What to Do, I've Been Targeted by the Villain Again [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 21

Ji Ying believed she was probably the second most familiar person in the world with Xu Sangning.

However… Ji Ying could sense that compared to the last time she had encountered Xu Sangning, Xu Sangning had changed quite a bit during the time they had been separated.

Ji Ying glanced at Xu Sangning sitting across from her. The other woman was currently struggling with a quail egg, looking adorably clumsy in a way that seemed innate.

If it had been the “real” Xu Sangning sitting here, she would have simply picked up the quail egg with her chopsticks, mechanically blown on it three times, dipped it precisely into the sauce, then steadily delivered it into her mouth, chewing exactly five times before swallowing.

After finishing, she would pick up a glass of orange-flavored sparkling water and drink about thirty milliliters—oh, and that glass of sparkling water was usually placed ten centimeters diagonally in front of her plate.

The entire dining process was highly systematic.

If she was eating alone, most of the time she would remain expressionless. If someone was sitting across from her, she would put on a perfectly polite smile—flawless in execution, yet so devoid of warmth that it would leave one feeling vaguely unsettled, thoroughly ruining their appetite.

Ji Ying had protested many times before Xu Sangning started acting a little more human.

Xu Sangning disliked unpredictability. She preferred a future she could “foresee,” finding security in well-defined routines. She liked doing things step by step.

To be honest, Ji Ying’s behavior did carry a hint of testing the waters.

She had initially assumed that, based on Xu Sangning’s past preferences, she would reject any non-scripted meetings with her. But now, it seemed she wasn’t as opposed as expected.

Beneath her persona, Xu Sangning was indeed becoming more and more like a “human.” Before, to be frank, she could at best be described as an intelligent life form.

Xu Sangning could sense Ji Ying’s occasional glances but paid them no mind.

After failing twice to pick up the quail egg with her chopsticks, she ultimately resorted to using a spoon.

Ji Ying hadn’t eaten much for dinner—most of the food had ended up in Xu Sangning’s stomach.

“Didn’t you notice I barely ate anything?” Ji Ying asked, looking at Xu Sangning beside her.

“I did. But aren’t you working overtime tonight? Eating less keeps your mind sharp, and it’s not good to eat too much in the evening anyway.”

Ji Ying: “…”

“You’ve changed,” Ji Ying sighed.

“Not at all. I’m just concerned about your work efficiency—and your health,” Xu Sangning replied nonchalantly.

Xu Sangning exhaled deeply. Despite her strong, professional appearance, she had a habit of playing the pitiful card in front of Ji Ying.

If not for having to consider Ji Ying’s persona and dignity, Xu Sangning would have loved to snap a photo of her and turn it into a meme.

Truth be told, if Xu Sangning had asked, Ji Ying would have been more than happy to oblige. As long as Xu Sangning was willing to take her picture, it was a win—regardless of the reason.

Ji Ying wanted to stroll around a bit longer, but Xu Sangning flatly refused.

“You have work tomorrow.”

Even though work started at nine and morning classes at school began at eight-thirty, she still found work far more exhausting.

The reporting system she had proposed earlier was now in place. Reports went straight to her backend, bypassing any intermediaries, so she had to spend time every day handling them.

Her working hours had noticeably increased compared to before.

“Do you like working?”

“No,” Xu Sangning replied, her expression puzzled. “Does anyone in the world actually like working?”

“How about we merge our families through marriage, and I give you my shares? I’ll work for you, so you won’t have to go to work anymore…”

Xu Sangning: ?

“But I’m not working because I need the money. I’m working because my brother couldn’t stand seeing me idle,” Xu Sangning paused, “And I never noticed you had such a romantic streak before. You should probably stop saying things like that—I’d hate for Auntie Ji and Uncle Ji to drop dead from shock.”

Ji Ying sighed softly and drove Xu Sangning home.

She rolled down the window, watching as Xu Sangning walked upstairs, her gaze lingering intently on the other woman.

Just as she wanted to keep looking, a car pulled up, blocking her view.

The car window lowered, revealing the familiar face of Xu Qiexing. Ji Ying’s expression darkened.

“Why is it you?”

“Your stare just now was borderline creepy.”

