That kiss was filled with so much longing.
At first, Ji Yunxiao was still gentle and restrained, but soon she lost all control.
A moment of confusion flashed in Lin Qianwei’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
She gently closed her eyes, letting her thick, curled lashes flutter like butterfly wings.
The two of them, still holding each other, sat down in the back seat of the Maybach.
Before the partition could even go up, their lips were tangled together again.
The car was headed for a high-end, luxurious five-star hotel.
Ji Yunxiao couldn’t remember how she got to the room, and she had no memory of what happened after.
When she woke up again, she was completely naked, surrounded by scattered clothes.
She picked up her dress and saw that it had been torn to shreds, completely unwearable.
Was it really… that intense?
“Qianqian?” Ji Yunxiao called out tentatively.
It had to be Song Qianqian who was there last night—there was no way she could have mistaken her.
But the big room was empty, and there was no response at all.
What the hell happened?
Ji Yunxiao wrapped herself in a towel, planning to wash her face and calm down.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she saw a much younger, more innocent version of herself.
Her temples throbbed, and then a flood of memories rushed in.
Ji Yunxiao realized, a bit late… she’d transmigrated into a novel?
And she’d become the troublemaking villainess with the exact same name as her?
She used to be the envy of everyone, but now she’d inherited a mess left by the original, dumb and mean owner of this body.
It looked like she’d fallen from the clouds to the bottom, but Ji Yunxiao didn’t care.
She was even glad she’d come to this world.
Because Song Qianqian was here.
Now, Ji Yunxiao only wanted to know one thing: where was her Qianqian?
Maybe it was a side effect of transmigrating, but the memories she’d received were messy and jumbled.
She only knew the names of many people, not their faces.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember anything about Song Qianqian.
“I’ll just ask at the front desk later.”
As long as Qianqian was here, she’d find her.
Ji Yunxiao took off the towel, ready to shower.
When she turned on the water, she noticed her right wrist was still sore.
The water stung her back, and when she looked in the mirror, she saw several scratch marks on her pale skin.
There were also bite marks all over her collarbone and shoulders.
Ji Yunxiao touched them, and after a moment of daze, she laughed softly and whispered, “Qianqian…”
It was just a shame that the abs she’d worked so hard for were completely gone.
Clearly, this body wasn’t in great shape—she’d have to start working out.
Ji Yunxiao asked the hotel to send up some everyday clothes.
Once she was dressed, she went to ask who the woman was that brought her here last night.
But the front desk told her, “You came by yourself.”
The smile on Ji Yunxiao’s face instantly disappeared.
How could she have come by herself?
Her tone was icy: “I need to see last night’s security footage.”
The front desk looked troubled.
“Please wait a moment.”
The receptionist hurried off, and soon the manager came over, apologizing profusely: “Sorry, Miss Ji, the hotel’s security cameras broke the day before yesterday and are still being repaired.”
Ji Yunxiao was silent for a long time.
She stared at the manager with eyes as dark as ink, making him so nervous he started to sweat.
Only then did she say lightly, “Is that so?”
The manager wiped his forehead.
“I’m really sorry.”
Ji Yunxiao didn’t say anything else and turned to leave.
Once she was finally out of sight, the front desk let out a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but complain, “Why do I feel like this Miss Ji is different from before…”
The manager shook his head.
“Maybe a little? But it doesn’t matter.”
He turned and made a phone call.
In a villa in the western suburbs, at the center of an outdoor pool—
A slender figure parted the water with her arms, splashing as she swam, moving like a beautiful mermaid.
On the shore, Qiao Xi finished a brief phone call and hung up.
“President Lin, are you done swimming?” Qiao Xi cupped her hands around her mouth and called out.
Two minutes later, Lin Qianwei came over, wrapped in a towel.
“The manager did as you said and didn’t show Ji Yunxiao the security footage.
Ji Yunxiao didn’t make a fuss and just left.” As Lin Qianwei’s longtime friend, Qiao Xi reported the situation, then couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly happened last night?”
Lin Qianwei didn’t answer.
Qiao Xi looked conflicted.
“You didn’t really sleep with her, did you?”
Lin Qianwei replied with a single word: “No.”
Qiao Xi let out a small sigh of relief.
Good, then.
She looked at the natural beauty beside her, fresh from the water, and thought, Thank goodness my goddess of a friend wasn’t ruined by Ji Yunxiao.
Just thinking about Ji Yunxiao gave Qiao Xi a headache.
Half a year ago, Lin Qianwei’s older sister was in a car accident, leaving behind a six-year-old girl, Lin Youran.
To take better care of Lin Youran and give her a complete family, Lin Qianwei decided to marry a woman.
And she chose Ji Yunxiao.
Originally, Ji Yunxiao wasn’t even in their social circle.
Even though the Ji family did business with them and had close ties, Ji Yunxiao had been switched at birth and didn’t grow up with the Ji family.
