T/N: @Dexter are you happy now? Started this mini blog for a worrisome friend just to translate this novel lol. Since it's my first time being daring, show me a lot of love. This is a very interesting novel, enjoy~
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According to the news, Beijing will usher in the hottest summer in the past 50 years starting from this month.
In the old house without air conditioning, the scorching sun had turned it into a living steam box, even making the air feel thin and steamy.
Ji Ruan was awakened by the vibration of his phone. He opened his eyes but had no intention of answering it; he just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Nothing had changed.
The cramped room, barely five square meters, with its yellowing, peeling walls, had an old calendar of unknown vintage taped to the wooden door. The calendar's edges were badly damaged and faded, and one corner was drooping lifelessly after the adhesive had given way in the stifling heat.
Ji Ruan lay on the bed, the mattress beneath him so hot it felt like it might catch fire. The sticky, clammy sensation all over his body forced him to acknowledge that he had indeed transmigrated into a book.
And it was an ancient, dog blood abuse novel, where he, the pitifully abused protagonist, had a contractual marriage with the domineering male lead and was tortured physically and mentally 800 times.
As for the title of the novel, he did not remember, but he knows that the poor protagonist Shou had the same name as himself and the old husband he entered into a marriage contract with was surnamed Gu, Gu Xiuyi.
In the last two years of Ji Ruan's life, he was bedridden with a severe illness, almost completely cut off from any outside interaction. His only joy was listening to his cousin talk about various melodramatic novels.
In one of them, the protagonist had the same first and last name as him. His cousin had teased him back then, saying that his name sounded like the Shou character in a novel, saying that in traditional dog-blood novels, the domineering CEO would always have the surname Gu, and the weak Shou would always have a name that included "Ruan."
At that time, Ji Ruan still had some strength left, and he managed to prop himself up to give her a smack on the back of her head. His cousin, holding her head, angrily cursed him to transmigrate into a book.
Unexpectedly, her words came true.
After Ji Ruan died, he really did transmigrate.
Although he only lived to be a short 20 years old, Ji Ruan's family was well-off and had enough food and clothing. He had never experienced living in such a rundown cottage, nor did he experience sleeping through a night feeling as hot as a sauna during the summer.
The high temperature made Ji Ruan's brain stop working, and the phone beside his pillow kept vibrating incessantly. He mechanically reached out to grab it.
— Assistant Song.
Gu Xiuyi's most capable assistant. As far as Ji Ruan could remember, when the marriage agreement was signed, it was always this assistant who brought the lawyer to talk to him. As the main party involved, Mr. Gu never showed up.
The phone was a very old model, and who knows how many times it had been damaged. The touch screen was extremely unresponsive, and Ji Ruan had to tap several times to hang up the call.
After the signal was received on the other end, several WeChat messages popped up immediately.
[Mr. Ji, have you packed your things? I’m on my way to pick you up.]
[I will arrive in about 20 minutes.]
Ji Ruan stared at the screen for two seconds before he remembered that he was supposed to be picked up and taken to Gu Xiuyi's house.
Ji Ruan could access the original body's memories, but not all of them; only those related to the plot would be activated when encountered. It was as if the world in the book was also lazy, only bothering to fill in the details when Ji Ruan could see them.
He and Gu Xiuyi were getting married by agreement, which meant that after being taken to Gu Xiuyi's house, he would soon have to register his marriage with this man he had never met.
Ji Ruan's fingertips trembled slightly as he held his phone.
In the end, he picked up the sealed agreement at the end of the bed and quickly skimmed through it. Despite Ji Ruan's once wealthy family background, when he saw the number of zeros following the amount he would receive after the agreement expired, his eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
After a moment, Ji Ruan calmly typed a message.
[I'm ready, thank you.]
Assistant Song replied with a big smiley face.
The bathroom door had just closed, and the sound of the shower hadn't been on for two seconds before the door opened again. Ji Ruan, looking somewhat flustered, stepped out barefoot, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor tiles.
He took off a small object from behind his right ear. It was black and perfectly contoured to fit behind his ear.
Ji Ruan wrapped the small object in two napkins, pressed it gently, then placed it back behind his ear. After focusing for a few seconds, his slightly tense shoulders relaxed. He took the small object off again and placed it on the table before heading to the bathroom.
He has a hearing impairment.
