After Marking a Paranoid CEO [Transmigration] - Chapter 20

Consider it?

Consider what, meow meow meow?!

Xia Youxi rolled her eyes at Ying Feifei’s retreating figure. Even if the entertainment industry is a mess, you don’t have to completely shatter my worldview, do you?

It’s such a contradiction! On one hand, she wants to help me, but on the other, she’s threatening me. She calls me “wife” yet wants to give me away as a plaything. And judging by her last remark, she even wants to sleep with me?

Compared to this, Sister Mu’s scary bedtime stories from that night now seemed almost endearing.

Mentor Ying, what exactly have you been through all these years?

Her smartwatch offered no answers, and Sister Mu didn’t appear. Burdened by unanswered questions and lingering regret, Xia Youxi closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She lay in bed for a long time before finally drifting into a deep sleep.

Her body felt weightless as she floated down onto a street. The early spring air was still crisp, and young couples in light jackets ran past, playfully chasing each other. She glanced at them and locked eyes with the person leading the chase—a woman with strikingly similar features to her own.

The person chasing her also looked familiar: it was the flat-nosed version of Ying Feifei from her dreams. The two laughed and teased each other, seemingly lost in their own world, or perhaps simply unable to see her.

Xia Youxi assumed they were the latter, sitting quietly to the side, propping her chin in her hand as she watched them. After a while, the two girls grew tired of playing and settled down on the grass in the shade of a tree. Ying Feifei leaned in as if to kiss Xia Weixi, but Xia Weixi, after hearing what Feifei said, covered her mouth with one hand, her face hardening with anger. “Sister Feifei, I’ll do anything else for you, but not this.”

Ying Feifei stood up, her voice sharp. “Why? I was injured and disfigured for you. What’s wrong with you paying for my plastic surgery?”

Xia Weixi lowered her head, murmuring, “That money is for my sister’s medical treatment. I can’t touch it. I can work and earn money to help you.”

“By the time you earn enough, the registration deadline will have passed,” Ying Feifei scoffed. “I’ll never measure up to your non-biological sister, will I?” With that, she grabbed Xia Weixi’s hand, her expression softening into earnestness. “Xiaoxi, I truly want to marry you. We belong together. If you give me the money, I’ll take you away. Once I get a good ranking on the show, I’ll repay you double.”

“But… but…” Xia Weixi hesitated. “You look beautiful as you are. Do you really need surgery to compete?”

Ying Feifei laughed coldly. “The company said they’ll register me if I get the surgery.”

Xia Weixi remained silent. Ying Feifei, realizing she had no chance, chuckled softly and released her hand. “Fine, I’ll figure it out myself.”

Xia Weixi watched her retreating figure, biting her lower lip, speechless.

Leaves fell from the branches, their green hues faded to withered yellow as the wind carried them away, only to vanish into the snow. Xia Youxi raised her hand, the snowflakes passing right through it. She realized she was now just a spiritual entity, likely compelled by some mysterious force to receive information, and found a place to sit.

Moments later, the original Xia Weixi appeared, dressed in worn cotton clothes. She walked beneath the tree, sighed, and continued down the path. Xia Youxi followed, watching her stop before an old-fashioned tenement building, gazing upward.

The snow-covered road was suddenly interrupted by a black car pulling to a stop. Xia Weixi’s eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the person stepping out. The figure was both familiar and foreign—with wide, double-lidded eyes, a straight nose, and delicate features—yet seeing her caused Xia Weixi’s heart to ache.

Her left foot twitched, urging her to run forward, but then she saw the figure lean down and kiss the woman inside the car. The woman’s face was obscured, but her outstretched hand suggested she was older.

The first kiss Xia Weixi had always cherished remained ungiven, yet her Sister Feifei had so easily kissed someone else.

Xia Weixi swayed slightly, unable to resist the urge to rush forward. She raised her hand to slap Ying Feifei, but her arm was seized mid-air. On the face of the person she loved, she saw an unfamiliar expression. Though Ying Feifei was smiling, a blade lurked beneath her smile. “What kind of student resorts to violence so easily? Are you sure you haven’t mistaken me for someone else?”

