Chapter 37

Early the next morning, Ji Kailan drove Su Louzhi to the Ji Group headquarters.

Su Louzhi had been both nervous and excited about her first day of work, but after last night, most of that had been overtaken by embarrassment. The fact that even the prospect of starting work hadn't managed to suppress her shame was simply because everything felt so—strange!

Ever since Ji Kailan had proposed spreading that stuff on her like body lotion, she'd felt mortified, but she'd still silently allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

And Ji Kailan had indeed followed through. Although he hadn't actually taken her in the end, he'd discovered other places—like between her thighs.

When he finished, he took his release and slowly massaged it into her skin in gentle circles.

After what felt like a long time, Su Louzhi saw that the stuff in his hand was gone and thought he was finally done. But Ji Kailan turned and went into the bathroom, then came back out moments later with a fresh batch.

At that point, Su Louzhi stared at him with pure disbelief.

Ji Kailan gave a faint smile. "Aren't you curious where the milk I give you every day comes from? Why I shower for so long every day?"

Su Louzhi understood immediately. She really hadn't wanted to know, but unfortunately, she'd figured it out anyway. Her face burning red, she closed her eyes and let Ji Kailan coat her entire body once more.

As he massaged it in, he explained with utter confidence, "It's winter now. Even though both the house and the office have heating, you always wear long sleeves and pants. So I'll just apply a little extra—it'll be covered by your clothes. No problem at all."

Su Louzhi thought that actually sounded reasonable.

After all, he hadn't put it on her face—only places her clothes would cover...

It probably wouldn't cause any issues, right?

So when she woke up the next day and Ji Kailan drove her to the Ji Group, Su Louzhi couldn't help feeling a bit strange.

Ji Kailan wasn't wrong—the stuff didn't have any scent once applied. (At that moment, she conveniently forgot what her biology teacher had said about the olfactory organs adapting.)

But after it dried on her skin, it left her skin impossibly taut. Now she felt like every inch of her body was stretched tight, and even her gait seemed a little off.

Ji Kailan still loved holding her any chance he got, so he only set her down once they reached the Ji Group building.

Soon, he noticed something odd about the way she walked.

"Zhi Zhi," he asked with gentle concern, "did I hurt your legs last night?"

Su Louzhi shook her head and shyly typed out a message for him: 【My skin feels really tight. It's strange.】

Ji Kailan was relieved to find it wasn't her legs. He smiled. "You're just not used to it yet. You'll get used to it soon. I'll apply it for you every day—within a week, you'll be plenty accustomed."

Su Louzhi's cheeks flushed, but she didn't type a retort or say anything else.

When they reached the top floor of the Ji Group building, Ji Kailan led Su Louzhi straight into his office.

Su Louzhi looked around. The office was spacious and elegant, clean and bright—exactly what she'd imagined. But why had he brought her here instead of taking her to her workstation? Did he have something to tell her?

Ji Kailan walked to the desk and pointed at a spot beside it, his tone casual. "I added a chair yesterday. This desk is big enough anyway. How about you work here with me?" He looked at her, his eyes filled with warmth. "I genuinely don't want to be apart from you for even a single second."

Su Louzhi was a little surprised. This was nothing like what she'd imagined—she'd thought she'd have her own designated desk. But then again, Ji Kailan had told her that as long as she was by his side, the scent of those inferior pheromones would disappear. It made sense that he wanted to stay close to her.

So she nodded.

Ji Kailan familiarized her with the office and the basic layout of the top floor, then pressed the intercom button.

Soon, a sharp-looking man entered.

"This is my father's capable assistant, Chief Assistant Xue," Ji Kailan introduced. Then he turned to the man. "Chief Assistant Xue, this is my partner, Su Louzhi. She can't speak, so please take good care of her. Show her around, then bring her back here."

Chief Assistant Xue nodded calmly. "Understood. Leave it to me."

Su Louzhi nodded at him and followed him out of the office.

