“Grandpa.” Qiao Yitong looked at Old Master Qiao and called him by his title. She then turned to look at Murong Yuchen, who was sitting beside him. Murong Yuchen looked perfectly normal right now; no one else had the slightest idea he had a split personality.
Not to mention others—even Qiao Yitong hadn’t known about it before. She only knew that Murong Yuchen’s temperament was unpredictable; she hadn’t suspected a split personality, but rather thought he had a screw loose.
“Go get someone,” Old Master Qiao urged.
Old Master Qiao held Murong Yuchen in high regard. Murong Yuchen was the heir to the Murong family; he took his maternal grandfather’s surname. His maternal grandfather had only one daughter—he had no sons—and was a hopeless romantic. Lady Murong and Old Master Murong had a good relationship. Lady Murong had damaged her health in her youth and, after giving birth to a daughter, never had any more children.
Murong Yuchen’s biological mother had given birth to a son and a daughter; he had an older sister, but his biological father had betrayed his mother. When Murong Yuchen was young, his mother’s emotional turmoil had made her appear terrifying, and she had once frightened him. In an attempt to keep her husband from leaving, she had even threatened to commit suicide, but unfortunately, it was to no avail—her husband left her anyway.
However, Murong Yuchen’s biological father died in a car accident while eloping with his mistress. His mother’s mental state deteriorated, and she is now recuperating abroad.
“Mr. Murong,” Qiao Yitong said somewhat reluctantly. She hadn’t yet figured out what to do, so why had this man suddenly shown up at her door?
“Last night, did you…”
“Big Brother!” Qiao Yitong wondered how she should address him when she was asking for a favor. Was that the right way to say it? It probably was.
“When you were little, you used to call me ‘Murong Brother,’” Murong Yuchen said, watching Qiao Yitong with interest.
“……” Qiao Yitong’s lips twitched slightly. That was when she was a kid. Back then, she’d thought Murong Yuchen was just a good-natured older brother next door—who knew his temper was so bad, and that he had such a sharp tongue?
So how could someone like that be her official love interest?
How could she possibly want someone with such a sharp tongue?
He’s one way on the surface, but completely different behind closed doors.
No, wait—he has a split personality. One side is as gentle as jade, while the other is vicious and sharp-tongued.
Qiao Yitong looked at the person in front of her. This must be the vicious, sharp-tongued one. If he weren’t so sharp-tongued, why would she call him “Brother Murong”? This personality isn’t exactly easy to deal with—what if she says something she shouldn’t?
“That was back when I was a kid. If I call you that, your future girlfriend won’t be happy,” Qiao Yitong said.
“Why don’t you just be my girlfriend?” Murong Yuchen raised an eyebrow.
“……” That’s toxic. Qiao Yitong had forgotten—this personality is just like that. Qiao Yitong quickly glanced at Old Master Qiao. Seeing that he hadn’t spoken, she wondered what he was thinking. “Grandpa, I’ll go check on the kitchen.”
Qiao Yitong shot Murong Yuchen a glare—he shouldn’t be blurting out random things like that. Even though she knew the general situation regarding Murong Yuchen, she wasn’t about to give in just yet. It wasn’t that she couldn’t be with him, but he really needed to watch what he said.
Murong Yuchen had intended to say something else, but he suddenly switched personalities. Both personalities were aware of each other’s existence and could even share memories.
Although they were the same person and shared memories, the two personalities still had different temperaments.
After switching personalities, Murong Yuchen didn’t mention Qiao Yitong again—he couldn’t afford to push her too far.
“I’m going to check on Xudong,” Murong Yuchen said.
“Have Xiaotong go with you,” Old Master Qiao said.
“Grandpa, I need to go to the kitchen…”
“With your cooking skills, you’d better stay out of the kitchen,” Old Master Qiao said.
“……” Qiao Yitong pouted. No wonder Old Master Qiao could sit and chat with Murong Yuchen—in some ways, Murong Yuchen was quite similar to Old Master Qiao. “Grandpa, can’t you give your granddaughter just a little bit of face?”
