After the Soul Swap Between Love Rival AO - Chapter 23

The speaker was, of course, Cheng Luanxin.

She strode forward: “Want a blind box, huh? I’m great at blind boxes—let me write it for her.”

The shop assistant gasped in shock: “Ahhh! It’s Qiuchi!”

Song Qiuchi: “…”

How did this person know everyone?

Cheng Luanxin was very pleased with the shoes the shop assistant had picked out: “These are so cute. I should’ve come here to buy mine too.”

The shop assistant nodded enthusiastically: “Right? Actually, kids’ shoes now go up to size 40-something, so adults can totally wear them, and they’re even more affordable. Are you two filming a show today? I didn’t see any crew around.”

Cheng Luanxin scribbled away as she replied: “No filming today. We’re just shopping to prepare for the next event.”

The shop assistant’s eyes sparkled with gossip: “Just the two of you?”

Song Qiuchi paused: “No, Du Zhiruo is with us too.”

The shop assistant visibly deflated: “Huh? Du Zhiruo is here too?”

Cheng Luanxin quickly jotted down two lines of lyrics and handed the planner back: “Go ahead—open your blind box.”

The shop assistant carefully took the planner and read the lyrics, but a hint of confusion flickered across her face.

“Which song is this from…? I don’t remember this at all… Are you sure this is right, Luanbao? Did she make a mistake?”

She pushed the planner toward Song Qiuchi, gesturing for her to take a look.

Song Qiuchi had no clue either and shot a questioning glance at Cheng Luanxin.

Cheng Luanxin clapped her hands: “Ding-ding! Congratulations—you’ve unlocked the hidden blind box! These are the lyrics to Luanxin’s next new song!”

The clerk’s eyes suddenly widened. “Luanbao, is that really true?”

Song Qiuchi had no choice but to reply, “Yes, it’s true. These are unpublished lyrics I wrote. I don’t know how she got a hold of them.”

The clerk’s expression instantly lit up with excitement, as if she had just stumbled upon some juicy gossip.

Afraid that these two unpredictable elements might stir up more trouble, Song Qiuchi quickly said, “We should get going now. We still have a lot of shopping to do. You take care.”

Cheng Luanxin waved at the clerk. “Keep up the good work!”

The clerk nodded eagerly. “Looking forward to Luanbao’s new song and the early release of Romance for You! Can I post the lyrics on Weibo?”

Song Qiuchi hesitated and glanced at Cheng Luanxin.

Cheng Luanxin couldn’t care less. “Go ahead, post it! We just scored a hidden blind box—why not flaunt it a little?”

Under the clerk’s watchful gaze, the two left the store.

Song Qiuchi lowered her eyes. “Why did you come over?”

Cheng Luanxin replied with a hint of jealousy, “I was worried you might struggle with buying kids’ shoes for the first time, so I came to check on you. But turns out you’re doing just fine—managed to charm one of my fans in just a few minutes.”

Song Qiuchi: “…Who’s charming your fans? Watch your words.”

Cheng Luanxin: “You, of course! Honestly, you didn’t even do your homework before trying to impress her—you couldn’t even name one of my song lyrics. If I hadn’t shown up in time, you’d have been exposed!”

Song Qiuchi: “…”

She really didn’t feel like talking to her.

“Who was that girl anyway? Did she tell you her username?”

“She did. I think it was… Berry Bubble.”

“Berry Bubble?!” Cheng Luanxin’s voice was loud enough to draw attention from nearby shoppers. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Bubble’s a regular in my livestreams! I can’t believe I was so rude—should I go back and sign a few more autographs for her?”

Song Qiuchi thought, Please don’t. One “Luanbao” was already overwhelming enough—adding a “Bubble” to the mix would be too much to handle.

She changed the subject. “Where’s Du Zhiruo?”

Cheng Luanxin’s attention was successfully diverted. “You’re asking me? You just walked off without a word earlier, and Zhiruo thought you were upset. She specifically asked me to come cheer you up. But hey, you don’t even need my help—you seem perfectly happy to me.”

Song Qiuchi: “…What part of me looks happy?”

“If you weren’t happy, would you have had the energy to flirt with my Bubble?” Halfway through her sentence, Cheng Luanxin noticed Song Qiuchi’s expression darken and belatedly corrected herself. “Song Qiuchi… are you actually upset?”

Song Qiuchi didn’t want to elaborate. “I’m fine.”

