After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 33

Ji Ruyue took the phone and watched the video, fast-forwarding it at double speed. She had no particular reaction to the beginning, but when it reached the section on English and her dazed state, Ji Ruyue’s expression gradually solidified.

After finishing, Ji Ruyue frowned, rewound the video, and played it at normal speed, concentrating on observing Song Xingzi’s expressions.

Something is not right. Song Xingzi had been on this show before, just before the drama started filming. She had even sung this English song, firmly establishing her pure scholar persona, which was one of the factors that led Zhao Yu to agree to her back-door deal. But why did the person in the video seem to not understand any of it, and didn’t even grasp what the two hosts were saying?

Ji Ruyue looked up, her gaze piercing. “Was that segment—the one before Song Xingzi was injured—part of your script arrangement?”

Lin Shu explained gently, his voice heavy with fatigue. “No. The script was prepared beforehand and sent to Xingzi a long time ago. We were supposed to rehearse first, but Xingzi kept sticking to you, and since it was a special program prepared for the New Year’s Day broadcast, it was pushed to today. I asked her earlier if there were any problems, and she said she had memorized the script. I never expected this to happen, including the accident…”

In fact, he was also very confused. Although it was a special program, filming on the eve of the Lunar New Year—New Year’s Eve—seemed unusual. Moreover, although Song Xingzi claimed she had prepared everything, she was actually just revolving around Little CEO Ji. She probably hadn’t even glanced at the script.

Lin Shu managed a weary smile.

On New Year’s Eve, why am I not going back to Hollywood to be with my wife? Why did I bring Song Xingzi to this program? Was my brain caught in a door, or flooded by the White Snake spirit?

Of course, Lin Shu didn’t know he was in the illogical world of an overbearing CEO romance novel, where everything revolved around the agonizing love line of the male and female leads, and everyone around the protagonists was merely a tool to advance the plot.

Lin Shu continued, “Xingzi’s performance up to that point was stable. The accident was also very sudden.”

Ji Ruyue seized the key point, her frown deepening. “You mean Song Xingzi didn’t memorize the script or rehearse, and went on stage directly? So her reactions were spontaneous, her on-the-spot responses?”

Lin Shu was puzzled but nodded in affirmation.

“Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Lin.”

Ji Ruyue adjusted the video speed to 0.5x, meticulously observing Song Xingzi’s reactions: Innocent and clueless, it doesn’t look like she’s faking it. She genuinely doesn’t understand English and can’t speak it!

How is this possible? How could she not speak English? Didn’t she previously memorize legal statutes? Why is she suddenly incapable of something she was proficient in?

A terrifying guess flashed through her mind, and Ji Ruyue subconsciously dismissed it. She watched that segment of the video over and over, her expression growing colder.

Lin Shu also sensed the change and asked her gently, “Little CEO Ji, you don’t need to worry. If this was intentional, I will definitely not let the culprit go. The public relations team will also control the narrative.”

Ji Ruyue returned the phone to Lin Shu. “Thank you, Uncle Lin. You’ve worked hard. You should go back now. I’ll keep watch here.”

“Can you manage alone?”

“I called Zhang Yuan over, and my bodyguard is here too. Isn’t Song Xingzi’s assistant also here? There are plenty of people. You’ve been busy all this time; you should rest,” Seeing Lin Shu unmoved, Ji Ruyue added, “I want to be alone with her for a while.”

Lin Shu finally relented, speaking with the air of an experienced man. “Alright, I won’t disturb you two young people then. If you need anything, just have Li Yu or the others handle it. This is a double room. There’s another bed behind the curtain. If you get tired, you should rest for a bit.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle Lin.”

After seeing him out, Ji Ruyue turned her attention back to the sleeping Song Xingzi: her beautiful, clear eyes, which usually held a gentle smile, were closed. Her face was pale, devoid of color, and her pink lips were pursed, as if she were having a terrible nightmare.

“Who exactly are you?” Ji Ruyue sighed, her slender fingers gently stroking Song Xingzi’s pale, beautiful face. “Are you really the Female Lead?”

In fact, you have shown many inconsistencies from the very beginning. The change I wanted has already happened, but I never dared to believe it, never dared to confirm it.

How could the usually pure and cowardly Female Lead forcibly kiss me right away? And how could she injure the Male Lead and so forcefully reject the sugar baby contract? Then there’s your unusually good cooking and the occasional display of recklessness and rawness.

