CH 1

According to the news, Beijing will usher in the hottest summer in nearly 50 years starting this month.   

The old house doesn't have air conditioning and is being baked by the scorching sun like a steaming hot pot, making even the air feel thin.  

Ji Ruan was awakened by the vibration of his phone, but he opened his eyes without intending to answer the call. He just stared blankly at the ceiling.

Nothing had changed.

The room is cramped and narrow, not even five square meters. The walls are yellowed and peeling, and a calendar from an unknown year is stuck on the wooden door. The edges are worn and discolored, and the heat has caused the glue to come off, making one corner droop down limply.

Ji Ruan lay on the bed, with the surface beneath his back so hot that it felt like it was going to catch fire. The sticky dampness all over his body made him admit that he had indeed worn a book.  

It was an old-fashioned, melodramatic and abusive novel, where a poor little submissive character, who shared the same name as him, was forced to marry the dominant partner as per the agreement and suffered physical and mental abuse countless times.

He couldn't remember the title of the novel, but he knew that the little shou protagonist, who suffered a lot, shared the same name as him, and the gong protagonist he married was surnamed Gu, named Gu Xiuyi

In the last two years of Jiran's life, he was bedridden due to a serious illness, and almost completely cut off from all communication with the outside world. His only pleasure was listening to his cousin telling him various dog-blooded novels. 

One of the main characters in the novel had the same name and surname as him. His cousin even joked that his name sounded like that of the shou protagonist in traditional dog-blooded novels, where the domineering gong CEO is always named Gu and the weak submissive shou character must have the surname Ruan.  

At that time, Jiran still had some strength left and he raised himself up and gave her a slap on the back of her head. His cousin held her head and cursed him for transmigrating into a novel 

Unexpectedly, those words became true.   

After Ji Ruan died, he really transmigrated.

Although he only lived for a short 20 years, Ji Ruan had a privileged upbringing and never lived in such a dilapidated small house before, nor had he ever experienced waking up feeling as hot as in a sauna during summer.

The high temperature was suffocating and it made Ji Ruan's brain slow down. His phone kept vibrating on the pillow next to him, and he mechanically reached out to grab it.

——Secretary Song.

Gu Xiuyi's most capable assistant, in his memory, was always the one who talked to the lawyer and the original owner when signing the marriage agreement. The protagonist, Mr. Gu, never showed up. 

The phone was a very old model, which had probably been broken several times. The touchscreen was extremely unresponsive, and it took Ji Ruan several attempts to hang up the call.

The other side received the signal, and a few WeChat messages popped up immediately.

[Mr. Ji, have you packed up? I'm on my way to pick you up.]

[Will arrive in about 20 minutes. 

Ji Ruan stared at the screen for two seconds before realizing that he was being picked up to go to Gu Xiuyi's house. 

Although Ji Ruan could possess the memories of the original body, not all of them were accessible. They only became activated when he came into contact with related plot points. It was as if the world in the book was also lazy and didn't bother to fill in the gaps that Ji Ruan couldn't see.

He and Gu Xiuyi had a contractual marriage, which meant that after being taken to Gu Xiuyi's home, he would soon be getting his marriage certificate with this man whom he had never met before.

Ji Ruan's fingertips trembled slightly as he held onto his phone. 

In the end, he quickly picked up the sealed agreement at the foot of the bed and flipped through it. Even though Ji Ruan had come from a wealthy family, when he saw the string of zeros following the number he would receive when the agreement expired, his eyes widened involuntarily.  

After a moment, Ji Ruan calmly typed a message.  

[I'm all packed up, thank you.]

Assistant Song replied with a big smiley face. 

After putting down his phone, Ji Ruan let out a sigh and lowered his head. His thin T-shirt had become damp and wrinkled after a night of sweating. He pulled at the collar in disgust and got up to walk to the bathroom. 

As soon as the sound of the shower started, the bathroom door was opened again after just two seconds. Nervously, Ji Ruan stepped out barefoot, leaving a row of damp footprints on the tiled floor.

He took off a small black object from his right ear, perfectly fitting the contour of his ear.  

After wrapping the small object in two napkins, Ji Ruan pressed on it and put it back behind his ear. He concentrated for a few seconds, and his slightly tense shoulders relaxed. He then took the small object off and placed it on the table before entering the bathroom.

He is hearing-impaired.  

