Transmigrated As The Villainous Scumbag Wife Of A Disabled Tycoon - Chapter 75
75
The long-absent system suddenly reappeared, yanking the out-of-control Cheng Xing back to reality.
It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her head.
Stimulating, sobering.
And accompanied by a wave of lingering fear.
The atmosphere in the hospital room turned strange.
Moments ago, there had been laughter and joy, but now, with the arrow nocked but not released, she realized her impulsiveness. Her flushed face was no longer driven by physical desire—it was purely out of embarrassment.
Cheng Xing couldn’t stay in the room any longer. She made a flimsy excuse, saying she’d left something at Guan Linmin’s place, and hurriedly fled the hospital room.
She took the elevator downstairs and stood in front of a vending machine, buying a cold drink. She gulped down a few mouthfuls to quell the heat coursing through her body.
Her lips still seemed to carry the faint taste of Jiang Ciyi.
A subtle sweetness.
Completely different from the first impression Jiang Ciyi gave off. When they kissed, her lips were soft, her arms were soft, her waist was soft—her entire being was like a pool of water, capable of winding around someone the moment they let their guard down.
It was precisely because of this that Cheng Xing had lost herself in that brief kiss.
A sober sinking.
Thinking about it carefully, it was truly a terrifying thing.
Cheng Xing had always considered herself a person with strong self-control. Even with this kind of mission, she believed she wouldn’t fall for the target.
After all, she hadn’t been in a relationship for over twenty years. Could she really just fall in love with someone the system paired her with?
The truth proved she could.
In the little moments of their daily interactions, Jiang Ciyi had somehow become an inseparable part of her life.
Many of the surprises in her life came from Jiang Ciyi. The romance, the rare sense of protection and security, even the occasional unfunny dad jokes Jiang Ciyi told—they all soothed her heart.
In this unfamiliar world, the only person she was familiar with was Jiang Ciyi.
And this person, despite being scarred and broken, still had a pure, childlike heart.
Cheng Xing always wanted to give her something better—the very best. But in giving so much, she hadn’t managed to control her own heart.
If she’d reached this point and still claimed she hadn’t developed feelings for Jiang Ciyi, that would make her a complete scoundrel.
Her physical desires, on the verge of bursting forth, had already betrayed her true feelings.
Those secret, unspoken thoughts that couldn’t bear scrutiny.
But how deep were those feelings?
Cheng Xing didn’t know.
Her romantic history was a blank slate. The only person she’d ever had a crush on was a classmate known only through letters, someone she’d never met, whose gender she didn’t even know.
And then there was now.
She knew she wasn’t supposed to fall for her mission target. Jiang Ciyi’s destined lifelong partner wasn’t her. But in the countless moments they spent together day and night, she couldn’t help but feel her heart stir.
So, her reason and emotions waged a long battle.
And in a moment when her emotions erupted, her reason vanished without a trace.
That’s how the earlier scene had unfolded.
Terrifying, yet intoxicating.
Even after chugging most of the cold drink downstairs, with her throat and stomach chilled, her heart still raced uncontrollably at the memory of that moment.
But… how was she supposed to face Jiang Ciyi back in the hospital room?
Cheng Xing pressed the cold bottle against her forehead, shivering from the chill.
Before she could fully recover, Xu Jingcheng called her, saying that Mr. Su was preparing to leave Jianggang. The underlying message was that she hadn’t yet arranged the introduction she’d promised between Su Jiaming and Cheng Zijing.
Cheng Xing let out a soft sigh, forcibly suppressing her improper thoughts, and asked when Su Jiaming was leaving.
Xu Jingcheng: “The day after tomorrow. Come on, friend, you’re dropping the ball on this one.”
Cheng Xing had indeed forgotten about it. The main reason was her reluctance to let Su Jiaming get involved with the Cheng family.
Su Jiaming was like a venomous snake, skilled at striking from the shadows.
If the original host were here, two equally shady people might have hit it off.
But Cheng Xing knew she wasn’t his match, and she didn’t have the energy to deal with him.