One ear has partial hearing loss, and the other is almost completely deaf. He relies on a cochlear implant that was implanted when he was a child to barely get by.
Part of the cochlear implant is implanted under the skin behind the ear, and the other part is a behind-the-ear external device. When worn, he can hear, but when removed, he is essentially deaf.
This delicate piece of equipment was expensive and fragile. It couldn’t be bumped or get wet. Ji Ruan, still not accustomed to this body he recently took over, directly went to shower with it on.
The body's conditioned reflexes told Ji Ruan that this small device was extremely valuable. Almost as soon as water hit his body, his heart tightened, and he hurriedly jumped out, nearly slipping and getting a big scare.
Hot water poured down continuously, enveloping Ji Ruan from head to toe. He closed his eyes and wiped his face, silently reminding himself that he must avoid falling and getting drenched in the rain in the future. He needed to take good care of his little ears since his ability to hear relied entirely on this seemingly insignificant device.
Assistant Song had said he would arrive in 20 minutes, so Ji Ruan didn't waste any time. He quickly took a shower and came out.
Without his cochlear implant, the world was completely silent. Even the sound of the hairdryer was faint and muffled. It felt like his ears were blocked with stones—not tightly, but just enough to let some sounds through. However, these faint sounds were distorted and eerie, better than nothing but still unsettling.
The unfamiliar sensation made Ji Ruan's back tingle. He sped up drying his hair, but when his fingertips touched the area behind his ear, he jerked away as if electrocuted.
Ji Ruan stood there in a daze, his chest rising and falling slightly. After a moment, he raised his hand again to touch the skin behind his right ear.
It was hard, with a slightly raised circular outline, clearly discernible to his fingertips.
——It was an implanted cochlear device.
The original body's hair was relatively long, covering the tips of the ears and usually hiding the small external black device, making it look no different from a normal person to the naked eye.
Ji Ruan hadn't expected it to feel so obvious to the touch.
An unfamiliar part melted into his flesh, rooted in his bones and blood. It was only at this moment that Ji Ruan truly felt that this was indeed a new body and that he had arrived in another world.
Ji Ruan put down the hair dryer and wiped the mirror with his hand. The mist-covered mirror suddenly cleared, reflecting the face of a young boy.
It looked exactly like Ji Ruan’s original appearance.
To be precise, it looked exactly like Ji Ruan at eighteen years old.
When he was eighteen, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and by the time he was about to die at twenty, his family hadn't allowed him to look in the mirror for a long time.
Ji Ruan could roughly guess that he must have looked quite awful back then, lying in the hospital bed covered in tubes, lifeless and gaunt.
But now, the boy in the mirror, although somewhat malnourished and thin, had full cheeks and incredibly bright eyes. This was Ji Ruan at his most vibrant.
Ji Ruan's eyes grew hot. Although he had entered a book, it felt as if fate had given him another chance at life.
Ji Ruan returned to the small room, where a small silver suitcase stood next to the desk. The original owner had packed up his belongings, and there wasn’t much to take.
A blue toy was clipped to the handle of the suitcase. Ji Ruan glanced at it; it was the mascot of Peking University, and the university's emblem was also printed on the suitcase.
The original character was set to be a poor but resilient person with excellent academic performance who was admitted to the Chinese Department of Peking University.
Ji Ruan had also been accepted to such a prestigious university back then, but couldn't attend due to illness.
He sat down on the spot, leaning against the suitcase with his head resting on his arms. Looking up, he could see the tall trees outside through the small window.
This was a very old neighborhood. Over the years, the trees had grown thick and lush. The green leaves, baked by the scorching sun, appeared wilted. The cicadas were probably buzzing loudly, but the sound seemed somewhat distorted as it reached his ears.
Ji Ruan closed his eyes, his forehead resting against the back of his hand.
It didn't matter if his hearing was poor; at least he was still alive.
This time, he wanted to live more easily, more happily...
Ji Ruan thought aimlessly. After sitting for just a little while, the tiles beneath him seemed to start heating up.
It was too hot.
Ji Ruan felt stifled and breathless, his head spinning. Relying on his memory, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, inserted a straw, and took a sip.
Just as he took a small sip, his phone started vibrating, and it seemed like there was also a knock at the door. Ji Ruan got up, went to the door, and opened it, then saw the familiar face of Assistant Song from his memory.
