CHAPTER 144: I AM NOTHING LIKE MY PARENTS!

"What...?" Qi Jianyi’s breath hitched at Miss Qi’s words.

Stunned, she cupped her hands over her mouth, an audible gasp escaping her lips. She stared at Miss Qi, whose eyes were shrouded in eerie emptiness—yet within that void, a subtle trace of shock lingered, as if she herself still couldn’t believe what she had witnessed back then.

"I was surprised too, just like you..." Miss Qi murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Then, she slowly lifted her gaze, as if reliving a memory burned into her soul.

"It’s still vivid in my mind," she continued, her tone distant, almost dreamlike. "That night, you woke up in the middle of the night and started typing—like a woman possessed, like you were writing an entirely new story. At first, I didn’t understand. But then, I noticed something strange."

She let out a small, ironic smile before finishing her thought. "You must have wondered why I was barely mentioned in the novel you wrote."

Qi Jianyi’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

"The answer is simple." Miss Qi’s smile deepened, but there was no warmth in it.

"Qi Jianyi, you saw that world in my stead. You lived that future in my place. And because of that, there was no room for me in your story."

Qi Jianyi sat in stunned silence, her mind spiraling with endless questions. How could that be? Why didn’t she remember any of it?

"Why... why don’t I remember anything?" she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

Miss Qi sighed, her expression unreadable.

"Some things just don’t make sense," she remarked lightly, shaking her head before brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. Then, after a beat, she laughed—a hollow, self-deprecating sound.

"Just like how you can dream of my future before I’ve even lived it." Her gaze darkened.

"I’ve watched you since I was young, Qi Jianyi. Your life was so much more exciting than mine. So much more peaceful. So much happier." She let out another soft, bitter chuckle.

"While you were surrounded by warmth, I suffered in loneliness. You had love, even in poverty, while I had everything—except the love of my own family." Her eyes flickered with envy, sharp and unrelenting.

"I envied you, Qi Jianyi. I envied you so much that I wished—desperately wished—to trade places with you." Her voice trembled slightly, but her resolve did not waver.

"But it was an impossible wish, wasn’t it?" she whispered. "After all, who in their right mind would trade lives with me?"

Then, slowly, she lifted her gaze—her envious, bitter gaze—toward Qi Jianyi.

"Tell me, Qi Jianyi." Her lips curled into a twisted smile.

"Would you have been willing to exchange your life for mine?" Qi Jianyi’s expression darkened. Her fingers curled into fists as her body trembled with rage.

And then—she snapped.

"But you did it anyway!" she spat, her voice sharp as a dagger.

"You stole my life! You took away the love of my family! You replaced me!" Her breathing grew ragged, her chest rising and falling in uneven rhythm.

Then, her gaze locked onto Miss Qi’s, burning with fury.

"Now, tell me." Her voice trembled with emotion. "Are you happy, Qi Jianyi?! Are you happy?!"

Without hesitation, Miss Qi’s lips parted, and two words slipped out—cold, unwavering.

"I am."

There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in her expression. Not a flicker of hesitation.

"I am happy."

She straightened her posture, her eyes meeting Qi Jianyi’s head-on, filled with confidence.

"I like your life." Qi Jianyi felt herself falter.

For a split second, her anger wavered, replaced by something unreadable. Then, suddenly—she laughed. A laugh so loud, so cheerful, so eerily out of place that it sent a chill through the air.

It was to the point of making Miss Qi frowned, momentarily caught off guard. She had expected rage. A slap. Anything but this. But there’s no such suppressed anger at all. Qi Jianyi even wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, her laughter finally dying down.

"How pitiful," she murmured, her voice thick with mockery. "You’ve never once known what it’s like to grow up surrounded by love, have you?"

Hearing her words, Miss Qi’s expression hardened. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her lips pressed together as she tried to suppress the sharp sting of those words.

Qi Jianyi smirked. "Oh? Did that bother you?"

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head mockingly. And then, in the blink of an eye, the laughter vanished. Gone was the lighthearted facade. In its place, cold fury. Her voice dropped, sharp and venomous.

"You stole my life, Qi Jianyi." "Do you really think I give a damn about your past?" Her glare pierced through Miss Qi, unwavering.

"Your parents abandoned you? They ignore you? So what?" She scoffed.

"What does that have to do with me?"

Qi Jianyi showed no signs of concern. She felt no sympathy or empathy for Miss Qi—even though she recognized that the other Qi Jianyi had suffered greatly.

Qi Jianyi’s own life had been taken from her, and no matter how much she might have wanted to understand Miss Qi’s pain, she could not ignore her own loss.

