After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 1

It had been nine years since she left A City. At this moment, the glow of the evening sunset illuminated the city skyline, seemingly connecting and igniting the metropolitan neon lights.

With pedestrians shoulder-to-shoulder and a continuous flow of traffic, this city, both familiar and strange, transformed in Xu Linqiu’s eyes from a black and white sketch into a vibrant oil painting.

The shipping company arrived before her. Transport personnel were busy moving boxy, fragile-labeled cargo into the apartment building.

The taxi stopped behind the freight truck. Xu Linqiu immediately spotted Shi Ji, who was leaning lazily against the apartment building entrance, her arms crossed.

Her dark blue, permed, voluminous curls were loose and casual. She wore a figure-hugging, fitted slip dress, which she tried to half-conceal with a sheer, loosely draped white gauze jacket.

It was touching that Shi Ji had barely gotten up yet was already standing by the door to welcome her. Xu Linqiu couldn’t help but smile.

The Shi family and the Xu family lived in the same residential area. They had been inseparable since childhood. Eight years ago, when Xu Linqiu insisted on going alone to Country F to pursue her passion for painting, Shi Ji was the only one who supported her.

Seeing her alight from the car, Shi Ji’s enchanting ‘peach blossom’ eyes curved into a smile. She raised the hand that was holding a half-smoked cigarette and waved it at Xu Linqiu, then straightened up and walked over.

Just as Xu Linqiu took out her suitcase, she saw a private car pull up behind the taxi. The gilded emblem on the car’s hood was dazzling, and a well-dressed, striking young woman urgently opened the car door and rushed out.

“It’s good that you finally came out to meet me!”

“How could you unilaterally announce our breakup! You even posted a statement on Weibo!”

Shi Ji stopped. She looked at her tearful ex-girlfriend and noticed the glaring flashlights not far away. For the first time, she lost her temper, frowning as she lowered and chilled her voice:

“Didn’t I inform you in advance? You already accepted the breakup gift. Since you insist on making this scene, then you will be permanently cut off from any resources associated with Shi Yu Entertainment from now on.”

Yu Fei was stunned, not expecting such an outcome. She had simply planned to follow the playbook of Shi Ji’s previous girlfriends: get famous while publicly dating, then cry and use the breakup for publicity, capitalizing on the short relationship to secure resources from the heir of Shi Yu Entertainment and soar to fame.

She merely felt the time spent basking in the spotlight was too short and wanted to make one last attempt.

It was only her fault that this person, who was born at the very top, was too fickle and heartless.

She gritted her teeth, filled with humiliation. She wanted to plead, but then she remembered something, glanced at the camera flashes hidden in the dark, and forced herself to overcome her fear: “So what? Shi Ji, search your heart—have you ever shown even a little bit of sincerity to any of your girlfriends? We were sincere with you, but what about you?”

“Someone who so casually tramples on other people’s feelings—I wish you never get the person you truly like!”

“Everyone got what they wanted. Why bother? And young lady, it’s so late already. Your mom should be calling you home for dinner now.”

A soft, pleasant voice abruptly cut in. Yu Fei turned to look in the direction of the voice, seeing a beautiful woman who had wheeled her suitcase and gracefully stopped beside Shi Ji.

Indeed, even though Yu Fei had spent many years in the entertainment industry and seen countless beautiful women, her first reaction upon seeing this woman was simply: beauty. The woman had smiling, crescent eyes and a small mole on the tip of her nose. Her slightly curled brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, giving an impression of gentle warmth—an elegant and unique beauty that made it impossible to look away.

However, a closer look could reveal a sense of danger beneath the surface.

Yu Fei had never met someone with such an extraordinary temperament who also concealed a dagger in her smile, yet she dared not make another move.

“It’s about to burn your hand.”

Xu Linqiu turned her gaze away, smiling as she took the nearly burned-out cigarette stub from Shi Ji’s hand. She then pulled her suitcase and walked toward the apartment building first.

“If you had called me any later, I probably would have been fast asleep and missed your call.”

Shi Ji finally reacted. She caught up to Xu Linqiu in a few strides, then leaned in slightly to look at those familiar eyes that almost disappeared when she smiled. In a much better mood, she snatched the cigarette butt back from Xu Linqiu’s hand, curling the corners of her lips: “Don’t burn yourself.”

She slightly tilted her head, noticed the completely ignored Yu Fei stamping her feet and walking away, then extinguished the cigarette stub and tossed it into the trash can, her smile deepening: “Why do you care? If we get photographed, we’ll be trending on hot searches immediately. In no time, people online will be speculating that you, Miss Xu, have finally returned.”

