Chapter 20: She figured it out.

Facing Qian Junyou’s icy reply, the smile on Bai Shuxi’s face gradually froze.
She lowered her head helplessly.

“But Miss Nalan said that after Shuxi fell into the water last night, it was Young Master who saved me…”

“That is absolutely impossible!
A useless good-for-nothing who has been stuck at Qi Refining for seven or eight years—how could he possibly save a genius girl who reached Foundation Establishment eighth layer at eighteen!
That is definitely a false rumor! Pure slander—!”

Qian Junyou, who had no intention of showing her any goodwill, turned his back to the side and spoke with deliberate seriousness.

Hearing these words, Bai Shuxi felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart.
She couldn’t lift her head or breathe properly. Her entire body stiffened.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. It was Shuxi who was wrong…”

“No! Absolutely not! I dare not accept it.
During this past month I have disturbed you many times and caused Miss Bai unhappiness.
The one who should apologize is me. I overreached myself!”

Bai Shuxi’s delicate body trembled. She felt a complicated ache in her chest…
Although at the beginning she had indeed felt disgusted by him,

When she faced the destruction of her family and fell into the abyss of despair with no way out,
When she was painfully suffocating in that cold, dark river water and slowly sinking,

She had never imagined she would open her eyes again!
That she could once more stand under bright sunlight and breathe the cool air…

And the one who had saved her was precisely the person before her…

“Young Master… do you really not remember Mengyao?”

Qian Junyou was stunned for a moment.
Who the hell was she? This character had never appeared in the original novel!

Last night, in a fit of anger, he had directly said he didn’t know her…

“Mm… it’s been too long. I don’t have any impression…”

“But… five days ago, when you invited me to eat at Han Han Tower, you saw her then?”

“…I didn’t pay attention.”

Hearing this answer, Bai Shuxi froze for a long time.
She had never eaten with him before, and Han Han Tower was something she had casually made up.

Sure enough, the “Qian Junyou” before her had no memories from before the Hero Soul Festival.

His personality was also completely different?

Countless guesses flashed rapidly through Bai Shuxi’s mind… A bold conjecture slowly took shape…

She cupped her hands and bowed, then bit her lip and said with a face full of grievance:

“Also… regarding the matter of exempting the Bai family from the three-clan implication, and delaying my father’s transfer to death row, Shuxi also wishes to properly thank Young Master…”

“Stop stop stop… enough!
Are people spreading rumors so boldly nowadays? Don’t throw every hat onto my head! That’s about enough!”

Before she could finish, Qian Junyou directly interrupted and denied it.
Today he had come fully prepared. No matter what she said, it wouldn’t work!

“…But they said it was a memorial submitted by Prince Rui himself?”

“Cough… What does my father’s memorial have to do with me? If you want to thank someone, thank the old man!”

“But if it was written by Prince Rui… there shouldn’t be so many wrong characters, right?”

“Wrong your sister! Those are called simplified characters!”

Hearing this, Qian Junyou almost couldn’t hold back. What did she mean by wrong characters? The damage was small, but the insult was extremely strong.

Although he could read traditional characters, suddenly forcing him to write in traditional was still a bit uncomfortable…

Qian Junyou had never intended to tangle with her for long. His original goal had only been to survive.
So he planned to say his piece and leave. He waved his hand and turned away:

“Alright, Miss Bai, please go back.
In the future I will not disturb Miss Bai again, nor will we meet. Just treat me as dead. Take care, I won’t see you out.”

“Young Master, please wait!”

The impatient Qian Junyou turned back with hands behind his back and asked irritably:

“What now?”

“Before, it was always Shuxi who wronged Young Master. I am truly very sorry!”

Regret filled Bai Shuxi’s heart. She had come to thank her savior, yet she discovered she couldn’t even erase the harm she had caused him.

Recalling the words she had said and the things she had done to him, she felt no matter what, she couldn’t wash away the guilt in her heart. But at the very least, she hoped he could forgive her.

“At that time, someone found my uncle and provided a false witness, along with previous evidence unfavorable to you. After we verified it, everything matched… so we…”

It would have been better if she hadn’t said it. The moment she did, anger surged in Qian Junyou’s heart. He laughed contemptuously and turned away with self-mockery:

“So all those crimes should just be pinned on me, this good-for-nothing profligate son who does every evil, right?”

