This was the first time Yan Luqing did not agree to Gu Ci’s request, nor did she help him. Before the audiobook app had finished downloading, she returned the phone to his hand.

She felt that she had been deeply connoted.

The revolutionary comradely friendship that had originally been increasing day by day, and the pitying affection Yan Luqing had been accumulating one-sidedly, were ruthlessly destroyed by Gu Ci’s act of Abnormal Psychology.

Yan Luqing decided to unilaterally announce that their friendship was temporarily broken.

——But this “temporary” only lasted for a day and a half, before it returned to the situation of Yan Luqing actively running to Gu Ci’s room.

*

The new bodyguard, known for his good temper, gave Yan Luqing quite a fright the first time he came to find her after entering the villa.

At that time, Yan Luqing had just removed her gauze bandage, and was on the bed intently fiddling with her phone—sometimes looking at the bright red bubbles of Jin Shabi¹“Shabi” (傻逼 / 傻屄) is a very vulgar Chinese slang insult. 傻 (shǎ) = “stupid, foolish” 逼 (bī) = literally “c*nt.”’s incompetent fury, sometimes searching in the contacts for original book characters she had an impression of, observing their bubbles.

Aside from Gu Ci’s exception which was unpleasant, this golden finger was simply too interesting——because it carried a function similar to emotional summarization and categorization, Yan Luqing felt it was even better than mind-reading.

When the new bodyguard knocked on the door and entered, Yan Luqing glanced at him, and immediately recalled what Little Black had said that day: “This big brother never gets angry when playing Honor of Kings.” “Ah, you are that Living Bodhisattva.”

The new bodyguard: “?”

“It’s nothing, I just said it casually,” Yan Luqing waved her hand, “What are you coming to find me for? If there’s something, just tell Big and Little Black directly.”

The Living Bodhisattva was still holding something in his hand, walked to her bedside, and spoke a long string of words: “Miss Yan, I inquired with your family doctor and psychologist, and learned that some

time ago you had the phenomenon of suddenly fainting. A few days ago you got into a conflict with someone and hit your head. Because they were worried that your body could not bear the side effects, the doctor temporarily stopped your psychiatric medicine. But judging from the reactions of your two bodyguards, your psychological problems seem to have worsened…”

Here the Living Bodhisattva again repeated the matter of Yan Luqing being accused by Big Black of “split personality nailed solid” and accused by Little Black of “color-blindness nailed solid,” taking a full three minutes, and only then summarized: “In short, starting today, you should resume taking medicine.”

Yan Luqing’s first reaction after hearing this: Fuck, how can this person talk as much as Tang Seng²Tang Seng (唐僧): Monk from Journey to the West, famous for being long-winded and nagging..

Moreover, his tone was also unhurried, very much like Tang Seng’s style that seemed to sound like earnest persuasion, but listening carefully for long made one go mad.

Her second reaction——

Wait, psychiatric medicine??

Treating the body was one thing, but this kind of stuff absolutely could not be taken recklessly!!!

Yan Luqing’s inner activities were abundant, but outwardly she looked calm and ordinary. She pretended to be composed and instructed: “Put the medicine over there first, I’ll eat it in a while.”

The Bodhisattva obeyed.

But after putting it aside, he did not leave.

“……Why are you standing in my room?”

“I’ll leave after I watch you finish eating.”

Yan Luqing: “With someone watching, I can’t eat.”

Facing this kind of bear-child refusal, the Bodhisattva’s emotions did not move in the slightest, keeping a smiling face as he said: “It was your parents who sent me. They are very worried about your psychological condition, so please…”

Yan Luqing directly interrupted: “If they are worried, then let them come watch me eat.”

……

In the end the Bodhisattva was left speechless, and left. Yan Luqing immediately got up, wrapped up that handful of colorful pills, and rushed into the toilet.

Although having illness, Baidu Cancer³Baidu Cancer (百度癌) is Chinese internet slang. It refers to people who search their symptoms on Baidu (China’s main search engine) and then convince themselves they have a very serious illness, usually cancer. as the starting point, Yan Luqing still felt confused about one thing——

These days she had not felt any abnormality in her brain or psychology. Although she had transmigrated, and had seen many scenes that defied common sense, she had never doubted the reality of all this.

Yan Luqing knew that her foremost task was to stay alive, and to stay alive with clarity, so she could not possibly take those medicines.

But…

If she stayed for a long time in the body of someone mentally ill, would she be affected?

*

Such a question was impossible to search for an answer to online.

Ask Gu Ci? She and Gu Ci were in a cold war. Ask Big and Little Black? Even more impossible, they would only report her to her psychiatrist.

So Yan Luqing touched upon a forum said to be the most active domestically, selected the Life Encyclopedia section, and with extreme nervousness, entered as a guest and posted a thread——

Topic: Li Tao, if Normal Person A transmigrated into the body of Mentally Ill B (Note: A’s soul is normal!), then at this moment, with A’s soul, B should not be mentally ill, right?