“By the way, Yuchen is staying for dinner.” Old Man Qiao dropped another bombshell.
“……” Qiao Yitong fell silent. Was there anything like this in the original story? You thick skull, think fast! Never mind, I can’t figure it out—I’ll just give up. “The maids can…”
Qiao Yitong wanted to protest, but before she could speak, she sensed something off in Old Master Qiao’s gaze. She quickly shut her mouth—she couldn’t go on.
Qiao Yitong looked at Murong Yuchen and gritted her teeth. “Murong Brother, let’s go see Big Brother.”
Old Master Qiao watched as Qiao Yitong and Murong Yuchen walked away. He thought to himself that Murong Yuchen wasn’t such a bad guy after all. The Murong family was known for its romantics; if Qiao Yitong could end up with Murong Yuchen, that wouldn’t be so bad. The only question was whether Murong Yuchen was willing to be with her.
As for what Murong Yuchen had just said, Old Master Qiao didn’t take it seriously; he simply assumed Murong Yuchen was joking. Murong Yuchen and Qiao Xudong were friends. Murong Yuchen was a bit older than Qiao Yitong, and he was the heir to the Murong family, whereas Qiao Yitong had a rather spoiled temperament; she didn’t seem like the type who could be the matriarch of a household.
Still, Old Master Qiao felt it would be better for Qiao Yitong to be with Murong Yuchen. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, it was worth a try. Old Master Qiao was getting on in years, and he knew that Qiao’s father was a hopeless case—the entire branch of the family he represented was good for nothing but living off others.
The two went to Qiao Xudong’s room, where he was still unconscious.
Qiao Yitong recalled that even while unconscious, Qiao Xudong retained some awareness—he could feel someone wiping his body and could even hear some of what was being said. Qiao Yitong didn’t dare say much in Qiao Xudong’s room; she just glared at Murong Yuchen a couple of times.
Murong Yuchen looked at the lively Qiao Yitong. He wanted to reach out and gently ruffle her hair, but unfortunately, he didn’t quite dare. Murong Yuchen’s primary personality was principled and gentle. Others said Qiao Yitong was spoiled and capricious, claiming she knew nothing but how to spend money, but Murong Yuchen happened to love her just the way she was.
Previously, when Qiao Yitong went abroad to study, Murong Yuchen had flown overseas to visit her several times. On more than one occasion, his alter ego had wanted to burst out and rush to Qiao Yitong’s side, only to be held back by his primary personality. Murong Yuchen’s primary personality was undoubtedly restrained; he always knew his limits.
“You have to take responsibility for me,” Murong Yuchen said.
“……” Qiao Yitong’s eyes widened. She pointed at her older brother. “This is my older brother’s room.”
“Even if he were awake, I’d still say it!” Murong Yuchen took a step closer to Qiao Yitong. “You can’t get out of this!”
“I…” Qiao Yitong’s eyes darted around. She grabbed Murong Yuchen’s hand. “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll take responsibility. But my older brother is still unconscious. Keep your voice down—what if he can still hear us?”
“Perfect. Maybe the shock will wake him up!” Murong Yuchen said.
Qiao Yitong tilted her head. So was Murong Yuchen acting as an alternate personality right now? Did his primary personality ever say things like that?
“I’m his sister, not his wife. I didn’t cheat on him. You’re his friend—there’s no way he’d wake up from that,” Qiao Yitong said. “Maybe…”
“Maybe he’s actually quite pleased that his little sister has found a reliable partner,” Murong Yuchen raised an eyebrow. “So he won’t wake up?”
Murong Yuchen felt a twinge of panic. He wondered if pretending to be the secondary personality would allow him to say a few more things.
Right now, the secondary personality could only curse: “You bastard!”
