This thought arose suddenly, but Gu Ci’s current appearance truly had no difference from a beautiful ice sculpture placed inside a crystal coffin.

From the moment Big Black reported to her that Gu Ci was sent to the villa, until now, at the very least several hours had passed—why was he still in a coma?

As soon as this thought flashed by, Yan Luqing’s temples suddenly throbbed fiercely.

She shut her eyes abruptly, and immediately discovered that unfamiliar scenes floated up in her mind—

In the images appeared a man and a woman: one was the present body of Yan Luqing, and the other was Big Black.

She saw “Yan Luqing” say: “Inject him with \, tie him up, and lock him in the first-floor room.”

…

This must be the memory of the original body.

Yet the crucial name of the drug following the word “inject” was not heard by Yan Luqing at all, the brain automatically censored it with a “beep——”… This body’s memory could actually self-censor!

Yan Luqing: So advanced.

A reasonable guess, this memory took place at noon. Afterward, the original host went to see the psychiatrist, then got angry at that doctor, and then Yan Luqing transmigrated, muddle-headed until now.

So what exactly did the original host inject into him?

Was that the reason he was still unconscious now?

With Big Black as leader, the bodyguards were all waiting outside the door. Yan Luqing poked her head out, just about to call someone in to ask, when suddenly a few faintly cool coughs came to her ears.

She froze for a moment, then instantly turned her head toward the source of the sound—her gaze directly collided with that of Gu Ci, who had just opened his eyes.

The book had used countless words to describe Gu Ci’s eyes in the past, astonishingly beautiful, deep and black-lustrous, incomparable even to the most perfect obsidian.

Yan Luqing hadn’t expected him to wake so suddenly, and for a moment she stood frozen in place, unmoving.

Dazedly she thought—the book had said nothing wrong.

With eyes closed, the exact outline could not be seen; when opened, it became obvious. The inner corners of Gu Ci’s eyes curved in the standard peach-blossom shape, yet the outer corners carried the charm of phoenix eyes. The beginning of the double eyelids was narrow and delicate, while the ends spread out fan-like.

Yan Luqing had never seen such beautiful eyes—when closed, they were like a painting; when opened, the person stepped out from the painting.

Only it was a pity—though beautiful as they were, his pupils seemed covered with a layer of mist, unfocused.

Thinking back, the original book’s repeated descriptions of how his eyes once were—perhaps it was to make one deeply feel that contrast: how beautiful they had been before, how regrettable their ruin afterward.

After all, in the book, all the way until Gu Ci’s death, his eyes had never recovered. The best treatment period was precisely from now onward, but was dragged away in the hands of the original host.

Thinking of this again, she felt her fists harden.

Only a few seconds of staring, and many thoughts flashed through Yan Luqing’s mind—until she again heard Gu Ci’s voice.

“Yan Luqing.” While half-bowing his head to prop up his body and sit upright, Gu Ci clearly enunciated her name.

“……”

Yan Luqing, like a student caught playing on her phone and called out by the dean, inexplicably held her breath with nervousness.

She watched Gu Ci little by little support himself to sit straight—this movement for him right now was perhaps not especially easy, but he appeared unhurried, even had the leisure to smile slightly, saying: “We meet again.”

Yan Luqing accordingly nodded: “Mm.”

Then remembering that according to the book they had the setting of being high school classmates, and now the timeline was probably about half a year after graduation, she politely added, “Long time no see.”

As soon as these words fell, Gu Ci’s unhurried rising motion suddenly paused, and once again he lifted his eyes to look at her.

In that instant, Yan Luqing felt her whole body suddenly turn cold, as if from Gu Ci’s body she sensed an extremely icy emotion of loathing.

But Gu Ci very quickly withdrew his gaze.

As soon as his eyes shifted away, that sensation of being placed in an ice cellar vanished at once, as though it had all merely been her illusion.

Gu Ci leaned against the headboard. His expression was clearly gentle, his tone was normal, even the corners of his lips carried a faint smile. “Actually, it hasn’t been that long.”

“……” Yan Luqing was somewhat startled.

Saying “long time no see” shouldn’t be wrong, right? Isn’t that the safest phrase of all? Moreover, Gu Ci surely bore no hostility toward her now, then where did that loathing come from?

