Transmigrated As The Villainous Scumbag Wife Of A Disabled Tycoon - Chapter 29
29
The winter evenings in Beijing always carry a chill, especially after a snowfall.
The orange-red sky would be veiled in a hazy layer of white.
But Jianggang doesn’t get snow.
Jianggang is a city where even winter doesn’t require a down jacket, and the evening sky is always a dazzling, vibrant red.
It’s breathtakingly beautiful, impossible to look away from.
Just like Jiang Ciyi.
Cheng Xing was surprised that Jiang Ciyi agreed to go out with her to watch the sunset.
She pushed Jiang Ciyi’s wheelchair downstairs, passing by many people. The streets were bustling with traffic, but they quietly made their way through a building and stopped by a secluded bench.
Cheng Xing wiped the bench and sat down on it.
Jiang Ciyi’s wheelchair was right beside her.
Other than the few words exchanged in the hospital room, they hadn’t spoken further.
Today’s sunset was particularly stunning, like a sky set ablaze. Even though the sun had already dipped below the horizon, the red clouds lingered.
The glow cast a reddish hue over everything it touched.
Cheng Xing gazed at the sky intently, completely absorbed.
When she glanced over unintentionally, she noticed Jiang Ciyi’s eyes on her.
But the moment their eyes met, Jiang Ciyi turned her head away, as if nothing had happened.
Cheng Xing returned her gaze to the sky but kept Jiang Ciyi in her peripheral vision.
She caught Jiang Ciyi squinting slightly, still wearing that cold, indifferent expression.
Cheng Xing wanted to say something but hesitated, ultimately deciding against it.
From last night to today, she had been restless and conflicted.
It felt like she was trapped in a dead end, and the only one who could break the stalemate was Jiang Ciyi.
But Jiang Ciyi didn’t trust her.
To be fair, if Cheng Xing were in her shoes and had to trust someone like Su Jiaming, she wouldn’t believe them either.
What right did she have to demand Jiang Ciyi’s trust?
She had so little to bargain with when it came to Jiang Ciyi.
If she hadn’t experienced the car accident orchestrated by Su Jiaming herself, she might have shamelessly convinced herself that none of this was her doing, that all she needed to do was win Jiang Ciyi over.
Deceive her, manipulate her—whatever it took to achieve her goal.
But having gone through betrayal and a car accident herself, the more Cheng Xing cleaned up the mess left by the original host, the more she understood Jiang Ciyi.
She knew she wasn’t the same person as the original host.
But to Jiang Ciyi, they were one and the same.
Jiang Ciyi had even tested her repeatedly, trying to find evidence that Cheng Xing wasn’t the original host.
Cheng Xing had no way to prove it. She tried every method, even spinning tales about being an alien, half-truths meant to lure a clever person like Jiang Ciyi into her fabricated illusion.
If Jiang Ciyi could believe she wasn’t the original host, Cheng Xing would have a glimmer of hope.
But last night, after saying those words and leaving Jiang Ciyi’s hospital room, she saw the nurse who had been administering Jiang Ciyi’s IV practicing diligently with a model, trying to perfect her technique.
When the nurse looked up and saw Cheng Xing, she nervously apologized, promising to practice harder and never hurt Jiang Ciyi’s hand again.
The nurse even praised Jiang Ciyi’s patience and gentleness.
The Jiang Ciyi she described was completely different from the one Cheng Xing first met.
Yet, that seemed to be who Jiang Ciyi truly was.
How bad could someone be if they showed such kindness and tolerance to others?
Her cold demeanor was just a mask for her vulnerability and isolation.
And what had Cheng Xing done since arriving here?
She’d been pressuring Jiang Ciyi for her own benefit, making her doubt and question, without ever offering the truth.
What had Jiang Ciyi done wrong?
After returning to her room, Cheng Xing thought long and hard. She realized Jiang Ciyi hadn’t done anything wrong.
It was she who had been wrong in both thought and action.
When the system appeared, her only thought was how to deceive Jiang Ciyi, always prioritizing her own interests.
People are inherently selfish, and Cheng Xing was no exception.
But faced with someone like Jiang Ciyi, she found it hard to justify her selfishness.
Just because she had suffered before didn’t mean she had the right to drag another woman, who had suffered just as much, into further misery.
Cheng Xing didn’t sleep all night, her mind in a daze.
But she finally understood.
She had been treating Jiang Ciyi as a target to conquer, willing to do whatever it took to complete her task and return to her world.
Jiang Ciyi was the “female lead” the system had assigned her, so she thought it was natural to revolve her life around her.
In doing so, she treated Jiang Ciyi like the system itself—cold and mechanical.
She forgot that Jiang Ciyi was a person.
At just twenty-five, Jiang Ciyi was even younger than Cheng Xing, who had just graduated from her master’s program.
Genius girl, legend of the forensic world, breathtakingly beautiful, cold, and aloof.
These labels, when placed on her, seemed to overshadow the real her.
In truth, Jiang Ciyi was just a deeply insecure girl who used her cold exterior to pretend she was strong.
She was brave, kind, and sincere—not a cold, mechanical figure.
After realizing this, Cheng Xing went to Jiang Ciyi’s hospital room, filled with guilt. She arrived just as the nurse was about to administer glucose.
Cheng Xing had only meant to check in, to make sure the nurse didn’t disturb Jiang Ciyi’s sleep.
But when the nurse’s trembling hand was about to botch the IV, Cheng Xing stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
“Let me do it.” Cheng Xing said.
As she inserted the needle, Jiang Ciyi was fast asleep.
