Time Travel Begins the Moment I Divorce My Wife - Chapter 9.2

After all, she was a straight girl pretending to be gay, she didn’t want to make too much noise and ruin her future prospects.

Later, whenever they ran into each other during P.E., the three would walk and chat together. But between the two other girls, the one now standing in front of Ji Xunchi had always been the more outspoken one.

Thinking of this, Ji Xunchi raised an eyebrow and said pointedly, “Don’t tell me you’ve been blackmailed yourself before?”

Because it happened to you, you assumed it would work on others too?

Watching the girl’s expression twist in shock, Ji Xunchi kept her face neutral but internally cheered, she’d guessed right!

Back when she was working on a campus drama script with her writing team, one of the screenwriters had included a similar plot. Ji Xunchi had called it absurd at the time too ridiculous! But then the writer pulled up a news article as proof, and the hard evidence had convinced her. The case had stuck in her mind ever since.

Now, faced with this situation, Ji Xunchi felt an eerie sense of déjà vu. Combined with a little bluffing based on the original host’s memories, the girl, who had no experience being blackmailed herself instantly gave herself away.

Truly, art imitates life!

Ji Xunchi sighed inwardly as she looked at the girl’s pale face, spreading her hands in a gesture of resignation. “Seems like I guessed right. So, could you kindly clear up the ambiguous accusations you’ve thrown at me?”

The girl was reluctant. “Aren’t you afraid?”

Ji Xunchi raised an eyebrow and replied without hesitation, “Honestly, I’m not.”

Huh? Was this how the original owner would have handled such a situation? Ji Xunchi belatedly wondered if her boldness might be out of character.

But there was no taste of spinach in her mouth.

Guess it wasn’t out of character then.

After a brief moment of distraction, Ji Xunchi continued the confrontation with a clear conscience.

Her tone was light and breezy. “Go ahead and expose me if you want, as long as it’s not slander. But be careful, if you don’t clear up the accusations you’ve thrown at me, I might just turn the tables and expose both of you instead.”

She wasn’t afraid, but that didn’t mean the two girls weren’t.

After a long pause, watching the girl storm off with a livid expression, Ji Xunchi shrugged and left the rooftop.

Still too green.

By the afternoon, the confession wall had been updated with new content.

When Jiang Yu reminded her, Ji Xunchi pulled out her phone and skimmed the clarifying post. Her eyes flicked over the lines where the girl admitted her own involvement before refocusing on her studies.

Help, why are calculus derivatives so hard?!

Meanwhile.

Hua Jiangyu was growing increasingly annoyed by her friend Zhou Qingyi’s incessant chatter.

“You’re still in touch with that scammer? I’m telling you, this person is definitely a fraud. Even that photo of hers is probably edited or stolen from somewhereyou can’t even make out her features clearly!”

Zhou Qingyi wiped her freshly washed hands and continued, “Look at her, calling herself a successful, mature woman? How shameless is it to indirectly ask a college student like you for money? She’s just after your cash!”

“Don’t you dare fall for it,” Zhou Qingyi said sternly, eyeing Hua Jiangyu’s distracted expression.

Hua Jiangyu retorted, “But her voice is so nice.”

Zhou Qingyi was stunned. “But you’re gorgeous!!”

Who knew if the person behind the screen was even human? For all they knew, it could be some shady character. No matter how you looked at it, this unreliable online romance was a losing deal for her friend!

Hua Jiangyu knew Zhou Qingyi was speaking the truth.

But whenever she was about to agree, she couldn’t help but recall Paradise’s voice messages.

The moment those messages played, she felt a twinge of reluctance.

It’s just a casual online fling anyway. It’s not like they’d ever meet in real life, Hua Jiangyu thought to herself.

Besides, she had even crafted a college student persona for herself.

So she stubbornly argued, “In all my life, I’ve rarely met anyone prettier than me. Since I’m destined not to find that here, can’t I make up for it elsewhere?”

Like with a voice.

And honestly, Hua Jiangyu was still looking forward to the more defined abs Paradise had promised her.

Zhou Qingyi said dryly, “That voice could easily be a voice changer.”

Hua Jiangyu shot back, “No way!”

How was it impossible?

Zhou Qingyi gave her a sidelong glance.

Ignoring her, Hua Jiangyu lowered her head and sent another message to the other person.

After hitting send, she looked up again. “Don’t worry too much. I know what I’m doing. There’s only a little over a month left, and I won’t get as deeply involved as you think.”

She was just a little curious about what it felt like to be in a relationship. The people around her were too immature, and it was obvious they were shallowly interested in her looks. Hua Jiangyu couldn’t muster any interest in giving them a chance.

