Transmigrated as the Villain's Fiancée Who Seeks Death (GL) - Chapter 3

“Enter!” The voice was cool and indifferent, subtly laced with a hint of impatience, betraying the owner’s less-than-pleasant mood.

For some reason, Xia Rushui’s perception of others’ emotions was more sensitive. Even though Jiang Xingzhi concealed her impatience well, it didn’t escape Xia Rushui’s ear.

She straightened her collar and pushed the door open.

The entire third floor had been converted into Jiang Xingzhi’s study. The space was immense. Xia Rushui couldn’t see the end of the room at a glance, only endless rows of meticulously organized and categorized books lining the shelves.

In the vast space, two people—four eyes—stared at Xia Rushui with palpable pressure. She couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit… flustered.

This feeling of awkwardness mainly came from the other person opposite her.

In the study, besides Jiang Xingzhi, the woman she had mistaken for Jiang Xingzhi last night was also present.

Xia Rushui was unnerved. She was incredibly embarrassed.

This kind of embarrassment was hard to describe.

It was like climbing to the peak of a high mountain alone. You see the air is fresh at the top, and the people below, who look like tiny ants, definitely can’t climb up. Driven by a bit of smugness, you belt out a terrible, off-key song to show off. You don’t care how bad the song is, because those people don’t know you, and they can’t reach you anyway.

You might even have done a ridiculous little dance like a monkey stealing peaches!

But then! To your total shock! The other side of this broken mountain is a tourist attraction with a direct cable car! Just when you thought you’d never cross paths with those people, the people who watched your performance from the bottom all hopped on the cable car and came up the mountain to stare at you eye-to-eye.

“……”

Luckily, the other protagonist was also very embarrassed. Both the woman and Xia Rushui tacitly avoided mentioning the farce from last night, and Xia Rushui breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Xia Rushui absolutely did not want Jiang Xingzhi to notice any anomalies.

If this heinous capitalist discovered she wasn’t the original model, she might be caught and used for some sort of scientific experiment!

Or what if Jiang Xingzhi was superstitious, like a feudal moral crusader, and burned her like a witch on a wooden stake as a piece of sizzling roast meat?!

She’d even come up with the perfect reason for Jiang Xingzhi: eliminating a scourge for the people! That’s how it was done in the historical and sci-fi dramas she used to be an extra in!

But speaking of roast meat… The beautifully marbled, red-and-white cuts of pork belly spread out like a lovely painting. As the temperature rose, they jumped on the grill, glistening with fat. The meat’s unique aroma, mixed with the salty-sweet scent of barbecue sauce, was incredibly appetizing…

Oh, no, I can’t think about that!

“…Miss Xia? Miss Xia? Miss Xia!!” The woman called Xia Rushui several times without a response, her voice suddenly rising.

“Huh?” Xia Rushui finally snapped back to attention, answering vaguely.

Sigh, I got carried away. I got carried away.

The woman, who was standing ramrod straight in her crisp, elegant suit, sighed deeply and spoke again, “Hello, Miss Xia. I apologize for taking up your time. I am Min Xi’an, CEO Jiang’s lawyer. I would like to discuss the matter of your engagement with CEO Jiang.”

“Oh, go ahead.”

“…” Min Xi’an was momentarily stunned, not having expected Xia Rushui to be so… calm.

A moment later, she regained her professional composure, led Xia Rushui to a small sofa on the side, and sat across from the young girl.

Min Xi’an pushed a thick stack of papers toward Xia Rushui and said, “Miss Xia, CEO Jiang hopes to maintain the engagement for two years, until you turn twenty and reach the legal age for marriage. At that time, CEO Jiang will naturally dissolve the engagement with you.”

She spoke politely and her phrasing was gentle, but the document in her hand was stiff and cold. Xia Rushui had no power to refuse or offer her own opinion.

She thought the girl would be disappointed, but instead, the little girl’s eyes lit up, and an obvious expression of happiness, impossible to hide, spread across her face.

Min Xi’an was slightly surprised. She had expected Xia Rushui to be a difficult character, unwilling to give up the easily acquired wealth, who would disrupt the agreement and cause trouble. She hadn’t expected her to be so agreeable.

She was a highly professional lawyer. Even if she had her own emotions and thoughts, she wouldn’t express them, maintaining her composure as she gently conveyed the next matter.

“In addition, for the duration of your two-year agreement, CEO Jiang hopes you will keep it a secret from Mrs. Jiang. During these two years, you just need to cooperate with CEO Jiang appropriately; it won’t be too difficult for you. Of course, CEO Jiang will not treat you unfairly; she will provide you with all-around protection and ensure your safety. No one will be able to harm you.”

She paused and continued, “When the two years are up, you and CEO Jiang will announce a breakup and go your separate ways. We only ask that you cooperate with CEO Jiang in acting in front of Mrs. Jiang. CEO Jiang will bear all losses incurred by you. From then on, the Jiang family will have nothing to do with you.”

“If you have any special requests, a supplementary agreement can be signed.”

Xia Rushui rubbed her hands together and chuckled, “The two years mean we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, and there will be a lot of cooperation needed. I’m just a fragile student. Shouldn’t this count as my job? Will I be paid a corresponding salary?”

Jiang Xingzhi interjected impatiently with a cold face, “No problem. Write it into the supplementary clause. I will pay you a salary. It will be calculated at one thousand yuan per hour. Are you satisfied?”

“Satisfied! Satisfied!” Xia Rushui grinned broadly, ignoring Jiang Xingzhi’s sour expression and flashing her a sweet smile.

Pleased, Xia Rushui asked Min Xi’an, “Yes, that’s fine. Where do I sign?”

Min Xi’an flipped to the last page. Jiang Xingzhi had already signed her name on the side. The bold, sweeping characters were strong and powerful, looking unlike they were written by a woman’s hand—tenacious, upright, and full of character.

