Chapter 11: Joke  

The afternoon breeze drifting through the window carried a hint of dry heat, stirring the curtains by the windowsill. Their swaying cast shifting patterns of light and shadow across the room.  

On the caregiver’s bed, Yan Qingye’s brows were tightly furrowed, her face pale. Cold sweat had dampened the hair at her temples, and her lips moved in inaudible murmurs. An aura of despair enveloped her entire being.  

Why? How could this be?  

It had only been a day since they last met—so why had the person she loved disappeared?  

Where had the sun in her world gone?  

Shen Zhansi noticed Yan Qingye’s distress. Carefully, she slipped out of bed, making as little noise as possible, and approached to check on her.  

But the moment she drew near, Shen Zhansi froze in place.  

She stared blankly at the tears sliding down Yan Qingye’s cheeks, her entire body as motionless as a wooden carving.  

Was Yan Qingye… crying?  

The realization pierced Shen Zhansi’s heart, tightening it painfully as a dull ache spread through her chest.  

She had never seen Yan Qingye cry before.  

If this were the Yan Qingye from the original story, no matter how much she wept, Shen Zhansi wouldn’t have been surprised.  

But this was Yan Qingye—the Yan Qingye she knew, not the character bound by a predetermined fate in the novel!  

Shen Zhansi pressed her lips together tightly, a suffocating bitterness churning inside her. Yet she still inched closer, pulling out a tissue to wipe away Yan Qingye’s tears.  

She didn’t know what Yan Qingye was dreaming about, but seeing her in such distress was the last thing Shen Zhansi wanted.  

However, before her hand could reach Yan Qingye’s face—  

Yan Qingye’s eyes snapped open, and she seized Shen Zhansi’s wrist in a vice-like grip.  

“What are you doing?” Yan Qingye’s gaze was icy as she glared at her, her grip unyielding, her wariness unmistakable.  

Startled by the sudden grasp, Shen Zhansi flinched. Seeing Yan Qingye’s pallid, bloodless face, she replied softly, “You seemed restless. I just wanted to wipe your sweat.”  

She didn’t mention the tears. Instinctively, she felt Yan Qingye wouldn’t want her to know.  

“Don’t meddle.” Yan Qingye shoved her hand away and sat up, checking the time. She had only been asleep for an hour.  

The memory of her dream darkened her expression further. Without so much as a glance at Shen Zhansi, she got out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom to wash up. When she emerged, her face was still wet, her hair damp at the temples.  

Seeing this, Shen Zhansi clenched the tissue in her hand but made no move to offer it.  

Yan Qingye grabbed a tissue herself, drying her face before checking the time again. Without even a word to Shen Zhansi, she picked up her handbag and left the room.  

Outside, her expression remained unsoftened. Her grip on the handbag was white-knuckled, her shoulders tense—her emotions barely restrained.  

She had dreamed of the past.  

Of that disgusting intruder using Shen Zhansi’s body to make those frivolous gestures, to utter those nauseating words!  

She had tried to replace Shen Zhansi, to erase the original completely—to make everyone accept the imposter in her place!  

How dare she?  

How could she possibly deserve to?

Yan Qingye found it increasingly unbearable the more she thought about it. Her originally brisk steps became unsteady, and she stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

She reached out to steady herself against the wall. The hospital was bustling with people, each preoccupied with their own urgent matters, and few noticed her current distress.

Her handbag fell to the floor as she leaned against the wall with one hand, the other pressed to her chest. Though her face was pale, she managed to maintain some semblance of composure.

Her wildly pounding heart gradually calmed, and as the overwhelming palpitations subsided, her complexion improved slightly. Lowering her gaze to conceal the gloom in her eyes, she straightened up, picked up her bag from the floor, and strode away.

The longer she waited, the more the feeling of despair took root like bone-deep gangrene, embedding itself deep within her heart and bones.

The more effortlessly the invader settled into this world, the clearer it became to her.

The Shen Zhansi she loved would never return.

All her desperate efforts had merely preserved a shell that didn’t belong to her.

It was like a cruel joke, yet she stubbornly insisted on seeing it through to the end.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Zhansi sat motionless on her bed after Yan Qingye left, clutching the tissue she had intended to use to wipe Yan Qingye’s tears.

Her grip tightened until the paper crumpled and tore, rendered useless.