No, she hadn’t mistaken her. The Sister Feifei she knew would never treat her this way.

Xia Weixi felt a surge of hurt, gazing at the woman with tears welling in her eyes. “Why?”

Ying Feifei glanced at the person in the car, then looked back at her with feigned confusion. “Why what? Little sister, you must have mistaken me for someone else.” She released Xia Weixi’s arm and hurried to the car, cooing to the occupant, “Madam, please vouch for me. I’ve never met her before. She’s trying to scam me!”

Xia Weixi saw the face of the person in the car—round and etched with the marks of time, old enough to be her mother. Yet her hero was nestled in the woman’s palm like a little bird, nuzzling against it. A wave of nausea washed over her. She laughed bitterly and fled.

The snow continued to fall, blurring the scene before her. Xia Youxi felt herself slipping back into the body of the original Xia Weixi, watching as the girl caressed Ying Feifei’s contact on her phone, then hardened her heart and blocked the number.

The timeline clicked into place, and Xia Youxi finally understood the love-hate entanglement between her original self and Ying Feifei. In a nutshell, it was a story of childhood innocence crushed by harsh reality.

Ying Feifei had sold her dignity for money, becoming the kept woman of a wealthy patron. Yet she still sought validation from her naive ex-girlfriend.

Ugh, how disgusting.

Sister Mu is so much better.

Sure, she had a temper, but she would never stoop to exploiting Xia Youxi in such a way. Even seeing her in a bathrobe made her blush.

So adorable.

But where had her adorable Sister Mu disappeared to all this time?

The next day, perhaps because Ying Feifei was absent, Xia Youxi’s rehearsal went exceptionally smoothly. To ensure they were in top form for tomorrow’s performance, the group wrapped up early, dismissing around 8 PM.

Humming a tune, Xia Youxi strolled back to the dormitory building. The first thing she did upon returning to the villa was check her smartwatch to message Mu Huayue. She deftly opened a familiar messaging app and typed:

Sister, I’m back. Will I get a reply from you today? [Cat emoji, hopeful]

Knowing a response wouldn’t be immediate, she casually set the watch down and went to the sink to remove her makeup. As the water splashed, a vibration startled her. Xia Youxi froze, abandoning her half-removed makeup, and snatched up the watch.

It was indeed a reply from Mu Huayue.

Yue: Come to 203.

Room 203 was the locked room on her floor, adjacent to her dormitory. Xia Youxi cautiously peeked outside. The red dots on the security cameras were all extinguished, indicating that all surveillance devices had been deactivated.

Could Sister Mu really be here?

A smile involuntarily spread across Xia Youxi’s face. Clutching her watch, she hurried over, lightly knocked on the door, and, hearing a response from within, pushed the door open with an even wider grin.

“Sister!”

The moment she stepped inside, she saw the person she had been longing for day and night. Mu Huayue was wearing a white nightgown, propped up against the bed, reviewing official documents. Her complexion was natural, showing no signs of illness.

Xia Youxi slowly approached, noticing as she drew closer that the bedding looked familiar—identical to the set in her own dormitory. Could it be a matching set?

She dismissed the thought and stood before Mu Huayue. Mu Huayue glanced up at her, her expression disdainful. “Don’t you ever look in a mirror before coming to see me, little kitten?”

Xia Youxi chuckled awkwardly, realizing she had rushed over without properly removing her makeup. She smoothed her hair and said meekly, “I came as soon as I saw your message, Sister. I forgot I hadn’t finished removing my makeup. I’ll go clean it up now.”

Mu Huayue hummed in acknowledgment, her gaze returning to the tablet.

Xia Youxi turned back with a cheerful smile, almost reaching the door when the doorbell rang downstairs.

Xia Youxi froze, suddenly recalling Ying Feifei’s words from the previous day. Could it really be her? she thought.

She glanced back at Mu Huayue with a smile. “It’s probably the crew. I’ll go check.”

Before she could finish, Mu Huayue held up the tablet, displaying the screen. “It’s your dance teacher, Ying Feifei.”