After confirming that this wasn’t her original world, and despite seeing Su Jiaming, she hadn’t found her family. As a result, she lost interest in him.
Still, she was keen on poaching a highly skilled doctor from Su Jiaming.
Since Su Jiaming wanted to do business with the Cheng family, he wouldn’t dare be careless, which would surely benefit Jiang Ciyi’s leg condition.
For that reason, Cheng Xing had to arrange a meeting between him and Cheng Zijing. At worst, she could warn Cheng Zijing beforehand.
Cheng Zijing was sharp as a tack. A slight hint would put him on high alert.
“Things have been hectic at home lately.” Cheng Xing said. “Everyone’s been busy, so I forgot. Sorry about that.”
Face-saving gestures still had to be made.
“No worries,” Xu Jingcheng said, not suspicious. “It’s just an introduction, no big deal. Mr. Su said it’s a good deal for the Cheng family, so I called you again. Don’t find me annoying, okay?”
“How could I?” Cheng Xing chuckled over the phone. “I should be thanking you. Come along tomorrow.”
“Nah, nah, nah. I just met a cute girl, so I’m busy.” Xu Jingcheng said, her excitement barely contained. “No time for boring dinners. I’d say don’t get involved either. These people talk in circles. Let your brother handle it—he knows the professional stuff better than we do. Wouldn’t you rather spend that time bonding with your wife?”
Cheng Xing: “…”
Normally, she could handle such teasing with ease, but today she froze.
After a moment, she changed the subject. “Where’d you meet this cute girl? Not from Jianggang, is she?”
“Got it in one,” Xu Jingcheng said. “Met her a couple of days ago while eating near a school. Already added her contact, and we’re going hiking tomorrow.”
“A school? High school? No way, you’re not that bad, are you?”
Xu Jingcheng scoffed. “Pfft. College, obviously. She’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
“Prettier than Jiang Ciyi? I don’t believe it.”
“Believe what you want.”
Cheng Xing successfully steered the conversation away. She knew Xu Jingcheng’s girlfriend would soon appear, and in the original story, Jiang Ciyi saved her life, leading to their close friendship.
But whether she was fully cured, Cheng Xing didn’t know.
“The weather’s bad,” Cheng Xing hinted. “Don’t take her hiking and let her catch a cold.”
“She’s not made of paper, you know. A breeze won’t knock her over. Besides, I’ve got ginger tea and hiking gear ready for her tomorrow.”
Cheng Xing: “…”
What else could she say?
She could only wish Miss Xu luck in winning her beauty’s heart.
After hanging up, Cheng Xing called Cheng Zijing and drove to meet him.
Cheng Zijing had been busy with their grandmother’s funeral and the division of shares in the Cheng Group.
The old lady was shrewd. In her will, she divided her shares in the Cheng Group into three parts. The largest portion went to Cheng Kunqian, who held the fewest shares. Another portion was left to the late Xu Zhaozhao, but with a condition: it was for her biological granddaughter, which the Cheng brothers were now securing for Cheng Xing.
A smaller portion went to their aunt, Cheng Xiuli.
On the surface, the division seemed straightforward, but if Cheng Kunqian played his cards right, he could potentially reshape the current board structure of the Cheng Group.
Cheng Xing told Cheng Zijing about Su Jiaming. He had his assistant adjust his schedule and asked her to set up the meeting.
She subtly warned him, mentioning that her first impression of Su Jiaming wasn’t great. Cheng Zijing raised an eyebrow. “Is there something off about this guy?”
“Don’t know,” Cheng Xing said. “Why do you think that?”
“Normal business deals go through company channels, or at least through events like galas. I vaguely remember him from a business dinner in the capital. He could’ve approached me then, but instead, he went through several intermediaries to use you as a middleman, banking on me giving him face for your sake.”
Cheng Zijing analyzed calmly.
He was charismatic when discussing his expertise.
“I’m a businessman. If a deal is profitable, they’d come to me directly. This kind of approach usually means I won’t gain much, or it might push some boundaries—not entirely unprofitable, but they’re trying to leverage personal connections to seal the deal.”
