After Transmigrating into a Redemption Novel as the Evil Stepmother - Chapter 21

The hairband was tied firmly behind her head. Vision pitch-black, Ming Jiayue was guided down by a pair of hands that were slender yet full of strength.

Everything happened in a way that took her by surprise.

In the silent night, the sensation on her skin was magnified infinitely—sliding from her forehead and cheeks down to her neck, shoulders, and waist…

Her breathing paused and slowed with the varying pressure of the movements. At times it was like a gentle, trickling stream; at others, like a world-shaking tidal wave. Occasionally, muffled groans that she couldn’t suppress escaped Ming Jiayue’s lips.

Ji Shuangci’s chest felt incredibly tight. Her expression remained as calm as usual, but the tips of her ears were already crimson. Every hot breath she exhaled made her heart tremble.

The fabric beneath her hands was impossibly thin. The ambiguous touch made it difficult for Ji Shuangci to stop her movements, as if she were addicted.

The person who was as distant as a star—someone she could only look up to—was now lying silently under her hands.

The world was turned upside down; offense and defense had swapped places.

The sensation, somewhere between warm and cool, moved flexibly over her body like a snake. This unprecedented experience made Ming Jiayue’s mood inexplicably subtle.

The person must be very young; her hands were soft, but her technique was surprisingly good. The tingling, aching pleasure seemed to vent a lot of the pent-up emotions in her body.

Until a touch, resembling a kiss, fell upon Ming Jiayue’s porcelain-white instep.

Her feet had always been sensitive. Instinctively, Ming Jiayue lifted her foot, kicked, and flipped herself into a sitting position.

The hairband slid off.

Everything in her vision suddenly snapped into focus, though the watery shimmer in her slightly squinted eyes hadn’t fully faded.

Ji Shuangci froze, quickly adjusted her breathing, and met Ming Jiayue’s undisguised shock with a hooked smile. Her voice carried a hint of hoarseness.

“Sister.”

How could it be Ji Shuangci?

Does she offer this kind of service too?

Nonsense!

The restlessness lurking throughout her body receded instantly. Ming Jiayue pulled a nearby blanket over herself, her voice icy.

“What are you doing here?”

Seeing Ming Jiayue’s “keep away” demeanor, Ji Shuangci did not retreat. Instead, she sat on the side of the sofa and took Ming Jiayue’s hand, her face glowing with a flawless smile.

“Didn’t Sister call for me?”

“This is my job. We signed a contract two years ago; surely Sister hasn’t forgotten? But even if you have, I won’t blame you. My background is clean, and my looks are to your liking. If Sister has needs at night in the future, call me. Don’t call anyone else, okay? They won’t take care of Sister as well as I do.”

Ji Shuangci’s posture appeared humble, but her words were laced with passive-aggression.

Ming Jiayue was momentarily speechless. As they locked eyes, the girl actually had the audacity to lean down and kiss the back of Ming Jiayue’s hand—it felt like a probe, yet also like a provocation.

Has Ji Shuangci gone mad?

Flashes of warm yellow light caught the soft, fluffy strands of Ji Shuangci’s hair as they brushed against her skin. It was cool and ticklish, making Ming Jiayue break out in goosebumps. Shock, anger, and a hint of humiliated annoyance mixed in her chest. Ming Jiayue’s gaze sharpened, and she raised her hand.

SLAP.

“Did I pour money into you just so you could degrade yourself?”

It was a clean, sharp slap.

Ji Shuangci’s head snapped to the side. Her cheek stung with burning pain, yet she didn’t feel sad. The wind from the slap carried a faint, cold fragrance; when the scent hit her nose, she felt… thrilled.

Very thrilled.

The slap wasn’t light. It seemed Ming Jiayue was truly angry.

Ji Shuangci touched her burning cheek, still smiling.

“So Sister likes this kind of play? Whether as the Master or the sub, I can do both.”

“Sister can play with me however she likes. Anything is fine.”

A cold, dark aura belonging to Ji Shuangci aggressively invaded the space. Ming Jiayue watched with a frozen expression as Ji Shuangci offered her other cheek, acting as if she were begging for another strike. She was so stunned she didn’t know what to say.

Where did I go wrong?

Did Ji Shuangci suddenly blacken into a pervert?

Ji Shuangci was dressed very cleanly today. Her eyes still looked pure, like a pool of clear spring water, gazing softly at her—giving an illusion of being open and sincere.

Two completely contradictory temperaments converged strangely within her.

Ming Jiayue remained motionless for a moment, just staring at her, when a long-awaited mechanical voice rang in her head: “Energy replenishment complete! Dear Host, I, 007, have returned!”

Ming Jiayue let out a silent sigh of relief.

“007, long time no see. You came at just the right time. Scan the plot quickly; I feel like Ji Shuangci has blackened.”

007, after scanning the current progress: “Um… I don’t know if I should say this.”

Ming Jiayue: “Say it!”

007: “Data shows total mission progress has reached 54%. Target 1, Zhou An’an, provides 42%, while Target 2, Ji Shuangci, provides only 12%.”

007: “And there was a 5% fluctuation that jumped up tonight. According to data analysis, she… wants to sleep with you.”

Ming Jiayue: “…”

007: “At this rate, the 100% goal is nowhere in sight. Why don’t you change strategies? Sacrifice yourself for the mission and just give in to her?”

Ming Jiayue: “Shut up!”

Ming Jiayue raised her hand to rub her brow. She looked away, refusing to look at Ji Shuangci, her voice carrying a tone of severity.

“Go kneel to the side.”

