A Brand New Exchange!
Inside the small box Gu Cheng opened was a ring.
It instantly dazzled Ning Yi!
Even though they had lived as a legally married couple for so long, they had never truly gone through the formalities of marriage.
So on his birthday, Gu Cheng took out their rings.
A crown-style diamond ring, set in platinum, with a flawless diamond of over six carats. The cutting was exquisite—clearly the work of a master. The men’s ring was simpler, but its design echoed the women’s ring perfectly. Ning Yi stared at the sparkling diamond resting on the velvet cushion. She had just been wondering why Gu Cheng liked her, but now she couldn’t help letting out a “Wow—”.
So shiny! It was her first time receiving a ring!
A wave after wave of happiness bubbled up in her heart.
Maybe it was because the diamond was valuable, or because she had never received one before, or simply because it was from Gu Cheng—
She didn’t know. Either way, she was happy ^-^
Even Song Lan, who dealt with jewellery regularly, hadn’t thought of this—but Gu Cheng had kept it in mind.
A hint of pride curved at the corner of his lips.
Of course, what he could give was far more than this.
But the meaning of a ring was the most special—once worn, it told everyone Ning Yi was married.
Ning Yi, however, didn’t think that deeply. She excitedly stretched out her hand. “Hurry, put it on for me, honey!!”
But they hadn’t switched back yet—her voice was Ning Yi’s, but the hand she extended was Gu Cheng’s well-defined hand.
Gu Cheng: “……”
Putting a ring on his own hand? Let’s not.
So he closed the ring box again and placed it in her hand. “I’ll put it on you after we switch back.”
“Aww, okay, okay—” Ning Yi sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, exchanging rings like this isn’t formal enough. This is ring exchange, after all!”
Gu Cheng couldn’t help but smile.
What? Was she hinting at wanting a wedding?
He cleared his throat lightly and asked casually, “Then what kind do you want—”
Ning Yi: “At the very least, we should sit cross-legged! It’ll look more solemn!”
She crossed her legs on the bed like she was meditating, one hand raised, the other extended.
Gu Cheng: “?”
Sitting like a bodhisattva counts as solemn, huh.
Young Master Gu thought expressionlessly: this fool has no idea what kind of ceremony I can give her.
Ning Yi giggled and opened the ring box again to admire it.
Gu Cheng glanced at her. “What about what I just said?”
Ning Yi looked up.
Ah, Gu Cheng said he really liked her—
But Ning Yi couldn’t quite figure it out—what exactly did Gu Cheng like about her?
She mentally reviewed how she usually treated him and thought with some concern: It couldn’t be that he liked how shameless she was, right?
Other than this birthday, she really hadn’t done many good things ^3^
Brother Wan said she shouldn’t develop feelings, or she’d get hurt—Ning Yi didn’t know if she would get hurt, but when she examined her conscience, she was a bit worried Gu Cheng might.
After all, those past three years had changed her a lot, and Gu Cheng knew nothing about those experiences.
She probably couldn’t be considered a good person—she lacked a sense of morality, and her sense of shame was weak. Only after entering this new life and living well had she regained a bit of conscience.
So holding the ring, Ning Yi said seriously, “Honey, actually, you don’t understand me enough yet.”
Gu Cheng snorted. “I don’t understand you?”
He looked her up and down and asked, “Do you want to eat at that new Beijing cuisine restaurant we passed last time for lunch tomorrow?”
Ning Yi shouted, “YES!!”
That place had just been awarded three Michelin stars. Their shredded pork in Beijing sauce used persimmon paste, and loads of people had been posting about it on CMore! Ning Yi had just talked about it with him yesterday.
A smile appeared in Gu Cheng’s eyes. “So now you know what ‘liking’ means?”
Ning Yi: “What is it?”
“Liking is—right now, I just want to make you happy.”
Ning Yi blinked.
Then wasn’t everything she had done—making the opening screen, preparing his gift, asking if he liked it—all just to make him happy too?
Even though she used to think her husband was stingy and scheming, it didn’t change the fact that she knew Gu Cheng treated her very well.
“So don’t overthink it, A Yi.” Gu Cheng reached out and patted her head.
He had already taken one step forward. It might take a few more before this fool truly understood.
But he had already drawn her into his circle—she wasn’t getting away.
