This was Xu Zifan's first time receiving this kind of task, but it wasn't difficult for him. Perhaps most men in the world couldn't see through a woman's disguise, but that definitely didn't include him, since no one's acting skills were more consummate than his.
Judging from the original owner's memories, there was indeed nothing wrong with him. Although he and Yue Lingling were childhood sweethearts, there were no ambiguous words or physical contact between them. They interacted in the same way that a normal older brother and younger sister would, without the slightest hint of ambiguity.
When the original owner was in his first relationship, his childhood sweetheart identity was already a sensitive topic for his girlfriend. At that time, Yue Lingling would occasionally eat at the Xu family's house and bring back gifts such as clothes for the original owner's family of three when she returned from business trips. When his girlfriend found out, she argued with the original owner and told him not to contact Yue Lingling anymore. But in fact, what Yue Lingling did was just part of their daily routine. It was not strange for the family to have a meal together or for her to bring back gifts from her business trip.
The girlfriend believed that people without blood ties could never be family, and that there was definitely something wrong between them. Their differing opinions led to an argument and breakup. From the original owner's perspective, the girlfriend was overly sensitive about Yue Lingling's childhood friendship; she saw her as a rival even before they met, when in reality, nothing was going on between them.
However, Xu Zifan had seen all sorts of things. From his perspective, Yue Lingling must have had feelings for the original owner. Otherwise, as a mature 28-year-old woman, she would have taken the initiative to avoid suspicion. After all, women understand the sensitivity between girlfriends and childhood sweethearts best.
Her actions were subtle; she simply didn't change anything, continuing to interact with the Xu family as usual. This approach was very likely to provoke her girlfriend, but the original owner of the body couldn't possibly notice. Because Yue Lingling neither damaged his relationship nor flirted with him, and even happily wished him well, he would only think that his girlfriend was being petty.
His second relationship was with a girlfriend introduced to him by Yue Lingling through her friends. She even gave him advice on how to pursue her. He thought this was enough to prove that there was nothing between him and Yue Lingling, and he paid special attention to reducing contact with her. Even though he felt that he was forgetting his friends for the sake of a pretty girl, he was very careful to avoid suspicion. But they were neighbors, so of course they would still see each other from time to time.
When friends get together, Yue Lingling is friends with everyone, chatting and laughing and getting along very well. When they play Werewolf, Yue Lingling can always guess the original owner's identity. Her girlfriend gets jealous because of their tacit understanding, and her sense of crisis increases day by day. Conflicts arise between them because of Yue Lingling.
Upon learning this, Yue Lingling immediately moved to the other side of the city and never contacted the original owner again. The original owner also stopped contacting her, so she decided to let it go.
Then, a few months later, Yue Lingling had surgery. She was an orphan who had moved to an unfamiliar area by herself because of her conflict with her girlfriend. She was in so much pain that she called an ambulance herself. She only called him because she was afraid of the surgery, so he definitely wanted to go see her. He even suggested that he bring his parents and girlfriend along, which was a way of avoiding any appearance of impropriety.
His girlfriend, however, saw this as a bottom line. If he went this time, there would be countless next times, because his childhood sweetheart would always be there. She simply wanted him to choose between the two of them. The original owner saw this as unreasonable. Yue Lingling had already moved away and stopped contacting him. His girlfriend wouldn't even let him visit her during her surgery, and they couldn't even be ordinary friends. He felt it was better not to continue this relationship.
When he started dating for the third time, he was more careful. He moved to a place near his girlfriend's house and went to and from work with her every day. He didn't go out with his friends and basically had no chance to see Yue Lingling until she was in a car accident.
The hospital called him; Yue Lingling was unconscious. Of course, he had to go. At the time, he was incredibly grateful for his girlfriend's understanding and generosity. Later, his girlfriend and Yue Lingling seemed to be getting along well, and he thought he had finally made the right decision and didn't need to worry so much anymore. He never expected that his girlfriend and Yue Lingling would secretly despise each other so much, both dedicated to exposing the other's hypocrisy. From then on, he lost the will to date and couldn't get along with Yue Lingling anymore.
He began to doubt whether Yue Lingling liked him. After all, all three of his girlfriends said that Yue Lingling had feelings for him, but he really didn't feel that Yue Lingling had done anything to ruin his relationships. He didn't know what else he could do to avoid suspicion to such an extent that he became so cold-blooded that he ignored Yue Lingling's surgery and car accident. He felt like he wasn't human, so he simply went on a trip alone. In the end, the people he felt most guilty towards were his parents. He hadn't been able to properly take care of them, and the daughter-in-law and grandson they had been longing for would never come. His life ended inexplicably. He didn't even know if he should have been cold-blooded and never contacted Yue Lingling again.
Xu Zifan went through the original owner's memories several times, confirming that the original owner hadn't noticed anything amiss, and also tentatively determined that Yue Lingling was a sabotage who disguised herself very well. She seemed to have done nothing, but in reality, she had done everything she was supposed to, such as showing that she was closer to the Xu family and that she understood the original owner better.
She helps with pursuing someone and choosing gifts, making her presence felt in their relationship, which makes the other girl extremely uncomfortable. Furthermore, the fact that she can always call on the original owner if something really happens to her makes the other girl feel like she's a ticking time bomb, creating a deep sense of insecurity.
