Yan Luqing now had an enormous doubt lodged in her heart—was she here to transmigrate into a book, or was she here to take the blame?

The blame she carried on her back was already enough to open a blame shop, wasn’t it?

And just at this moment, as if the awkwardness wasn’t already enough, Gu Ci’s voice came from outside, his tone sounding as though very concerned: “Is the toilet hard to fix?”

Yan Luqing: “……”

There was nothing wrong with the words themselves, so why did they sound so full of sarcastic overtones here?

But that was Gu Ci. Now he hadn’t yet been forced into becoming a blackened boss; such a pitiful and kind Gu Ci, how could he possibly speak sarcastically to others?

Forget it.

When Big Black finished the phone call, Yan Luqing made a gesture of zipping her mouth shut at him, then turned around and pulled open the toilet door.

Gu Ci was sitting by the bedside.

More precisely, his entire upper body was leaning against the very soft pillow at the head of the bed, boneless, and surprisingly he looked very comfortable, very at ease.

Yan Luqing squeezed out a smile at him: “The toilet isn’t hard to fix. The sudden closing of the door was because he received a call, and had something urgent to tell me.”

“Mm.” Gu Ci very cooperatively nodded.

Yan Luqing cast a glance at Big Black, then while walking toward the door said: “Then I will first—”

Before the words “leave” came out, Gu Ci suddenly spoke and interrupted her.

He slowly sat upright on the bed and asked an entirely unrelated question: “You will attend today, right.”

Yan Luqing: ?

Yan Luqing suddenly halted her steps: “I will attend… attend what?”

Before Gu Ci could answer, Big Black cleared his throat and reminded: “Miss Yan, Young Master Jin’s birthday banquet is being held at noon today. The stylist your mother arranged for you will be arriving soon.”

Young Master Jin—that was Jin Qi’an’s birthday banquet?

Perhaps because it didn’t involve the story’s main characters, this was an unknown plot that the original book had never written.

But this was not what Yan Luqing first found strange.

She walked to stand closer to Gu Ci, curious: “Why would you pay attention to Jin Qi’an’s birthday banquet?”

“Originally I didn’t,” Gu Ci smiled, “but I still have something with him. If you are going, would it be convenient to bring it back for me?”

Yan Luqing grew even more curious: “Is that thing very important?”

“A cellphone.”

Oh.

This was the lifeblood of modern humans! Too important!

Yan Luqing was about to agree, the words turning once around the tip of her tongue, but suddenly a strange thought sprouted.

She opened her mouth: “Gu Ci.”

“Mm.”

Yan Luqing felt a surge of excitement from the bottom of her heart for her own proposal:

“Do you want to… go with me?”

——This was a plot that had never been written in the original book.

The original body had most likely gone, because Jin Qi’an had first done her the favor of “transferring” Gu Ci into her hands, and coincidentally two days later was Jin Qi’an’s birthday. If the original body did not attend, it would be unreasonable.

At that time in the book, Gu Ci must have been trapped inside this villa.

Having borne so much blame under the identity of the original body, of course when it could be used, she must make full use of it.

Why should that bastard get to celebrate his birthday in splendor, eating and drinking to his heart’s content, while Gu Ci suffered like this?

Yan Luqing was determined to take Gu Ci along.

Determined to make him unhappy.

Determined to make his birthday turn upside down, restless and chaotic!

—

After asking that question, Yan Luqing saw the most obvious change of expression that had ever appeared on Gu Ci’s face since she transmigrated.

Although it lasted only an instant, it was clearly stunned.

Gu Ci had always been the type to remain calm and composed, holding the overall situation in his grasp. Although she didn’t understand why, seeing such a person startled because of her did indeed give quite a sense of accomplishment.

What she didn’t know was that Gu Ci had merely been bored.

Physical illness and discomfort were nothing to him. He was more curious to see what purpose this madwoman had in behaving so completely differently this time.

And he also wanted to see how long this woman could keep pretending, and to what extent.

He didn’t need her help to get the cellphone back; Gu Ci had countless ways of retrieving it.

So he was probing.

He had guessed at many possible results, but he never imagined it would turn into this: he and this woman were actually sitting together in a dressing room, about to attend Jin Qi’an’s birthday banquet together.

“…What are you laughing at?”