“I still haven’t thanked you.”

Yan Luqing recovered from her shock and doubt. “What?”

“I said, thank you.” Perhaps afraid she would not understand, Gu Ci added several more words, “For helping me out of the Jin family.”

He was thanking her, this reaction was correct! Just now it really had been her nerves being too taut.

Who knew why—he, someone who didn’t even have mobility, with just one glance was able to exert such pressure on her.

This was probably the innate skill of a big boss.

Yan Luqing put away her doubts, letting out a huge breath along with it. “We’ve known each other for so long, we’re also friends. Isn’t this what I should do?”

The wealthy basically all knew each other. In the book, it was set that the original host’s parents and Gu Ci’s parents were also friends. Unfortunately, fate toyed with them—when the original host’s parents wanted to lend a hand to the Gu couple, they were a step too late; when they wanted to help Gu Ci, they were again a step too late; and afterwards, no information about Gu Ci could be found.

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Suddenly, Yan Luqing realized something was wrong, and turned her head to look at Gu Ci: “Your eyes—”

“Can’t see clearly, only general outlines,” Gu Ci continued.

Obviously he was speaking of something as grave as losing sight in his eyes, yet his expression showed not the slightest change, and his tone could even be called offhand.

“But…” Yan Luqing grew more perplexed. “Just now when I wasn’t speaking, you still called my name.”

“Because I previously heard your bodyguard and Jin Qi’an report their names.”

Jin Qi’an?

When reading, Yan Luqing only remembered that the idiot who took Gu Ci away had the surname Jin. Looking at it now, from his words, Jin Qi’an must be that wastrel’s full name.

Jin Qi’an had made such a scene for his own amusement at the time, but later there would be his turn to cry before Gu Ci. Just thinking of the part she had read about Jin Qi’an being punished made Yan Luqing feel refreshed.

“Do you feel any discomfort now?” Yan Luqing asked.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere is uncomfortable.” Gu Ci turned his thin wrist, even his frown was good-looking. He said, “I seem to have been injected with some drug.”

“……”

It was as if a basin of cold water was poured right over her head. Yan Luqing suddenly recalled the scene her brain had played earlier, and her heart exploded with a loud rumble.

Her guilty conscience reached the extreme.

——Of course you were injected with drugs. That drug was precisely ordered to be administered by this body of mine.

“…That young master of the Jin family is really spoiled to the heavens, doing all sorts of immoral things.” After pondering for two seconds, Yan Luqing instantly shifted the blame of the “drugging” onto Jin Qi’an without a ripple showing on her face, then changed the subject, her expression and tone sincerely and earnestly concerned for Gu Ci: “In a moment I’ll immediately call a doctor to do an examination for you. She’s a professional, don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

——Not only had she wiped herself completely clean, this was practically the image of a most reliable close friend!

When Gu Ci heard this continuous stream of words, full of emotion, he seemed to pause slightly before once again smilingly voicing his thanks: “All right, thank you.”

Yan Luqing also smiled.

This wave, ah, this wave she was in the outer atmosphere.

However, before she could enjoy it for long, Yan Luqing heard Gu Ci once more speak: “By the way.”

She looked up: “What is it?”

Gu Ci leaned against the snowy-white pillow, his complexion appearing even paler than the pillow, and spoke with seeming casualness: “There’s another matter I want to confirm with you.”

“Go ahead.”

“I find it a bit strange.” Gu Ci lifted his eyes, his voice mild and indifferent. “I vaguely recall that it was your bodyguards who tied me up and put me in the car. Do you know how that happened?”

His gaze looked over at her, peaceful. “Don’t worry, there’s no other meaning, I just suddenly thought of it.”

Yan Luqing froze all at once.

That last sentence of his instantly made her recall one of the scenes in the book that had struck her deeply—

After the original host confessed guilt, served her sentence, and was released, yet still persisted in making trouble for a while, Gu Ci chose a day of fine weather, and ended her life.

He did not speak much, his attitude was even good. After finding the lunatic, he even spoke to her mildly: “Don’t worry, I don’t have any other purpose this time. I just came to send you on your way.”

And then the lunatic croaked. At the time Yan Luqing was so excited that she even dropped a torpedo in the comment section to celebrate.

