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

Chapter 66: Come and Snatch the Bride (9)-1

Since it was getting late, Jiang Zhiyan bought some food and went to the hospital, waiting outside the operating room. Many family members were waiting there, all the seats were taken, so she found a corner and stood there, leaning against the wall. The atmosphere was oppressive, everyone’s gazes fixed on either the door or the electronic display. Occasionally, someone would take out their phone, but they would put it away after a while.

“About how much longer?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“About half an hour, it’s almost over,” the System said. “Xie Liaoyi is operating on the third person surnamed Li.”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan looked up at the screen intently.

“Don’t worry too much, it shouldn’t be a problem for Xie Liaoyi,” the System said.

“I’m not worried, I have complete faith in her.”

Xie Liaoyi came out earlier than the System predicted. The family members were clearly very nervous, only relaxing after hearing “the surgery was successful.”

Judging from their body language, they didn’t seem to trust Xie Liaoyi very much, but since the surgery was successful, they couldn’t say anything. Xie Liaoyi clearly didn’t care either. After explaining the postoperative precautions, she winked at Jiang Zhiyan and went back inside, only coming out again after a while, having changed her clothes.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“I’m fine, I’m used to it.” Xie Liaoyi put her hands in her pockets, knowing what Jiang Zhiyan was asking. She had been questioned ever since she started working at this hospital; people’s stereotypes were deeply rooted.

“So you basically worked another half day today, and you still have work tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Zhiyan opened a small pastry and handed it to her.

“I didn’t expect you to come,” Xie Liaoyi took the pastry and took a bite.

“I had nothing to do, and she seemed very uncomfortable at home. She’ll probably be very well-behaved and avoid talking to me for the next few days.” Jiang Zhiyan smiled.

“So you finished your homework?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“Are you going back tonight?” Xie Liaoyi lowered her voice.

“Yes, don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“So that’s why you asked if I had work tomorrow.” Xie Liaoyi chuckled.

“You misunderstood me, I didn’t mean that, I just want you to get some rest.” Jiang Zhiyan opened a bottle of water for Xie Liaoyi.

“So why can’t I rest if you’re here? You should reflect on that.” Xie Liaoyi said.

Jiang Zhiyan: …

Jiang Zhiyan reached out and pinched Xie Liaoyi’s arm: “You should also reflect on yourself, don’t tease me so casually.”

The two arrived on the first floor, and just as they were about to leave through the corridor, they heard loud noises coming from the distance.

“Seems like it’s coming from the emergency room,” Xie Liaoyi looked in the direction of the noise.

Driven by their instinct to watch the commotion, many people walked towards the source of the noise.

Xie Liaoyi and Jiang Zhiyan also followed, but there were already many people gathered, they could only piece together what happened from the snippets of conversation they overheard.

“That person wanted to force his way into the emergency room, they wouldn’t let him in, and then a fight broke out. A doctor was injured.”

“How can anyone just barge into the emergency room? Is the doctor okay?”

“I don’t know, he was hit on the head, completely unreasonable, there were other patients being treated in the emergency room, so selfish.”

…

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi.

“Why can’t I go in! My brother is in there! Why can’t I see him?!” the man yelled. “Why does he need to be in the emergency room? He can still talk! I think your hospital is just trying to extort money!”

He continued to yell, spewing all sorts of obscenities. A nurse from the emergency room came out to tell him that his brother was now unconscious and in critical condition, which made him even more agitated. He was convinced that the doctors had harmed his brother, since he hadn’t been unconscious before coming to the hospital.

“I still can’t understand this kind of person’s thinking.” Jiang Zhiyan put her hands in her pockets. She wanted to rush over and knock him unconscious, to stop him from continuing to spew those disgusting and unbearable words.

“Because there’s always a group of people whose thinking is incomprehensible,” Xie Liaoyi said.

The man was still yelling. Seeing that no one supported his point of view, he became even more furious. At this moment, he probably felt like he was fighting against the whole world.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi: “I hope you never encounter this kind of situation… Her world is a classic dog-blood drama, while yours is very realistic, although after I arrived, her plot isn’t so dog-blood anymore.”

Xie Liaoyi twitched the corner of her mouth: “There’s nothing I can do about it. This is the path I chose, I was prepared for the things I might encounter.”

The man pretended to stop struggling, and when people relaxed their grip, he broke free and charged towards the crowd. The security guard reached out but missed him. Having exhausted a lot of energy earlier, he couldn’t keep up for a moment. The surrounding people screamed and quickly scattered; who wouldn’t be afraid of such a person?

Seeing the man running towards her, Jiang Zhiyan suddenly realized that she was also an important character in a dog-blood novel, and that some commotion was best avoided.

Someone next to her told her to run, but she remained where she was, seemingly frozen in fear. In reality, she was waiting for the right moment. When the man got close, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying two meters away. His head hit a pillar, and he passed out. Instantly, the world became quiet, and Jiang Zhiyan felt relieved.

Jiang Zhiyan exhaled, took two steps back, and fearfully grabbed Xie Liaoyi’s arm, crying. She seemed to want to say something, but she was too scared to speak.

The onlookers looked at each other. The arriving police officers watched the surveillance footage, listened to the descriptions of the onlookers, and were stunned for a moment.

“I didn’t mean to kick… kick him, he suddenly ran over, I was scared, it was just instinct… I’ve always been strong.” While giving her statement, Jiang Zhiyan sobbed again. “I didn’t expect him to fly so far.”

“I think this should be considered self-defense, who knows what would have happened if he had caught the young lady,” a bystander said.

“Exactly, this person also injured a doctor. I went to help restrain him, and I have several scratches on me! Officer, you should arrest this man.” The bystander was indignant.

Jiang Zhiyan called her family and asked Xie Liaoyi to leave first. Xie Liaoyi didn’t want to leave, and Jiang Zhiyan had to urge her five times before she finally left.

The unconscious man was examined. He just had a bump on his head and a slight concussion, nothing serious. Jiang Zhiyan, clutching her chest and crying, breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang’s parents quickly arrived, and so did Jiang Ciqiu. When the man woke up and saw the obviously wealthy group of people in front of him, he started yelling, demanding compensation. Jiang’s parents were livid. The man tried to grab them, but with bodyguards and police present, he couldn’t get close.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at him, suddenly clutched her chest, her breathing rapid and her face pale. Then she closed her eyes, her body going limp, and fainted. If Jiang Ciqiu hadn’t been paying attention to her, she would have fallen to the ground.

Jiang’s parents’ faces turned even uglier. The man pointed at Jiang Zhiyan and started rambling again. When the police stopped him, he punched a police officer, and then he was pinned to the ground, restrained, and taken away.

Jiang Zhiyan was examined and found to be fine. The doctor said it was probably due to excessive fright, but since she had fainted, they still gave her a bed to lie down on.

Jiang Ciqiu sat by Jiang Zhiyan’s bedside, looked around, and muttered: “Hmph, you came to see her, why didn’t she stay with you? She ran away when something happened, and you still rushed over here, encountering this kind of situation.”

“Good thing you’re strong, that kick was quite impressive.” Jiang Ciqiu poked Jiang Zhiyan’s face. “Are you really that timid?”

Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t actually fainted, she had just temporarily withdrawn her consciousness from her body. To outsiders, it looked like she had fainted. She could pass all the medical examinations; if she was going to play the victim, she had to be convincing.

“If she knew you could hear her, she would probably dig a hole and bury herself in it,” the System said.

“Probably.”

“How long are you planning to stay unconscious?” The System asked. Jiang Zhiyan was currently occupying a part of it, which made it slightly unhappy.

“It depends.”

“I’ve never encountered this situation before, how did you do it?” The System didn’t understand.

“Exploiting a bug.”

“What bug?”

“I can’t tell you, what if you fix it?”

System: …

 

Chapter 65: Come and Snatch the Bride (8)

Hearing Jiang Ciqiu’s words, the other person froze, looking at her with incomprehension. After staring for a while, her expression gradually became confused.

“Who’s this Dr. Xie you’re talking about? I’m not Dr. Xie,” Jiang Ciqiu said. She remembered that the woman’s surname was Xie.

“Looking closely, you and Dr. Xie do have some differences. You look younger, more… naive… but you two really look alike, practically identical.”

“Identical? What’s the name of this Dr. Xie you’re talking about?” Jiang Ciqiu continued to ask, her heart pounding. She already had a guess in mind, but she didn’t dare to confirm it. How could such an absurd thing happen in the world?

“Xie Liaoyi. It’s really strange, isn’t it?” Her gaze was fixed on Jiang Ciqiu’s face, as if trying to figure something out. “Don’t you have an older sister?”

“No, strictly speaking, I’m an only child.” Jiang Ciqiu’s mind was in a mess. “I know the Dr. Xie you’re talking about, I just didn’t know she looked exactly like me.”

“Your voices are also very similar,” the other person continued, clapping her hands. “The world is truly full of wonders.”

Jiang Ciqiu gave a couple of dry laughs and went to the noodle shop she had chosen. She felt like she should think about some things, but her mind was like mush, refusing to function.

As soon as she entered the shop, the owner greeted her with a smile: “Dr. Xie, the usual?”

“I’m not Dr. Xie, but I’ll have her usual.” Jiang Ciqiu explained. “How much is it?”

“Twenty-one… You’re not Dr. Xie? Are you her younger sister then?”

“No.” Jiang Ciqiu didn’t say much, finding a random seat.

The owner’s expression became even more confused, but since she was familiar with Xie Liaoyi, she quickly realized that the person in front of her wasn’t Xie Liaoyi, even though some of her habitual movements were exactly the same.

Xie Liaoyi’s usual order was kidney noodles with a marinated egg and vegetarian chicken. Jiang Ciqiu took a bite of the marinated egg; it was indeed delicious, and so were the noodles.

“Does she often come here for noodles?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“Yes, she’s a regular customer, we all know her… let me see, mm, it’s been about eight years. She was more mature than other people her age when she first came here.” The owner said with some emotion. “I’ve watched her grow, but she was already very capable when she first started working at the hospital.”

Jiang Ciqiu smiled and took a bite of the noodles.

“Are you here looking for Dr. Xie?” the owner asked.

“I’m looking for my younger sister, she’s with Dr. Xie, I’m here to take her home,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

The owner blinked and tentatively asked: “Do you and your younger sister also look alike?”

“Completely different,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“That’s really strange.”

Jiang Ciqiu gave a couple of dry laughs and focused on eating her noodles.

Jiang Zhiyan must have known long ago that Xie Liaoyi looked exactly like her, but she hadn’t said anything, not a single word. Wouldn’t it be strange to be with someone who looked exactly like a family member?

Just thinking about it now felt strange.

How did Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi interact?

And the name “Xie Liaoyi,” she had felt it was strange since the first time she saw “Liaoyi.” Now that she knew the other person looked and sounded exactly like her, it was even stranger.

Was Xie Liaoyi related to her?

Jiang Ciqiu almost choked on the egg yolk of the marinated egg.

After finishing her meal, she returned to her car. She had originally wanted to walk around the area, but on the short walk back from the noodle shop, several more people called her “Dr. Xie.”

She had to explain to each of them, each of them looking at her with shocked and bewildered eyes. She was getting annoyed. One person, probably a patient’s family member, even tried to discuss their medical condition with her.

Jiang Ciqiu leaned back in her seat, her eyes somewhat numb.

Finally, she picked up her phone.

[Jiang Ciqiu: Something came up, come back by yourself, I won’t pick you up.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Oh.]

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t reply, started the car, and left. She felt like she wouldn’t be coming back here for a long time.

“She probably knows now,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Mm.” Xie Liaoyi responded, watching Jiang Zhiyan, who was curled up on the sofa eating ice cream, sitting a meter away from her.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at her: “Why are you sitting so far away from me?”

“Always be vigilant.”

“Ha.” Jiang Zhiyan twitched the corner of her mouth. “She must be very confused now, she’s barely speaking.”

“I guessed as much, she’ll probably continue to play dumb until I meet her face to face,” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan stayed at Xie Liaoyi’s place until nine o’clock before going back. Jiang Ciqiu didn’t urge her even once during that time. When she got home, Jiang Ciqiu wasn’t there.

“I really suspect she has another apartment somewhere,” Jiang Zhiyan put the fruit on the table.

“It’s normal for rich people to have multiple apartments,” the System said.

“That’s true.” Jiang Zhiyan took a shower and then logged into the game. She and Xie Liaoyi had agreed to do game quests tonight.

Jiang Zhiyan checked the System’s game progress; it was almost at Spirit Severing. It had also started playing in the arena recently, its ranking rising rapidly, attracting the attention of many people, many guessing if it was a smurf account of some expert.

“I’m quite famous in the game recently, many people want to be friends with me, but some people also reported me, heh, are you kidding me, this level of skill is worth reporting?” The System said discontentedly. “I’m not cheating, everyone relies on their brains to play, my brain just works faster than theirs, what’s the problem?”

“All reports failed, serves them right.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the System’s background information; it seemed like it had spent quite a bit of money recently.

When she logged in, Xie Liaoyi was already there. They accepted a two-person quest.

“I wonder how many of these quests there are, some people on the forum haven’t finished them yet,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Because there’s a time limit, you can only proceed to the next quest after a certain amount of time has passed,” Xie Liaoyi explained. “Did you not read the quest description carefully?”

“I didn’t really read it, I just saw that two people can team up for quests to increase intimacy.” Jiang Zhiyan said honestly. “The other stuff isn’t important.”

Xie Liaoyi looked at her with some exasperation. Because they hadn’t logged in for several days, eight quests had already opened. Jiang Zhiyan sat on Xie Liaoyi’s sword, preparing to complete all eight quests tonight.

The first quest was “Blessing of the Divine Tree,” the easiest one. As long as you could correctly recite a mantra, you would receive a “blessing.” There were many types of blessings: game items, event-exclusive outfits, rare skill books with extremely low drop rates, and blessing buffs, which provided beneficial effects in battle for half a month.

The “Blessing Buff” had the highest drop rate. Jiang Zhiyan received an event-exclusive outfit, and Xie Liaoyi received a Blessing Buff.

“Did she get a skill book?” Xie Liaoyi looked at the buff and asked. For a lifestyle player, this buff was useless.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the event-exclusive outfit and put it in her backpack.

“Why aren’t you wearing the new outfit?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“Everyone’s wearing the same thing, it’s boring, and it’s not the same as yours, even more boring.” Jiang Zhiyan still preferred her red outfit.

“So unlucky.” Xie Liaoyi sighed. “The difference between an ordinary person and the female lead.”

“Stop being sentimental, you have the buff, I have nothing.” Jiang Zhiyan sat on Xie Liaoyi’s sword. “Let’s go to the next round, intimacy just increased by one hundred. Normally, spending a whole day together only increases it by ten, and we’re not doing anything else.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi were already bound as partners. To register as Dao Companions, they needed 30,000 intimacy points. And in this game, intimacy could only be increased by playing games together, there was no way to directly buy it. There was also a daily limit for intimacy gained through daily activities, a maximum of one hundred per day. So to reach 30,000 intimacy points, it would take 300 days, jokingly referred to as the “marriage cooling-off period.” Only during these special events would the rate of intimacy increase be slightly faster.

Their current intimacy was a little over two hundred, 30,000 seemed a long way off.

The second quest was to prepare ingredients for the celebration, with a time limit of twelve hours. They were given a list of three hundred ingredients. The more items they found, the greater the reward and the greater the increase in intimacy.

They decided to search separately.

“You know how to fly a sword, right?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

Jiang Zhiyan: ?

She summoned her sword, stood on it, quickly spun twice in the air, swiftly flew through a dense forest, then circled back and stopped in front of Xie Liaoyi, looking at her somewhat proudly.

“Don’t ride my sword next time.” Xie Liaoyi nodded in praise, smiling.

“Okay, then you can ride mine,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

Xie Liaoyi chuckled, watching Jiang Zhiyan’s departing figure.

Finding items was easy with the System. Jiang Zhiyan told the System what she needed, and it sent her the coordinates. It had found all three hundred ingredients for this quest.

Because it had found everything, it was reported again. However, the System insisted that it hadn’t cheated this time. Because it was too bored, and Jiang Zhiyan didn’t need its help, it had traveled to every accessible location in the game, switching to its alternate account when its main account’s time was up. It had provided the game developers with a map it had drawn, marking the locations of all the materials, very comprehensive.

It eagerly showed off its achievements to Jiang Zhiyan, quite proud of itself.

“Just a friendly reminder, you’re now more famous in the game than Jiang Ciqiu. You’re at least half responsible for the plot deviation.” Jiang Zhiyan scrolled through the forum. “Jiang Xi Tong’s” popularity had surpassed “Maple Leaf’s.”

System: !!!