Li Tao was the abbreviation for “rational discussion.”

After typing it out, Yan Luqing confidently refreshed——

1L: ? Please, mentally ill patients should not go online, thank you.

2L: @Jing Psychiatry Department Director @B City Mental Illness Management Center

3L: Don’t tell me you are A? If you think you are A, then go search for the definition of delusional disorder, it fits you quite well.

Yan Luqing: “…………”

Angry, trembling, and cold, she was too disappointed in this merciless world.

Indeed, the internet could not be relied upon.

Better to lower her noble head and go reconcile with Gu Ci.

……

Five minutes later, Yan Luqing went downstairs, passed through the long corridor, and stood at Gu Ci’s door.

She raised her hand and knocked three times, but there was no answer inside.

Gu Ci should right now be applying eye compresses and soaking in medicinal solution, definitely spending the whole day in his room. How could there be no sound? Unless he still did not want to reconcile——

Just as Yan Luqing thought of this, the door before her suddenly opened from inside.

The hair at Gu Ci’s forehead was slightly disheveled, revealing his smooth forehead. The area around his eyes was faintly red, looking particularly striking. After looking at her for a few seconds, Gu Ci shifted his body slightly to the side: “Come in.”

Although Princess Ci had not responded verbally, he had personally gotten out of bed to open the door for her.

Yan Luqing completely forgave him, and inwardly told herself: because of yin-yang speech she had unilaterally entered a cold war with Gu Ci, this behavior ended here.

Although there had been a cold war for a day and a half, Yan Luqing had still made Big and Little Black give her real-time reports of Gu Ci’s latest situation. Now, she was watching in person the whole process of his eye compress medicinal soaking inside Gu Ci’s room.

Gu Ci’s skin was already fair; any bit of color on his face appeared especially conspicuous. After using special tools to soak in the medicinal solution and applying it into an apparatus, when he came out, the skin around his eyes had become crimson, and there were still quite a few blood vessels in his eyes.

No matter how one looked, it seemed as if it must have been painful. Yet whether in expression or in bearing, he did not show the slightest trace of “pain.”

Still that same indifferent ease, unruffled and composed.

Yan Luqing suddenly recalled that earlier, when the new bodyguard had come looking for her, she had discovered something.

It seemed that whenever she sensed something wrong, she would, very quickly, first think of seeking help from Gu Ci, and only afterward Big Black and Little Black.

At that time she had felt very strange. Since transmigrating into the book, Gu Ci had not done any action of protecting her. The ones acting as protectors had clearly been the loyal Big and Little Black——so why was Gu Ci’s name the first to appear in her mind?

It seemed to be precisely this special aura of seeming to be in control of everything, that made one have a strong impulse to rely upon him.

Tsk, could this be the charm of the runaway princess?

Next, Yan Luqing watched as Gu Ci, with the help of the nurse, completed a series of treatments, then put on the special glasses——these special glasses had once been made by that Doctor Liu, and now they came in handy.

The principle of the glasses was still censored to Yan Luqing; she only knew that this pair of therapeutic glasses turned out to be gold-framed, with thin lenses, and rather sharp-edged corners—excessively beautiful indeed.

After Gu Ci placed them upon the bridge of his nose, his whole aura underwent a subtle change. There was an indescribable cool aloofness, with a few added touches of scholarly air.

“I want to ask you a question.” Yan Luqing sat beside him and said, “It was a post I casually came across while browsing a forum.” Then she repeated to Gu Ci the thread she had posted herself. “Gu Ci, do you think in this situation, is A mentally ill?”

Gu Ci’s gaze settled on her for a few seconds, then he countered with a question: “Does A think they are?”

Yan Luqing was stunned: “What?”

“The hypothesis given here is that A transmigrated into Mentally Ill B, and asks whether A is mentally ill,” Gu Ci patiently repeated once more, looking at her through the lenses. “It’s very simple, the key is: does A think they are?”

Yan Luqing: “……No.”

Gu Ci looked at her. “Then A is not.”

“……”

Master, I have attained enlightenment.

The knot that had just formed in Yan Luqing’s heart instantly dissolved.

Although she knew she was merely overthinking, and in a few days would probably forget it, impossible for it to develop into real suspicion that she might be ill, she still wanted to say——

Princess Ci, eternal god.

*

In the days that followed, Gu Ci’s eyes recovered very well. When wearing the glasses, his eyesight could reach nearly forty percent of normal level, roughly equivalent to what a person with severe myopia combined with severe astigmatism would see of the world.

This weekend was Little Black’s birthday, and Gu Ci, who had progressed from at first only being able to take IV fluids, then only liquid food, had finally reached the day of Little Black’s birthday when the doctor said he could begin to eat normally again.