The original owner felt he had a clear conscience because he truly regarded Yue Lingling as a friend and family member. If all these things had happened between him and his brothers or relatives, they wouldn't have been a problem. But since the other person was his childhood sweetheart, it would have been a serious problem in the eyes of any girlfriend. Once the sense of security was weakened, the relationship would not be able to continue.
There's a saying that only a woman can tell if another woman is a slut or not. While this isn't always true, it's certainly true when you encounter someone skilled in manipulative tactics.
Xu Zifan transmigrated to the time when the original owner was in his second relationship, and his girlfriend was because of Yue Lingling's feelings towards the original owner.
The protagonist, jealous of Yue Lingling's understanding, clearly showed his hostility towards her. Yue Lingling was preparing to move, and today was the day she was moving. The original protagonist's girlfriend would also come to help.
Xu Zifan glanced at the hair tie and phone case on the table. They were left behind by Yue Lingling the day before. When she came to Xu's house for dinner, her phone was out of battery, so she borrowed his data cable to charge it. She said her phone was dirty, so she took off the phone case and wiped it for a long time. She casually let her hair down, put the hair tie on the table, and then took her phone to the living room. Naturally, she forgot about the hair tie and phone case that were originally on the table when she left.
This was a very ordinary thing, but because of it, the girlfriend and the original owner had a huge fight, and the girlfriend left.
Xu Zifan stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. His girlfriend didn't like Yue Lingling, so this visit to help her should be to witness Yue Lingling move out in person and, incidentally, to assert his dominance in front of Yue Lingling.
As for Yue Lingling, she probably deliberately left the hair tie and phone case in the original owner's room to provoke her girlfriend. Her moving out was just a strategic retreat to further highlight her girlfriend's unreasonable behavior, all without leaving a trace. No one will ever be able to find evidence to accuse her of what she did.
The original owner's girlfriend is coming soon. Xu Zifan will not continue dating her, but he also cannot let Yue Lingling provoke her.
While washing up, he said to Shaohua, "[Scan the whole house and find everything related to Yue Lingling.]"
[Shaohua: Yes, host.]
After Xu Zifan finished cleaning up, Shao Hua had marked everything in the house related to Yue Lingling on the virtual screen. There were her solo photos, photos of her with the original owner, photos of her with the Xu family, her old notebooks and books from her school days, clothes and gifts she bought for the Xu family, as well as the flowers she planted, the carpet in the living room, the paintings hanging on the wall, and so on.
They've been neighbors for twenty-eight years, and Yue Lingling has been without her parents for ten. She's maintained a close relationship with the Xu family all these years, and upon reflection, it's surprising how many traces of her are left in their home. Xu Zifan thinks that anyone, man or woman, would feel uncomfortable seeing this situation in a couple's home.
He found a large box, put all the things inside, and then opened the wardrobe to pack away all the things Yue Lingling had bought.
Xu's mother came over and looked at them, puzzled, "Zifan, what are you doing? Isn't Lingling moving today? Why are you rummaging through our things?"
Xu Zifan said, "Mom, aren't you always urging me to get married? I'll put away anything related to Lingling so that Xiaoxin won't feel uncomfortable if she sees it when she comes to our house. Otherwise, you'll lose your daughter-in-law."
Xu's mother was stunned for a moment, "How can it be that serious? You and Lingling are nothing, and Lingling is about to move away. You've made such a mess of things, how much will Lingling suffer?"
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "Mom, what do you think I should do? Lingling moved out so I could have a proper relationship and not let Xiaoxin misunderstand, right? She'll definitely agree with what I did, don't worry. Think about it, if you had gone to my grandparents' house and seen all the things other girls had bought, would you have felt comfortable?"
"Of course it's uncomfortable!" Xu's mother changed her mind after hearing what he said. Although she had watched Yue Lingling grow up and felt that this was hurtful, she couldn't ignore her future daughter-in-law's feelings. She pointed to the box and said, "Put the things in my room after you've packed them. They are all Lingling's good intentions. We can't just put them out or waste them. Put them in my wardrobe and I'll explain to Lingling later."
Xu Zifan nodded. "Mom, don't worry about this. It seems like Lingling moved away because of me, and I feel guilty for distancing myself from her. But think about it, she should find a boyfriend soon. Distancing herself now will prevent her boyfriend from being jealous of me later, right? So she's not really being wronged. It's better for everyone this way."
Xu's mother sighed, "Alright, that's settled then. You should stay close to Xin Xin from now on. I'll take good care of Ling Ling. It's a pity Ling Ling isn't a boy, otherwise you two could have been best buddies for life. What a shame."
"There's nothing to regret. Even brothers grow up and start their own families and live their own lives. It's all the same." Xu Zifan's relaxed attitude eased his mother's mood considerably. Thinking about it, it made sense, so she didn't say anything more.
Xu Zifan packed everything up and put it in his parents' room. There wasn't a trace of Yue Lingling left in the house. He picked up the hair tie and phone case and went to knock on the door next door. The other things were old, so he could just put them away. He couldn't throw away the things he left behind yesterday, so he might as well return them to her.
Yue Lingling opened the door and smiled when she saw him, "Brother Zifan, what's up? Come in."
Xu Zifan stood at the door and handed her the things. "No need, I saw you left something behind, so I brought it to you. I'm going to pick up Xiaoxin now."