Online dating was different. Personal information could be protected, and after two months, they’d go their separate ways. Even if the other person was after money, as long as they could give her a good experience during that time, Hua Jiangyu wouldn’t mind too much.

Zhou Qingyi, who had a wide social circle, thought of the gossip she’d seen earlier about another school and snorted. “What I’m most afraid of is if, during this one or two months, the other person isn’t faithful and is two-timing.”

She picked up her phone, flipped to her photo album, and showed Hua Jiangyu a screenshot of the confession wall from Zhaoshan No. 2 High School.

“Imagine them being all lovey-dovey with you while doing the same thing with someone else. Wouldn’t that be disgusting?”

Hua Jiangyu glanced at the screenshot, including some of the less-than-flattering comments below, and frowned slightly.

Zhou Qingyi had a point.

She withdrew her gaze, skimming the comments and subconsciously remembering the name of the so-called “scumbag.” Watching Zhou Qingyi’s incessant chatter, she felt a little guilty but still stubbornly retorted, “She wouldn’t do that.”

Zhou Qingyi: “How do you know?”

Hua Jiangyu: “Because I have money.”

In that group, she seemed to be one of the wealthier ones otherwise, Paradise wouldn’t have obediently reached out to chat and add her privately. She’d also seen plenty of past chat logs.

Zhou Qingyi fell into deep silence.

It made sense. For a scammer, wouldn’t it be logical to focus on the richest target?

Ji Xunchi had no idea that the morning’s gossip had already spread beyond the school. She was still pondering Strawberry Tip’s hint about abs.

Honestly, this body was similar to how she’d been at seventeen or eighteen quite slim. There was a little softness around her waist, but only noticeable if she pinched hard.

Getting abs wouldn’t be too difficult, especially with all the quick-tutorial videos online. But Ji Xunchi instinctively didn’t want to train them just to show off to someone else.

Lost in thought, she sped home on her electric scooter.

Considering the debt she’d inherited from the original owner’s scams, Ji Xunchi decided to try writing fiction to earn some money. Her main job was screenwriting, but before that, during her teenage years, she’d dabbled in writing and submitting stories with decent success. Now, stuck in this situation with debts to repay, making money was her top priority.

Sitting at her computer, Ji Xunchi searched for trending themes in the current fiction market and combined them with some popular tropes from the future. Soon, she had a direction in mind.

After choosing a platform, she signed up as an author on Green River, quickly drafted a title and synopsis, and started her story.

She wrote three thousand words in one go, pouring her heart into it, before finally stepping away to take a break.

When she opened her phone, Strawberry Tip had sent several messages.

[Are you off work yet?]

[Still not off work? Are you busy?]

[Are you talking to someone else?! That’s why you’re ignoring me! (Furious)]

Ji Xunchi: “…”

She sighed, her mind abruptly pulled back from the world of fiction to reality.

[Sorry, I was working on a project report and got really into it.]

The phone notification chimed, and Hua Jiangyu opened it, her delicate and striking features softening. But then she remembered what Zhou Qingyi had mentioned in the afternoon and replied: [Really? You’re not lying to me, sis?]

I am lying. I’m not working on the project report, I’m writing a novel to pay off debts.

Thinking this, Ji Xunchi exited the chat and quickly took a screenshot, sending it to the other person.

Every time she saw the little red notification dots from the subscribed public accounts on her WeChat list, Ji Xunchi felt a slight discomfort. She either tapped in to clear them or simply deleted them. She treated unread messages the same way.

She had already cleared a batch last night. Since there was nothing unavoidable, she deleted them all, leaving her list instantly clean.

The screenshot she sent to Strawberry Tip was just like that aside from her, there were only one or two public accounts left, neat and tidy.

Hua Jiangyu looked at the screenshot Paradise had sent and compared the timestamps there was no way it could have been faked. She felt satisfied.

[Sorry, sis, I’m just feeling a bit insecure (hugging you sadly).]

After sending the playful and cute sticker, Hua Jiangyu felt a little awkward, but remembering her persona, she committed to the act.

“It’s my fault for making you feel insecure. You don’t need to apologize.”

Just as Ji Xunchi finished typing this and was about to send it, her mouth was once again assaulted by the taste of spinach.

“Yuck!.”

Ji Xunchi was furious: “Are you out of your mind?!”

Had her words broken character?! Wasn’t she just being considerate to her insecure girlfriend?!

Why did she have to send her a spinach bomb?!

The system’s mechanical voice chimed in: [You missed two words, babe.]