Xia Rushui signed her name on the right, pressed her fingerprint, and kept one copy of the agreement.

Min Xi’an hadn’t expected the day to go so smoothly. She adjusted her glasses, relieved, and her tone became more amiable, “Miss Xia, separately, your mother left you a large inheritance. However, until you reach the age of 18, these assets will be temporarily managed by your designated guardian, CEO Jiang. Once you come of age, all these movable and immovable assets will be transferred to your name.”

???

Inheritance???

Xia Rushui was a little dazed.

“Come here.” Jiang Xingzhi said flatly.

Her two words were spoken with a subtle magnetism that Xia Rushui unconsciously obeyed.

Jiang Xingzhi pushed a document across the desk from the other side. “This is the inheritance your mother left you.”

Xia Rushui looked at the thick stack of documents for a good while before finally seeing the estimated total amount on the back. It was an astonishing seven figures! Including the real estate, the amount was close to nine figures!

Wait, wait. Did I miss a decimal point?

She scrutinized the paper dozens of times, her fiery gaze practically burning a hole through it, before confirming that the decimal point was indeed correct!

In this moment! Her soul trembled!

The Great Wall is ten thousand miles long! Nine figures!

A single red apricot branch leans out of the wall! Nine figures!

Two yellow orioles sing among the green willows! Nine figures!

A roar upon seeing injustice! Nine figures!

To sit up in amazement while deathly ill! Nine figures!

Jiang Xingzhi’s voice grew distant, gradually shrinking into a small black dot, disappearing from Xia Rushui’s field of vision…

“…Until you turn 18, I will provide your living expenses. But you had better restrain yourself. If I find you doing anything else immoral, I will immediately stop your allowance…”

Xia Rushui couldn’t hear a word Jiang Xingzhi was saying. Her mind was entirely focused on the nine figures she had never seen before. She watched Jiang Xingzhi’s red lips open and close, but her gaze wasn’t focused, having already completely filtered the person out.

“You had better be obedient during this time. I don’t have much patience for you. My mother doesn’t visit often, so you only need to cooperate with me in front of her. Don’t let her down, or our agreement will be terminated early…”

Is that a black dot on the paper? Is it really nine figures? Could the units be wrong? Did I miscount the zeros? How much food can nine figures buy???

“Xia Rushui!” Jiang Xingzhi finally noticed her distraction and abruptly raised her voice. “If you can’t do that, two years from now, get out of the Jiang family!”

“Yes, Boss!” Xia Rushui gave a military salute with the serious expression of someone blowing up a bunker, to show her solemnity.

“…”

Following that, Jiang Xingzhi went on and on about various trivial things to Xia Rushui, nipping all possibilities and hopes in the bud.

Xia Rushui translated all this nonsense into six words: Don’t love me, it won’t work out.

Recovering from the shock of the nine figures, Xia Rushui began to recall the original plot.

If those words came from anyone else, they would definitely be mocked, but the villain Jiang Xingzhi, whom the author painstakingly described, genuinely had the capital.

She was young and beautiful, successful in her career, and had taken over most of the Jiang family’s business at a young age. The Jiang family was also the richest in Yuncheng.

Not only did Jiang Xingzhi look down on Xia Rushui’s paltry assets, but even the entire Xia family’s worth wouldn’t be impressive to her.

The Xia family was just a minor, bottom-tier wealthy family, barely registering in Yuncheng’s high society circles. If it weren’t for Xia’s mother, Shen Wan’er, being a close confidante of Jiang Xingzhi’s mother, Han Wanjun, the Jiang family would never have gotten involved with the Xia family, let alone provided protection for the original owner.

Speaking of protection, one must mention the Xia family’s mess.

After marriage, Xia Hongsheng didn’t treat Shen Wan’er well. After exhausting her usefulness, he ignored her, eventually even bringing his illegitimate daughter home.

The original owner had to live under the same roof as a half-sister.

The father favored the sister, and Shen Wan’er and her daughter were not liked by Xia Hongsheng, giving them little status in the Xia family.

A year ago, Shen Wan’er passed away, leaving a large inheritance to her daughter. Xia Hongsheng brought the mistress he had kept outside for years home before his wife’s body was even cold.

That mother and daughter duo coveted the original owner’s inheritance and went to great lengths, using various underhanded tactics to get it.

In the end, it was Han Wanjun who intervened to rescue the original owner. She had a sudden idea and used the excuse of the engagement to bring the original owner into the Jiang family, announcing it as “bride training.” In reality, it was a measure Han Wanjun took to protect Xia Rushui.

A girl who had just turned 18 suddenly came into a huge inheritance, and had a problematic mother and daughter pair at home eyeing her money, with her father favoring them. Without help, it would have been impossible for her to hold onto the inheritance. Xia’s mother had loved a scumbag and lived a confused life, but before her death, she finally cleared her head and entrusted the original owner to her childhood friend, Mrs. Jiang, Han Wanjun.

Recalling the plot up to this point, Xia Rushui’s vision went black.

What is the biggest fear of transmigrating sisters? It’s not having a grim-faced fiancée who will kill you later, nor is it the stepmother and stepsister fighting you for the family fortune. It is—you have to go through the COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM again!

It just hit her! The original owner was under 18 this year, a rising senior in high school!

And, if she remembered correctly… the original owner was a liberal arts student, while she, Xia Rushui, was a genuine, non-fake, science student who only scored a sixty-six on the college entrance Chinese test, even with an exceptional performance!

Then the more hellish thing happened.

A few days later, Xia Rushui opened her eyes and found a neatly folded school uniform placed squarely on her bedside table.

Xia Rushui, this poor, unfortunate transmigrated sister—school had started.