Chapter 8: 8

“Qin Juran, you!” Ruan Nan flustered at the double meaning behind her words. Qin Juran’s naturally flirtatious face looked bolder than ever in front of her, putting her at a momentary loss of words. Ruan Nan muttered, “You’re like a different person all of a sudden.”

Pursing her lips in response, Qin Juran retracted and began tidying up the used cotton swabs. “Make sure you drive slowly. This road is poorly lit.” She moved to get out of the car.

“Qin Juran,” Ruan Nan called behind her. “Aren’t you going to ask what I came here for today?”

Qin Juran lazily raised an eyebrow. “If it’s about Fan Chuan, then sorry, I’m not interested.”

“Qin Juran.”

“Hmm?” Qin Juran turned her head back.

“Which brand?”

“Huh?”

“Your perfume.” Ruan Nan had previously caught a whiff of Qin Juran’s sweet scent; it reminded her of some designer brand’s bluebell perfume, yet it wasn’t overbearing at all. The faint scent that tickled her nose had an inexplicable kind of charm. It was simply…mesmerizing.

Qin Juran froze, letting out a surprised laugh. “You like my scent?”

“I—I’m asking for a friend.”

“Ah.” Without replying, Qin Juran opened the door and got out.

When she arrived in her room, Huang Ying was in the middle of her footbath, while Feng Jing questioned her on sight: “Are you alright, Qin Juran?”

Qin Juran took a sip of water as she wondered, How did Ruan Nan know I was over by the lovers’ hill?

She peered at Feng Jing, who’s worried expression was mixed with interest, and innocently raised an eyebrow. “I went to buy a bottle of water – what makes you think I wouldn’t be alright?”

“I –”

“Or perhaps you knew that I went to meet someone?” Qin Juran turned towards Feng Jing, examining her with a pensive expression. Unlike the teasing look she gave Ruan Nan, her current one was of disdain, as if she were watching a lousy clown performance.

“I don’t know.” Feng Jing’s voice betrayed a high-pitched feigned innocence. She clamped her mouth shut and pretended to busy herself with something.

Too tired to bother with her, Qin Juran took a shower and climbed into bed.

In her previous life, she could knock down 10 of these fools like Feng Jing in one punch – but things were different now.

Honestly, she had to thank her for facilitating certain developments.

Ruan Nan was scared of the dark and of ghosts; In the original novel, Qin Juran had taken advantage of this fear and, on an excursion to the amusement park, confessed to Fan Chuan in the haunted house.

Tsk. Well, this time, the girl had brought it upon herself.

—

By the time Ruan Nan returned to her apartment, Zhou Ziqing and the others had left, leaving an empty feeling in the large rooms. The bandage that Qin Juran applied was waterproof, so she was able to shower without irritating the wound. Ruan Nan walked out of the bathroom wearing a fresh robe, plopping down onto the sofa. As she blow-dried her hair, her eyes lingered on the box of cigarettes lying on the table, full except for one cigarette.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about Qin Juran these days made her seem like a completely different person. She could be deliberately acting, but that personality change wasn’t something you could fake so easily.

The light scent of bluebells seemed to linger in the air, and suddenly, Ruan Nan realized something surprising: She didn’t feel any annoyance or resentment despite all the things Qin Juran had done the past few days.

Rather, it was kind of…exciting.

Ruan Nan shook her head, picking up her phone to send a message:

【Mr. Chen, you there?】

The reply was instant: 【Is there anything you need, Miss?】

【Would you mind looking into someone for me? The name is Qin Juran, female, also lives in A district. Her family owns a cafe nearby.】

【What’s wrong? Is she bullying you? I will find someone to take care of her.】

Ruan Nan burst into a laugh: 【Mr. Chen, I wouldn’t let anyone bully me. Could you find out if her family got into any trouble lately? She’s my high school classmate – I ran into her recently, but she changed so drastically. 】

【No problem, you can count on me.】

【Thank you, Mr. Chen.】

【Also, Miss, I know I do not have the right to ask, but are you really not coming home soon? President Ruan is always speaking of you…】

【I’m tired, Sir, I’m going to rest now.】Ruan Nan furrowed her brows, feeling as if a load of pressure was pressing down on her. She threw her phone to the side, wanting to avoid the question.

The next day, Ruan Nan walked into class to find a group of students surrounding her desk, pointing at something. Since each student had a designated desk, the group quickly dispersed once they saw Ruan Nan arrive. Pairs of eyes stared at her expectantly, as if waiting for a show.

Ruan Nan was still recovering from yesterday’s injury, her knees wobbling as she walked to her desk. When she was close enough to notice the objects placed atop of it, she froze in her step.

There were three bottles of “Blue Moon” detergent, neatly placed in a triangular pattern on the desk.

She turned her head towards Qin Juran, who was sitting at her desk looking uninterested. Ruan Nan grabbed a bottle of detergent and walked over, slamming it on the table. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Qin Juran pulled out her headphones. She instinctively glanced at Ruan Nan’s knees – the wound was partially covered by her skirt, but it looked much better than yesterday. Then, she looked up and met Ruan Nan’s eyes. “My gift to you.”

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“Is this a joke?”

The entire class was focused on the two – especially Feng Jing, whose neck was practically squished between theirs. Qin Juran’s eyes glanced around, finally focusing on the words “Light and Breezy White Lotus” plastered on the bottle. She suddenly realized what Ruan Nan must’ve misunderstood.

Around her, there were endless whispers about “washing clean” and “getting rid of impurities” and so on. Qin Juran could only laugh, pointing to the words on the bottle and mouthing, “This scent.”

