After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 3

Is this really necessary?”

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Xu Linqiu looked somewhat helpless.

“Of course, it’s necessary. We’re going out to have fun; dinner is secondary.” Shi Ji gently pulled off her hair tie.

Her slightly curly brown hair spread out, fine, soft, and captivating.

Xu Linqiu’s clothes were extremely ‘artist-like’: white T-shirt, white trousers, and stained with some of her favorite washable-but-not-quite-washed-off paint.

Shi Ji could only, in exasperation, shove a short dress of her own at her, and then applied some light makeup.

Satisfied, she tidied Xu Linqiu’s long hair, nodded, and grabbed her phone. “Nice. Let’s go.”

“I think we should eat until we’re full so we have the energy to play,” Xu Linqiu followed her, adjusted the ear cuff that was about to slip off, and pulled the short skirt down a little.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Also, this skirt really isn’t short. If you pull it any further, it’s going to fall off.”

“You really are a conservative type.”

Hearing that phrase, Xu Linqiu smiled slightly.

Conservative type, was she…

Shi Ji was sincere and casual, so she probably would never know that Xu Linqiu was very bad—a kind of bad that wouldn’t rest until she achieved her goal.

Since childhood, she had been skilled at pretense. She used those pleasing smiles and reassuring words to get what she wanted without drawing attention. She could even pretend to enjoy acting, starring in several films just so she could propose studying painting as a casual pastime.

It wasn’t until she graduated from high school and had to fill out her university application that she was forced to be honest with her parents: she hated the hypocrisy of the entertainment industry. The cold looks behind the camera and the smiling faces in front of it—from those actors who were also hiding behind various personas—seemed to mock her.

Her frantic arguments and the shattering of her compliant facade deeply disappointed her family.

But she didn’t regret it.

Because only in front of a white canvas could her eyes freely display her reckless frenzy, allowing her strokes to be quick or slow, flowing like clouds and water.

She preferred the passionate red, the profound green, and the intoxicating purple of the paint—like the debauchery of a late-night club, filled with gorgeous, dazzling neon lights.

And now, her goal had shifted to finding the “human touch and warmth” missing from her paintings.

Xu Linqiu thought that the so-called “human touch and warmth” might be submerged family affection, or perhaps, a person.

Hong Xun is located on the most bustling commercial street in City A. The night here is as bright as day, and the light emanating from the commercial buildings casts a bright glow on people’s eyes.

Nine years had passed. The once vague scenes of the past were now covered by the dazzling new sights before her, which Xu Linqiu took in fully.

There was so much good food here that she ate extensively before Shi Ji finally dragged her in front of Hong Xun.

After waiting quietly for a moment, Shi Ji’s phone rang, and then a person rushed out of a taxi that stopped by the roadside.

“Next time, tell me earlier! You made me rush over at this hour, and my wife is suspicious.”

A young man in a suit ran over, panting, hung up the phone in his hand, and handed Shi Ji two cards. “I borrowed these for you in case you didn’t bring yours. Have fun.”

He glanced at Xu Linqiu, gave a knowing smile, and then turned to leave.

“I’ll treat you to dinner next time.”

“Forget it. By the time you get rich, I’ll have kids already.”

The man waved his hand freely and walked away.

Shi Ji then handed one card to Xu Linqiu and kept the other, smiling. “Mu Yi from high school, remember him? Back when you were secretly looking for the art class teacher after school, I was getting physics tutoring from him.”

She started walking toward the entrance of Hong Xun. Xu Linqiu followed her, thinking for a moment before saying, “I remember. He was that boy who was always second in his grade, right? I remember one time he was only one point away from first place and cried a torrent of tears. First place was, I think…”

“That’s not important.” Shi Ji quickly found a topic to distract her. “He’s still a henpecked husband! If I ever get married, I’ll definitely be the one in charge.”

First place, of course, was Yi Chenqing, who had skipped two grades and was the star student of Mingli Academy at the time. Shi Ji knew Xu Linqiu would remember, but she habitually tried to sidestep any mention of the protagonists.

They had just reached the entrance of Hong Xun and entered a long corridor paved with red carpet.

Thinking about marriage, Xu Linqiu pondered for a moment, then slowly tugged on Shi Ji’s arm.

“I was a bit confused before, but the older I get, the more certain I am. Like you, I like girls.”

Shi Ji stopped, but then, as if she had expected it all along, she smiled understandingly. “Understood.”

“So, do you consider yourself the debutante type or the CEO type?” She started walking forward again, lowering her voice.

In this era, gender and even marriage laws were no longer barriers to romance. In fact, two main factions had become popular in their female circle, categorized by the position they take during sex.

They were divided into the delicate and easily submissive ‘debutante type’ and the dominating and strong ‘CEO type.’

Of course, these two categories were sometimes not clearly defined.

“What do you think?” Xu Linqiu countered.

“I definitely think debutante,” Shi Ji stated firmly, lowering her voice even further. “But we’ll only know for sure once we try…”

There was a long queue of people waiting at the inner door of Hong Xun, and the noisy chatter drowned out her voice.

