Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 31.1

Chapter 31.1

…Meng Rendong was completely heartbroken.

She no longer thought about reconciling with Ji Yu because she now knew that this person didn’t love her.

Despondently, she returned home, forgetting to eat dinner. She listlessly collapsed onto the sofa and unconsciously fell asleep.

She had a dream.

In the dream, she returned once more to that summer many years ago. She tried to stay put, but she couldn’t change the predetermined facts. Thus, she could only hope to run faster, even faster, when she returned.

Unfortunately.

She still couldn’t change the ending.

Meng Rendong thought she would, as before, repeatedly feel the pain of losing her closest companion in this dream.

However…

This dream was somewhat different.

She saw some new scenes.

The person in the dream thought she was seeing these nonsensical things because of excessive grief, but she didn’t know—

Some forgotten, long-sealed memories were slowly reawakening…

Chu Nanxing seemed unsurprised by the changes in the mirror. She watched the emerging content with a normal expression. When she saw the first line, the curve of her lips lifted higher, showing a touch of smugness.

Meng Rendong was heartbroken?

Although she didn’t take that Ji Yu seriously and was confident she could change Meng Rendong’s one-sided infatuation, it suited her purpose that Meng Rendong had grown disheartened first.

She couldn’t wait to rinse the foam from her hands, raising her right index finger to the mirror. Just as she was about to touch the surface, her gaze noticed the content below.

So, Chu Nanxing’s fingertip slowly moved down, as if searching for a place to strike.

When she saw the dream Meng Rendong had, the smile at the corner of her lips grew, even reaching her eye-corners, until—

Her gaze fixed on the last sentence.

“Some forgotten, long-sealed memories were slowly reawakening…”

Chu Nanxing stared at this sentence, as if recalling something. Her brows knitted together, then she raised her right index finger and fiercely swiped across the content from left to right, as if wiping out the words, desperately wishing the fact would vanish.

Just as her action concluded, the color of the golden text slowly faded, obeying her will, gently trembling on the mirror surface, as if about to disappear the next second.

Chu Nanxing gently let out a breath.

Just then.

The pale golden text suddenly stopped trembling.

Then, under Chu Nanxing’s gaze, as if in mockery or resistance, the faded color gradually returned. Like shaking off a restraint, it was restored to a brilliant golden state, brazenly staying in its original position.

Chu Nanxing: “!”

Although she didn’t know what kind of special experience Meng Rendong had, her intuition told her she couldn’t let Meng Rendong recall those things. It would be very detrimental to her.

Chu Nanxing then raised her hand and hastily added a sentence after the original content: “The things in the dream were too exaggerated and incredible. Meng Rendong forgot the dream content the moment she woke up.”

The period was just added when Chu Nanxing saw the text she wrote gradually turn golden. Just as it was about to squeeze into the entire article and become natural content, the golden color seemed to be repelled by some force, quickly becoming dull, then cracking and shattering little by little.

Finally, it disappeared.

Chu Nanxing pursed her lips, but her face didn’t look terrible, suggesting this wasn’t the first time she had encountered such a situation.

After a brief thought, she changed it to another sentence: “Meng Rendong found the dream absurd, so she didn’t dwell on it after waking up.”

The content was written, and a few seconds later, it met the same fate as the previous sentence.

Chu Nanxing gradually started to feel irritated.

She really should have controlled Meng Rendong precisely earlier, instead of letting her resist her arrangements. If she had dealt with Meng Rendong when she first came to the show… there wouldn’t be so many complications now.

She took a deep breath, cursing the meddlesome Wang Luoshui in her heart, while simultaneously starting to haphazardly arrange the plot on the mirror. After all, she didn’t want to see Meng Rendong awaken any more self-awareness.

Chu Nanxing muttered a curse as she wrote: “So disobedient.”

At the same moment.

The content she had just written turned brilliant gold, glittering. The text compliantly fell below the original content. It clearly read:

…Meng Rendong was woken up by the doorbell just as the dream began. She didn’t even have time to dwell on the dream content, rushing to open the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw Wang Luoshui standing outside.