Ruan Nan also realized her meaning. Last night, she asked which perfume Qin Juran was wearing – So, this is her answer?  And in this manner?

Ruan Nan let out a cold laugh. “Very funny, Qin Juran. From now on, don’t let any of your stuff get in my sight again.”

“Also, I think this scent only suits you.” She proceeded to grab the other two bottles and threw them onto Qin Juran’s desk.

More and more whispering and pointing incited around them, the atmosphere growing increasingly excited. Qin Juran looked around, making out the words “purify” and “white lotus” amongst the chatter. She didn’t care to explain, and only stretched out on her seat, lazily calling out to Ruan Nan’s back:
“That’s not what you said last night.”

“Wha – ”

The entire class seemed to explode. Meanwhile, Ruan Nan froze in place, biting down on her lip as she turned back to face Qin Juran. Finally, she limped back to her desk silently.

Qin Juran also did not say anything else, sticking her headphones back in her ears and slowly put the detergent away amongst the stares.

——-

Over the next few days, Qin Juran dutifully attended her classes. Novels being novels, much of the daily life was omitted in the original story; But now that she was living in it, she had to take it day by day.

In the original novel, there was little interaction between the main leads to begin with. Combined with Qin Juran’s purposeful distancing, she managed to avoid seeing Fan Chuan for the past few days.

Qin Juran vaguely remembered the dinner party performance that the counselor had spoken about. She asked the class arts committee leader for the script; it turned out to be based on a historical English story depicting a European monarchy. She had never heard of anything like it – perhaps it was an original in this world.

Qin Juran skimmed over the stereotypical storyline of the play. Her role was the exiled, wandering true princess, while Ruan Nan played the false princess who usurped the throne. Meanwhile, Fan Chuan was the valiant knight who would bravely command the downfall of the dark tyranny, restoring the real princess to her throne.

Qin Juran felt like the reaction picture of the old man on the subway squinting into his phone. 1

How about the false princess falls for the real princess at first sight, compelling her to send soldiers across the land, searching day and night for the princess so that she could finally confess her blossoming love, leading to a happily ever after where the two rule the land together – wouldn’t that be nice?

As she was imagining this other plot, Qin Juran’s phone suddenly began vibrating. She glanced at the incoming caller ID: “Qin Julai.”

Qin Juran’s hand shook, nearly pressing the “end call” button.

The music continued to ring until Huang Ying gave a shout, jolting Qin Juran out of her stupor. She finally walked out to the balcony and answered, “Hello?”

“Big sister!”

The voice coming from the phone was her “younger brother,” Qin Julai. She responded awkwardly, “Hey, bro…”

“What’s wrong, sis? Your voice sounds weird.”

Ever since Qin Juran transmigrated into this world, she hadn’t had any contact with her “family” – the first phone call was bound to be difficult. “Nope, nothing’s wrong. Are you on vacation already?” Qin Juran scrambled for words; there was not much written about her brother in the original novel, so she only knew that he was currently a first-year in high school.

A bright laugh rang out from the phone: “Sis, all that studying is getting your mind muddled. Today’s Saturday!”

“Oh right, Saturday. So, what’s up?”

There was a distinct pause on the other end of the call. “Dad is wondering when you’re coming back for National Day 2 so he can pick you up from the bus station.”

“National Day, National Day…Do I come back for National Day every year?” Qin Juran felt doubtful. Sure, the university wasn’t far from home, but was it really necessary to go back for such a small holiday?

“Oh…so you’re not coming again. Okay.”  Qin Julai’s voice dropped.

Before Qin Juran could come up with an excuse to console him, he continued adamantly: “Sis, Mom knows that you don’t wear a lot even though you get cold easily, so she wanted to measure you when you come home to make leg warmers for you. And when Dad heard that you’d be coming back, he started opening the café two hours earlier just so he could spend more time with you later…But it looks like that’s not happening…again…”

The boy’s innocent voice was noticeably disheartened, each word he let out piercing into Qin Juran’s heart. At a loss, she finally responded, “You little punk, I was just saying that I don’t know the details yet, okay? Tell Dad that he doesn’t need to pick me up, but I’ll be back for National Day. Let’s have a good meal together.”

“Yay!” the boy immediately exclaimed.

Qin Juran couldn’t hold back a smile. “Make sure you’re keeping up with your studies – I’ll be testing you later.”

“Yes sir! I will follow my hardworking sister’s footsteps.”

The two of them spoke a little more then ended the call. Afterward, Qin Juran looked through the WeChat profiles of her family, inspecting the pictures of her “Dad,” “Mom,” and “Younger Brother.” A strange feeling washed over her as she shut off her phone.

In her previous life, she had lost her mother when she was a child, while her father was on business trips all year round. Although she lived lavishly, she never felt like she had a true “family.” Now, in this new body, she had to play the role of a loving daughter with a bunch of strangers. Naturally, Qin Juran felt rather uncomfortable.

There was another reason, as well.

Qin Juran fidgeted with the flowers on the balcony sill, pinching them and letting go. She raised her head and took a deep breath.

Actually, these poverty-stricken parents weren’t the original Qin Juran’s birth parents.

In the midst of the novel’s face-slapping arc, Qin Juran returns to her biological parents, transforming into a wealthy heiress overnight. She accustomed to her new lifestyle quickly, while her foster parents were soon forgotten, so Qin Juran had thought that their relationship wasn’t very close.

Looks like this was not going to be as simple as she thought.

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Footnotes

in case you’re wondering which pic… https://api.jikipedia.com/upload/c6ec7440957971d0c3dd8d29124464cf_scaled.jpgHAHA  Chinese holiday commemorating the founding of the People’s Republic of China, typically celebrated during the week of October 1st 

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