How could a filial daughter, willing to abandon her studies, accept a sugar baby contract, and compromise her bottom line for her father, stick to me for so long? To the point that in two months, she hasn’t visited Song Xuelin even once? She hasn’t even expressed concern for her bedridden father in front of me.

Even when choosing the script, you didn’t even consider Mu Yu and immediately fell for Fang Miao. So, the you who was laughing on the wall, the you who played Fang Miao, is that the real you? Are all these changes brought about by you? Who are you, and why have you come here?

Ji Ruyue’s thoughts were a tangled mess, like a ball of yarn clawed apart by a cat, with loose ends poking out everywhere, but impossible to form a single continuous thread.

“Why aren’t you waking up yet?” Ji Ruyue withdrew her hand and sat silently by the bed, wordlessly observing Song Xingzi’s sleeping face.

Meanwhile, the little squirrel who was confusing Ji Ruyue was trapped in a nightmare, or rather, an illusion.

All around was endless blackness, and from the boundless dark, countless hands emerged, accompanied by vicious, heartbreaking words. They clawed and tugged at Song Xingzi’s legs and body, determined to drag her into the limitless darkness.

“Don’t come near, don’t come near,” Song Xingzi struggled in fear, using the spells she had learned. “I have the Samadhi True Fire; I’ll burn you all to ashes!”

She hadn’t held much hope, struggling desperately with both hands and feet, but as soon as her words fell, a surging flame rose in the boundless dark space, instantly incinerating the hands and voices in the darkness.

The dust settled in only two or three seconds. Before she could react, only a silent world remained in her eyes.

“Where is this? What just happened? How do I suddenly have spiritual power again?” Song Xingzi, still shaken, walked around the endless black space. To distract herself from the fear of the unknown darkness, she talked to herself as she walked.

“Is anyone there? Where am I? Ji Ji? Fox Sister? Uncle Niu? Dream-Tamer Brother?”

Song Xingzi called out the names of everyone she cared about, but no one answered. She even started to miss the annoying, mischievous Ginseng Spirit from the mountain, and the little Lily who only cried, including the gossiping foxtail grass. Now, thinking about them, they all seemed so cute.

“Ginseng Baby, Little Lily, Foxtail Grass, I was wrong! I won’t bully you again when I go back! Just please talk to me now. Is anyone here? Why is there no one?”

Song Xingzi talked to herself, exploring the surroundings. She even started to think she might starve to death here and never get out.

“Little Songzi, how did you get here?”

Suddenly, an androgynous voice came from all directions, and the previously dark and boundless world brightened up, as if someone had suddenly flipped a switch.

A gentle, handsome young man dressed in watery blue clothes stood ten meters away from Song Xingzi, looking at her warmly.

“Dream-Tamer Brother!” Song Xingzi was happy and surprised. She ran over to him. “Dream-Tamer Brother, why are you here? Where is this? Where is Fox Sister? Why isn’t she with you? Can I go back to Qing Qiu now? I’m telling you, Dream-Tamer Brother, as soon as I descended to the human world, I transmigrated into a novel. I still haven’t returned to Qing Qiu, and I’m not really in the human world either.”

Towards the end, she drooped her head in frustration, looking like she was waiting to be comforted.

“Little Songzi, you have too many questions. Dream-Tamer Brother doesn’t know which one to start with.”

Song Xingzi stood obediently in front of the Dream-Tamer. “Then, Dream-Tamer Brother, just say whatever you want to say. Little Songzi will listen carefully.”

In front of the familiar, brother-like Dream-Tamer, Song Xingzi neither had to pretend nor did she display her usual temper with peers. She was gentle and well-behaved, like a little sister.

The Dream-Tamer smiled and raised his hand to pat Song Xingzi’s head, but when his hand landed, she felt nothing. Only then did she notice that the Dream-Tamer in front of her had no physical form; he was more like a phantom.

Song Xingzi wasn’t worried, just a little curious. “Dream-Tamer Brother, why don’t you have a physical form? Are you in my dream?”

It wasn’t unusual for a Dream-Tamer to enter and create dreams, or to enter and leave other people’s dreams as a phantom. He even used these methods to help heal the little animals in Qing Qiu.

“This is not your own dream. I can’t say much else, as it involves the assessment rules,” the Dream-Tamer’s voice was gentle, continuing unhurriedly. “You must have come here because you encountered danger and had the desire to escape, to leave, right?”

