed her temples. “The hospital values her very much, it’s not easy to deal with her, and they’re not willing to help us do anything.”

“Forget it, don’t cause trouble for her, she’s not our enemy,” Jiang’s mother said. “This is enough.”

“We absolutely cannot compromise this time, don’t be soft-hearted. If there’s a first time, there will be a second, and their demands will only get higher. Just listen to what they said today!”

Jiang’s mother held her cup and looked away: “If they really don’t want to, don’t force them.”

“You’re always so soft-hearted!”

…

Jiang Zhiyan was woken up by Jiang Ciqiu’s scream, which pierced through the door and directly into her brain.

Her body moved faster than her mind. By the time she started thinking, she had already pushed open the door: “What happened?”

“It’s nothing, I scared her,” Xie Liaoyi said, also seeming to have a headache. “My ears hurt.”

“I just woke up, I haven’t fully come to my senses yet.” Jiang Ciqiu was a little embarrassed and hid her face under the blanket.

Jiang Zhiyan, seeing Jiang Ciqiu’s actions, twitched the corner of her mouth: “That habit of hiding under the blanket when something happens, you’ve really kept it for a long time.”

Jiang Ciqiu suddenly didn’t know whether to stay under the blanket or come out. She felt someone put another blanket on her, and after a while, another one, a total of three blankets.

“Are you two childish or what?” Jiang Ciqiu emerged, looking at the blankets on her.

“Maintaining a childlike heart is the secret to staying young.” Jiang Zhiyan snapped her fingers. “I’m going to wash up, you two tidy up.”

For the next few days, Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu stayed at Xie Liaoyi’s place. The three of them took turns sleeping on the sofa. Later, after Jiang Ciqiu saw Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi huddled together sleeping on the sofa, she decided to permanently take the sofa.

“It’s better than opening the door and seeing you two squeezed together.” Jiang Ciqiu pointed at the two. “Be more mindful.”

Later, she discovered that it wasn’t good to let Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi sleep in the room either.

Jiang Ciqiu felt the empathy growing stronger. She usually didn’t feel much, but at times like this, the feeling was very clear. She could even feel the temperature of Jiang Zhiyan’s fingers and the path they traced.

She really didn’t understand, why did Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi have so much energy? Weren’t they tired? And there were so many things they could do, why did they have to do that, and so frequently?

Jiang Ciqiu curled up under the blanket, biting her lip, and finally couldn’t help but walk to the door and knock.

“What is it?”

It was Jiang Zhiyan who spoke, her voice seemingly laced with amusement. Xie Liaoyi didn’t make a sound, and she didn’t know what state she was in, but it probably wasn’t much better than her own.

Thinking about what Jiang Zhiyan was doing just now, Jiang Ciqiu cursed her as a pervert in her mind, what was going on in this person’s head all day?

“Keep it down! I’m trying to sleep!” Jiang Ciqiu tried to make her voice sound normal.

“But we’re… not making any noise,” Jiang Zhiyan sounded confused.

“Then keep your movements down.” Jiang Ciqiu went back to the sofa and lay down. After three seconds, she closed her eyes in despair, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, took a deep breath, and gritted her teeth.

Jiang Zhiyan, holding Xie Liaoyi, suddenly stopped moving.

Xie Liaoyi opened her eyes blearily, her voice a little hoarse: “What’s wrong?”

“It seems like Jiang Ciqiu has a strong desire to separate.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at the background data, the System was muted, so she had to check some things herself.

“Huh?” Xie Liaoyi’s mind cleared up a bit, but it was still difficult for her to think straight. “Why?”

“She just came over and told us to keep it down,” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi.

Xie Liaoyi’s eyes widened slightly: “It can’t be…”

“Maybe.”

Xie Liaoyi buried her face in Jiang Zhiyan’s arms: “So she knew what we were doing all along?”

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.

Chapter 67: Come and Snatch the Bride (10)

“I have work tomorrow,” Xie Liaoyi pinched Jiang Zhiyan’s fingers.

“What does compensation have to do with your work?” Jiang Zhiyan covered Xie Liaoyi’s hand again, holding her fingers. “What are you thinking about all day?”

“Overindulgence is harmful to your health, good sister,” Jiang Zhiyan touched her earlobe.

“I suggest you look in the mirror first.”

Jiang Zhiyan took out her phone, opened the front camera, and took a picture: “Perfect, guaranteed to please Xie Liaoyi.”

