3
Jiang Mian was strolling down the street when her two fathers quickly discovered she had left the hospital. Her phone rang incessantly. Jiang Mian hung up and sent a unified reply: I’m going back to school. Don’t worry. Don’t come looking for me, or I’ll get angry.
She added the last sentence to mimic the original owner’s personality, though her tone was much softer—otherwise, one father might scour the skies in a private jet looking for her, while the other might use a tracking talisman.
According to the original owner’s memories, before her rebellious phase began, she would spend three months living with each father every year. At the end of the year, they would all gather at Han Xu’s seaside mansion for an annual reunion.
Once the rebellious phase hit, she didn’t want to live with any of her fathers. She didn’t want them telling her what to do, so she insisted on living alone, threatening a hunger strike if they refused.
The four fathers had no choice but to agree. In the end, they bought her a high-end apartment in the city center and hired several nannies to take care of her.
After starting high school, Han Xu wanted to send her abroad to study, but the original owner flatly refused.
She enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded and worshipped by everyone, of having countless people admire and idolize her. So, when it came time for the college entrance exams, she applied to a film academy. But on her very first day at university, she fell in love at first sight with the male lead, Gu Qiwen.
Jiang Mian: “…”
A cursed fate indeed.
Jiang Mian took a taxi back to her residence. Sitting in the back seat, she noticed the driver in front kept sneaking glances at her.
Jiang Mian: “???”
The driver, caught staring, gave an awkward smile. “Miss, you’re very beautiful.”
Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow indifferently. “Thank you.”
In her life before last, when she was a carp spirit, she had never transformed into human form and didn’t know what she looked like. In her last life, she was devoted to cultivation and ascension. Occasionally, when she went out for training, people were too intimidated by her power to dare compliment her to her face.
With four exceptional biological fathers, this body’s appearance would be considered top-tier even in the cultivation world. Jiang Mian was quite satisfied with that—after all, it’s nice to have something pleasant to look at.
Forty minutes later, the driver arrived at the destination following the navigation. He looked at the magnificent, upscale entrance of the residential complex. In an area like this, where land was worth its weight in gold, even ordinary wealthy people couldn’t afford to live here. The driver’s gaze toward Jiang Mian shifted.
So beautiful, so young, living in such a luxurious complex…
Jiang Mian paid and was about to get out of the car when she caught the driver’s look. Though she didn’t quite understand what he was trying to convey, this kind of gaze instinctively displeased her. Her eyes toward him turned cold.
The driver inexplicably dared not meet her gaze. He quickly looked away and drove off.
It was just a small incident, and Jiang Mian didn’t dwell on it. Relying on the original owner’s memories, she found her way home. As soon as she stepped inside, a soft, fluffy creature came rubbing against her.
“Meow~” It was the original owner’s cat.
Seeing the cat, Jiang Mian immediately leaped to the side. Even though her life as a carp spirit was two lifetimes ago, she simply couldn’t accept felines.
But the fat, round cat thought she wanted to play and came running toward her with meows.
Jiang Mian: “…”
With no other choice, she grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and prepared to put it in a basket.
After taking just two steps, the bedroom door suddenly opened, and a girl walked out. She was startled to see Jiang Mian, and a flicker of panic appeared in her eyes. But she quickly recovered, putting on a smile. “Mianmian, you’re back from your trip! Oh dear, you can’t hold Xiao Mi like that. She’ll be uncomfortable.”
She ran over, took the cat from Jiang Mian’s hands, cradled it in her arms, and stroked it continuously, speaking softly. “Don’t be scared, Xiao Mi. Your mommy didn’t mean to hold you like that. She might just be in a bad mood.”
On the surface, these words seemed harmless. But anyone who didn’t know the situation might think Jiang Mian was someone who frequently lost her temper and abused cats.
Jiang Mian sized up the girl before her. She had long, straight, unadorned hair, a pure and innocent look, and wore a yellow dress. A faint, pleasant fragrance emanated from her.
If her memory served her correctly, this dress belonged to the original owner. As for the fragrance, it was the distinctive scent of several expensive skincare products the original owner habitually used.
“Mianmian, why are you looking at me like that? I’m your best friend, Feifei.” Lin Feifei looked up and saw Jiang Mian staring at her with a strange expression that sent a chill down her spine. She thought to herself, what’s wrong with this empty-headed, pampered fool today?
“Oh, Lin Feifei,” Jiang Mian said. She remembered now. In the original book, Lin Feifei had quite a few scenes. She played a significant role in the original owner’s endless downward spiral.
