Ji Yuannian had a dream.
A strange and bizarre dream, yet there was a faint sense of reality hidden within it.
In the dream, she abandoned her masculine dignity. She abandoned her parents and elder brother. She abandoned everything from her past life.
She became the “Ji Qingchan” whom Jiang Chi loved.
Jiang Chi was wonderful, gentle even. He accepted everything about “Ji Qingchan,” he satisfied “Ji Qingchan’s” every desire, he loved every part of “Ji Qingchan.”
Whether as a loving husband beneath the sheets or as a master and Dom in bed, he played every role to perfection.
But he was also mad.
He would get angry and sulk all night just because another man said a few extra words to “Ji Qingchan” during a trip. He would lock “Ji Qingchan” up in an iron cage for disobedience until she obeyed. He would grow restless and sleepless at night if “Ji Qingchan” ever so much as harbored a thought of running away, holding her tightly in his arms, even installing a tracker inside her body.
In the dream, Ji Yuannian herself was “Ji Qingchan.”
She could taste the pleasure “Ji Qingchan” felt as she tumbled in bed with Jiang Chi, could feel the sweetness in her heart brought by Jiang Chi’s indulgence, and could also experience the grievance and regret of being locked away in the dark room after angering him.
At the end of the dream, Ji Yuannian saw “Ji Qingchan”—no, herself—being let out of the dark room by Jiang Chi, alone and desolate. She hadn’t been physically harmed, but there was a sense of utter despair in her heart.
She saw Jiang Chi as a middle-aged man, crying and cursing, regretful and resentful, weeping over why she ever believed in slander, cursing Jiang Chi for not keeping his promises, regretting that she’d given up everything, hating him for never caring about her wishes.
The dream was both vivid and vague.
Ji Yuannian felt like she was watching from above, as if viewing a 3D movie. If nothing else, at least the two protagonists in the dream were quite attractive.
The middle-aged Jiang Chi in the dream was more mature, taller, and manlier, while she—or rather, “Ji Qingchan”—remained with the doll-like face of her high school days, as if decades had left no trace on her, still the very picture of youthful innocence. Standing next to the middle-aged Jiang Chi, they didn’t look like a couple at all, but rather a father and daughter.
At the end of the dream, “Ji Qingchan” committed suicide, unable to bear Jiang Chi’s pathological, suffocating love any longer. She used a fruit knife to slit her own throat, blood spurting several meters high—three, four meters at least!
In the vast manor, only the man remained, clutching the now lifeless girl in his arms, devastated and hollow-eyed.
“Gurgle~~” Suddenly, a most untimely stomach growl startled Ji Yuannian awake.
She opened her eyes to see the familiar ceiling, her stomach growling in hunger. Looking around, she realized she was in her own bedroom.
After sitting up, the events of last night replayed in her mind. She vaguely remembered that Jiang Chi had gone too far last night, making her cry, and she’d fainted right when she climaxed.
She shook her head, forcing down the strange thought of “fainting from climaxing,” and rolled out of bed. Maybe it was because she’d had too much fun last night, but she was still in sage mode.
The gorgeous vixen “Yueyue” representing desire was offline. Now, she was the burly man, Ji Yuannian!
Suddenly, a rich aroma of food wafted in from outside the door, instantly waking up her hunger. Following the scent, Ji Yuannian saw several exquisite dishes neatly arranged on the dining table, as well as a Black Forest chocolate mousse cake.
On the cake, several large characters were carefully arranged with black chocolate—Happy 18th Birthday!
At that moment, the sky outside was gradually darkening. Jiang Chi walked out from the kitchen, carrying a freshly stewed “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.” Upon seeing Ji Yuannian, he didn’t say much, simply gesturing for her to sit.
Ji Yuannian was never one for ceremony; she plopped down, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and immediately picked out an abalone from the stew, shoving it straight into her mouth and chewing heartily.
“Chi-bao, how did you know today is my 18th birthday? You even bought me a cake.”