It was also half a year ago, because of a twist of fate, that Ji Yunxiao regained her identity and returned to the Ji family.
I heard that when she first came back, Ji Yunxiao was treated pretty well.
Even though the real daughter who’d been switched at birth, Ji Liuliu, also stayed, her biological parents still favored Ji Yunxiao out of guilt.
But Ji Yunxiao just couldn’t behave herself—she embarrassed the Ji family over and over, and kept using all sorts of clumsy tricks to mess with and frame Ji Liuliu.
The Ji family didn’t have any real emotional bond with Ji Yunxiao; their relationship was just held together by blood.
Over time, Ji Yunxiao was basically digging her own grave.
Not only did she fail to drive Ji Liuliu away, but her own situation got worse and worse.
By the time Lin Qianwei brought up marriage, Ji Yunxiao’s position in the Ji family was already on the verge of collapse.
So before they got married, Lin Qianwei made the terms very clear.
She just needed a wife who could take care of Lin Youran.
She couldn’t offer love or a real marriage, but in return, she could give Ji Yunxiao dignity and material compensation.
Basically, it was a business deal, and they both got what they wanted.
Ji Yunxiao could have refused, but she agreed right away.
Not only that, she even swore up and down that she’d treat Lin Youran like her own daughter and wouldn’t interfere in Lin Qianwei’s life.
But after the wedding, her true colors showed.
At first, she was just impatient with Lin Youran.
Later, she started hitting and yelling at her, even threatening the six-year-old girl not to tell anyone.
During this time, she also caused trouble at Lin Qianwei’s company, got jealous for no reason, suspected Qiao Xi of having an affair with Lin Qianwei, and even stormed into meetings to make a scene, ruining Lin Qianwei’s projects.
Stuff like that happened all the time.
“Even though I love reading yuri novels, I’m totally straight.
I can’t believe she’s picking a fight with me,” Qiao Xi said, exasperated.
“And I really don’t get it.
The couple who raised Ji Yunxiao weren’t as rich as the Ji family, but they were middle-class intellectuals.
I heard they never treated her badly, so how did she end up so dumb and mean?”
Half a month ago, Lin Youran’s injuries were too obvious to hide anymore.
When Lin Qianwei found out, she was both heartbroken and furious.
After getting to the bottom of it, she was ready to send Ji Yunxiao to jail.
But Ji Yunxiao cried, wailed, knelt, and begged for forgiveness, so Lin Qianwei let her go.
Strangely enough, Lin Qianwei isn’t the type to go soft easily.
She’s only 25, but she’s already at the top, running the Lin Group, all thanks to her decisiveness and tough methods.
But when it comes to the troublemaking Ji Yunxiao, Lin Qianwei keeps letting her off the hook.
“Why is that?” Qiao Xi asked.
“Weiwei, I’ve always wanted to ask—do you like Ji Yunxiao?”
Lin Qianwei let out a cold laugh.
Qiao Xi sighed.
“Yeah, who’d have to be crazy to like someone like Ji Yunxiao.”
Lin Qianwei had always kept quiet about this, but this time she actually said, “It’s because of her face.”
“Huh?” Qiao Xi thought for a moment.
“Ji Yunxiao’s features are okay, I guess, but her taste is so tacky.
Her makeup’s always a mess, her clothes are super outdated, and overall she just looks… I don’t even know how to describe it…”
“Weiwei, don’t scare me,” Qiao Xi’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me you like that style?”
“I don’t.”
Lin Qianwei pulled her towel tighter around her shoulders, frowned at the gently rippling water nearby, and said softly, “It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen that face somewhere before…”
“And the woman with that face shouldn’t be dressed like that, or be like that person from before…”
Qiao Xi didn’t really get it.
“Forget it.” Lin Qianwei stood up, not planning to say more.
But Qiao Xi pressed, “Don’t leave me hanging.”
Lin Qianwei thought for a moment, then said slowly, “Ji Yunxiao seemed different yesterday.”
“She’s really changed, like she’s a whole new person,” Lin Qianwei’s lips curved ever so slightly, so faint it was barely noticeable.
“It’s like the person I’ve been waiting for finally showed up…”
Qiao Xi was totally confused.
“What do you mean? Who have you been waiting for?”
Lin Qianwei’s eyes lost focus, looking a bit empty.
After a moment, she pulled herself together and said, “I don’t know either.”
Maybe it was just a feeling—hard to explain, but so strong she couldn’t ignore it.
Lin Qianwei stood by the pool for a while longer, then went to shower by herself.
Earlier, she’d been wearing a conservative swimsuit and had a towel over her shoulders, so Qiao Xi hadn’t looked closely.
When she came out of the shower in a camisole, Qiao Xi finally noticed the marks on her collarbone.
Qiao Xi was shocked.
“Wait! Didn’t you say you didn’t sleep with Ji Yunxiao?”