Recalling everything she had learned, Shen Zhansi felt a growing unease. She stood up, pushed open the hospital room door, and scheduled a full-body checkup.

According to Aunt Zhang, Yan Qingye had originally booked her for a checkup today, but no one had expected her sudden accident.

If she had previously found the idea of this checkup ridiculous, now she couldn’t wait to undergo as many examinations as possible—especially concerning her mental health.

Shen Zhansi decided to focus her tests on her psychological state. She felt it was absolutely necessary to examine her brain for any abnormalities. Otherwise, how could her behavior and personality differ so drastically?

Even being kicked by a donkey wouldn’t have this effect!

A nagging fear crept in—what if the tests revealed dissociative identity disorder? She wouldn’t know how to handle that.

After all, such conditions weren’t easily treated, and leaving it unchecked would severely disrupt her daily life.

Worse, if it were true, and this other identity had suppressed her for ten years, what were the chances she’d ever resurface again?

Shen Zhansi no longer believed she had traveled through time. Instead, she suspected someone had forcibly suppressed her consciousness, plunging her into a deep slumber.

Not long after she returned to her room from scheduling the tests, Aunt Zhang arrived with an armful of items, immediately bustling about. She even arranged the fruit she’d brought onto a plate and handed it to Shen Zhansi.

Shen Zhansi frowned at the lychees and wampees in the fruit plate—none of which she liked.

Suddenly, she recalled the breakfast Aunt Zhang had prepared for her yesterday—the soft-boiled egg hadn’t been to her taste either.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Aunt Zhang asked curiously before lowering her voice to whisper, “Eat quickly, don’t worry. After you finish, I’ll take all the trash out later—no traces left behind! Miss Yan won’t find out!”

Shen Zhansi was momentarily stunned by her words. What did this mean? Did Yan Qingye not allow her to eat these things?

She looked down at the fruits carefully—they were of decent quality. Though they clearly weren’t cheap, given Yan Qingye’s status, it shouldn’t be a problem to let her have some, right?

Shen Zhansi fell completely silent. Just what was Yan Qingye playing at with all these behaviors?

“Aunt Zhang, I won’t eat them. They might cause irritation,” Shen Zhansi shook her head, making up an excuse.

Aunt Zhang suddenly realized and smacked her forehead in frustration. “Look at me being so careless! I forgot you’re injured and should avoid these things.”

Shen Zhansi smiled and pushed the fruit plate toward her. “You have them instead.”

Fortunately, Aunt Zhang hadn’t bought much, knowing she couldn’t eat much alone. Afraid that Yan Qingye might discover she’d bought these for Shen Zhansi, Aunt Zhang quickly finished them off and promptly took the trash out to destroy the evidence.

Watching her actions, Shen Zhansi found it somewhat amusing, almost able to picture how the two of them must have sneakily eaten these things behind Yan Qingye’s back before.

It was comically funny.

But after the laughter, a sense of helplessness washed over her.

She raised a hand to touch her head—the injury wasn’t too severe. She’d probably be discharged after a few more days of observation. According to the original plan, she was supposed to start learning under Yan Qingye after leaving the hospital.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the edge of the bed as her gaze darkened. There was no denying the bitterness and frustration she felt upon realizing she might just be a Substitute for Yan Qingye—even wondering if she should distance herself.

But she quickly dismissed the thought. Regardless, the fact remained that she’d lost ten years of her life. She had to learn and adapt to this new era.

And staying close to Yan Qingye would allow her to absorb information about this world faster and more comprehensively.

After all, Yan Qingye was the female lead—the center of this world.

Shen Zhansi pressed her lips together tightly. The plot had already deviated completely from the original story. The future of the main characters was now unpredictable, and she couldn’t guess what lay ahead—for herself or anyone else.

The current situation was far too complicated.

If she really was a Substitute, then who was the person Yan Qingye truly loved?

Chu Zhi?

Probably not. Her mother had mentioned there was nothing between them, and since high school, Yan Qingye and Chu Zhi had only been friends—no hints of anything more.

The more Shen Zhansi thought about it, the more tangled her thoughts became, her head throbbing painfully.

Since when did Yan Qingye have someone she loved?

Shen Zhansi got up and went to the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror with a deep frown.

Did the person Yan Qingye loved… look just like her?

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