People who work in an office always wear suits, and today was no exception. However, probably because it was too hot from climbing the stairs, Assistant Song had taken off his jacket, and a small patch of his shirt collar was soaked with sweat, even his forehead was covered in sweat.
Ji Ruan paused for a moment, pulled out two tissues, and handed them to him. “I don't have an elevator here, sorry you had to walk up.”
Assistant Song, ever well-mannered, accepted the tissues and smiled. “It’s my duty.”
On such a hot day, Ji Ruan naturally wouldn't invite him into his sweltering room for tea. He nodded to Assistant Song and without delay, went back to his room to fetch his suitcase.
Song Ling watched Ji Ruan's retreating figure. The young man wore old T-shirts and shorts, living in a place with nothing but bare walls. He hadn't had a good life since childhood, yet his skin remained transparently fair.
Previously, when signing agreements, they would all sit down, so this was the first time Song Ling noticed how attractive Ji Ruan's walking posture was. Ji Ruan didn’t try to stand up straight, nor did he seem timid and cautious as the information suggested. Instead, he appeared naturally relaxed, which was incompatible with the dilapidated little house.
Song Ling inexplicably felt his boss choosing Ji Ruan was like pulling a white radish out of the mud, only to take it home, clean it, and be pleasantly surprised to find it was a piece of fine jade.
The car stopped downstairs, and after Ji Ruan got in, the blast of cold air made him break out in goosebumps, but he finally felt some relief from the heat, and even his heat-induced headache improved significantly.
The high-end black sedan carried Ji Ruan out of the run-down neighborhood, weaving through the concrete jungle of the city, and eventually drove into a villa district in the west of the city.
This place was worlds apart from the neighborhood where he originally lived, surrounded by green trees, with spotless roads, and scattered standalone villas. Each one was spaced far enough apart to ensure ample privacy.
The car drove all the way to the innermost part before stopping. This was a newly developed wealthy area, with each villa uniquely designed. The one in front of him had a particularly distinctive appearance.
——It had no sharp edges.
The sharp corners typically required for normal buildings were replaced by smooth curves, giving the entire structure a gray-white appearance. A gray staircase extended from the open-air balcony on the left side of the second floor, gracefully curving into the backyard.
Against the backdrop of the green forest, the entire villa resembled a shimmering piece of gray moonstone.
"There's an open-air swimming pool at the back," Song Ling said, following Ji Ruan's gaze. "If you're on the second floor, it's much closer to go down from there."
The sunlight was scorching. After standing for a while, Ji Ruan's cheeks were flushed and his lips dry.
Song Ling opened a black umbrella and quickened his pace, leading Ji Ruan across the well-manicured lawn towards the house.
In fact, they could have entered through the side door to the underground garage and then taken the internal elevator up, avoiding the sun entirely.
But Gu Xiuyi had specifically instructed that Ji Ruan should enter through the front door.
Assistant Song didn't understand why, in a marriage of convenience with no emotional foundation, it was necessary to follow the traditional wedding protocols from centuries ago, making the bride, whom he hadn't even met, enter through the front door and endure the discomfort of the sun.
But Mr. Gu always paid meticulous attention to these details.
The interior style of the villa matched the exterior perfectly, featuring a uniformly cold and minimalist design with not a single unnecessary decoration.
At the entrance stood a kind-looking woman of about fifty. Song Ling introduced her, "This is Aunt Zhao. She has always taken care of Mr. Gu, and now she will be responsible for your daily needs."
The people around Gu Xiuyi were all well-mannered. Aunt Zhao greeted with a smile, "Mr. Ji."
This body was only eighteen years old. Even when Ji Ruan died back then, he was just twenty. Being so politely addressed as "Mr." by an elder made Ji Ruan a bit uncomfortable.
He touched the tip of his nose and smiled, "Hello, Aunt Zhao. Just call me Xiao Ruan."
Aunt Zhao didn't insist otherwise. She smiled and replied, "Alright. By the way, this is Mr. Gu's cat, named Xiao An."
As she spoke, she rubbed the head of the large cat beside her leg. It was a huge, light silver Maine Coon. Sitting down, it almost reached Aunt Zhao's knees. At first glance, Ji Ruan nearly mistook it for a medium-sized dog.
Xiao An looked fierce and noble. Under Aunt Zhao's guidance, it only symbolically rubbed against Ji Ruan's calf before leisurely walking away.
Aunt Zhao glanced at the large cat with a smile and then led Ji Ruan upstairs to see his room.