The original owner had fallen for Gu Qiwen at first sight, not knowing that he already had a first love—the female lead. It was Lin Feifei who told her that she had seen Gu Qiwen being very intimate with another girl, thus revealing the existence of the female lead, Guan Xin.
Lin Feifei had gone to the same high school as Jiang Mian. Once, on her way home, Jiang Mian was harassed by thugs, and Lin Feifei bravely rushed out to save her. That act had won her Jiang Mian’s favor, and she became Jiang Mian’s best friend.
Although the original owner was willful and spoiled, she was quite generous with her friends, often giving away expensive gifts. Even a casual present to Lin Feifei could be worth tens of thousands—designer jewelry, handbags, and the like.
Over the years, Lin Feifei had received items worth over a million in total from the original owner.
As for this apartment, Lin Feifei had constantly complained that her school dormitory conditions weren’t great. The original owner casually said, “If you don’t want to live at school, you can stay here.” Ever since then, Lin Feifei had been showing up from time to time.
A few days ago, Lin Feifei had come looking for Jiang Mian. The nanny told her Jiang Mian had gone on a trip, so she had moved in without a second thought. At least she had some sense—at night, she slept in the guest bedroom. But during the day, she would enter the master bedroom and rummage through Jiang Mian’s things.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Mian to return suddenly, catching her off guard.
Jiang Mian looked at her with a half-smile. “I cornered Guan Xin at the Zhishu Pavilion on campus. Guess what happened in the end?”
“What happened? Did Guan Xin refuse to leave Gu Qiwen?” A flash of panic crossed Lin Feifei’s face, but she quickly steadied herself. With Jiang Mian’s brain, she wouldn’t be able to think too deeply about it.
“If she’s unwilling, we’ll just slap her face hard later. Mianmian, compared to you, Guan Xin is nothing but dirt beneath your feet. You have a good family background and you’re so beautiful. Unless Gu Qiwen is an idiot, he’ll definitely choose you.”
Jiang Mian said, “In the end, Gu Qiwen showed up.”
“Ah?” Lin Feifei parted her lips slightly, feigning surprise. “Why would he come?”
Jiang Mian replied, “I’m confused about that too. I only told you about cornering Guan Xin at Zhishu Pavilion. Yet Gu Qiwen happened to appear at just the right moment. What do you think—did someone tip him off?”
Lin Feifei’s expression changed. She began to ponder silently. How could this fool suddenly suspect her? Hadn’t she always trusted her completely?
Lin Feifei wanted to say something, but Jiang Mian didn’t give her the chance. She pointed at the dress Lin Feifei was wearing. “That dress you’re wearing—I threw it away last year. The style is too outdated. But even if it’s something I don’t want anymore, as long as I haven’t thrown it out, it’s still mine. No one has the right to touch it without permission.”
“I’m sorry, Mianmian. I was just curious. I’ll change right away.” Lin Feifei’s face flushed red, and she turned and ran into the bedroom.
Damn it. She hadn’t expected Jiang Mian to come back suddenly. In the past, she often came over when Jiang Mian was away, wearing her clothes and using her skincare products.
Jiang Mian was already suspicious of her. The top priority was to go along with her for now.
Lin Feifei quickly changed back into her own clothes. When she turned around, she saw Jiang Mian standing in the doorway. Startled, she dropped the dress on the floor.
“Mianmian, when did you come in?”
Jiang Mian leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. “This is my bedroom. Do I need to knock before entering my own room?”
Lin Feifei was speechless.
“Mianmian, please don’t be angry. You said before that I could come into your bedroom anytime, so I…” Lin Feifei’s eyes reddened, and her voice choked with tears.
But when she met Jiang Mian’s gaze—as if every thought in her mind was laid bare—Lin Feifei, faced with this suddenly unfamiliar Jiang Mian, truly panicked. She didn’t know whether to let the tears fall or not.
Through the book’s plot, Jiang Mian could clearly see that the original owner’s encounter with thugs and Lin Feifei’s heroic rescue was all a scene Lin Feifei had orchestrated herself. Her goal was simply to get close to the original owner.
She didn’t know the details of the original owner’s family background, but she knew she was rich and wanted to milk money from her.
As for why Gu Qiwen showed up just in time when the original owner confronted Guan Xin, and why he coldly mocked her—it was because Lin Feifei had tipped him off.
Lin Feifei also liked the male lead. So, she used the original owner as a weapon to stir up conflict with the female lead, Guan Xin, while she reaped the benefits from the sidelines.
Compared to Lin Feifei, the original owner—the so-called “villainess”—was utterly pathetic in terms of effectiveness.