It suddenly realized it had gotten carried away playing the game.

But it was clearly too late now. It had just very ostentatiously shared its “Cultivation Travelogue” yesterday, the number of people who had saved the post had exceeded 10,000, and it had promised to post the second part the day after tomorrow.

“Host, what do we do now?” the System asked nervously.

“It’s fine, I won’t blame you, after all, you’re my system.” Jiang Zhiyan said gently. “We’ll just delay our retirement together.”

System: …

“Since it’s come to this, let’s just have fun.” Jiang Zhiyan’s voice became even gentler.

The System felt weary.

Jiang Zhiyan found most of the ingredients based on the coordinates provided by the System. Xie Liaoyi wasn’t slow either. As a player who liked to wander around in the game, twelve hours was more than enough for her excellent memory to find all those items.

The two met up, having found all three hundred ingredients, plus some extra materials they could keep for themselves.

The System was the first to find everything, so it was very conspicuous. It was normal for the two of them to complete the quest so much later, so they didn’t attract any attention.

The second quest took four hours. Finding the items wasn’t difficult, but flying around wasted a lot of time. You could only teleport after reaching Spirit Severing.

“Let’s continue tomorrow, this quest is inhuman.” Jiang Zhiyan lay on Xie Liaoyi’s lap.

“It feels like work.” Xie Liaoyi yawned. “At least we gained three hundred intimacy points.”

“Only three hundred.” Jiang Zhiyan nuzzled Xie Liaoyi’s abdomen, resting her head on her stomach.

It felt so real; she could feel the slight rise and fall of Xie Liaoyi’s abdomen with each breath.

“It’s getting late, let’s log off and sleep.” Xie Liaoyi braided Jiang Zhiyan’s loose hair.

“Jiang Ciqiu doesn’t seem to be back yet,” Jiang Zhiyan said. She hadn’t gone out to check, but Jiang Ciqiu hadn’t logged into the game.

“Are you very concerned about her?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“I’m very concerned about you.” Jiang Zhiyan looked up at Xie Liaoyi. “She’s jealous of you, and you’re jealous of her. Will you have a split personality when you two merge?”

“That shouldn’t happen.”

“I hope there are no side effects.” Jiang Zhiyan sighed softly. “Let’s trust the Main God.”

“It’ll be fine.” Xie Liaoyi lowered her head and kissed Jiang Zhiyan’s forehead.

Jiang Zhiyan logged out of the game, opened the door, and sniffed, smelling alcohol.

She frowned and went to the living room.

Jiang Ciqiu was leaning against the sofa, eyes open, her reactions seemingly slow. Jiang Zhiyan had been out for a while before she looked over, her gaze landing on Jiang Zhiyan. She blinked slowly, each blink as if she was about to fall asleep.

“Did you drink?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Mm, can’t you tell? Why ask?” Jiang Ciqiu yawned, glanced at Jiang Zhiyan, then looked away, using the sofa to help herself stand, and swayed past her.

“How much did you drink? When did you get back?” Jiang Zhiyan grabbed her arm.

“Not much.” Jiang Ciqiu struggled a couple of times, then gave up when she couldn’t break free.

“Why did you suddenly go drinking? Who did you drink with?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“What’s it to you?” Jiang Ciqiu glared at her with dissatisfaction.

Jiang Zhiyan carried Jiang Ciqiu to her room, asked the System to watch her, and went to boil some water and buy hangover medicine.

“She seems to be getting more and more childish,” the System said.

“Mm, her female lead personality is disappearing, so she’s becoming more childish.” Jiang Zhiyan stood by the kettle.

A proper female lead would be much more mature than Jiang Ciqiu, her emotions wouldn’t be so outwardly displayed, but now Jiang Ciqiu’s emotions were becoming more and more obvious.

“Can it be that fragmented?” The System exclaimed.

“Who knows, the concept of soul fragments is already absurd, as long as we can find them all, the rest doesn’t matter.” Jiang Zhiyan washed the cup.

“She got out of bed,” the System reminded her.

Jiang Zhiyan frowned.

“Thud,” the System said. “She fell, luckily it was onto the carpet.”

Jiang Zhiyan hurried to the room and saw Jiang Ciqiu lying on the floor in an extremely contorted position. If this world didn’t have zombies, she would have suspected a mutation.

The System had checked; Jiang Ciqiu was fine, her bones were just very flexible, which was why she could contort herself into such a position.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Zhiyan squatted down and asked.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Ciqiu retorted, staring at Jiang Zhiyan’s neck, frowning, and suddenly grabbed her collar, ripping open the top two buttons.

Jiang Zhiyan, always unguarded around Jiang Ciqiu, was pulled down, landing on her knees on the carpet. If she hadn’t braced herself with her hand on the edge of the bed, her head would have hit it.

Jiang Ciqiu was still clutching her collar, forcing her to look down. The System had already run away.

“What’s that on your neck?” Jiang Ciqiu stared at the mark on Jiang Zhiyan’s neck. “Lipstick?”

She rubbed at it forcefully.

“It’s not… it is, you showered.”

“What is it?” Jiang Ciqiu asked again.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu: “What do you think it is?”

Jiang Ciqiu let go, pushed Jiang Zhiyan away, and closed her eyes: “I’m going to sleep.”

“Go sleep on the bed,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“I haven’t showered, I don’t want to.” Jiang Ciqiu refused. “Get out.”

“I bought you hangover medicine.”

“I’m not drinking it.” To show her refusal, Jiang Ciqiu crawled away from Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her temples, wanting to laugh. She took out her phone, took a picture of Jiang Ciqiu, and sent it to Xie Liaoyi.

[Xie Liaoyi: Is she drunk?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Mm.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Leave her alone, let her sleep.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I’m going to tell her there’s a cockroach on the floor.]

[Xie Liaoyi: ?]

“Jiang Ciqiu, there’s a cockroach on the floor,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “Were you eating in your room?”

Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes snapped open. She struggled to get up, using the bed for support, wanting to get onto the bed, but feeling something was amiss. Just as she was about to lie down, she sat up again, went straight out the door, closed it, and shut Jiang Zhiyan inside.

“You sleep, here, mm, I’ll go to your room,” Jiang Ciqiu stammered.

Jiang Zhiyan: ???

[Jiang Zhiyan: I suddenly feel like I don’t really understand the past you.]

[Xie Liaoyi: …]

Xie Liaoyi covered her face.

Jiang Ciqiu rarely entered Jiang Zhiyan’s room. She usually talked to her at the door, at most reaching the table. As for the bedside, she had basically never been there.

After entering, she locked the door and lay down.

Jiang Ciqiu stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t completely drunk, she was still capable of simple thought, she just didn’t want to see Jiang Zhiyan for now.

The strange sensations this morning, what they did last night, Xie Liaoyi’s identical face and voice… all hinted at something absurd.

Jiang Ciqiu covered her face.

What was her relationship with Xie Liaoyi, and what was Jiang Zhiyan’s relationship with Xie Liaoyi? Why had Jiang Zhiyan become so close to Xie Liaoyi after only knowing her for a short time, and why hadn’t she done anything with her, even though they lived together every day?

She felt like there were many things she didn’t know, and those two knew everything.

Jiang Ciqiu fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Zhiyan still couldn’t get her to drink the hangover medicine. The next day, Jiang Ciqiu woke up with a heavy head. Looking at the unfamiliar decorations, she was stunned for a moment, then realized this was Jiang Zhiyan’s room. She had forcefully occupied Jiang Zhiyan’s room last night.

She patted her head as the memories of last night came flooding back.

She hadn’t gone drinking specifically because of Jiang Zhiyan, but because her friend had broken up with her boyfriend. She had gone to comfort her friend, felt depressed, and had a few drinks herself, ending up a bit drunk.

Thinking about how she had pulled Jiang Zhiyan’s collar last night gave her a headache.

Thinking about the mark on Jiang Zhiyan’s neck gave her an even bigger headache.

Jiang Zhiyan had slept with someone who looked exactly like her, what did it mean?

Jiang Ciqiu sat on the edge of the bed, half-closing her eyes, searching for her slippers with her feet for a long time, then suddenly realized she had come in barefoot yesterday. She looked at the bedsheet she had smudged, and her mind instantly cleared.

This was a disaster, was there anyone more embarrassed than her in the world right now?

Jiang Ciqiu carefully opened the door, wanting to sneak away, but the sound of the lock was a bit loud. Just as she pushed the door open, she heard Jiang Zhiyan’s voice.

“You’re up?”

“Mm… sorry, but who told you to scare me with cockroaches? I’ve already taken the bedsheet off for you,” Jiang Ciqiu said, trying to sound calm.

“Oh,” Jiang Zhiyan replied. “Do you have a headache?”

“Thanks for your concern, I’m actually okay.” Jiang Ciqiu quickly ran past Jiang Zhiyan back to her own room and closed the door.

She had originally planned to play dumb and make Jiang Zhiyan think she had forgotten everything that happened last night, but her one sentence just now had exposed her. If she had forgotten everything, how could she remember the cockroach?

She must still be drunk, otherwise she wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake.

Jiang Zhiyan had originally planned to play games with Xie Liaoyi today, but Xie Liaoyi had gone back to the hospital for surgery. While completing missions, Xie Liaoyi had been a doctor many times, working in most departments for extended periods, and performing many surgeries. If not for certain limitations, Jiang Zhiyan felt that with Xie Liaoyi’s current skills, she could have been promoted even faster.

“I’m going out,” Jiang Zhiyan knocked on the door.

“I know, I’ll sleep a little longer,” Jiang Ciqiu said listlessly.

“Make my bed for me,” Jiang Zhiyan continued.

“I know…” Jiang Ciqiu knew Jiang Zhiyan was probably going to see Xie Liaoyi. Normally, she would try to stop her, but since she hadn’t recovered from her embarrassment, it was better to pretend she didn’t know.

“I’m taking your car.”

“Whatever, it has gas.”

Hearing Jiang Zhiyan’s footsteps leaving, Jiang Ciqiu breathed a sigh of relief.

She was finally gone, otherwise, she would definitely be too embarrassed to leave her room today.

When she came out earlier, she had deliberately glanced over and confirmed it; there was indeed a red mark on Jiang Zhiyan’s neck.

Chapter 64: Come and Snatch the Bride (7)

The two didn’t arrive at the restaurant until 8:10 pm. Jiang Ciqiu very “kindly” shared a picture of her dinner. Jiang Zhiyan ignored her, but every twenty minutes, Jiang Ciqiu would “check in” on her, asking if they had started eating yet.

[Jiang Zhiyan: We’re at the restaurant now, I’m not coming back tonight.]

[Jiang Ciqiu: No way!]

[Jiang Ciqiu: !!!]

[Jiang Ciqiu: Be careful, she might harvest your organs! You’ve only met twice, how can you stay out all night?!]

[Jiang Ciqiu: Send me your location.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: It’s fine.]

[Jiang Ciqiu: What do you mean it’s fine? Sister is very worried!]

…

“She told me to be careful you don’t harvest my organs.” Jiang Zhiyan said, twitching the corner of her mouth.

Xie Liaoyi exhaled: “Order the food.”

“I’m fine with anything, just order what you like.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand, carefully observing Xie Liaoyi.

Xie Liaoyi ordered a few dishes and glanced at Jiang Zhiyan: “Why are you staring at me?”

“Looking at your dark circles,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Didn’t I cover them up? I even put on extra makeup before I came.” Xie Liaoyi opened her phone and checked. “There’s still some left.”

She yawned, rested her chin on her hand, and rubbed her eyes: “Work is exhausting, it’s impossible not to have dark circles.”

“If you’re too tired, just quit. I’ll take you away from this world anyway. We won’t be staying long. If you have savings, you can start enjoying life.” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“In this situation, shouldn’t you say you’ll take care of me?” Xie Liaoyi looked up at Jiang Zhiyan.

“That works too.” Jiang Zhiyan opened her phone and checked her balance. “Mm, I can, I have enough money. If not, there’s always Jiang Ciqiu, she’s richer than me.”

Xie Liaoyi twitched the corner of her mouth: “You probably want to drive her mad.”

“Not really, if she dies from anger, I’ll be heartbroken.” Jiang Zhiyan shook her head.

“I’m not resigning for now, I just got promoted to attending physician, why would I resign?” Xie Liaoyi stretched. “I don’t know what I’d do if I resigned. At least I have something to do at work.”

Jiang Zhiyan smiled. She knew Xie Liaoyi probably wouldn’t resign. After all, having awakened and regained her memories, she still chose to be a doctor; it must have been a carefully considered decision. Suddenly resigning wasn’t her style.

The food arrived.

The waiter gently placed the dishes on the table and left.

Jiang Zhiyan moved next to Xie Liaoyi.

“Why are you coming over here? There are so many seats, why do you have to sit next to me?” Xie Liaoyi glanced at her.

“You just nudged my foot, weren’t you hinting that I should come and sit here?” Jiang Zhiyan poured Xie Liaoyi a drink. “Dr. Xie, I understand everything.”

Xie Liaoyi looked away: “I just accidentally touched you.”

“Mm, I understand.”

Jiang Zhiyan picked up a shrimp, peeled it carefully, and noticed Xie Liaoyi’s gaze on the shrimp. She looked up and met Xie Liaoyi’s eyes, then put the shrimp in her own mouth.

“Dr. Xie is dexterous, peeling shrimp shouldn’t be a problem for you.” Jiang Zhiyan smiled.

“Heh.” Xie Liaoyi sneered, peeled a shrimp herself, and just as she finished, Jiang Zhiyan leaned over and snatched it with her mouth.

Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan, who had reached over her left arm, with a deadpan expression. Jiang Zhiyan, glancing at Xie Liaoyi, provocatively licked her fingertip. Xie Liaoyi’s finger twitched, gently brushing against Jiang Zhiyan’s cheek.

“I didn’t mind you in the car, Dr. Xie, and now you mind me?” Jiang Zhiyan leaned closer. Xie Liaoyi put her arm around Jiang Zhiyan’s waist. As Jiang Zhiyan moved closer, she licked her own lips.

“Continue wiping,” Jiang Zhiyan looked into her eyes.

Xie Liaoyi lowered her head, nuzzled Jiang Zhiyan’s neck, and gently nibbled. Jiang Zhiyan’s chin rubbed against Xie Liaoyi’s head.

“Let’s eat.” Jiang Zhiyan pushed Xie Liaoyi’s hand away and sat back down. “You’re deliberately seducing me.”

“You started it,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“You started it in the car,” Jiang Zhiyan pointed out.

“Oh, then your reaction time is quite long. Let’s not talk about the past.”

“Eat faster,” Jiang Zhiyan peeled a shrimp for Xie Liaoyi.

“Don’t rush, we’re going for a walk later.” Xie Liaoyi slowly put the shrimp in her mouth.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi, who rested her chin on her hand, pushed up her glasses that had slipped down during their intimate moment, and smiled faintly.

“Fine, let’s take it slow.” Jiang Zhiyan reached out and wiped Xie Liaoyi’s mouth.

They ate for an hour, the two starving people finishing all the dishes they ordered. After leaving, they even walked around the restaurant to digest their food.

The moon was beautiful, no clouds in sight, the moonlight falling on them unobstructed.

“What are we doing next? I’m too full to go to the night market,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Let’s just walk and see, there are many lively places around here.” Xie Liaoyi took Jiang Zhiyan’s hand.

Jiang Zhiyan agreed. Many times, their dates consisted of aimlessly wandering around like this.

The area around Jingyuan was relatively quiet, with few people, but after passing through two alleys, they reached a bustling area. Although the mall was about to close, it was still very lively. Jiang Zhiyan glanced around; most of the establishments were bars, the outdoor seats already occupied. Hidden in dimly lit corners, people were close together, whispering.

“Want a drink?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“You drove,” Jiang Zhiyan reminded her.

“But the hotel I booked is right over there.” Xie Liaoyi pointed. “Three hundred meters, we can walk there… Do you have your ID?”

“I do, after all, you’re Xie Liaoyi.” Jiang Zhiyan smiled.

Xie Liaoyi: ?

“If you want a drink, let’s go.” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “Do you often drink? I don’t remember you having this hobby before.”

“It’s not really a hobby, I just have a drink when I’m frustrated with work. The lights are dim inside, I can put on heavy makeup, dance like crazy, and no one will recognize me.” Xie Liaoyi said.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi: “I haven’t seen that before, I want to see it.”

“You’re here, why should I go crazy alone?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“You’re right.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded. “Mm… but I might still go a little crazy.”

Xie Liaoyi looked into Jiang Zhiyan’s eyes and pinched her arm.

System: I have a feeling these two are talking about something suggestive.

“Host, if you need anything, call me, I’m going into sleep mode.”

“Okay.”

