After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 47

Inside the steam-filled bathroom, two figures were locked in a tight embrace. A woman’s melodic soft moans were muffled against Xu Linqiu’s lips, swallowed by the steady roar of the shower.

The dense spray soaked their long hair, water cascading from their jaws and scattering across porcelain-white skin. Yi Chenqing felt like a fish drifting with the current, gently kissed and her breath stolen away. Their jawlines fit together perfectly as they tasted one another. The incandescent lights overhead burned intensely, and the only thing that changed was the transition from the warmth of the bathroom to the softness of the bedsheets.

Xu Linqiu was exhausted after the long night. When she woke, she found her arms empty. Opening her eyes with difficulty, she saw Yi Chenqing already dressed in her pajamas, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window making a phone call. Sensing that Xu Linqiu was awake, Yi Chenqing turned, said a few final words, hung up, and walked over.

As she reached the bedside, Xu Linqiu sat up with a smile and pulled her onto the bed, gathering her into a hug. “Our Qingqing has such impressive stamina~” she teased.

Yi Chenqing’s gaze flickered, trying her best not to let her eyes wander below Xu Linqiu’s shoulders. She replied softly, “My legs are actually a bit weak…”

Her ears turned red again. Xu Linqiu chuckled and pressed her down onto the bed, leaning over to nip at her earlobe, tracing it lightly with the tip of her tongue. Yi Chenqing’s body trembled as she fought to suppress her racing heart. A flush crept across her face as she managed to say, “I have to go out for a bit later.”

“Mm~” Xu Linqiu hummed, closing her eyes and kissing her cheek, the corner of her mouth, and finally her lips. She lingered there, tilting her head to deepen the kiss as the passion stirred within her. “Then I’ll wait for you at home.”

“Mm.”

The psychiatrist arrived early, looking somewhat restless. Yi Chenqing sat across from him and opened the conversation with blunt honesty.

“To be frank, I suffer from narcolepsy, but it feels… strange. I’ve asked you here, Dr. Liu, to see if there is a solution.”

“Does President Yi know the cause of the onset?”

Yi Chenqing pondered for a moment before responding, “It usually happens when I am very… excited or emotional.”

Dr. Liu paused. “This is… unusual,” he said slowly. “Narcolepsy is generally caused by encephalitis, cranial trauma, or genetics. Onsets usually occur without prior long-term sleep issues or specific emotional triggers. I haven’t heard of cases triggered solely by emotional excitement. Have you ever suffered a head injury?”

“No.” Hearing this, Yi Chenqing frowned. A dark suspicion crossed her mind. Her family had never mentioned a history of narcolepsy. Perhaps they are lying to me.

She snapped back to the present and continued, “Do you have any medication that can stabilize my emotions?”

“There are such medications, but President Yi, they often come with side effects. You might experience sudden dizziness, and long-term use can actually lead to periods of confusion or irritability.”

“It doesn’t matter. Prescribe them to me. I’ll take them sparingly.”

After the doctor left, Yi Chenqing immediately called her grandfather. “Grandpa, did any of our ancestors have narcolepsy?”

“Oh, let me think,” the voice on the other end replied. “Your great-great-great-great-grandfather had it.”

Yi Chenqing: “…”

“Oh… so it’s a ‘skip-four-generations’ inheritance,” she remarked, her face completely expressionless.

Xu Linqiu suddenly realized that half a month had passed, and the other personalities seemed to have faded from her life as if they had never existed.

Her father had been retired for several years and found it difficult to handle everything upon his sudden return to work, so Yi Chenqing had to cut her honeymoon short. On the second day of her return to the office, her father flew out to join her mother and Hehe on vacation.

During these days, Xu Linqiu was bursting with inspiration. She painted many portraits—all of them of Yi Chenqing—and made sure dinner was ready for her when she got home. She actually knew how to cook; she had looked after herself during her years abroad. She had only pretended to be “unable to fry an egg” before to hide her skills, so she had to stage a slow “learning process,” improving day by day. She felt quite guilty about the deception.