As they walked, Xue Yi spoke in a steady voice. "Hello, Miss Su. I'm Xue Yi. I'll first give you an overview of Ji Group's departments—just a quick tour."

Su Louzhi nodded and followed along.

Xue Yi went through the top floor in detail, then took the elevator down, floor by floor.

The Ji Group was enormous. Xue Yi spent the entire morning showing Su Louzhi around—and that was with him keeping things as brief as possible, just enough for her to get her bearings. By the time they'd barely covered the whole building, it was nearly noon.

When he delivered Su Louzhi back to Ji Kailan's office, it was lunchtime.

Ji Kailan got up and took her to the cafeteria. Because of her childhood experiences, Su Louzhi was especially sensitive to other people's gazes. During the morning tour, she'd vaguely noticed that many eyes on her held a strange quality. Now, walking side by side with Ji Kailan through the cafeteria, the feeling was even more pronounced—many people looked at her with obvious curiosity.

It made her a bit uncomfortable, but she reasoned it was probably because she was standing next to Ji Kailan. It was the same on the school forum before—lots of people photographed them together.

Ji Kailan noticed her unease right away. He turned to her and said gently, "Don't worry, Zhi Zhi. It's just novelty for most of them. They'll stop soon. I promise."

Su Louzhi nodded. Those gazes held no malice after all, so it wasn't enough to trigger her physical symptoms of anxiety.

Sure enough, things were much better by the afternoon.

Having toured the Ji Group in the morning, Su Louzhi spent the afternoon sharing the office with Ji Kailan. Without other people's stares, and in the company of her most familiar person, she felt far more at ease.

At quitting time, Ji Kailan prepared to take her home. Su Louzhi was surprised—she'd assumed that running such a huge corporation as the head of the Ji Group would mean plenty of overtime, yet he was leaving right on time.

Then again, who actually liked overtime? She happily nodded. But when they reached the parking garage, Ji Kailan said, "Zhi Zhi, how about we go to Sky Mall?"

He explained as he started the car: "While Chief Assistant Xue was showing you around this morning, Shen Boyang told me that on January 27th, his family is hosting a banquet, and he wants me to bring you along. So we'll pick out evening gowns today, then have dinner over there. Sound good?"

Su Louzhi had no objections—in fact, she'd been hoping for it. She'd nearly forgotten that the third task was on January 27th. Ji Kailan's sudden attack had thrown her into such a panic that she'd completely overlooked that the Shen Family banquet was only six days away.

Ji Kailan drove straight to Sky Mall. When it came to choosing a gown, he was spoilt for choice—he wanted her to wear this one, then that one. In the end, he simply bought them all.

Su Louzhi assumed that was the end of it—they'd just store them for later. But that very night, Ji Kailan had her put on one of the new gowns.

He even said with utmost righteousness, "Two full days of rest—that's over now. When I saw you in that gown today, you looked so beautiful. I want to watch you in such a stunning dress, losing yourself beneath me."

Su Louzhi was speechless, but she still indulged him, putting on the dress he'd picked and surrendering to another night of passion.

And as it turned out, you should never indulge a man. Su Louzhi already thought it was absurd that he'd bought her an expensive gown just to tear it off. But what was even more absurd was that the next five days went exactly the same way.

Ji Kailan seemed addicted to shredding one dress a day. Su Louzhi had originally thought it'd be five days of work and two days of rest, but Ji Kailan turned out to be utterly ruthless! He decided she was rested enough, and it became six days of work and one day of rest!

After four consecutive nights, Su Louzhi thought she'd finally get a good night's sleep on the fifth. But that anticipated sleep never came—she was once again made to pass out.

Six days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those six days, Su Louzhi quickly familiarized herself with the work expected of her at the Ji Group. As Ji Kailan had said, it was simple—basically just running errands.

The employees were easy to get along with too. Except for the first day, when some people had looked at her strangely, making her uncomfortable. But from the second day on, those odd looks disappeared.

