After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: I Like You

It turned out that before they had even entered the forest, the driver had already called the police.

The authorities arrived quickly, and they weren’t from the local town; this was done to prevent any local protectionism or cover-ups. The official cleanup took over from there. Of the people remaining on the mountain, nearly eighty percent had frozen to death overnight. The survivors were clinging to life but were unable to move, and the officials showed no mercy, taking them all into custody to face justice.

The group didn’t linger. They took a car straight home, bringing Xiao Zhao with them. Returning to the family that had sold her was out of the question. After discussing it and consulting the girl, they renamed her Xiang Yun. The local orphanage was well-equipped and would provide for her until she was eighteen. The little girl was content with the arrangement; though she appeared fragile and introverted, her will was firm, and she had become noticeably more open since the ordeal.

Once home, Jiang Huaiyi slept for two full days. The energy she had expended was immense, leaving her in a state of total exhaustion. After ten days of rest and recovery, she finally felt like herself again. The tasks on the silk paper had paused likely sensing her fatigue.

News reports confirmed that the cleanup at the pool was nearing its end. A memorial was erected for those found deep within the air-raid shelter. Jiang Huaiyi donated some of her remaining funds to the project and personally funded a separate tombstone for Xiao Zheng, hoping the child could move on peacefully or better yet, simply cease to suffer the pains of this world.

Click.

The door to her room opened, and a head poked in. Shen Wensi stood at the threshold. This had become their routine: when Huaiyi woke, Wensi would call her down for a meal. As the New Year approached, the restaurant business was booming. Their meals were prepared by a retired master chef whom Wensi had rehired; the food was incredibly authentic and delicious.

Jiang Huaiyi began to wonder just how much money Shen Wensi actually had. She felt a bit guilty about eating so well while doing nothing but sleeping and cleaning the house. When she tentatively asked about Wensi’s finances, the woman just tilted her head and offered a faint smile.

“It’s fine,” Wensi said, placing a piece of food in Huaiyi’s bowl. “My bank balance is… substantial. Don’t worry about it.”

After days of hearty meals, Huaiyi’s health and spirit had improved significantly. One afternoon, she pulled out the silk paper and noticed a new task had appeared in elegant, petite script: “The Dragon Plays with the Pearl.”

Shen Wensi leaned in to look. “Why is it about dragons again?”

“It might be a metaphor,” Huaiyi replied. “Not necessarily a literal dragon.”

The news of the Jiao’s transformation at Cen Ling had been witnessed by many, but the government had issued strict gag orders. Only those with high-level connections, like Shen Wensi, were even allowed to leave without extensive questioning. Huaiyi had also discovered that her senior sister and Mu Ze were actually part of an official organization no wonder the two “enemies” were always forced to work together.

Huaiyi watched Shen Wensi sip her tea. Over the past weeks, this woman had become a pillar of safety for her. Despite her fear of ghosts, as long as Shen Wensi was near, Huaiyi felt an unshakable sense of security.

The thought startled her. She looked at Wensi with a mix of confusion and sudden clarity. She didn’t fully understand her feelings, yet they felt incredibly natural.

“I think I like you,” Huaiyi said suddenly, her voice clear.

Shen Wensi nearly choked, spraying a bit of tea. She looked at Huaiyi with genuine shock. “You… fell in love with my money?”

Jiang Huaiyi: “…”

“No,” Huaiyi sighed.

Shen Wensi wiped her lips with a napkin, her face returning to its usual stoic mask. “Then what is it? Did you fall in love with your ‘rival’?”

Huaiyi blushed. She had used that nickname for Wensi in private with her senior sister many times. “How did you know I call you that?”

Wensi pulled out her phone and showed a text from Chu Lianxue. It was full of abbreviations and nicknames. Huaiyi’s mouth twitched. Silence fell over the room.

Huaiyi began to regret her impulsiveness. She worried the atmosphere would become stiff or awkward. Just as she was about to make an excuse to flee, Shen Wensi spoke.

“Do you truly know me?”

Huaiyi paused. “What do you mean?”

Wensi turned to her, her expression dead serious. “If you knew my true identity, or the kind of person I really am… would you still like me?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Huaiyi countered. “I like you for you. Even if you were penniless, it wouldn’t change anything. We could move back to the temple, and I’d work three jobs to rent us a nice place.”

Shen Wensi’s grip on her teacup tightened. She looked at Huaiyi with a complex, unreadable gaze before letting out a soft, rare laugh. “You’re different from the masses. Most people are trapped by social conventions, yet here you are, liking a woman.”

“I wasn’t raised to care about that,” Huaiyi said matter-of-factly. “Male or female, it’s all normal. My Master never said otherwise. Besides, plenty of women like women. Have you just not met any?”

Shen Wensi blinked, stunned by the bluntness. She chuckled. “I’m not that much of an old fogey. I’ve heard of it.” She paused, then looked Huaiyi in the eye. “Have you liked a woman before?”

Huaiyi, who had just taken a sip of tea to hide her nerves, promptly sprayed it out. She coughed, and Wensi quickly reached out with a napkin. Their hands met over the napkin, fingers overlapping. Through Huaiyi’s slender digits, Wensi could feel a powerful, steady pulse.

The air grew heavy with the scent of Longjing tea. Huaiyi leaned in, her voice a whisper near Wensi’s ear. “Did you not have many friends before this?”

Shen Wensi didn’t move. The warmth of Huaiyi’s breath on her ear was intoxicating. Though this body was merely an avatar she used for amusement in the mortal realm, the heart inside it was thudding with a very real, very human frenzy.

Caught in a swirl of sudden emotion, Jiang Huaiyi closed her eyes and pressed a soft kiss onto the shell of Shen Wensi’s porcelain-white ear.

The moment her lips touched skin, Huaiyi snapped back to her senses. She recoiled as if struck by lightning, her face turning crimson.

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out. She scrambled up, her chair screeching loudly against the floor, and bolted for the stairs without looking back.

She missed the way Shen Wensi’s entire ear turned a brilliant, deep red.

In the living room, Shen Wensi sat in the afternoon sun, her hand trembling as she raised her teacup. Her usually calm face was a mask of flustered confusion.

On the second-floor landing, Xiao Die watched Huaiyi run past. The cat sat between the banisters and looked down at Shen Wensi with a judgmental, wide-eyed stare. She flicked her tail with feline disdain and walked away. Humans and their emotions were exhausting.

Xiao Die wandered down toward the kitchen, her “territory.” She usually enjoyed this house because it lacked the presence of a Kitchen God those annoying, meddling spirits she despised.

She began her routine patrol, checking for any unwanted guests. The living room was clean. The upstairs was clean. She lazily strolled toward the kitchen.

Suddenly, her pupils dilated. In the corner of the kitchen, she saw the unmistakable flutter of a bright red hem.

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