Lin Jianqing looked down at the contract, then set it back.
“President Shen, your conditions are really tempting, but…”
He stopped himself mid-sentence.
Because he didn’t actually know what could follow that “but.”
But it was too absurd. He still couldn’t accept Shen Huaixue’s bizarre train of thought.
But this whole stand-in literature thing had landed right on his head, and it was even cross-gender stand-in literature. Lin Jianqing just wanted to know if Shen Huaixue had laughed while drafting the contract.
Yet those numbers on the contract were too glaring—his mother’s medical bills, his sister’s tuition, and the crushing debt he could barely keep up with. All of them swirled in his head like a mess of crumpled paper.
He really did need money, and what Shen Huaixue was offering right now was exactly that.
It was practically a stack of cash slapping him in the face, and Lin Jianqing could only take it.
Lin Jianqing almost hated how quickly he started hesitating. Shen Huaixue watched him, as if she had been waiting for him to stop right there. She tapped her fingertips lightly on the steering wheel.
“But you think it’s too weird?”
Lin Jianqing looked up at her. Shen Huaixue’s tone was steady, her face still expressionless.
“A stand-in, women’s clothing, accompanying me for a year. It does sound like a condition that no normal person would propose.”
Lin Jianqing: “…Wait, you know that too?”
Shen Huaixue seemed to see right through his silent complaint. The corner of her lips curved slightly.
“Don’t look at me like that, Student Lin. I’m not expecting you to like any of this right away. You just need to cooperate slowly.”
“Cooperate with you treating me as someone else?”
“Pretty much. If we’re being more precise, have you heard of stand-in literature in novels? It’s about the same.”
Lin Jianqing was rendered speechless by her words.
“Your contract…” Lin Jianqing looked at the women’s clothing design sketches, his voice dry. “No normal person would think this is reasonable. Springing a request like this on me out of nowhere.”
“If you weren’t drowning in medical debt, I might have considered taking things slower. But since you’re so desperate for money right now, I think being direct shows more sincerity.”
Shen Huaixue replied quickly, and Lin Jianqing’s expression stiffened. Her meaning was obvious—she had hit him right where it hurt.
Shen Huaixue didn’t raise her voice or show any clear threatening expression. She simply laid the reality out in front of him, as calmly as pushing over a neatly organized report.
“Lin Jianqing, right now you’re not choosing a job you like, nor are you judging whether I’m trustworthy. You’re deciding whether this contract can save your mother, or let your sister continue school, or simply let you escape your past life.”
Shen Huaixue was extremely calm. Her cold eyes fixed on Lin Jianqing, making a chill run down his spine.
Lin Jianqing looked at her and suddenly realized that her outward coldness wasn’t an act.
She could break down a person’s predicament, struggles, dignity, and embarrassment into itemized conditions, then present them with the right tone and expression.
She directly made the situation favorable for herself, then slowly told you that you didn’t really have many choices.
That was even harder to take than a direct threat.
“You’re… kind of taking advantage of my desperation,” Lin Jianqing said quietly.
Shen Huaixue let out a soft laugh.
“Mm, I suppose so. But it just so happens I found you, and you happen to need me.”
She admitted it too quickly, leaving Lin Jianqing momentarily stuck.
Shen Huaixue turned her face to look at him. Her dark eyes were calm, but her tone carried a hint of irritating smugness.
“But I’m paying a lot, so the taking is still sincere enough.”
Lin Jianqing: ‘This woman is really crazy. But she’s rich.’
Shen Huaixue slid the pen toward him.
“You can refuse.”
Lin Jianqing didn’t move. Shen Huaixue continued, “You can go back to working part-time, keep applying for school grants, or try to borrow money. Anyway, you’re so proud—I’m sure you won’t run out of ways.”
She paused there, her gaze landing on his face.
“But the hospital might not have the patience to wait while you figure things out slowly. And I’m guessing you’ve already tried every idea you could think of.”
Lin Jianqing’s fingers tightened slightly. That statement wasn’t wrong, but the more correct it was, the more it kept breaking down his defenses.
Shen Huaixue watched his reaction. The trace of amusement in her eyes faded a little, as if she had finally said exactly what she wanted.
“I can arrange for your mother’s transfer to another hospital today. I can also contact a healing-type awakened for her. I’ll handle your sister’s tuition and living expenses as well. The money you owe isn’t a problem for me.”