Still, Su Louzhi couldn't shake a vague sense that something was off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Today was January 27th—the day of the Shen Family banquet.

As the system's third task, Su Louzhi took it extremely seriously, afraid that one misstep might affect her true reincarnation.

That morning, she and Ji Kailan only worked at the Ji Group for half a day before driving home around noon. After waking from their midday nap, Ji Kailan took her to the styling studio at Sky Mall, where the cool stylist Lisa did her hair and makeup.

Once everything was done, they had dinner at Sky, touched up her makeup, and finally changed into their evening wear before heading to the Shen residence.

In the car, Ji Kailan instructed her, "Just stay by my side later, Zhi Zhi. You don't need to do anything. If someone greets you, just smile and nod."

Su Louzhi nodded, signaling that she understood.

——

The Shen Family's banquet was held at Heavenly Land, which was close to Sky Mall—only about ten minutes away.

The moment Ji Kailan led Su Louzhi into the venue, she gained a deeper understanding of the Ji family's status.

The instant Ji Kailan walked in, countless eyes all turned toward them. Then the crowd began to surge forward, one person after another coming up to exchange pleasantries.

"Young Master Ji, hello! I'm Chu Hang from Chutian Technology."

"Young Master Ji, allow me to introduce my nephew, He Yitian. He just took up the position of vice president at our company. Come, Yitian, say hello to Young Master Ji!"

"Young Master Ji, long time no see! Last time we met was a few months ago, when you didn't yet have a partner. Now you've brought such a beautiful lady—would you care to introduce her to everyone?"

The crowd pressed closer. Su Louzhi even felt someone subtly trying to shove her aside.

Just as she began to feel at a loss, Ji Kailan noticed. He reached out to shield her and said coolly, "My partner is a bit introverted. Please forgive us."

With that, he led Su Louzhi straight through the crowd and deeper into the venue.

At that moment, Shen Boyang hurried over, pushing through the crowd as he apologized repeatedly. "Old Ji, sorry about that! Something came up, so I'm a little late!"

Spotting Su Louzhi, he greeted her with a smile. "Junior Su, long time no see! Looks like you've been doing well lately?"

Su Louzhi smiled and nodded in lieu of a greeting. Evening gowns had no pockets, and carrying her phone around the whole time would be odd. So today, she'd decided to be a mute through and through—her only response to anything would be a smile and a nod.

Shen Boyang led Ji Kailan and Su Louzhi to a less crowded area. When they reached a secluded corner, he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then suddenly stopped.

He turned and lowered his voice, speaking directly to Su Louzhi. "Junior Su, I'm really glad you could make it today. Something's happened in Qingyan's family. She's been keeping it under wraps—I only just found out myself. She's bound to be feeling down lately. If you get a chance later, maybe you could keep her company and help lift her spirits a little."

Su Louzhi was full of question marks. Man, could you be a little more specific? What exactly happened to Qingyan?

Unfortunately, she couldn't speak, and she didn't have her phone to type. She could only look at Ji Kailan with a helpless expression.

Ji Kailan caught her signal and asked flatly, "Why don't you start by telling us what happened to Qin Qingyan."

Shen Boyang looked genuinely troubled. He scratched his head. "It's not that I don't want to tell you right away—I just don't know how to put it into words... In short, there's now another girl in the Qin family. Apparently, she's the real daughter of the Qin family, and Qin Qingyan is the one who was switched at birth."

Su Louzhi was completely stunned. What? A switched-at-birth plotline?

Ji Kailan frowned and quickly seized on the key point. "So are you saying the Qin family now has two daughters, or that Qin Qingyan has been cast out?"

Shen Boyang choked visibly and gave Ji Kailan an exasperated look. "Why would they cast Qingyan out of the family? The Qin family is wealthy enough; it's not like they can't afford to feed her. Naturally, they're keeping both."