To be fair, Gu Xiuyi had not mistreated his marriage partner—the room was very spacious, well-lit, and fully equipped with a walk-in closet and bathroom. The walk-in closet alone was larger than Ji Ruan's entire small room.
It had been specially decorated too, with a style entirely different from the minimalist coldness of the rest of the villa. It was very—Ji Ruan looked around and couldn't help but smile—cartoonish.
There were two large stuffed bears on the bed, a khaki-colored plush carpet on the floor, and even the fabric curtains were printed with goofy cartoon bears. On the desk, there was a chubby, silly-looking Q-version lucky cat.
Song Ling couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward when Ji Ruan didn't say anything.
At the time, Gu Xiuyi had only instructed him to make the room feel a bit cozy, but when he told the renovation company, he added, "The owner of the room is young, so the colors should be lively."
Unexpectedly, the final result looked almost like a children's room.
Song Ling coughed and, without changing his expression, passed the blame to his boss: "Mr. Gu hopes you find it comfortable to live here, so he specifically requested a warm style for the room."
Ji Ruan's delicate white fingers played with the paw of the lucky cat. No one knew what he was thinking, but a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Thank you, I like it very much."
Three days later, in the car.
The man in the back seat had his eyes slightly closed, resting. His tall figure was hidden in the shadows.
Song Ling, in the front passenger seat, turned his head to glance at him, knowing he wasn't asleep, and reported in a low voice, "Madam knows you are getting married and is a bit unsettled."
The dim light outside the window reflected off the man's indifferent lips. Gu Xiuyi's expression didn't change, and even the fingers resting on his thigh didn't pause. He said lightly, "The day she can remain calm is the day I'll start taking her seriously."
Hearing this, Song Ling pursed his lips and said no more.
After a moment, a deep voice came from the back seat: "Ji Ruan, what do you think of him?"
What?
This question was too broad.
Song Ling nodded. Ji Ruan was one of the many impoverished students Gu Xiuyi sponsored—hearing impaired, physically weak, and orphaned, but with excellent academic performance.
Gu Xiuyi hated anything troublesome and tedious. Even when choosing a marriage partner, he left it to his subordinates to handle, selecting them like employees through layers of resume screening, cold and devoid of human warmth.
Ji Ruan, being outstanding yet fragile, with no relatives to worry about, was the perfect candidate.
Song Ling hesitated for a moment, then carefully said, "Very quiet, speaks little, hasn't caused any trouble in the three days at the house. Before meals, he thanks Aunt Zhao, and after eating, he gently pushes the chair back and wipes his mouth from left to right..."
Gu Xiuyi frowned.
Song Ling paused for a moment: "...Is something wrong?"
Gu Xiuyi pressed his temples: "No need to be so detailed."
He didn't care at all whether his future partner wiped his mouth from left to right or right to left.
Song Ling let out an "Ah" and said awkwardly, "Okay."
Gu Xiuyi lowered his hand: "Anything else?"
Song Ling thought for a moment: "Oh right, Mr. Ji changed his bed yesterday morning, saying he wasn't sleeping well."
It was just a bed after all, and since Gu Xiuyi didn't ask, Song Ling hadn't thought it was a big deal.
Sure enough, Gu Xiuyi closed his eyes again, clearly not concerned.
Song Ling looked ahead and asked, "We're almost there. Do you need me to contact them first?"
"No need, let's go straight in."
The villa's first floor had an open kitchen. As soon as Gu Xiuyi stepped out of the elevator, he caught a faint whiff of mung bean soup. Aunt Zhao was just about to start preparing dinner.
Xiao An, with his tall figure, appeared aloof, but he was actually quite fond of people. He was vigorously rubbing against Gu Xiuyi's trouser legs.
Gu Xiuyi rubbed the big cat's head, took off his suit jacket, and handed it to Aunt Zhao. He glanced around the living room and casually asked, "Where is he?"
Aunt Zhao understood his meaning and took the suit jacket, saying, "He was napping in his room earlier. He's probably awake by now."
Gu Xiuyi nodded, his face showing no emotion. He went to the sink to wash his hands and asked, "Is he easy to get along with?"
Aunt Zhao had been taking care of him since Gu Xiuyi was ten years old, so their relationship was close. She replied simply, "That kid is very well-behaved, but I noticed he's a bit frail. He might have been overheated a few days ago, and lately, he hasn't had much of an appetite. He prefers eating fruits."