Following that, the content seemed to have a life of its own, continuing for a long paragraph below.

Chu Nanxing frowned, reading the conversation between Meng Rendong and Wang Luoshui. Just looking at the cold text, she wasn’t entirely sure if Meng Rendong had completely let go of Ji Yu. She patiently wanted to read further, or perhaps add some more to the content as she had before.

However, the Xiaoxi Entertainment girl group leader who had been practicing with her in the A-class classroom saw she had been out for a long time and worried she was upset about something, such as not getting the Center position or being under too much pressure from practicing the theme song. She was now approaching the restroom area, calling out:

“Nanxing.”

A trace of annoyance flashed in Chu Nanxing’s eyes. Although only she could see the content in the mirror, to be safe, she focused her mind, making the golden text in the mirror vanish.

Then, the girl turned and smiled at the newcomer: “What’s wrong?”

“I… was wondering if you hadn’t brought tissues since you’ve been gone so long. I was just about to come and bring you some.” The girl who came to check on her was relieved to see she was fine, so she jokingly fabricated another reason.

Chu Nanxing humored her for a few sentences, still thinking about the unfolding plot. After drying the water droplets on her hands under the speed dryer, she walked out with the other girl. Looking toward the classroom, she casually said:

“I feel like I’ve practiced a bit too long tonight. Maybe because I haven’t rested much lately, I feel like heading back first.”

The other girl gave a soft “ah,” then immediately smiled at her and encouraged her with a nod: “Okay, don’t push yourself too hard. There are many more stages ahead. Learning to relax appropriately is the only way to maintain your condition.”

This girl was named Chang Xue. She had debuted before, but like Li Xing, their group later disbanded, so she came here to challenge the peak again using the stage of Dream Chasing 100.

In this era of rampant entertainment, since more than ten years ago, the number of girl groups and boy groups emerging in the entertainment industry each year was like mushrooms after rain. Conversely, countless groups also retired or disbanded due to poor results, company financial issues, and other reasons.

Chang Xue and Li Xing were the mud crushed by the wheels of the times.

Perhaps next time, they could move forward with the wheels, or they might be left behind once more.

Chu Nanxing was happy to maintain good relations with these experienced seniors—at least until they showed a particularly huge blunder.

Hearing Chang Xue’s words, she nodded, smiling her agreement, and returned a few words of concern, then walked toward the elevator.

However, after entering the golden elevator car, Chu Nanxing casually glanced at the wall, as if something on the bare elevator wall attracted her. Then, she pressed a number that was not the floor leading to the trainees’ dormitories.

Ji Yu didn’t sleep again tonight.

But she also didn’t go to the classroom to practice with her friends. Instead, she returned to the spacious balcony where Meng Rendong had first discovered her, played music on her phone, and danced that popping routine over and over under the moonlight.

She didn’t aim to complete all the movements but mechanically repeated them, seeking to numb her thoughts. She hoped this would stop her from thinking about Si Tian and prevent her from dwelling on the two near-misses with her.

After an unknown amount of time, the system suddenly spoke:

“Chu Nanxing is coming.”

Ji Yu heard the alert but didn’t even twitch her eyebrow. It wasn’t until she failed the last movement, nearly twisting her ankle, but managed to stop herself in time. She held onto the balcony railing and, after steadying herself, turned to look indoors.

Chu Nanxing was standing at the corner, watching her.

Their eyes met. Neither of them spoke. Then Ji Yu looked away first, slowly walking over to turn off the music on her phone. The surrounding noise suddenly quieted down, leaving only the scattered sounds of her uneven, heavy breathing.

She casually wiped the sweat from her neck with a towel.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chu Nanxing take a few steps closer, opening her mouth with a smiling voice: “I heard you dumped Rendong?”

Ji Yu paused her wiping action. Since she didn’t know Chu Nanxing’s goal and instinctively felt the person was unfriendly toward her, she didn’t confirm the statement but instead said: “What is Miss Chu talking about? I don’t understand.”

Chu Nanxing glanced at her, leaned against the wall by the balcony, and said comfortingly: “Don’t worry, I didn’t bring any recording equipment, nor did I call anyone to watch this.”

