As the center of attention on this confession stage, Jiang Sui’s pause lasted a bit too long. Even the female lead, who had been entirely focused on exchanging meaningful glances with the male lead, noticed and looked at him with confusion.
“Ah… sorry, I got too nervous,” Jiang Sui calmly glanced at Qiao Man once more before turning his gaze back to the female lead. “Where was I?”
The female lead replied, “…You said it was love at first sight.”
“Right, it was love at first sight for me.” Jiang Sui smoothly continued, like an emotionless confession machine.
Qiao Man: “…”
Taking advantage of everyone’s attention being fixed on the confession scene, with few people queuing at the academic affairs office for the moment, Qiao Man headed straight into Zhi Xing Lou.
While applying for her meal card, she thought again of the person confessing outside and felt absolutely certain it was her ex-husband, Jiang Sui.
Seriously, even putting aside their failed three-year marriage, they had been childhood friends for over twenty years. Recognizing him was no challenge for her.
So, had he also traveled through time?
Why would he have traveled through time?
Qiao Man had countless questions she wanted to ask, but she did nothing, quietly filling out her personal information instead.
After getting her new meal card, just as she was about to leave, she suddenly spotted the male lead Gu Hantian’s documents on the office desk.
Although she had no intention of getting involved with him, Qiao Man still took a few extra glances, memorizing some basic details.
Once she finished, Qiao Man exited Zhi Xing Lou.
The crowd that had been packed together earlier had already dispersed. The female lead who had been confessed to had left as well, leaving only a certain someone leisurely making his way up the steps.
Qiao Man paused at the foot of the stairs, silently watching as that someone approached step by step.
Compared to their last meeting, Jiang Sui’s appearance was a few years younger.
Though there wasn’t much difference between 27 and 20 in essence, as someone who had been deeply involved in his life, Qiao Man could spot the distinctions at a glance.
Moreover, his hair was a bit longer now, slightly covering his eyes. His cotton T-shirt hung loosely on his frame, the collar gaping a little and revealing a hint of his delicate collarbone.
She distinctly remembered that he hadn’t been this thin at twenty—what was going on now?
Qiao Man frowned. Just as he was about to pass her after climbing the final step, she suddenly spoke: “Jiang Sui.”
Jiang Sui halted, his gaze toward her seeming both profound and shallow.
Looking into his perpetually languid eyes, Qiao Man abruptly recalled the day of their divorce. As she was about to sign the divorce papers, he had suddenly pressed down on her wrist.
“Are you really sure?” he had asked.
She hadn’t spoken, only nodded silently.
He hadn’t released her hand; instead, his grip tightened. “Once we get this certificate, it’s over. We won’t be lovers, and forget about being friends. From now on, at family gatherings or if we run into each other on the street, I won’t greet you. We’ll be complete strangers. Even so, do you still want the divorce?”
Jiang Sui was always lazy—reluctant to speak, reluctant to act. Rambling speeches like this usually only happened when he was angry.
But this time, he wasn’t angry. He just looked at her calmly, as if helping her weigh the pros and cons.
Yet, she had still chosen to divorce.
Then, right after leaving the civil affairs bureau, she had traveled through time.
She never expected their next meeting would be today, here, now.
The ex-couple stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Jiang Sui’s amber pupils finally showed a flicker of emotion.
Just as he was about to speak, Qiao Man interrupted with a smile: “If you dare say you don’t know me, I’ll push you down these stairs.”
Jiang Sui glanced at the length of the staircase and wisely swallowed his words.
Ten minutes later, on a bench in the school’s small garden.
After staring at her ex-husband’s young, handsome face for quite some time, Qiao Man finally remembered to ask the important question: “How long have you been here?”
“Two months,” Jiang Sui replied.
“Same as me?” Qiao Man was somewhat surprised. “I crossed over when that truck hit us on our divorce day. What about you?”
Jiang Sui: “When I saw the truck hitting you.”
“… So we crossed over at the same time.”
They looked at each other and suddenly fell silent.
“Two months already. I wonder how chaotic things have become at home and the company.” Qiao Man frowned, showing anxiety about the crossing for the first time in two months.
