Chapter 1

☆1. My Other Self Is a Man

Author’s Note: Alright, let’s keep up the momentum and start a new project~ You all know that A-Jiu doesn’t write fast, right? ╮(╯▽╰)╭ So this story will tentatively update once every one and a half days, with updates at 8 PM every night~ This is my first time trying this kind of subject matter, and it’s a bit difficult to write, so please give A-Jiu lots of feedback~ ╭(╯3╰)╮ I love you all~

Prologue

Thursday, September 13, 2012.

Lin Xi took out her keys and opened the door. This was a small one-bedroom apartment she rented outside of school. In the three years since she’d come to study at university in another city alone, Lin Xi, who was slightly obsessive about cleanliness, had kept her little home spotless—not a single day had it been messy. But today, the moment she pushed open the door, she smelled an indescribable, peculiar odor.

“What the—” The floor was covered with the remains of all kinds of food. Even though Lin Xi was normally soft-tempered, she felt her temper flare at this moment. “What is going on!”

Someone on the sofa stirred. A man in a black trench coat, his coat wide open, was lying on the sofa. He slowly raised his head and gave her an indifferent glance, then beckoned with his hand: “Mm, you’re back. Clean up the room, I ate too much and I don’t want to move.”

Lin Xi trembled all over with rage, her fists clenched tight: “You, you really are…” Infuriating beyond belief!

The man asked lazily: “You have a problem with that?”

Lin Xi forcibly suppressed her anger and squeezed two words out through her teeth: “No…” She grabbed a rag and started cleaning the room.

The man said leisurely: “You and I are the same person, so when you do things for me, you’re doing things for yourself. Don’t pull such a long face, like I forced myself on you… Mm, there’s still some dirty stuff down there, wipe it clean.”

Lin Xi wiped the floor without a word. By the time she finished, it was already seven in the evening, and she was so hungry she couldn’t stand it. She opened the fridge to find something to eat, but when she saw the fridge—even messier than the floor had been—she suddenly felt utterly exhausted: “I can’t live like this…”

Lin Xi grabbed her bag to go out. The man ambled over: “Hey, it’s nighttime.”

Lin Xi shot the man a look that was equal parts resentment and murderous intent, then dropped her head again, her tone cold: “I’m hungry. You ate everything in the house.”

“Tch, you’re really hopeless.” The man looked exasperated. “Fine, fine, I’ll just come with you then.”

Lin Xi clenched and unclenched her fists, but in the end let them relax. She couldn’t stoop to this guy’s level. She couldn’t! Who told her to be unable to beat even one of his fingers…

On the way to the convenience store, passersby all stared at the man in his black trench coat, but neither of them paid any attention. Lin Xi kept looking at the sky, muttering under her breath, while the man tilted his head and studied her the whole way. Finally he couldn’t help asking: “What are you mumbling about?” Lin Xi answered him distractedly: “Doing accounts. My living expenses for this month are almost eaten up by you.”

“You’re short on money?” The man raised an eyebrow. “You think money is something you can’t get?”

Lin Xi was stunned. Just as she was thinking, Could this man actually be rich?—she suddenly saw his figure spin, ghost-like, instantly flashing behind a passerby. Without a word, he twisted the unfortunate pedestrian’s hand behind his back, and a dagger flashed coldly from his sleeve, pressed straight against the man’s neck: “Hey, hand over your money.”

He said this so naturally that the seized pedestrian turned pale with fright. Lin Xi was dumbstruck.

When she snapped back to her senses, she rushed forward and desperately grabbed the man’s arm, shouting with cold sweat pouring down her face: “Are you a thug?! Let him go! Someone’s going to die! Someone’s going to die!”

The man turned back to look at her: “Weren’t you short on money?”

Lin Xi was about to cry: “I’m not short! I’m rolling in money, not short at all.”

Only then did the man release the pedestrian, staring at Lin Xi with a look of disgust: “Tch, how does this woman change her story every other minute?”