“Wait—kneel further away from me.”

Ji Shuangci lowered her head. The shadows on her face only served to emphasize the jade-like whiteness of her skin.

Ming Jiayue couldn’t see her expression. She watched coldly as Ji Shuangci obediently walked to the opposite side of the coffee table and knelt down fluidly.

A surge of frustration stuck in Ming Jiayue’s chest. Her face grew even colder.

“What? Is the resource I give you not enough, so you have to work part-time at Jiese?”

“You seem familiar with every kind of ‘trick.’ It seems you’ve played quite a bit?”

Ming Jiayue was truly having a breakdown. Although she didn’t spend as much time with Ji Shuangci as she did with Zhou An’an, the resources she funneled through Ming Corp were the best available; she had poured real money and silver into her for two years.

She had always been more independent, thoughtful, and obedient than Zhou An’an. Ming Jiayue never imagined Ji Shuangci would grow “crooked” to this extent.

It was like buying a high-priced, soft, white marshmallow, only to bite into it and realize it was a clove of black garlic—and she couldn’t even spit it out!

She thought she was raising a lamb, but it turned out to be a wolf cub that dared to covet her!

From the beginning, Ming Jiayue had held some extra expectations for Ji Shuangci, but it was absolutely not this kind of rebellious development!

Ming Jiayue felt dizzy with anger. She simply closed her eyes, practicing “out of sight, out of mind.”

The floor was wooden. Kneeling for a short while didn’t hurt.

Ji Shuangci carefully observed Ming Jiayue’s face. It was bad, but not as cold as usual, and she hadn’t been kicked out directly. She clenched her fists silently; it seemed she had bet correctly.

After a moment of deliberation, Ji Shuangci spoke in a submissive tone.

“Sister, I only worked at Jiese part-time back when I couldn’t afford to eat. I went there to sing on weekends, nothing more.”

“As for the rest, it was just a result of life’s pressures.”

Ji Shuangci’s tone carried a hint of self-deprecation. At school, many thought she was aloof and unapproachable, but in reality, she had been more slick and worldly than anyone since she was very young. If she didn’t bow her head or act smooth, she wouldn’t have been able to fill her stomach or survive.

Living in a “big dyeing vat” for over a decade, how pure could anyone expect her to be?

Her coldness and her pride were nothing more than her last bit of pathetic self-esteem.

Ming Jiayue propped her forehead on one hand. After hearing her out, she remained silent for a long time before asking:

“Did you learn massage while working part-time before?”

Tonight, Ming Jiayue had wanted to regret her decision before the person arrived. But the visitor had been very disciplined in giving her a massage, and the technique was good, so she had tacitly allowed it.

Ji Shuangci’s eyelashes fluttered as she looked down.

“No. My posture and dance classes are high-intensity. I taught myself how to massage so I could use it on myself.”

Ming Jiayue’s mind calmed slightly. She opened her eyes; they were deep and quiet like still water as she looked over.

Ji Shuangci’s posture now was incredibly docile.

According to her story, she had misunderstood?

But Ji Shuangci was definitely not as pure as she appeared on the surface. Ming Jiayue thought for a moment, her gaze shifting, and spoke with an undisguised sneer.

“Ji Shuangci, is this display of yours meant to tell me you like me? Or even love me?”

The sudden, rapid thumping of her heart became clear in her tight chest. Her palms grew damp. Ji Shuangci could clearly feel herself being scrutinized and sized up. Every word and action felt like it was being captured frame-by-frame, parsed carefully, without missing a single detail.

Time seemed to slow down infinitely. Ji Shuangci paused for a moment before answering with certainty.

“Yes. I like you. The kind of ‘like’ between lovers.”

Ji Shuangci didn’t say “love.” In her current situation, saying “love” was too flimsy.

Ming Jiayue shifted into an upright sitting position. She let out a cold laugh and continued to ask in a flat, toneless voice:

“Ji Shuangci, who am I? How old am I? Who is my husband?”

Ji Shuangci’s gaze lingered on Ming Jiayue’s face for a moment. She answered quickly; she knew Ming Jiayue’s Wikipedia page by heart.

Ming Jiayue asked again, “Knowing I have a husband, knowing I treat you like a junior in the family, you still want to like me?”

“Yes.”

Ji Shuangci answered even more resolutely, drawing courage from somewhere unknown. After two seconds, she actually added:

“I know you two divorced long ago.”

Ming Jiayue was almost laughed to anger. “Shameless. Unrepentant. I’ll ask you one last time—think carefully before you speak.”

“Do you like me?”

The study fell into silence. The atmosphere was so still it was heart-palpitating.

Ji Shuangci looked down at the floor. Ming Jiayue had walked up to her at some point, an oppressive shadow invading her vision.

Ji Shuangci was a very realistic person. She knew perfectly well that the deep and delicate parts of a person’s inner self could only be touched by someone with an equivalent spiritual or material world.

And right now, whether spiritually or materially, she was too far from Ming Jiayue.

The “like” and “love” in her mouth were pale and shallow.

But currently, she had no other way to bridge the distance between her and Ming Jiayue. So Ji Shuangci looked up, stared into Ming Jiayue’s eyes, and said something incredibly stupid with almost paranoid madness:

“Sister, if you want me to die right now, I’ll die.”

The sheer intensity of emotion in the girl’s eyes caused Ming Jiayue’s pupils to shake, but it was immediately followed by her nearly extinguished anger flaring up again.

Ming Jiayue said nothing. She turned, took a ruler from the wall, and walked back.

Ebony wood. It was thicker and heavier than a typical decorative piece.