“Ah, well, your eyesight must be pretty sharp then,” Ji Ying replied, completely unbothered. “I feel like she doesn’t dislike me as much anymore, so I’ll go ahead and call you ‘brother’ in advance.”

“You’ve got some nerve,” Xu Qiexing said, feeling slightly nauseated by the blissful look on Ji Ying’s face—it was disturbingly out of character for her.

With that, Xu Qiexing rolled up his window.

He had intended to mess with Ji Ying, only to end up being the one grossed out.

As soon as he got home, he called his mother.

“Hey, Mom, should we set Sangning up on a blind date?”

“Your sister’s only twenty-one—she won’t even be twenty-two until after New Year’s. It’s way too early. If she finds out you’re trying to arrange a blind date for her now, she’ll probably tear your office apart.”

“But Ji Ying… I think Sangning just hasn’t met enough people, which is why she’s so close to her.”

“Ji Ying’s always been a good kid. Why do you have such a bias against her?” Mrs. Xu said disapprovingly.

“If the two of them really ended up together, would you be okay with it?”

Mrs. Xu fell silent for a few seconds. “It’d definitely be a bit ahead of its time for me. But your sister’s always had a mind of her own. If that’s what she wants, there’s no stopping her. Do you really think Sangning would listen to you?”

“Look, at least we know Ji Ying well—she’s not some stranger. Stop meddling in your sister’s business and focus on yourself. You’re twenty-seven… maybe you should start preparing for your own blind dates,” Mrs. Xu said, exasperated. “If you and Ji Ying can’t stand each other, you should’ve said so earlier.”

Xu Qiexing: …

“We were talking about Sangning—how did this turn into an attack on me?” Xu Qiexing sped up his words. “Mom, I’ve got things to do. I’ll hang up now.”

He ended the call immediately and sighed.

Whatever. His sister would have to figure things out for herself. But the thought of dealing with both Xu Sangning and Ji Ying together was terrifying—one plus one equaled three in terms of trouble.

Xu Sangning had no idea what had happened after she left. The chaos didn’t concern her.

As soon as she got home, she rushed into the shower, then comfortably sprawled on her bed to watch TV.

——

Feng Xingwei had chosen a different path in love. Her romantic life was clearly going much smoother than in the book—though she wasn’t as wealthy, she was undeniably happier, smiling every day.

Her upbeat attitude had a ripple effect, lifting the moods of everyone around her.

Ji Ying and Xu Qiexing’s engagement had been publicly called off, but several joint business ventures were announced simultaneously to dispel rumors of a fallout between their families.

Xu Qiexing had recently started going on blind dates.

Xu Sangning stared at the plotline that had completely deviated from the original script, rendered utterly speechless.

At this point, she couldn’t even begin to predict how the story would unfold. It felt like Xu Qiexing would have to act even more outrageously to steer the plot back on track.

But realistically, there was little hope. Perhaps sensing the severe deviation, the small world had begun self-correcting.

Feng Xingwei and Xu Qiexing’s interactions had increased dramatically—they ran into each other multiple times at the company. Yet, Xu Qiexing paid no attention to Feng Xingwei, and Feng Xingwei didn’t care about Xu Qiexing either.

Wait—no. Feng Xingwei had started noticing Xu Qiexing, and his name popped up in her conversations far more frequently than before.

Mostly in complaints, though. Feng Xingwei felt like she’d been cursed lately—eight out of ten times she took the elevator, she’d run into the boss. Even when she sneaked out for some fresh air, he’d somehow appear. Now, the only place she dared to slack off was the restroom, since the boss was a man and couldn’t enter the women’s room.

She was terrified that her frequent slacking would make her face stick in the boss’s memory. Feng Xingwei was furious—back when she worked long hours and stayed late, she never ran into him.

To this, Xu Sangning could only say: “…”

As the New Year approached, the office buzzed with the joy of the upcoming holiday.

Xu Sangning attended the company’s annual party as a regular employee. She didn’t win any raffle prizes, and her red envelope turned out to be a joke—”Wishing You Three Million” with no actual money inside. She suspected her envelope had been rigged.

Xu Sangning had terrible luck, but Feng Xingwei was the opposite.

