After Being Possessed by the Transmigrated Heroine - Chapter 10

Bai Niao was truly not a very clever person. Her ability to improvise was exceptionally poor. Aside from the moments when she dared to take a gamble in front of He Youting, whenever she encountered a sudden crisis, her brain would stall until she couldn’t utter a single word. All of her ingenuity was spent on being lazy and slippery.

Upon sensing that Zhuang Han was about to wake up, Bai Niao made a split-second decision for the first time in her life. She hurriedly scrambled down from Cheng Yu’s lap and pleaded, “Could you please leave first? Wait a while until I’ve fallen asleep, and then come back?”

Her complexion was a mess, and her lips, usually as vivid as flower petals, had turned pale.

Cheng Yu looked down at her, his voice very soft. “What is it, Niaoniao?”

Bai Niao’s knuckles gripped the thin quilt, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs, her forehead drenched in sweat. She tightly grasped Cheng Yu’s hand, her voice trembling. “Just promise me first, okay? I’ll explain to you later.”

Even a slight awareness of Bai Niao’s consciousness was something Zhuang Han could not tolerate. If Zhuang Han discovered she was still alive—and capable of controlling the body while Zhuang Han slept—she would surely go insane.

Bai Niao’s heart was a chaotic tangle of nerves, but to her surprise, Cheng Yu remained silent for a moment before giving a soft “Mm.” He stood up and walked out of her bedroom.

The wall lamps were automatic; after Cheng Yu left, they gradually dimmed. The room returned to a state of pitch-black silence.

Before Bai Niao even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, her body began to move on its own. She was forced to prop up her arms, sitting up like a marionette on a string. Sweat beaded on the tip of her nose. If she were a kitten, every inch of her fur would be standing on end right now.

This was too eerie, too terrifying. It hadn’t been as noticeable during the day, but at night, even the slightest movement felt macabre. Watching her own body move of its own accord was more frightening than encountering a ghost; even horror movies didn’t film scenes like this.

Zhuang Han seemed a bit thirsty, or perhaps she had been dreaming. She picked up the glass by the bed and took a sip of water. This sudden movement also woke the dormant System.

Host, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?

Zhuang Han smiled. Since there was no one in the room, she didn’t bother speaking to the System in her head and instead spoke aloud: “I’m fine. I just dreamed about some things from before.”

Actually, upon completing her last mission, the Main System had given her a chance to stay in that previous world.

Bai Niao had always thought Zhuang Han’s acting skills were superb, but among “book-transmigrators,” Zhuang Han’s strength wasn’t actually that high. The intensity and difficulty of these missions were progressive; she had successfully completed the first world, but by the end of the second mission, she was already at the end of her rope.

But Zhuang Han was not satisfied. Though the missions grew harder, the rewards grew correspondingly more lavish.

Bai Niao, the female lead of this world, was the most beautiful of the three worlds she had visited, and the settings for the male leads were also the best. If she could successfully conquer these men, what awaited her was a lifetime of peace, luxury, and fine living. Thus, Zhuang Han had resolutely chosen to continue the mission.

For some reason, lately, she kept thinking about the previous two worlds.

Don’t worry, Host. Once the mission is complete, things from your original world will no longer affect you.

The voice of this damn System always sounded cheerful chirpy and irritating to the ears. Bai Niao gritted her teeth, wishing she could rip it out of Zhuang Han’s soul and give it a good thrashing.

To Bai Niao, the System was a nuisance. But to Zhuang Han, the System’s existence was like a powerful shield, ensuring she never had to feel afraid, no matter what happened.

After drinking the water, Zhuang Han relaxed significantly. She slipped on her slippers, a smile on her face. “Walk around with me. I’ve never lived in such a luxurious mansion before.”

When she was still alive in her original world, her background had been very ordinary—lowly, even. But regardless, it had been a modern era. Consequently, while in the ancient world of her previous mission, she had always maintained a sense of superiority as a modern person, even if she didn’t show it on the surface. That was also why she had ultimately chosen to return to a modern society.

As the saying goes: “To achieve wealth and not return home is like wearing silk and walking in the night.” While this wasn’t Zhuang Han’s original world, it was close enough.

People say the night invites negative emotions, but Zhuang Han enjoyed reflecting in the silence. The male leads were all difficult characters to handle, and since this body would eventually be her own, she needed to plan her “conquest” missions carefully.

Before that, however, Zhuang Han wanted to start developing her career.

The original female lead was a total “useless beauty.” She had no means of making a living and knew how to do nothing; she relied entirely on being kept by the male leads to maintain her aristocratic lifestyle. If the day ever came when they abandoned her, she would likely be swallowed whole by her former enemies.

Case in point: the eldest daughter of the Cheng family she had met today was already quite intimidating. With such a high status, killing Bai Niao would be easier than crushing an ant.

As Zhuang Han thought, she couldn’t help but sigh. The setting for this female lead was truly terrible. Just when would she be able to finish the conquest mission?

She pushed open the bedroom door and walked out with her head down.

Listening to the conversation between Zhuang Han and the System, Bai Niao was so furious she felt like her lungs might burst. She had never met someone so wicked—first stealing someone’s body, and then complaining that the person wasn’t good enough.

Fortunately, Zhuang Han didn’t stay out for long. She wandered the corridor, lamented to the System about how beautiful the mansion was, and then went back to bed.

Bai Niao was so huffy she couldn’t even sleep. But the bedroom was truly too comfortable; the large bed was incredibly soft. As soon as she lay down, it felt like sinking into a cloud, dragging her forcibly into a sweet, dark dreamland.

