Chapter 95: Swapping Places

“Clothes. Take them off.”

The space inside the restroom stall was somewhat cramped. Hearing Qi Xin’s words, Greasepaint immediately stood ramrod straight, both hands covering her eyes, like a lifeless scarecrow.

Qi Ran felt a bit embarrassed. If Greasepaint had been staring at her blankly, like Qi Xin did, she wouldn’t feel any shyness at all. But once Greasepaint covered her eyes, Qi Ran instead became acutely aware of what was about to happen—which made her feel somewhat self-conscious.

She looked at Qi Xin and couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. Qi Xin’s movements weren’t hindered in the slightest. It was as if concepts like shame or self-respect simply didn’t exist in her mind. Her hands unbuttoned the white blouse one by one, taking off the outer jacket and the blouse together, hanging them on the hook to her left. Her upper body was left in only a white bra that hugged her form.

That bra didn’t look like a style Qi Xin would buy. For some reason, this strange thought suddenly surfaced in her mind lake—not that it didn’t suit Qi Xin. Rather, it suited her very well. It was a soft white, the edges adorned with thin, delicate lace, which softened even the expressionless Qi Xin, adding a touch of gentleness, like cotton.

Who bought it for her? Probably not Fang Qi. That rather rough-around-the-edges man didn’t seem like the type to notice these details at all. So it must have been that executor named Li Yuan. She seemed like the soft-hearted type. Treating Qi Xin like her own little sister wouldn’t be surprising.

Knowing Qi Xin’s personality, she surely accepted this kindness without any psychological burden. She had always been like that.

Her gaze wandered over the soft skin, unable to settle.

“Your turn.” Qi Xin said calmly.

Qi Ran withdrew her gaze, lowering her eyelids. She slowly took off her school uniform jacket and long-sleeved shirt, hanging them on the hook on the other side. After removing her upper garments, what covered her body wasn’t a bra, but a light-colored undershirt a developing girl would wear. The edges showed obvious signs of wear—it couldn’t be helped, she’d worn it for almost three years.

After taking off her top, she looked up at Qi Xin. She had been a little worried whether their figures might differ under their clothes, but it seemed a pointless concern now, because Qi Xin’s frame was just as slender and meager.

They stood face to face. The contrast in this scene was somewhat laughable. If this were an image in a mirror, it would surely be a sarcastic mirror proficient in mockery.

“The underwear too?”

She lowered her voice and saw Greasepaint, who was covering her eyes, tremble. Thought to herself, what exactly are you so afraid of? Sure, they were doing something wrong right now, but the problem was, if there were background music playing, it should be a 007 tune. Swapping identities was clearly a very spy-thriller atmosphere. Even if exposed, there’d be nothing shameful about it. But the issue was, Greasepaint had single-handedly made this supposedly solemn and austere atmosphere feel strange. She now felt increasingly reluctant to take off her undershirt. It felt like it would be very awkward.

“You need to take it off,” Qi Xin’s voice was equally low. Qi Ran could tell that even she, at this moment, had a hint of discomfort in her tone. “Underwear will be visible during the physical. That one you’re wearing now will raise suspicion.”

Qi Ran sighed silently. Left with no choice, she pulled off the slightly thin undershirt in one motion, covering her chest with an arm, and handed it to Qi Xin. Then she took the white bra. Her fingertips felt searing, shockingly hot—she put on that bra almost at lightning speed. After that, she reached out and put on Qi Xin’s blouse and jacket, one after the other. Both fit perfectly.

Once their upper halves were swapped, they moved to the lower half. With the previous experience, everything was exchanged quickly without needing to talk. The only thing that made Qi Ran a little uncomfortable was that Qi Xin was wearing a skirt below. Fortunately, it was at least a long skirt. Although it felt strange, it wasn’t too unbearable.

Finally, socks, shoes. Once everything was changed, Qi Xin stepped forward, reached out, and began tying up Qi Ran’s hair. Feeling Qi Xin’s approach, Qi Ran’s slender eyebrows unconsciously furrowed, but in the end, she said nothing, simply letting Qi Xin tie her hair.