Xie Liaoyi casually chose a bar and went inside. The music was deafening, and it wasn’t very crowded yet. She swiped her card to open a booth in the corner, and they ordered some low-alcohol drinks.

Dim lighting, a secluded location, suitable for many things. The alcohol content wasn’t high, but the alcohol and music still stimulated their senses.

Jiang Zhiyan leaned against Xie Liaoyi, who put her arm around Jiang Zhiyan’s waist, her fingers tracing circles on her skin. The crop top made things very convenient.

“Premeditated, Dr. Xie,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“You’re the one who planned this.”

The music was so loud that they had to lean in close to hear each other, and a proper conversation between these two was impossible. Jiang Zhiyan gently nibbled on Xie Liaoyi’s ear, and Xie Liaoyi nibbled back on her earlobe, silently sparring.

“Beautiful, waiting for someone?”

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the man who approached them and turned her head to kiss Xie Liaoyi on the lips.

Xie Liaoyi’s arm around Jiang Zhiyan’s waist subconsciously tightened, pulling them closer.

Seeing this, the men turned and left. Jiang Zhiyan leaned against the back of the booth, both of them with their eyes open, searching for each other’s gaze in the dim light, as if confirming something.

When the kiss ended, Jiang Zhiyan nibbled on Xie Liaoyi’s lip.

“There must be finger marks on my waist.” Jiang Zhiyan looked down; the other party was still pinching her waist. Hearing this, Xie Liaoyi let go, but the marks were indeed there.

Xie Liaoyi breathed softly: “Rough.”

“Sorry, I forgot, you like it slow, my apologies.” Jiang Zhiyan blinked innocently, her long eyelashes fluttering, looking pitiful.

Xie Liaoyi knew this was just a facade. This person wasn’t a pitiful rabbit, but a wolf that wouldn’t let go once it had its teeth sunk into its prey.

Jiang Zhiyan leaned in again and licked Xie Liaoyi’s lips.

“There, doesn’t hurt anymore, right? I didn’t use that much force.”

“Why did you suddenly kiss me just now?” Xie Liaoyi took a sip of her drink, calming her racing heart, which felt like it was about to jump out of her chest.

“I just wanted to kiss you, to warn others not to approach us.” Jiang Zhiyan pushed her luck, sitting on Xie Liaoyi’s lap. “I hate anyone who approaches you with ulterior motives.”

The bar was getting more crowded. People on the distant dance floor were swaying, their faces indistinct, only their silhouettes visible.

“Do you want to go?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“No,” Xie Liaoyi shook her head.

“I don’t think so either, I might not be able to get out of bed tomorrow.” Afraid of tiring Xie Liaoyi, Jiang Zhiyan moved back to the sofa.

Xie Liaoyi: ?

Jiang Ciqiu was sitting on her bed watching a movie, frowning, and touching her lips.

Just now, she had inexplicably felt a pain and itchiness on her lips, which lasted for a while. She thought she had been bitten by a mosquito, but when she checked in the mirror, there was no mark.

She rubbed her lips. Was it psychosomatic?

She picked up her phone from the side.

[Jiang Ciqiu: Where are you now? Really not coming back? I’ll pick you up.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Not coming back, go to bed early.]

Jiang Ciqiu slammed her phone down next to her.

Infuriating.

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi stayed until after midnight, exchanging the information they currently knew.

The System, which had chosen to go into sleep mode, had no idea that these two were actually having a serious conversation shortly after it shut down.

“No wonder my memories are fragmented, and there’s another me, so I really did become fragments.”

“What else? What did you think was going on between you and Jiang Ciqiu?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi. “I thought you had already guessed.”

Xie Liaoyi blinked: “The most absurd thing for me is being bound to a system and doing quick transmigrations. Having another me isn’t that absurd, after all, all sorts of strange things can happen in small worlds.”

“Before you came, I didn’t know she existed. I always thought I had been reborn. The distance between a rich young lady and an ordinary worker like me is too great.” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan. She had called out for Jiang Zhiyan in her heart many times, thinking she would never see her again in this life.

“She’s the female lead, right?”

“Mm,” Jiang Zhiyan responded.

“No wonder.”

“She’ll become super rich later, the daughter of the richest man. Who’s the richest man in this world again?” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Xie Liaoyi found a picture: “This one. I always thought I looked like these two people, I didn’t expect it to be her, not me.”

She turned off her phone, her feelings complicated.

The hotel Xie Liaoyi booked was very nice, on a high floor, no taller buildings nearby. Xie Liaoyi went to take a shower, and Jiang Zhiyan stood alone behind the floor-to-ceiling window, pushing on the glass, which seemed very sturdy.

“What wicked thoughts are you having again?” The bathroom door opened.

“I’m not,” Jiang Zhiyan turned around.

“I can tell you’re having wicked thoughts just by looking at your back.”

Xie Liaoyi came out fully dressed, in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. She sat down on the sofa languidly.

“It’s summer,” Jiang Zhiyan looked at her.

“There’s air conditioning.”

Jiang Zhiyan closed the curtains and pulled her back into the bathroom.

“Join me.”

“You’re such a grown-up, and you still need your sister to help you?” Xie Liaoyi said helplessly.

Jiang Zhiyan pressed her against the bathroom wall: “Sister, your pajamas… they don’t look simple.”

She turned on the shower.

“As expected of you,” Jiang Zhiyan exclaimed. Underwater, the clothes gradually lost their original purpose.

“It’s just ordinary pajama material,” Xie Liaoyi said.

Jiang Zhiyan casually tugged, the sound of tearing fabric masked by the water. She looked down at the torn strips of cloth: “Such easily torn material, sister, don’t forget to contact their customer service.”

She wrapped her arms around Xie Liaoyi’s neck. As urgent as she had been at the bar, she was now deliberately slow.

Even through the fabric, she could still feel the burning heat of Xie Liaoyi’s lips, followed by exploring hands.

“These clothes are really interesting.” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled, placing Xie Liaoyi’s hand behind her back, tying a simple knot, and looking into her eyes. “Sister, don’t tear them, or we’ll have to say goodnight.”

Xie Liaoyi’s struggling immediately stopped, her cheeks flushed.

“Didn’t you say you were going to help me? Why are you just standing there, sister?”

Xie Liaoyi closed her eyes.

This was an act of avoidance. With her eyes closed, her other senses were amplified. Jiang Zhiyan was up to no good again; she could feel the other person’s fingers occasionally brushing against her.

She didn’t dislike it; the shyness was a pleasant one.

Xie Liaoyi bit her lip.

“I’ll shower first, sister, just stand there for now. It’s good that I didn’t get your hair wet, otherwise I’d have to dry it.”

Xie Liaoyi kept her eyes closed, water droplets occasionally landing on her.

After a while, the water stopped. Just as she was about to open her eyes, they were covered.

Jiang Zhiyan dried her, then carried her out.

Xie Liaoyi leaned her head against Jiang Zhiyan’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“Taking it slow,” Jiang Zhiyan whispered. “Don’t rush, sister.”

Xie Liaoyi: …

“Sister is a doctor, teach me, lay the foundation, let’s start with understanding the human body, mm… let’s start from the top.” Jiang Zhiyan knelt beside Xie Liaoyi, leaned down, and asked softly, “Sister, where am I kissing?”

“Sister, what’s the name of this muscle?”

“Sister, where are we now?”

Jiang Zhiyan took “slow” to the extreme, forcing Xie Liaoyi to review most of the names of the human muscles, occasionally adding a bit of stimulation to keep her on edge.

Xie Liaoyi trembled, but didn’t dare to struggle too much.

“Jiang Zhiyan!” Xie Liaoyi said with dissatisfaction.

“Sister, why are you so impatient? I’m such a good student, don’t you like students like me?”

Jiang Zhiyan leaned down and gave Xie Liaoyi a release. Although Xie Liaoyi had climaxed several times during the process, it always felt like something was missing.

Xie Liaoyi still managed to break the ropes on her hands.

The two slept until the afternoon and extended their stay for another day.

Jiang Zhiyan looked down at the finger marks on her waist and other marks left by Xie Liaoyi, and nuzzled Xie Liaoyi’s face.

Jiang Ciqiu also slept until noon.

She sat up in bed, looking at her pajama pants and bedsheet in shock and disbelief.

In her twenty-plus years of life, this was the first time she had encountered such a thing.

Not only that, but she felt other sensations in her body.

Trembling slightly, she picked up her phone, rubbed her face, and somewhat embarrassedly searched a few questions online.

But she couldn’t find the answers she was looking for.

She definitely couldn’t let the housekeeper wash this bedsheet. When she got out of bed, her legs went weak.

Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened. She sat on the edge of the bed and checked the surveillance footage from the entrance yesterday.

There was nothing unusual. This was the nineteenth floor; it was absolutely impossible for someone to fly in through the window and do anything to her.

She looked at the bedsheet again.

Jiang Ciqiu wanted to talk to someone, but who could she tell about this?

“I’m going crazy, did I dream last night?”

She tried to recall the dream, but couldn’t remember any images. However, she did recall some missed sensations. Her body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously pressed her legs together.

Realizing what she was doing, Jiang Ciqiu’s mind became even more confused.

Even if it was a dream, the sensations couldn’t have been that real, right?

While washing the bedsheet and pants, she was very grateful that Jiang Zhiyan wasn’t back yet, and neither was the housekeeper.

This was the first time in her life she felt so guilty.

Jiang Zhiyan drove them back, while Xie Liaoyi leaned against the back of the seat, still sleepy.

“You saw this morning, I have even more bruises than you.” Jiang Zhiyan said. She had deliberately shown them off this morning, earning a lazy eye roll from Xie Liaoyi.

“Your own fault,” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m not terrible, I just love learning. I still remember what you taught me last night. We’ll review it together next time. If I get it wrong, I’ll punish myself by reviewing it several times.” Jiang Zhiyan said. “But I hope next time, Dr. Xie, you’ll be a little more patient.”

Xie Liaoyi’s face started to flush again. She was no match for Jiang Zhiyan in this regard; Jiang Zhiyan had too many messy thoughts in her head.

The corners of Jiang Zhiyan’s mouth turned up slightly.

“How are you getting back after dropping me off?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“I’ll go back after dinner.” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Because I’m not sure if I should let you upstairs.” Xie Liaoyi tapped on the windowsill. “Letting the wolf into the sheep pen.”

“I’m a reasonable person.”

“Ha.” Xie Liaoyi gave a dry laugh, expressing her disdain for Jiang Zhiyan’s words, and glanced at Jiang Zhiyan’s phone lying on the side. “Your phone has been vibrating a lot.”

“You can answer it for me,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“It’s her calling.” Xie Liaoyi answered the phone.

“When are you coming back?” Jiang Ciqiu asked. “It’s almost the next evening! Are you going to stay out all night again?”

“She’ll go back after having dinner with me,” Xie Liaoyi said. “Don’t worry.”

Hearing Xie Liaoyi’s voice, Jiang Ciqiu’s slightly complaining tone immediately became more serious. Their current emotions were similar, and their words gave off the same feeling: “Around what time? I’ll pick her up.”

However, since there was no third party present, neither of them noticed this.

“I don’t know, maybe around seven or eight,” Xie Liaoyi said.

The person on the other end was silent for five seconds before replying: “Okay, please send me the address.”

“She’s driving, I’ll tell you when we arrive, don’t worry too much, I’m not a bad person.” Xie Liaoyi’s voice softened. “She’s fine now.”

“Mm.” Jiang Ciqiu hung up the phone.

“She’s angry,” Xie Liaoyi said. “She said she’s coming to pick you up tonight.”

“Then let her come,” Jiang Zhiyan guessed as much.

“I’ll send her the address, I’ll send her the address of the fruit store downstairs.” Xie Liaoyi sent the address.

“Mm.”

Xie Liaoyi rested her chin on her hand and looked at the traffic outside the window: “Suddenly I don’t want you to go back.”

“See you next time, you should rest.” Jiang Zhiyan said. “Aren’t you still sleepy?”

Xie Liaoyi didn’t speak.

“I still have homework to do,” Jiang Zhiyan continued. “End-of-term assignments, summer vacation is almost here.”

“That’s a good excuse.” Xie Liaoyi lifted her finger.

“Will the people at the fruit store downstairs recognize you?” Jiang Zhiyan suddenly realized this problem.

“Some things need to be revealed gradually, I don’t want to scare myself.”

…

Jiang Ciqiu stared at her phone.

Jiang Zhiyan actually let that woman touch her phone, such a personal item, and even let her answer the call. This was a very unusual sign.

And the way she spoke just now, the more she thought about it, the more unhappy she felt.

She wondered what the two of them did last night.

She gritted her teeth, looking at the address Xie Liaoyi sent, which clearly wasn’t a residential address.

She searched it, and sure enough, it was a fruit store.

“Quite cautious.” Jiang Ciqiu narrowed her eyes and took her keys to go downstairs.

She didn’t believe she wouldn’t run into them this time.

However, sometimes coincidences just happened. The second she arrived, the two entered the complex.

If she had arrived five minutes earlier, she would have seen the two buying ice cream in the store.

Jiang Ciqiu sat in her car, frustrated. She glanced at the time, it was almost six o’clock. She didn’t know how long Jiang Zhiyan would dawdle. She had a strong feeling that woman would definitely cling to Jiang Zhiyan and not let her leave. She decided to eat first, and searched for nearby restaurants. Since it was near the hospital, there were many places to eat. She casually chose a small restaurant.

Just as she got out of the car, she saw a woman walking towards her with a smile, but she didn’t recognize her.

“Dr. Xie, changed cars?”

Jiang Ciqiu was stunned for three seconds: “What did you say? Dr. Xie?”

Chapter 63: Come and Snatch the Bride (6)-2

…

As soon as class ended on Friday afternoon, Jiang Ciqiu rushed out of the classroom.

Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t dressed up much when she got up this morning, clearly planning to do so after class. As expected, when Jiang Ciqiu got home, she found Jiang Zhiyan was already taking a shower.

Jiang Ciqiu glanced at the time, panting. She felt like she had been fast enough, but Jiang Zhiyan was even faster. How did she get back, did she fly?

Jiang Zhiyan came out of the shower, glanced at Jiang Ciqiu standing at the door: “What do you want?”

“What time is she picking you up?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“Around six or seven, I don’t know exactly, she’ll let me know when she arrives.” Jiang Zhiyan dried her hair halfway, then changed clothes and started putting on makeup.

Jiang Ciqiu, watching Jiang Zhiyan’s movements, couldn’t help but move closer, observing her: “Why are you in such a hurry? It’s fine if she arrives, just let her wait.”

“I don’t like being late.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at herself in the mirror, left and right. “Perfect.”

“Heh.” Jiang Ciqiu twitched the corner of her mouth.

Jiang Zhiyan picked up her phone and checked the time, then continued drying her hair, braiding it simply. After all, it was summer, it was too hot to leave it down.

“You’re quite skilled with your hands.” Jiang Ciqiu stood behind Jiang Zhiyan, watching for a while without understanding how she did it.

“Mm, my hands are my greatest asset.” Jiang Zhiyan picked up her phone and checked.

Xie Liaoyi said she had already left, but there was traffic, so she might be a little late.

“Rush hour, driving on a Friday, I hope you two can have dinner by eight.” Jiang Ciqiu said sarcastically, gloating. “Auntie made a lot of delicious food tonight.”

“Thanks for the reminder, sister, I’ll bring some snacks.” Jiang Zhiyan took a small bag. “She’s been working all day, she must be very hungry.”

Jiang Ciqiu’s smile faded: “So thoughtful.”

“There’s no other way, I naturally think carefully about the people I care about.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu with a smile.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

Jiang Ciqiu felt that Jiang Zhiyan’s smile was strange, meaningful, but she couldn’t quite decipher it.

Jiang Zhiyan waited for half an hour before receiving a call from Xie Liaoyi telling her to come down.

Ten minutes ago, Jiang Ciqiu had said she was going to buy ice cream and left. Jiang Zhiyan knew that she was probably watching secretly somewhere, but she didn’t know where. Although the sun was almost setting, it was still very hot.

Jiang Ciqiu was indeed watching near the entrance of the complex. Although cars were coming and going, and several cars stopped by the roadside, she still sensed, based on intuition, the car that woman was in.

She thought the other party would get out of the car, but she didn’t. Jiang Ciqiu wiped the sweat from her forehead, watching Jiang Zhiyan jog out of the complex gate and get into the passenger seat.

Jiang Ciqiu only caught a glimpse of the woman when the door opened, but she didn’t see anything clearly. And she didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt like the other party had glanced in her direction.

She immediately hid behind a billboard.

She shouldn’t have been seen, right?

Jiang Zhiyan sat in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt: “Are you hungry? I brought some snacks, you can eat something to tide you over.”