“I just asked Doctor Xu. She said that now, except for food that’s too greasy, you can eat a bit of everything.” Yan Luqing came down from upstairs, somewhat excitedly relaying to Gu Ci, “What do you want to eat? We can have the kitchen auntie make it.”

Gu Ci seemed to have little interest in eating, leaning lazily against the sofa, saying, “Anything is fine.”

At their side, Little Black loudly nagged, repeating insistently: “Miss Yan, it’s my birthday.”

Yan Luqing picked up the thread: “Yes, you didn’t expect it, right? That I would actually celebrate your birthday.”

“……”

After she finished, Little Black fell silent. Yan Luqing glanced at WeChat—sure enough, Little Black’s head was full of blue bubbles:

[Miss Yan is so biased so biased so biased so biased so biased……]

[Why didn’t you ask me? I want to eat Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Crawfish, Mapo Tofu, Red-Braised Lion’s Head……]

Yan Luqing watched Little Black resentfully list more than twenty dishes. She picked ten for the kitchen to make——that night, when Little Black saw the table full of dishes, his eyes went wide.

Today was Little Black’s birthday, and also the first day in the ten-some days since Yan Luqing had transmigrated that had celebratory significance, so naturally there had to be wine.

Yan Luqing was a person who loved drinking very much. Back when her body was healthy, classmates who had eaten with her knew she was a thousand-cups-not-drunk——though she had never actually drunk a thousand cups, she had indeed never gotten drunk.

And this villa had a basement wine cellar, filled with countless fine wines, yet treated as decorative display. When Yan Luqing found out, she felt distressed beyond words, and quickly instructed Big Black to open a few bottles of good wine.

Little Black was the first to get drunk, and whether it was because the wine had been stored too long or not, before long the whole table of people were more or less drunk.

Yan Luqing and Gu Ci, being the ones with the second and the worst physical conditions among them, had been strictly ordered by the doctor not to drink. But when everyone else was drunk, she secretly sneaked a few sips.

A few sips were not satisfying, so she took a few more.

Gu Ci, having endured a night of noise, got up intending to take a bath when suddenly a warm presence leaned against his side.

Lowering his head, he saw Yan Luqing pressing half her face against his arm, her expression unclear, only hearing her say: “Ah——so comfortable, so cool.”

Gu Ci’s brow moved slightly, and in the end he still reached back and lifted her up from the chair.

“How much did you drink?”

Yan Luqing used her index finger and little finger to gesture: “I just drank a little bit.”

Gu Ci gave a light sneer.

Mn, a billion little bits.

*

Yan Luqing’s consciousness was sometimes clear, sometimes hazy. She felt Gu Ci leading her toward the bathroom, turning on the faucet, placing her hand under the sink.

The meaning should have been to let her sober up herself.

Yan Luqing actually wanted to, but right now she really did feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Damn, my head hurts so fucking much…” Yan Luqing splashed water on her face, sobering up a good deal. She rubbed her temples. “Gu Ci, can you help me get some hangover medicine?”

He was silent for several seconds, turned around and went out, then quickly came back.

Under the light, Yan Luqing saw Gu Ci extend his hand, a few tablets lying on his palm.

If it had been anyone else, Yan Luqing would absolutely never have made such a request.

But when Gu Ci brought them, she didn’t even see clearly what color they were, didn’t ask where Gu Ci had found hangover medicine, nor doubt why he had found them so quickly—she simply grabbed them in one handful and swallowed them straight into her mouth.

Who would have thought, as soon as they touched her tongue, her jaw was suddenly clamped—Gu Ci caught her face with one hand, and with the other pressed her back downward.

“Spit it out.”

Yan Luqing’s head was muddled; those few tablets hadn’t even entered her mouth cavity. As soon as she lowered her head, they fell into the sink, disappearing with the flow of water.

And Gu Ci’s hand was still pinching her cheek and chin.

His fingers were very cold, very forceful. Her face was burning hot from the alcohol, and the sensation of ice and fire intermingling made Yan Luqing uncontrollably shiver several times.

Once again forced to lift her head, Yan Luqing leaned back against the wall, seeing Gu Ci’s face slowly drawing near, those eyes behind the lenses appearing even deeper.

“You dare to eat medicine given by anyone?” Gu Ci hooked his lips, carrying a tone like gentle instruction, yet also with a kind of inexplicable ruthlessness. “How exactly have you lived until now?”

Footnotes

• 1
  “Shabi” (傻逼 / 傻屄) is a very vulgar Chinese slang insult. 傻 (shǎ) = “stupid, foolish” 逼 (bī) = literally “c*nt.”
• 2
  Tang Seng (唐僧): Monk from Journey to the West, famous for being long-winded and nagging.
• 3
  Baidu Cancer (百度癌) is Chinese internet slang. It refers to people who search their symptoms on Baidu (China’s main search engine) and then convince themselves they have a very serious illness, usually cancer.