He paused, his expression turning slightly awkward. "The thing is—now that the Qin family has two daughters, my position is a bit... delicate. Maybe it's even inconvenient for me to keep in touch with her. That's why I wanted to mention it to you privately, Junior Su. See if Qingyan's feeling down, and maybe help her out if you can."

Su Louzhi nodded. Qingyan had been so good to her—if something was wrong with Qingyan, of course she'd do her best to help. She just didn't understand why Shen Boyang would say his position was delicate, or why contact would be inconvenient.

As the young master of the Shen family, Shen Boyang had a lot of responsibilities at tonight's banquet. He was already stretched thin, and he'd spent more than enough time talking with them.

He nodded to the two of them and was about to take his leave when he suddenly turned back. "Looks like you two are really happy now," he said with a grin. "Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!"

With that, he hurried off to attend to the other guests.

Su Louzhi didn't think much of his "lifetime of happiness" blessing. She assumed Shen Boyang knew about the seven days and seven nights she'd spent with Ji Kailan, and combined with Ji Kailan openly declaring her his partner earlier, that's why he'd offered the blessing.

After Shen Boyang left, it was just the two of them again.

Su Louzhi raised her head and looked at him with questioning eyes: What exactly is going on with Qingyan?

Ji Kailan read the question in her gaze and explained softly, "The Qin and Shen families intended to unite through marriage. Boyang's mother and Qin Qingyan's mother were best friends before marriage, and they gave birth around the same time. The two mothers made a pact: if the children differentiated into different genders, they'd marry each other when they grew up; if they turned out the same gender, they'd support each other like brothers."

Su Louzhi had another moment of realization. No wonder Qingyan had called Shen Boyang "Boyang" from the start, but referred to Ji Kailan as "Young Master Ji." Qingyan had also said she and Shen Boyang had grown up together, while she was less familiar with Ji Kailan. So that was the connection.

Su Louzhi tried to recall the sparse novel-reading experience from her previous life. Arranged marriages in elite families plus the switched-at-birth daughter trope—this seemed like a common romance novel setup. The only question was whether this book was going the sweet route or the angsty route.

If it was sweet, everyone would side with Qingyan and shower her with affection. If it was angsty, Qingyan would inevitably leave heartbroken for abroad, and a few years later Shen Boyang would come to his senses and do the whole "chasing his wife through the crematorium" routine.

Yes, Su Louzhi had instinctively categorized this as the outdated "two women fighting over one man" formula, since that's how old web novels always went.

If the fake daughter was the heroine, the usual trope went like this: after the real daughter returns, she realizes she should have lived this life, and that the fake daughter stole her chance at becoming a noble lady. So the real daughter viciously targets the fake daughter out of jealousy. Then she discovers the fake daughter has a childhood-sweetheart fiancé—handsome and brilliant—which makes her even more jealous. She thinks that if she hadn't been switched at birth, this fiancé would have grown up with her and eventually married her. So she targets the fake daughter even more viciously and tries to steal the fiancé.

From there, the story diverged into sweet or angsty. In the sweet version, the fake daughter slaps the real daughter's face over and over, the fiancé steadfastly defends her, and everyone gets a happy ending. In the angsty version, the fiancé accepts the real daughter for various reasons, breaking the fake daughter's heart. The fake daughter leaves in sorrow, fleeing the city or going abroad. Eventually, the fiancé realizes he truly loves the fake daughter, and the crematorium chase begins, ending happily.

Su Louzhi ground her teeth, silently vowing: This book had better take the sweet route. If it dares go angsty, she wouldn't mind helping Qingyan scatter Shen Boyang's ashes to the wind.

After all, the system had said her actions were completely unrestricted and that this was a real world. It hadn't revealed the book's contents precisely to maintain that sense of reality, letting her make the most authentic choices at every step.

So... rewriting this book into a bad ending was well within her rights, right?

Ji Kailan watched Su Louzhi grinding her teeth in righteous fury after hearing the story of Shen Boyang and Qin Qingyan, and asked in surprise, "What's wrong, Zhi Zhi? You look so indignant."

