NOVEL WEB Chapter 451
When Ji Nian first heard Chen Yueling's words in her dream, she felt something strange.
But she didn't pay it much mind, and even when she had a premonition later, she didn't take it seriously.
Until now—when she heard the definitive answer from this person's mouth, Ji Nian realized her emotions were far calmer than she had imagined.
[It's not necessarily a bad thing. The twenty-plus years I spent in that world weren't wasted.]
Though she had endured some hardships as a child, compared to everything she learned later, they were nothing.
Besides, if she had been born into this world from the start—
[The Ji Family's mystical bloodline would have made Ji Tingzhou value my talents highly. I would've been exposed to the field of pharmacology much earlier, and I might not have been any worse off than I am now.]
But.
Without the advantage of her psychological maturity, she wouldn't have been able to save Wei Yang at age five, let alone Lu Jinghuai and Chen Mo later on.
Ji Nian would still have lost many people.
Setting emotions aside and speaking purely rationally, if given the chance to start over, she would still choose the same path.
"In that case, I should probably thank him."
Ji Nian stepped over the bench on one side of the corridor and sat down on the other, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at the unconscious man lying nearby.
[What happened to the original host?]
She always knew this damn system was hiding secrets.
The system's electronic eyes also landed on the unconscious man—left unattended, with a large spider crawling over his lips without him even noticing.
[You Chinese have a term for it—karma.]
[Those who defy the natural order bring misfortune not only upon themselves but also their descendants.]
Hearing a technological entity discuss metaphysics with her left Ji Nian feeling… complicated.
[He refused to accept the natural cycle of cause and effect. He tampered with fate, trying desperately to keep his daughter alive. After succeeding, he didn't stop—he even tried to swap her into another body, stealing someone else's destiny.]
Unfortunately, he didn't realize that fate—this intangible, incomprehensible force—truly exists, and it comes with a karmic retribution system.
The man succeeded in his scheme. He orchestrated things so that people believed his daughter was stillborn, then secretly delivered her to the Ji Family.
But he never expected that forcibly inserting a soul that didn't belong into that body would mark the infant as a 'dead thing' in the eyes of fate—an entity foreign to this world.
A 'dead thing' has no destiny or bonds. It is doomed to be forgotten in a corner, subconsciously rejected by the people of this world.
[So the 'original host' I thought I replaced was actually his daughter, Qianqian?]
[Correct.]
A pitiful little girl who should have reincarnated but was forcibly kept in this world—only to be screwed over by her own father.
The suffering she endured in those five years was entirely his fault.
But it was also her cry for help that alerted the system and its department to the bug in this small world.
[My department oversees 'fate.' After my supervisor identified the issue, they sent me to investigate.]
The system initially assumed the real Ji Nian had already died in Qianqian's place. But after investigating, it discovered her soul wasn't registered in the deceased records.
[Right then, a higher-up came for an inspection. When this discrepancy came to light, the department responsible for soul retrieval practically had a meltdown.]
[Luckily, after some digging, they found out your soul had broken away from the procession of the dead and wandered into another world.]
Its tone turned oddly pointed at this part.
Ji Nian, sensing something off, asked, [Why did I break away and end up in that world?]
The system took a deep breath and replied with a strained smile, [Because you smelled the aroma of 'Mimi Shrimp Strips.']
Two civilizations, both with the same damn snack.
Heh. What a glutton.
Ji Nian: "……"
Well… that's… understandable.
[By the time I tracked you down, the time difference between worlds meant you'd already lived over twenty years there.]
[That was around the time of my speech, wasn't it?]
The system gave an affirmative hum.
No wonder this guy had been so resentful toward her at first—nobody likes extra work. And its unshakable calm during every crisis? It knew her soul had returned, reconnecting her severed fate, so nothing could go wrong.
After processing everything, Ji Nian accepted it with surprising ease: [Then why did you use 'transmigrating into a novel' as an excuse? Why not just tell me the truth from the start?]
The system explained: [Orders from above. It's classified.]
[Now that you've figured it out yourself, it doesn't count as me leaking secrets.]
Ji Nian nodded in understanding.
Mid-conversation, she suddenly sensed a presence behind her and cut off the mental exchange.
"Sketching, are we?"
The man—Ji Tingzhou—stopped behind her, glancing at the unconscious figure nearby.
Ji Nian mentally scoffed. This is an insult to art.
Though she still didn't fully grasp why Ji Tingzhou had deliberately released this man, she now understood the truth behind certain things in her life.
She turned to look at Ji Tingzhou—
Or rather, at his head.
His hair was suspiciously thick.
No miracle here—just a well-crafted wig.
Sensing her gaze, he lowered his eyes, meeting her much clearer, jade-green ones.
When he realized where she was staring, he glared at her.
Ji Nian obediently shifted her focus to his face and had to admit—
Damn. It's still Ji Tingzhou.
Even with faint crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, he didn't look old—just more refined.
Though he seemed to hate them, often scrutinizing his reflection in the mirror.
"I left a potion on your study desk."
Ji Tingzhou, seemingly too fastidious to sit beside her, remained standing behind her, looking down at the crown of her head.
At her words, he raised a brow.
Ji Nian elaborated, "It reduces wrinkles. I haven't tested it, but it should work. If you're worried, I can find a test subject later."
Her phrasing suggested the potion wasn't originally meant for wrinkles.
Had this been the Ji Tingzhou who knew her well, he would've stopped there out of self-preservation. But this version—though he'd seen the other's memories—lacked firsthand experience. So he asked:
"What was it originally for?"
Ji Nian grinned, flashing a row of white teeth.
"To eliminate anal wrinkles—making it too smooth to hold in shit."
Ji Tingzhou: "……"
"……"
"If you're curious, you could try it. Some people with… unconventional tastes are into that."
Most of my research funding in my past life came from selling this stuff~
Ji Tingzhou's eye twitched.
"Hard pass."
He preferred his asshole with wrinkles, thank you very much.
Seeing his expression, Ji Nian was satisfied.
Gotta get one last jab in before leaving.
The system: […Even you know how unhinged that was.]
[Ready?]
Its tone shifted, and Ji Nian's smile faded.
Ji Tingzhou noticed the change, instincts flaring in warning.
[Three… two… one…]
Ji Nian smirked, locking eyes with him. [See ya~]
Noticing something, Ji Tingzhou furrowed his brows slightly. "You..."
But in the blink of an eye, that strange feeling vanished.
The person before him remained the same as always. Hearing his voice, Ji Nian tilted her head in confusion. "What's wrong? Do you need to take a dump?"
Seeing Ji Nian's usual irreverent expression, Ji Tingzhou rolled his eyes. "Such vulgar language."
Unfazed, Ji Nian grinned cheekily.