After Transmigrating into a Redemption Novel as the Evil Stepmother - Chapter 6

It rained last night, and as soon as I stepped out this morning, the air felt exceptionally fresh. The white clouds, blue sky, and green trees burst brightly into view.

Ming Jiayue switched to a different car today. Ji Shuangci still sat in the back, opening a small crack in the window to let the breeze flow into the cabin.

Neither spoke much. Just one intersection away from their destination, Ji Shuangci couldn’t hold back anymore. Her gaze locked onto Ming Jiayue’s left shoulder as she stammered out the concern weighing on her mind.

“President Ming, the injury on your shoulder…”

Ji Shuangci remembered that Ming Jiayue had arrived yesterday wearing hospital scrubs. Given her injuries, she should have been recuperating in the hospital for a long time.

After a brief silence, Ming Jiayue replied nonchalantly:

“The doctor came by this morning.”

The local painkiller injection was enough to last until she returned to the hospital.

“Oh, I see.”

Ji Shuangci responded awkwardly. After a moment, as if finally summoning her courage, she continued to ask:

“President Ming, there’s also… I want to ask why… why are you being… so… good to me?”

The moment she finished, Ji Shuangci nervously lowered her gaze and stared at her fingers, but her mind was focused entirely on her ears, waiting for Ming Jiayue’s answer.

Taking advantage of the red light, Ming Jiayue caught Ji Shuangci’s reflection in the rearview mirror. Under the bright morning light, a few stray hairs fell over the girl’s clear eyes.

She was as well-behaved as a rabbit.

Heh~

Ming Jiayue let out a light laugh and teased:

“What? Are you going to say all those things about repaying me again?”

Before Ji Shuangci could answer, Ming Jiayue continued with a touch of ambiguous seriousness.

“Ji Shuangci, I am a businesswoman. Investing in gold and jewelry is just a casual matter for me—and the same goes for sponsoring potential underprivileged students. You needn’t be constrained by such a small favor.”

“As for truly wanting to repay me, come back in ten years. If you can stand in a position where you can look me in the eye as an equal, then talk to me about repayment.”

Is it just a small favor?

Bitterness welled up in Ji Shuangci’s eyes. Her hands, resting on her knees, gripped the fabric of her skirt. For a moment, she was at a loss, not knowing whether to go along with Ming Jiayue’s perspective or insist on thanking her.

She remained silent the rest of the way. Just before the car stopped and she got out, Ji Shuangci suddenly said:

“President Ming, in ten years, I will give it my all.”

Ming Jiayue hadn’t expected Ji Shuangci to say anything surprising, but the sudden spark of drive in the girl made Ming Jiayue instinctively turn her head.

As she turned her neck and glanced back, the wind behind her stirred an endless expanse of greenery. Without any need for extra description, that single fleeting glimpse was breathtaking enough.

Ji Shuangci was momentarily dazed, her heart thumping heavily.

By the time she snapped out of it, Ming Jiayue had already gotten out of the car and walked over to her, reaching out to straighten her collar.

“Alright then. I’ll be waiting.”

Ji Shuangci looked up into those deep, quiet eyes. She couldn’t read any specific emotion, yet a strange sense of excitement began to spread through her body.

Even after they said goodbye, and even after she had walked a long distance, she could still clearly feel her heartbeat racing like last night’s sudden downpour.

Ming Jiayue stood by the car, a flash of complexity in her eyes. She watched as Shuangci’s silhouette grew smaller until it completely disappeared around the campus corner, then she returned to the car.

The driver, who had arrived to take over, nodded respectfully.

“Back to the hospital.”

Ming Jiayue pulled a blanket over herself and pressed her fingers against her brow. Under the light, the fatigue on her face was laid bare.

The driver turned off the interior lights and kept the noise to an absolute minimum.

Meanwhile, Zhou An’an was frantically messaging both Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci. Last night, she had seen posts forwarded in the school forum, the “Campus Bacteria” page, and the main school group.

The original post had a clickbait title:

[Hard Evidence: Grade 12 Top Student at XX Middle School Bags a Sugar Daddy—Is She Fake Pure or a Real Green Tea?]

Overnight, the post had already garnered hundreds of replies.

Although Ming Jiayue seemed to have undergone a personality shift, Zhou An’an truly couldn’t understand why she would suddenly help Ji Shuangci. She had never heard of these two having any connection before.

On one hand, Zhou An’an was worried about Ji Shuangci; on the other, she was furious at the foul language being used. She simply waited with her phone outside Ji Shuangci’s classroom door, arguing with people online while she waited.

It wasn’t time for morning self-study yet, and given the hefty school construction fees the Zhou family had donated, even if teachers saw her on her phone, they pretended not to notice.

304L: “I’m telling you, how many girls are actually pure nowadays? They all stick to whoever has money. Materialistic girls who deceive people’s feelings deserve a miserable death.”

—305L: “Gosh, turns out there are still so many unevolved humans in our school. Like non-human creatures that traveled here from the primitive jungle, shitting with their mouths and eating with their assholes.”

306L: “Is the person above triggered? Why are you so pressed? Are you one of the gold diggers too?”

—307L: “Life is dull and dry; broke losers critique humanity.”

…

Zhou An’an wasn’t bad at heart, but hanging out in the “second-generation” circles, she had inevitably picked up a few things. When encountering idiots on the internet, she never tried to prove herself or argue within their logic. Instead, she consistently maintained her own aggressiveness.

Etiquette unknown; meet strength with strength.