Lin Xi had no time to deal with him—she was busy apologizing to the terrified pedestrian. The pedestrian was yelling and making a fuss, demanding to call the police. Lin Xi bowed and smiled in apology until her mouth was about to wear out. In the end, it was the man standing behind her who couldn’t stand it anymore. One glare from him sent the pedestrian scurrying away. Lin Xi wiped her sweat, but the man looked at her with extreme disdain: “Tch, how am I the same person as a useless thing like you? Heaven must be blind.” With that, he turned and walked off.

Lin Xi silently clenched her fists behind him, but in her heart she agreed with him completely. Having their two lives tangled together… Heaven really must be blind!

Just two days ago she had still been such an ordinary university student. Although two days ago she had also been complaining about her unsatisfactory life, compared to now, those days had simply been paradise!

Two days ago, before this hateful man appeared, before her life’s trajectory changed…

【1】

Monday, September 10, 2012.

Lin Xi turned off the faucet in the bathroom and stood before the fogged-up mirror, wiping the surface. The now-clear mirror reflected her lovely figure. She touched her left shoulder—there was a bruise there, purple and green, she didn’t know when it had appeared.

Injured for no reason again…

Lin Xi sighed, took down a towel, and wiped the water droplets from her body. The pristine white towel glided over the woman’s delicate skin, but on this fair skin one could always see marks and scars, some deep, some shallow. For as long as Lin Xi could remember, inexplicable wounds had always appeared on her body—no pain, no itch—and while walking down the street, blood would suddenly drip from her arm. She’d seen doctors, but no cause could be found. As a child, she’d often been gossiped about behind her back by classmates.

Lin Xi reached for clean clothes, but when she felt around in the laundry basket, there was nothing. Did I forget to bring clothes in…? Lin Xi thought. Anyway, there’s no one in the apartment, so I’ll just go out like this to get dressed.

She wrapped her wet hair up in the towel and walked out of the bathroom naked.

The window to the living room balcony was wide open. Morning sunlight slanted into the room, and the gauze curtain fluttered in the breeze. Lin Xi muttered in confusion: “Did I not close the window before bed last night…?”

She walked into the bedroom, took out clothes and put them on. Suddenly the phone rang in the living room. Lin Xi hurried out: “Hello?”

“Xiao Xi, it’s Mom.” The voice on the other end was a little tired. “This Saturday, your father and I are planning to get divorced.” Lin Xi was silent and said nothing. Xie Shu continued: “After that I’m going back to S City. You’re a senior this year—have you thought about where you want to develop your career?”

Lin Xi’s palm tightened: “I… I haven’t decided yet.”

“Then think it over carefully. Mom still hopes you’ll come with me in the future—after all, I can arrange things more properly for you on my end.”

After hanging up, Lin Xi stood blankly in the living room for a long time. Suddenly a drop of blood fell onto her phone. Lin Xi was startled—she touched her nose, and blood ran down along her fingers. Lin Xi quickly covered her nose and rushed to the bathroom.

Again like this—bleeding for no reason. Although… this time it was a nosebleed. But this kind of constitution had already caused Lin Xi endless trouble. Because of it, during her four years of university she hadn’t even dared to live in a dormitory—she could only rent a place outside alone. Because of it, from childhood to adulthood she’d always been looked at strangely and had been unable to form close friendships. Even her parents had developed quite a few conflicts because of her…

Once she finally stopped the bleeding, Lin Xi checked the time and remembered she had an exam today. She got herself together and headed out. Just before closing the door, she thought she saw a dark shadow flash through the crack. Lin Xi’s body stiffened, a chill rising in her heart. She slowly pulled the door open again and carefully peered inside. There was nothing.

It should be… just her imagination, right?

She locked the door and went downstairs.

Lin Xi didn’t know that after she left, the light coming through the peephole on the iron door suddenly darkened, as if someone were peering through from inside. After a moment, the peephole returned to brightness.