“I am a little hungry.”

“Then I’ll open a pack of cookies for you.” Jiang Zhiyan tore open the package and held it to Xie Liaoyi’s lips.

The other party took a bite, her lips brushing against Jiang Zhiyan’s thumb, either intentionally or unintentionally.

“What are we eating?”

“I made a reservation at Jingyuan, but we probably won’t get there until after eight, the traffic is terrible.” Xie Liaoyi sighed softly. The side roads were congested, and merging onto the main road was even worse. She didn’t know what was going on up ahead.

“Another one?” Jiang Zhiyan tore open another pack of cookies.

Xie Liaoyi turned her head slightly and took the cookie Jiang Zhiyan offered: “Thanks.”

“No problem, but Jingyuan is really far.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand. “Where do you live?”

“I live in the apartment opposite the Third City Hospital, it’s convenient for work.”

“The soundproofing in apartments isn’t very good, no wonder you can’t sleep well.” Jiang Zhiyan frowned.

Xie Liaoyi smiled: “I’m not picky about my sleeping environment. The soundproofing in the hospital’s on-call room isn’t good either, and nothing is louder than a hospital. Yesterday was just elementary school field trip syndrome… or perhaps, first date syndrome.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi. Her voice was steady, and her breathing was even, but her subconsciously tight grip on the steering wheel betrayed her nervousness, and she clearly didn’t want to look at Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Zhiyan looked out the window and couldn’t help but laugh: “Why are you stealing my lines?”

“Isn’t it because you always complain that I don’t say anything, and you always want me to chase you for once?” Xie Liaoyi said slowly. “And I think if I don’t speed things up, you’ll be ahead of me again. Last night you…”

“I knew you were thinking dirty thoughts, but actually, what I said was completely innocent.” Jiang Zhiyan laughed again, looking at Xie Liaoyi. “You have so many hidden agendas, but I’m always direct.”

Xie Liaoyi coughed twice: “You’re the one with all the hidden agendas.”

“Then how much do you remember now?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“A little, just some fragments, not complete, but at least I can piece together our relationship.” Xie Liaoyi paused. “She seems to remember even less than I do.”

“Mm, she hasn’t awakened yet. She’s been fuming ever since she found out I was going out with you that day.” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled. “She was also furious when I said I was going to bring you lunch, it was quite amusing.”

Xie Liaoyi glanced at Jiang Zhiyan while waiting at a red light. The other party was clearly in a good mood: “You deliberately angered her.”

“You also deliberately angered her.” Jiang Zhiyan said self-righteously. “That day she wanted to gather herbs with us, and you didn’t want to take her along.”

“You live with her.” Xie Liaoyi was also self-righteous. “I have to work, we can only spend a few short hours together each time.”

“Isn’t she also you?” Jiang Zhiyan retorted.

“Yes, she’s me, and I’m her, so why are you making her angry?” Xie Liaoyi raised an eyebrow. “Are you disgusted by my past self?”

Jiang Ciqiu’s immature behavior was very much like her when she first started doing missions.

The System was trying hard not to laugh.

“How could I be? I’ve liked you since you were still childish, how could I be disgusted? Besides, you were the one who ignored me first. I invited you to dinner on the first day I arrived, I wanted to play games with you, you said you already had a partner and didn’t want to play games with me.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi reproachfully.

“Then let’s treat them as separate for now.” Xie Liaoyi didn’t have Jiang Ciqiu’s memories. Although based on her understanding of Jiang Zhiyan, there was definitely some exaggeration, she had most likely been wronged. “Let’s discuss the rest after we’ve recovered all our memories.”

Jiang Zhiyan: …

The System finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing: “She seems difficult to fool, more so than the previous ones.”

Jiang Zhiyan didn’t want to talk.

“Host, did you fool her many times before?”

Jiang Zhiyan opened a bottle of water and took a sip: “When are you going to meet her? She’s very curious about you.”

“Not for now.” Xie Liaoyi had her own selfish reasons. Although they were essentially the same person, they were clearly two different people in this world. If Jiang Ciqiu saw that she had regained her memories, and they lived together, Jiang Zhiyan might devote more energy to her, after all, that version of herself was more immature.

Being jealous of herself was a bit absurd, but she couldn’t help it.

“She was just watching us from behind the billboard,” Xie Liaoyi said. “I could sense her presence… We’ll naturally meet eventually, just like you and I always meet.”

“Suddenly I feel sorry for her, so I’ll go home tonight,” Jiang Zhiyan said, clutching her chest. “After all, it’s so hot, she waited for you for a long time.”

“It’s good to get some sun, she looks too pale.” Xie Liaoyi said. “I know, I’m not that delicate, and I didn’t wait for long, just ten minutes or so, it was almost seven, the sun wasn’t that strong.”

“Did you plan on not letting me go home today all along?” Jiang Zhiyan picked up on the subtle discouragement in Xie Liaoyi’s words.

“The traffic is so bad.” Xie Liaoyi tucked her hair behind her ear.

Jiang Zhiyan twitched the corner of her mouth: “Why aren’t you saying anything, Dr. Xie? Have you prepared something? Is it in your bag?”

She turned around, trying to reach for the bag in the back seat.

“Don’t engage in dangerous behavior while I’m driving.” Xie Liaoyi said with feigned seriousness, pushing up her glasses.

“So it is in the bag.” Jiang Zhiyan turned back, sat comfortably, and said slowly, “Xie Liaoyi, I know what you’re thinking with just a twitch of your finger.”

Chapter 63: Come and Snatch the Bride (6)-1

“What wicked thoughts are you having?” Jiang Zhiyan didn’t miss the fleeting expression on Jiang Ciqiu’s face.

“What wicked thoughts could I possibly have?” Jiang Ciqiu gave a fake smile.

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the time: “You were late this morning, weren’t you?”

“I was late, but being late is better than being famous. Everyone’s looking for the superhuman who leaped over the flower bed.” Jiang Ciqiu quickly sent Jiang Zhiyan the two posts she had saved.

Jiang Zhiyan clicked and looked.

It had been too long since she attended a university in this era; she had forgotten about things like using the confession wall to find people.

“I have good jumping ability and long legs, it’s nothing to be surprised about.” Jiang Zhiyan said, scrolling through the comments. No one had exposed her yet, perhaps because her persona was too deeply ingrained, or perhaps because she usually kept to herself, no one thought of her.

After all, university wasn’t like high school. Many people went through four years of university without even knowing the names of their classmates.

“If someone exposes me, it must be you.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu.

Jiang Ciqiu: Suddenly felt guilty.

“Not necessarily, maybe someone else noticed you,” Jiang Ciqiu said. She had only told her friends, it should be fine, right?

“You can’t just assume it was me,” Jiang Ciqiu continued.

“Your behavior already tells me that you did tell other people about this.”

Jiang Ciqiu was silent for three seconds: “Yes, that’s right, but I only told my friends. I’ll send her a message now to remind her.”

She took out her phone: “Aren’t you a histrionic personality? Shouldn’t you be happy that more people are paying attention to you?”

“I only want the person I want to notice me. Why should others watch my performance?” Jiang Zhiyan raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan’s self-righteous expression: “Are you sure there’s no generation gap between you and her?”

“Use childish language with childish people.”

“Heh, heh.” Jiang Ciqiu gave a dry laugh and looked down at her phone. Fortunately, her friend hadn’t spread it around.

Although this Jiang Zhiyan was much better than before, not prone to dramatic outbursts, she subconsciously felt that upsetting the current her would be even more troublesome. After all, it was already quite troublesome.

The two entered their respective classrooms just as the bell rang.

Jiang Zhiyan always sat in the corner of the last row. The person who talked to her the most in this class was probably the class monitor. Most of them were strangers. She only remembered a few names and didn’t know the others.

However, the original owner hadn’t actually managed to infiltrate the circles she wanted to. Every time, she was the one trying to get close. During this period, she hadn’t contacted those people, and they hadn’t contacted her either, except for Liang Yan occasionally sending messages. This person was really persistent.

Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand, seeing the lit-up screen, and straightened up slightly.

[Xie Liaoyi: I’m up and at work.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Okay (heart)]

Jiang Zhiyan thought Xie Liaoyi wouldn’t reply, but a few more messages popped up.

[Xie Liaoyi: Had breakfast, ate at the hospital, also had porridge and fried dough sticks, plus a tea egg.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Judging by the time you posted on Moments, you woke up quite early, how could you be late?]

[Xie Liaoyi: Really going to work now.]

Jiang Zhiyan couldn’t help but smile.

[Jiang Zhiyan: My sister talks too much, that’s why I was almost late, it’s all her fault.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: There’s an anniversary event in the game, let’s do the tasks together, it increases intimacy.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I’ve already rejected my sister’s invitation to do the tasks together, if you reject me too, I’ll be all alone!]

The other party really went to work.

Jiang Zhiyan put her phone away, rested her chin on her hand, and yawned.

Indeed, without something to look forward to, classes still made her sleepy.

…

“Qiuqiu? Qiuqiu, why are you so sleepy?”

“I didn’t sleep well at noon,” Jiang Ciqiu yawned, resting her chin on her hand.

“This teacher is very strict, you need to stay alert.”

“I’m trying.” Jiang Ciqiu rubbed her eyes and widened them. “Why am I so sleepy? Even if I didn’t sleep at noon, I shouldn’t be this sleepy.”

After all, she had just been sitting in class all morning, it wasn’t like she had gone on a strenuous hike, and she hadn’t gone to bed late last night either.

She kneaded her neck.

“Damn it, my neck is a bit stiff too.” Jiang Ciqiu frowned.

“Maybe it’s old age. I’ve also been having backaches lately. We’re really no match for high school students.”

Jiang Ciqiu: ?

Jiang Zhiyan finished her classes earlier than Jiang Ciqiu today. When Jiang Ciqiu got home, she saw Jiang Zhiyan standing in front of the sofa, with clothes spread all over it.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Ciqiu frowned.

“I’m deciding what to wear on Friday night,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Such a grand occasion.” Jiang Ciqiu couldn’t help the sarcasm in her voice. “You even had new clothes delivered?”

“It’s her first time inviting me to dinner, of course I have to prepare seriously.”

“Why don’t you just hire a stylist?” Jiang Ciqiu said expressionlessly.

“Because I have classes, don’t you know what time my classes end on Friday?” Jiang Zhiyan said seriously.

Jiang Ciqiu was speechless: “I was being sarcastic.”

“I know, that’s why I’m deliberately trying to annoy you.”

Jiang Zhiyan picked out a pair of shorts and a crop top: “This is nice.”

“Change into something else, what if she’s old-fashioned? You know, even though it’s a modern era, there are still many people with outdated thinking.” Jiang Ciqiu said, arms crossed.

“She doesn’t seem like that type, I’m wearing this.” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking back at Jiang Ciqiu with an indescribable expression. “Don’t always make malicious assumptions about her.”

“It’s a reasonable guess, not malicious. There are still many strange people in society.” Jiang Ciqiu waved her hand. “You’re too naive.”

“Performing self-deprecation.” The System said excitedly. “I’ve never looked forward to your wife waking up so much, I really want to know her reaction.”

“Calm on the surface, screaming internally.”

“She actually called you naive… her judgment is as bad as ever,” the System sighed.

Jiang Zhiyan put the unselected clothes back in the closet.

She also occupied most of the walk-in closet in this house. Jiang Ciqiu’s clothes were pitifully crammed into a small cabinet.

She suspected Jiang Ciqiu had another house somewhere. After all, when they went shopping that day, Jiang Ciqiu had also bought quite a few clothes. Where did she put them?

Jiang Zhiyan turned her head and saw Jiang Ciqiu standing at the door: “There are a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, aren’t you afraid of being bitten?”

“I’ll take mosquito repellent measures, thanks for your concern.”

“It’s very painful if you get bitten on your back and can’t scratch it,” Jiang Ciqiu continued. She felt a bit verbose herself, and her words were starting to stumble.

Jiang Zhiyan turned to look at Jiang Ciqiu: “Sister, didn’t you want us to stay out of each other’s way? Why are you meddling so much now?”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan: “Because I’m kind-hearted and can’t bear to see you get bitten by mosquitoes.”

Jiang Zhiyan twitched the corner of her mouth: “Thank you, kind-hearted sister, can you bring me the clothes on the sofa?”

Jiang Ciqiu turned and left.

“So tragic, watching you go on a date and even having to help you with your clothes,” the System lamented. “So what are you planning to do in this world? Although it’s the same person, it’s clearly two different people in this world.”

“We’ll see, let’s wait until she discovers that I’m not the original person,” Jiang Zhiyan said, arranging the clothes by color. “Normally, she should have discovered it already, after all, as an outsider, she wouldn’t be automatically corrected by the world consciousness.”

“Maybe this fragment doesn’t have a brain?” the System guessed.

“It can’t be that bad.”

Jiang Ciqiu brought over the clothes. She was also very frustrated. She didn’t want Jiang Zhiyan to go out with that woman, and now she was actually helping Jiang Zhiyan, preparing for their date.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

Although angry, she still put down the clothes gently. So to express her anger, Jiang Ciqiu left without saying a word.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but smile: “She’s so cute.”

“And yet you’re still making her angry. If she wakes up, she’s going to throw a tantrum.”

Jiang Zhiyan organized the clothes Jiang Ciqiu brought in, left the walk-in closet, and saw Jiang Ciqiu had already entered her room. She also went straight to her own room.

Jiang Ciqiu, listening to the sounds outside, suspected Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t even noticed her leaving.

She went back to her room so quickly, probably chatting with that woman again.

She was really curious about this person, what kind of person could captivate Jiang Zhiyan so completely? She wanted to see for herself, but if she did so without Jiang Zhiyan’s consent, or if she had someone investigate and Jiang Zhiyan found out later, there would be a lot of trouble.

Jiang Ciqiu decided to casually pass by on Friday, or simply invite the person up for a drink.

As Friday approached, Jiang Ciqiu became a little nervous.

She had a lot of questions, but Jiang Zhiyan didn’t mention anything.

On Thursday, she couldn’t help but broach the subject: “Is she picking you up at the complex entrance tomorrow, or at school? If it’s at the complex entrance… invite her up for a bit.”

“No,” Jiang Zhiyan said without looking up.

“Why not? Then invite her up when she drops you off. She’s taking you out, as your older sister, I can’t just do nothing to show my appreciation.” Jiang Ciqiu tried to appear sincere.

“You can transfer me some money,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

“No,” Jiang Ciqiu refused flatly. She was already unhappy about the two of them going out, and now they wanted her to pay for it? She would really be a fool then. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Oh.” Jiang Zhiyan almost laughed.

Lying in bed that night, Jiang Zhiyan hugged her phone.

[Jiang Zhiyan: I’m doomed, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Me neither.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: You should still go to bed early, after all, you have work tomorrow, unlike me, I can sneak in a nap during class.]

[Xie Liaoyi: I’ve been trying to fall asleep for half an hour, I’m sleepy, but I can’t sleep.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Elementary school field trip syndrome.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I’m not talking to you anymore, go to sleep quickly. If you yawn tomorrow while we’re together, I’ll…]

[Xie Liaoyi: You’ll what?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Drag you home and put you to bed right then and there.]

[Xie Liaoyi: ?]

Jiang Zhiyan suddenly realized her words could be misinterpreted, and judging by Xie Liaoyi’s question mark, she wasn’t being serious either.

[Jiang Zhiyan: Go to sleep! I’m really not talking to you anymore.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Good night.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Good night!]

Jiang Zhiyan scrolled through their chat history, staring at the ceiling: “Do you think I should prepare something tomorrow?”

“Prepare what?” The System didn’t react immediately.

“Forget it, if Xie Liaoyi has any ideas, she’ll definitely prepare herself.” Jiang Zhiyan pulled the blanket and closed her eyes.

System: ?

“She always does this, dropping crazy hints, then blaming me in the end.” Jiang Zhiyan clicked her tongue. “Who just casually walks around the house and finds five small boxes?”

System: …

“Go to sleep, I don’t want to hear it.”

“You can turn off your auditory system.” Jiang Zhiyan yawned.

 

Chapter 62: Come and Snatch the Bride (5)

Jiang Ciqiu wasn’t really interested in shopping, but the thought of Jiang Zhiyan potentially meeting up with that “good sister” in the game after they got back spurred her to drag the two of them around until the mall closed.

Jiang’s mother was so tired that she went to bed immediately after showering. Jiang Ciqiu herself was also exhausted, especially since she hadn’t slept much the night before.

Although there was no way to stop the two from meeting, she still hoped Jiang Zhiyan would have less contact with that woman.

However, Jiang Zhiyan looked energetic, not at all like someone who had been walking all day.