One of his ears has hearing loss, and the other one can barely hear anything, so he has to rely on the cochlear implant he received when he was a child to barely get by.

The cochlear implant is partly implanted under the skin behind the ear and partly an external device worn on the ear. When worn, it allows the person to hear, but when removed, it's like being deaf.

This type of delicate and expensive device cannot be bumped or get wet. When Ji Ruan took over this body, he was not used to it and went to take a shower with the device on 

And the reflex of his body told Ji Ruan that this little thing was very precious. As soon as the water touched it, his heart tightened and he quickly bounced away, almost slipping and scaring himself.

The hot water poured down, enveloping Ji Ruan from head to toe. He closed his eyes and wiped his face, silently remembering that he couldn't fall or get caught in the rain in the future. He had to protect his little ear, as he could only hear because of this inconspicuous little thing.

Assistant Song said he would arrive in 20 minutes, so Ji Ruan didn't waste any time and quickly showered and came out.

In a world without cochlear implants, there was silence. Even the sound of the hair dryer was muffled and his ears felt like they were blocked by a stone, not completely sealed but with a few gaps that distorted any sound he heard, but it was better than nothing.  

The completely unfamiliar feeling made Ji Ruan's back tingle, and he sped up the hair drying. When his fingertips touched the skin behind his ear, it felt like an electric shock.

Ji Ruan stood there in a daze, his chest rose and fell slightly, and after a while, he raised his hand to touch the skin behind his right ear again.  

A hard, slightly raised circular contour was clearly felt under his fingertips.

--It was the implanted artificial cochlear.

The original body's hair was long, reaching the tips of the ears, and usually even covered the small black external device. So, he looked no different from ordinary people to the naked eye.  

Ji Ruan did not expect it to be so obvious when he touched it. 

A strange component was fused into his flesh, rooted in his bone and blood. It was not until this moment that Ji Ruan truly felt that this was a new body, and he had come to another world.

Ji Ruan put down the hair dryer and wiped the mirror with his hand. The mist-covered surface suddenly became clear, reflecting the face of a teenager.

It was exactly the same as Ji Ruan's original appearance.

To be precise, it was exactly the same as Ji Ruan when he was eighteen years old.

He was diagnosed with a terminal illness when he was eighteen years old. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and by the time he was twenty years old and on the verge of death, his family had not let him look in the mirror for a long time.  

Ji Ruan could guess that he must have looked very bad at that time, lying in bed with tubes all over his body, lifeless and withered. 

But now, the youth in the mirror, although thin and malnourished, had full cheeks and bright eyes, which was the most vivid version of Ji Ruan. 

Ji Ruan's eyes were burning, although he was transmigrated into a book, it seemed as if fate had given him a second chance at life. 

Ji Ruan returned to his small room and saw a suitcase standing next to the desk. The original body had packed up the things he was going to take, and there was only a little in total.  

A blue doll was buckled on the handle of the suitcase. Ji Ruan glanced at it. It was the mascot of Peking University, and the suitcase was also printed with the school emblem. 

The character set of the original body he transmigrated into was a poor and tenacious boy who was excellent at studying and was admitted to Peking University's Chinese Department with a scholarship. 

Ji Ruan had also been accepted into the same university in his world but was unable to attend due to illness. 

He sat down on the suitcase and rested his head on his arms, looking out the small window at the towering trees outside. The old neighborhood was surrounded by large and strong trees that were covered in lush green leaves that were scorched by the blazing sun. Although the cicadas should have been chirping loudly, the sound that reached his ears was somewhat distorted. 

This is a very old community. Over the years, the trees have grown thick and strong, with luxuriant branches and leaves. The green leaves are baked to wilt by the scorching sun. The cicadas should be loud, but they are distorted when they reach his ears.  

Ji Ruan closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his hand.

It didn't matter that his hearing was bad, at least he was alive.   

This time, he wanted to live a little more relaxed and happier... 

Ji Ruan thought aimlessly, but after only sitting for a short while, he felt the tiles beneath him start to heat up.

It was too hot outside. 

He felt suffocated, dizzy, and remembered a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water from the drawer. He grabbed a straw and drank it  

Just as he took a sip, his phone started to vibrate and there seemed to be knocking at the door. Ji Ruan got up and opened the door to see the familiar face of Assistant Song from his memory.  