Xie Liaoyi pinched Jiang Zhiyan’s cheek: “I wonder how thick your skin actually is.”

“What, you don’t like it?” Jiang Zhiyan retorted. “This is called self-awareness.”

“You’re really redefining the meaning of ‘self-awareness’.”

“Just say whether it is or not.”

“It is.” Xie Liaoyi felt like she was being led astray by Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan, satisfied, linked arms with her, and they went to a nearby night market. Many vendors were just setting up their stalls at this time.

Although it was already night, the summer heat hadn’t dissipated, and it was still quite warm.

Xie Liaoyi was a regular customer here; she knew which stalls had good food and which were clean.

“Don’t eat at those stalls, I got diarrhea after eating there. These are okay, and the food is good,” Xie Liaoyi said.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi: “I thought you used some professional method to judge.”

“Experience is the best teacher.”

They bought a smoothie, a bowl of meat soup, and finally some skewers. They found a clean spot, carefully wiped the table and chairs, and sat down.

“Eating both hot and cold food…” Jiang Zhiyan opened her chopsticks. “It’s good that I don’t have classes tomorrow.”

“I’ll just have the smoothie,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“It’s fine to eat it, if you get a stomachache, just buy a skill card.”

“Too extravagant,” Xie Liaoyi shook her head, paused, and looked at Jiang Zhiyan. “Did you spend all my points?”

“No, there’s still quite a bit left…” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head and took a sip of the smoothie.

“Spend it if you want, I didn’t expect you to save any for me.” Xie Liaoyi rubbed her temples.

Jiang Zhiyan: ?

“You make me sound unreliable,” Jiang Zhiyan said, dissatisfied.

“You are indeed unreliable when it comes to completing missions.” Xie Liaoyi paused. “A master of slacking off.”

The System strongly agreed: “As expected of Xie Liaoyi, seeing through your true nature at a glance.”

“Can you even earn one hundred points by the end of this world?” Xie Liaoyi asked curiously.

Jiang Zhiyan thought for a few seconds, looked up at the sky, and figured probably not.

Xie Liaoyi took a sip of her smoothie.

“I don’t know, to save time, I never even look at the settlement,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Because there’s not much to settle anyway,” the System said sarcastically.

Xie Liaoyi chuckled and handed Jiang Zhiyan a tissue: “I’m really troubling you.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked down at Xie Liaoyi: “I wonder when we’ll truly be reunited.”

Xie Liaoyi raised her hand, wanting to ruffle Jiang Zhiyan’s hair, but realizing her hand was a bit dirty, she put it down again: “I don’t know what my situation was back then, thank you for your hard work.”

Xie Liaoyi kissed the corner of Jiang Zhiyan’s eye: “I’m sorry, but you know, I only like you.”

Jiang Zhiyan nuzzled Xie Liaoyi’s neck.

The two didn’t stay out for long. Xie Liaoyi took Jiang Zhiyan home again.

“Get some rest,” Xie Liaoyi touched Jiang Zhiyan’s forehead.

“Mm.”

“Sigh, if only you didn’t have to work,” Jiang Zhiyan muttered.

“Even if I didn’t work, you still have school, we still couldn’t be together every day. What, are you planning to drop out?” Xie Liaoyi pushed Jiang Zhiyan into the complex. “Go back now, bye.”

“Mm.”

“Let’s play games together tomorrow night.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan waved at Xie Liaoyi. She wanted to watch Xie Liaoyi leave, but Xie Liaoyi insisted on watching her go first. They lingered at the entrance of the complex for more than ten minutes before finally going home.

The security guard was used to such scenes; some couples even kissed passionately for ten minutes before parting ways. Lingering a bit was perfectly normal, young couples were always lovey-dovey like that.

Jiang Zhiyan went home. The lights were still on, clearly Jiang Ciqiu hadn’t slept yet.

Jiang Ciqiu sat cross-legged on the sofa. While Jiang Zhiyan was out, she had felt strange sensations on her lips, cheeks, and the corners of her eyes again. Thinking about her resemblance to Xie Liaoyi, she had a terrifying guess.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Nothing.” Jiang Ciqiu wanted to say something, but how could she bring herself to say such a thing?

If her guess was correct… Jiang Ciqiu felt like she was going crazy, after all…

“Are you waiting for me to go to bed?” Jiang Zhiyan asked curiously. “Then wait a bit longer, I’m going to take a shower.”