Both were villainesses, but the original author clearly favored Lin Feifei. At least Lin Feifei had some intelligence. The original owner was nothing more than a cannon-fodder villainess.
After expressing some sympathy for the original owner—and for herself—Jiang Mian casually picked up the dress from Lin Feifei’s hands, grabbed a pair of scissors, cut it to shreds, and tossed it into the trash bin. Then she turned to Lin Feifei and said, “It was too dirty. No need to keep it, don’t you think?”
Was Jiang Mian calling her dirty?
Lin Feifei’s expression turned so sour she could barely maintain her composure.
The sound of a key turning came from the door, and the nanny, Aunt Liu, walked in.
“Miss, you’re back.”
Several nannies had come and gone looking after Jiang Mian, but this one, Aunt Liu, had been working here since last year. Unlike the previous nannies, who would secretly report on Jiang Mian to Han Xu, Aunt Liu only did her assigned duties and never meddled.
“Aunt Liu,” Jiang Mian said. “From now on, don’t let every stray cat and dog in. This isn’t a shelter.”
“Understood,” Aunt Liu said smoothly. “Miss Lin, this way, please.”
Lin Feifei urgently needed to sort out her thoughts. Jiang Mian’s attitude toward her had changed so drastically—something must have happened. She needed to find out what so she could figure out how to handle it. She didn’t want to lose Jiang Mian, her cash cow.
Lin Feifei left without looking back.
“Miss finally got rid of her.” Aunt Liu smiled for once.
Jiang Mian looked over at her. Aunt Liu’s smile faded. “I’ve spoken out of turn.”
Aunt Liu had once warned the original owner that Lin Feifei was dishonest, but the original owner didn’t believe her and even scolded her for meddling. After that, Aunt Liu never mentioned Lin Feifei in front of the original owner again.
Jiang Mian became a little interested. In the book, Lin Feifei was described as someone skilled at pretending—many people were fooled by her innocent appearance. “Why don’t you like her?”
Aunt Liu hesitated. Jiang Mian said, “Go ahead.”
So Aunt Liu spoke. “Last time she stayed here, after I cleaned the guest room, I found a photo of you under the mattress. There were a lot of nasty words written on it, plus pinholes and burn marks.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
Because Jiang Mian had warned her not to meddle, Aunt Liu wasn’t sure whether she should say anything. The next time she came to clean the apartment, the photo under the mattress was gone.
Without evidence, it was even harder for her to speak up. But after that, Aunt Liu’s impression of Lin Feifei had been very poor.
Dealing with a boss’s temper was normal when working outside. Being a nanny for a wealthy family paid better than being a senior white-collar worker, so putting up with some attitude was par for the course. Besides, although Jiang Mian was willful and spoiled, as long as you went along with her and didn’t provoke her, she generally didn’t lose her temper. She was actually quite easy to take care of.
Aunt Liu had seen Jiang Mian give Lin Feifei expensive designer items worth a fortune on several occasions. Not only did Lin Feifei show no gratitude, but she also did such petty, malicious things behind her back. Compared to Jiang Mian’s spoiled temper, Lin Feifei was far more frightening.
Aunt Liu also told her many things that neither the original owner nor the book’s plot had known. After all, the book’s story revolved around the male and female leads—the villainess’s scenes were compressed and few. Details like these from daily life would never appear in the book.
Lin Feifei often came over when Jiang Mian was away but Aunt Liu was there, so Aunt Liu would let her in.
She had even been sure that Aunt Liu wouldn’t tell Jiang Mian about her visits. After Aunt Liu finished cleaning and left, she would stay in the apartment, call Jiang Mian to confirm when she would be back, and then leave just before she arrived.
Jiang Mian nodded, and Aunt Liu fell silent. The living room became quiet. Then Jiang Mian returned to the bedroom and gave all the bottles and jars from the bathroom to Aunt Liu—she wasn’t going to use these expensive skincare products, and throwing them away would be a shame. Giving them to Aunt Liu was just right.
Besides the skincare products, Jiang Mian also gave Aunt Liu some clothes. The nanny was completely stunned.
“Take this cat, too.”
Aunt Liu’s face was already frozen in bewilderment. At this, she instinctively said, “Miss, don’t you like Xiao Mi the most?”
“Meow~”
The fat cat clung to Jiang Mian’s ankle, refusing to let go. Its emerald-green eyes stared up at her with an innocent, pitiful look. For some reason, those eyes reminded Jiang Mian of a pair she knew well. She was dazed for a moment, then changed her mind. “Never mind. Keep it.”
**