They usually wore suits in the office, and today was no exception. However, perhaps because it was too hot climbing stairs, Assistant Song had taken off his jacket and his shirt collar was damp with sweat, and his forehead was covered with it.  

Ji Ruan hesitated for a moment, then handed him two tissues, saying, "I don't have an elevator. You must have worked hard climbing up here." 

Song Ling was well-educated. Hearing this, he only took the tissue and said with a smile, "This is my job." 

On such a hot day, of course, Ji Ruan would not invite him to drink tea in his stove-like room. He nodded at Assistant Song and went back to his room to get his suitcase without delay. 

Song Ling stared at Ji Ruan's back. The young man was wearing an old T-shirt and shorts. He lived in a desolate house. He hadn't had a good life since he was a child, but his skin was still fair. 

Song Ling noticed the young man's good-looking posture. He didn't try to straighten his back, nor did he seem as timid and cautious as the data said. Instead, he had a kind of natural relaxation that was incompatible with his dilapidated house.  

Song Ling inexplicably felt that his boss had picked up a white radish from the mud, washed it clean, and found it to be a piece of mutton-fat jade. 

The car stopped downstairs, and as soon as Ji Ruan got in and was blown by the air conditioning, he got goosebumps all over his body. But at least he finally cooled down, and even his headache from the heat had subsided.  

The high-end black car carrying Ji Ruan drove out of the run-down residential area, shuttling through the steel and concrete city, and finally entered a villa area in the west of the city. 

There is a world of difference between this community and the one where the original body lived. Surrounded by green trees and with a road free of dust, standalone villas stand tall and spaced far apart from each other, ensuring sufficient privacy.

The car drove all the way to the innermost part before stopping. This is a newly developed wealthy area, with each villa built according to its own unique style. The appearance of the one in front of them is particularly distinctive.  

--It has no sharp edges  

Instead, the sharp corners required for normal buildings are replaced by smooth curves. The overall color scheme is gray and white, and a gray staircase extends from the open-air balcony on the left side of the second floor, smoothly curving into the backyard. 

In the reflection of the green forest, the entire villa looks like a piece of iridescent gray moonstone.  

"There's an outdoor swimming pool at the back," Song Ling followed Ji Ruan's gaze and said, "If you go down from there on the second floor, it'll be much closer." 

Under the scorching sun, Ji Ruan stood for a while and his cheeks became red, and his lips dried up.  

Song Ling held a black umbrella and quickened his pace, leading Ji Ruan across the well-manicured lawn towards the inside. 

Actually, they could have entered through the side door into the underground garage and taken the built-in elevator up, thus avoiding the sun. 

But Gu Xiu Yi specifically instructed them to let Ji Ruan enter through the front door.  

As his assistant, Song Ling did not understand. This was just a marriage of convenience without any emotional basis, why should they still follow the wedding ceremony from eight hundred years ago and make the little wife, whom they have not even met, go through the front door and suffer under the sun.  

But General Manager Gu always liked to compete over these details 

The interior style of the villa is completely consistent with the outside, with a consistent minimalist and cool tone, without any excess decoration.  

At the entrance, there is a woman in her fifties with a kind and gentle look. Song Ling introduced her, "This is Aunt Zhao, who has been taking care of Mr. Gu and is now in charge of your daily life." 

Everyone around Gu XiuYi knows how to behave properly, and Aunt Zhao smiles and greets, "Mr. Ji." 

This body is only eighteen years old. Even when Ji Ruan died back then, he was only twenty. Being politely called "Mr." by his elders made Ji Ruan a little uncomfortable.   

He touched his nose and smiled, saying, "Hello, Aunt Zhao. You can just call me Xiao Ruan."  

Aunt Zhao didn't refuse and smiled, saying, "Oh, right, this is Mr. Gu's cat, named Xiao An." 

As she spoke, she rubbed the head of the large Maine Coon cat sitting next to her leg. It was a huge shallow silver-colored cat, whose squatting height was almost up to Aunt Zhao's knee. At first glance, Ji Ruan almost mistook it for a medium-sized dog. 

Xiao An looked fierce and noble. Under Aunt Zhao's guidance, it only symbolically rubbed against Ji Ruan's small legs before walking away leisurely.  

Aunt Zhao smiled and glanced at the big cat before taking Ji Ruan upstairs to see the room.  