He smirked. “There’s fierce internal fighting at Lanhe Pharmaceuticals. His family’s power is split three ways: a younger brother his father raised outside for over a decade, a sister his mother favors, both ambitious. They’ve nearly monopolized partnerships in nearby provinces. Su Jiaming’s been scheming for years, but his lack of talent and his scandalous reputation—due to falling for a man—have ruined him. Now he’s reaching into Jianggang to turn things around.”
Cheng Xing: “…?”
What the heck?
A certain plant came to mind.
Suppressing her shock and disgust, she feigned curiosity. “How do you know all this? And liking a man isn’t a big deal, is it? How could that ruin him?”
“Liking a man isn’t the issue. The problem is he fell for his uncle.”
Cheng Xing: “…”
“They tried to elope, but his uncle couldn’t handle a life without money and compromised with the family. After they split, Su Jiaming hooked up with other guys. It’s… complicated, to say the least.”
The gossip Cheng Zijing shared was explosive enough to dominate headlines.
If it hit the trending lists, Cheng Xing could spend hours eating that melon.
But the thought that she’d nearly been dragged into their twisted game made her too nauseated to care.
Who could’ve imagined she’d almost become a beard?
So, Su Jiaming had someone run her over to avoid her becoming his beard?
Great, just great. That’s how this blasted world works, huh?
Still—
“How do you know so much?” Cheng Xing asked, looking at Cheng Zijing. “You know more than the gossip accounts.”
“Gossip accounts wouldn’t dare touch this,” he laughed. “When Wanwan was alive, she’d fly to the capital often and come back with all this tea. One of her classmates almost married Su Jiaming’s uncle. After learning this, she fled the country to study abroad, saying she’d stay for another decade.”
Mentioning Wang Tingwan, Cheng Zijing couldn’t hide his smile.
Cheng Xing lowered her head, avoiding the topic. Noticing her mood, he flicked her forehead. “What? Still wondering if you and your second sister-in-law fell into the sea, who I’d save first?”
Cheng Xing froze, waving her hands in denial, but he continued, “Saving you wouldn’t even be my job.”
Smirking smugly, he added, “Your second sister-in-law has a diving license. She’d save you first.”
Cheng Xing practically fled, making a lame excuse to leave.
She wasn’t sure if Cheng Zijing noticed, but the air felt too thin—she couldn’t stay.
The guilt was overwhelming.
Wang Tingwan’s death weighed heavily on her. Until that mystery was solved, Cheng Xing wouldn’t sleep soundly.
As she sat in her car, lost in thought, a mechanical voice sounded in her mind: [Awoo! Long time no see, host! Did you miss me? Need me to help with anything? I heard you called for me fervently while I was gone. I’m here to answer all your questions now, so go ahead!]
Cheng Xing: “…”
She realized the system was better suited for short sentences.
The relentless mechanical voice filled her mind with static, disrupting her thoughts.
More importantly—
“Why did you abandon your post?!” she snapped. “You just left me here to fend for myself? Can’t I know everything the original host did? I’m living like I’m opening a mystery box every day—one small scare after another. It’s a miracle I’m still alive.”
The system paused for two seconds. [Awoo! As a spacetime traveler, the host can choose a body to inhabit but cannot forcibly access the original owner’s memories, or you’ll face punishment. I reminded you of this before, didn’t I?]
“Then answer me this: why is Su Jiaming here? The guy who killed me in a car accident—why is he here? Is it the same person, or a parallel universe version? If it’s a parallel universe, why haven’t I found my family from my original world?”
Cheng Xing had too many questions for the system.
But after asking, the system’s silence stretched longer, as if it couldn’t answer but didn’t want to admit its incompetence. So it pretended to ponder, planning to refuse her tactfully.
As if that could hide its uselessness.
Finally, it responded: [Awoo! Su Jiaming’s appearance is due to the same reason as my absence—a malfunction in the Interstellar Fate Bureau’s equipment caused some deviations.]