Perhaps she, too, had been up late thinking about their situation, as there were dark circles under her eyes, and her sleep seemed restless.
After finishing, Cheng Xing gently patted her back to soothe her.
Jiang Ciyi gradually settled into a deeper, calmer sleep, even shifting closer to Cheng Xing’s leg.
Cheng Xing’s body stiffened, her hand pausing mid-pat before continuing moments later.
She lowered her head, carefully studying Jiang Ciyi’s face.
Jiang Ciyi’s skin was strikingly fair, a classic cool-toned complexion. With her eyes closed, her sleeping face was serene, utterly without defenses.
If Cheng Xing had to compare her to an animal, she’d say Jiang Ciyi was like a cat.
A little clingy, fond of nuzzling against someone’s leg while sleeping.
Cheng Xing kept patting her back until her hand ached, only stopping when Jiang Ciyi’s face was nearly buried in her lap, leaving barely any room to breathe.
Afterward, Cheng Xing replaced all the flowers in the hospital room before leaving.
She decided to stick to the system’s fixed tasks—like helping Jiang Ciyi recover her leg and reunite with her family—and nothing more.
Being overly kind to Jiang Ciyi would only burden her.
It was better to keep things quiet and simple.
If Jiang Ciyi wanted a divorce, Cheng Xing would grant it.
Over the past few days, as she calmed down, she realized the system’s first rule was to “conquer the female lead.”
That just meant making her happy, didn’t it?
Right now, divorcing Jiang Ciyi would make her the happiest.
So, that afternoon, Cheng Xing read a book in her hospital room, occasionally stepping out to rest her eyes. She wandered to Jiang Ciyi’s room and overheard her laughing with Zheng Shuqing.
Jiang Ciyi seemed in good spirits, so there was no need for Cheng Xing to interrupt their cheerful moment.
But in the evening, when she looked up from her thick book, the sunset caught her eye.
Cheng Xing could do without mornings, but evenings were essential to her.
Only after the evening ended did she feel her own time had begun.
She cherished solitary moments and the quiet calm of the world falling silent.
That’s why she loved the romantic glow of sunsets.
She could tell Jiang Ciyi had been disappointed not to see the sunset the previous day.
For someone like Jiang Ciyi, who was always striving and pushing forward, she probably rarely had time to stop and admire a sunset.
So, Cheng Xing mustered the courage to push open Jiang Ciyi’s hospital room door and invited her to watch the sunset together.
As the red clouds faded and the sky hadn’t yet fully darkened, the streetlights began to flicker on one by one.
Cheng Xing finally spoke her first words: “Are you hungry?”
Despite the tension from the previous night, her tone now was as if nothing had happened.
Calm, gentle.
Cheng Xing wanted to maturely move past the incident.
Jiang Ciyi paused slightly. “A little.”
“What do you want to eat?” Cheng Xing asked.
Jiang Ciyi thought for a moment. “There’s a grilled fish place a hundred meters to the left of the Jianggang Police Station. Want to go?”
“Sure.” Cheng Xing said, glancing at their hospital gowns. “But is it appropriate to go dressed like this? Plus, your stomach can’t handle that kind of food.”
Jiang Ciyi replied, “They have pumpkin porridge there. I can have that.”
“Then why bother going?” Cheng Xing said. “You can’t eat the fish.”
Jiang Ciyi paused, turning her face awkwardly toward the crowd, deliberately avoiding Cheng Xing’s gaze.
“You invited me to watch the sunset, so I’ll treat you to grilled fish.”
Cheng Xing looked at her profile and smiled. “Alright.”
She stood up and began pushing Jiang Ciyi back. “Let’s change clothes first, then I’ll drive you there.”
Cheng Xing felt that the not-quite-an-argument from the previous night had been put behind them, at least for Jiang Ciyi.
But for her, it wasn’t over yet.
She was determined to turn over a new leaf and be a better person.
After returning, Cheng Xing changed into a purple hoodie, light-colored jeans, and white sneakers—a casual, almost collegiate look. She hadn’t thought much about it, just prioritizing comfort.
Her hair was casually tied into a high bun, making her look even more like a university student.
She pushed Jiang Ciyi out, heading to the basement garage where she easily spotted the original host’s flashy sports car.
Its color stood out starkly among the sea of black and white vehicles.
The original host seemed to have a penchant for such eccentric color schemes.
Like her hair.
It wasn’t a bright, vibrant gold but a faded, damaged shade, as if it had been bleached too many times or dyed after a serious illness.
Every time Cheng Xing looked in the mirror, she was startled by it.
So she avoided letting her bold hair hang loose.
Cheng Xing drove to the restaurant Jiang Ciyi mentioned, passing by the Jianggang Police Station. She glanced at it casually and asked, “Is this where you used to work?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Ciyi said, glancing out the window briefly before staring straight ahead, unfazed.
Cheng Xing didn’t dare speculate too much about her thoughts.
But she had a feeling Jiang Ciyi longed to return to work there.
They parked in a roadside spot. Cheng Xing got out, retrieved the wheelchair from the trunk, and went to the passenger side. She effortlessly lifted Jiang Ciyi and set her in the wheelchair.
Just as Jiang Ciyi settled in, still holding onto Cheng Xing’s neck, a cheerful voice called out, “Hey, isn’t that our great forensic doctor Jiang? What’s with the wheelchair? Really disabled or just faking it?”
Cheng Xing frowned, looking up to see a group of people approaching from the direction of the police station.
Jiang Ciyi let go of Cheng Xing’s neck, sitting upright in the wheelchair with the poise of a proud swan. “Long time no see, everyone.”