Bai Shuxi bit her lip, clutching the edge of her skirt, and said with deep shame:

“Really… I’m sorry. Shuxi and my uncle never imagined that the official from our Ministry of Works would be a planted false witness… nor did we expect that the so-called evidence inside Prince Rui’s mansion didn’t exist at all…”

He hadn’t wanted to dwell on this issue, but when she mentioned the evidence, it once again struck Qian Junyou’s nerves…

“Evidence… who exactly was that person? What did he say the evidence was?”

“People from the Censorate. Shuxi never saw him. It’s said that after yesterday’s court session, he committed suicide in the Court of Judicial Review.
Supposedly the evidence was correspondence between you and demonic cultivators over the past half month…”

Qian Junyou fell into deep thought, recalling the original plot bit by bit.
If it was letters, forging them would require matching the handwriting…

“Heh, demonic cultivators…”

“I’m truly sorry. It was Shuxi who…”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear your apologies. Miss Bai, please go back. Don’t come bother me anymore.”

It was time to end this. It should have ended long ago!
Qian Junyou looked impatient. After speaking, he turned and walked away.

No matter how beautiful Bai Shuxi was, it had nothing to do with him. There were so many beautiful girls in the world, but none of them would ever be connected to him. This was common sense he had learned after living so many years.

As long as he stayed far away from this woman in the future, as long as he skipped the plot where the original self tried to forcefully kiss the female lead and got backstabbed, he should be able to survive smoothly.
As long as he escaped this loop, he would win!

“Wait! Shuxi still has one more request!”

Qian Junyou pretended not to hear and continued walking inside without looking back. Bai Shuxi could only trot after him, chasing and saying:

“Shuxi wishes to ask Young Master to investigate the truth of this case together and clear my father’s name!”

“Sure! Great idea! Then you can think about it.”

Qian Junyou walked while laughing coldly, giving an enthusiastic affirmation. But Bai Shuxi couldn’t smile at all. She chased after him and asked:

“Wait! Didn’t Young Master promise that after delaying my father’s transfer to death row, you would help think of other solutions?”

Qian Junyou’s heart jumped in alarm. He seemed to have promised her… At that time he had promised her… Wait! That was from the previous loop!

“Mm… huh? When did that happen?”

Bai Shuxi, however, wanted to use this opportunity to test whether the extra memories in her mind were real.

Those memories were so clear she was certain they had happened, yet they didn’t match what was currently occurring.

“You said at the time… otherwise, you would marry me!”

“???”

Qian Junyou stopped in his tracks, falling into a state of extreme confusion.

Wasn’t that something said in the previous loop? Why did Bai Shuxi know about it? Or had the previous “Qian Junyou” promised something?

“When did I say that?”

Bai Shuxi felt both nervous and expectant. Seeing him hesitate and stop, she grew excited and continued probing:

“That night… on the rooftop. What was that building called…? Young Master really doesn’t remember?”

“Wasn’t it… the Teaching Department…?”

Surprise and fear flashed in Qian Junyou’s eyes. How did Bai Shuxi know about last loop’s events?

Bai Shuxi sucked in a cold breath, but quickly hid the shock in her eyes.

“What are you saying, Young Master? How could Shuxi ever go to a place like that? It was last year! You don’t remember?”

Last year the two had not even met.

“…No impression.”

“That can’t be? Last year your father was also sent to death row? Are you teasing me?”

A trace of relieved smile appeared on Bai Shuxi’s face. Sure enough, that memory had really happened…

“Young Master, do you really have no interest in Shuxi anymore?”

“None.”

Qian Junyou turned away impatiently.

Bai Shuxi pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and switched to a different mindset. With a sly, playful smile she said:

“Sigh… Young Master really has a good heart. You spent so much effort to bring Shuxi to this state, and now that you’ve lost interest, you just ignore me…”

Qian Junyou suddenly felt irritated. This girl wanted to play with fire again? He frowned tightly and retorted:

“What do you mean I spent so much effort to bring you to this state?”

“Then why don’t you dare accompany Shuxi…”

Before Qian Junyou could finish speaking, Bai Shuxi immediately continued, as if she had prepared her response in advance.

She suddenly widened her watery eyes, hopped on her tiptoes, and looked at him pitifully.

What was this? A provocation tactic? Qian Junyou sneered contemptuously. He wasn’t falling for it!