Ning Yi touched her diamond ring and nodded seriously after a while. “Mm-hmm, okay, got it.”
Gu Cheng chuckled. Normally she could say endless playful nonsense, but when it came to something serious, she couldn’t say much at all. That was something he had come to understand about her.
There was no need to say anything more—better for her to realise it herself.
His liking meant wanting her to be happy, wanting her to have no worries, wanting her to have everything she desired. And unknowingly, Ning Yi had also started to treat him well—
So—
Gu Cheng turned off the lights in their room. In the darkness, only the diamond shone. Tonight would be another good dream.
In the dark, he curved his lips slightly.
So I think—
You probably like me a little too.
After Young Master Gu’s 29th birthday, A City officially entered late autumn, the weather growing colder day by day.
Life and work continued as usual, but one problem remained—
This time, Gu Cheng and Ning Yi’s random body swap lasted a very long time.
The longest previous swap had been during the Internet Innovation Summit in S City, where they had switched for over 24 hours before finally breaking the mechanism through… certain unexpected means.
However, this time, three days had already passed, and they were still in each other’s bodies.
Ning Yi had tried several “common” methods—
Even flicking *that part* didn’t work anymore! This body swap was getting more and more unreliable.
“You’re not behaving,” Ning Yi pointed at it.
Gu Cheng: “?”
Ning Yi somehow pulled out a small craft knife and pretended to threaten it. “To master this skill—”
“…” Gu Cheng had already walked over and taken the knife from her. “That’s enough.”
For the sake of her future happiness, she shouldn’t go around using knives.
“Fine,” Ning Yi thought worriedly for a moment, then asked, “Honey, do you think—maybe it’s because you said you like me, and my body got scared?!”
Gu Cheng: “?”
He really wanted to pinch her face, but he couldn’t right now.
Gu Cheng could feel that the instability of the swapping was increasing. But since this only involved him and Ning Yi, his mindset remained steady—when there’s a problem, solve it. That was his constant principle.
“There might be other changes in the future. Let’s treat this as practice,” Gu Cheng said. “We’ll just stay together these few days.”
Fortunately, their careers were somewhat intertwined anyway.
And before, when business partners saw Young Master Gu bringing his wife around, they would wonder if he was distracted by love. Now, seeing them inseparable, they only thought— the business emperor and the tech big shot… what a divine combination!
Since their bodies hadn’t switched back for so long, Gu Cheng thought for a few seconds and then put the ring he had given Ning Yi onto his own hand.
Ownership—still needed to be shown.
—Of course, neither Young Master Gu nor Miss 01 seemed to realise just how big that diamond was.
The huge diamond immediately blinded Assistant Zhou.
He had always been observant, and Gu Cheng hadn’t involved any assistants in buying the ring—not even for research! That meant he had personally taken time out of his busy schedule to choose and buy it himself!
And those three CM accounts from before—also handled personally!
Assistant Zhou: T-T what more is there to say!
Coincidentally, A City had an industry conference these past few days. Young Master Gu and his wife attended together, and photos from the meeting were taken.
Once the photos spread online, netizens who had been desperately searching for “sweet moments” since the birthday immediately spotted them.
[HOLY CRAP! What a massive diamond!!!]
[As expected of that man’s style!]
[They even have rings now! Can we start dreaming about a wedding?!]
[Shipping a legal couple just hits different, wuwuwu]
[So let me guess—on his birthday, Sister Ning prepared tons of surprises, and Young Master Gu gave her a diamond ring—what kind of mutual pampering is this TAT don’t let this kill me!]
User “Shiny 886” also saw the photo.
Ding Ziyue instantly turned sour like a lemon—
She shouldn’t have fought over that saddle! She wanted a huge diamond too! How was she supposed to hint this to Jiang Linyi? She was dying of frustration!
Aside from the giant diamond, netizens also spotted more “sweet details”—
[Did you guys notice that Young Master Gu and Sister Ning are holding each other’s phones?!]
[OMG! What kind of trust is this! My boyfriend never lets me touch his phone wuwuwu]
[All men, please start competing at Young Master Gu’s level, okay?!]
Ning Yi happened to scroll past these comments during a break: …uh.
Mainly because they hadn’t switched bodies back yet TvT—you’re overthinking it, everyone.
Netizens: [Ahhhh I don’t care, this is so sweet!!!]
