I Got Together with the Goddess [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 31

Jiang Yiqing was sitting in the bridal sedan chair, consumed by overwhelming anxiety. If her identity were to be exposed, she had no idea what might happen…

Jiang Yiqing sat within the sedan chair, her heart heavy with worry. If her identity were discovered, she didn’t know how it would implicate her parents or how much trouble it would bring upon the General’s Mansion. Having started her makeup and hair from the middle of the night without having eaten a single bite of food, Jiang Yiqing felt as though she was about to faint. She wondered if she would become the first bride in history to pass out inside her bridal sedan. The constant jolting of the carriage made her feel increasingly unwell, and she could not help but close her eyes to rest.

This brief nap, however, led to something significant. Unexpectedly, the urgent voices of others calling out to her reached her ears.

“Yiqing, are you alright?” “It couldn’t be alcohol poisoning, could it?”

Jiang Yiqing opened her eyes dizzily, only to see three women dressed in incredibly strange clothing surrounding her. Seeing her wake up, they visibly breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed her arms to pull her up.

“Yiqing, you’re finally awake.”

Yiqing? That was indeed her name, but where was this? And who were these people? Jiang Yiqing’s heart was filled with confusion, but at that moment, her stomach let out a growl. Her face flushed a deep crimson, mortified to have made such a spectacle of herself in public. However, the women only laughed. “Yiqing, your appetite is certainly good today. There are still two dishes left to be served; let’s go eat.”

Behind her was an incredibly shiny object. If it hadn’t moved along with her, Jiang Yiqing would have suspected there was another version of herself standing inside it. Furthermore, her own clothes were very strange. Her arms were exposed, and her skirt was of a length she could never have imagined. Though she looked identical to herself and shared the same name, she had no idea why she was here.

The women led her through a corridor emitting an unbelievable light, turning left and right until they reached the door of a room. Inside were many men and women of similar age to herself. Jiang Yiqing had never seen so many people, let alone men and women gathered regardless of gender. Seeing her return, a young man walked up to her.

Jiang Yiqing instinctively took two steps back because the concept of “men and women not touching” was a very serious matter to her. However, she failed to notice the look of disappointment that flickered in the young man’s eyes.

“Jiang Yiqing, the class teacher asked me to come and check if you’re feeling unwell anywhere?”

“Class Monitor, Yiqing just drank a bit too much, and she’s hungry now. She’s perfectly fine,” one of the women answered on her behalf.

Class teacher? Class monitor? What were these things? Where was this place, and who were these people? However, seeing tables and chairs, though they looked different from the ones she knew—Jiang Yiqing figured the food shouldn’t be much different. At this moment, hunger triumphed over everything else. She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

“Yiqing, what are you doing? You didn’t secretly go to Hengdian to be an extra, did you? Why are your movements so affected, just like a person from ancient times?” a girl exclaimed.

They watched Jiang Yiqing held her chopsticks with extreme elegance. She picked up a small morsel of food, carefully placed it in her mouth, kept her palm turned inward while holding the bowl, and gently gathered a mouthful of rice.

It was currently just one week into the summer break. N City was very close to Hengdian, and some students did indeed head there as soon as vacation started to work as extras and chase celebrities. Jiang Yiqing forced herself to remain calm, though she had no idea how to explain: “I…”

Seeing that others around them were starting to look over, the girl waved her hand hurriedly and said, “Actually, I think it looks quite nice. Yiqing, you were very lively before but being suddenly quiet and refined is also quite good.”

Suddenly quiet and refined… Jiang Yiqing was certain now. She had swapped identities with another girl. Such an incredible thing had happened to her. Once she felt about sixty percent full, she felt too embarrassed to continue and set down her chopsticks. She was terrified of being recognized as an imposter, yet she had no idea how to rescue herself from this alien environment.

Just then, she saw a pink object on the table begin to ring. Seeing her dazed expression, a girl asked, “Yiqing, why aren’t you answering the phone?”

She watched as the girl swiped the object in front of her. The black surface suddenly lit up, revealing various patterns inside that looked like a kaleidoscope from a theater. Then, a woman’s voice came through.

“Yiqing, your Aunt Shui and her daughter arrived at our house today. Come back as soon as you finish lunch; don’t go wandering off.”