Jiang Ciqiu watched Jiang Zhiyan’s retreating figure and took a deep breath. She went back to her room, lay down, leaving the right side of the bed empty for Jiang Zhiyan, and closed her eyes.

Jiang Zhiyan came over with her blanket and lay down beside her, her breathing quickly becoming even.

Jiang Ciqiu breathed a sigh of relief and carefully turned over, looking at Jiang Zhiyan. This person still looked annoying even when she was asleep.

She had said she was afraid of having nightmares, but she ended up falling asleep faster than her.

Jiang Ciqiu felt a little annoyed. She pulled the blanket and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, but her mind became even more alert, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

She wanted to sit up, and an arm reached over, patting her shoulder. Jiang Ciqiu froze, not daring to move.

“I’m here, don’t be afraid, go to sleep.”

Jiang Ciqiu: ?

Jiang Ciqiu turned her head to look at Jiang Zhiyan. What was this person talking about?

Jiang Zhiyan gently patted her. Jiang Ciqiu was very unaccustomed to this way of being coaxed to sleep, and wanted to push her arm away, but somehow she fell asleep.

When she woke up the next morning, Jiang Ciqiu still felt a bit incredulous, she had actually fallen asleep being coaxed in such a simple way.

Jiang Zhiyan was already gone. She looked at the time, froze for three seconds, her eyes widening, and sat up abruptly, throwing off the covers.

“Ahhhhhhhhh! I’m late! Jiang Zhiyan, why didn’t you wake me up?!”

Jiang Zhiyan, eating breakfast in the dining room, watched Jiang Ciqiu rush out.

“I called you, you said you weren’t going to school.” Jiang Zhiyan played the video she had recorded.

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t watch it, grabbed a steamed bun from the table, and rushed out.

“Be careful on the road,” Jiang Zhiyan said slowly.

Jiang Ciqiu slammed the door shut.

What happened to Jiang Zhiyan yesterday had already spread throughout their circle. Many people sent messages to “express their concern,” or rather, to gossip. She ignored them all, she couldn’t be bothered. In this world, besides Xie Liaoyi and Xie Liaoyi, she didn’t care about anyone else.

The incident at the Third City Hospital even made the news. Because the Su family was watching, uncensored photos of her hadn’t been circulated online, but it didn’t stop the GIF of her kicking the man from spreading. And someone had even edited together the clip of her kicking the man and her subsequent feigned fear, making it look particularly strange.

“Host, congratulations, you’re now more popular than the female lead,” the System said smugly.

“Heh.” Jiang Zhiyan gave a dry laugh. “When will Jiang Ciqiu be taken back to the Rong family?”

“I don’t know, it depends on fate. You’re doing missions, so it’s hard to predict now, the plot is all messed up. If the female lead can be successfully retrieved, you might get one hundred points. If not… mm, that’s a major plot point.”

“Having Jiang Ciqiu break off her engagement with Liang Yan is also a major plot point.” Jiang Zhiyan touched her chin. “I think I need to give it a little push.”

[Jiang Zhiyan: Sister, when are you breaking off your engagement with Liang Yan?]

[Jiang Ciqiu: ?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I thought I had already proven how scummy he is, but you’re still reluctant to break off the engagement, sister, wake up.]

[Jiang Ciqiu: I’m not reluctant, don’t insult me :)]

Jiang Ciqiu almost forgot about this. She hadn’t been in contact with Liang Yan, and after he stopped contacting Jiang Zhiyan, she hadn’t even seen him. With so many things happening recently, she had completely forgotten about Liang Yan.

[Jiang Ciqiu: I’ll tell them this Friday when we go back, you should come back too, you and your good sister don’t have any plans, right?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: We haven’t made any plans yet, but for such an important matter concerning sister, I definitely need to go back with you.]

[Jiang Ciqiu: That’s for the best, I’ll tell Mom and Dad now.]

Jiang Ciqiu sent a message in their four-person group chat. Jiang Zhiyan realized she was quite decisive when she wanted to be.

[Jiang Ciqiu: I want to break off my engagement with Liang Yan.]

[Jiang’s Mother: Let’s talk about it on Friday when we get back.]

[Jiang Ciqiu: Okay.]

“They’re so calm?” The System was a little surprised. “Do they still not know you’re not interested in Liang Yan either? They won’t think Jiang Ciqiu is breaking off the engagement because of you, right?”

“Probably.” Jiang Zhiyan leaned back on the sofa comfortably. “If I said I liked girls, and then they found out my girlfriend looked exactly like Jiang Ciqiu, wouldn’t they be scared to death?”