“Mhm, mhm, Dream-Tamer Brother is right,” Song Xingzi explained with a bitter face. “I don’t know why I can suddenly hear the voices in other people’s hearts. They all dislike me, scold me, and attack me. This world is so scary. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

“Don’t be afraid, Little Songzi,” the Dream-Tamer gently stroked Song Xingzi’s head, soothing the frightened little squirrel. “I left a phantom here in case you encountered danger, so I can’t stay for long, and there are some things I cannot tell you now. But you must remember what I’m about to say next. They are very important!”

“Mhm, mhm, Dream-Tamer Brother, you say it once, and Little Songzi can memorize it!”

“No matter what happens, you must understand: this world cannot confine you, and even less can it harm you. Its rules are merely a guide for you. The true power of choice is in your hands. You must constantly make choices. If you make different choices, you will get different outcomes. When you have made enough choices, when your changes are sufficient, you can leave this world.”

“I memorized it, but I don’t quite understand?” Song Xingzi tugged on the Dream-Tamer’s sleeve, looking up at him, her round apricot eyes full of confusion. “Dream-Tamer Brother, what choices do I need to make? No one is giving me questions to choose from. Does that mean I can’t go back?”

“Don’t worry, Little Songzi, you have been making choices all along. You’ve already made many choices. If you don’t believe me, wake up, Songzi, and try your spiritual power?”

“Dream-Tamer Brother, I have more questions to ask.”

“There is no time, Little Songzi. You should wake up. Everyone and I are waiting for you to return to Qing Qiu.”

The Dream-Tamer gave Song Xingzi an apologetic smile. As soon as his words fell, his transparent figure dissolved into a burst of shimmering light, dissipating into the air.

Song Xingzi screamed, “Dream-Tamer Brother—”

“Are you awake?”

Hearing only a muffled murmur, Ji Ruyue saw the subject she had been observing open her eyes, looking at her with confusion and sorrow.

“Would you like some water?” Ji Ruyue picked up the nearby disposable cup and glass carafe, poured a cup of hot water, and helped Song Xingzi sit up, propping a pillow behind her.

During Song Xingzi’s unconscious period, Ji Ruyue had considered many ways to start the conversation: should she harshly interrogate her, pretend she knew nothing, or tie her up and force the truth…

But seeing the other person’s bewildered and sorrowful gaze, like a fledgling just hatched, Ji Ruyue subconsciously suppressed the mountain of questions, first greeting her, then tending to the patient.

“Ji Ji?” Seeing Ji Ruyue, Song Xingzi couldn’t suppress the feeling of grievance in her heart. Her eyes instantly became teary, and she choked out her name.

“I’m here,” Ji Ruyue handed the paper cup to Song Xingzi. She carefully considered how to start the conversation so as not to frighten the timid child in front of her.

Yes, ever since she realized the current Song Xingzi was not the original Female Lead, Ji Ruyue, who had gone through countless cycles and couldn’t remember her own age, automatically treated the soft, well-behaved outsider as a child.

“Ji Ji,” Song Xingzi took the paper cup, drank small sips of water, and called Ji Ruyue’s name with deep attachment. “Ji Ji.”

She was currently panicked, frightened, helpless, and wronged.

Suddenly being able to hear the malice in people’s hearts, being terrified by the overwhelming, direct hostility, and then meeting her crucial family member in her unconscious state—Song Xingzi’s long-hidden fear and confusion about transmigrating into an unfamiliar world and being separated from her family were all triggered. She was like a drowning person, wanting only to cling tightly to the only driftwood beside her.

Ji Ruyue looked at her calmly. “What is it?”

Ji Ruyue’s mind was also in a mess now. Although she believed the outsider was a harmless child, she didn’t know how to handle her. After all, this change was no less than a train derailment, a floodgate opening, or a beast running wild to her unchanging life.

“Ji Ji, I…” Song Xingzi paused, her expression serious, as if making a momentous decision. “I just dreamed of my family.”

“You want to visit Song Xuelin? I can help you take time off.”

“No,” Song Xingzi shook her head, trying to circulate the spiritual power in her body, observing herself with the inner vision method.

It really has recovered a part of it! Although my inner core has turned grayish-white, at least it’s back.