She smiled, "But he takes his meals seriously. He must really like my cooking."
Aunt Zhao was skilled in cooking, and nothing made her happier than others enjoying her food.
Gu Xiuyi smiled and dried his hands. "I'll go up and check on him."
"Okay," Aunt Zhao replied.
Seeing his boss turn away, Song Ling quickly stuffed a piece of apple that Aunt Zhao had cut for him and quietly followed upstairs.
The room that Gu Xiuyi chose for Ji Ruan had really good lighting. The door was mostly closed, and there was hazy natural light scattered through the gaps.
Gu Xiuyi glanced through the crack of the door, intending to symbolically knock on the door, but stopped suddenly, not sure if he was seeing correctly.
Song Ling, seeing his boss stop in his tracks, became curious and nervously approached.
The bed had indeed been changed. Ji Ruan was lying on it in a large-printed short-sleeved pajama, his right hand constantly feeling behind the pillow.
Then, he was shocked to see Ji Ruan take out a small remote control and press it twice. Suddenly, the head of the bed slowly rose, moving forward together with the wooden table at the foot of the bed, stopping in the right position.
It was exactly like a bed provided in hospitals for critically ill patients, minimizing their movement as much as possible.
Ji Ruan turned on the TV, but didn't turn up the volume, apparently only needing to read the subtitles.
On the bedside table was a bowl of fresh cherries, and the lucky cat originally used as decoration in the room. However, the lucky cat's paw had been dismantled and replaced with a wooden stick, resembling the claw of a claw machine.
A thin rope was connected to the wooden stick, and Ji Ruan only needed to move his fingers, and the lucky cat could accurately pick out a cherry from the glass plate and feed it into his mouth without fail.
Song Ling was so shocked that his mouth hung open, quickly looking towards Gu Xiuyi.
Mr. Gu's eyebrows were so furrowed they could've caught mosquitoes.
Gu Xiuyi has always been a disciplined and diligent person. Since Song Ling became his assistant, he has never woken up after 6 o'clock.
He was almost certain that this was the laziest scene his boss had ever seen.
Gu Xiuyi turned his head, expressionless but with eyes so cold it was chilling, as if silently questioning.
Song Ling felt a shiver down his spine under the scrutiny, trying hard to maintain his composure.
Ji Ruan was carefully selected by their secretarial team as the most suitable marriage partner for Gu Xiuyi. Song Ling couldn't let his boss doubt his work ability.
With a stiff smile, Song Ling glanced at Ji Ruan, who was repeatedly feeding the lucky cat, his expression unchanged. "Quiet. He doesn't even turn up the volume when he watches TV. He minds his own business, and doesn't bother anyone even when he wants to eat cherries."
Song Ling gave a slight bow. "Completely meeting your requirements for the other side, boss."
Gu Xiuyi's gaze swept over his assistant, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.
The young man inside noticed the arrival of someone and quickly sat up straight, legs dangling off the edge of the bed, his watery eyes looking towards Gu Xiuyi.
His pajamas were off-white, the collar loose, the fabric draping over him looking exceptionally soft.
The sitting posture changed, but the lucky cat that was trying hard to feed Ji Ruan didn't stop. Another cherry was tossed up, bouncing off Ji Ruan's neck, eliciting a startled cry as he reached out to catch it.
But he missed.
The bright red cherry slid over the snow-white skin, dropping from the slender collarbone into the neckline. The young man scrambled to intercept it all the way, but it slipped from the hem of his clothes, falling to the ground.
And then rolling all the way to Gu Xiuyi's feet.
Gu Xiuyi could see the moment of confusion on the young man's face, but his gaze was no longer as lazy and unfocused as when he was lying in bed.
Gu Xiuyi bent down to pick up the cherry, walking step by step to Ji Ruan's side. The young man had to raise his head to look at him.
Thank you for picking up this novel. I started it last year but it was dropped.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by hehe~ Don't worry, I won't drop this😉
DeleteThank you for picking up this novel 🥳🥳🥳
ReplyDeleteWow~ Can I say I'm a fan? Just seeing your comments under all my works is a real energy booster for me~ Thank you for dropping by here too💕
DeleteBlood is everywhere. I guess we read the same kinds of novels.
DeleteAlso, sending you lots of love TN for being daring 💞💕