Ning Yi: Fine (lies flat)
She lazily grabbed Gu Cheng. “Give me your phone, I want to play games. Mine’s overheating.”
Gu Cheng tossed his phone to her. “You know the password.”
Overall, although this swap lasted unusually long and caused some inconvenience at work, it was still within a manageable range. Next time, he would be able to handle it better.
So Gu Cheng let her sit in his office chair playing games while he went to the archive room to grab some documents.
On his way back, he ran into Assistant Zhou, who was smiling kindly.
Gu Cheng glanced at him. “What are you smiling about?”
Assistant Zhou felt much more relaxed in front of “Ning Yi” and lowered his head slightly. “Madam, Young Master just agreed to participate in this year’s ‘Top 100 Most Attractive Men in the World’ ranking!”
Gu Cheng: ?
He pushed open the office door and asked expressionlessly, “A Yi, are you signing me up for this?”
If their bodies didn’t switch back, it really wasn’t impossible.
Gu Cheng recalled the time he had done a backbend for Ning Yi’s photos and gave a dark smile. “Are you planning to improve my performance?”
“Aiya—” Ning Yi crossed her legs lazily. “Isn’t it because—you’ve missed it for three years, honey!”
Gu Cheng: “? Do you think I missed it for that reason?”
Ning Yi rubbed her hands together. “Hehe, I’ll take your submission photos for you when the time comes.”
Gu Cheng shook his head helplessly.
Fine.
And she said he didn’t understand her—
Ning Yi was the kind of person who could climb a pole if you gave her one—in other words, she was very good at taking advantage of affection. If left unchecked, she could grab his collar and climb all the way onto his head.
However, Gu Cheng had no intention of stopping her.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Go where?” Ning Yi stood up.
“To set up your birthday gift.”
The diamond-studded saddle she gave him couldn’t just sit around forever.
Work had gone smoothly today.
Free time—was for a date.
On the way to the western suburbs, Ning Yi suddenly remembered something.
In her mind, she said to Gu Cheng: “Oh no, honey! We didn’t get a gift for MieMie, the fluffy, super-soft sheep!”
“MieMie” was also a name she gave—but if only Stand-Up and Runs-Fast got gifts, wouldn’t that be isolating MieMie?!
Animal bullying was not allowed! Absolutely not!
Gu Cheng thought for a moment and replied, “Shall we buy something on the way?”
Young Master Gu didn’t even realise he had been thoroughly influenced by Ning Yi—he was seriously considering how to make up for not buying a gift for a sheep.
Ning Yi pondered deeply, then suddenly slapped her thigh. “Got it!”
Gu Cheng turned to look at her.
Ning Yi: “Let’s give the saddle to Xiao Hong! Then none of the three will have gifts—it’s fair!”
Gu Cheng: “?”
Young Master Gu finally realised he was dangerously close to understanding his wife’s sense of humour.
That was terrifying.
When they arrived at the ranch, three horses and one sheep were led out.
Seeing them, the little white sheep was even more excited than the horses and trotted over happily.
Ning Yi bent down and gave it a few affectionate rubs, becoming even more certain of her decision. She pointed and instructed the bodyguards, “Put the saddle on Xiao Hong!”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Assistant Zhou watched from the side, thrilled: This time, Young Master can finally show off his incredible riding skills in front of Madam!
Stand up! Run fast!
This is going to be so cool!
But in the end, Gu Cheng and Ning Yi got on the same horse.
Gu Cheng had no choice—was he supposed to demonstrate riding skills to her using her own body?
He sat in front, Ning Yi behind. Ning Yi found it quite novel—she’d never ridden with someone before!
Assistant Zhou: T-T This couple really knows how to have fun!
Xiao Hong, now carrying both of them and wearing the gemstone saddle: *I’ve been through too much.jpg*
Of course, Xiao Hong was a strong, mature horse—carrying the two of them was no problem.
The saddle Ning Yi bought was expensive for a reason. Made from fine calfskin, it provided a soft and comfortable feel while also offering excellent grip.
Ning Yi: “Well, honey? Do you like it?”
Gu Cheng held the reins. “Mm—hold tight.”
Xiao Hong suddenly dashed forward—
The wind rushed past Ning Yi’s face. Somehow, she thought of the first time she rode a horse, when Gu Cheng had explained the techniques to her.