Ji Yu nodded: “Oh.”

Chu Nanxing didn’t mind her indifference but looked at Ji Yu’s eyes with intense curiosity, as if wanting to peer past her skin and see through her soul.

She started another topic: “That’s good. It’s better for both you and her.”

Ji Yu lowered her head, fiddling with her phone, as if she had no interest in her incomprehensible words. Then she heard Chu Nanxing slowly say: “I originally wanted to warn you not to get involved with Rendong”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard about Rendong’s reputation in the industry. She’s had many girlfriends before, all in your style.”

Ji Yu looked up, her gaze devoid of any fluctuation: “What exactly does Miss Chu want to say?”

Chu Nanxing smiled again, shrugging: “Maybe I’m in a particularly good mood tonight and just want to tell a story?”

Ji Yu pulled the white towel from her neck and began walking toward the indoor area. It seemed she intended to return to the dormitory. As she brushed past Chu Nanxing, she softly said:

“How unfortunate.”

“My mood is particularly bad tonight, so I refuse to be someone else’s trash can for nonsense.”

Chu Nanxing turned to look in the direction she was leaving and suddenly blurted out quickly: “Meng Rendong used to have a very close friend. Unfortunately, this friend died in front of her, and she was powerless—”

Ji Yu’s steps halted.

She didn’t turn around. Chu Nanxing’s words didn’t stop: “I’ll tell you. You are the one who looks the most like her friend among all the girlfriends she’s had, even your names are very similar.”

Ji Yu looked down at the floor. After a long pause following Chu Nanxing’s words, she slowly threw out a question:

“So.”

“Did you fail to win Meng Rendong because you look nothing like her sweetheart?”

“I can’t help with that. You need to find a plastic surgery clinic.”

Chu Nanxing: “…”

Simultaneously.

In Fengming Residential Complex.

Meng Rendong saw Wang Luoshui off. Slightly tipsy, she ignored the mess on the coffee table and walked toward the bedroom with unsteady steps.

She felt drowsy again, likely due to eating too much.

Her upper body fell onto the soft bed, her knees still resting by the bedside. Meng Rendong didn’t even have the energy to climb into bed. She dozed off right by the bed, falling asleep again.

Before her consciousness faded, she thought intermittently:

Alcohol really is a good thing.

No wonder her friends all liked it.

Perhaps because there were too many things weighing on her heart, she dreamed again. The dream was very strange, taking place again in that hospital, making Meng Rendong feel somewhat amused and frustrated:

Why does this dream have a sequel?

She felt quite helpless, but thinking of the younger Ji Yu in the dream, she harbored a slightly mischievous thought: I promised Wang Luoshui I wouldn’t go see the current you. Can’t I look at the you in my dream?

So she wanted to run to the adjacent room, but her legs and perspective weren’t entirely under her control.

She saw herself lying on a hospital bed. A woman nearby was incessantly nagging, cursing things like, “Worthless thing,” “If you want to die, go die by yourself, don’t infect the family,” “Why stay in the hospital, if your teacher has so much money, they should just give it to me, stop being a bleeding heart”…

Meng Rendong curiously shifted her gaze, scrutinizing the woman. This time, her body seemed to listen to her command. She met the woman’s eyes and thought incredulously:

Is this person cursing me?

Her confusion was answered by another voice: “No, she’s cursing me.”

Meng Rendong: “???”

She turned to see who was speaking but couldn’t see anyone.

Conversely, the voice that spoke, sounding somewhat downcast and timid, said to her: “Am I too desperate? Am I finally going crazy? Who are you? Are you my second personality?”

Meng Rendong didn’t answer but asked back: “Who are you?”

The voice remained silent for a long time, then said: “My name is Si Tian.”

Perhaps because she hadn’t grasped the situation, Meng Rendong didn’t adhere to the principle of reciprocity and exchange names with the other party. Instead, she remained silent, even straining her ears to listen to the continuous stream of insults from the cursing woman by the bed. Probably because the words weren’t directed at her, she had no other thought than finding it very uncivilized.

