After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 57

A few days after the college entrance exams, a massive argument erupted in the Xu household. The spark was a leak online revealing that Xu Linqiu had passed the entrance exam for a prestigious fine arts academy in France.

Xu Linqiu didn’t care about the leak; instead, she used it as an excuse to vent years of repressed frustration. Her mother, Fang Fengyu, struck her in a fit of rage and threatened to disown her. With a cold expression, Xu Linqiu left home and checked into a hotel to await her exam results.

Yi Chenqing followed her there. When the door opened and Xu Linqiu saw her, every negative emotion surged to the surface. With reddened eyes, she pulled Chenqing into a hug.

The girl’s touch was light against her back, and her voice carried a strengthening warmth: “It’s okay. Whatever you do, I’ll be by your side. You just focus on your dream; don’t worry about anything else.”

Xu Linqiu slowly pulled back to meet Chenqing’s determined gaze. Her own cheeks flushed pink. Perhaps hoping to lighten the mood, Chenqing offered a small smile: “Just… don’t forget to call and text me while you’re abroad. Otherwise, I’ll… really miss you.”

It was difficult for Chenqing to say such things; she was too shy. But in that moment, the strength she wanted to give Linqiu reached her heart with perfect clarity.

Her eyes stinging, Xu Linqiu laughed even as warm tears began to fall.

“Sister, don’t cry…” Chenqing panicked, reaching out to wipe her tears, her own eyes brimming with red.

Xu Linqiu caught the hand wiping her face. She knew that the warmth in her chest was a mix of profound gratitude and deep affection. She led Chenqing to the bed and sat down, wrapping an arm around the girl’s waist and pulling her closer.

Chenqing’s heart hammered against her ribs. Losing her balance, she fell forward against Linqiu. Her body went stiff and her face turned a deep shade of crimson. She didn’t dare sit down fully, looking at Linqiu with eyes that were clear, watery, and incredibly inviting.

“Relax a little,” Linqiu whispered with a smile. She caressed Chenqing’s waist and moved her hand to her burning cheek, gently rubbing the hot skin.

Chenqing finally softened, melting into Linqiu’s embrace. Surrounded by that faint, familiar fragrance, she whispered in a soft, trembling voice: “Sister…”

Every time she used that sweet, soft tone, it felt like a feather brushing against Linqiu’s heart, making the longing nearly unbearable. This time, the emotion reached a breaking point; it only needed a single spark to ignite.

Linqiu leaned in, her voice low and solemn: “Now that I’ve taken your ‘first time,’ I will never leave you…”

“Then you won’t… you won’t ever stop wanting me, right?” Chenqing asked, her hot breath fanning against Linqiu’s cheek as her hands instinctively gripped Linqiu’s shirt.

“Mhm. Never…”

In that moment, Xu Linqiu leaned in and tenderly touched her lips to Chenqing’s—soft, warm, and inviting. She tilted her head, gently taking the other’s lips into her own, savoring them.

Yi Chenqing trembled. This was their first real kiss of this intensity. Held tightly in Linqiu’s arms and surrounded by her scent, her heart overflowed. Though she felt a surge of bashfulness, her lashes fluttering, she couldn’t help but respond, returning the kiss and pressing herself closer.

As buttons were undone, the white cotton T-shirt shifted. Linqiu’s hand moved upward, eventually resting over Chenqing’s heart. Her voice came in broken, shivering gasps, yet her physical response was utterly honest: “Sister… no…”

Lashes veiled the intensity in Xu Linqiu’s eyes. She cupped Chenqing’s face, her thumb grazing her skin as she deepened the kiss, coaxing her lips apart. She couldn’t stop. She was completely ruled by her emotions, filled with the joy that this girl was finally, truly hers.

“I…” Chenqing was on the verge of tears, her soft, moving breaths escaping as she wrapped her arms around Linqiu’s neck. When she opened her eyes, they were full of beautiful, overwhelmed shame.

“It’s okay. I love this…” Linqiu whispered, her devotion apparent in every touch.

She comforted her tenderly as soft moans filled the room. Everything was ready—but at the final moment, her phone rang out with a jarring intrusion.

The girl in her arms shook her shoulder dizzily. “Mmm… Sister, the phone…”

Linqiu leaned over and grabbed the phone from the nightstand. It was an unknown number. Frowning, she watched as Chenqing hid her face in Linqiu’s chest, her body still trembling slightly.

She answered. A formal voice spoke on the other end: “Is this the family of Fang Fengyu and Xu Xinping?”

“I… I’m their daughter.”

“There has been an accident. Both were involved in a car crash on Fengyang Road. They’ve been taken to the First Hospital. Please get here as soon as possible.”

“Okay…”

The call ended like a bolt from the blue. The atmosphere shattered instantly. Yi Chenqing scrambled away, clumsily pulling her clothes back into order. Linqiu snapped back to reality, helping her straighten up before they rushed out.

The chaos happened too fast. By the time they reached the hospital, they had to sign consent forms for surgery. After the operation, a month-long hospitalization was required. Xu Linqiu dropped everything to care for them alongside her sister.