Back then, it was through his dark world—he had spoken directly into her mind.
Now he was right beside her, close enough to hear his voice the moment he spoke.
For once, Ning Yi felt a bit sentimental and opened her mouth: “Hon—”
Then she got a mouthful of autumn wind.
So she closed her mouth again.
After a while, she closed her eyes. “Honey, my head hurts a little—”
When she opened them again, she found herself back in her own body.
Gu Cheng was holding the reins, already slowing down.
The sound of hooves gently tapped against the private meadow. This unusually long body swap had quietly ended.
On the horse, Ning Yi leaned back into his arms, the two of them wrapped in the wind.
She tilted her head back and lightly rubbed against his neck.
Gu Cheng stroked her head. “Does it still hurt?”
Ning Yi: “Feels a bit better.”
Xiao Hong seemed to sense the change, its steps growing lighter.
Even the wind softened.
Gu Cheng held Ning Yi and gently kissed the back of her neck.
Ning Yi shrank her neck.
“Cold?”
“Ticklish.”
Maybe both her neck and her heart were a little ticklish.
Aiya.
Ever since that unusually long body swap lasting several days ended, Gu Cheng had been waiting for the next mechanism.
But the uncertainty of the mechanism meant they had no idea when the next one would come, or in what form.
Perhaps a new form was already quietly brewing.
—Compared to Gu Cheng’s faint worries, Ning Yi was much more open-minded.
New Year’s was almost here. What was the most important thing in winter?
Hibernation! And storing food!
In short: eating and sleeping ^3^
At the same time, Ning Yi was also keeping up with CMore’s development in real time. Occasionally, reporters from papers like XX Times would contact her, asking her to answer questions on behalf of CM.
CM’s user base was already very impressive within the industry, and it was steadily developing toward a mature commercial system with revenue. Since CMore was being “fed” by capital, there were also people pessimistic about it—for example, the Wang family, who had failed to successfully form a marriage alliance with the Gu family, publicly stated that they were not optimistic about CMore.
But Ning Yi’s original intention had never changed—even though, in truth, only she knew what that original intention was: to nestle herself into the world of this brainless pampering novel and let each of these characters produce the economic value they were meant to have. For that, a more stable link between content and e-commerce was needed, and none of it could do without core technological support.
So performance and user experience would always come first, and the platform was constantly establishing better internal standards.
In any case, CMore’s valuation within the industry rose steadily, and this was inseparable from the Gu Capital standing firmly behind it.
Meanwhile, Zhao Weining’s original small company was gradually unable to contain its increasingly large number of employees—
“Sis, in the future, we plan to move to the eastern district. We’ll eventually develop into a major company too!”
The eastern district—this was the internet industrial park Gu Cheng had planned and was already advancing. The progress of such a large project would naturally be slower, but it was proceeding steadily. In the future, it would definitely become a new core area of A City.
So in the end, the business emperor’s wings were still too broad. After going round and round, Ning Yi once again ended up under his domain.
Ning Yi touched the large diamond ring that pressed against her finger and felt like she had been circled in by Gu Cheng.
But—honestly, it felt very secure too!
As the end of the year approached, CMore’s partner game companies began promotional campaigns. They wanted to invite gaming streamers and esports players from various clubs to participate and boost popularity.
Wander was still the most requested one.
Ning Yi hadn’t seen him in a long time since the last hotpot meal, so she directly messaged him on WeChat.
Usually, Captain Wan replied instantly—he was an old internet addict, after all—but this time, a long while passed and he didn’t appear.
The platform contacted his club and found that they had also been unable to reach Wander recently. His streaming schedule had also become unstable.
But Wander had always been like this. He seemed to drift outside this world.
Ning Yi wanted to find him, only to realise she didn’t even know where Captain Wan lived.
Only then did she realise that Captain Wan really didn’t seem very connected to this world.
His only connection was that he and she were teammates.
But Ning Yi had always known Wander was an extremely reliable person. Back in the apocalypse, whenever he occasionally disappeared, he would return either with supplies or information.
Whatever he did, he definitely had his own purpose.
So Ning Yi left him a few messages, then quietly waited.
But on her way home, Ning Yi couldn’t help wondering: was she detached too?
It seemed she wasn’t as detached as Brother Wan.