All offense, no defense; go wild as you please.

Ji Shuangci saw Zhou An’an from a distance, looking furious and typing frantically on her screen.

“An’an, are you waiting for me?”

Zhou An’an, who had been fighting through a hundred comments, snapped her head up.

“Sister Shuang, are you okay?”

Zhou An’an didn’t like calling Ji Shuangci “Senior.” She had a bit of an outlaw vibe; once they got close, she called her “Sister Shuang,” saying it made them feel like brothers on the same path.

Ji Shuangci wasn’t used to it at first, but after hearing it enough, she let it go.

Zhou An’an put her phone down and immediately looked Ji Shuangci up and down. Seeing that she was indeed fine, Zhou An’an patted her chest.

“Sister Shuang, from now on, tell me where you’re going after school. I’ll go with you. I guarantee no one will dare bully you.”

At this elite private school, Ji Shuangci usually wore her uniform. Because of her fair skin, delicate features, and prominent cold aura, even the uniform looked exceptionally noble on her.

Before seeing the post, Zhou An’an had never realized Ji Shuangci’s family was in financial trouble.

She had always assumed Ji Shuangci took tutoring jobs simply because she liked keeping busy. After all, someone who topped every subject and took the number one spot by a landslide isn’t someone you find every day—especially to the point where her grades earned her a special admission to Changya, a prestigious aristocratic school.

Zhou An’an was always sincere in front of Ji Shuangci; learning about her family background didn’t cause her to act condescending at all.

Ji Shuangci truly liked this little sister and nodded in response to her words.

“Okay, thank you, An’an.”

Zhou An’an was an only child and had always wanted a sister or brother. Seeing the usually cold Ji Shuangci accept her kindness, she immediately beamed, showing all her teeth.

As morning study was about to start, she asked belatedly:

“Sister Shuang, where did you go with my stepmother last night? I messaged both of you, but neither replied.”

Zhou An’an’s eyes were wide, her words and gaze dripping with a sense of grievance, as if Ming Jiayue and Ji Shuangci had done something scandalous behind her back.

Under her gaze, Ji Shuangci subconsciously touched the collar that Ming Jiayue had straightened earlier.

“The Guojin Apartments.”

“My phone died. I’m sorry, I didn’t see your messages.”

Zhou An’an, being big-hearted, just said “Oh” and started telling her about the post. Seeing Zhou An’an so angry, Ji Shuangci actually turned around to comfort her.

“An’an, thank you. Let them say what they want.”

Just then, the bell rang. Ji Shuangci and Zhou An’an made an appointment for their next tutoring session. As she walked into the classroom and back to her seat, probing and judging looks followed her like a shadow, but Ji Shuangci suddenly found that she didn’t care anymore.

Outside the window, a light breeze rustled the leaves.

Ji Shuangci picked up her pen, feeling for the first time that youth was indeed a beautiful time.

Xie Lan, the primary doctor responsible for Ming Jiayue, was an old acquaintance of the original host and one of the few people the host considered a friend. Before Ming Jiayue even reached the hospital, Xie Lan was already waiting in the ward.

She wore a cold, stern expression, and while her movements in treating the wound were gentle, her tongue was sharp.

“President Ming is such a busy person. High pressure, insomnia, taking stimulants every two hours… you were just rescued from a gunshot wound a few days ago and already out playing hero saving the beauty? Who can outdo you? Truly the ‘Number One Female CEO in H City’ as voted by netizens.”

“But let me remind you: if you don’t want your little fans to be heartbroken by news of your passing, you’d better go to sleep right now.”

Ming Jiayue’s looks and net worth were both significant. As an entrepreneur, she had “fansites” and dedicated forums. Someone once joked that based on her face alone, she could beat 99% of entrepreneurs and new-generation singers.

Ming Jiayue shook out three sleeping pills, swallowed them, and dove into the covers, replying with a faint smile:

“So even the rigorous Doctor Xie follows that boring information online.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Ming Jiayue’s eyes had already closed.

Xie Lan looked at her, wanting to say something, but she first pulled the curtains and turned off the light. Finally, before leaving, Xie Lan whispered very softly:

“If you have time lately, go visit the psychiatry department in our hospital.”

Ming Jiayue’s long lashes fluttered slightly, but she didn’t respond. her breathing was light and slow, as if she had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Xie Lan felt a pang of sadness. Regarding what happened back then, she didn’t know how much longer it would take for Ming Jiayue to move on. This bone-chilling, continuous cold rain seemed like it would never stop.

Whether it was the increased dosage or because her body truly couldn’t hold on, Ming Jiayue didn’t wake up until the afternoon.

She picked up her phone to see over a hundred messages from Zhou An’an.

Ming Jiayue had seen them last night, but she lacked the energy to reply then.

Scanning the messages now, Zhou An’an had explained everything about the post and asked how to handle it without hurting Ji Shuangci.

Ming Jiayue felt the relationship between the two female leads needed to be nurtured from a young age to ensure the “sick” male leads wouldn’t get a chance to intervene. This was a good excuse, so she patiently started asking for details.

As they were talking, Zhou An’an suddenly sent a voice message. She seemed to have belatedly realized something.

“What exactly is your relationship?”

“Wait, I just remembered—you carried her! A princess carry!”

“You’ve never even carried me!”

“I heard rumors before that you liked women. Is it true? Are you forcing Sister Shuang to be your lover??? Aaaaaah!!!”

“Ming Jiayue, you are a total pervert!!!”