“I checked, Su family’s parents pay attention to health preservation, they’re healthy and have no underlying conditions, the probability of them being scared to death is low,” the System said seriously.

“That’s good.” Jiang Zhiyan lay down comfortably on the sofa. “Not that I particularly care.”

Their attitudes couldn’t determine her choices.

Jiang Zhiyan didn’t go find Xie Liaoyi at noon. She picked her up from work in the afternoon, and they had dinner together. Afterward, Jiang Zhiyan took Xie Liaoyi home, then quickly went back to her own place to log into the game.

“Don’t you find it troublesome?” The System, watching Jiang Zhiyan’s series of actions, asked.

“What’s troublesome about being in love?” Jiang Zhiyan put on her VR headset, nodding vigorously in agreement.

The System silently recorded; it was rare to see Jiang Zhiyan acting so foolishly.

As soon as she logged in, Jiang Zhiyan threw herself into Xie Liaoyi’s arms.

“I missed you.”

“Me too.”

The two leaned against each other, cuddling and kissing.

People nearby watched them in shock, unable to react for a long time.

“There’s someone over there who’s been watching us for a while,” Xie Liaoyi gestured towards the person not far away. She had initially thought it was just a passerby, but that person had been staring at them for a long time.

Although after spending time with Jiang Zhiyan, Xie Liaoyi’s skin had become thicker, being stared at still made her feel embarrassed.

Jiang Zhiyan looked back.

“Well, isn’t this a coincidence?” Jiang Zhiyan said. “That’s the male lead… the person this character was desperately trying to protect, Jiang Ciqiu’s fiancé, although he might not be for much longer.”

Xie Liaoyi understood the general idea; this relationship was quite messy.

“You… what are you doing?” Liang Yan had indeed just happened to pass by and glanced over, the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed. He clearly hadn’t processed the situation yet, his voice trembling slightly.

“On a date.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at him, smiled, and introduced Xie Liaoyi openly and generously. “This is my girlfriend, we’ve already met in real life, Brother Liang Yan, you’ll give us your blessing, right?”

Liang Yan’s expression twisted for a moment. Just now, he thought there was something wrong with his eyes, now he thought there was something wrong with his ears.

He said he treated Jiang Zhiyan like a younger sister, but he hadn’t really meant it. He never expected Jiang Zhiyan to actually treat him like an older brother. He thought he was good at judging people, but he had misjudged Jiang Zhiyan.

“Do Uncle and Auntie know?” Liang Yan clenched his fists. He was angry, but he didn’t know who to direct his anger at.

“My biological parents know, I burned incense and told them on the first day,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Liang Yan: …

“My current parents… haven’t told them yet, but we’re planning to tell them soon.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Liang Yan with a serious expression. “Brother Liang Yan, why does your face look so pale?”

“It’s nothing, I’m probably just low on stamina, you two enjoy your date, I’ll be going.”

“You haven’t given us your blessing yet,” Jiang Zhiyan shouted at his retreating figure.

Liang Yan ignored her and ran away quickly, probably to find a place to calm down.

“Weak mental fortitude.” Jiang Zhiyan shook her head. “Let’s go, do the quest.”

“Has that Old Six been bothering you recently? I haven’t seen him for a long time,” Xie Liaoyi said, watching Jiang Zhiyan summon her sword and sitting on it.

“No, let me check.” Jiang Zhiyan searched for news about Old Six. “Hm? I can’t find him, it seems like he deleted his account.”

“Deleted his account?” Xie Liaoyi was a little surprised. “He’s willing to give up? He’s also a beta tester, he’s been playing for so long, he must have spent quite a bit of money.”

“I don’t know.” Jiang Zhiyan paused, then realized something. “System?”

“That’s right, it’s me! Host, you only just realized?!” The System immediately jumped out.

“I reached Spirit Severing! I killed him every time he logged in, every single time, and then he stopped logging in. While he wasn’t online, I deleted his account.” The System snorted proudly, clearly having been holding this in for a while. “Host, how about it, did I do a good job? He’s been contacting the game company recently, but they have a recording of him agreeing to delete his account, so they think he’s just making trouble, hahaha, as if, I always make sure everything is foolproof.”

“But did you forget, he and Jiang Ciqiu still have conflict plotlines?” Jiang Zhiyan reminded it.

