After remaining silent for a few breaths, Ji Xu'an did not follow Jiang Zhenyun's words and nod. Instead she asked in return, "Who exactly are you?"
Jiang Zhenyun relaxed her body and leaned back against the chair, looking at Ji Xu'an leisurely and contentedly. "Actually, we met before. It's just that you don't remember now."
"Miss Ji, you don't need to be so deeply guarded against me. If I truly wanted to do something, Xie Jiang Jiang's identity would have long been impossible to hide."
The situation was far more troublesome than Ji Xu'an had anticipated.
It was not that she had never considered it. Since Jiang Jiang could guess Jiang Zhenyun's identity, Jiang Zhenyun must also harbor many suspicions about Jiang Jiang's identity.
But Jiang Zhenyun's words still made Ji Xu'an's heart sink heavily to the bottom.
Right now, Jiang Zhenyun was in the dark, and she was in the light.
She knew nothing about Jiang Zhenyun. Yet Jiang Zhenyun understood everything about her and Jiang Jiang.
After another moment of silence, Ji Xu'an asked again, "What do you want?"
Jiang Zhenyun could not help but let out a long sigh. Although the Ji Xu'an before her was only a wisp of the soul fragment of the person she once knew, and her personality was somewhat different from the one she was familiar with,
some things were carved into the bones. Even if time and space were changed, they had not altered in the slightest.
Jiang Zhenyun shrugged her shoulders and no longer tried to prove her harmlessness.
"I don't want anything. Whatever you have, I can easily obtain."
As she spoke, Jiang Zhenyun picked up her coffee and took a sip. Her eyes narrowed comfortably. "Just like I said earlier, because you were my friend in the past, I only want to help you."
Ji Xu'an did not comment on Jiang Zhenyun's words, but she also knew clearly that the initiative was not in her hands right now. Jiang Zhenyun was too mysterious, so mysterious that Ji Xu'an had no way to deal with her at all.
Thinking of this, Ji Xu'an could not help but take a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Do you know where Xie Xiao went?"
The topic finally returned to the main track. Jiang Zhenyun's expression also became serious. "Have you truly never guessed?"
"Since Xie Jiang Jiang can come here, why can't Xie Xiao go to the place where Xie Jiang Jiang once lived?"
Although Jiang Zhenyun was asking Ji Xu'an, her tone carried certainty.
Ji Xu'an's fingers resting on her leg tightened. Numerous thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. She stared at Jiang Zhenyun's eyes. "What relationship does Xie Xiao have with Princess Huaining?"
Jiang Zhenyun curved her lips. "Whatever relationship you have with Xie Jiang Jiang, that is the relationship they have."
After hearing this, Ji Xu'an could not quite describe what she felt in her heart, but she still loosened up somewhat.
If Xie Xiao had truly gotten together with Princess Huaining, she probably would no longer think about coming back to drive Jiang Jiang away, right?
Ji Xu'an was thinking in her mind, yet her face remained calm, her expression still indifferent.
Jiang Zhenyun did not urge her. While Ji Xu'an was deep in thought, she even secretly blinked at He Qiuwan not far away.
This small movement did not escape Ji Xu'an's eyes. Thoughtfully, she glanced at He Qiuwan from the corner of her eye, then asked, "In that world, is there also someone who looks similar to Zheng Zhouzhou?"
Jiang Zhenyun had no intention of hiding it from her. "Yes."
She asked Ji Xu'an, "Did Zheng Zhouzhou ever tell you that this world is actually a novel, and that your younger sister Ji Heyuan is the protagonist of this novel?"
Ji Xu'an did not speak. But her silence itself was an answer.
Although Ji Xu'an had never felt that the world she lived in was fake, both Zheng Zhouzhou and Jiang Zhenyun had said so. Perhaps there truly were things beyond her imagination.
"You can regard the world Xie Jiang Jiang lived in as the ancient version of this world."
At first, Jiang Zhenyun did not know either. Only after meeting Jiang Jiang did she deliberately investigate the truth behind all this.
"I wonder if President Ji usually likes to read novels?"
After asking, Jiang Zhenyun did not intend to wait for Ji Xu'an's reply. Without waiting for her to speak, she continued on her own.