After tying the hair, Qi Xin whispered to Greasepaint, “Please help adjust our hair color.”

Greasepaint opened her eyes. Seeing the scene before her, she was slightly stunned. The sight was too strange. The effect of clothing on a person was far greater than she imagined. Her previous impression of Qi Ran was: pretty, but a strange, assertive girl, wearing a school uniform jacket and trousers, with blue inner-dyed highlights. Of course, her features were beautiful, but that beauty was somewhat rough, a little sharp, like an erythrina flower blooming in a rocky crevice—vivid, yes, but having nothing to do with the word delicate.

But after changing into all of Qi Xin’s clothes and tying up her hair, those previously somewhat aggressive, sharp brows suddenly softened. A faint mist seemed to cloud her eyes, turning them gentle and warm, like a houseplant.

From the tied-up hair flowed conspicuous strands of blue. Greasepaint reached out, brushing over the blue, and it changed back to its original black.

Looking at the front again, Greasepaint almost couldn’t tell if the person before her was Qi Xin or Qi Ran.

It was only now that she finally realized a fact: besides their similar appearance, Qi Ran and Qi Xin’s temperaments were also alike. No matter how much Qi Ran didn’t want to admit it, it was still a fact. The expressions they unconsciously revealed were exactly the same.

“What time is it now?” Qi Xin asked.

“The phone is on you.” Qi Ran was about to remind her not to slip up in front of Xu Yan and Liu Xu, but instantly realized Qi Xin wouldn’t care about that at all. At worst, she’d just cut their lakes—no, rather, she would definitely cut their lakes directly, because that was the most efficient way.

“Six minutes left,” Qi Xin glanced at the phone. “No need to rush too much. Even if you’re late, as long as it’s not over ten minutes, it won’t be a problem.”

“What should I pay attention to?” Qi Ran thought for a moment, then asked. “For example, that Li Yuan?”

“It shouldn’t be hard for you to play me,” Qi Xin said. “Nothing special you need to note. Just remember to call her ‘Sister’ in your address—actually, it’s fine even without ‘Sister’. She’s a bit slow by nature. She probably won’t notice anything wrong.”

Qi Ran nodded.

“The physical will probably take about an hour. I’ll come back here in an hour to wait for you,” Qi Xin looked at Greasepaint and said softly, “Please wait here for us.”

Greasepaint nodded. Qi Ran didn’t understand exactly what modifications Qi Xin had made to her lake, but clearly, this girl, who never had much of her own opinion to begin with, now completely viewed Qi Xin as someone whose arrangements had to be followed.

“For methods like yours, is there really no way to guard against them?” Qi Ran asked quietly.

“Tian Xi said I’m special. Other Lake Cutters all need to gain trust first, then have skin contact, and finally make the other person’s mind lake fully open,” Qi Xin said indifferently as Greasepaint dyed her hair blue. “Open your heart, open your heart. Once the heart is open, ordinary Lake Cutters can succeed. That’s why many Lake Cutters without talent use a clumsy method—wearing them down with time. If the other person’s heart truly remains closed, then they just slowly wear down the door in their mind lake over time, succeeding eventually.”

Qi Ran nodded and said nothing more.

“Lastly,” Qi Xin paused, “hold out your right hand.”

“You’re going to bite me.” Qi Ran suddenly understood her intention. Her brows knitted together. “No one knows you’re injured.”

“And what about when I go back?” Qi Xin said calmly. “Or rather, what about when you go back? The wound won’t match.”

“Since you’re going to cut their lakes anyway, why not just make them forget the wound along with everything else?” Qi Ran said, annoyed. “You just want revenge. Petty.”

“I’ve never used Lake Cutting on Li Yuan,” Qi Xin drawled, in no hurry, standing right at the stall door. “Yes, I want revenge. Hold out your hand. I’ll control the force.”