System: …

“Sorry, but it’s already done, so let’s leave it at that, Host. I did it all so you two could have a peaceful date, so I can’t take all the blame for this.” The System immediately said.

Jiang Zhiyan twitched the corner of her mouth: “You’ve certainly made rapid progress.”

The System had indeed been led astray by her, a normal system wouldn’t do such a thing, nor would it say “let’s leave it at that.”

“It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, Host! No need to thank me excessively, just gift me those outfits, I like these two.” The System said happily, looking completely corrupted by the game.

What quests? The game was too fun, it had completely forgotten about them. As long as the world didn’t collapse, everything else was fine.

“I know, wait until I’m done with my date.” Jiang Zhiyan muted the System, looked at Xie Liaoyi, wanted to say something, but realizing they were in the game, didn’t say anything. “It’s good that he deleted his account, we don’t have to worry about him bothering us anymore.”

She held Xie Liaoyi’s hand, interlaced their fingers, swung their hands, and kissed her cheek.

Although absurd, the System had done a good thing, otherwise, with Old Six’s personality, he would probably still be harassing her.

The third quest was to retrieve a treasure chest key, mainly involving fighting monsters, which wasn’t a problem for the two of them. Jiang Zhiyan was quite capable when she wasn’t putting on a show.

The fourth quest was to climb the newly built anniversary memorial tower. Jiang Zhiyan initially thought it would be a monster-fighting, stage-clearing type of quest, but unexpectedly, it was literally “climbing.” After reaching the top of the tower, they had to strike a specific pose, and they couldn’t fly.

“Who came up with this quest?” Jiang Zhiyan didn’t understand, looking up at the players on top of the tower, striking poses like a one-legged rooster and a roc spreading its wings.

Many people were standing at the bottom of the tower, “greeting” the game designers. Jiang Zhiyan looked up and quickly understood why.

Climbing the tower wasn’t just climbing, obstacles would appear from time to time, ranging from attacks to physical barriers to answering questions. One wrong move and you would fall. The tower had nine floors, not particularly tall, but on average, each person had to climb it more than twenty times before succeeding.

“What’s the reward?” Jiang Zhiyan asked the onlookers.

“All sorts of things, pills, refining materials, etc., all pretty good, otherwise, who would bother with this stupid quest?” The other person grumbled. “It took me more than fifty tries to succeed.”

“Why are you still here if you’ve already completed it?”

“It’s fun, watching them climb is entertaining.” The other person laughed.

Jiang Zhiyan: …

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi each found an empty spot and started climbing. They didn’t have to worry about interfering with each other, which was a good thing, otherwise, Jiang Zhiyan suspected people would go and have a “chat” with the game designers in person.

The obstacles were very tricky. When Jiang Zhiyan reached the second floor, a sword suddenly thrust towards her chest. She dodged it by grabbing onto a wall decoration with her left hand, then stepped on the wall, using the momentum to leap upwards, and almost got hit on the head by a wooden log that suddenly popped out.

“Who designed this?!” Jiang Zhiyan gritted her teeth. She looked down to find Xie Liaoyi, who seemed to have only climbed a little bit, taking her time, not in a hurry at all, climbing a bit, then stopping, carefully studying each obstacle that appeared.

Jiang Zhiyan leaped upwards again, this time using the log for leverage, but the log disappeared as soon as she touched it. If she hadn’t been prepared, she would have fallen.

She looked down at Xie Liaoyi again, who had only climbed one floor. But when she reached the sixth floor, Xie Liaoyi was already on the fourth, clearly having figured out the pattern.

“You don’t have to wait for me,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“I still want to see if I can pull you up.”

“Probably not.” Xie Liaoyi gripped with her right hand and swung herself up.

“Then I’ll go up first,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Mm,” Xie Liaoyi nodded.

This tower was just annoying for Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi, not particularly difficult. They had cultivated in real life, and some worlds had even more disgusting things than this. They weren’t climbing towers, but cliffs, and the obstacles weren’t these, but monstrous beasts that attacked and venomous insects and snakes hidden in the rock face.

Standing at the top of the tower, Jiang Zhiyan looked at the pose the System showed her and felt disgusted, but seeing the five hundred intimacy points, she felt like she could endure it.

Thirty thousand intimacy points and they could get married. A wedding in the game was still a wedding, and she had already started designing the wedding scene.

Seeing the quest completed, Jiang Zhiyan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking down, she saw Xie Liaoyi smiling at her. Clearly, the other party had deliberately stopped to watch her performance, and probably even recorded it.