She won the first prize in the raffle—a top-of-the-line Pear ecosystem bundle and ten thousand yuan, personally awarded by Xu Qiexing.

The moment Feng Xingwei heard that Xu Qiexing would be handing her the prize, her vision darkened. Her smile stiffened as she trudged onstage with her head lowered.

“It’s you…”

Feng Xingwei: !!!

“The one who’s always on the rooftop getting some air.”

Feng Xingwei: …

There were so many people who went up to the rooftop for a smoke or some fresh air! Why was she the one who kept running into the boss?! He had remembered her!

“You’ve got good luck.”

Feng Xingwei forced an awkward smile as she accepted the prize voucher. Since the haul was sizable, the actual items were waiting offstage for her to collect afterward.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Sangning noticed Feng Xingwei’s expression and felt a jolt of anticipation—was the plot finally correcting itself?

“I’m doomed. I slacked off too much, and the boss actually remembers my face now!” Feng Xingwei wanted to cry. “Dammit, why couldn’t I run into him back when I was working until ten or eleven at night?”

Xu Sangning blinked. “As long as you get your work done, it’s fine. Don’t worry—you’ve slacked off in front of me plenty of times anyway.”

Feng Xingwei froze for a few seconds. “Oh… right. I forgot about you.”

“Great. Seems like my plan to infiltrate your circle is working perfectly.”

Feng Xingwei wanted to die.

“Relax, every employee slacks off sometimes. I saw how hard you worked before.” Xu Sangning patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Feng Xingwei exhaled in relief.

She’d been terrified of getting fired, but thankfully, no such news came before the holiday break.

On the official start of the vacation, Ji Ying came to pick up Xu Sangning in a brand-new pink car, waving at her from the driver’s seat.

Xu Sangning looked at Ji Ying—this woman didn’t even bother hiding her intentions. Under the gaze of their colleagues, Xu Sangning jogged over to the car.

“Get in.” Without another word, Xu Sangning slid into the passenger seat.

Ji Ying got into the car and sighed, “Am I that embarrassing to be seen with?”

“It’s rush hour. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be stuck here.” Xu Sangning spoke from experience—she’d been trapped in traffic here many times before.

Ji Ying immediately started the car and drove off. “Got any plans tomorrow?”

“Sleeping.” Xu Sangning stretched lazily.

“How about I come over for dinner?” Ji Ying asked.

“But I’m planning to go home tomorrow. I’ll probably eat there.”

“Then I’ll just drop by your place for a meal. It’s been ages since I visited your parents. I’m sure they’d be happy to see me.”

Xu Sangning: “…”

She shot Ji Ying a glance, never ceasing to be amazed by the woman’s shamelessness. “Suit yourself.”

Tonight, they were heading to a restaurant for lamb soup and barbecue. Ji Ying had reserved a table early, though the place was quite far—a manor in another district. At this hour, the drive would take at least an hour.

Ji Ying showed Xu Sangning photos of the restaurant. It was beautiful, with a lakeside view where they could dine while enjoying the scenery.

“If it gets too late, we can just stay here overnight,” Ji Ying suggested.

Xu Sangning gave her a sidelong glance. “Tsk tsk tsk.”

“I was just saying. Don’t read too much into it.”

“And I didn’t say anything either.” Xu Sangning turned off her phone screen. “What exactly do you think I meant?”

Ji Ying opened her mouth, then closed it again, letting out a small, indignant huff. “Hmph.”

System: Tsk tsk tsk.

Ji Ying: Shut up.

System: You only dare to be mean to me!

Xu Sangning yawned as she gazed out the window. Her phone, which she had just tucked into her bag, buzzed again. She opened it to see a message from Xu Qiexing.

“Hello?”

“Weren’t we supposed to go home together tonight? Where are you?”

Xu Sangning blinked and glanced at Ji Ying, who was driving. “Sister Ji Ying came to pick me up. I saw her and forgot about you.”

“Got it. Bye.”

Xu Sangning was surprised. Xu Qiexing wasn’t angry? The sun must be rising from the west today.

Back at home, Xu Qiexing let out a sigh of relief. Good thing Xu Sangning had run off with Ji Ying. If she found out he’d forgotten too, she’d probably be furious.