Cheng Xing: “?”
It actually answered, but this answer…
“So, because of a screw-up by the Interstellar Fate Bureau, Su Jiaming ended up in this spacetime?” she pressed. “Then why doesn’t he recognize me? He doesn’t seem to remember me at all.”
Cheng Xing didn’t believe someone like Su Jiaming would truly forget his “fiancée.” His reaction when they met seemed genuine.
Unless Su Jiaming was also a transmigrator with a system and a mission.
But… two transmigrators in one world? That didn’t seem right.
Though she thought it unlikely, she still asked the system.
[Awoo! Such an illogical situation wouldn’t occur in this world. Su Jiaming is a special ‘seam traveler,’ and he’ll return to his own spacetime once the Interstellar Fate Bureau’s equipment is fixed. In his perception, the flow of time differs from the world you were in before.]
“Why is he the only special seam traveler?” she asked.
The system crack branch: [Awoo! This involves Interstellar Fate Bureau and traveler privacy. I don’t have access to that information, please understand.]
Cheng Xing: “…”
“So you’re saying the time he’s experiencing is different from mine now?” she continued. “If it’s the current him or a future him, he’d be shocked or scared to see me. But he showed no reaction, meaning he doesn’t know me yet. His face looks almost the same as in the video you showed me, so the timelines aren’t that far apart.”
After her deductions, she snapped her fingers. “So, the time he’s living in is between one month and two years before the car accident in my world.”
After processing her complex reasoning, the system affirmed: [Awoo! The time Su Jiaming is experiencing is one year before your car accident.]
“Then is my family still living in the timeline from a year ago?” she asked, curious.
[Awoo! You seem overly concerned with your previous world.]
Cheng Xing: “…”
No kidding, don’t you miss home?
But then she realized the system was just a machine, emotionless, with no concept of home.
Retracting her hurtful words, she said coolly, “Wanting to see my family and home is normal.”
[Awoo! Isn’t it nice here? Staying with Jiang Ciyi, growing old together, with a loving family and endless money—this is many people’s dream world!]
It was many people’s dream world.
But not hers.
Even as the system painted the picture, she imagined it.
It was beautiful, but like a Mirage, it would shatter at her touch.
A bubble that bursts with a single poke.
No one can live forever in someone else’s woven dream.
“I want to go back,” she said firmly.
[Awoo! Once the host completes the mission, you’ll face a choice. You can decide your path then. When the mission is done, you’ll know what those choices are. For now, please focus on completing the mission. Go get ‘em!]
Cheng Xing: “…”
Saying nothing useful, as usual.
At the Interstellar Fate Bureau’s control center, an alarm blared again.
Yin Die rushed over on her mount, ready to patch the breach with energy, only to find another team already working.
This wasn’t the breach Hui Gu had caused before.
From the control center to Hui Gu’s recovery pod was a mere breath away.
Seeing Hui Gu’s frail, ghostly state, Yin Die’s anger flared. “You’ve been misusing energy again!”
“What else could I do?” Hui Gu stood from the pod, his mechanical arm extending infinitely before swiping to summon an electronic screen. “Who messed up this time?”
“Number 87463,” Yin Die said. “Like you, not her first offense.”
“You make me sound like a repeat offender,” Hui Gu said, too weak to stand for long. He raised a hand, opened a gate to his private space, sat on a chair, and crossed his legs. “This is my first time.”
“But you’ve broken the rules multiple times because of her. The bug hasn’t been fixed, leading to more spacetime travelers and even disrupting time’s flow,” Yin Die paused. “But I’ve detected new information.”
“What?” Hui Gu asked lazily.
Yin Die disliked his apathy, as if nothing but his master mattered.
Yet she couldn’t bear the thought of Commander Wopus discovering his actions. If he did, even she, who’d helped him multiple times, would face consequences.
And the situation was growing more complex…
“In the last bug, someone shuttled between two spacetimes, one connected to Nuoer,” Yin Die said. “He made a deal with Nuoer, though the details are unclear. Only he altered both space and time in his travels.”
