I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 47

“I’m so tired,” Jiang Qing collapsed into the sofa, sinking into its cushions. “Walking in heels all night made my feet ache.”

Hou Xue had already changed into loungewear and sat down beside her. Without a word, she casually took hold of Jiang Qing’s ankle, slipped off the annoying red heels, and replaced them with soft cotton slippers.

“Happy birthday.”

“You already said that this morning,” Jiang Qing sat up straighter.

“I know. I just wanted to give you a belated gift.” Hou Xue, like a magician, produced a small velvet box out of nowhere.

A jewelry box?

Jiang Qing blinked.

“It was supposed to be a Christmas present,” Hou Xue explained. “But I didn’t get the chance.”

On Christmas Day, Hou Xue had been glued to Jiang Yan’s side all day—under close watch. She suspected Jiang Yan knew she was planning to give Jiang Qing a gift, maybe even knew it was a ring.

“Is that so?” Jiang Qing lowered her eyes.

Hou Xue didn’t open the box right away. Her grip on it tightened slightly as she spoke. “Last night, I had a dream.”

“What did you dream about?” Jiang Qing immediately picked up on the change in her tone.

“I dreamt that you got engaged to a man at your birthday party.”

Jiang Qing was momentarily at a loss for words.

She hadn’t gotten engaged to any man tonight, but… she was carrying a secret engagement.

“But it was just a dream,” Hou Xue added. “A dream can’t come true.”

“Of course it was just a dream,” Jiang Qing let out a sigh of relief. “Maybe you’re just stressed lately. You should get some early rest tonight.”

Hou Xue stared into her eyes and, without warning, said something completely out of the blue:

“Then can you tell me your birthday?”

Jiang Qing jolted. “What?”

“Your real birthday.”

“What are you talking about? Today is my birthday,” Jiang Qing replied.

Hou Xue didn’t argue. Her voice dropped, soft and quiet. “I don’t care if you’re not this Jiang Qing.” She paused. “I don’t care who you are.”

Jiang Qing raised a finger and gently placed it against Hou Xue’s lips. “Don’t say it.”

Confusion flickered in Hou Xue’s eyes. She took Jiang Qing’s hand and pressed it to her cheek, her lips now dangerously close to her fingertip—close enough to kiss. Jiang Qing could feel the warm breath as she spoke.

“You don’t have to say it,” Hou Xue murmured, gently nuzzling her palm in an intimate gesture—one she made instinctively, as though physical closeness with Jiang Qing was something she never questioned.

Jiang Qing didn’t pull her hand away. She remained silent.

She didn’t understand why Hou Xue had suddenly brought this up—but she didn’t want to stop her either. Because she couldn’t be the one to start this conversation. Hou Xue had to be the one.

“Your name is Jiang Qing too, right?” It wasn’t a question. Jiang Qing didn’t know whether she should answer.

“I don’t know why you’re here,” Hou Xue continued. “But I don’t think you chose to become this Jiang Qing. You strike me as someone trying to make every step count under strict constraints. I’m guessing you don’t even know if she’ll come back—or how much longer you’ll get to stay here. Am I right?”

Jiang Qing let out a long sigh.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I just can’t. I thought about saying it, but even if I did, you wouldn’t hear it. It would be as if I never said anything at all.” Her voice wavered. “And besides, I’m afraid of changing your fate.”

“My fate?” Hou Xue narrowed her eyes. “You can see the future?”

“You could say that.” Jiang Qing admitted. “And I’ve realized something—fate can’t really be changed. Even when it seems like you’ve altered the course a little, everything just circles back to its original path. Like your hand.” Her gaze drifted to the one Hou Xue was still holding.

“You knew Zhu Yao was going to stab me?”

“I should have remembered, but I didn’t. At first, I blamed myself, thought I was being careless. But later, I realized it wasn’t that—I shouldn’t have forgotten. I just… couldn’t change it.” Her voice trembled. “I, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to stay.”

“In the future you saw for me, did I ever fall in love with anyone?”

Jiang Qing fell silent again. After a long moment, she whispered, “No. From beginning to end, you never fell in love with anyone.”

“But now I think I—”

[Anomaly detected in “When the Snow Stops”]

[Flaw detected in strategy mission character file]

[Repairing timeline and character data for “When the Snow Stops”]

[Initiating repair. 1%, 27%]

Jiang Qing’s form flickered, her figure becoming ghostly.

For a moment, Hou Xue felt disoriented. She suddenly couldn’t remember what she had just been about to say.

[58%]

Her words got stuck on the third-to-last syllable.

She only remembered an overwhelming urgency.

It felt like—just a little more, and she would have said those three words Jiang Qing didn’t dare speak.

But what were those three words?

[73%]

“Xue.”

Jiang Qing barely had time to call out before she felt herself being wrenched out of her body.

[96%]

Hou Xue’s head throbbed.

She closed her eyes. It felt like something had just vanished from her body.

