The servant, of course, had no idea what Jiang Ran was thinking. She quickly stepped closer to the bed and checked the surrounding medical equipment.

Just as she was about to relax after finding nothing wrong, her eyes flicked to the cup placed nearby.

Her pupils shrank instantly. She picked up the cup and smelled it. When she detected no scent, she asked sharply,
“Madam, what did you feed Sir?”

The questioning tone was unmistakable.

Hearing this, Jiang Ran inexplicably found it a little amusing.

How bad must her reputation be, for them to be this wary of her?

“Don’t worry. It was just water,” Jiang Ran explained.

The servant remained half-skeptical. “Madam, Sir has us to look after him. If you have matters of your own, you can go take care of them first.”

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow.

Her own matters? She didn’t even have a job—she was idle all day. What business could she possibly have?

This was quite the dismissal.

Fine. Fewer troubles meant less hassle.

“Alright.”

After a brief pause for thought, Jiang Ran nodded and turned to leave.

Just as the servant let out a sigh of relief, she saw Jiang Ran stop in her tracks—without turning back.

“He’s thirsty. Find a way to give him some water.”

With that, she walked straight out of the room.

The servant watched Jiang Ran leave, then looked at Si Yanxiao with confusion on her face.

How did she know Sir was thirsty?

Only after Jiang Ran returned to her own room did she finally drop the facade she had been putting on.

She lifted her hand and pressed it lightly over her chest. Recalling the moment earlier when Si Yanxiao’s lips had moved, she felt an unexpected flutter in her heart.

Thinking about it, Jiang Ran couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Could it be that after decades of keeping herself distant from men, even a single kiss was enough to stir springtime feelings?

Heh…

She shook her head helplessly, then sat cross-legged on the bed. Clearing her mind, she discarded all stray thoughts and entered a state of deep focus, her spirit calm and lucid.

As she adjusted her breathing and circulated the spiritual energy within her body, the flow of qi gradually stabilized. Little by little, a warm sensation spread through her limbs and bones.

At the same time, the wound beneath the bandages began healing at a visible speed.

While cultivating, Jiang Ran subconsciously avoided passing by Si Yanxiao’s room. After all, she had just taken his spiritual energy without asking—it really wouldn’t be appropriate to “take advantage” of him again so soon.

Because of this, she didn’t notice Si Yanxiao’s fingers twitch ever so slightly, nor the faint tremor of his tightly shut eyelids.

Soon after, everything returned to stillness, as if nothing had happened at all.

After the spiritual energy completed three full circulation cycles within her body, Jiang Ran slowly opened her eyes.

She reached up and unwrapped the bandages, and sure enough, the wound had completely healed.

A faint smile curved her lips, though there was also a trace of regret.

If this were before, it would’ve taken just one circulation to fully recover. Why waste so much time—and so much spiritual energy?

Then again, this body was still in its adaptation phase. Being able to heal at all was already quite good.

Having come to terms with it, Jiang Ran wrapped the bandages back up.

The recovery of her wound couldn’t be discovered. She had no desire to be treated like some kind of freak.

Her transmigration was already a done deal.

For now, her only option was to temporarily inhabit this body. Given how weak it still was, she wouldn’t be able to leave the man in front of her anytime soon.

Jiang Ran sighed softly. For the time being, she could only coexist peacefully with this man. If she could straighten those two children out along the way, that would be even better.

She lifted her gaze toward the window. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, silver light dotting the darkness. The night breeze brushed past, causing the branches outside to sway gently with a rustling sound.

Jiang Ran stretched lazily, then got out of bed and opened the door. The first thing she saw was a fair-skinned, refined-looking man stepping out of Si Yanxiao’s room.

He looked vaguely familiar. Just as she was trying to recall who he was, the man’s gaze landed on her. He let out a cold snort, filled with unmistakable disdain.

Jiang Ran felt somewhat helpless.

What was that supposed to mean? Was she really that unwelcome?

Suddenly, a name flashed through her mind.

“Is it him?”

Zhou Jinyan—the rising leader among the younger generation of the medical field. Because he was close friends with Si Yanxiao, he also served as the family doctor.

No wonder he had such a strong opinion of her.

Meanwhile, the servant in charge of Si Yanxiao’s room showed a hint of embarrassment upon seeing Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran didn’t take it to heart. She merely pursed her lips, feeling rather innocent about having drawn so much hostility.

Zhou Jinyan usually came every Wednesday to check on Si Yanxiao’s condition. Clearly, today wasn’t Wednesday.

His sudden appearance meant he had likely been called over temporarily—most likely because of that cup of water earlier.

Though she claimed not to care, being so openly guarded against still left Jiang Ran feeling annoyed.

After watching them escort Zhou Jinyan away, she turned around and went back to her room.

Standing by the window with her arms crossed, she stared at the swaying branches outside, lost in thought.

Si Yanxiao, as “Di Shang,” possessed imperial aura. By destiny alone, how could he have suffered such a severe car accident? Something like this shouldn’t have happened.

Moreover, the scene she had accidentally witnessed earlier still made her uneasy.

Jiang Ran was well-versed in metaphysics. She could observe the past and predict the future—yet this was the first time she had encountered something like this.

When she thought about it again, her brows furrowed slightly. That mass of black mist…

She could only vaguely make out its outline, unable to discern what had happened at all.

And then there was the sudden surge of blood-red mist that followed—what did that signify?

For the first time, Jiang Ran felt events slipping beyond her control. She calculated with her fingers, only to arrive at an unsolvable result.

“What a headache…” she murmured softly.

Closing her eyes, she recalled that there had been a woman beside Si Yanxiao at the time.

As she absorbed the remnants of the original owner’s memories, she vaguely remembered that Si Yanxiao’s accident had once dominated the headlines—and that Bai Zhuwei had been involved as well.

His so-called childhood sweetheart.

Based on the storybooks she’d read and the relationship between the two, Jiang Ran’s mind spun a dramatic tale.

Deeply in love, privately betrothed—only for a car accident to tear them apart, separating them by life and death. Unable to accept reality, Si Yanxiao shut himself off, unwilling to wake up.

Seen this way, Jiang Ran felt she truly was unnecessary.

What she didn’t expect was that her casual fabrication would later become a prophecy fulfilled.

At the same time, in an internet café in the Imperial Capital—

“You lost again,” Si Zuocheng said lazily, leaning back in his chair.

Si Youlin frowned, unwilling to concede. “Again.”

Si Zuocheng shook his head and turned slightly to face him. “You’ve got something on your mind. You’re distracted. No matter how many more rounds you play, you’ll still lose.”

Hearing his brother expose his thoughts, Si Youlin lowered his gaze and bowed his head.

Seeing this, Si Zuocheng sighed. “Ever since you came in today, something’s been off. You’ve lost games all afternoon.”

“What is it?” His voice turned cold. “Did that woman hit you again?”