Xu Linqiu didn’t know if she had heard her, but she was smiling. “Yes, I think so too.”

“Are you really going to find me a partner here at Hong Xun?” she asked, moving forward with the line.

“What’s wrong with that?” Shi Ji lifted her head to look ahead. “Since the new owner took over Hong Xun, the rules have been strictly enforced: no fighting, no drug use, rooms can only be booked with mutual consent, and sexual harassment is strictly prohibited.”

“There are many good girls here, just like me,” she winked at Xu Linqiu.

Xu Linqiu couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

It was soon their turn. A table was placed in front of the inner door, covered with various masks. A staff member bowed respectfully and said, “Hello, please show your membership card. Also, today’s theme is the maid mask. Please leave if you mind.”

The two presented their membership cards, casually chose masks, and put them on. The inner door was then opened again by the staff.

Instantly, the wave of lively music washed over and covered all other sounds. Inside the door, the lights were dazzling, the waiters were uniformly dressed as maids and male servants, and cheerful men and women were either chatting happily or dancing excitedly in the center. The neon lights above were like a tempting demon, roaming everywhere.

The flashing lights reflected in Xu Linqiu’s eyes. She smiled, staring for several seconds before following Shi Ji, who was walking ahead.

“I forgot to ask you, when did you learn to smoke?” She raised her voice, but it was still swallowed by the surrounding noise.

Shi Ji barely managed to hear the full question. She walked side-by-side with Xu Linqiu, habitually linking arms with her. Suddenly remembering something, she laughed. “I was just putting on an act! Don’t you think a successful woman, holding a cigarette, looks particularly attractive?”

Xu Linqiu glanced at her, her attention drawn to the dance floor not far away. She only teased, “A successful woman? You look more like a broke woman to me.”

“Then we’re the Broke Sisters.” The colorful lights illuminated Shi Ji’s slightly brown pupils. Her heartbeat seemed to harmonize with the festive atmosphere around her. She pulled Xu Linqiu toward the dance floor, her smile radiant:

“Let me tell you something funny. The day my company went bankrupt, I came here to drink. I happened to run into Hong Xun’s rare fighting incident and got a little scratch on my head by mistake. I didn’t expect my mother to see it when I got home. She immediately dragged Yi Yanbai to our house.

She’s a psychiatrist. My mother shoved her into my room and told her to check my head while she was at it.”

“I lit a cigarette, sat on the sofa, crossed my legs, and leaned my head over so she could treat the wound.”

“I don’t know if I was too tired or if her touch was too light, but I fell asleep in just ten seconds. My hand dropped down, and the cigarette burned a hole in my skirt, making me jump up and curse.”

Shi Ji stepped onto the dance floor. Thinking about this incident, she felt inexplicably happy.

That was probably the closest she had been to the protagonists in all these years. It was then that she realized everything had changed.

Almost all the important plot points in the book were gone. Yi Yanbai became a psychiatrist, Yi Chenqing successfully inherited the family business, and the true and fake young misses were still feuding in the entertainment industry.

Now, Linqiu was back too.

She felt completely relaxed. The charming neon lights shone on her face, making her phoenix eyes sparkle with brilliance. Her voluminous, deep-brown curls swayed slightly with her movements as she danced to the music.

Xu Linqiu watched her with a smile for a moment. She suddenly recalled that before she went abroad, she found Shi Ji had thrown away a notebook she treasured since childhood. It contained a draft of a novel, with all the characters based on the people around her.

Shi Ji had always nagged her to stick to what she loved.

Shi Ji must have loved writing novels, too. Although she had written her to die in the story, her imagination was very rich.

She just wondered why Shi Ji gave up.

Now, she must be at peace with it, right…

Xu Linqiu closed her eyes. The flickering colors danced outside her closed eyelids. She smiled, tilted her head back slightly, and quietly absorbed the comfortable energy of the lively atmosphere around her.

Before long, she, too, was influenced by the surging, passionate ambiance.

The music played on the Hong Xun dance floor was not deafeningly loud like in ordinary entertainment venues, but appropriately lively. After a few highly rhythmic DJ tracks, an ambiguous and soothing slow song would play.

The young people moved with the music, closing their eyes, forgetting all worries, leaving behind only lightness and joy.

Xu Linqiu is 1.7 meters tall. Though she wore a black short dress, she was enveloped by a gentle, graceful aura, making her particularly noticeable in the crowd.

Just like in the past, even in a simple blue and white school uniform, any casual smile from her could attract attention.

She was back…

At the bar not far away, a lingering gaze looked out across the dance floor at the woman whose eyes were curved in a smile.

Even with the mask on, even after all these years, she could recognize her instantly.

But right next to her, as always, stood that woman.

A stubborn light suddenly appeared in the lingering tenderness. The woman pushed the cocktail she had just mixed across the bar and then turned and walked out from behind the counter.

“Boss Hong, aren’t you going to chat some more?”

A slightly tipsy female voice came from behind her.

“Apologies, I must excuse myself,” she replied, tilting her head, and walked straight toward the dance floor.