Jiang Zhiyan jumped down from the tower, summoned her sword, found a good angle, and took a picture of Xie Liaoyi spreading her wings.

After coming down, they looked at each other’s photos and burst out laughing.

“You look so silly in this picture,” Xie Liaoyi said, looking at Jiang Zhiyan’s photo, covering her mouth, looking up at the sky, tears almost falling.

“You chose a bad angle, look at the one I took of you, so cool.” Jiang Zhiyan shook Xie Liaoyi’s arm discontentedly.

“Then do it again, I’ll definitely find a good angle for you this time.”

“No,” Jiang Zhiyan refused. “Other poses are fine, but not this one.”

…

As soon as Jiang Ciqiu got home, she heard Jiang Zhiyan laughing in her room, clearly very happy. She stood there with her hands on her hips, looking at the message Liang Yan had just sent her. She was really curious about what Jiang Zhiyan was planning. Even Liang Yan knew now, it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew.

She herself was quite happy and not worried at all.

Jiang Ciqiu had no objections to Jiang Zhiyan liking girls. After all, she had recently discovered that her own sexual orientation wasn’t male either. The problem was that Jiang Zhiyan’s girlfriend looked exactly like her, how was she supposed to explain that? And those inexplicable sensations she had been feeling…

She felt like she needed to find a way to meet Xie Liaoyi. As long as she met her, some of the things she didn’t understand should be answered.

She went back to her room, logged into the game, found Xie Liaoyi, and sent a friend request.

Xie Liaoyi, seeing Jiang Ciqiu’s friend request, smiled and accepted.

“She added me,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“You were quite tolerant back then.”

“She asked to meet me,” Xie Liaoyi continued. Jiang Ciqiu had directly asked to meet, without any beating around the bush.

“Are you going?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Yes.” Xie Liaoyi twitched the corner of her mouth. “I can sense she’s reached her limit.”

Chapter 66: Come and Snatch the Bride (9)-2

Jiang Ciqiu continued to mutter: “Mom and Dad went to the police station first, you’ll probably have to go too after you wake up, but it should be fine, I checked, this situation should be considered self-defense, after all, you only kicked him once.”

“Mom and Dad were scared to death when they saw the video. I showed them your parkour video, your persona is ruined.” Jiang Ciqiu said gloatingly. “But you probably don’t care now.”

“Xie Liaoyi didn’t even call you, look at your good sister… not even as good as me.” Jiang Ciqiu became even more dissatisfied with Xie Liaoyi. “She didn’t even come to see you at the Third City Hospital. I have a feeling she definitely knows what happened, doesn’t she live right across from the hospital? She should be done with her surgery by now, right?”

“When are you going to wake up? I’m hungry.” Jiang Ciqiu leaned on the bedside and yawned.

“The grass is always greener on the other side.”

Jiang Zhiyan opened her eyes, meeting Jiang Ciqiu’s gaze.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

“You’re awake?” Jiang Ciqiu immediately sat up, forcing a smile. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“No, just a little dizzy.” Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her eyes. “Sister, what were you just saying? Something about the grass being greener?”

Jiang Ciqiu: !!!

“I’ll go ask the doctor if you can leave, wait for me here.” Jiang Ciqiu stood up. “You probably just woke up from fainting, so you’re not thinking clearly, I didn’t say anything like that.”

“Really? I’ve actually been awake for a while, I was just too lazy to open my eyes,” Jiang Zhiyan said seriously.

Jiang Ciqiu ignored her and went to find the doctor, dawdling outside for a while before returning. Jiang Zhiyan had already packed her things and was waiting for her in the corner, looking exceptionally well-behaved, not at all like someone who had just kicked a man several meters away.

She was afraid Jiang Zhiyan would bring up what she had said earlier, but fortunately, the other party didn’t say anything, which made Jiang Ciqiu relieved. But even if Jiang Zhiyan didn’t mention it, she was still mortified. Jiang Zhiyan said she had been awake for a while, so when exactly did she wake up? How much did she hear?

Why did she have to mutter to herself? Indeed, she should keep her mouth shut in the future, just think in her head.

Jiang Zhiyan took Jiang Ciqiu’s hand and leaned against her. Jiang Ciqiu felt a little uncomfortable, but didn’t push her away.

