When Li Xingya came to her senses, she had already stepped out of the black stretch limousine and stood in front of Jiang Chiyue’s house.
Among the rows of massive, neatly arranged square villas, one of them belonged to Jiang Chiyue.
Unlike the cramped rental room that couldn’t even see sunlight during the day, this place had such great lighting that even at night it felt like it could be illuminated by moonlight and starlight.
Being able to live here—Jiang Chiyue was definitely rich, right?
‘No, what am I thinking?’
‘Her style and aura are like a mafia princess. She brought a whole group of people to dox me in person.’
‘Jiang Chiyue is definitely rich, no doubt.’
‘But… no matter how I think about it, it feels so unreal.’
‘If I’m not mistaken, I’ll be living here from now on.’
‘As “Li Xingya.”’
“Come in.”
Jiang Chiyue stood alone at the entrance.
Li Xingya instinctively glanced around and asked, “Those people just now… they don’t live here, do they? The ones in black suits.”
Wouldn’t it be quite lonely for only two people to live in such a big house?
Jiang Chiyue froze for a moment.
She clearly hadn’t expected Li Xingya to ask such a question.
Still, she answered, “I like living alone.”
That simple sentence made Li Xingya’s thoughts churn even more.
‘She likes living alone. Then am I intruding on Jiang Chiyue’s life?’
‘As a debtor and creditor relationship, that’s obviously not good.’
Work—the most important thing was being able to handle your own problems independently and not cause trouble for others.
In Li Xingya’s view, her arrival was clearly bothering Jiang Chiyue.
As a mature adult (maybe?), Li Xingya thought she should prevent this situation.
“Li Xingya.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Chiyue raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve been silent since getting out of the car. What’s on your mind?”
‘Are you secretly happy about living in such a big house?’
Jiang Chiyue didn’t mind Li Xingya being happy.
If Li Xingya was happy, she would be happy too.
“Actually, if you don’t want your solitary life disturbed, I can go back to the rental room—don’t worry, I definitely won’t run away.”
Li Xingya clearly didn’t notice Jiang Chiyue’s strange expression and continued on her own:
“If you really don’t trust me, I can pawn my ID card to you. Ah… although I left my ID in the rental room too. Can you give me some time to go get it? A round trip won’t take too long.
Of course, I don’t need you to come with me for this. I can take a taxi back myself… but I might need to borrow the fare from you. To be honest, I don’t have any money left on my phone…”
“Tch.”
The discordant sound cut off Li Xingya’s work-report-style speech.
Li Xingya froze.
A hint of confusion crept into her eyes as she looked at Jiang Chiyue.
She tilted her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She could no longer use the title “Miss Jiang,” so she simply addressed Jiang Chiyue as “you.”
“Li Xingya, the first thing you need to remember now is that ‘Sister Li Xingya’ would never let my expectations down.”
Jiang Chiyue said coldly.
Jiang Chiyue wanted to see Li Xingya happy, to see her look forward to her new home.
Not to watch Li Xingya seriously talking about going back to live alone, saying boring things like pawning her ID.
Li Xingya swallowed.
“Your expectations?”
“Don’t use honorifics with me.”
Jiang Chiyue grabbed Li Xingya’s wrist.
“Otherwise I’ll punch you.”
‘Ah, the worst thing has happened.’
‘She really is trying to force me into being a substitute.’
Substitute literature.
Li Xingya had heard of this kind of thing—whether from coworkers’ mouths or from novels and videos she randomly scrolled online in her free time.
She had thought it could never happen in real life, but here she was, facing it now.
What was she supposed to do?
Li Xingya thought it over, then finally smiled.
“I understand.”
To be honest, Li Xingya was afraid of pain.
She didn’t want to get punched.
So—until Jiang Chiyue calmed down, she’d try to play the role of “Li Xingya.”
Think of it as unpaid work.
“Then… what would you like me to call you?”
Once she realized this could also count as a kind of job, Li Xingya’s mindset shifted extremely quickly.
She even reached out and held Jiang Chiyue’s hand back—with both hands, eyebrows curved, smiling sweetly as she asked, “You like calling me ‘sister,’ so… should I call you ‘little sister’? You’re older than me and taller, so we’ll have to keep that our little secret, okay?”
Li Xingya’s change was so sudden.
So sudden that Jiang Chiyue had no reaction.
In that moment, she actually felt a kind of mature—no, a truly “adult” aura from Li Xingya.
“Sister Li Xingya…”
“I’m here.”
“Remember? You said you’d stay with me this month…”
Jiang Chiyue didn’t finish.
Li Xingya kept smiling.
“Stay with you for what?”
Jiang Chiyue: “…”
“Li Xingya.”
Jiang Chiyue’s expression suddenly turned cold.
“Yes.”
So cold that Li Xingya felt like she had to reboot.
‘What’s going on?’
‘The atmosphere was just fine a moment ago.’
‘Did I do something wrong?’
‘So stay with you for what? At least finish what you were going to say!’
‘Without any memory of “Li Xingya,” this young lady’s thoughts are really hard to figure out.’
Seeing Li Xingya’s confused, at-a-loss expression, Jiang Chiyue let out a long sigh.
“You know, just from the look on your face right now, I almost believed you really had amnesia. Not bad acting, Sister Li Xingya.”
“No… so I really do have amnesia,” Li Xingya defended herself. “I’m not lying about the rebirth either. I’m really not Li Xingya.”
Maybe Jiang Chiyue believed her.
Maybe she didn’t.
She just turned around and dropped the topic.
“Come inside. Don’t even think about going back to the rental room. Get mentally prepared—we’ll be living together for a long time.”
‘Don’t worry. Living with you is the one thing I won’t hate.’
The second half of the sentence Jiang Chiyue forcibly swallowed down.
She didn’t want to say that to the current Li Xingya.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly, Jiang Chiyue turned back to look at Li Xingya from inside the house.
“I’ve thought of what job to help you find—since you’re so good at acting, why not go in front of a camera and show off your talent to the fullest?”
“A c-camera?”
Li Xingya’s face went pale.
‘Is she forcing me into the porn industry?’
‘Come to think of it, in my previous life, someone threatened me like that too.’
‘“If you don’t pay back the debt by next month, get ready to sell your ass!”’
Standing under the gilt chandelier, Jiang Chiyue said, “What do you think about being a perfect idol in front of the camera?”
“An idol?”
So it wasn’t about going into porn.
Li Xingya’s anxious heart settled down.
“That’s right, an idol. Debut from an agency as a trainee. That way, it’s fine even if you’re still a minor. If things go smoothly, you can earn two million in just a few years.
You’ve been clamoring to pay me back, Li Xingya… I’m giving you a chance now—a chance that, as long as you work hard enough and have that absolutely beautiful face, you’re sure to succeed!”
Jiang Chiyue was curious.
How long would Li Xingya—who had to act in front of the camera and act at home to escape the past—be able to keep up the mask of “amnesia” and “reincarnator”?
So then—
“So, Li Xingya… aim for the top as an idol. Who knows? Maybe the day you pay off your debt, I really will set you free?”
Jiang Chiyue made a promise she had no intention of keeping.
She gave Li Xingya hope so fake it couldn’t be faker.