“It’s not even the betrayal I care about most; it’s the lies and the deception,” Gu Xueqiang said. “You have to realize that the world of emotions is very small. If you’re betrayed, you can choose to cut ties then and there—there’s an end to it. But deception… deception is different.”
Gu Qingshuang asked, “So you’re going to spend the rest of your life entangled with him?”
Gu Xueqiang didn’t answer for a long time. Just as Gu Qingshuang thought she wouldn’t get a response, her mother whispered, “Maybe it will end one day.”
Gu Xueqiang didn’t know if Gu Qingshuang fully understood her point. After everything she’d said, the core message was simple: the world of emotions is too small to hold three people. In such a situation, Gu Qingshuang had to make a choice.
However, seeing Gu Qingshuang nodding repeatedly, Gu Xueqiang decided not to push further. Some things were best left with a gentle hint.
When Gu Qingshuang left the house, she took out her phone. After a moment of hesitation, she sent a WeChat message to Little Xi, wishing her luck on the Gaokao and hoping she would perform well and get into her dream school. For Gu Qingshuang, this was a significant gesture.
When Little Xi finished her Literature exam and got her phone back, she was having lunch with Ming Li and the others. She excitedly showed her screen to her sister. “Sis! Look! My sister-in-law has finally seen the light!”
Ming Li glanced at it but didn’t say much. She smiled and asked, “Was the exam hard?”
“It was alright,” Little Xi replied. “I’ve done so many practice exams that it didn’t feel much different.”
“That’s good. Eat up and then get some sleep this afternoon,” Ming Li said. “I booked a hotel nearby. We’ll head there in a bit.”
Little Xi happily ate, commenting on how great her life was.
After lunch, Ms. Ming rested in the room next door while Ming Li and Little Xi stayed together in another room. After a while, Little Xi asked, “How are things going between you and my sister-in-law?”
She used a playful, cutesy tone, but Ming Li answered calmly, “It’s fine.”
“Does ‘fine’ mean there’s progress? Or is it the same as before?”
Ming Li thought it over. “There’s some progress, but not much.”
Little Xi pouted, then hesitated before saying, “I heard some gossip. Do you want to know?”
“What’s it about?” Ming Li asked.
“Shen Chang’s sister,” Little Xi whispered, leaning in. “You know, that Shen Lideng.”
Ming Li tucked her phone under her pillow and crossed her arms, looking at her. “Go on, then.”
“Word is she tried to kill herself,” Little Xi said, lowering her voice further. “But I heard another version where Shen Chang was the one who tried to kill her.”
Ming Li’s eyes widened. “What?”
Little Xi was still typing away on her phone, likely exchanging the latest info with friends.
Ming Li frowned. “Is the source reliable? How do you know this?”
“It should be. A girl in my class—her mom is a maid at the Shen house. Her mom let it slip yesterday, and she told us in our group chat.” Little Xi was practically vibrating with the intensity of the gossip, especially since the girl was deleting messages as she sent them.
“Why would she tell you? In the class group?” Ming Li asked, verifying the source.
Little Xi shook her head. “No way! Just in our group of four. Me, Shi Sui, and our class monitor. We’re all tight-lipped and we all hate Shen Chang. We just vent about him privately.”
Ming Li wanted to see the chat, but Little Xi only showed her some screenshots. The information from the “leaker” was vague, which actually made it seem more authentic.
[I’m definitely getting a 740 on the Gaokao]: My mom told me to stay far away from Shen Chang at school. He’s a total maniac right now.
[Going to Capital University]: I’m in the same exam hall as Shen Chang. He didn’t show up today.
[Sui-Sui]: Is that guy some kind of violent monster? I feel like he totally is!
Little Xi had been lurking and reading, occasionally sending an emoji.
Ming Li finished reading and handed the phone back. “Focus on your exams first.”
Little Xi hummed in agreement. She was a bit puzzled by Ming Li’s lack of reaction but didn’t have time to ask. People in the group were already tagging her for the answers to the multiple-choice questions.
Little Xi refused to give them out. Instead, she posted her pre-exam study materials. [The exam is over, it’s done. Focus on this afternoon’s subject.]
After sending that, Little Xi studied for a bit until she got sleepy. As she set her phone aside, she noticed Ming Li was deep in thought. “Sis, what are you thinking about?”
“I suddenly feel like Shen Lideng is quite pitiful,” Ming Li said. “Maybe she’s only ever been loved by one person in her life.”
Alarm bells rang in Little Xi’s head. “Sis! Don’t let your sympathy run wild! Her being pitiful is her business; it has nothing to do with you. You didn’t give birth to her, and you didn’t kill her. Don’t go thinking you should give Sister-in-law back to her just because of this…”
“It’s not my place to ‘give’ anyone away,” Ming Li laughed. “You’re overthinking.”
Little Xi grumbled, “If it was your place, you really would do it, wouldn’t you?”
Ming Li didn’t answer. She was just wondering: did Gu Qingshuang know about this yet?
The two days of the Gaokao flew by, and a grand celebration was on the horizon.
Little Xi and her classmates began planning a graduation trip. Before picking a destination, she asked Ming Li, who recommended a coastal city. Ming Li even sent her a red envelope with some spending money.
Zhu Hanxing also sent Little Xi a large red envelope. Little Xi screenshotted it for Ming Li, declaring that her sister had the best friends in the world.
Ming Li replied: [Just take it. Buy Hanxing a gift while you’re out.]
Little Xi: [Like what? A local specialty?]
Ming Li: [Chun Liuyi merchandise.]
Little Xi: […Damn!]
Little Xi: [The ‘Stars on the Willow Path’ ship is real!]
Ming Li sent an emoji without elaborating. Little Xi didn’t press. Then, Little Xi sent another screenshot from her group chat. New information: Shen Lideng wasn’t dead; she had been stabilized in the ICU.
Ming Li let out a breath of relief.
She had actually had a nightmare about it two nights ago. She was back in that dense, inescapable forest, surrounded by mist and stifling heat. It felt like she was carrying a thousand-pound weight on her back, making every step an agony.
In her moment of desperation, someone had handed her a bamboo tube filled with water. In that forest, water was a precious rarity. Ming Li couldn’t see the person’s face, only their dark, resolute eyes.
Gradually, the image shifted, and the eyes began to form a face: Shen Lideng’s face.
Ming Li had jolted awake, unable to tell dream from reality for a moment. She had had this dream many times, but Shen Lideng had never appeared in it before. Because the setting felt so real, she still couldn’t tell if it was a memory or something her mind had fabricated.
She’d woken up with a racing heart that morning, and she’d been distracted all day. Regardless of everything else, it was still a human life. Knowing she had survived made Ming Li feel a bit lighter. In life, everything besides death is a small matter.
Ming Li had wanted to ask Gu Qingshuang if she knew several times, but Gu Qingshuang seemed normal—sleeping, eating, and working. Having started her “internship” at the Gu Group, Gu Qingshuang was incredibly busy. Occasionally, they worked together in the study, and it was quite harmonious.
![Why You Get to Be the Protagonist? [Transmigration]](https://i3.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/masterr.png?resize=151,215 "Why You Get to Be the Protagonist? [Transmigration]")