To be honest, Gu Xiuyi did not shortchange his marriage partner. His room was very spacious, with plenty of natural light, and equipped with a dressing room and bathroom. If just considering the dressing room, the area exceeded Ji Ruan's entire small house. 

It had also been specially decorated in a completely different style from the rest of the villa - very cartoonish. Ji Ruan looked around and couldn't help but smile.  

There were two large teddy bear dolls on the bed, a khaki plush carpet on the floor, and even silly cartoon bears printed on the fabric curtains. On the desk was a Q-version fortune cat that didn't look too clever.  

Seeing that Ji Ruan wasn't saying anything, Song Ling felt a bit embarrassed.  

At the time, Gu Xiuyi only instructed him to decorate the room to be a bit cozy, but when he gave instructions to the decoration company, he added a sentence: the room's owner is young, so the colors should be lively.  

He didn't expect that the end result would be so similar to a child's room.  

Song Ling coughed and smoothly shifted the blame to the boss, saying, "Mr. Gu hopes that you'll be comfortable living here, so he specifically asked for the room to have a warm style."  

Ji Ruan's slender fingers played with the fortune cat's paw, not knowing what he was thinking. A shallow smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he said, "Thank you, I really like it." 

____________________________

Three days later, in the car.  

The man in the back seat rested his eyes, his tall figure concealed in the shadows.  

Song Ling, the co-pilot, turned his head and glanced at him, knowing he wasn't sleeping. He reported in a low voice, "Madam knows you're getting married and she's getting impatient." 

The dim light outside the window reflected off the man's cold lips. Gu Xiuyi's expression remained unchanged, and his fingers, resting on his thigh, didn't pause their tapping for a moment as he calmly replied, "When she can be patient, then I'll consider looking at her in a better light." 

Song Ling heard this and pursed his lips, not saying anything more.  

After a moment, Gu Xiuyi's deep voice came from the back seat, "Ji Ruan, what do you think of him?" 

What do you think of him?

This question was too broad. 

Song Ling nodded. Ji Ruan was one of the many underprivileged students supported by Gu Xiuyi. He was deaf and weak, with both parents deceased, but he had excellent grades.  

Gu Xiuyi hated anything that was troublesome and dragged on. Even the selection of his marriage partner was left to his subordinates to handle, like selecting employees, with resumes screened layer by layer, cold and devoid of human touch. 

And Ji Ruan, who was excellent but frail, knew his roots and had no relatives to worry about, was the perfect candidate. 

Song Ling hesitated for a moment and carefully considered his words, "He's very quiet, speaks little, and hasn't caused any trouble in the three days since he arrived at the house. Before meals, he'll say thank you to Aunt Zhao and after finishing, he'll gently push his chair back and wipe his mouth from left to right..." 

Gu Xiuyi frowned.  

Song Ling paused and asked, "...Is something wrong?" 

Gu Xiuyi pressed his forehead and said, "Don't worry about the details."

He didn't care about the small details like whether his future partner wiped their mouth from left to right or right to left. 

Song Ling exclaimed "Ah!" and said awkwardly, "Okay." 

"Anything else?" asked Gu Xiuyi, putting his hand down.

Song Ling thought for a moment and said, "Oh, Mr. Ji changed his bed yesterday morning. He said he wasn't sleeping well." 

It was just a bed, and Gu Xiuyi didn't even think about it for a moment. It wasn't a big deal. 

As expected, Gu Xiuyi closed his eyes again, apparently not concerned.  

Song Ling looked ahead and asked, "We're almost there. Should I contact them first?" 

"No need, we can just go in." 

The villa had an open kitchen on the first floor. As soon as Gu Xiuyi stepped out of the elevator, he smelled the faint aroma of mung bean soup. Aunt Zhao was about to start cooking dinner. 

Xiao An was tall and seemed distant, but he was actually very friendly and rubbed against Gu Xiuyi's trouser leg. 

Gu Xiuyi rubbed the cat's head, took off his suit jacket, and handed it to Aunt Zhao. He scanned the living room with his eyes and asked casually, "Where is he?" 

Aunt Zhao had been taking care of Gu Xiuyi since he was ten years old, and they were close. She understood who he meant and said, "The kid was napping in his room earlier. He's probably awake now." 

Gu Xiuyi nodded; his face expressionless. He walked to the sink and washed his hands. "Is he easy to get along with?" 