Not only had she closely embedded her career into this world, she had also swapped bodies with the biggest big shot in this world.
What a strange connection.
A car stopped by the roadside. The window lowered, revealing the man inside.
“What are you thinking about?”
Ning Yi looked up and saw Gu Cheng’s hand resting on the car window. He tapped it lightly. “Come home for dinner.”
Oh, right—because of home.
Ning Yi looked at Gu Cheng and immediately felt her appetite return.
How magical!
“I want lobster!” She bounced into the car.
“What lobster?”
“Q3Q”
“…Today is crab.”
“That works too! ^3^”
Two days later, Ning Yi accidentally ran into Ding Ziyue at the company entrance.
What was meant to come would always come. After all, she was the centre of the world!
The princess’s mental state was now very good—
As the saying goes, the internet has no memory!
Several months had passed since Princess Ding’s massive public embarrassment, and she had very cleverly used amnesia to turn the tables against the wind. Now, she was once again a beloved little princess~
The moment Ning Yi saw her, she automatically started recalling where the plot of this world had progressed.
And as soon as Ding Ziyue saw Ning Yi, she smiled reservedly and waved. “Hello~ Miss Ning~”
“Hello,” Ning Yi smiled kindly. “Are you better now?”
Ding Ziyue widened her eyes. “You’re the one—”
She stopped herself again, maintaining her delicate little fairy image, while thinking: You’re the sick one! Who are you insulting?!
But the reason she appeared here today was because of something else.
Ding Ziyue smiled smugly—Ning Yi probably didn’t know who had returned, right?
A male supporting character like Wander could be stolen by Ning Yi, fine. But her relationship plotline with Jiang Linyi now had a new development—after she “lost her memory,” Jiang Linyi cared for her meticulously, yet an important male supporting character suddenly appeared!
And this male supporting character could not possibly be stolen by Ning Yi—because! He was Ning Yi’s biological older brother! He was also the man who had grown up with Ding Ziyue in the Ning family and accompanied her for over ten years!
Could Jiang Linyi possibly not get jealous this time? He’d drown in vinegar!
“Brother Ning has returned to the country, Miss Ning,” Ding Ziyue covered her mouth. “I wonder if he invited you to his homecoming banquet?”
—Of course he hadn’t!
As soon as Ning Zhuo returned, he frantically sought out Ding Ziyue. He had no interest in his biological sister—so what if Ning Yi was doing well now? None of her real family cared about her. This was what it meant to be abandoned by everyone, right?
Ning Yi recalled for a moment and remembered this person—Ning Zhuo, the original owner’s biological older brother. He was another character with that classic old-school flavour, otherwise known as: something seriously wrong with his brain.
The Ning family had fallen so far, so why could Ning Zhuo, this male supporting character, still occupy a certain amount of plot weight? Aside from the fact that he had been cultivated by the Ning family with their full strength and was quite capable himself—
Mainly because he was insane!
A common melodramatic trope in true-and-fake-heiress stories: the fake heiress’s brother falls in love with the fake heiress, but because she is supposedly his sister, he cannot express it. Later, he finally discovers—oh, she was switched at birth!
In the original plot, Ning Zhuo had feelings for Ding Ziyue from childhood. At the time, he didn’t know Ding Ziyue was the fake heiress who had been switched at birth; he thought they were siblings. Later, Ning Zhuo went abroad, but he always carried longing for Ding Ziyue in his heart. Then he learned about the true and fake heiresses—Ding Ziyue was not actually his sister!
However, just as Ning Zhuo was about to return to China, Ding Ziyue got together with the popular Best Actor. When the news of Ding Ziyue’s amnesia reached overseas, Ning Zhuo felt that his chance had finally come.
And Jiang Linyi would become fiercely jealous and twisted because of this childhood sweetheart who had grown up beside Ding Ziyue! Both men would begin forcibly fighting over Ding Ziyue!
After recalling all this, Ning Yi could only think: city people really know how to play—one bucket of melodrama after another.
Ding Ziyue’s heart pounded—she loved this kind of plot where men fought over her the most!
Although Ding Ziyue was very reluctant, she had still secretly studied why Ning Yi was so popular online. In the end, she summarised one point—it was because Ning Yi had many CP fans. Netizens enjoyed seeing her interact with Young Master Gu or Brother Wan, and the two CP sides even competed with each other, so Ning Yi’s popularity rose with the tide.