“…I understand,” Jiang Yiqing replied cautiously. After hanging up the phone, the girl said regretfully, “Yiqing, you’re leaving so soon? I’m going to miss you. Remember to keep in touch with me when you get to university. Don’t forget your old friends just because you have new ones.”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Yiqing quickly grabbed the pink square and left. After wandering around the hotel for a bit, she saw other people entering a door-like object elevator. She timidly followed them inside. After coming out, she successfully reached the first floor. Stepping out of the lobby, Jiang Yiqing clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. However, when she saw the surrounding skyscrapers and the wide, flat roads where strange-colored, oddly shaped “carriages” were driving rapidly, she rubbed her eyes.

Jiang Yiqing suspected she was dreaming—an incredible, impossible dream. But does one know they are dreaming while inside a dream? Suddenly, her eyes grew moist. Why had things turned out this way? She didn’t know how to get back and felt that she would soon be seized as a freak. Fear caused her to crouch down in the shadow of a tree, burying her head in her knees and sobbing softly.

After an unknown amount of time, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, Jiang Yiqing turned her head to look. It was a young girl about her age, wearing a blue dress with intricate patterns. Her hair was casually twisted into a single strand draped over her chest. She was bright-eyed, had pearly teeth, and possessed a poised and generous aura.

“You are?”

Mingsheng felt that she had been crying and asked somewhat hesitantly, “I am Mingsheng. You must be Yiqing, right?”

Jiang Yiqing nodded.

Jiang Yiqing’s home was only a thousand meters away. Mother Jiang had become anxious seeing that she hadn’t returned, so Mingsheng volunteered to go look for her. Consequently, as she reached the hotel, she saw the girl crouching helplessly under a tree. Wearing a green floral dress, she looked like the freshest tender leaf growing in the Xiangxi mountains in March.

Mingsheng hadn’t expected her first impression of Jiang Yiqing to be one of such helplessness, looking as if she might be led away by a bad person at any moment. That fragility ignited a dark spark of desire deep within Mingsheng’s heart—so much so that she felt an impulse to hide her away, to tuck her into a place where no one else could ever find her.

Mingsheng pulled Jiang Yiqing up. Jiang Yiqing gazed at her blankly, like a lost kitten with distinct black-and-white pupils and slightly reddened eyes, her face full of frail and pitiable charm.

“Let’s go home?” Mingsheng said, proactively reaching out her hand.

Jiang Yiqing stupidly took her hand. It was soft, slightly cool, slender, yet strong. In an instant, Jiang Yiqing felt that this strange world was no longer so terrifying. She gained the courage to step forward.

The two girls walked home together. The overhead sunlight was very piercing, so Mingsheng held an umbrella over both. It was the first time Jiang Yiqing had seen such an umbrella. It wasn’t an oil-paper umbrella; it had a pink top adorned with pink flower petals.

Once they arrived home, Mother Jiang saw Jiang Yiqing’s red eyes and smiled. “It’s just graduation; there’s no need to be this sad.” However, seeing the two of them holding hands and getting along so well, Mother Jiang felt relieved. She felt that the matter she needed to discuss might not be so difficult to bring up after all.

“Yiqing, take Mingsheng to your room for a while. I’ll call you both when it’s time for dinner.”

Mingsheng led Jiang Yiqing by the hand to her room. It was a typical “princess room,” decorated mainly in pink and white. Half of the bed was piled with dolls, but the most conspicuous was the large doll in the alcove. It had freckles on its face and was chubby but very cute. Around its neck hung a vermillion sachet. Mingsheng saw the sachet and smiled slightly, noting that she wore an identical one tied to her waist.

Mingsheng took a bottle of orange soda from the fridge and poured two glasses, placing one in front of Jiang Yiqing. For a moment, she didn’t know if this was her room or Jiang Yiqing’s.

Sitting in the chair, Jiang Yiqing felt truly thirsty. She picked up the glass and took a sip. Having never tasted something so carbonated and stimulating, she immediately began to cough. Mingsheng hurriedly and nervously patted her back.

“Is it too cold?”