She said simply: "The child is very well-behaved. But he seems a bit weak lately. He probably got too hot a few days ago, and his appetite hasn't been good. He likes to eat fruit,"

Zhao Auntie said, smiling. "But he still eats his meals very seriously. He seems to really like my cooking." 

Aunt Zhao has good cooking skills, and the happiest thing for her is that others like the food she makes.  

Gu Xiuyi also smiled and dried his hands. "I'll go upstairs and see him." 

"Oh, good." 

As the boss turned around, Song Ling quickly stuffed a piece of apple cut by Aunt Zhao into his mouth and quietly followed him.  

Gu Xiuyi chose a room for Ji Ruan with good lighting. The door was mostly closed, but there was a dim natural light scattered through the cracks.  

Gu Xiuyi peeked through the crack in the door and was about to knock symbolically when he suddenly stopped, as if he had seen something. 

Curious, Song Ling gathered up the courage to approach and see what was going on. 

The bed had indeed been changed. Ji Ruan was lying on it in short-sleeved pajamas, with his right hand constantly searching behind the pillow. 

Then, to his shock, Song Ling saw Ji Ruan pull out a small remote control and press it twice. The head of the bed slowly rose, along with the wooden table at the foot of the bed, which moved forward and stopped at the appropriate position. 

It was a hospital bed designed for seriously ill patients to minimize their movement.

Ji Ruan turned on the TV but didn't turn up the volume, seemingly content with just reading the subtitles.

On the bedside table was a bowl of juicy cherries and a lucky cat that was originally used for decoration. However, the lucky cat's paw had been removed and replaced with a wooden stick that looked like a claw machine.  

A thin rope was attached to the stick, and Ji Ruan only needed to move his finger to control the lucky cat to grab a cherry from the glass plate and feed it accurately into his mouth.  

Song Ling was amazed and looked to Gu Xiuyi for guidance.

Gu Xiuyi's brow furrowed tightly as if he could kill a mosquito with his expression

Gu Xiuyi had always been a self-disciplined and hardworking person. Since Song Ling became his assistant, he had never woken up after 6 am. 

He could almost be certain that this was the laziest sight his boss had ever seen. 

Gu Xiuyi turned his head without expression, his eyes cold and terrifying, as if silently questioning Song Ling 

Song Ling's back felt cold under the gaze but tried to maintain his composure. 

Ji Ruan was handpicked by their secretary team and deemed the most suitable marriage partner for Gu Xiuyi. He couldn't let his boss question his ability to work.  

Song Ling gritted his teeth and glanced at Ji Ruan, who was repeatedly fed by the lucky cat. He remained calm and said, "Quiet. He doesn't even make a sound when watching TV. He's not causing any trouble, and he doesn't bother anyone when he wants to eat cherries." 

Song Ling nodded and said, "He completely fits your requirements for the marriage partner, boss." 

Gu Xiuyi's gaze swept over his assistant, and he took a deep breath before pushing the door open. 

The young man inside noticed his arrival and quickly sat up, with his legs hanging off the edge of the bed. His watery eyes looked up at Gu Xiuyi.  

He wore a loose, cream-colored pajama top that draped softly over his body. 

TAs he changed his sitting position, the lucky cat that Ji Ruan was feeding continued to throw cherries, and one hit his neck. He cried out in surprise and reached out to catch it, but missed.  

The bright red cherry slid over his white skin, fell into his neckline at his slender collarbone, and the young man scrambled to catch it. It slipped past his shirt and landed on the ground, rolling towards Gu Xiuyi's feet.

Gu Xiuyi saw the moment of confusion in the young man's eyes, but they were no longer as slow and lazy as when he was lying in bed. 

He bent down to pick up the cherry, walked step by step to Ji Ruan's side, and the young man had to tilt his head up to meet his gaze.  

His hair was very soft, and when he tilted his head, his forehead was exposed. His hair brushed against his pointed ears, and the skin on his neck, which had been touched by the cherry, was white and delicate. 

Gu Xiuyi looked at the cherry in his hand, put it back on the desk, and looked into the young man's light-colored pupils. "Ji Ruan?" 

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The author has something to say: 

Gu CEO: Ji Ruan, how is it? 

Everyone: Cute and well-behaved! 

Ruan Ruan: Ah?... faints >_<