“As for what you have to give…”
Her gaze swept lightly over the contract and then back to Lin Jianqing’s face.
“Accompany me for one year. Show up in front of me as I require. Occasionally wear the clothes I want to see. That’s all.”
Lin Jianqing felt his ears burn. What did she mean by “that’s all”?
Really… was it absurd? Lin Jianqing wasn’t sure anymore.
Lin Jianqing held back, but couldn’t help saying, “President Shen, do you think that if you say it lightly enough, this whole thing will seem normal?”
Shen Huaixue looked at him for a few seconds, as if seriously considering it.
“I don’t think so. You seem like a fairly traditional guy.”
“Then why did you still say it?”
“Because you’ll have to get used to it eventually.”
The car fell silent. The sound of traffic outside filtered through the glass, muffled and dull.
Lin Jianqing stared at the pen, his mind in chaos. He could feel himself wanting to struggle, but that struggle had lost most of its strength.
He didn’t have the luxury to hold his dignity so high—at least not now. His mother was still in the hospital, his sister still needed to go to school, and he had to count every penny for next month’s living expenses.
And Shen Huaixue sat beside him, cold and detached, steady and unwavering, with an attitude that said, “You can keep thinking, but the result won’t change.”
This was terrible. Even worse, Lin Jianqing was now starting to subconsciously accept that Shen Huaixue was probably right.
Lin Jianqing spoke slowly, “Are you sure all the conditions above can be met?”
Shen Huaixue raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she had finally been waiting for him to start negotiating.
“Yes.”
“My mother must be transferred to the hospital you mentioned, and the treatment arrangements need to be written into the contract.”
“That can be done too.”
“My normal life can’t be affected. No one else besides you and me can know about all this messy stuff.”
Shen Huaixue looked at him, a slight deepening of amusement in her eyes.
“Student Lin, adding clauses before you’ve even signed is a bit rude.”
Lin Jianqing looked up at her.
“If you don’t agree, I won’t sign.”
He didn’t have much confidence when he said it.
But Shen Huaixue didn’t call his bluff. She was in a good mood. She took the pen and added a few lines in the blank space of the contract.
Her handwriting was beautiful—sharp and precise, just like her. It looked neat on the surface, but every stroke carried a sense of pressure.
“I won’t disturb your sister’s life. I’ll arrange your mother’s treatment. I won’t interfere with school either.” After she finished writing, she pushed the contract back.
“But when I need you, you have to cooperate. Especially regarding the ‘personal aesthetic arrangement’ clause—I require your full cooperation in that area. Other than that, rest assured. I’m not particularly interested in the male body.”
Lin Jianqing stared at those words, his expression sour.
“Can we change the name for that?” He was referring to “personal aesthetic arrangement”—no matter how he interpreted it, it sounded perverted.
“Why?”
“It looks like some kind of pervert clause.”
Shen Huaixue slowly glanced at him.
“Don’t you already think I’m a pervert?”
Lin Jianqing: ‘…Yeah. You’re pretty self-aware.’
Shen Huaixue chuckled and added a note next to it: “image coordination.”
“Is this satisfactory now?”
Lin Jianqing looked at “personal aesthetic arrangement/image coordination” written side by side on the contract. His mood became even more complicated.
Did this really make it better?
It felt even weirder. Shen Huaixue handed him the pen.
“Sign it.”
Lin Jianqing didn’t take it immediately. He looked at Shen Huaixue’s cold, pretty face, and a ridiculous feeling washed over him.
This woman looked aloof on the outside, like she didn’t care about anything. She always spoke calmly and composedly, as if even if the sky fell, she’d just complain about the noise first.
But now that he had actually interacted with her, Lin Jianqing realized she wasn’t simply cold at all.
She was snarky, sly, annoyingly smug, and very good at pushing people to the edge while putting on an “it’s your choice” act.
People like her were the worst.
Lin Jianqing took the pen. When the tip touched the paper, his fingers still paused slightly.
Shen Huaixue didn’t rush him. She just watched quietly.
Lin Jianqing finally closed his eyes and wrote his name.
Lin Jianqing.
The two characters settled on the page, the ink still wet.
His heart felt oddly empty, as if something had finally been decided.