The tofu in the pan was starting to char. Xu Linqiu snapped back to reality and flipped it over. Light footsteps sounded at the kitchen entrance, followed by a surge of warmth. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and a soft body pressed against her back.

She turned her head slightly and smiled at Yi Chenqing. “Home from work so early?”

“Mm.” In that instant, the hidden exhaustion in Yi Chenqing’s eyes surfaced. She closed her eyes, leaning her entire weight dependably against Xu Linqiu’s shoulder. Her breath tickled Xu Linqiu’s neck.

“You must be tired,” Xu Linqiu said gently, deftly flipping the golden-brown tofu. She lowered her voice. “Once this is done, we can eat. You can rest well after dinner.”

“Mm.”

Once the tofu was plated, a dressed-up Shi Ji came downstairs right on time to help carry the dishes. Since Yi Chenqing had returned to work, Yi Yanbai had also started working again. Only Shi Ji remained idle; for some reason, she slept during the day and spent her nights at the Hongxun club after dinner, not returning until the dead of night. Yi Yanbai, on the other hand, ate out every evening, usually returning only after Shi Ji had left.

As the meal was served, Xu Linqiu set an extra place at the table as usual. Shortly after they started eating, there was a commotion at the entrance. Yi Yanbai walked in, her hair slightly disheveled and dark circles visible beneath her silver-rimmed glasses.

“Come eat, we just started,” Xu Linqiu said, moving to stand, but Yi Chenqing pressed a hand on her arm and stood up herself to serve Yi Yanbai’s rice.

“Thanks, Sister.”

Yi Yanbai took her seat, but as soon as she picked up her chopsticks, Shi Ji muttered sarcastically without looking up, “So you finally decided to come home today.”

The dining room fell silent. Yi Yanbai ignored the jab and simply replied, “Yes.”

Halfway through the meal, after seeing Yi Chenqing serve Xu Linqiu food multiple times, Shi Ji’s heart softened slightly. She picked up a chili-coated shrimp and placed it in Yi Yanbai’s bowl. Because Shi Ji loved spicy food, Xu Linqiu had added extra chili oil.

Yi Yanbai immediately put the shrimp back. Hiding her exhaustion behind a cold voice, she said, “I don’t eat this.”

“What exactly do you want?!” Shi Ji’s heart sank as months of suppressed frustration boiled over. She slammed her chopsticks down and glared at her. “Chenqing has to work at the company because she has no choice. But you? You choose to go to work and stay out so late every night that we barely see each other—and when we do, you give me this cold, miserable face!”

“And that white coat you hung in the hallway? It smells like women’s perfume. Do you think I can’t smell it?”

“That belongs to the patients,” Yi Yanbai replied, her voice deceptively calm despite her deep frown. “It’s currently the prison’s outdoor exercise period. Whenever I go, they are outside, so I have to conduct my consultations at a close distance.”

“Close distance?” Shi Ji’s voice rose. She let out a cold laugh. “You mean face-to-face hugging, right?”

“If that’s what you want to believe, I can’t stop you.” Yi Yanbai’s brow furrowed deeper. She looked at Shi Ji’s exquisite makeup, then looked away. “In any case, this is just a marriage of convenience. If you’re so unhappy, we can just get a divorce.”

It was the first time she had exposed their secret in front of others. Saying it out loud actually made her feel better.

Shi Ji was stunned. Once the words registered, her mind screamed in refusal. “You’ve had this planned for a long time, haven’t you? Let me tell you—no way!”

Suddenly, the heavy sound of chopsticks hitting the table rang out, followed by a voice laced with suppressed anger.

“Shut up.”

Yi Chenqing rarely lost her temper. Xu Linqiu looked over to see her squinting and shaking her head as if dizzy. Yi Chenqing stood up and headed for the stairs. “Apologies. I’m going to wash up and rest.”

Her interruption forced Shi Ji and Yi Yanbai into silence.

Xu Linqiu was worried. Surprisingly, Shi Ji didn’t go out that night. After finishing the dishes, Xu Linqiu pulled her aside at the study door. “Don’t you find it strange? It’s been half a month, and Qingqing hasn’t had another personality switch.”