Yan Luqing had just finished her eye makeup, and the moment she opened her eyes, she saw in the mirror Gu Ci’s face carrying a smile, his lashes lowered, the corner of his mouth curving upward, as though he had encountered something amusing.

Gu Ci lifted his eyelids, the misty black of his eyes seeming as if they could see through her:

“I am laughing, because indeed different species cannot understand each other.”

“???”

Indeed. For example, Yan Luqing simply could not understand what he meant by those words.

But her attention was quickly pulled away by another sensation.

“Hey hey hey—if you have something to say, say it properly, don’t touch my hair!” Yan Luqing promptly stopped the stylist’s hand that was about to tug her hair.

The stylist was a tall, thin man with blond hair, dressed simply, his looks also delicate and refined. At this moment he seemed startled by Yan Luqing’s action, stammering: “M-Miss Yan, this style is only a simple updo, it will be finished very quickly.”

Yan Luqing swore to protect her hair to the death, politely refusing: “No no, just curl it casually a bit. My hair is nearly bald already, it really can’t withstand torment. No updo.”

The stylist hadn’t expected this reason. After being stunned for a moment, he followed her instructions.

After finishing her hair, what was originally thought to be a mere formality of styling in the end produced a result that astonished Yan Luqing.

The appearance she had just disliked in the mirror last night was now ten times more pleasing. The dark circles were gone, and under the contrast of the makeup the pallor of her complexion no longer looked eerie. Her features were delicate and beautiful, her hair slightly curled, curled in a fluffy way that made the crown of her head look full and the volume abundant.

It was as if she had once again seen her former self.

Gu Ci had changed his clothes earlier than Yan Luqing, and just his face alone, placed there, left the assistant stylist at a loss. The assistant, a young girl, looked him over left and right, her face flushed red, and sidled up to whisper to the stylist: “I think this one doesn’t really need styling…”

Originally, men’s styling options were also fewer than women’s, so in the end Gu Ci only changed into another set of clothes, then sat on a chair nearby with his eyes closed to rest.

When Yan Luqing followed the little assistant to the dressing room to adjust her skirt, only the stylist, Big Black and Gu Ci remained in the makeup room.

Styling someone as famously explosive as Yan Luqing was comparable to running a marathon. After finishing a set, the stylist was exhausted, sweat on his brow. He was somewhat familiar with Big Black and quietly asked, “Miss Yan has changed so much recently, when I saw her last time she wasn’t like this. Has that place in her head been treated?”

Big Black stood by the door, not noticing that Gu Ci’s dozing was actually feigned, and directly answered, “No, she’s ill again—this time it’s bad.”

Then, considering Yan Luqing’s criminal record, he added, “But for now it’s not known if she’s faking.”

Gu Ci: “……”

“Sigh, what a pity,” the stylist said regretfully, “I still think she looks much cuter ill this time than before.”

“………”

Gu Ci finally opened his eyes and slowly stood up from the chair. He casually straightened his clothes and the whole person became exceptionally upright, like a tall bamboo.

Both Big Black and the stylist were startled.

When Gu Ci passed the two of them, he slightly signaled and said, “Tell Yan Luqing I’ll wait in the car.”

Big Black was stunned for a moment: “Why?”

Gu Ci: “Afraid of catching it.”

“……?”

*

Eleven a.m.

Yan Luqing’s clothes had a little problem because she had lost weight again; the waist needed to be altered smaller, which delayed things a bit.

Just as she came out of the dressing room, Big Black was waiting outside the door: “Miss Yan, we can depart now.”

“Where is Gu Ci?”

“He’s already in the car.”

After exiting the villa gate, Yan Luqing felt that constantly calling Big Black “hey” was not very proper, and mentally giving someone a nickname was also impolite, so she first asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”

Big Black had quickly adapted to her “amnesia” symptom: “Miss Yan, we’re all numbered. Until yesterday you always called us by our numbers.”

“Then what’s your number?”

“007.”

“……”

That number didn’t quite match him.

Yan Luqing hesitated between speaking and remaining silent, and in the end still couldn’t bring herself to call him by the agent-like number: “…All right, from today on I’ll call you Big Black.”

“?”

Although Big Black found it odd, after thinking carefully there was nothing special about it. After all, as long as he silently repeated ten times that Miss Yan was mentally ill, then everything made perfect sense.