With the return of her spiritual power, like having a weapon by her side, Song Xingzi’s anxiety and panic slightly subsided. She secretly used her spiritual power to cut off the circuit of the surveillance camera flashing a red light and seriously told Ji Ruyue, “I dreamed of my brother.”

Brother? Where did the Female Lead get a brother? Is she going to be honest with me? Why so suddenly?

Ji Ruyue was trying to find a way to test the outsider’s identity but was directly told by the other person. It was like punching cotton; besides a faint sense of futility, she was also surprised: She is actually this direct and candid.

“You have a brother?”

“Ji Ji, I’m telling you quietly, don’t be scared, and don’t tell anyone, okay? Ji Ji is the person I trust the most here. I want to tell you.”

Dream-Tamer Brother said I need to make a choice. Does this count as a choice? But instead of constantly pretending, painfully acting as the Female Lead, and being on edge every day, afraid of being exposed, it’s better to choose to tell a trusted person. That way, not only do I not have to live in fear, but I can also prevent Ji Ji from finding out later and disliking me.

Confronted by a series of events, Song Xingzi, who had always worried about being exposed, finally chose to tell the truth. However, she still kept the demon rules in mind and wasn’t planning to reveal that she was a little demon spirit.

“What is it?”

“I’m a person who transmigrated here!”

Although she already knew she was an outsider, Ji Ruyue chose to pretend to be clueless and played along. “Transmigrated? You’re not Song Xingzi?”

“No,” Song Xingzi nodded seriously, gripping Ji Ruyue’s clothes. “My name was Song Xingzi originally too, but I’m not Song Xuelin’s daughter and not a celebrity. I was just an ordinary person living in a small, dilapidated rental apartment, striving for my dreams. But, I don’t know why, I stayed up late and transmigrated. It was on the day we met!”

Ji Ruyue didn’t speak. She was contemplating the truthfulness of Song Xingzi’s statement.

“Ji Ji, you can’t understand, can you? It’s like, like the TV show we acted in. Fang Miao, after she died, she transmigrated to become the Prime Minister’s daughter, Fang Miao.”

“I see,” Ji Ruyue nodded. “So, like Fang Miao, you don’t have the original Song Xingzi’s memories?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Song Xingzi nodded frantically. “I can’t act either. I don’t like acting at all. I want to open a stir-fry snack shop, earn a lot of money, and spread the world’s most delicious nuts!”

Ji Ruyue: “…”

What a strange goal is this? Is she this different from the Female Lead?

“You can’t speak English either?”

Song Xingzi shyly poked her fingers together, nodding timidly.

“You prefer me over Li Yebai, who tried to drug and objectify you?”

“Mhm, mhm,” Song Xingzi continued to nod. The scumbag Male Lead can go die. Ji Ji is much cuter!

“You want to be with me more than with Li Yebai?”

“Mhm, mhm. Ji Ji is a good person!” Song Xingzi, who completely missed the implication of Ji Ruyue’s words, nodded vigorously.

“You dislike him and feel he will hurt you?”

“He is a total scumbag, really! Ji Ji, don’t like him. He will hurt you. You two are clearly engaged, but he’s still finding other women and keeping mistresses outside. It’s super disgusting!”

Ji Ruyue: “…” You are right. I think he’s an idiot and disgusting.

“Alright, I understand. You should rest first. I’ll have someone bring you some food.”

The previous guess was correct after all. This world revolves according to the will of the Male or Female Lead, but there is also a basic plot, and the two complement each other. The Heavenly Law wants the world to operate according to the established trajectory, repeating the previous path. However, Song Xingzi, this outsider, clearly leans towards me more, likes me more, and even places me in the Male Lead’s position.

When the two conflicted, and I had already walked a part of the Male Lead’s plot, the Heavenly Law had to correct the plot. That’s why Xu Yan and Ji Hongguang had such drastically different reactions within a day.

All the previous doubts were answered in these few questions, and the tangled thoughts were finally sorted out.

Ji Ruyue’s brow relaxed, and her mood lightened. Since she didn’t have Li Yu’s contact information, she called Zhang Yuan to bring some food over.

Zhang Yuan, who had just gotten off the plane, received the call and immediately packed up seafood congee and the Xiang-region’s specialty spicy preserved vegetables near the airport. He took a taxi and rushed to the ward, coincidentally running into Li Yu, who had finished packing Song Xingzi’s luggage and collected the patient’s meal, in the elevator.

“Hello, Assistant Zhang!”