Chapter 55: The Plague-Stricken Caged Bird (Complete)

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and Yu Niannian soon became a junior high student.

She had a very clear sense of her own abilities and knew that Second Middle School was the highest she could aim for. In the end, that’s exactly where she ended up.

On the first day of school, the little girl was surprised to spot a familiar face waiting at the school gate.

Liu Yutang had clearly been standing there for quite a while. Her usually bland expression suddenly broke into a faint smile the moment she saw Yu Niannian.

“Good morning. Let’s walk to school together from now on.”

…

April first was April Fool’s Day.

It was also Jian Wanqing’s birthday.

Early that morning, Yu Niannian made a special call from school to wish her a happy birthday. She even promised that when she came home for the weekend, she would make up for it properly—their first birthday together since meeting.

Jian Wanqing chuckled and said she was looking forward to it. She deliberately lowered her voice to chat with her for a few more moments before hanging up.

Bai Qian was still asleep. The woman carefully lifted the hand draped over her waist, rolled over, and—as always—quietly planted a “good morning kiss” on her lips.

Halfway through breakfast, Bai Qian appeared in the dining room right on time, just like every other day.

Jian Wanqing handed her the breakfast she’d reheated just two minutes earlier and took the initiative to ask, “It’s my birthday today. Did you prepare a gift for me?”

Bai Qian nodded. “I bought you a piece of clothing.”

Jian Wanqing wasn’t too particular about gifts. “I’ll try it on later, then. Is that all? This is our first birthday together, and you’re just giving me a single piece of clothing?”

For once, she looked stumped. She glanced at the other’s expression and, seeing nothing amiss, ventured cautiously, “How about I take you to the mall? You can pick out whatever you want.”

Jian Wanqing shook her head outright. “No.”

“Then I’ll take you out to have some fun?”

“No.”

“Um…” Bai Qian gave up. “Just tell me straight.”

But Jian Wanqing didn’t steer the conversation back to herself. Instead, she pressed down on the hand holding the chopsticks and asked, “Are you full?”

Bai Qian didn’t have a huge appetite; a bun and a bowl of soy milk usually did the trick.

Probably because she hadn’t eaten much the night before, she’d already polished off one bun, but her stomach still felt a bit empty. She answered honestly, “Not completely. I’ll wash an apple.”

Jian Wanqing didn’t give her the chance. Before she could stand, she leaned forward across the table.

“What is it?”

After answering with those words, she sealed them with a kiss.

Everything was self-evident.

Jian Wanqing loved adventure.

Bai Qian wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, but sometimes she couldn’t resist the woman’s pleas and would offer a hand, giving her the courage to weather any storm.

But those adventures always happened in the dead of night.

Today was a rare exception. In broad daylight, she was being dragged onto the “thief’s ship.”

~~~

“New World teleportation complete. Welcome, Guardian, to the New World. Objective—alter the fate of the female protagonist, humiliated by her arranged marriage.”

★★★

The limited-edition luxury car bumped along the muddy country lane.

Bai Qian sat quietly in the car, gazing at the rural scenery passing by outside the window.

She already knew the plot of this world. She raised a hand and rubbed her aching temple.

“Uncle Wang, are we almost there?”

“Almost, Miss. If you’re tired, why don’t you rest a bit longer?”

Bai Qian shook her head. Her doll-like, exquisitely refined face habitually curved into a faint smile. “I’m about to see my little sister. I won’t sleep.”

With that, her pale, tender fingers pressed the button to lower the window.

A natural breeze from the fields wafted in, tousling the stray hairs at her temple.

The slanting rays of the setting sun illuminated her near-perfect features, lending her already stunning beauty an almost ethereal quality.

Bai Qian felt the gentle breeze against her skin. Her expression relaxed as she closed her eyes and began to recall the original plot of this world.

The female protagonist of this world was named Chi Miaohan, the true young miss of the Bai Family who had been accidentally switched at birth.

And the original host whom Bai Qian had become was none other than the fake young miss who had swapped identities with her for so many years.

The female protagonist’s early life had been full of hardships.

Switched at birth, she had grown up in the wrong family.

At the age of three, she was unexpectedly abducted by human traffickers and sold for a mere thousand yuan to a reclusive woman in some remote village.

When she was twelve, her “buyer” passed away from illness. Unaware that she had been trafficked, Chi Miaohan gritted her teeth and persevered on her own for several years. Finally, thanks to her outstanding grades, she earned a spot at the nation’s top academy.

The Bai Family had always engaged in charitable work, and this time they planned to select a few promising children from her impoverished village to sponsor.

Had Chi Miaohan not resembled her mother, it might not have mattered—but the two were practically identical, carved from the same mold. Add to that the original host’s years of habits that didn’t quite match up, and suspicion was inevitably born.

There was no need to delve into the details of the verification process. In the end, Chi Miaohan returned to the Bai Family and became their second young miss.

On the surface, she and the original host were close sisters, but in private, they harbored deep resentment for each other.

The former hated the latter for stealing her life, while the latter despised the former for not simply dying in that godforsaken place and now returning to steal their parents’ love.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

The driver’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Bai Qian slowly opened her eyes.

At almost that exact moment, a figure emerged from the squat, dilapidated shack ahead.

Their gazes met from afar.