Murong Yuchen had just suddenly realized this. He looked at Qiao Yitong and feared she might soon start dating someone else. Qiao Yitong was so young and beautiful—countless men had their eyes on her—and Murong Yuchen couldn’t give those men a chance.
“Maybe we went a bit too far. If you got pregnant before marriage, would that wake him up?” Murong Yuchen said.
Last night, Murong Yuchen’s two personalities were locked in a battle of wits.
Second Personality: With your indecisive nature, you’ll end up without a wife sooner or later.
Second Personality: A one-sided crush with no future doesn’t even qualify as a heartbreak.
Second Personality: Or maybe you shouldn’t get married at all. With a temperament like yours, your wife will betray you sooner or later—she’ll definitely leave you.
Second Personality: But once you have a child, she’ll definitely stay with you.
……
The alter ego tends to take things to extremes; he represents the darker side of Murong Yuchen. When his mother argued with her late husband, the young Murong Yuchen witnessed it all, which led to the split into a separate personality. The primary personality acts with strict principles in everything he does; the alter ego doesn’t break the law, but his temperament is unlikable.
When it comes to love, Murong Yuchen’s primary personality both believes in and fears it, while the secondary personality believes that if something is his, it must stay his; if he doesn’t want to lose it, he’ll tie the person to his side. The secondary personality dares to do what the primary personality dares not.
Now, as the primary personality reflected on the secondary personality’s words, he found himself wondering if he could pretend to be the secondary personality. Sometimes, Murong Yuchen even wondered if he truly had two personalities, or if he was just putting on an act. No, no, no—he wasn’t putting on an act; he was just playing along occasionally.
When Qiao Yitong heard what Murong Yuchen said, he had her pinned against the wall. She looked up at him, and the height difference between them made her feel overwhelmed. Qiao Yitong didn’t feel much of a romantic buzz; she just thought it was too overwhelming, and she was a little afraid to look Murong Yuchen in the eyes.
Damn clichés, Qiao Yitong thought. If she were to write another novel, she’d definitely cut back on the clichés. But… she felt like covering her eyes.
“Stop thinking about it. Big Brother will wake up soon—not because of us, but because of Big Sister’s wedding to ward off bad luck,” Qiao Yitong said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Murong Yuchen on the cheek. “All right, stop messing around.”
Murong Yuchen was a little dazed; he hadn’t expected Qiao Yitong to kiss him, and his earlobes turned slightly red. If it were his alter ego, what would the alter ego do? Would he have kissed her right back, saying, “Aren’t we supposed to kiss on the lips? Not the cheek?”
At that moment, Murong Yuchen was his primary personality. He didn’t quite dare to go that far—after all, he hadn’t been able to keep up the act the whole time—so instead, he raised one hand slightly and placed it on the side of his face that Qiao Yitong had kissed.
Next time, could he pretend to be his alter ego again? After all, Qiao Yitong wouldn’t know!
“I hope Xu Dong wakes up soon.” Murong Yuchen didn’t pin Qiao Yitong against the wall anymore; instead, he withdrew his hand and looked back at Qiao Xu Dong.
“With my sister-in-law here, my older brother will wake up in less than a month!” Qiao Yitong remembered this part from the original story. Whenever she thought about the plots of other novels, the details became crystal clear—but only for the novels she had written herself, not for the content this world had automatically filled in.
Qiao Yitong didn’t dare linger in Qiao Xudong’s room with Murong Yuchen; she didn’t want Qiao Xudong to hear any more, and besides, Lady Qiao and the others might come by at any moment.
Today was Zhu Shanshan’s official move-in day at the Qiao residence, and Qiao Yitong didn’t want Murong Yuchen to stay. As the two of them stepped out of Qiao Xudong’s room, Qiao Yitong spoke up immediately, “Make sure you head back in a little while—don’t eat here. My eldest sister-in-law just arrived.”
No sooner had Qiao Yitong said this than she turned around and saw Zhu Shanshan coming out of the room. Their eyes met, and Qiao Yitong felt a bit awkward.