Hui Gu finally opened his eyes. “Nuoer? Why’s he involved?”
“The higher civilizations and the Interstellar Fate Bureau have kept the peace for ages, but first Gong Qingwu went to a planar world, and now Nuoer’s meddling. They’re challenging the Bureau’s authority,” Yin Die said. “The sky’s about to change. Stop obsessing over this and fix everything while there’s still time.”
“It’s already too late,” Hui Gu said, eyes closed. “My host has completely altered the worldline.”
“She’s a variable who’s changed many fates. Even I can’t read their destinies anymore,” he continued. “I only have one path.”
“What?”
“Keep going. No turning back.”
Yin Die called him stubborn, leaving two expensive healing potions from the Interstellar Clinic before departing.
On her way back, she witnessed Number 87463’s punishment.
For breaking Bureau rules by opening a forbidden space and reversing time for his human-era sister, he was thrown into the Interstellar Five Elements Prison.
But first, they drained all his energy.
The process was excruciating, akin to draining a human’s bl00d.
Yin Die recorded the scene and sent it to Hui Gu via chip.
His response: [This will be my fate.]
Yin Die: [You’d knowingly repeat this?]
Hui Gu: [I can’t abandon her.]
The book club was held at Fusheng Bookstore. Cheng Xing returned to the hospital room to change, still awkward around Jiang Ciyi but able to talk.
She just couldn’t meet her eyes.
The hospital was a bit far from Fusheng Bookstore, so Cheng Xing drove.
Five minutes later, they arrived. Zheng Shuqing was there, easing the tension as a buffer.
The book club was fairly formal. After pushing Jiang Ciyi inside, Zheng Shuqing asked what books they’d brought.
Jiang Ciyi had The Wishing Shop, Cheng Xing had Good Goodbyes, and Zheng Shuqing brought a poetry collection.
The bookstore’s owner hosted the event.
In the crowded setting, Cheng Xing whispered to Jiang Ciyi without feeling too awkward, though she gauged her reaction with every sentence.
Jiang Ciyi was far calmer, treating her as usual despite their kiss and near-miss in bed—polite, distant, yet with a hint of unspoken intimacy.
As Cheng Xing was about to chat more, the owner asked, “Is everyone here? If so, let’s begin.”
Zheng Shuqing nodded. “My side’s ready.”
“So’s mine.”
“We’re here too.”
“…”
Voices chimed in. After a headcount, a few were missing, but the owner decided, “Let’s start.”
Just then, a voice interrupted, “Some people aren’t here yet. Why start now?”
The bookstore door opened, and several glamorous women stood there, the scent of expensive perfume filling the space.
Cheng Xing found it overpowering, wrinkling her nose.
The leader, backlit, stared intensely at Jiang Ciyi. “Long time no see, Jiang.”
Cheng Xing, beside Jiang Ciyi, felt her stiffen, her hand trembling. Cheng Xing grabbed it, noticing the shake.
Looking up, she saw Liu Ning.
Liu Ning smiled falsely. “Xing, didn’t expect you here. I was going to introduce you to a new friend.”
Cheng Xing frowned. “Hm?”
“Lu Qi,” Liu Ning said, stepping inside and closing the door. “Just back from abroad. Maybe your future second sister-in-law.”
Cheng Xing: “…?”
“Oh,” she said coldly. “My second sister-in-law is dead.”
Liu Ning faltered. “I meant in the future! Are you picking a fight?”
Cheng Xing recalled Cheng Zimo and Cheng Zijing’s earlier hospital conversation, understanding Zijing’s stance. The woman before her…
Hard to describe.
She gave off a bad vibe.
And her gaze toward Jiang Ciyi held a sharp, taunting edge.
Cheng Xing pulled Jiang Ciyi close, forcing her to look at her, gripping her hand tightly, and shot back mercilessly, “I’ve seen people chase money, but never someone so eager to get cursed out or killed.”
“Liu Ning, Lu Qi—thanks for the lesson.”