“……”

How was his tone now so similar?

But I am such an innocent scapegoat… I’m still your fan… The comments I posted were all to help you curse out those scum, I didn’t even care that the lunatic had the same name as me, I cursed her the fiercest… I’m so stingy, yet without blinking I dropped several hundred yuan of torpedoes on you…

Yan Luqing wanted to cry but had no tears.

The original host had indeed ordered the abduction, but the sequence of commands was to inject first, then tie up. Logically, Gu Ci shouldn’t have been conscious.

What he said as “vaguely recall”… that must mean he was uncertain.

No matter what, this matter absolutely could not be admitted!

Yan Luqing had no choice but to switch to a lighter tone and said, “My bodyguards are all big and burly, you see how strong they look. Maybe when they were putting you in the car you bumped into something somewhere.”

Gu Ci fixed his gaze calmly in her direction for a while, his face expressionless. Only when Yan Luqing’s heart could not stop growing apprehensive did he suddenly smile: “Then it must have been my illusion, apologies.”

The glow of the setting sun shifted to the window ledge, shining through the half-drawn curtains into the room, falling precisely upon Gu Ci.

He was very thin now, yet his features were too perfect, refined bones and striking bearing—even in such poor bodily condition, his appearance had suffered no damage.

He sat within that beam of light, like a fine oil painting given vivid life.

Yan Luqing’s mood was like riding a roller coaster. The previous moment she was anxious and fearful, and now, looking at him, she suddenly felt a deep sorrow.

Before meeting Gu Ci, to her, Gu Ci was merely a two-dimensional character she had genuinely, wholeheartedly liked.

But now she had seen the living person. He could move, he could speak. He had just escaped from the hands of a scoundrel, believing himself free of the devil’s claws, yet in truth he had entered another abyss.

Yan Luqing had only transmigrated for a few hours. Everything she experienced was beyond imagination, her mind filled with strange, bizarre things, and her body also extremely unadapted. This was the first time she felt that becoming the lunatic was a good thing.

She could save him.

She could change the life he would have afterward.

Yan Luqing fixed her gaze earnestly upon his eyes, for the first time a little unskilled as she called his name: “Gu Ci.”

Gu Ci did not respond.

Before him there was only a blurred outline, yet the voice unique to a young girl still reached his ears, word by word.

“You will get better, believe me.”

—

Yan Luqing left with the bodyguards. The door opened and closed, footsteps outside gradually faded.

In the vast room, only one person remained.

Yet very soon, another group pushed the door open and entered. Leading them was a female doctor in a white coat worn unbuttoned, hair cut strikingly short, and height strikingly tall. Behind her followed several nurses pushing equipment, swiftly moving to suitable spots in the room to set the apparatus in place.

The female doctor came to the bedside, her manner crisp and decisive: “Hello, Mr. Gu. Miss Yan asked me to come. She said an unknown drug was injected into your body. Please cooperate now for a blood test.”

Gu Ci said nothing, extending his hand toward the nurse.

Because his head was slightly lowered, no one noticed the arc of his lips, not obvious, yet overflowing with mockery.

Earlier, Yan Luqing had cursed Jin Qi’an before him. Yet she did not know—whatever Jin Qi’an had injected into Gu Ci, he knew them all like the back of his hand.

He was even familiar with each one’s side effects, the symptoms and duration of onset, and how to alleviate them to the greatest extent.

But today’s drug was not any one of them.

And he also knew clearly that he had not remembered wrongly, he had indeed been tied up and put into the car.

Doctors and nurses bustled about the room, yet all, knowing the temper of this family’s young lady, dared not approach to converse with this exceptionally handsome stranger lying in the bed.

Gu Ci, conveniently, had no wish to speak either.

His gaze fell casually on a certain place, and for no reason he thought of the very first words Yan Luqing had said upon seeing him this time.

…Long time no see?

All expression on Gu Ci’s face gradually gathered away, the warmth in his brows and eyes dropping degree by degree, highlighting an unusually cold aura. Compared with the earlier weak bearing and gentle speech, he seemed like a completely different person.

He lowered his eyelashes, the corner of his lips faintly lifting, his long, pale fingers lightly curled.

Indeed.

The last time they had officially met, what he had seen was that lunatic’s disfigured corpse.