Thinking about how this person used to be out of breath after just a few steps, Jiang Ciqiu felt a bit disoriented.

Jiang Ciqiu watched as Jiang Zhiyan, looking down at her phone, entered her room, not glancing in her direction even once until the door closed.

On Sunday, after lunch, Jiang Zhiyan went to the supermarket and bought a lot of ingredients for making desserts.

“Are you making desserts?” Jiang Ciqiu heard her in the kitchen, ran over to take a look, and found Jiang Zhiyan was already more than halfway through her preparations.

“Mm,” Jiang Zhiyan replied.

“Making them for her?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, feigning indifference.

“You can have some too if you want,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t like this “by the way” treatment. She stood there, watching Jiang Zhiyan’s movements. She hadn’t known that Jiang Zhiyan could even make these things.

“I want cream puffs,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“Not on today’s menu, maybe next time,” Jiang Zhiyan said, refusing without even looking up.

As everyone knows, all “next times” are just empty promises.

“Are you also making lunch for her tomorrow?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“I have classes tomorrow morning, so Auntie will make it, of course,” Jiang Zhiyan said, carefully shaping her small cookies.

“Oh.”

Jiang Zhiyan made quite a bit. Jiang’s father, Jiang’s mother, and Jiang Ciqiu all received a portion. Jiang’s parents were very happy. Jiang Ciqiu’s mood was so-so. She only got four small bags, but that woman got four small bags plus a beautiful little box, with a ribbon, clearly much more thoughtful than what she received.

Oh, right, she was just an afterthought.

On Sunday evening, after dinner, the two returned to the house near the school. As soon as they arrived, Jiang Zhiyan gave the menu and the newly bought lunchbox to the housekeeper, giving detailed instructions.

“So picky? Not eating this, not eating that,” Jiang Ciqiu commented as she passed by.

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at her: “Aren’t you also picky about your food?”

Jiang Ciqiu: …

Jiang Zhiyan got up early the next day, specifically to check the freshness of the groceries the housekeeper bought.

Jiang Ciqiu, unsure of her own motivations, also got up early. Watching Jiang Zhiyan’s serious demeanor, she felt irritated.

“Host, you’re doing this on purpose, right?” The System observed Jiang Ciqiu’s expression, sensing something.

“Yes, on purpose,” Jiang Zhiyan admitted frankly. “Who told her to ignore me.”

System: …

“I thought you were a pushover in front of her,” the System said. Most of the time, Jiang Zhiyan went along with whatever Jiang Ciqiu wanted.

“How can there be no conflicts in a relationship?” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu from the corner of her eye.

“Aren’t you afraid of pushing her too far? She doesn’t even know you to begin with.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t feel wronged. I’ve always been unreasonable.”

“You’re quite proud of that.”

Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu left the house at the same time. They rarely went to school together. After leaving the residential complex, Jiang Zhiyan quickened her pace, trying to distance herself from Jiang Ciqiu, but Jiang Ciqiu followed closely behind, always maintaining a certain distance.

“Why are you walking so fast?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, frowning.

“I thought sister didn’t want to walk with me.” Jiang Zhiyan turned around, her expression surprised.

Jiang Ciqiu’s eyes widened slightly: “You’re twisting the facts.”

“I’m just good at reading people.”

“But I’m not.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the time and said faintly: “I remember sister’s words from before.”

Jiang Ciqiu: ?

She couldn’t remember, and she didn’t think she had said anything, after all, she wouldn’t dare say anything to Jiang Zhiyan.

She had been wrongly accused many times, but this time felt the most unjust.

“Body language is also language, expressions are also language,” Jiang Zhiyan reminded her.

Jiang Ciqiu was speechless.

It was difficult not to show her aversion to Jiang Zhiyan through her body language; she wasn’t a saint.

“I think there are many misunderstandings between us.”

“Such as?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

Jiang Ciqiu faltered for a second, looking at the back of Jiang Zhiyan’s head. She felt like she shouldn’t be the one to say this.

“We’re going to be late, I’m going ahead.” Jiang Zhiyan waited for a few seconds, not wanting to wait any longer.

Before Jiang Ciqiu could react, she saw Jiang Zhiyan quickly disappear. She watched as the other party practically “flew” down the stairs, too fast to call out to.

She was certain now, this person and the previous one might not be the same person.

After all, the previous one would never do such a thing.

Jiang Ciqiu let out a deep sigh, suddenly remembering that she had seen someone looking for information about someone on the school’s confession wall…

She found that post again.

[Haishi University Confession Wall: Who is this flying woman? I’m in love, someone find her!

]

Because of the speed and distance, you could only see a leaping figure, impossible to tell who it was, not even the style of clothing, only the color, so no one had been able to identify her at the time.

Now she strongly suspected it was Jiang Zhiyan.

Jiang Ciqiu glanced at the time in the top left corner, cursed under her breath, and started running. Passing by the stairs, she also thought about flying down like Jiang Zhiyan, but she didn’t have the guts.

So unfortunately, she was late and missed the attendance call. Fortunately, the teacher was kind and didn’t say anything seeing her panting.

Jiang Zhiyan opened her phone. Xie Liaoyi had messaged her five minutes ago, saying she was at work. She replied with an emoji.

[Jiang Zhiyan: Did you have breakfast?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I had porridge and a fried dough stick.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I almost arrived late again this morning, luckily I ran fast.]

…

“Host, she already said she doesn’t have time to reply to you now,” the System reminded her.

“But she’ll reply as soon as she gets her phone, it’s fine if she doesn’t reply now.” Jiang Zhiyan put away her phone and checked the time again. In about three more hours, she would be able to see the other Xie Liaoyi.

Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Perhaps it was because she was about to meet her in person, even boring classes started to become interesting.

As soon as the teacher dismissed the class, Jiang Zhiyan, who had already packed her bag, ran out.

“Such an old soul, but running with youthful vigor,” the System commented.

“Shut up,” Jiang Zhiyan said, speechless.

“After spending so much time with the host, my language skills have significantly improved,” the System said proudly.

“Heh.”

Many people were leaving class; Jiang Zhiyan quickly weaved through the crowd.

Jiang Ciqiu saw the video of Jiang Zhiyan again, a freshly uploaded video taken after class.

“What’s she in such a hurry for?” Jiang Ciqiu’s friend was also shocked, watching the video several times. “That’s amazing, has she practiced parkour?”

“She’s in a hurry to meet an online friend,” Jiang Ciqiu said. “I don’t know if she’s practiced or not.”

“She’s in an online relationship?” Her friend’s eyes widened slightly. The amount of information today was so overwhelming that she couldn’t quite process it. “So she’s looking down on Liang Yan because she’s hooked up with someone online? Have you seen the picture? What if it’s a catfish? What if it’s a scammer? She’s really daring…”

“It’s a girl, the one you said sounded just like me last time,” Jiang Ciqiu said helplessly. “She works at the Third City Hospital.”

“Oh, a girl, and at the hospital, a doctor? Being able to work at the Third City Hospital is impressive, definitely a top student.”

“Mm,” Jiang Ciqiu responded.

“That’s good, shouldn’t be a bad person then.”

“What’s good about it…” Jiang Ciqiu muttered.

“What did you say?” Her friend didn’t hear clearly.

“Nothing, I said it’s too hot.” Jiang Ciqiu fanned herself with her hand. “She’s going to deliver lunch, and she even made desserts yesterday.”

“It seems like they have a really good relationship, for someone so pampered.”

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t want to talk.

Jiang Zhiyan returned home, grabbed the lunchbox, and rushed to the hospital. The Third City Hospital’s lunch break ended ten minutes before her class, but the probability of Xie Liaoyi getting off work on time was low, and she indeed hadn’t finished work yet.

The Third City Hospital was crowded, people coming and going, many queuing. She held the lunchbox, looked around, sent a message to Xie Liaoyi, and waited at the entrance for eight minutes before the other party called.

“I’ll come down to get you, where are you?”

“No need, just tell me where to find you.”

“I’m already on the first floor,” Xie Liaoyi said. “What color are you wearing today?”

“I’m wearing blue, I’m by the large pillar next to the triage desk.” Jiang Zhiyan looked around, and she immediately spotted Xie Liaoyi.

“I see you.” Xie Liaoyi looked over, then jogged towards Jiang Zhiyan. Presumably for ease of movement, she was dressed simply, her long hair casually tied up in a bun, and wearing thin-framed glasses.

As the other party got closer, Jiang Zhiyan saw that she had a completely different temperament from the one at home, and also different from the ones she had encountered in previous worlds, closer to her original self.

“Zhiyan?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

Jiang Zhiyan nodded: “Sister? Xie Liaoyi?”

“Mm, why are you looking at me like that?” She reached out and took the things from Jiang Zhiyan’s hands. “Let’s go to the break room, there are too many people here.”

“Mm…” Jiang Zhiyan followed behind Xie Liaoyi, glancing at her several times, her shock hard to conceal. She took out her phone. “I have to tell you something crazy, you look exactly like my sister.”

She found a photo and showed it to Xie Liaoyi.

Xie Liaoyi stared at the photo for five seconds and nodded: “We do look exactly alike.”

“You couldn’t be from our family…” Jiang Zhiyan said tentatively.

“Impossible.” Xie Liaoyi knew what Jiang Zhiyan was going to say and denied it directly. “I’m not from Haishi, and I’m so much older than you.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi: “Why are you so calm?”

She was finding it hard to keep up the act.

Xie Liaoyi glanced at her: “Probably because I think it’s normal, there are many absurd things in the world, looking alike is just one of them.”

Jiang Zhiyan thought Xie Liaoyi’s answer was the absurd one, but it was very much her style. She really was finding it difficult to continue acting.

“How did you get here? It’s so hot today.”

“I took a taxi. It’s okay, I didn’t wait in the sun for long, the air conditioning in the hospital is quite cold.” Jiang Zhiyan followed Xie Liaoyi upstairs.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at her profile, suspecting that she might have already awakened, but Xie Liaoyi hadn’t explicitly said anything. If she had awakened but hadn’t said anything, what was she playing at? Role-playing? If she hadn’t awakened, why was she so calm? A normal person would definitely not react this way.

She couldn’t quite figure out Xie Liaoyi’s current state.

It was called a break room, but it was actually a conference room. There were several boxed lunches on the table, and the cabinet next to it was piled with things. Several people were already eating there. The soundproofing of the conference room was good; it was noisy outside, but as soon as the door closed, it became much quieter.

“I’ll eat here too,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“I know.” Xie Liaoyi opened the lunchbox. The aroma attracted the attention of the others eating boxed lunches, and they glanced over.

“There are also desserts, I made them myself.” Jiang Zhiyan pointed to the pretty box. “You can eat them if you’re hungry this afternoon.”

Six dishes, one soup, meat and vegetables, and even fruit for dessert, very sumptuous.

“This is too much.” A colleague couldn’t help but look over, then at Jiang Zhiyan. “Xiao Xie, who is this?”

“A friend.” Xie Liaoyi smiled. “She said I shouldn’t just eat boxed lunches every day, so she brought me extra food.”

“Oh, I’m so jealous.” The other person sat back down, chuckling. “So nice, even delivering lunch, it’s so hot today, my son said he could only order takeout for me.”

“Yes, she’s very kind.” Xie Liaoyi said, glancing at Jiang Zhiyan.

“Let’s eat, I’m starving.” Jiang Zhiyan pulled out a chair and sat down.

She was indeed hungry, and so was Xie Liaoyi. After a whole morning of work, she was physically and mentally exhausted, parched.

The two didn’t say much, quietly eating their meal.

“So ordinary, I thought your meeting would be… somehow special,” the System said. “It looks like you’ve known each other for a while.”

“I think so too, her reaction is too ordinary.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi’s profile. The other party’s eating movements were quick and elegant.

“It’s also possible that she’s not interested in you, so she’s acting normal,” the System analyzed reasonably.

“Shut up, I’ll find a way to silence you sooner or later.”

“Vicious.”

Xie Liaoyi ate quickly, finishing most of the dishes. She rested her chin on her hand, eating the fruit, and looked at Jiang Zhiyan: “Eat slowly, no rush.”

“You go and rest first, I’ll clean up after myself, I know the way out now.” Jiang Zhiyan said. “You don’t have much break time.”

“It’s fine.” Xie Liaoyi paused. “I’m too full, I need to rest for a bit too.”

She leaned back in her chair, her gaze still fixed on Jiang Zhiyan, without any hesitation.

Jiang Zhiyan looked back; she was thick-skinned and never afraid of being stared at. The other party smiled and looked away.

“I’ll bring you lunch tomorrow too,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“No need, it’s too much trouble running back and forth. You won’t have much time to rest after bringing the lunchbox back, and you still have classes in the afternoon. An occasional treat is enough.” Xie Liaoyi rested her chin on her hand.

“Okay.”

“Are you free Friday night?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“I should be,” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“Then let’s have dinner together. I’ll pick you up after work, around six, and we can go for a walk afterward.” Xie Liaoyi paused. “We could go to a night market, or somewhere else.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan’s eyes lit up. “I’ll just be getting home from class around then, I can change clothes.”

Her phone rang. Jiang Zhiyan picked it up and saw it was Jiang Ciqiu. She glanced at Xie Liaoyi, who was quietly watching her.

“Did you meet her?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, her tone very serious, her mood seemingly not very good.

“Mm.”

“We agreed you’d let me know when you met her.” Jiang Ciqiu was dissatisfied.

“I forgot, I was too focused on eating, sorry for making you worry.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Xie Liaoyi, curious about her reaction if she appeared in front of Jiang Ciqiu.

“That’s good, I’m hanging up now, come back early, you still have classes this afternoon.” Jiang Ciqiu asserted her older sister authority.

“Okay.”

Jiang Ciqiu wanted to say something more, but found Jiang Zhiyan had already hung up.

Was she so eager to hang up to chat with her good sister?

She found it hard to fall asleep during her precious nap time.

She had remained calm even when the previous Jiang Zhiyan angered and wronged her, but now she was constantly irritated by this one.

Jiang Ciqiu closed her eyes and took two deep breaths.

She wondered what those two were doing now. Since they were at the hospital, they shouldn’t be able to do anything… no, what was she thinking?

Jiang Ciqiu pulled up the blanket and covered her head.

It must be the heat making her dizzy, otherwise, who would think about such messy things? Besides, what Jiang Zhiyan did, what she did with others, what did it have to do with her?

…

After Jiang Zhiyan finished eating, Xie Liaoyi stood up to wash the lunchbox, but Jiang Zhiyan stopped her.

“No need, our housekeeper can wash it.” Jiang Zhiyan packed the lunchbox. “Just wipe the table.”

“I’m so sorry to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble at all, we have a dishwasher at home.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi and was silent for a moment. “Then I’ll be going.”

“I’ll walk you downstairs.”

“No need, you should rest.” Jiang Zhiyan waved her hand. “You have dark circles under your eyes.”

The two moved towards the door, both walking very slowly.

“Then I’m going to the on-call room to sleep.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

Although she said she was going to the on-call room, Xie Liaoyi continued to walk beside her.

“Stop walking me, if you do, I’ll feel bad coming to the hospital to see you in the future. Go to sleep.” Jiang Zhiyan stopped and put her hand on Xie Liaoyi’s shoulder.

“Mm, okay.” Xie Liaoyi stopped, watching Jiang Zhiyan walk away. Perhaps afraid that she would follow, Jiang Zhiyan walked quickly, soon disappearing from sight.

Xie Liaoyi couldn’t help but chuckle. She took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and looked at the hospital corridor, her eyes slightly indifferent.

“Host, are you planning to tell the one at home that there’s someone who looks exactly like her?” the System asked.

“Not telling her for now,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Why?”

“When she discovers the resemblance, she’ll definitely overthink it, and that’s exactly what I want her to do.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand.

“You’re really evil.” The System clicked its tongue.

When Jiang Zhiyan got home, she saw Jiang Ciqiu in the living room again.

Jiang Ciqiu looked at her with her arms crossed, but before she could speak, Jiang Zhiyan interrupted her.

“I’m going to sleep, we’ll talk next time.” Jiang Zhiyan waved her hand.

Jiang Ciqiu: ???

She felt like she was going to be driven mad by Jiang Zhiyan.

Having met the person and confirmed that it was indeed another soul fragment, Jiang Zhiyan’s previously anxious heart was put at ease. She slept soundly, and so did the Xie Liaoyi at the hospital.

Except for Jiang Ciqiu.

When Jiang Zhiyan woke up, she found Jiang Ciqiu still sitting on the sofa.

“What do you want to ask?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Why don’t you seem that happy after meeting her?”

“I’m happy, she’s very nice.” Jiang Zhiyan yawned. “True happiness should be kept in one’s heart.”