Jiang Yiqing shook her head while her eyes watered from the choking. At this point, she finally began to understand she had arrived in a place pole apart from her original world, and she had swapped identities with someone who shared her name and appearance. This world completely transcended her understanding. She could only silently strive to keep up with the rhythm of this place and learn everything here so that she could establish herself in the future.

Perhaps Mingsheng didn’t know that her act of proactively looking for her was the key that sparked the motivation within Jiang Yiqing’s heart.

“Yiqing, is it because you graduated and it’s hard to part with your old friends?” Mingsheng asked tentatively.

In the Miao regions, everyone called her “Young Master” or “Young Leader.” Let alone her peers, Mingsheng’s status was higher than those much older than her. Thus, she had never experienced the feeling of parting with friends; she was merely guessing based on Mother Jiang’s assumptions about why Yiqing was sad.

Jiang Yiqing shook her head again.

“Then are you worried about your future life?” Mingsheng racked her brains, unable to grasp the young girl’s thoughts. She began to wonder if the girl’s heart was too hard to read or if the problem lay with herself. Mingsheng felt it shouldn’t be the case. At this age, having finally finished the college entrance exams, it should be the time when “the bird leaves the cage,” full of longing for university life.

“It’s not that,” Jiang Yiqing said. Realizing her personality was too timid and might worry her family and Mingsheng, she squeezed out a smile and said, “I’m just overthinking. I’ll be fine. I believe in myself.”

“That’s good.” Mingsheng sat in another chair. Originally, she had wanted to tentatively mention the purpose of her and her mother’s visit, but seeing Yiqing’s current state, she couldn’t bear to.

After dinner, Jiang Yiqing and Mingsheng cleared the table and washed dishes in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Mother Jiang and Shui Xi began to talk.

“Xuerou, I wonder if you still remember the promise from fifteen years ago?”

Jiang Xuerou naturally remembered, and she knew exactly why Shui Xi had brought Mingsheng here. However, she had her reservations. “Shui Xi, are you talking about that matter?”

“Correct. When the children were three years old, your Yiqing and my Mingsheng were betrothed. For this, I even went to the Temple of the Goddess to divine a hexagram for the two of them. It said they would be a harmonious match for a hundred years. I even received two blessed sachets and gave one to Yiqing. Now that the children are grown, it’s time to tell them.”

Jiang Xuerou fell silent. Back then, she thought it was just a joke, but she hadn’t expected Shui Xi to take it seriously. A while ago, Shui Xi told her that as the Young Leader of the Miao, Mingsheng had to marry by the age of eighteen, otherwise her identity would no longer be recognized by the Miao people. She said it was a custom of theirs and that those people were very traditional and stubborn. Shui Xi had asked if the marriage between Mingsheng and Jiang Yiqing could be finalized.

Jiang Xuerou didn’t even dare tell Jiang Yiqing, fearing she would think her mother was unreliable for treating her marriage as a joke.

“But Mingsheng knows how to raise venomous insects (Gu). Those insects are so dangerous, and the Miao region is so far away. How can I feel at ease letting Yiqing go there?” Jiang Xuerou began to throw cold water on the idea.

“Xuerou, surely you don’t also have prejudices against our Miao people?” Shui Xi asked, sounding somewhat hurt.

Jiang Xuerou remained silent. She naturally held some prejudices. When Shui Xi moved to such a distant place back then, she had been unhappy about it. Now that her own daughter was to marry into that life, how could she bear it?

“In my life, I, Shui Xi, am most proud of this daughter. You see how steady and poised she is. If you entrust Yiqing to her, what do you have to worry about? Yiqing can still go to school and work; nothing at all has to change.”

Jiang Xuerou still hesitated. “I’ve heard the Miao are very xenophobic. Our Yiqing has a very careless and straightforward personality; I’m afraid she won’t adapt.”

“I observed her just now, and Yiqing’s personality is actually very appropriate and refined,” Shui Xi said. “You’re overthinking it. I will have Mingsheng protect her well; she won’t let anyone touch a single hair on Yiqing’s head.”

Jiang Xuerou didn’t know what else to say. Shui Xi asked once more: “Has the promise from all those years ago truly expired?”

Jiang Xuerou sighed and finally yielded a step. “Fine. I will speak to Yiqing about this later. Everything will be decided by Yiqing herself; I will respect her wishes.”