Perhaps because so much had happened during the day, Bai Niao dreamt of old events from long ago things she hadn’t thought of in a while.

It was around the time she had just been kicked out of the Zhong family.

At that time, Bai Niao’s state of mind was very poor. But few people knew that she wasn’t grieving because she had been cast out. Bai Niao was a mean and heartless person; she was vain and money-grubbing, with eyes only for wealth and power. She didn’t even have much affection for the Zhong family who had raised her.

In this world, the only person who could truly make Bai Niao sad and heartbroken had only ever been that one man.

Many people said he didn’t love her, but she just liked him very much. She had done many crazy things for him crazy enough to make him feel disgusted. Ultimately, it was because of her madness that their relationship was completely destroyed.

Perhaps many years later, Bai Niao might forget the day she was kicked out of the Zhong family. But even in death, she would likely never forget the night her engagement was broken.

He was very similar to Duan Xiran: an aristocratic gentleman, refined and meticulous. He had spent a long time abroad; the two of them had even been classmates at Princeton. People often compared them.

Actually, his temper was much better than Duan Xiran’s. Yet, even a person so gentle that he seemed to have no temper at all had done the coldest thing possible once he realized Bai Niao’s true nature.

The night he discovered the truth, he had held her fingers and torn the pre-written marriage certificates into shreds, piece by piece. At the banquet, amidst the clinking of glasses, every guest could see how Bai Niao’s face turned deathly pale.

She was someone who valued face so much. Yet that night, she had only cried and begged him continuously not to abandon her.

Bai Niao loved to shift blame, but regarding this matter between them, she never blamed him for being heartless. She was only sad that she had been too young then, and too immature in her actions.

When she first arrived at Duan Xiran’s side, she was in a terrible state, unable to sleep for whole nights. Duan Xiran had the arrogance of the nobility bred into his bones, yet he was very good to Bai Niao at the start until the first time they were together, and she called out that other man’s name.

Bai Niao had always assumed that a man of Duan Xiran’s status had seen everything. It wasn’t until later that she learned that it had been his first time.

The warmth on Duan Xiran’s body vanished in an instant. He pinched her face, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip ink. “Get out.”

Bai Niao was young then, had experienced little, and her courage was tiny. She was terrified, thinking Duan Xiran didn’t want her either. Pulling her suitcase and wiping her tears, she hailed a taxi under the streetlights to go to a hotel.

But before the second day’s dawn, Duan Xiran had driven over and brought her home.

Bai Niao was very ignorant then; she didn’t understand what had happened or what she should do. Since Duan Xiran didn’t mention that night, she pretended it had never happened. She simply followed Duan Xiran closely like a stray kitten that had been abandoned before. Fortunately, Duan Xiran didn’t lose his temper again and continued to dote on her as before.

They lived a relatively peaceful life like that.

Until one morning, the tranquility was shattered by a man in military uniform. The man sitting on the long sofa looked like an uninvited guest, but his smile was like a spring breeze, and his voice was so gentle: “You must be Bai Niao? I’m a friend of Xiran’s.”

Bai Niao was a very gullible person. Wearing a light-colored spaghetti-strap nightgown, with deep and shallow marks still on the side of her neck, she blushed and called out, “Hello, Brother.”

He had lied.

He wasn’t Duan Xiran’s friend, nor was he there as a guest. He had come that day originally to deal with his sister’s fiancé’s mistress.

Later, Bai Niao paid the price for her gullibility.

The memories were chaotic and crowded, heavy and oppressive enough to make one gasp for air. Bai Niao’s breathing became disordered. Clutching her chest, she bolted upright in bed.

The night was deep. Only a sliver of moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling window, shining in silently. Bai Niao’s thoughts were a mess, and the pressure in her temples throbbed with pain. Before she could react, she was pulled onto someone’s lap.

Cheng Yu seemed to have been by her bed all night. He supported her waist and used his thumb to wipe the moisture from her face. “What did you dream about? Why are you crying?”

The man’s voice was gentle, as if speaking to a child who hadn’t grown up yet—expressing a hint of indulgence, a hint of doting, a hint of heartache, and perhaps a touch of helplessness.

Tears and cold sweat mingled, making Bai Niao’s face damp. All these men were fastidious about cleanliness. But when facing her, they seemed not to know what “dirty” meant.

Bai Niao had no time to think. her curled eyelashes trembled violently, her gaze shaking, her eyes full of helplessness and panic.

She was afraid of Cheng Yu. No matter how gentle he usually was, she feared him. Even if there was a smile on his face, she still feared him.

Cheng Yu had spent a long time in the military. Bai Niao didn’t know if he was familiar with interrogation techniques, but in front of him, she had nothing she could hide. He actually rarely used questions. Because with one look at her, he knew what she was thinking.

Sitting in Cheng Yu’s arms, Bai Niao’s beautiful head drooped slightly. She actually really wanted to break free from his gentle confinement. But having been kept by his side for so long, she couldn’t even summon the courage to do so.

Cheng Yu pinched Bai Niao’s face and said with a light laugh, “You’ve been truly strange these past two days. It’s one thing to be suspicious of me, but you won’t even tell me a small thing like what you dreamed about?”

To outsiders, Cheng Yu must have seemed like an excellent partner. Perhaps even He Youting and the others thought he was the one among them whom Bai Niao favored more.

But only Bai Niao herself knew just how morbid Cheng Yu could be at certain times.

Just like at this very moment, he unhurriedly held her ankle, stroking a faint old scar on it, and said nonchalantly: “Let me guess… did you dream about that former fiancé of yours?”