And now, Ding Ziyue could do it too! She also had two sides fighting over her. Surely the audience would ship them to death too, right?
Her marketing water army had already started moving these past few days.
On one side, a brother who had been her childhood sweetheart for over ten years!
On the other, a Best Actor who publicly announced her as his girlfriend at the height of his popularity and still stayed by her side after she lost her memory!
Wasn’t this exciting? Wasn’t this shippable? Surely netizens wouldn’t want to ship Gu de Mo Ning or Wan Shi Ru Yi anymore! Ding Ziyue had even started thinking of two CP names for herself~
She couldn’t help wanting to shout that line again: The most beloved person in this world! Who else!
Ning Yi scratched her head: For some reason, she felt Ding Ziyue seemed very excited.
Ding Ziyue reservedly cleared her throat.
The reason she appeared here today was also because Brother Ning, as an overseas talent returning to China, was entering Gu Group for an interview. According to the plot, she accompanied Brother Ning to the interview, making Jiang Linyi wildly jealous. Later, the two of them would stage a fierce love-triangle battlefield!
At that time, Ning Yi would watch her own biological brother completely ignore her and fight madly over Ding Ziyue right in front of her—oh my god! Just thinking about it was so thrilling!
Ning Yi had already entered the company first.
Mainly because it was quite cold outside—Ning Zhuo, biological older brother? What even was that ^^
In the CEO’s office, Gu Cheng finished processing documents, and Assistant Zhou came over to remind him of his next schedule.
“Young Master, the candidates for today’s interview have arrived.”
“Mm.”
Because the candidates this time were interviewing for relatively senior positions, the big boss would personally oversee the final round.
Gu Cheng had too many things to decide and didn’t have time to understand every candidate in detail. He flipped through the materials while walking toward the conference room, yet his peripheral vision accurately caught Ning Yi sneaking along the edge of the corridor with a bag of sunflower seeds.
Gu Cheng stopped. “Eat less. You’ll get heaty.”
Ning Yi hid the sunflower seeds behind her back. “Oh.”
The surrounding secretaries and assistants: Hehehe, daily sweetness.
Ning Yi thought: Watching drama while cracking sunflower seeds doesn’t make you heaty!
Gu Cheng quickly finished reading the interview materials and entered the interview conference room.
Then he suddenly realised—he and Ning Yi hadn’t randomly swapped bodies for some time now.
Had the random swapping mechanism ended?
But subconsciously, Gu Cheng knew that possibility was extremely low. It definitely wasn’t that simple.
Soon, the interview began normally.
The candidates were all overseas returnees with study-abroad backgrounds. Putting aside Ning Zhuo’s character, he was indeed quite outstanding and highly capable. Coincidentally, he was also an internet-industry professional.
The interview was rather intense.
Outside, Ning Yi hugged her sunflower seeds and didn’t wait long before Princess Ding appeared exactly as expected!
Jiang Linyi’s figure was in front, while Ding Ziyue chased behind him angrily.
—“Brother Linyi, you’re not allowed to disturb Brother Ning’s interview! I’ll get angry!”
If she hadn’t said that, it might have been fine. But once she did, Jiang Linyi became even angrier.
“Does my companionship over this past year not compare to that so-called brother who went abroad for so many years and never came to see you?”
“Brother Linyi, don’t force me, okay? My… my head…”
Ning Yi cracked open her bag of sunflower seeds: It’s starting!
Princess Ding was still immersed in her amnesiac little white flower persona, and her performance was evenly matched with the Best Actor’s!
At that moment, the conference room door finally opened. Gu Cheng came out first, followed by his assistants, and only then today’s interview candidates.
Ning Zhuo, trailing behind, had vaguely heard Ding Ziyue’s voice from inside the conference room. But for some reason, the first person he saw when he came out was Ning Yi, crouching in the corner and looking inconspicuous.
That was his biological younger sister.
Apparently, CMore was founded by her?
But before Ning Zhuo could think further, Ding Ziyue had already rushed over and stood in front of him. “Brother Linyi, if there’s anything, come at me! Brother Ning is innocent!”
Jiang Linyi became even more furious at her protective stance. “Yueyue, for him, you—”
Only then did Ning Zhuo understand what was happening. He immediately pulled Ding Ziyue behind him. “Jiang Linyi, what do you want to do to my sister?”