Jiang Ciqiu twitched the corner of her mouth, stood up, and followed behind Jiang Zhiyan, leaving the house together.

It was strange. She, who usually woke up an hour early to avoid Jiang Zhiyan, had actually gone to school with Jiang Zhiyan twice in one day.

“She also asked me to have dinner with her on Friday, she’ll pick me up from school,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“Not coming home?” Jiang Ciqiu frowned.

“Didn’t you also go out to play? And you played for several days, it’s nothing for me to play for one night.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

“I only played for one day,” Jiang Ciqiu argued. Besides, because of Jiang Zhiyan’s incident, she hadn’t been in the mood to play at all.

“You left after class on Friday and came back at eight o’clock on Sunday morning. How is that one day? Calculate how many hours that is yourself.” Jiang Zhiyan counted on her fingers. “Do you need me to calculate it for you?”

Jiang Ciqiu: …

“It wasn’t several days either… so are you coming back that night?” Jiang Ciqiu decided to change the subject.

“Who knows?” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu frowned, the messy thoughts from lunchtime resurfacing, and she blurted out: “Does she also like girls?”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu, saying with a playful smile: “Based on my intuition, yes, ninety-nine percent sure.”

“You’ve only known each other for how long? That’s too fast.”

“We’ve known each other for tens of thousands of years,” Jiang Zhiyan said slowly.

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan questioningly: ?

“Love at first sight.”

Jiang Ciqiu clutched her chest and dry heaved.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu’s appearance and laughed.

Jiang Ciqiu noticed Jiang Zhiyan’s expression; it was that smile again.

“I’m not going back on Friday either. There’s an event in the game, an anniversary celebration. There are rewards for completing the tasks. If you need anything, I can get it for you,” Jiang Ciqiu said. “If you do the tasks yourself, you might be ambushed by Old Six again, and your friend is only at Golden Core…”

“Thanks, but no need, I’ve entrusted my account to someone else,” Jiang Zhiyan politely refused.

Before Jiang Ciqiu could speak, she heard Jiang Zhiyan continue.

“Besides, I want to do the tasks with my sister, our progress is too different, it would be too troublesome.” Jiang Zhiyan smiled. “I saw the details of this event, it increases intimacy.”

Jiang Ciqiu: …

She suddenly had the urge to secretly log into Jiang Zhiyan’s account and boost her progress to one hundred percent.

Chapter 61: Come and Snatch the Bride (4)

Jiang Zhiyan slept well, waking up at seven the next morning. Xie Liaoyi was still asleep. Although awake, she didn’t want to get up. She casually browsed a couple of platforms, read some boring new novels, and then clicked on the game forum.

[Is Maple Leaf crazy? Playing from seven in the morning until three in the morning, my god, if there were more people online, she’d probably keep going.]

[1L: It seems Old Six tried to ambush her sister again yesterday. After being ambushed by Maple Leaf, Old Six logged off directly. As expected of Old Six, completely shameless.]

[2L: So she couldn’t catch Old Six and took it out on us? Haven’t Old Six’s two cronies been online recently? If they log in, someone should send their location to Maple Leaf.]

[6L: How long will Maple Leaf keep this up? I hope she continues for a bit longer. Yesterday, her bound Medical Cultivator couldn’t keep up, so I became the lucky one, hehe, gained a lot of points.]

[9L: 6th floor, how can you be sure you won’t be on the opposite team next time?]

[29L: Old Six is a menace, can someone ambush him? So annoying, I ran into him in the secret realm last time, he stole my stuff. He relies on his high cultivation and acts lawlessly, encountering him really ruins the game experience.]

[32L: I agree, can’t everyone unite? Let’s take down Old Six. Every time I enter a secret realm, I’m worried I’ll run into him, he’s a real cancer.]

[78L: As a Demonic Cultivator, I’m not even as vicious as Old Six.]

[79L: Your body may follow the evil path, but your heart is righteous, you’re a good person.]

…

Jiang Zhiyan scrolled through the posts. Towards the end, some people were already trying to organize an “Anti-Old Six Alliance.” She could clearly sense that someone was deliberately stirring things up.

“Was it you?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Host, you could even tell that?” The System was shocked.

“It’s too obvious.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand. “What’s your cultivation level now?”

“I’m at Nascent Soul now, I think I’ll reach Spirit Severing next month.” The System snorted. “Host, your progress is too slow, you should be more competitive even when playing games.”

“Your speed…” Jiang Zhiyan pondered for a few seconds. “How much money did you spend?”

“Ah, well, not much, just a few points.”

“Heh.”

“Oh come on, Host, isn’t this all to prevent you from being ambushed again, to give you a pleasant gaming environment so you can focus on your date! It’s inconvenient for you to vent your anger now, so once I reach Spirit Severing, I’ll help you get revenge!” The System rubbed its metaphorical hands together, extremely excited.

“Thank you.” Jiang Zhiyan yawned, sat up, and went to the walk-in closet, her gaze landing on the red dress. “This one is nice.”

“Indeed nice, so are you going to show off your tail feathers again?” The System said.

Jiang Zhiyan ignored it, spending an hour getting ready. This time, she even styled her hair. It wasn’t overly elaborate, but definitely not perfunctory.

She looked at herself in the mirror, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. Xie Liaoyi would definitely like it; after all, this person only appeared serious on the surface.

She took a few pictures on the balcony and then went down to the garden to take a few more, asking the System to edit them, and posted a grid of nine pictures.

Not long after she posted, Jiang Ciqiu came out and stood on the balcony. Jiang Zhiyan, sitting on the swing, looked up at her.

“You’re up so early?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“Mm, woke up early.” Jiang Zhiyan kneaded her neck. “You can go back to sleep, it’s still early.”

“I can’t sleep anymore.” Jiang Ciqiu had only slept for a few hours. She looked at the red dress Jiang Zhiyan was wearing. “Are you in a good mood?”

“Mm, my sister gave me her work schedule, I’m going to see her on Monday,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu paused, then asked: “Sister?”

“The one from yesterday,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu frowned, saying with slight disapproval: “It’s not safe to meet online strangers.”

“I’m going to the hospital where she works to meet her, so it’s not unsafe. She works at a formal Grade-A Tertiary Hospital and has already given me her personal information.” Jiang Zhiyan said. “You don’t have to worry.”

“Mm…” Jiang Ciqiu responded. “Then I’ll go wash up.”

“I’m going to have breakfast too, hurry up.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at the red dress on Jiang Zhiyan, then at the photos on her phone.

They were going to meet so soon.

She looked down; Jiang Zhiyan had already gone inside.

Jiang’s mother liked taking the two of them shopping. The original owner would always politely decline, then buy a bunch of things to take home. That’s why Jiang Zhiyan’s walk-in closet was twice the size of Jiang Ciqiu’s, filled to the brim.

Jiang’s mother drove herself, while Jiang Zhiyan and Jiang Ciqiu sat in the back. Jiang’s mother was also in a good mood, humming a tune.

“Jiang Zhiyan is going to meet an online friend on Monday,” Jiang Ciqiu suddenly said.

“Ah?” Jiang’s mother’s humming immediately stopped. “Meet an online friend?”

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu, who looked back at her frankly.

“Should we bring a bodyguard?” Jiang’s mother wasn’t going to stop her; after all, the children were grown up, she couldn’t just object to their decisions.

“No need, I’m going to the Third City Hospital to bring her lunch. She eats boxed lunches at the hospital every day, they don’t look very tasty.” Jiang Zhiyan said, glancing at Jiang Ciqiu with dissatisfaction. “Sister is making a big fuss.”

“Third City Hospital? Oh, is it a girl or a boy? A doctor?”

“A girl, in cardiothoracic surgery, she’s already an attending physician.” Jiang Zhiyan said with a hint of pride. “Very impressive, she skipped grades in elementary, junior high, and high school, so she’s still quite young.”

“That is impressive.” Jiang’s mother said. “Then go ahead, nothing will happen at the Third City Hospital. But you should still let the adults know. Why not let Qiuqiu go with you?”

“Let’s not… it would be too awkward, the two of them aren’t familiar with each other, and I’ll be back after delivering the lunch, no need to trouble sister.” Jiang Zhiyan immediately said.

Jiang Ciqiu glanced at her mother with dissatisfaction and sighed inwardly. She should have guessed; the family would never stop Jiang Zhiyan from doing what she wanted. Jiang Zhiyan always got what she wanted.

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu again, then looked away.

Jiang Ciqiu rubbed her temples: “I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m the same age as you, you’re only a few months older.” Jiang Zhiyan kindly reminded her.

“Oh, don’t argue about this. Qiuqiu, didn’t you also meet an online friend before?” Jiang’s mother said.

“That’s because they were from the school next door, we met at the school library,” Jiang Ciqiu explained.

“What’s the difference? You met at school, I’m meeting her at her workplace. The Third City Hospital is also very close to our school!” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Jiang Ciqiu expressionlessly. “Anyway, I’m definitely going, so stop talking. We’re out shopping today, don’t upset Mom.”

Jiang Ciqiu held back her frustration and kept quiet, her mind filled with the look that woman gave her last night, calm but provocative.

She looked at Jiang Zhiyan, who was looking out the window, refusing to interact with her.

Their already strained relationship seemed to have become even more strained.

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t have any malicious intent, she just instinctively felt that the woman was dangerous, even though she hadn’t done anything, her job was so respectable.

Jiang’s mother started humming again, not taking the two daughters’ bickering to heart. When they arrived at the mall, she pushed the two together.

“Alright, stop being awkward, it’s not a big deal, you’re both grown-ups now.” Jiang’s mother patted their heads. “I’ll buy you ice cream, go and have fun shopping.”

“I really want to tell her that your combined age is much greater than hers,” the System said.

“Shut up.” Jiang Zhiyan looked up at Jiang Ciqiu. “She’s really awkward.”

“Indeed,” the System agreed. “Is there something wrong with this fragment?”

“I don’t know, she seems rather childish.” Jiang Zhiyan thought of something and laughed.

Jiang Ciqiu, still holding back her frustration, looked over at Jiang Zhiyan’s laughter, but the other party had already stopped laughing and wasn’t looking at her, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

“What should we buy? I ordered a few bags a few days ago, mm, I’ve already asked my assistant to pick them up…” Jiang’s mother glanced at the two. “Are you two marching in step?”

“No.” Jiang Zhiyan said, elegantly flicking her hair. “I don’t know what sister is thinking, after all, I don’t understand her.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan expressionlessly. She felt like Jiang Zhiyan was deliberately trying to annoy her.

“No, I was just thinking about something, I feel like I haven’t finished my homework.”

“You’re in university, and I still have to remind you to do your homework?” Jiang’s mother said curiously.

Jiang Ciqiu: …

She felt like she shouldn’t have come.

Jiang Zhiyan took out her phone and checked. Seeing the like on her Moments post, she knew Xie Liaoyi was awake. This time, she had even left a comment.

[Xie Liaoyi: You look really good in red.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: You too!]

[Xie Liaoyi: I don’t look the same as I do in the game.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: You look good either way.]

The corners of Jiang Zhiyan’s mouth turned up.

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan. She knew Jiang Zhiyan was chatting with that “sister,” but those who didn’t know would probably think she was chatting with her girlfriend. What were they talking about that made her smile so… dreamily? She had never seen such an expression on Jiang Zhiyan’s face before.

Jiang Ciqiu looked away and started browsing clothes, not wanting to continue watching.

She was a little unhappy, but she didn’t know why.

Did she really have Stockholm Syndrome? Otherwise, it was hard to imagine what she was doing now.

She glanced at Jiang Zhiyan again; the other party was taking a selfie in the mirror. She guessed she was probably sending a solo picture to that woman.

[Jiang Ciqiu: You guys were wrong, I think Jiang Zhiyan is actually quite innocent.]

[Lin Qian: ?]

[Jiang Ciqiu: She’s actually going to meet an online stranger.]

[Lin Qian: Weren’t we online strangers before??]

[Jiang Ciqiu: That’s different, they’ve only known each other for a few days.] And she and Lin Qian wouldn’t be smiling like that while messaging.

Jiang Ciqiu thought back to the day Jiang Zhiyan said she liked girls.

So who was this girl? That Liaoyi?

Chapter 60: Come and Snatch the Bride (3)

Although she didn’t have a meal buddy at school, from then on, Jiang Zhiyan had an online meal buddy.

Xie Liaoyi usually ate boxed lunches at the hospital and didn’t have time to chat much. They would just take pictures of their meals and that would be it. If they were eating at home, they would talk a bit more and order the same lunch.

“It’s just a picture, what’s there to be happy about?” The System didn’t understand.

“Willingness to share life is a sign of intimacy.” Jiang Zhiyan took a picture, picked up her chopsticks, then looked at the picture again. “This boxed lunch looks really bland.”

She picked up a mouthful of noodles: “My noodles aren’t very tasty either.”

“Then buy another one.”

“Forget it, I’m too lazy to queue.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the people in the cafeteria. Every window had a long line.

“Can I sit here? All the other seats are taken.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the suddenly appearing Jiang Ciqiu and her two friends and nodded: “Mm.”

“Thanks.”

Jiang Zhiyan moved her bowl inwards, and Jiang Ciqiu sat next to her. The other two pushed each other a bit, and finally the short-haired “unlucky one” sat opposite her.

Jiang Ciqiu really did have a lot of friends. Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t seen these two before. Of course, it didn’t stop them from looking at her with disapproval.

“Have you been eating in the cafeteria these past few days?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan responded. The original owner didn’t seem to eat in the cafeteria much. She either ordered takeout or had the housekeeper prepare her meals.

Jiang Zhiyan’s phone vibrated, and she immediately picked it up. Jiang Ciqiu stopped what she was about to say.

Xie Liaoyi sent a voice message. The background noise was a bit loud, but her voice was clear; she must have held the phone close to her mouth.

“I’ve finished eating, going to take a nap now.”

“Okay, what time do you start work this afternoon?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Two o’clock.”

“Then go to sleep quickly, I’m almost finished eating too.” Jiang Zhiyan picked up another mouthful of noodles.

“Do you have classes this afternoon?”

“Class starts at three, no evening classes, fewer classes today.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand.

“Okay, I’m going to rest, I’m so tired, haven’t stopped all morning.”

“Mm, go quickly.” Jiang Zhiyan replied and looked at the chat window a couple more times before putting her phone aside.

The other three exchanged glances.

“Take your time, I’m finished.” Jiang Zhiyan said politely.

Jiang Ciqiu watched Jiang Zhiyan’s retreating figure, only snapping back to reality when someone called her.

“The person talking to Jiang Zhiyan sounds just like you. If you weren’t sitting right in front of us, I would have thought it was you sending her messages.”

“Are we that similar?” Jiang Ciqiu also thought the person’s voice sounded subtly familiar, but she hadn’t realized the specific nature of that familiarity.

“Yes, very similar.” The two nodded emphatically. “Who is that?”

“A sister she recently met.” Jiang Ciqiu played with the number tag in her hand.

The two opposite each other exchanged glances.

“Qiuqiu, are you really okay? Why do you sound… a little sour?”

“You’re clearly mistaken.” Jiang Ciqiu stood up with the number tag. “I’m going to see if my order is ready.”

“Oh, okay.”

Jiang Ciqiu walked through the crowd, tightly gripping the number tag.

…

Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi originally planned to play games together on Friday night, but because she had to go back to the Jiang family for dinner, it was postponed. However, Jiang Zhiyan brought her VR headset home.

Jiang Zhiyan could see that the Jiang family really liked their adopted daughter, not entirely out of guilt. They treated Jiang Ciqiu like an adult and Jiang Zhiyan like a child, speaking softly and considerately, taking care of her emotions, but not in a way that felt distant.

Jiang Ciqiu, watching Jiang Zhiyan interact normally with others, bit her chopsticks.

Jiang’s mother glanced at Jiang Zhiyan, then at Jiang Ciqiu: “Did you two have a fight?”

“No?” Jiang Zhiyan said.

“You’re usually so lively, why aren’t you talking today?”

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu: “I just think I should be a bit quieter, more composed.”

“You don’t have to be like that at home. Did someone say something to you?” Jiang’s father glanced at Jiang Ciqiu.

“No, it’s my own idea.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at her phone. “If it’s okay to be casual at home… I’m finished eating, I’m going upstairs! I made plans to play games with a friend.”

“Oh dear, no wonder you were so quiet, you wanted to hurry up and play games. Go, go. Tomorrow, you two will accompany me shopping. We’ll leave at ten in the morning, have lunch outside, and go to bed early tonight.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyan waved her hand. “Take your time.”

She hurried upstairs.

As soon as she entered the game, Jiang Zhiyan saw Xie Liaoyi. She was still sitting where they had parted last time, seemingly fiddling with something on the ground.