“I think you’re just missing the others,” Shi Ji retorted.

“Isn’t it good that they haven’t come out? It means she’s getting better.”

Seeing that Shi Ji was in a bad mood and trying to retreat to her room, Xu Linqiu grabbed her arm again. “Soften your attitude toward Yanbai. It will help. Every night when you come home drunk and black out, she’s the one who stays up until the early hours to take care of you. I can tell she treats you very well.”

“And another thing—even I know she prefers bland food and can’t handle spice. If you like her, pay attention to the details. Stop being so careless.”

Shi Ji froze. Since she always blacked out when drunk, she hadn’t realized Yi Yanbai was the one looking after her; by the time she woke up each morning, the bedside was always empty.

“Who said I liked her?” she snapped, desperately trying to mask the surge of guilt. She awkwardly shook off Xu Linqiu’s hand and marched to her room.

After she left, Yi Yanbai walked over and stood by Xu Linqiu, staring at the closed door. “Sister Linqiu, thank you…” she whispered, though she doubted Shi Ji cared. She turned back to Xu Linqiu. “This morning, while taking out the trash, I accidentally saw a medicine bottle. It was for mood suppressants.”

“That kind of medicine has side effects—either dizziness or a reverse effect that makes a person irritable. You should talk to my sister…”

Before she could finish, Xu Linqiu sprinted toward her bedroom. “I understand.”

Inside the bedroom, Yi Chenqing had just finished her shower. She was pulling the medicine from the bottom of her wardrobe when she heard the door slam open. She tried to hide the pills, but she wasn’t fast enough to beat Xu Linqiu’s rush.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Xu Linqiu shouted, unable to control her emotions. She pulled the drawer open and saw the white tablets scattered inside, her anger flaring. “I know everything! How could you ruin your body like this?”

“I just didn’t want to have an episode while I was with you,” Yi Chenqing said, trying to step closer. “I haven’t taken much, really.”

Xu Linqiu took a step back. Her anger was instantly extinguished by those words, replaced by a heart full of turmoil. “I need to go clear my head.” She turned and walked out.

She went to the study and began organizing the sketches and art supplies she had used that day. One painting showed Yi Chenqing sleeping soundly in the morning light—her long eyes closed in relaxation, her high nose bridge, her full lips. Without her usual icy demeanor, she looked vulnerable and sweet.

Xu Linqiu placed the painting on the top shelf of the bookcase alongside the other portraits of Yi Chenqing. Her peripheral vision caught a notebook tucked under the paintings—the novel draft by Shi Ji that she had picked up long ago. She still hadn’t thrown it away.

She had only caught a glimpse of the plot back then, and after all these years, she had forgotten most of it. But interestingly, the one thing she remembered was that she and “Qingqing” were supposed to have a passionate, earth-shattering romance in the story.

Her thoughts drifted, and the chaos in her heart gradually stilled. She slowly walked back to the bedroom.

When she opened the door, Yi Chenqing was sitting upright on the edge of the bed. She was wearing long-sleeved silk pajamas, buttoned all the way to the top. As soon as the door opened, her eyes locked onto Xu Linqiu, following her every move.

“I’m sorry,” Yi Chenqing said, her voice cracking. “I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d disagree. I just didn’t want to lose our memories because of this illness. Every time I wake up, my mind is blank. I’m terrified that I’ll do something terrible to you during an episode. It’s… it’s truly painful.”

She stopped abruptly as Xu Linqiu sat on her lap, her hands gently cradling Yi Chenqing’s neck. Xu Linqiu leaned in, resting her forehead against Yi Chenqing’s. She smiled, her eyes crinkling warmly.

“I’ve calmed down. I want us to face this illness together—to overcome it together, rather than you suffering alone. Promise me, don’t take those anymore, okay?”

“Okay…”

Yi Chenqing stared at her, dazed. Then, as if under a spell, she tilted her head up and pressed her lips against Xu Linqiu’s. She closed her eyes, immersing herself in the softness of the kiss, breathing in the faint, sweet scent of the woman she loved.