Big Black asked again, “How many people are you bringing?”

“Just two: you, and Little Black. Little Black is—” Yan Luqing pointed at him, then pointed at the greenhorn standing by the door who had as much mouth as not, “him. This is the name I just gave him; later remember to tell him so you two can get used to it.”

Big Black was steady and wise; Little Black was reckless and dull.

She really was a naming genius.

Yan Luqing continued to instruct the plan she had arranged in advance: “This time, the plan goes exactly as I told you this morning. Even if Jin Qi’an finds out I did this, he can only swallow it. You handle behavioral guidance, Little Black handles physical actions. Our target is one of his legs, make sure you explain clearly to Little Black.”

“Understood.”

Yan Luqing looked at the tall, sturdy, dark-skinned youth quickly running toward her, and finally couldn’t hold back from asking her own guess: “By the way, was Little Black recruited because he’s especially good at fighting?”

Big Black nodded: “After all, you’ve seen his intelligence.”

—

After getting in the car, since it was an extended model, Yan Luqing sat facing Gu Ci.

Gu Ci wore a black suit without any patterns or designs. The simple, clean cut elevated his looks yet another level.

In the quiet carriage, the one with the lowest IQ was the first to speak.

Little Black could never hold back when he had a question, and since he hadn’t been punished for speaking wrongly before, he asked whatever came to mind: “Miss Yan, why does Mr. Gu also need to wear sunglasses like us?”

Indeed, Gu Ci’s face bore a pair of sunglasses. This had been agreed upon between Yan Luqing and him.

Counting the time, Gu Ci had disappeared from the public eye for two months already. It was hard to explain suddenly going blind. At an occasion like a birthday banquet, rich second generations already liked to put on airs with sunglasses. Even if someone asked, Yan Luqing could help explain it away as an eye injury from skiing while traveling.

After hearing the explanation, Little Black understood.

But then, seeing Gu Ci dressed no differently from him and Big Black, an all-black suit, and now even the same black sunglasses, he couldn’t help but ask again: “Then with us dressed so alike, what if Mr. Gu is mistaken for a bodyguard?”

Yan Luqing replied with perfect confidence: “You don’t need to worry about that. At a glance, he’s clearly a young master.”

Little Black: “……”

Not very damaging, but highly insulting.

The villa was in the suburbs. Driving to the destination would take at least forty to fifty minutes. Yan Luqing glanced around and took interest in the car’s television. After first obtaining Gu Ci’s consent, and then—lacking experience as a rich person—not knowing how to operate it, she instructed Big Black to turn on the TV.

Originally, Yan Luqing just wanted to make the ride less awkward, but she hadn’t expected the drama playing to be so engaging.

The female lead was reborn, and the supporting female who set her eyes on the male lead was also reborn, but the male lead was not. This led to two women who knew the entire plot, both falling in love with the same man, and scheming against each other. At present, the vicious supporting female held the upper hand, both green tea and white lotus, leaving the female lead unable to compete.

The reborn vicious supporting female had coaxed the male lead into a daze, but she didn’t truly like him—she had only died miserably in her past life, and in this life was merely clinging to a thigh.

The plot was now painfully frustrating: the truly good girl was heartbroken and sorrowful, while the bad woman was smug and triumphant.

When commercials came on, Yan Luqing sighed from the heart: “I didn’t expect there’d be such an interesting rebirth drama here.”

Little Black couldn’t resist complaining: “This woman is really bad. Clearly she died so miserably in her past life, but in this life she pretends to be a good person, and the male lead is actually being played around in circles by her.”

Yan Luqing: “Isn’t that obvious.”

Later even Big Black couldn’t help joining the discussion. Yan Luqing felt it was a bit unfair for the three of them to chat without including Gu Ci, so she deliberately sought a topic with him: “Gu Ci, have you ever watched this drama before?”

Gu Ci said: “I have.”

He had actually seen it!

Yan Luqing’s eyes lit up: “Then what do you think of this drama?”

Gu Ci looked in her direction, his eyes appearing exceptionally deep, while his contours appeared very gentle: “I think this reborn supporting female who died miserably in her past life has pretty good acting skills.”

Yan Luqing slapped her thigh: “Haha, I think so too!”

“……”