Chapter 233: Stall
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Listening to the voice outside the door, Ruan Yesheng only wished the quality of the bedroom door and lock could be better.
She did not know what the person outside would do next. Would they find something and forcefully smash open the lock, or did they have some way to open the lock directly? From the fact that the person had deliberately sent Zhou Wenzhu away, it seemed that they had not planned to make a big commotion at the beginning. They might have even wanted to quickly obtain what they wanted during the time Zhou Wenzhu was gone, then leave the scene.
Ruan Yesheng was powerless to fight with others. The other person acted so leisurely, probably because they believed that without any sounds of fighting, they could easily control her. In the other person's eyes, no matter what situation she was in, Ruan Yesheng did not pose any threat.
But now the other person had been exposed, so the original plan was definitely ruined. Even if Zhou Wenzhu returned in time, the other person might still give up all restraint and fight with Zhou Wenzhu.
Zhou Wenzhu was tall, strong, and knew some martial arts. Ordinary criminals would feel afraid when seeing him and would not dare to easily fight him. But at this moment, Ruan Yesheng vaguely felt worried.
...Would Zhou Wenzhu be a match for the person outside?
Ruan Yesheng was even more unsure when Zhou Wenxu would return. When the other person asked her for her phone to send Zhou Wenzhu additional messages, she could not refuse to give it to them. Otherwise, she would alert the other person. It was even more impossible to warn Zhou Wenzhu that he was in danger within such a short time without being discovered by the other person.
All she can do now is wait, and the longer she waits, the better.
"Are you sure you don't want to open the door?" The person outside sounded like they were giving a final warning.
Ruan Yesheng trembled, hoping to buy time by speaking: "Who...who are you? Why...why are you impersonating my mother?"
“This question is very simple.” The person outside laughed. “But first, I want to ask you a question. Answer me obediently.”
“...Ask.” Ruan Yesheng’s heartbeat sounded as if it had been amplified.
“How did you figure out I wasn’t your mother?” the person asked.
Ruan Yesheng tried her best to calm herself and said: “...The watch.”
The person immediately understood and gave a light scoff.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. The silver watch on your hand belongs to your mother, right? You noticed that I didn’t recognize it.”
“...Yes.”
Ruan Yesheng tried to explain as much as possible. Maybe only this way could she gain more time. Her voice carried a little crying tone.
“...My mother started wearing this watch when she was in high school. It went through countless exams with her. This watch had a special meaning to her. Even after it became old, she kept wearing it and carefully repaired and maintained it. Before she disappeared, I had to prepare for an important exam. My mother noticed that I was a little nervous, so she took off this watch and gave it to me. She said that with this watch accompanying her, she had won every exam, and she hoped to pass this good luck on to me. She wanted me to wear this watch when I took my exam.”
“Later, she... disappeared. She never came back again. This watch stayed with me. When I wear this watch, it is like... my mother is accompanying me.”
Her voice held a hint of resentment as she said, "So how could my mother not recognize this watch? How could she say to me, 'Your watch is this old,' let alone replace her own cherished watch with a new one? And when you came in, your eyes were subconsciously scanning the room. At first, I thought it was because my mother hadn't been home for a long time and was just distracted, which seemed normal. But after realizing you didn't recognize the watch, all those previously understandable behaviors started to seem abnormal."
The person outside praised her, but there was no warmth in their voice.
“Ruanruan, you were really good at acting back then. You deceived me.”
This time, Ruan Yesheng honestly said: “...Other than acting, I had no other way to leave your side at that time.”
Only then did the person laugh.
“Now... can you answer my previous question?”
Ruan Yesheng asked carefully, “Of course. You answered my question, so I will answer yours too.”
The person laughed.
“As... a reward for my obedient Ruanruan.”
Ruan Yesheng’s skin broke out in goosebumps at that moment. Fear seemed to come from the deepest part of her bones.
The person said: “Actually, I didn’t pretend to be your mother. You don’t think I used disguise, do you? I don’t know disguise techniques. That is a difficult and mysterious art.”
Ruan Yesheng’s breathing stopped at this moment.
“I said just now that I really am Mom. I didn't lie to you.”
The person's voice sounded as if they had guessed what kind of painful reaction Ruan Yesheng was having inside the room, and they were savoring this pain.
“From a certain perspective, I am your mother. This body itself belongs to Ruan Xijian. When you helped her, didn’t you see that old scar on her hand?”
Ruan Yesheng lowered her head and covered her mouth.
“I don’t know about the watch, but I know about this scar.”
The person said: “That was an injury your mother received when she protected you when you were young.”
“You could have identified Ruan Xijian by this scar, but you didn’t,” the person said. “No, you deliberately deceived yourself, preventing yourself from making that judgment. Because you were afraid. You felt that if it was an imposter, a disguise, then the person who came wasn’t your mother, and your mother would still have hope of living. But now your mother’s body is right outside your door. You can no longer find any chance of life for Ruan Xijian.”
That person seemed to see through everything about Ruan Yesheng and took pleasure in uncovering these cruel truths that were too painful to face.
"Poor Ruanruan," the person said, their tone far from pitying.
Ruan Yesheng covered her mouth, trying to suppress her sobs, but tears streamed down her face and fell to the floor.
“As for who I really am.”
The person walked a few steps outside the door and said:
“You must be very familiar with me. After all, I often meet you. It is just that I have different appearances.”
She paused and slowly said: “For example... Ding Qihong, Yang Zhen.”
Ruan Yesheng felt as if the extreme cold wind had blown holes through her body. Every word the other person said turned into fear, clinging to her.
And all the questions that she had encountered before now have clear answers.
““Zhang Yuning was also me, for a period of time. It is just that by the time you knew, the body was already dead, so it does not count as a meeting.”
“A few days ago, when you and Xi Mo went to the concert, I also followed behind you. You didn’t notice because I had changed into another appearance.”
“The night you had just arrived at the Sui Ting film set, the figure under the tree that you saw from the hotel window was also me.”
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
“The person holding an umbrella downstairs during New Year’s Eve was also me.”
The person's voice sounded as if it came from the abyss. “Ruanruan, when you were looking at me, I was actually also looking at you.”
Ruan Yesheng’s body stiffened, but she was still trembling instinctively.
“Those people you did not know, but felt afraid of or suspicious of, might all have been me. I have changed too many bodies, so many that sometimes I do not even remember their names, or do not know who they were.”
“As long as I need it, I take them and use them.”
The person laughed.
“The world is so large, and there are so many bodies. I can choose any of them. This is the ability I was born with. Isn’t this better than disguise techniques?”
Ruan Yesheng hugged her arms tightly and curled herself up.
The thing outside was not human.
It could freely control people's bodies and replace the original owners of those bodies.
Thinking of this, fear slowly turned into a long-lasting numbness. She felt that in front of such an existence, she was as powerless as dust.
And she realized another thing.
The person said that the figure looking down from the Suiting Hotel window was them, but at that time, they had Xi Mo’s appearance.
This meant...the other person had known long ago that she and Xi Mo had swapped bodies.