But a few days later, another bizarre incident occurred: the Yu family showed up, demanding their “biological daughter” back.

After the DNA test results came in, Fang Fengyu was devastated. Her eldest daughter was determined to chase a dream far away, and it turned out her second daughter wasn’t even biologically hers. She couldn’t bear to let Xu Judong go, but the Yu family demanded an astronomical sum in exchange.

Looking at her actual biological daughter—Yu Shu—and the hopeful light in the girl’s eyes, the situation became impossible. Paying the money would look like “buying” a child, which would destroy the girl’s self-esteem and the family’s reputation.

The couple had no choice but to let the Yu family take Judong back, while trying to stay on good terms with them to see her occasionally.

This period was a nightmare for Xu Linqiu. Her hospitalized parents still demanded she abandon her dreams. The rowdy Yu family constantly visited, “borrowing” items or demanding to stay over for “a few nights,” making the house feel like a prison.

The Yu siblings manipulated Xu Judong into giving them money. Meanwhile, Yu Shu, who was disliked by the Yi parents, was constantly seen dating Yi Yanbai, causing the Yi family to come over and demand explanations. The Xu household was in total shambles.

Even with Chenqing’s support, Linqiu was exhausted. Then, Chenqing’s father called.

“Linqiu, we know about your relationship, and we know you want to go abroad. But I have no choice. If you persist, I will have to cut off Chenqing’s cards and bar her from the company…”

Linqiu knew this was a coordinated effort by the parents. She also knew that even if Chenqing was cut off, she would work herself to the bone to support Linqiu’s art studies. Chenqing always thought of her. No—she only thought of her.

But Linqiu couldn’t bear to see her suffer. Even if they suffered together, it wouldn’t be enough. It seemed better for her to go alone, get her life on track, and then come back… if Chenqing was still waiting.

But who waits forever? The moment she had that thought, she felt she had already betrayed their love. She felt she didn’t deserve Chenqing. She was selfish, hesitant, and her love wasn’t as deep as the girl’s. Above all, she had simply had enough of this suffocating environment.

“Let’s break up. I’m leaving…”

Standing at the iron gate of the Xu house, she forced those words out. But when she met Chenqing’s eyes and saw her walk up, fighting back tears to ask “Why?”, the weight of the word “breakup” felt crushing.

She could see Chenqing’s world falling apart. She could only lower her head and mutter, “I’m too stressed right now. Let’s just… have some space to calm down…”

A sudden warmth cut her off. Chenqing crashed into her arms, her body shaking as tears soaked Linqiu’s shirt. Her voice was uncharacteristically firm.

“I won’t break up. It’s impossible. I won’t do it even if I die…”

That night, Chenqing held her so tightly it felt as if Linqiu would crumble if she let go. When the cold wind finally chilled their bodies, Linqiu let out a long sigh—perhaps one of relief. She rested her hand on Chenqing’s head and whispered, “Okay.”

Chenqing looked up, her eyes red and swollen. She gripped Linqiu’s clothes tight. “Don’t leave me behind and run away secretly…”

“I won’t.” Xu Linqiu smiled, making a vow. “I won’t.”

That night, she searched every art academy in the city that offered full tuition waivers and scholarships. She gave up her expensive dream of France. She decided she didn’t need the finest brushes or paper; cheap, smelly paint would be fine, as long as Chenqing was by her side.

On the day she reluctantly accompanied the Yu family and Judong to the pool, she sent Chenqing a message:

[I’m at the Yuanli pool. I didn’t run away. The Yu siblings insisted they’d never been to a high-end club and begged Judong to bring me along. I’ll be back soon.]

[Are you still hiding under the covers crying? Stop crying. I’ll have a surprise for you when I get back~]

Xu Linqiu couldn’t bear to read any further. She knew the ending—she knew that Yi Chenqing would end up holding her cold corpse by that pool.

Even though it was just a story, it felt like thousands of needles were piercing her heart. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know why she felt such intense empathy, but the depression and pain were so real that her eyes blurred with tears.

A slightly upbeat song jolted her back to reality. Frowning, she turned to Yi Chenlan (Little Blue). “Stop singing. I told you I don’t like it. It’s useless.”

For a moment, the woman’s eyes looked shattered.

Xu Linqiu felt a pang of guilt, but then she heard a familiar voice from the door: “Are you done reading?”

Shi Ji had returned with food.

“Mhm,” Linqiu nodded. “I reached the part where ‘I’ died.”

“Eat first then.” Shi Ji noticed her low mood and tried to cheer her up. “I bought your favorite… bitter melon and bitter melon stir-fry.”

“What…”

“Just kidding. I know you hate it.”

After dinner, Xu Linqiu fell into a restless sleep amidst the chaos. In a daze, she saw Yi Chenqing in a trench coat under the moonlight. She was smiling: “Even if the sky falls, I will never let you go.”

She was eventually woken by a commotion. It was dark outside, and a crowd had gathered at the door. Yi Chenlan and Shi Ji were blocking the entrance. An old woman at the front of the group was shouting with her hands on her hips:

“I just came to see how my granddaughter’s sister is doing! What’s wrong with that?!”