“How long have you been waiting?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Not long.” Xie Liaoyi clapped her hands and looked up.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the row of snowmen of varying sizes lined up in front of Xie Liaoyi and took a few pictures. Judging by the amount of work, it didn’t look like she hadn’t been waiting long at all.

“What are we doing today?” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan.

“Accompany me to gather herbs?” Jiang Zhiyan pulled Xie Liaoyi up. “I’m still missing a few ingredients for alchemy.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Zhiyan sent her the location, and the two swooped down from the mountaintop. She didn’t scream anymore, but it didn’t stop her from holding onto Xie Liaoyi tightly.

As soon as they landed, they were surrounded.

It was Old Six again, this time with other people, the other two weren’t there.

Jiang Zhiyan frowned, a little irritated: “What do you want again?”

“Your sister caused us trouble, so we’re causing you trouble, no problem.”

Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xie Liaoyi apologetically: “Sorry, I’ve dragged you into this.”

“It’s fine.” Xie Liaoyi shook her head, glancing at the people standing in front of them.

“Last time you died more than thirty times before logging off, I wonder how long you can last this time, little sister. Why not just switch to another account? Stop playing this one, disassociate yourself from your sister, and there won’t be so much trouble.”

Jiang Zhiyan bit her lip, clutching poison in her hand.

“Using poison again? Little sister, can you aim properly this time? Don’t poison your friend.” The other party laughed mockingly, his laughter loud.

Jiang Zhiyan suddenly rushed forward. They didn’t expect her to actually dare to charge at them. No one stopped her. She pounced forward and accurately and forcefully pressed the poison against Old Six’s nose and mouth. Although he immediately flung her away, he had already inhaled the poison.

Xie Liaoyi steadied Jiang Zhiyan, who almost fell to the ground.

“Truly courageous!” The other party didn’t know what kind of poison Jiang Zhiyan had used, and although there were no symptoms yet, he immediately took two antidote pills. “Kill them both, then go to the resurrection point and wait for them.”

“What does it have to do with her?” Jiang Zhiyan said discontentedly.

“Heh, quite loyal? Then I’ll give your friend a chance. Leave now, and I won’t bother her. If you don’t leave, every time you two log in, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.” Old Six sneered.

Jiang Zhiyan pushed Xie Liaoyi: “You go first. You came here to relax, there’s no need for you to be affected by me…”

“It’s fine.” Xie Liaoyi put her arm around Jiang Zhiyan’s shoulders. “Don’t be afraid, it’s okay.”

“I’m not afraid of him, I’m afraid of affecting you.” Jiang Zhiyan frowned.

“Tsk.” Old Six gripped his sword, looking at the two embracing each other, feeling a pang of jealousy.

Xie Liaoyi also summoned her sword. Compared to Old Six’s flashy sword with its multicolored lights, hers appeared particularly ordinary and unremarkable.

Jiang Zhiyan wondered what materials Old Six used to create such a gaudy and strange sword. If he wanted to ambush someone, wouldn’t the light immediately alert the other party?

“Ha, a mere Golden Core…” Old Six scoffed, not taking Xie Liaoyi seriously. “Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.”

The six of them charged forward together.

While spreading poison, Jiang Zhiyan quickly connected to reality, rushed out of the room, and shouted: “Sister! Jiang Ciqiu! My friend and I are being blocked by Old Six, they brought a lot of people this time!”

“I’m coming,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

After calling for backup, Jiang Zhiyan quickly returned to her room to help Xie Liaoyi.

The people who came to ambush them this time, besides Old Six, were all Nascent Soul cultivators. Judging by the tags on them, they seemed to be professional killers hired with money.

She didn’t know what Jiang Ciqiu had done in the past few days to make him this angry. These people looked very expensive.

Xie Liaoyi’s cultivation was lower than theirs, but it was normal for Sword Cultivators to kill across realms. She nimbly dodged the attacks of two people, moving quickly, her reaction speed fast, finding an opening to stab her sword into one person’s heart.

Jiang Zhiyan retreated and used her sect’s inner sect techniques to support Xie Liaoyi, occasionally firing cold arrows. Someone tried to take out Jiang Zhiyan first, but as a paying player, having died more than thirty times last time, she had naturally prepared some life-saving tools. One person hacked at her spiritual shield for a long time, but there wasn’t even a single crack.

The person stabbed by Xie Liaoyi cried out. Normally, being stabbed by a Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t be so serious, but he felt his blood being sucked away.

The others were shocked to discover that Xie Liaoyi’s sword had changed color, showing a hint of red.

Clearly, this sword wasn’t as ordinary as it looked.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Old Six joined the battle. He had thought that spending money meant he wouldn’t have to do anything himself, but unexpectedly, he still needed to.

Seeing Old Six attack Xie Liaoyi, Jiang Zhiyan immediately deactivated her item, rushed to Xie Liaoyi’s side, reactivated the item, and just barely blocked Old Six’s sword strike.

The 5,000-credit item shattered instantly.

Normally, it would be more cost-effective to resurrect, but Jiang Zhiyan didn’t want to see Xie Liaoyi die in front of her.

When Jiang Ciqiu and the others arrived, they saw this scene.

“Jiang Zhiyan’s speed is quite fast, impressive.” Lin Qian exclaimed. “She actually charged forward, I thought she would only hide behind others.”

No one responded. Jiang Ciqiu had already flown over and intercepted Old Six’s second strike, pushing him back, away from Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Liaoyi.

“You arrived quite quickly.” Old Six looked at Jiang Ciqiu mockingly. “What a pity.”

“I live with her,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“So that’s how it is.”

After exchanging two blows with Jiang Ciqiu, Old Six sensed the situation was unfavorable and logged off directly.

He had always been shameless. He only felt embarrassed the first time he ran away, after getting used to it, it became fine.

The killers he hired didn’t return after dying.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Ciqiu looked at the two.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her wrist and looked at Xie Liaoyi. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, pity about your item.” Xie Liaoyi patted the dust off her skirt.

“I bought it to use it, it’s fine if it’s broken.” Jiang Zhiyan said nonchalantly. “I bought several, only one broke this time, it was already beyond my expectations.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at the two talking. It was just a simple conversation, but it felt like they were isolated from the rest of the world.

“Thank you, sister, otherwise it might have been more than one.” Xie Liaoyi looked towards Jiang Ciqiu.

Jiang Ciqiu’s gaze fell on Xie Liaoyi. The other party looked at her with a smile. Although there was no malice, that look made her feel slightly uncomfortable: “I’m the one who offended them, I’ve dragged you two into this.”

“Your voices sound so similar.” Lin Qian said in surprise. “Practically identical.”

“Is that so?” Xie Liaoyi asked back.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded.

“That’s quite a coincidence. Are they going to gather herbs with us?” Xie Liaoyi looked at Jiang Zhiyan, sounding like she was asking for her opinion, but she had clearly drawn a line between “they” and “us.” She clearly didn’t want to go together, and her question didn’t sound like an invitation at all.

Jiang Ciqiu narrowed her eyes. As expected, she didn’t like the way this person spoke, too calculating.

“Let’s not,” Jiang Zhiyan shook her head. “Let’s go by ourselves. Gathering herbs is quite boring, they like clearing secret realms.”

“Okay, indeed different from us lifestyle players.” Xie Liaoyi smiled. “Just moving around a bit just now was equivalent to a month’s worth of exercise for me in the game.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Xie Liaoyi unhappily. The other party also glanced at her, her expression calm. Jiang Ciqiu didn’t consider herself someone who overthought things, but now she strongly felt that this person was targeting her.

“Then let’s part ways here, thank you for coming,” Jiang Zhiyan said to the two.

“No problem.”

Xie Liaoyi nodded to them with a smile, as a greeting, and summoned her sword.

Jiang Ciqiu watched Jiang Zhiyan expertly jump onto Xie Liaoyi’s sword. The two leaning against each other was an eyesore, and their matching names above their heads were even more so.

“Bye.” Jiang Zhiyan waved.

Lin Qian watched the two quickly fly away, urging Jiang Ciqiu to leave, but she was still looking in the direction they had left.

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood,” Lin Qian said.

“Is it that obvious?” Jiang Ciqiu put away her sword. “I feel like that person is hostile towards me.”

“Really?” Lin Qian looked at Jiang Ciqiu doubtfully. “I just felt like she wasn’t familiar with us, I didn’t really sense hostility. Did Jiang Zhiyan say anything?”

“It has nothing to do with Jiang Zhiyan,” Jiang Ciqiu said. “Let’s go to the arena.”

“It seems like you’re really not in a good mood today.” Lin Qian sighed, following behind Jiang Ciqiu. “My ranking has dropped to over twenty, and my Medical Cultivator ranking has also dropped a few places.”

“Let’s get it back today.”

“Damn, how late will we have to play? Take it easy, don’t you have to get up early tomorrow to go shopping with your mom?”

“It’s fine, we’re going at ten, it’s okay to be a little late for family, it’s not like it’s class.”

…

Jiang Zhiyan leaned against Xie Liaoyi, playing with her skirt.

Xie Liaoyi looked down at her actions: “Why do you like playing with my clothes so much?”

“Ah… fidgety hands.” Jiang Zhiyan let go embarrassedly.

“I was just asking.” Xie Liaoyi tucked her skirt back. “Go ahead and play with it.”

Jiang Zhiyan grabbed the skirt and laughed: “Have you seen the new outfits? They’re very cool.”

“Do you want to buy one?” Xie Liaoyi asked.

“There are a few I like, I thought we could get one each.”

Xie Liaoyi opened the page and looked, laughing: “But they’re not skirts, if you change to that, what will you play with?”

“I can play with the belt,” Jiang Zhiyan said half-jokingly.

Xie Liaoyi glanced at her: “Then let’s buy them, I’ll top up my account.”

“Which one do you like?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“This one, the red one.”

“Then I’ll buy the other red one,” Jiang Zhiyan said. “Bought it, I sent it to you, accept it.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because it’s something you weren’t planning on buying. I have a lot of allowance, don’t worry.”

Xie Liaoyi was a little helpless: “My salary isn’t low either.”

“Oh well, I’ve already sent it!”

The two stopped and changed their clothes.

In this game, whenever you changed clothes, a fitting room would appear on the spot. After entering, you could change clothes with one click, a combination of reality and virtuality.

They changed their clothes simultaneously, walked out of the fitting room, looked at each other, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“They’re really cool.” Jiang Zhiyan pulled Xie Liaoyi and took a couple of pictures, then got back on the sword and continued towards the herb gathering location. She tugged on Xie Liaoyi’s belt.

Xie Liaoyi didn’t stop her, after all, you couldn’t untie belts in the game.

Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Ciqiu’s status. They were in the arena, seemingly having finished a match. Both her and Lin Qian’s points had increased.

She glanced at it twice and then closed it.

“Is your sister in the same school as you?”

“Mm… how did you know?”

“She said she lives with you, so I thought you might be in the same school.” Xie Liaoyi said. “You’re both so amazing, Haishi University’s admission score is very high.”

“Don’t be modest, Haishi Medical University’s score isn’t low either, and you’re studying clinical medicine. Your school’s clinical medicine program has the highest score, right?” Jiang Zhiyan let go of the belt and wrapped her arm around Xie Liaoyi’s. Indeed, playing with the belt wasn’t very convenient.

“It’s alright.”

Jiang Zhiyan chuckled: “That doesn’t sound very modest.”

“How is it not modest? Everyone who knows me knows I’m very modest.”

They finally reached their destination. Wild herbs grew all over the ground, but what she was looking for were two mutated varieties. The two squatted down, too focused to speak, their eyes almost going blind before they finally found six plants.

“Suddenly I feel not relaxed at all.” Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her eyes. “I should have just bought them.”

“Go rest if you’re tired, I’ll help you look. Every little bit helps, just treat it as eye training, we don’t have anything else to do anyway.”

“So which department are you in specifically?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“Cardiothoracic surgery.” Xie Liaoyi sighed. “Time flies, I’ve been working for eight years already.”

“Eight years?”

“Mm, I skipped three grades in elementary school, one in junior high, and one in high school, so I’m not as old as you think.” Seeing Jiang Zhiyan’s expression, Xie Liaoyi explained, thinking she had misunderstood.

“Then how old are you now?”

“Thirty-one, but I am indeed much older than you.” She smiled.

“It’s alright. If you’re in cardiothoracic surgery, can I bring you lunch next time you’re at work?” Jiang Zhiyan asked. “Seeing you eat those unappetizing boxed lunches every day… I feel a little bad, they don’t look tasty.”

“Actually, the food at our hospital is quite good.”

“Even good food gets boring after eating it for a long time, and it’s been eight years. Tell me what you want to eat, our housekeeper cooks very well. I’ll bring it to you if I don’t have class.” Jiang Zhiyan paused, then carefully said, “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course, I don’t mind. I’m just afraid of troubling you. It’s getting hotter now, the weather is so hot.” Xie Liaoyi put the herbs she found into a small bag.

“It’s fine! I can do it, it’s not like I’m walking there.” Jiang Zhiyan said excitedly.

“Even if you come, I might not have time to chat with you, I’m very busy.”

“I’ll leave after we eat lunch, I’m also very busy, sister.” Jiang Zhiyan hummed. “So when are you working?”

“Monday.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know in advance if I’m going. It would be even better if you could give me your work schedule.” Jiang Zhiyan pushed her luck.

Chapter 59: Come and Snatch the Bride (2) -2

Jiang Zhiyan washed up, casually dressed, took a picture by the window, and posted it to her Moments.

“Host, you remind me of a phrase: a peacock spreading its tail feathers,” the System commented.

Jiang Zhiyan ignored it, glanced at the time, grabbed her bag, and ran out.

“Ten minutes posing, five minutes picking the right selfie, now you have eight minutes left until class, good luck.”

“By the way, this teacher takes attendance every class, and you can’t make it up.”

“Thank you so much for reminding me.” Jiang Zhiyan gritted her teeth sarcastically, rushing into the school as she spoke. She wasn’t the only one sprinting. She took countless shortcuts within the rules, such as skipping a dozen steps, flipping directly down the side of the stairs, and leaping over flower beds.

“Holy crap!”

The people behind her exclaimed, wanting to follow suit, but after looking at the height, they silently retreated.

“Being late forces people to parkour, which teacher is so ruthless?”

Jiang Zhiyan entered the classroom just as the bell rang. The teacher frowned at her but didn’t say anything. She found a random seat, patted her chest, and took out her phone to check.

“She was on the night shift yesterday, she’s definitely not awake yet. Stop looking, she just fell asleep not long ago,” the System said.

“I know.”

Although Xie Liaoyi hadn’t liked her post, Jiang Ciqiu had, and she was the first. She didn’t have morning classes today, but she wasn’t home either. Jiang Zhiyan didn’t know where she had gone.

Jiang Zhiyan scrolled through her own Moments. The original owner liked to cultivate an artistic persona. Her Moments were full of painting, reading, illustrations, and tea, occasionally posting some reading reflections. The things she wrote were superficial and somewhat awkward, good at first glance, but not upon closer inspection.

She deleted them one by one, leaving only the selfie.

“She might have already seen it last night.”

“I still need to delete them.”

Xie Liaoyi liked her post at noon.

[Jiang Zhiyan: Are you awake?!]

[Xie Liaoyi: Just finished washing up.]

The corners of Jiang Zhiyan’s mouth turned up slightly: “So she also checked her phone as soon as she woke up.”

[Jiang Zhiyan: I almost arrived late this morning, luckily I ran fast.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Did the teacher take attendance?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Yeah, this teacher takes attendance and doesn’t allow make-ups. So scary, I came in just as the bell rang, I was scared to death.]

[Xie Liaoyi: (head pat)]

[Xie Liaoyi: Have you eaten?]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Just about to go, what are you having for lunch?]

[Xie Liaoyi: BBQ rice.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: I’ll have that too, our school’s BBQ rice is delicious. If we have a chance to meet up later, I’ll treat you.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Okay.]

“YanYan.”

Hearing this nickname, the smile on Jiang Zhiyan’s face froze. She quickly said something to Xie Liaoyi and stuffed her phone into her bag.

“Why haven’t you contacted me recently?” Liang Yan walked towards Jiang Zhiyan, his face full of concern.

“Because I’ve been thinking, you’re my sister’s fiancé, it’s not good for us to be too close, so let’s have less contact in the future.” Jiang Zhiyan took a step back, keeping her distance from him.

Liang Yan frowned, saying with slight dissatisfaction: “Did Jiang Ciqiu give you trouble? We’re just like siblings, what is she jealous about?”

“She didn’t give me trouble, and she’s not jealous, she didn’t say anything.” Jiang Zhiyan frowned. “I just personally feel it’s not appropriate, and there’s a misunderstanding between us.”