“Hmph, this Young Master doesn’t read much and doesn’t know how to investigate cases. What use would it be if I accompanied you?”

“Then… didn’t you say you already found the culprit behind the fire?”

That was also said this loop? It seemed he had… In the heat of the moment he had let it slip.

“What does that have to do with you? Besides, I already said I don’t want to see you anymore!”

“Then you… just don’t look~”

“You…”

Qian Junyou was so angry he couldn’t speak. It seemed this girl had made up her mind and was playing thick-skinned now.

But before he could think of how to respond, Bai Shuxi bounced over in front of him and leaned her face close.

“You, you… why are you suddenly getting so close?”

The faint warmth-scented breath instantly warmed Qian Junyou’s nose. That inner demon began stirring again…

Fortunately, this power could no longer fight him for control of his body.

The white silk one-shoulder bandeau was pushed high by that structurally unstable human tissue. The tender white skin shook so much it hurt Qian Junyou’s eyes.

Bai Shuxi recalled the other set of memories where Qian Junyou had kept more than ten meters of distance from her even in the main hall.

When his arm had been shot through, he had still told her not to approach. It seemed that getting close to him would make him feel… panic?

With a mischievous smile, she stared into Qian Junyou’s eyes and said playfully:

“Shuxi noticed… Young Master always seems to deliberately keep a great distance from Shuxi…! Why is that?”

It was over. She had figured it out…

But how had she discovered it?!

Bai Shuxi swung her two long, snow-white, slender legs and kept moving closer. Qian Junyou felt like an anchored ship watching two towering mountains actively sailing toward him. Could a girl her age really have this?

“Miss Bai, have some self-respect! Don’t come closer…!”

The more he couldn’t control his eyes, the more that evil power and terrifying inner demon stirred!

As if she had guessed something, Bai Shuxi revealed a triumphant smile and began to push her advantage further…

Every time Qian Junyou stepped back, Bai Shuxi hopped forward. Every time he tried to create distance, she trotted after him.

“Ah—!”

When he tried to step back again, he forgot about the one-hand-high threshold behind him and fell flat on his butt.

Bai Shuxi had no intention of letting it end there. She seized the momentum and knelt on the ground, continuing to lean her face closer.

Until Qian Junyou was completely lying down, Bai Shuxi supported herself with both hands on the ground and continued staring at him with her watery eyes.

A strand of hair slipped from her shoulder, brushed across Qian Junyou’s face, and she gently tucked it behind her ear.

“Young Master… are you alright?”

Bai Shuxi asked gently with a naughty smile. The warm breath from her mouth kept brushing against the tip of Qian Junyou’s nose. Why did this girl insist on breathing through her mouth at a time like this? Was it on purpose?!

“I… I’m fine! Just move away first… ah—!”

“Young Master, there’s something at the corner of your eye. Let Shuxi blow it away for you!”

As she spoke, she deliberately leaned down closer. Her snow-white knees and thighs pressed forward, and those towering peaks rested against Qian Junyou’s chest.

An evil yet ethereal whisper rang in Qian Junyou’s ear once again. It seemed another set of neural centers had begun issuing orders to his body…

No, if this continued he would be finished… His body was starting to disobey him again!

Too late. Now he couldn’t even push her away with his hands…

“Fine! This Young Master agrees! Damn it!”

“Thank you, Young Master!”

Having succeeded in her scheme, Bai Shuxi let out a cheerful, lively voice. She stood up and then plopped down heavily on Qian Junyou’s left knee.

When he had jumped from the carriage, he had exactly smashed this knee. Although it had been treated, it still hadn’t fully healed.

“It hurts! Get off me right now!”

Bai Shuxi slowly knelt upright, lightly furrowing her brows. Suddenly, with a puzzled, serious, and earnest expression, she asked:

“Young Master… are you really still… the previous Young Master?”

“What do you mean?”

Qian Junyou grew vigilant and frowned tightly as he looked at her.

Bai Shuxi swallowed, pursed her lips, and asked seriously:

“Or… are you the same person?”

“???”

Qian Junyou was suddenly frightened by her. Had she discovered he was a transmigrator?

He let out a deep sigh, thought for a moment, and said calmly:

“You can treat it as… I’m not. But if you dare speak of it, I will take your life back.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble Young Prince with the investigation.”