“So, this is the urgent thing you wanted to see me about?”
Dragged out of the kitchen against his will, Jiang Chi sat on the sofa, apron still tied around his waist. After listening to the account of what was seen and heard on the forum, he looked up at the beautiful and striking person across from him—currently gulping down medicinal soup—and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Yes.”
She told Jiang Chi most of it, but left out her own dream. Ji Yueni finished the rest of the soup in her bowl with large gulps, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and set the empty bowl on the table beside her.
After a moment’s thought, she spoke again, her elegant brows slightly furrowed, and asked, “Jiang Chi, do you think gods exist in this world?”
“I don’t know if gods exist, but I do know there are supernatural forces in this world—mysterious forces that current science can’t explain.”
Pausing for a beat, Jiang Chi seemed to recall something. He pointed at Ji Yueni and said calmly, “Like your gender transformation, for example.”
Ji Yueni: “…..”
Thank you very much (through gritted teeth). Would you die if you didn’t bring up my gender swap?
Taking a few deep breaths to suppress the urge to snap back, Ji Yueni spoke again, a trace of anticipation in her voice: “Then, can you get someone’s offline address by opening the box?”
“I don’t know. It depends on the specific situation.”
The man lowered his head and started fiddling with his phone. After saying that, he looked up to sneak a glance at the aloof and exquisite face of the elegant woman, silently adding a thought in his heart.
Even if it were possible, he’d stop her. After all, only the gender-swapped Ji Yueni was the best version of Ji Yueni.
“Just do your best.”
She patted the man’s shoulder, her expression hearty and deliberately encouraging.
For her, the best outcome would be to unbox in real life. If she couldn’t, she’d just keep researching the principles behind gender transformation.
“Mm.”
The man replied lightly, phone in hand, eyes down as he kept busy. The elegant woman’s curiosity was piqued, and she couldn’t help leaning over.
“What are you doing?”
“Snatching tickets.”
“What tickets?”
“In a few days, it’ll be October. There’s a short vacation coming up.” Jiang Chi said, showing his phone to Ji Yueni. Two adult tickets appeared before her eyes.
“You’re coming with me to climb a mountain. Senior Zhang suggested it. Being close to nature helps alleviate mental illness symptoms.”
“Me and you? Just the two of us? Not inviting our mom and dad?” Ji Yueni’s mind blanked for a moment.
“That’s right.” Jiang Chi nodded. He pointed first at Ji Yueni, then at himself, speaking solemnly.
“Just you and me. The two of us.”
Ji Yueni was stunned for a moment. Then, recalling what had happened in her dream, she couldn’t help frowning. But her brows soon relaxed, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes. With a subtle movement of her fingers in her pocket, a silver coin flipped.
In an instant, her long, jet-black hair cascaded like a waterfall. The girl reached up and lightly tucked a lock behind her ear, a captivating smile on her lips.
“Jiang Chi, Senior Jiang, if I always stayed like this, would you marry me?”
The man raised his eyes, a complex glimmer flickering across his cool and handsome face. He was silent for a long, long time, just staring fixedly at the girl before him, as radiant as a beam of moonlight. After a while, his lips moved slightly, and he slowly uttered a sentence.
“No.”
Hearing this unexpected answer, the girl’s eyes filled with obvious surprise, but she quickly returned to normal.
“Why not? Senior Jiang, don’t you like pure and cute girls like Qingchan?”
She pretended to act spoiled, nestling into the man’s arms. Her bright eyes blinked up at him, her voice gentle, like a spring breeze caressing the heart.
“She may be fake, but her whole existence is for you—for that somewhat introverted, cleanliness-obsessed boy, for our campus heartthrob Jiang.”
“From the moment ‘Ji Qingchan’ was created, her sole purpose was to fall in love with you, to make you feel loved. She’s so pure—doesn’t she deserve your affection?”
The man’s thin lips pressed tight. His gaze landed on the girl’s pale, slender neck, catching sight of her delicate collarbone beneath her loose T-shirt. The scent of gardenia suddenly thickened in the air. He sighed softly and said, “Alright, Ji Yueni, you win.”
“But my answer is still no.”
“Why?” Ji Yueni looked shocked.
Jiang Chi sat on the sofa, hunching slightly. His gaze settled on the girl’s abdomen—deep and distant, as if full of endless thoughts.
“You have no reproductive value.”
“Can you give me an heir? You can’t. Can you be a good wife and helper? You can’t. Can you be content to be my woman? You can’t.”
“Whether you’re Ji Qingchan or Ji Yueni, you can’t. You won’t.”
“The only value in marrying you is to strengthen the business alliance between our families.”
++!
Is marriage really this realistic now?
She’d meant to tease him playfully, but these heartless words wiped away her good mood in an instant. Reproductive value, emotional value, business value.
She wanted to talk about love, but he answered so pragmatically. She pouted, then angrily threw out a “Boring, I’m leaving,” and with her one-point-three-meter-long legs, Ji Yueni strode out of the rented apartment without looking back.
Once Ji Yueni’s figure had completely disappeared from view, the spacious living room fell silent again. After a long while, the figure still sitting on the sofa slowly looked up.
He simply stared quietly in the direction where Ji Yueni had left, his eyes deep and complicated, as if holding a thousand words. In the end, he sighed helplessly.
“Did she see through something?”
“Ji Yueni, Ji Qingchan.”
*****
After leaving the apartment, Ji Yueni wandered alone for a while outside the school. She stopped under the shade of a street tree for a bit, watching the passing crowds of couples, her thoughts swirling.
After that, she walked into the familiar maid café, ordered an iced coffee, and sat quietly in a corner to savor it.
She was still a loyal customer of Wan Yi. After the incident at the mall last time, neither of them had brought it up again. They simply let it pass, as if nothing had happened.
However, Ji Yueni always had a faint sense that there was something odd in the way Wan Yi looked at her.
No sooner had she finished her iced coffee than she felt a slight bloating in her stomach. Just as she was about to go to the restroom, she bumped into someone right at the entrance of the men’s room.
That person wore a fox mask, a pair of fluffy ears on their head, and a black-and-white maid outfit. Behind them swayed a bushy white tail—whether attached or embedded, it was hard to tell.
“Daji?”
“O… Old… Master meow.” The sight of Ji Yueni seemed to shock Daji like she’d seen a ghost. Even with the fox mask, her surprise was obvious.
“Sorry, sorry.” After bumping into her, Ji Yueni quickly stepped aside and apologized. But just then, the bright blue sign above the restroom caught her eye.
“You’re a man?!”