The two went to the police station. The injured people were also there. Jiang’s parents refused to settle, and so did the others. The man finally realized he was in trouble, crying and talking about how difficult his life was. Seeing Jiang Zhiyan, he tried to rush towards her, but this time he was stopped. He knelt down and begged for mercy. Jiang Zhiyan’s already pale face turned even whiter, and she collapsed against Jiang Ciqiu.

“I’m scared of him, I’m scared of him,” Jiang Zhiyan said, her eyes closed, trembling, her voice breaking. “I don’t want to talk to him!”

She was taken to another room and didn’t see the man again. A policewoman poured her some hot water and provided psychological counseling. After signing her statement, she left.

“Why don’t you come home with us tonight?” Jiang’s mother said, rubbing Jiang Zhiyan’s head with distress.

“It’s fine, I’ll just sleep with sister tonight… I’m okay.” Jiang Zhiyan forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a few days, as long as I don’t see that man.”

She patted her chest.

Jiang’s mother asked her counselor for a leave of absence, so she could rest at home for three days. Although Jiang Zhiyan was perfectly fine, it was good that she didn’t have to attend classes. She readily agreed, it didn’t make much difference to her whether she attended classes or not.

She didn’t eat much that night to maintain her frail appearance, and after her parents left, she immediately ordered takeout.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan sitting on the sofa. Her face was still pale, but her expression was normal.

“It’s nothing serious.” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head and messaged Xie Liaoyi. “I made Xie Liaoyi leave too, she didn’t want to go.”

“So eager to defend her…” Jiang Ciqiu gritted her teeth and drank the water she had poured for Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Ciqiu sat down not far from Jiang Zhiyan. Thinking about Jiang Zhiyan saying she wanted to sleep with her tonight, since she was fine now, did that mean she didn’t have to sleep with her?

She should be relieved, but for some reason, she felt a little disappointed.

“Did you really faint earlier, or were you acting?” Jiang Ciqiu always felt there was something strange about Jiang Zhiyan.

“Half real, half fake,” Jiang Zhiyan leaned against the sofa.

“Don’t tell me you deliberately stood there waiting for him to rush over so you could kick him,” Jiang Ciqiu frowned.

“He deliberately ran towards me, I just didn’t dodge, how can you say I deliberately kicked him?” Jiang Zhiyan said discontentedly. “Who told him to pick on me? He ran into my foot himself.”

Jiang Zhiyan raised her hand and looked at her slender arm: “Tsk.”

“That kind of person likes to target children and frail women, shameless.” Jiang Ciqiu shook her head.

“Good sister, I want some water.”

Jiang Ciqiu frowned: “Why are you suddenly calling me that?”

“Didn’t you say you were my good sister?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at her with clear, innocent eyes.

Jiang Ciqiu knew Jiang Zhiyan was teasing her, so she decided to play along, saying calmly: “Yes, I’m your good sister, I rushed to the Third City Hospital as soon as I received the call, and I stayed by your side every step of the way.”

“Thank you, good sister,” Jiang Zhiyan said sweetly.

Jiang Ciqiu felt goosebumps all over her body.

She got up to pour Jiang Zhiyan some water, then was sent to cut some fruit. Just as she sat down, Jiang Zhiyan’s takeout arrived, and she stood up again.

Bringing back the takeout, Jiang Ciqiu sensed something was amiss: “Does she also do this for you when you’re together? Fetch things for you?”

“No, your good sister and her good sister are different,” Jiang Zhiyan said, opening the takeout containers.

“What’s different?” Jiang Ciqiu couldn’t help but ask.

She knew she shouldn’t ask this question.

Jiang Zhiyan raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Ciqiu: “Do you really want to know?”

“Why don’t you tell me, good little sister?” Jiang Ciqiu said. She had finally understood, when talking to Jiang Zhiyan, you had to be thick-skinned, otherwise, you would lose the upper hand and be controlled by her.

“My good sister usually can’t walk, so I’m the one who fetches things,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly understood, her face flushing. What was Jiang Zhiyan talking about! She actually just said that out loud!

In this aspect, Jiang Ciqiu always felt like she was still a child. Although she had a fiancé at a young age, she wasn’t close to him and hadn’t thought about those things. She found it difficult to talk about such things openly, and when chatting with her friends, she never joined in on those topics, always remaining silent, pretending she hadn’t heard, always feeling embarrassed.

As expected, she was still no match for Jiang Zhiyan.

“I thought… she… mm…” Jiang Ciqiu stammered, touching her ear. “I didn’t expect it to be you…”

“She’ll always think that way.” Jiang Zhiyan took a sip of the soup. “But actually…”

She hadn’t expected the previous Xie Liaoyi to be like that. When she first met Xie Liaoyi, although she was also naive and shy, she was still much better than now.