[100%]

[Repair complete]

Jiang Qing collapsed.

Instinctively, Hou Xue caught her.

Only when Jiang Qing was cradled in her arms did she realize—why was she even catching this troublesome stepsister?

Yet her arms didn’t loosen. Instead, they tightened, as if afraid this person might slip away from her embrace.

“Approval finally came through!” Jiang Yan was visibly thrilled.

“Go see your protagonist,” said system 043, sounding unusually relaxed.

“She’s had her memory wiped, right?” Jiang Yan double-checked.

“Of course,” 043 replied earnestly. “The higher-ups did their job. But remember—it’s memory erasure, not full data restoration. She’s only forgotten the corrupted parts. This is when her memory is the most jumbled. Perfect chance for you to—”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Jiang Yan beamed. “She was mine to begin with.”

Jiang Yan happily opened the door to Jiang Qing’s room. “Xiao Xue—”

Her joy quickly evaporated.

“You, why are you holding her like that?”

Hou Xue looked up and seriously considered the question.

Yeah, why was she holding her?

“She fainted suddenly,” Hou Xue said. “I just caught her.”

Jiang Yan immediately rushed in, prying the two apart. “Okay, okay, Jiang Qing must just be exhausted. A good night’s sleep will fix everything.”

Will it?

“But she fainted—while we were talking.”

What were they just talking about?

Hou Xue watched as Jiang Yan tucked Jiang Qing into bed.

She thought to herself: Her stepsister seemed very light. She wasn’t short—but maybe she just didn’t eat enough? Was that why she passed out from low blood sugar?

Oh well, none of her business.

Jiang Yan turned around and saw Hou Xue staring intently at Jiang Qing’s face. Her alarm bells rang loudly.

“We should let her rest. Come on, let’s go,” Jiang Yan said, quickly ushering Hou Xue out.

Hou Xue didn’t resist. She silently let herself be pushed out and watched the door close behind her.

‘043. Why is she so quiet? Should I say something?’ Jiang Yan asked mentally.

‘That’s her character design,’ 043 replied. ‘Cold, stoic, firm.’

‘But Jiang Qing got under her skin so easily…’

“What are you doing here?” Hou Xue finally asked, her voice calm, though the question sounded like it should carry weight.

And just like that, Jiang Yan froze.

What was she here for?

To confirm that the corrupted data had been erased?

But she couldn’t say that.

‘Say you were worried Jiang Qing might bully her. That’s why you came to check on her,’ 043 offered, exasperated. ‘Host, you’re one step away from being flagged for passive sabotage.’

“I was worried about you,” Jiang Yan said. “Jiang Qing called you away, and I was afraid she might… bully you.” She put on a concerned expression. “She always gives you a hard time. But now that I’m back, that won’t happen again.”

“We’re not close,” Hou Xue said flatly, making her confusion clear.

Jiang Yan forced a smile. “I spoiled Jiang Qing too much these past few years. As her older sister, I can’t just stand by anymore. And…” She paused. “You’re my sister now too.”

Hou Xue frowned slightly.

She felt like someone else had said something similar to her once.

But who?

Her gaze drifted past Jiang Yan to Jiang Qing’s closed door.

No, all she remembered was an arrogant, willful second daughter.

It felt like—there should have been someone else but she couldn’t recall.

“Whatever.” Hou Xue was irritated, no longer wanting to engage. She turned to leave.

“Wait.”

‘Leave it for tomorrow. Pushing now won’t help,’ 043 advised quickly, exasperated once again.

‘Ugh, fine.’ Jiang Yan scowled.

Later that night, Hou Xue sat at the edge of her bed, freshly showered. She picked up the small jewelry box from her nightstand.

She examined it closely, then opened it.

Inside was a uniquely designed pearl ring.

Her memory had gaps.

She vaguely remembered custom-ordering it, but couldn’t recall why.

It definitely wasn’t for herself.

She didn’t even like jewelry—rings just got in the way.

Hou Xue took the ring out and tried it on each of her ten fingers. None of them fit quite right.

Still holding it, a sudden thought struck her.

Of course—she could just try it on someone else. That would tell her who it was meant for.

Memories could be deceptive.

She trusted her instincts more than her memories.

Hou Xue stood up, ring in hand, and walked to Jiang Qing’s room.

There was something familiar about this path—like she’d taken it often before.

She even instinctively glanced at Jiang Yan’s room as she passed. Hadn’t Jiang Yan always interrupted her at this point?

She quietly opened Jiang Qing’s door. Bathed in moonlight, she walked over and gently lifted her hand.

She guessed the ring was meant for the left hand—for convenience.

She moved to slip it onto the ring finger… but paused after one joint, and switched to the middle finger.

It fit perfectly—almost too perfectly.

Hou Xue let the corners of her mouth lift slightly.

Even if her memories were scrambled she knew.

This person lying here wasn’t the arrogant stepsister she remembered.

She was someone far more important.