The Xu family was a renowned lineage of actors, boasting a house full of Best Actor and Best Actress award winners, hence their deep-seated commitment to the profession. Xu Linqiu had starred in many movies and TV shows since childhood, displaying such remarkable talent that she won the Best Newcomer Award at the age of seven. Her expressive, smiling eyes gave her excellent public appeal, promising a limitless future. However, her true passion was painting.

It was a hereditary form of stubbornness, one so deep that she broke ties with her family and traveled far away. This departure lasted nine years.

“It’s fine. I’ll go back to see them tomorrow.”

Shi Ji’s thoughts were racing, and this statement startled her. She followed Xu Linqiu’s steps into the apartment building.

The movers were mostly already waiting upstairs. The two women entered the elevator and stood side-by-side. Shi Ji pressed the floor number, finally unable to resist turning slightly to face her: “I’m glad you’re back. You don’t have to worry about the money you owe. I’ll pay it back…”

“That’s what I owe. Why should you pay it back?” Xu Linqiu maintained her smile, but her gaze was fixed forward. Through the thick elevator doors, she seemed to be looking far into the past.

Art, without financial support, is a disaster. Over these years, she had accumulated too much debt.

Nine years ago, after graduating from high school, she clashed with her family over her career choice. With no other recourse, she prepared to leave with the money her maternal grandfather had left her after he passed away.

However, to continue painting, that money wouldn’t last long. Pigments, paper, brushes—she was accustomed to using the best materials, and she refused to compromise, carrying a defensive spirit.

Until Shi Ji approached her with a contract, stating she was starting her own company and needed an investment, inviting Xu Linqiu to become a shareholder.

She was just a naive girl who hadn’t even started university, yet she audaciously claimed she wanted to open a company. But Xu Linqiu, without any hesitation, entrusted her ‘dream’ to her.

Later, during their four years of university, Shi Ji’s company gradually flourished, and Xu Linqiu successfully began to make a name for herself in Country F and even across China.

Then, Shi Ji claimed the company had gone bankrupt, was heavily in debt, and that as a shareholder, Xu Linqiu also owed a lot of money, urging her to return home.

“It’s not really about the money, is it? You wanted to coax me into coming back because you saw I hadn’t been doing well this past year.”

She had become the youngest and most imaginative new rising star in the art world, guided by two master painters. Her paintings were even being sold at sky-high prices.

But the death of her teacher last year made her feel as if she had suddenly lost her direction.

“Xiao Lin, your teacher is very pleased, but I’ve held back from saying this all these years: your paintings lack a bit of the human warmth and life of the world…”

She hadn’t picked up a brush for an entire year. Every time that sentence echoed in her mind, it made her unable to paint.

Even after living there for nine years, she couldn’t warm up a foreign city. There was no one there with whom she could truly share her thoughts.

In those nine years, she felt she had lost so much, like a single black dot speckled on white paper—an endless, lonely void.

The elevator doors opened. Shi Ji didn’t reply, but she naturally noticed the sadness hidden beneath Xu Linqiu’s smile.

She stepped forward, gently hugged her, and lightly patted her back: “Now that you’re back, don’t overthink things. Just relax, and I’ll be here with you.”

Xu Linqiu smiled, touched, her voice gentle and firm, offering sincere thanks: “Thank you.”

Thank you for all your companionship and support throughout these years.

Shi Ji felt slightly awkward at Xu Linqiu’s sudden expression of gratitude. She released her, pushed the suitcase out of the elevator, and gave her a playful wink: “Linzi, let’s go to Hongxun later. Sister here will help you find some inspiration.”

Hongxun was an entertainment venue where the wealthy youths of A City gathered. Since entry required a membership card, it became a status symbol for many rich people.

“Huh?” Xu Linqiu was amused and still a bit dazed. Stepping out of the elevator, she suddenly felt as though she was dreaming of her high school days again.

The sunshine and green grass of the sports field—that unique youthful atmosphere of the campus.

Shi Ji was leaning on the perimeter wall in one corner of the field, stretching out her hand to Xu Linqiu below: “Hurry up, don’t get caught.”

“We’ve already been caught,” she said, taking Shi Ji’s hand and calmly pointing to the left.

She remembered that standing under the tree where golden ginkgo leaves were falling was her neighbor, Yi Chenqing, who was two years younger than her, quiet, sensible, and the Student Council President, carrying a notebook.

Xu Linqiu couldn’t recall exactly what Yi Chenqing looked like, only that she habitually put on a smile, habitually pretended to be innocent and friendly.

“Qingqing, Sis is running low on drawing paper. We’re going out with your Sister Ji to buy some. You won’t record us, will you?”

“Right?” she asked, smiling and blinking.

Actually, Shi Ji was just coaxing her to go play at Hongxun.

Yi Chenqing put down her pen, turned, and walked away without a word. Xu Linqiu still remembered the deepest impression she had was of Yi Chenqing’s flushed earlobes.

She must have been angry.