【2】

From Lin Xi’s rented apartment to the school was only about a ten-minute walk. After finishing her morning exam and eating lunch, Lin Xi went to the study room.

Actually, Lin Xi had always planned to pursue a graduate degree. She wasn’t ready to step into society yet, and she knew her personality simply couldn’t adapt to group work. Her ideal state was to get a master’s, then a doctorate, continue her studies, and then devote herself to academic research. Only in this way could she minimize contact with society and minimize seeing those strange looks.

But she couldn’t tell her mother these thoughts, because Xie Shu was such a driven person, so eager for her daughter to succeed—and she had always failed to live up to her mother’s expectations.

It was already ten at night when she left the study room.

Lin Xi walked home along the quiet little path on campus as usual. The streetlamps cast a long stretch of yellow light. Lin Xi walked with her head down, still mulling over the theory she’d just reviewed.

The late summer night was already cool, and a light breeze made it a bit chilly. Lin Xi touched her arm and suddenly felt her palm become sticky. She looked closely—a cut had appeared on her left forearm at some point, and blood had already traced a winding trail down her arm.

Again like this…

Getting injured and bleeding without pain or itch, giving her no warning at all. If anyone were around, who knew what kind of look they’d give her. Lin Xi dug the ever-present gauze out of her bag, thinking with some distress that she only wanted to live a normal life, like an ordinary university student…

The streetlamp cast Lin Xi’s shadow on the ground, and beside her black shadow, a tall figure stood terrifyingly.

Lin Xi’s heart lurched. Just as she was hesitating whether to turn around, she saw that shadow raise both hands, and in his hands seemed to be a long, sharp weapon. Lin Xi’s pupils contracted. The figure slashed down with a chop. Lin Xi panicked and dodged to the side, twisting her ankle and falling wretchedly to the ground—but fortunately avoiding the blade that had come chopping at her head.

She stared in terror at her attacker—a burly man in a black coat holding a strange blade. The streetlamp flickered behind him, and in the backlight Lin Xi could only vaguely make out the eerie smile on his face: “Found you.” His voice was hoarse and rough, making Lin Xi’s blood run cold.

A… a psychopathic killer?

Lin Xi was so frightened she went cold all over, trembling uncontrollably. She braced her hands on the ground and scooted backward in terror, the wound on her arm bleeding ceaselessly, smearing blood across the ground.

The man laughed hoarsely and raised his blade again. “Go to hell!” He swung the blade, and the arc it carved through the air became cold light swirling in Lin Xi’s eyes, chopping straight toward the top of her head. Lin Xi was so scared she even forgot to blink, hearing the sound of the blade cutting through air getting closer and closer to her ear…

Then it stopped dead.

The sharp blade halted before her forehead, severing a few strands of hair.

Lin Xi’s eyes crossed as she stared at the blade. After a long while, she saw a hand lightly pinch the killer’s hand as if pinching a rubber ball—no extra movement, just effortlessly stopping the blade above her head. Lin Xi’s heart seemed to stop beating. She held her breath, stiffly turning her eyes to look at the person who had saved her—

A man in a dark blue-black long trench coat, wearing black leather gloves, his jet-black long hair tied up carelessly with a red cord, revealing a neck with clean lines. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she heard his voice—steady and melodious as a cello: “How do you want to die?”

The word “die” stung Lin Xi’s nerves. She braced her hands on the ground and scrambled back two steps in panic, but saw the man in black who had saved her twist the killer’s hand. With a crisp “crack”—the sound of breaking bone—the killer let out a muffled grunt, and the long blade fell from his hand to the ground.

Lin Xi was so startled by the sound that she trembled violently twice. She saw the man in black release his hold and stand in front of her, the hem of his coat, long enough to reach his ankles, brushing past her knees. His tall figure stood before her like a wall built to protect her.

With a trace of laziness in his voice, he said to the killer: “If you don’t choose, I’ll just improvise.”