Su Louzhi paused. She didn't have her phone to type, so she couldn't explain.

Ji Kailan seemed to understand her predicament. He smiled and pointed in a direction. "Standing here isn't doing us any favors. Let's go over there."

It was a secluded area, clearly meant for guests to have private conversations. There were intimate booths, separated by half-height screens, so once you sat down, no one else could see you.

The two of them walked over and chose an empty booth. Ji Kailan handed his phone to Su Louzhi.

She took it and quickly typed: 【This is the classic switched-at-birth trope from web novels! Isn't this how the plot always goes? The real daughter returns to the Qin family, realizes the fake daughter stole her rightful life, becomes insanely jealous, and even tries to steal the fake daughter's childhood-sweetheart fiancé. Eventually, she breaks the fake daughter's heart, and the fake daughter leaves in dejection!】

Ji Kailan couldn't help but chuckle softly at the words on the screen.

Su Louzhi shot him a glare, looking furious. She was this indignant, and he had the nerve to laugh!

Ji Kailan obediently suppressed his laughter, though his eyes still brimmed with amusement. He managed to ask in a calm voice, "And what does my little treasure plan to do about it?"

Su Louzhi lowered her head and typed earnestly: 【I'm definitely helping Qingyan! If Senior Shen really hurts her and makes her sad, I won't mind helping Qingyan scatter his ashes to the wind.】

With a determined look and full confidence, she continued typing: 【Crematorium chase? Not happening! If Qingyan's heart is broken, then that man isn't worth keeping. Better to just trade him in for someone new.】

When she finished, she held the phone up in front of Ji Kailan, her eyes saying, "Dare to disagree and see what happens."

Ji Kailan broke down laughing again. "Alright. If Zhi Zhi wants to scatter Boyang's ashes, then I'll hand you the shovel."

Receiving the answer she wanted, Su Louzhi lifted her chin with a touch of smugness, looking thoroughly pleased.

Ji Kailan gazed at her with warm, amused eyes, thinking she was absolutely adorable in that moment.

Usually, his Zhi Zhi was sweet, gentle, and obedient. Yet just now, the moment Shen Boyang mentioned that another girl had appeared in the Qin family, she immediately worried for her best friend and showed a fiercely protective side completely at odds with her usual self.

Yes—this was the Su Louzhi he loved.

Normally, she was timid to a fault, introverted and sensitive. But when it came to the people she cared about, she'd transform on the spot.

The first time he saw her, she was trembling and crying, scared out of her wits, yet she'd still stepped in front of Qin Qingyan.

Later, in Sky Mall, when the robber lunged at him with a knife, she was terrified, but she'd jumped in front of him and taken the blade.

She really was his silly Zhi Zhi.

How could he love her this much?

At first, all he'd felt for her was raw desire. But now, more than desire, he wanted to protect her, to guard her, to make her happy every single day, to see her safe and healthy for a lifetime, with smooth sailing ahead.

The more he looked at her, the more his heart ached with affection. Especially now, with that cute, proud little chin lift—transforming from a soft, pitiful kitten into a regal one.

He could feel his reaction stirring again.

Ji Kailan stared at her with deep, darkened eyes and said hoarsely, "Zhi Zhi, I want to kiss you."

Su Louzhi's pride deflated instantly. She turned to him with a hint of annoyance. It might feel private here, but it was still an open space!

Ji Kailan knew exactly how to handle Su Louzhi now. He kept his eyes locked on her, his voice low and rough. "Zhi Zhi, I've been holding back and it's tormenting me... Let me kiss you, please? You can't make a sound anyway. If I kiss you, no one will hear. No one will notice."

Hearing him say he was suffering made her heart ache again. And she supposed it was true—no matter what he did to her, she couldn't make a sound.

Fine. She'd give in.

Her cheeks reddening, she gave a small nod, closed her eyes, and waited for Ji Kailan to do as he pleased.

In a corner no one noticed, soft, ambiguous sounds filled the air.