Jiang Zhiyan chuckled and looked at Jiang Ciqiu again, who refused to meet her gaze, trying to maintain her composure for a second, but failing.

Jiang Ciqiu, thinking about how Xie Liaoyi looked and sounded exactly like her, felt confused. Wouldn’t Jiang Zhiyan feel embarrassed saying these things to her, considering their appearances? What did she take her for?

She looked at Jiang Zhiyan, who was completely at ease. The takeout smelled delicious, only she was in turmoil. Jiang Ciqiu suddenly felt a little annoyed.

“I want to eat too,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“Then come over here.” Jiang Zhiyan tossed the extra chopsticks to Jiang Ciqiu.

Jiang Ciqiu sat down. Jiang Zhiyan was completely calm and collected, not blushing or stammering. She deliberately snatched the piece of meat Jiang Zhiyan was about to pick up. She thought Jiang Zhiyan would be angry, but even after doing this five times in a row, Jiang Zhiyan didn’t say anything.

Her good temper made her feel a bit absurd. Jiang Ciqiu glanced at Jiang Zhiyan’s profile.

“Sister, looking at me like that makes me think you have impure thoughts about me,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu froze, her hand trembling, dropping the food she was holding: “What nonsense are you talking about! We’re sisters! Sisters!”

“Not biologically related,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“We’re still on the same household registration,” Jiang Ciqiu continued.

“So you do have some thoughts after all, you’re just restrained by these things, but isn’t it easy to separate your household registration if you have your own apartment?”

Jiang Ciqiu felt like she was being messed with by Jiang Zhiyan, so she said firmly: “Absolutely impossible, I only see you as my younger sister.”

How could she have any thoughts about Jiang Zhiyan? She just thought it was strange that Jiang Zhiyan was with someone who looked exactly like her.

“Oh.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded. “That’s good, so we’ll sleep together tonight, you definitely won’t be uncomfortable, right?”

Jiang Ciqiu gripped her chopsticks tightly and asked with some panic: “Aren’t you fine? Why do you still want to sleep with me?”

“Because I’m scared, I’m afraid of having nightmares tonight, sister, do you dislike me?” Jiang Zhiyan was about to say something more when her phone rang, it was Xie Liaoyi.

Jiang Ciqiu’s heart seemed to skip a beat.

“Can you come down? I’m at the entrance of your complex,” Xie Liaoyi asked. “Although I know you’re definitely fine, I’m still a bit worried about you.”

“You even came all the way here? I’m off tomorrow, if you’re worried about me, I can go find you tomorrow.” Jiang Zhiyan wiped her mouth and stood up. “I’ll come down now, wait for me.”

“Who is it?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, watching Jiang Zhiyan hang up, knowing who it was, but still asking.

“The good sister outside,” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu, smiling, clearly in a good mood. “So I might be back a bit late.”

Jiang Ciqiu watched Jiang Zhiyan leave, her expression darkening.

“If I come back too late, I won’t disturb you, go to bed early,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “After all, you have classes tomorrow.”

Jiang Ciqiu’s expression darkened even further.

“She’s about to explode from jealousy,” the System said.

“There’s nothing I can do about that.” Jiang Zhiyan hurried downstairs and ran towards the entrance. She immediately saw Xie Liaoyi standing by the streetlight, having changed her clothes.

“Have you been waiting long?” Jiang Zhiyan wrapped her arms around Xie Liaoyi’s waist.

“Not really, not long.” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan and sniffed. “Did you just have dinner?”

“I was acting tonight, so I didn’t eat much, and I ordered takeout.” Jiang Zhiyan placed Xie Liaoyi’s hand on her stomach and patted it.

“You’re not full?”

“Not yet.” Jiang Zhiyan shook her head and pinched Xie Liaoyi’s fingers. “That childish person just now stole a lot of my meat.”

“Then let’s go get something more to eat, let’s go.” Xie Liaoyi said helplessly, lowered her head and kissed Jiang Zhiyan on the lips, and couldn’t help but defend herself: “You must have said something, otherwise, I wouldn’t steal someone else’s food.”

“Who knows, I didn’t say anything, I don’t know what that childish person was thinking.” Jiang Zhiyan lifted Xie Liaoyi’s chin. “But I won’t hold it against a child, you’ll compensate me, right?”