It was the voice talking to her that spoke again, sounding deliberately mature but actually a bit childish: “Are you my split personality? I think I read in a book that people with childhood trauma are likely to develop split personalities, and the new personality has its own experiences and can help the core personality bear the pain they don’t want to bear…”

Meng Rendong couldn’t stand the voice overlapping with the loud curses of the woman nearby. She felt a headache coming on and had to call out: “Stop.”

Si Tian indeed stopped.

It wasn’t until the woman by the bed was tired of cursing, sitting there and shoving a peeled apple into her mouth, its juice splashing everywhere, that Meng Rendong resisted the urge to move away, afraid the woman’s unclean juice would get on her.

Because of the surrounding quiet, Si Tian spoke once more, her voice deliberately mature yet childish: “What can you do? Are you here to save me? Can you help me get rid of these disgusting parents? Or take me away from this terrible life?”

Meng Rendong thought for a moment, then heard herself say: “I can’t do any of that.”

Si Tian seemed shocked by her “sub-personality’s” weakness and was speechless for a long time.

Meng Rendong’s mind was preoccupied with the Ji Yu in this dream. Since the other party wasn’t talking, she started asking: “Do you know the girl next door? The one named Ji Yu, who was rescued from drowning and has amnesia—”

Si Tian replied without enthusiasm: “Oh, that’s the person you used my body to go find before.”

Meng Rendong: “???”

She asked in shock: “What does that mean?”

Si Tian: “Didn’t you notice? We’re sharing one body right now. You secretly ran off to make friends with someone else while I was asleep, even using my name… Forget it, that’s not the point. Since you can’t save me either, and I can’t save myself, let’s just wait for death. I’ve already scoped out a good place recently, the penthouse of that downtown building is quite nice…”

Realizing what she was thinking, Meng Rendong interrupted in confusion: “You’re so young. Why are you so despairing?”

Si Tian was silent for a while before answering: “Does losing interest in this world have anything to do with age? Didn’t that saying go, ‘A man is bound to die; his death may be weightier than Mount Tai, or—’”

Meng Rendong: “…Wait.”

Although this dream was strange, Meng Rendong felt she couldn’t just watch this person die for no reason. She suddenly said: “Let’s negotiate.”

Si Tian: “Hmm?”

Meng Rendong glanced at the woman next to her who was meticulously chewing even the apple core. Her eyelid twitched. She said: “You… keep an eye on Ji Yu for me. I’ll help you figure out a way to escape this family. How about that?”

Si Tian seriously considered it, but the result of her thinking was—

“Aren’t you my sub-personality?”

“Why are you not here because of me? Instead, you’re concerned about the little friend next door? Did I not read enough books, or do I not understand this phenomenon enough? Or did you fall in love at first sight with that girl the moment you appeared?”

Meng Rendong found the more she listened, the more ridiculous it sounded, but she didn’t know how to explain it because this was the most logical dream she had ever experienced.

Fortunately, the her in the dream also seemed able to keep up with this logic. After stopping Si Tian’s scattered thoughts, she heard herself slowly say:

“You can consider me your sub-personality.”

“But I’m truly not here to save you.”

“However, I can try my best to show you more possibilities in this world and help you achieve a sufficiently successful and wonderful life. But as a trade-off, you have to let me be friends with Ji Yu next door and not interfere with any of my choices or anything I do, okay?”

After a pause, Meng Rendong added in her mind:

If not, just lend me the body for a while.

Anyway, she just wanted to see Ji Yu again.

She just didn’t know why this Ji Yu in the dream looked exactly like A-Yu, making the dream both real and possessing a sense of abrupt absurdity.

Meng Rendong was preoccupied. Her gaze seemed to want to pass through the opposite white wall to see the girl on the hospital bed in the next room.

At this moment, Si Tian’s voice pulled her attention back. Although it was only two weak words, it meant the absurd deal was struck:

“Okay.”

“We’re roomies in another sense now. How about I give you a name?”

Meng Rendong: “…”

Her forehead twitched. She replied with two words: “No need.”

She said: “My name is Meng Rendong.”

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