Qi Jianyi remembered the terror of waking up in a place that was completely different from what she knew. The cramped two-bed dormitory she had once shared was suddenly replaced by a spacious, luxurious bedroom.

For a moment, she hoped it was all just a bad dream. But then, a flood of memories that did not belong to her overwhelmed her, and she realized that her reality had been forcibly changed.

Every day, Qi Jianyi forced herself to accept this new fate. Still, with each passing day, she felt herself sinking deeper into despair.

The truth—that her life had been stolen—had left her oscillating between tears, forced laughter, and burning anger.

"Qi Jianyi, you despise your family so much that you’re willing to abandon them without a second thought. But have you ever considered how I feel? You replaced me, took away the life that was once mine, and forced me into your existence. Have you ever wondered if I ever wanted this life? You keep writing in that battered brown book that your family ignored you. Instead of confronting them about their shortcomings, you chose to run away. Instead of working to be better than them, you simply ignored your brothers and treated them with disgust—leaving them afraid of you. Tell me, what truly sets you apart from your parents?" Qi Jianyi said sharply, her voice trembling with both anger and hurt.

She wanted Miss Qi to see her errors clearly.

"I am nothing like my parents!" Miss Qi retorted, her voice rising with anger as painful memories of neglect surfaced. Her eyes narrowed in bitter recollection.

Noticing the raw anger in Miss Qi’s eyes, Qi Jianyi laughed briefly and stepped closer.

"What do you mean when you say you’re nothing like them?" she challenged, her tone deliberate and clear. "The truth is, you and your parents are exactly the same."

Even though they were both trapped in this blank, white space with no clear escape, Qi Jianyi made it clear that she would not offer any kindness to Miss Qi. So what if they both stuck in this white space forever? She would fight with Miss Qi whenever she could!

Miss Qi’s anger surged further. She raised her hand and pointed at Qi Jianyi, her face flushed and her breathing uneven. She wanted to shout all her suppressed feelings, but the words caught in her throat.

Qi Jianyi raised an eyebrow and studied Miss Qi closely, finding satisfaction in the sight of her rising fury. The more enraged Miss Qi became, the more Qi Jianyi felt she was in control.

After a tense moment, realizing that Qi Jianyi held the upper hand in their argument, Miss Qi lowered her finger and drew a deep breath to steady herself. A heavy silence fell between them until Miss Qi spoke again, her tone firm and direct.

"Yes, I admit I have my own faults," she confessed. "I refused to forgive my family because my nanny was the only person who ever cared for me. But my nanny died long ago. As for my parents—the two people who brought me into this world—they were strangers I was forced to live with. I planned to use them until I could become independent, then completely cut them out of my life. Whether it was the He family or the Qi family, I intended to sever all ties and run as far away as possible."

Miss Qi’s bitter smile revealed the cold calculation behind her plan.

Since her nanny’s death, she had resolved to exploit her family’s wealth to free herself from their control.

When her parents returned, suddenly trying to act as if they cared, the little Qi Jianyi, whose heart had long been hardened by their neglect, could not accept their concern whether it’s sincere or false.

From the moment she realized she was truly alone, she began saving every bit of money they gave her—accumulating enough funds with the sole purpose of disappearing one day, leaving behind her old parents and their cherished twin sons.

Yet fate took an unexpected turn: before she could escape, she found herself caught in a body swap with Qi Jianyi.

"You asked how our lives became exchanged," Miss Qi said, her voice steady despite the lingering hurt.

"Let me be clear, Qi Jianyi—it wasn’t my doing." Her honest admission caught Qi Jianyi off guard.

"What do you mean by that?" Qi Jianyi asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

Before she could press for more details, an interruption cut her off, leaving both women suspended in a moment of unresolved tension.

"You really think I have the power to swap our lives? Do you get your ideas from reading and writing too many fantasy novels?" Miss Qi said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe the absurdity of the notion.

"I don’t possess any magical ability, Qi Jianyi. If I had that power, wouldn’t I have swapped our lives long ago? Instead, just like you, I found myself waking up in a completely different reality. One moment I was in my own world, and the next I was lying in your dorm room, utterly confused about how I got here. I was as bewildered as you were that day—but while you’ve been overwhelmed by despair, I am happy with this new life," she explained clearly, her tone steady and sincere.

Qi Jianyi studied Miss Qi’s face intently, determined to spot even a hint of deceit. She leaned in, watching every subtle movement and change in expression.

However, there was nothing to be found—Miss Qi’s eyes were as bright and clear as a cloudless sky, revealing a deep honesty that left no room for lies.

At that moment, Qi Jianyi realized Miss Qi was speaking nothing but the truth.