From Jiang Zhenyun's mouth, Ji Xu'an heard a more complete story.
Last night Jiang Jiang had only told her that since childhood her father did not dote on her and her mother did not love her. Fortunately her master treated her fairly well.
But Ji Xu'an had not expected that Jiang Jiang's life had been even more difficult than she had imagined.
"The Duke's residence deliberately sent two elderly matrons to guard her. In name they were caring for her. In reality they were monitoring her."
So Jiang Jiang had never dared to show her true desires. Whatever she did had to be done secretly.
"From a very young age she knew that she was an abandoned child of the Duke's residence."
Jiang Zhenyun said leisurely, "According to the original storyline, after Xie Jiang Jiang returned to the Duke's residence, she would smoothly marry the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince would dote on her greatly. Her whole life would be smooth and blissful."
Ji Xu'an simply listened quietly. Jiang Zhenyun had said "originally." That meant variables likely appeared afterward.
Sure enough, in the next second Ji Xu'an heard Jiang Zhenyun say, "There was a concubine in the Crown Prince's residence named Zheng Zhouzhou."
"By a stroke of fate, she was reborn."
Hearing this, Ji Xu'an could not help but exhale a turbid breath. Even someone like Zheng Zhouzhou could be reborn. This world was truly unfair!
Such a precious opportunity should be given to people who contributed to society, not a parasite like Zheng Zhouzhou.
Jiang Zhenyun seemed to see what Ji Xu'an was thinking, but she did not comment further.
"Under Zheng Zhouzhou's deliberate seduction, the Crown Prince grew increasingly fond of her. Xie Jiang Jiang, the prospective Crown Princess, lost the Crown Prince's favor even before she married into the Eastern Palace."
What would happen next, even without Jiang Zhenyun saying it, Ji Xu'an could guess.
Her expression became extremely ugly. Even though she knew in her heart that things likely had not yet progressed to the point Jiang Zhenyun described, Ji Xu'an still felt heartache for Jiang Jiang.
The more Jiang Zhenyun continued, the worse Ji Xu'an's mood became. When she heard that Jiang Jiang was poisoned to death by Zheng Zhouzhou and the Crown Prince working together, she could no longer endure it and sneered, "The author who wrote this novel is probably mentally abnormal."
Jiang Zhenyun raised her brows. "Perhaps."
"But don't worry. None of this has happened yet. Xie Jiang Jiang had not even had time to marry the Crown Prince before she transmigrated here."
And Xie Xiao, who replaced Jiang Jiang's identity, had also gotten together with Princess Huaining. So the Crown Prince was destined to fall from protagonist to cannon fodder.
Although the Crown Prince could be said to be a replica of Ji Heyuan, when Ji Xu'an heard that he would suffer misfortune, she felt only satisfaction.
If the Crown Prince were here, perhaps Ji Xu'an could still stab him a few times without changing her expression.
"Now the plot is completely in chaos. Xie Jiang Jiang has become your fiancée. She and Ji Heyuan are probably impossible now," Jiang Zhenyun said.
Ji Xu'an remained silent.
She was still immersed in her previous thoughts.
As long as Ji Xu'an thought that her Jiang Jiang had almost become the stepping stone for someone else's love, bearing the title of vicious supporting villain and dying alone in a place she did not even know, Ji Xu'an's heart was so angry she wanted to kill.
Fortunately.
Ji Xu'an closed her eyes.
Fortunately Jiang Jiang came here.
She would no longer experience that kind of pain and torment. She was no longer any villain. She was the undisputed protagonist. Ji Xu'an's one and only protagonist.
Ji Xu'an clenched her palm tightly. Her voice was extremely hoarse.
"You are a very capable person. You know many things ordinary people do not know."
Ji Xu'an paused. "Then can you tell me what exactly I must do…"
"...to keep her forever?"
—
T/N: If you're enjoying this translation, feel free to check out my Patreon. If you're unable to support financially, you can still subscribe for free and receive chapters two hours earlier, along with updates and announcements. Paid tiers offer early access and daily chapters.
Thank you so much for reading!
patreon.com/Baenz