Cheng Luanxin leaned in closer. “This is what you call ‘fine’?”

Song Qiuchi irritably pushed her away and strode ahead.

Cheng Luanxin immediately jogged to catch up. “Why the sudden mood? Come on, even if Zhiruo and I have matching bags and shoes, you don’t have to be this jealous. We can always get matching sunscreen jackets too. Besides, right now, I’m representing you—this is all for your benefit, okay?”

Song Qiuchi couldn’t take it anymore. Just moments ago, they were “matching” items, and now they were suddenly “couple” items. She almost found it amusing. “Cheng Luanxin, do you really think I’m jealous of you?”

Cheng Luanxin was taken aback. “Well… aren’t you?”

Song Qiuchi didn’t like gossiping behind people’s backs, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Have you ever considered that people can change?”

Du Zhiruo might become more shrewd and worldly, but her heart no longer wavers because of Du Zhiruo.

Cheng Luoxin, however, did not understand what Song Qiuchi was saying: “Huh? Really? You haven’t changed much; you still speak so confusingly…”

Song Qiuchi: “…”

It was like playing the lute to a cow.

Song Qiuchi held her breath, shook off Cheng Luoxin, and walked straight ahead.

Cheng Luoxin looked puzzled and didn’t chase after her to make a fool of herself, muttering behind her: “Why is she so petty…”

The two returned to the outdoor living center, one in front and the other behind. Du Zhiruo was surrounded by a group of children watching a vendor operate a drone. Noticing the two return, she waved enthusiastically.

Song Qiuchi nodded at Du Zhiruo and went directly to the next counter to pick out disposable clothing.

Cheng Luoxin sulkily returned to Du Zhiruo’s side: “You were right; she really is mad at me.”

Du Zhiruo laughed: “Then why don’t you try to cheer her up?”

Cheng Luoxin said pitifully: “I did! It was fine at first, but after I said a couple of things, she got even more upset. I even tried to help her out of a tough spot; this is just biting the hand that feeds you.”

Du Zhiruo was curious: “Help her out? What happened just now?”

Cheng Luoxin thought for a moment, feeling that the explanation would be too complicated, and evasively said: “It’s nothing major, just a small matter.”

Du Zhiruo pursed her lips and smiled helplessly: “I always feel like there’s an unspoken understanding between you and Luoxin that others can’t touch. I’m a bit envious of you both.”

Cheng Luoxin was surprised: “We have an understanding?”

Du Zhiruo nodded: “Haven’t you noticed? Your way of speaking and acting now is very similar to how Luoxin used to be. Instead, Luoxin has become more composed and capable. It’s as if you two have swapped souls.”

“Cough, cough, cough…” Cheng Luoxin choked on her own saliva, never expecting Du Zhiruo to be so perceptive and to notice the truth so quickly.

“What’s wrong?” Du Zhiruo patted Cheng Luoxin’s back, “Did my thoughts scare you?”

“No, no.” Cheng Luoxin took a deep breath: “Your imagination is quite wild; how could something as ridiculous as soul swapping happen?”

She discreetly observed Du Zhiruo’s expression, afraid of revealing her own slip.

Du Zhiruo’s gentle face still bore a smile: “Just saying it casually. Let’s go check out the disposable clothing.”

Cheng Luoxin quickly replied: “Sure! I know a brand of disposable underwear that is particularly cost-effective and comfortable. Let’s see if they have that brand here.”

Du Zhiruo followed behind Cheng Luoxin, gradually losing her smile.

She opened her phone’s search engine and quietly searched: “Does soul swapping really exist?”

Halfway through typing, she found it amusing and gently shook her head, pressing delete.

She casually opened Weibo and refreshed the trending topic for “Romance for You.”

A post tagged with Chi Xin An Xu caught her eye:

“I just ran into Luobao Qiuchi shopping and got a special signed item! Qiuchi wrote it for Luobao, supposedly the lyrics to Luobao’s new song! Who wouldn’t say they’re shipping this?!”

Du Zhiruo clicked on the image, where two lines were written in a delicate notebook.

While others cared about the content of the lyrics, she was deeply attracted to the handwriting.

It was clear that the font had been deliberately controlled, but the small connecting strokes were identical to Cheng Luoxin’s.

Du Zhiruo’s heart skipped a beat.

A person’s handwriting habits are hard to change. Cheng Luanxin had given her so many poems—there was no way she could mistake this script.

This probably wasn’t a coincidence.