Ding Ziyue clutched her head dramatically in her mind: Ahhh! They’re fighting! They’re fighting over me!
Ning Yi, did you see this?! Young Master Gu, did you see this?!
Gu Cheng frowned slightly and raised his hand.
Bodyguards poured in from all directions.
Gu Cheng felt nothing toward Ning Zhuo—he didn’t even know he was Ning Yi’s relative. And even if he did—since Ning Yi’s family showed her no care at all, in Gu Cheng’s eyes they might as well not exist. Essentially, they were as good as dead.
As for Ding Ziyue and Jiang Linyi, Gu Cheng had always regarded them like two idiots.
So none of these people stirred any emotional reaction in him.
But just as he was about to have them all thrown out, he suddenly felt an odd sense of amusement.
A strange emotion—one that didn’t belong to him—rose from within.
Gu Cheng could clearly tell this wasn’t his own feeling.
He lifted his gaze toward Ning Yi, who was cracking sunflower seeds nearby, her face full of “This is so exciting, give me more, I love watching this”.
…?
Could the new swapping mechanism allow them to sense each other’s emotions?
Gu Cheng remained silent and began observing.
So one moment he felt calm, the next moment it was “damn!”, then suddenly a craving like “I want another pack of sunflower seeds”.
Gu Cheng: “……”
It seemed to be true.
The randomness of the swapping mechanism had evolved in yet another unexpected way.
But after a short while, the emotion faded again. Gu Cheng’s thoughts grew heavier.
At the same time, Ning Yi put down her sunflower seeds.
Huh?
Why did she suddenly feel a wave of heavy contemplation?
Ning Yi looked down at the sunflower seed shells in her hand, her expression serious: Did I really eat too much and get heaty?
A weighty emotion that didn’t seem to belong to her rose in her heart. Ning Yi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, Gu Cheng pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “Throw them all out.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, Young Master!”
The corridor quickly fell silent. Ning Yi, still deep in thought, was dragged back into the office by Gu Cheng.
To him, everything outside was insignificant compared to what was happening between him and Ning Yi.
Based on his observations, whenever he couldn’t feel Ning Yi’s emotions, she was likely feeling his instead.
This was an entirely new swapping mechanism.
And it was completely random—not something they could control with their will.
Gu Cheng closed his eyes, not considering this a good development.
So Ning Yi, holding her sunflower seeds, felt waves of contemplation, seriousness, deliberation…
And finally, she realised it too!
“I think I can feel what you’re thinking,” Ning Yi said, reaching out and boldly poking his face. “—Hubby.”
Gu Cheng opened his eyes and caught her hand. “…Did you wash your hands after eating sunflower seeds?”
Ning Yi scratched his palm. “Nope, hehe.”
Then she felt a faint wave of exasperation—like “fine, I can’t do anything about you anyway.”
That was clearly coming from Gu Cheng.
Ning Yi found it quite novel.
“Hubby, what are you worried about?”
She could clearly sense the concern in his heart. So this was what a mature business emperor’s emotional world looked like? Unlike her—her laid-back life was just eating, watching drama, and occasionally working hard. All happiness.
Gu Cheng also knew his emotions were being transmitted to her, so he took a breath and began regulating himself.
But he had always been a subtle, somewhat brooding person.
After thinking things through, he usually looked further ahead.
It was hard for him to truly relax.
So Ning Yi clearly felt the structure of his inner world.
Aiya, this person—
He said he only wanted her to be happy, but how could he carry such heavy thoughts himself?
Gu Cheng held Ning Yi’s hand, leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, and gave himself five seconds to clear his mind.
But just as he was about to open his eyes—
He suddenly felt something soft against his lips.
Ning Yi had hooked her arms around his neck and lightly licked his lips like a little cat.
Gu Cheng’s mind went blank.
Ning Yi felt that, so she gave him two more quick pecks.
His emotions were passing over.
Gu Cheng finally opened his eyes, dark pupils glowing faintly with a deep blue light, and looked down at the person in his arms.
Ning Yi blinked. “How does it feel?”
Gu Cheng suddenly curved his lips into a smile. “Don’t you already know—”
“What am I feeling right now?” he asked.
Ning Yi held onto his neck, her face slowly turning red.
“You’re really happy,” she said.
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