“What misunderstanding?” Liang Yan was a little anxious.

“I’m not the little girl who saved you when you were young. I thought you were talking about something else. Now that I think about it carefully, the thing I did probably didn’t save your life, so the person you’re looking for is someone else.”

At this point, everyone was just tacitly understanding, nothing had been explicitly stated, so the crime of her impersonation wasn’t that serious. It was easiest to just weasel out of it. The longer this kind of thing dragged on, the more troublesome it became.

Liang Yan was stunned for a second: “So?”

Jiang Zhiyan: ?

“So, you don’t need to be so good to me anymore, I don’t deserve it.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded. “Let’s keep our distance in the future and not contact each other privately anymore.”

After saying that, she quickly left. She was hungry and wanted BBQ rice.

“So this still isn’t considered breaking up?”

“How is this breaking up? Keeping a distance, separating myself, if he continues to pursue me after this, it’s his problem.” Jiang Zhiyan saved the recording she just made, speaking with a hint of mockery. “But most people are more tolerant of men. If he continues to look for me, I’ll probably be the one who gets scolded more… tsk, I’m even more pathetic.”

Delayed by Liang Yan, the BBQ rice Jiang Zhiyan wanted to eat already had a long line. She took a number and walked around the cafeteria twice before finding a seat.

[Jiang Zhiyan: I was delayed, there are so many people, I have to wait a long time.]

[Xie Liaoyi: I’m already eating [picture]]

[Jiang Zhiyan: It looks so delicious!]

[Xie Liaoyi: This place is really good.]

Xie Liaoyi sent a screenshot of the restaurant’s name.

Jiang Zhiyan waited for twenty minutes. Just as she carried her plate back to her seat and was about to eat, she received a call from Jiang Ciqiu.

“Did something happen?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, her voice calm.

“Hm? Nothing happened… Did Liang Yan go to you?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Zhiyan wasn’t surprised at all. After all, it was a classic dog-blood drama, Liang Yan would definitely go to Jiang Ciqiu. She thought for a few seconds: “I just don’t want to be so close to him anymore. Did he say anything? Did he blame you? But I told him it had nothing to do with you.”

“I made everything clear to him, including the fact that I’m not the one who saved him when he was young.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Jiang Ciqiu spoke again: “Why so suddenly? If you like him, this engagement…”

“I don’t like him, I’ve discovered I like girls.” Jiang Zhiyan interrupted Jiang Ciqiu.

The other end fell silent again, seemingly stunned.

“Mm, okay, but regarding sexual orientation, I think you should observe for a while longer.”

“I know, I’m going to eat now.” Jiang Zhiyan hung up after saying that. Continuing the conversation would only be awkward.

Jiang Zhiyan ate her meal peacefully. Jiang Ciqiu held her phone, her mind in turmoil.

“What did she say?” the person next to her asked.

“She said she made things clear with Liang Yan,” Jiang Ciqiu said.

“Has she turned over a new leaf? Or does she have a new target recently?” another person asked. “She’s looking down on Liang Yan now, who has she set her sights on?”

“New target?” Jiang Ciqiu thought of Jiang Zhiyan frequently checking her phone this morning. “I don’t know, don’t speculate. She might really not have those feelings for Liang Yan, it was all just rumors.”

“But how could Jiang Zhiyan be a pure little white rabbit?” The other person widened her eyes in disbelief. “Everyone knows what she’s done.”

“Alright, stop talking,” Jiang Ciqiu interrupted her.

She didn’t like Liang Yan either. She was actually quite happy that they had become close before, and she had always tacitly approved of their interactions, sometimes even covering for them. If those two got together, she could justifiably break off the engagement.

But now, Jiang Zhiyan didn’t want him either, so it would be a bit tricky… However, when she heard Jiang Zhiyan say that, she was actually a little happy.

On the other hand, thinking about that “sister” called “Liaoyi” made her annoyed.

Why did Jiang Zhiyan suddenly start liking girls? Was it also because of that sister? When did these two meet?

“Qiuqiu? What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“It’s nothing.” Jiang Ciqiu shook her head.

Jiang Zhiyan had a full day of classes and didn’t get home until after 9 pm. She came back with cold noodles she bought from a street vendor. She hadn’t planned on buying them, but when she passed by that street, she happened to get hungry.

When she arrived in the living room, Jiang Zhiyan saw Jiang Ciqiu sitting on the sofa, clearly waiting for her. She didn’t know how long she had been waiting. Her phone was on the coffee table, the TV wasn’t on, she seemed to have been just sitting there waiting.

She nodded and walked towards her room.

“Jiang Zhiyan,” Jiang Ciqiu called out.

“I only bought one serving,” Jiang Zhiyan said.

Jiang Ciqiu was momentarily speechless, both exasperated and amused: “I wasn’t asking for your food.”

“Then what’s the matter?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at her.

“You’ve been very strange lately.”

“Because I haven’t been bothering you? But haven’t you always wanted this?” Jiang Zhiyan frowned at her.

Jiang Ciqiu did want this, but it was different. She looked at Jiang Zhiyan, feeling as if thousands of tiny claws were scratching at her heart, uncomfortable, but she couldn’t express it.

“I’m sorry about what happened before.” Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head. “I just have a histrionic personality and want attention. You don’t have to put up with me anymore.”

“You’re like a different person now.” Jiang Ciqiu clenched her fists.

“What do you think?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.

“I think I might be going crazy.” Jiang Ciqiu gave a self-deprecating chuckle, staring at Jiang Zhiyan. “She wouldn’t say such things.”

“I’m going to eat my cold noodles.”

Jiang Ciqiu leaned against the sofa and took a sip of water.

She really must be going crazy.

She took a deep breath, leaning against the sofa.

Jiang Zhiyan took a bite of the cold noodles. They were quite delicious, no wonder there was such a long line.

“Host, your one sentence made her heart rate spike.”

“After all, it’s a turning point.” Jiang Zhiyan sent a message to Xie Liaoyi. “I’m curious what conclusion she’ll come to.”

“I don’t know why, even though it’s the same person, I feel like you’re two-timing.” The System looked at Jiang Zhiyan’s contact names.

One was X, the other was Y.

Jiang Zhiyan shared her late-night snack with Xie Liaoyi. Three minutes later, the other party posted a picture of the same cold noodles.

[Xie Liaoyi: This place is really good, I like it a lot.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: What a coincidence, if I had come back later, we might have run into each other.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Maybe, I arrived twenty minutes ago. The sweet potato noodles here are also delicious [picture]]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Are you still there?]

[Xie Liaoyi: Getting ready to go back, I’ve already bought my late-night snack [picture].]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Alone?]

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the portion Xie Liaoyi sent. It didn’t look like a portion for one person no matter how she looked at it. Who else was there? Eating a late-night snack together so late.

She narrowed her eyes.

[Xie Liaoyi: Alone, I’ll eat half today and put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow. There’s no other way, there’s too much I want to eat.]

[Jiang Zhiyan: Leftovers aren’t as tasty. Bring me next time, we’ll finish it all together, everything fresh.]

[Xie Liaoyi: Okay.]

Chapter 59: Come and Snatch the Bride (2) -1

Jiang Ciqiu’s gaze also fell on the person called “Liaoyi.” From the first glance, she felt strange, a feeling she couldn’t quite describe, both familiar and unfamiliar.

That person seemed to sense something and looked back, her gaze landing on Jiang Ciqiu. It only lingered for three seconds before quickly moving away. She steadied Jiang Zhiyan, who had been bumped, her movements natural. The distance between the two was close, and it seemed she didn’t reject the other person at all.

“She’s also a beta tester, but she hasn’t played much. She’s still at Golden Core.”

“Qiuqiu, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Ciqiu shook her head.

After a while, Jiang Zhiyan and that person disappeared into the Teleportation Array, their destination unknown.

“I haven’t heard her mention this person before.” Jiang Ciqiu’s gaze still lingered on the Teleportation Array. Jiang Zhiyan had indeed smiled happily just now, completely different from how she looked in the morning.

“True, but it’s normal, right? Didn’t we also meet through the game? It’s good, she’ll have someone to play with in the future, so she won’t bother us.”

“She didn’t want to play with us in the first place.” Jiang Ciqiu sighed and clicked on Jiang Zhiyan’s personal information. She had already cleared that secret realm, just ten minutes ago. No wonder she said she didn’t want to play together; she had already made plans with someone else.

“Why do you seem so strange?” Lin Qian poked Jiang Ciqiu’s arm.

“What’s strange about me? I think Jiang Zhiyan is the strange one.” Jiang Ciqiu wasn’t in high spirits. “She’s been very strange lately.”

“Qiu… don’t tell me you have Stockholm Syndrome? Why are you so concerned about her? Isn’t it good that she’s not bothering you?”

Jiang Ciqiu: ???

“No, I don’t.” Jiang Ciqiu immediately denied it. “I just feel like she’s very different from before recently.”

“Don’t tell me you think she’s changed for the better? Believing that Jiang Zhiyan will change for the better is like believing pigs can fly.” Lin Qian rolled her eyes. “Wake up. In the past, if you didn’t smile at her, she would make a fuss for half a day, asking if you disliked her.”

“But…”

“Don’t ‘but’ me. I suspect you’ve been PUA’d by her.”

“I’m perfectly clear-headed.”

Lin Qian gave her a suspicious look.

Jiang Zhiyan knew Jiang Ciqiu was behind her, but she had more important things to do now. After all, she could see Fragment One every day, but Fragment Two, she might only be able to see in the game.

Although she already knew the other party’s basic information, she couldn’t just go and find her. If she did that, the other party would probably think she was a creep, though she never denied that about herself.

The place Xie Liaoyi wanted to go was far away. They changed several Teleportation Arrays. While climbing the mountain, Jiang Zhiyan got on her sword. The other party’s sword-riding skills were indeed excellent, not shaking at all, very stable.

Sitting on the sword, she held onto Xie Liaoyi’s skirt, gently rubbing her fingers on it, feeling the texture of the fabric.

“When do you usually play games?” Jiang Zhiyan asked. “I still want to play with you.”

“It depends.”

“Then can I add your contact information? If you’re playing, let me know.” Jiang Zhiyan continued to ask.

“Mm… okay, but I’m very busy. If you need to find me, I usually don’t have time to reply during work hours,” Xie Liaoyi said.

“It’s fine, I understand.”

Xie Liaoyi sent over her contact information. Jiang Zhiyan scanned it and memorized it, then looked down at the continuous snow-capped mountains: “It’s really beautiful here.”

“Mm, that’s why I like to come here to relax.” Xie Liaoyi’s sword suddenly dropped in altitude.

Jiang Zhiyan subconsciously leaned against her: “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a medicinal herb over there, I think you might need it.” Xie Liaoyi looked down at Jiang Zhiyan, her gaze falling on the hand gripping her skirt. “Did I scare you?”

“No, I trust you, so I’m not afraid.” Jiang Zhiyan looked down. “Just in case there’s a game bug that throws us off, so… mm, holding onto you, so I don’t get lost.”

Xie Liaoyi couldn’t help but laugh. She stopped by the cliff face, picked the white flower, and handed it to Jiang Zhiyan: “Take a look.”

“Earth-grade White Ruo Grass, can be used to refine high-quality pills.” Jiang Zhiyan smelled it. “Are you sure you want to give it to me? This should sell for quite a bit. Natural high-grade herbs like this are rare.”

“It’s yours. I play games for fun, not to make money.”

“Thank you. If I can refine good pills, I’ll give you half.” Jiang Zhiyan happily put the item into her storage pouch.

Xie Liaoyi took Jiang Zhiyan to the mountaintop. Jiang Zhiyan carefully stepped onto it. It was ice-cold, the feeling no different from stepping on real snow.

“Crunch,” “crunch.”

Jiang Zhiyan walked around Xie Liaoyi.

“What are you doing?”

“It rarely snows this heavily in Haishi.” Jiang Zhiyan retracted her foot and looked into the distance. “So high.”

“Coming up?” Xie Liaoyi was already sitting on the sword, patting the spot next to her.

Jiang Zhiyan jumped on, wrapped her arms around Xie Liaoyi’s waist, half-closed her eyes, and turned her head to look at Xie Liaoyi: “I’m ready!”

Xie Liaoyi couldn’t help but laugh again. The next second, she swooped down. Jiang Zhiyan let out a short scream, then hugged Xie Liaoyi tightly, laughing excitedly.

“Host, I think you have a split personality.” Even though it had seen such scenes many times, the System still couldn’t get used to it.

“What do you know? Don’t ruin the atmosphere, go play your game.” Jiang Zhiyan directly blocked the System.

System: …

Their laughter carried far, making those who heard it wonder if a new boss had appeared.

They played five times before finally sitting down on the mountaintop.

“That was amazing, it felt like going to an amusement park… no, it’s even more exciting than an amusement park.” Jiang Zhiyan bought two drinks and handed one to Xie Liaoyi.

Drinks could restore stamina. Because it was a full-dive game, you could taste the flavor and actually feel full, no different from eating and drinking in reality.

“Yes, I like these thrilling things, but it’s too troublesome to go to different places every time.” Xie Liaoyi said, glancing at the time. “I have to log off.”

“Ah…” Jiang Zhiyan tried to control her smile, but she was still a bit disappointed. “Going to work again?”

“Mm, I’ll grab something to eat and rest for a bit before I go.”

“Bye.” Jiang Zhiyan waved at Xie Liaoyi. “I’ll log off too then.”

She didn’t want to watch Xie Liaoyi disappear in front of her, so she logged off first. As soon as she came out, she sent a friend request to Xie Liaoyi, which the other party immediately accepted.

Jiang Zhiyan sent her an emoji, and Xie Liaoyi replied with one as well. Although they didn’t say anything, it didn’t stop the corners of Jiang Zhiyan’s mouth from turning up.

Because the other party was busy, Jiang Zhiyan didn’t say anything more.

She clicked on the other party’s Moments. Xie Liaoyi rarely shared anything about her personal life, mostly reposting news from the hospital. However, this way, she knew which hospital Xie Liaoyi worked at through legitimate channels. She liked one of Xie Liaoyi’s posts.

She searched on the map. The hospital where Xie Liaoyi worked wasn’t far from her, just one bus stop away.

“So good.” Jiang Zhiyan felt like they would be able to meet soon.

“Dinner’s ready.”

There was a knock on the door. Jiang Zhiyan looked at the door. Jiang Ciqiu was still standing there, hadn’t left.

“Oh.” She responded, got up and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Zhiyan walked past her.

“Still in a bad mood?” Jiang Ciqiu asked, following behind her.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Zhiyan looked down at her phone.

Jiang Ciqiu didn’t know what to say for a moment. She and Jiang Zhiyan never had much to talk about. Most of the time, it was Jiang Zhiyan who was looking for trouble.

She was silent for a few seconds before continuing: “You were indeed dragged into that incident last time because of me. Is there any compensation you want?”

“No need, it wasn’t your fault.” Jiang Zhiyan shook her head and looked at her phone again, then placed it face down on the table.

Jiang Ciqiu glanced at the phone on Jiang Zhiyan’s table, then looked away, gripping her chopsticks tightly.

She felt a sense of concern, but she didn’t know why.

Jiang Zhiyan ate her meal peacefully. Whenever her phone notified her of a message, she would pick it up and look, clearly waiting for someone’s message.

“A friend?” Jiang Ciqiu asked.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiyan responded, the expression on her face noticeably softening. “A sister I recently met, she works at a hospital. She’s very nice, gentle and interesting.”

Jiang Ciqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyan. She always felt like the other party was implying something, but it also seemed like she was simply introducing her newly acquainted “sister.”

This time she was certain, Jiang Zhiyan was in a very good mood.

Because of this newly acquainted sister.

“There are a lot of online scams these days, be careful,” Jiang Ciqiu reminded her.

“I will.” Jiang Zhiyan responded, but clearly didn’t take it to heart.

Jiang Ciqiu lowered her head to eat, glancing at Jiang Zhiyan several times.

Logically, she should be happy that Jiang Zhiyan wasn’t bothering her now, but why did she feel a tightness in her chest? Jiang Zhiyan was different from before; it was very likely a new tactic to cause trouble for her. She usually wouldn’t fall for it so easily, why was she somewhat hooked this time?

She took a sip of soup to suppress the irritability in her heart.

Jiang Zhiyan kept an eye on Jiang Ciqiu’s reactions and curled her lip.

The next morning, as soon as Jiang Zhiyan opened her eyes, she checked her phone.

“Is she awake?” Jiang Zhiyan asked. Since Xie Liaoyi was a doctor, she shouldn’t have Do Not Disturb on. She was afraid of waking her up.

“Not yet,” the System said.

“Okay.”