Hearing this, Jiang Sui gave her a rather surprised look: “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” Qiao Man retorted.
After staring at her for a long moment, Jiang Sui’s lips slowly curved into a smile.
Qiao Man: “…” Great, he’s about to start being annoying.
Jiang Sui leaned lazily against the bench, his long legs casually bent.
His legs were too long, unintentionally pressing against her knees. He then casually pulled down her overly loose shorts to cover her fair, gleaming thighs.
He had done things like this countless times since childhood, so even though they were now divorced, Qiao Man didn’t find it the least bit inappropriate.
“I do have some information, but we’re just strangers now. If you don’t offer something useful in exchange, it’s hard for me to cooperate with you.”
He lazily narrowed his eyes. Though he looked energetic enough without dark circles, he still appeared perpetually sleepy.
Ignoring his provocation, Qiao Man went straight to the point: “Have you read ‘Zhu Ma Rao Qing Mei’ too?”
Jiang Sui instinctively asked: “What’s that?”
Qiao Man paused, then slowly curved her lips into a smile when she met his gaze.
Jiang Sui: “…”
“You don’t even know what ‘Zhu Ma Rao Qing Mei’ is? Seems like the information you have isn’t very valuable,” Qiao Man leaned back against the bench, looking down her nose at him. “With you like this, it’s hard for me to cooperate…”
Jiang Sui: “I know how to go back.”
Qiao Man immediately dropped all her arrogance: “How?”
Jiang Sui made a “please continue” gesture, clearly indicating she should speak first.
It had to be said that someone had become really calculative after the divorce. Qiao Man missed the Jiang Sui who used to listen to everything she said, and even felt some regret about the divorce… Well, actually not that much regret. With his annoying attitude like this, any normal woman would find it hard to stay with him.
“The place we’ve crossed into isn’t the real world,” Qiao Man decided to be more straightforward.
Hearing this, Jiang Sui wasn’t too surprised: “Yeah, I figured.”
“How did you figure it out?” Qiao Man was somewhat curious. After all, aside from the place names being different from the real world, everything else was almost identical.
Jiang Sui: “Do you know about the Shenhai Conglomerate?”
“Yeah, I know.” The male lead’s family business, with advertisements everywhere, even in the old residential area where she rented.
Jiang Sui: “In the real world, in countries where Chinese is the primary language, even if someone was foolish enough to name their company something like ‘Conglomerate,’ the iron fist of socialism wouldn’t allow it.”
Qiao Man: “…” Fine, she hadn’t considered that angle.
“So, what exactly is this place?” Jiang Sui asked the key question.
After a moment of silence, Qiao Man declared solemnly: “It’s a web novel.”
Jiang Sui: “?”
Qiao Man: “We’ve transmigrated into a novel called ‘Zhu Ma Rao Qing Mei’ and become the characters with the same names.”
“No wonder…” Jiang Sui murmured softly, his beautiful eyes lifting slightly. “You mean there are also characters named Qiao Man and Jiang Sui in the novel, and now we’ve become them?”
Qiao Man nodded: “Yes.”
“Are we the good guys?” Jiang Sui asked.
Qiao Man briefly explained the novel’s plot and the two characters’ relationship with the male and female leads, finally answering his question: “You could say we’re the two most morally bankrupt characters in the entire book.”
Jiang Sui fell silent.
Qiao Man knew him too well – she could tell at a glance that he wasn’t processing this information, but rather his mind had wandered elsewhere.
“What are you thinking?” Given their current special circumstances, Qiao Man decided to be more patient with him.
“I’m thinking,” Jiang Sui met her gaze inquisitively, “whether this novel might have been written by someone we’ve offended.”
“No.” Qiao Man answered decisively.
Jiang Sui: “How can you be so sure?”
Qiao Man: “The author’s profile shows she’s a newly eighteen-year-old girl still in her last year of high school, with no connection to any of our social circles.”
“So it really is a coincidence,” Jiang Sui propped his chin, his medium-length hair forming soft curls, looking both handsome and irritating, “I was going to say, it makes sense that you’d be written as the vicious supporting female character, but I’m actually quite decent as a person.”
Qiao Man: “…”