“Well… let me emphasize again, I’m a man, and I really don’t like men. I know it’s because of the saying ‘love me, love my dog’ and the virtual girlfriend ‘Ji Qingchan,’ so it’s inevitable you’d fall for my real self.
Though I don’t mind you touching me a bit, it’s just us taking what we need from each other. But I truly, truly am not into men—my orientation is as straight as it gets!”
Jiang Chi’s mouth twitched at her words. “Today is my birthday.”
The long-haired queen, who was about to cut the cake with a cake knife while muttering, suddenly froze, an awkward look flashing across her face. She gave a sheepish laugh, “Sorry, sorry. You should have said something earlier—I almost cut your 18th birthday cake by mistake.”
As she spoke, she handed over the cake knife. Jiang Chi took it, and, without further ado, sliced the cake straight down the middle, handing half to Ji Yuannian with an icy “Happy birthday.”
Ji Yuannian stared wide-eyed at the cake split in two in front of her. It took her a while to react. She scooped up a spoonful of fluffy white cream and stuffed it in her mouth, mumbling, “Tha… thanks.”
“No need.”
“By the way, Chi-bao, what’s your birthday wish?”
“What?”
“Your birthday wish.”
“Hm… It used to be hoping my mysophobia would get better. Now my wish is for my Qingchan to come back. Why, our mighty school tyrant Ji Yuannian, is your influence so great you can grant my humble wish?”
The man’s voice was deep and pleasant, yet tinged with an indescribable sense of distance.
Ji Yuannian silently lowered her head, quietly eating her cake. She knew Jiang Chi was being sarcastic, but there was nothing she could say in return. Things had reached this point, and she was indeed at fault.
Qingchan coming back—how could that be possible? She was just a virtual character, could she appear in reality?
She wanted to make it up to him, but there was no way, unless she herself stepped in and continued to play “Ji Qingchan” to date Jiang Chi.
But that was impossible. If Ji Yuannian were an orphan, maybe it’d be doable—just freeload and treat it as the cost of being a leech. But she had parents and an elder brother. If she suddenly disappeared, her family would be devastated.
It was troubling. Ji Yuannian hated owing people anything, whether it was that T-shirt back then, or now, this cold and wounded Jiang Chi.
Jiang Chi lowered his head, eating the cake one bite at a time. Suddenly, under the table, a slender leg gently nudged him. The force wasn’t much, but enough to get his attention. He looked up to see the long-haired queen gazing at him apologetically.
“Well… Jiang Chi, I really am sorry about Ji Qingchan. I truly have no way to conjure someone out of thin air, but I can become Ji Qingchan again and keep you company. After all, the silver coin is in your hands…”
After all, in the past month and a half, she’d been touched by her arch-nemesis more than once. Plus, Jiang Chi seemed to harbor some vague affection for her now. Besides, the so-called female chastity was nothing to a true man.
Ji Yuannian gritted her teeth and, hardening her heart, half-resigned, half-bold, shouted, “Today’s your birthday. However you want to play is fine, as long as you don’t do anything to me in bed. However close you want to get, it’s up to you!
“I, Ji Yuannian, always keep my word—once said, there’s no taking it back!!”
“Oh.” After all that, she thought the man would pounce on her impatiently, but Jiang Chi just replied blandly, then lowered his head and continued eating cake.
This left Ji Yuannian utterly dumbfounded.
She’d already thrown herself at him, yet Jiang Chi showed no reaction at all. Was he trying to lure her in by playing hard to get, waiting to see her take the initiative?
While Ji Yuannian’s mind was still tangled in wild speculation and confusion, Jiang Chi finished his cake, stood up briskly, and walked off without a word.
Back in his room, he took out that mysterious double-sided silver coin from a hidden pocket in his clothes. As soon as it touched his fingertips, a wave of searing heat surged through it, and his brows furrowed unconsciously.
Strange. Why is this silver coin suddenly getting hot?