A Deeper Exchange
The new experience brought by the swapping mechanism was something neither of them had expected at first.
It was… quite interesting.
On New Year’s Eve, people everywhere were performing all kinds of romance, but Gu Cheng and Ning Yi’s “romance” was probably unique in the world.
Only the moon could bear witness.
The next day.
It was the first day of the new year.
After Ning Yi slept enough and woke up, she remembered that healthy, positive, fresh experience—
She hugged the blanket. “Hehe, hehehe.”
The diligent Young Master Gu had long since gotten up and was preparing to go to the company. When he passed by the bed and saw Ning Yi’s smile, he couldn’t help pinching her cheek. “Make your expression a little more normal.”
Ning Yi obediently tightened her face, pretending to be expressionless, then rubbed her hands together. “Hehe, hehehe.”
Gu Cheng: “……” Forget it.
Let her be happy.
Ning Yi waved sweetly at him… and it. “Gu de Mo Ning~ Ning touching Gu~”
Gu Cheng raised a hand to cover his brow and finally couldn’t hold back a laugh.
He realised that he could truly understand Ning Yi’s humour now.
Terrifying, but also a little pleasing.
However—
Because the excitement of exploring the new mechanism this time had exceeded Gu Cheng’s expectations, for a while, even he forgot his original worries.
But from beginning to end, the uncertainty of the random swapping still hung over them.
Now it was swapping sensations and emotions. Then the next deeper change…
What would it be?
At the start of the new year, CMore’s second phase of financing had already been invested.
The situation looked excellent, and CM’s growth also proved Gu Capital’s never-wrong investment vision in reverse.
Now, even advertising the recruitment alone was earning the platform huge profits. Little Boss Zhao was no longer the useless third son of the Zhao family. Wherever he went, people respectfully called him President Zhao.
However, behind the suited, polished appearance, he was still a diligent programmer. Whenever his code failed to run, he still cried to Ning Yi—
“Sis! Sis! Emergency help!”
Ning Yi kindly pulled out her keyboard. “Coming, coming.”
This year, Ning Yi’s status had also risen higher and higher as the platform expanded—because the whole internet knew that although CMore had indeed been fed by capital, from beginning to end, it had been built by one person.
01’s CM profile, apart from liked posts such as Young Master Gu’s photo, contained only original updates about upgrades and adjustments based on user feedback. There was no personal daily life content, only the routine of a serious, hardcore technical big shot.
Even so, every purely technical post received tens of thousands of likes and comments.
[Ahhhh Sister Ning, slay me!]
[Can 01 kiss me in the new year?!]
[Upstairs, Young Master Gu is already on his way to slay you]
[What? Young Master Gu is coming? Then can we watch Young Master Gu and Sister Ning kiss? [lick screen][lick screen]]
[I’m dying, netizens, put on some underwear!]
…
CMore’s daily active users steadily grew, and the company’s scale became larger and larger.
The eastern industrial park planned by Gu Group had already begun to take shape. Perhaps before long, they would move there.
“I’ll take you to see it.”
After work, Gu Cheng stopped by the small logistics company next door to pick up Ning Yi, then drove to the eastern district.
The roads around the park were wide and smooth, and the infrastructure was fairly complete. His industrial park was already under construction, and a huge concept-map poster had been erected at the entrance.
All of this was part of the very long future, every step connected to Ning Yi.
Hearing that Young Master Gu had personally arrived with Madam, the person in charge hurried out to receive them.
But Gu Cheng waved a hand, indicating it wasn’t necessary.
He would just show Ning Yi himself.
Ning Yi leaned forward with interest. The park was still under construction, but from the concept map alone, she could already imagine what it would look like in the future. At that time, it would be full of internet and high-tech industries, and their building would definitely look very futuristic.
A global alliance of technical people—her CMore would definitely become more and more powerful too.
Gu Cheng led her over and raised his hand, circling the most central area on the map. “CMore will be here.”
Ning Yi blinked, then couldn’t help opening her mouth wide. “Whoa—”
So impressive. So much presence!
Gu Cheng asked calmly, “Do you know why I chose this spot?”
Ning Yi looked up. “Why?”
Gu Cheng pointed to an area beside it. “Because this is the largest food court in the park.”
At that time, many food vendors would move in, and CM’s building would be built at the closest location to it.
Convenient for a certain someone to carry out her favourite activity.
Ning Yi blinked.
After a few seconds, she sighed. “My god, honey, aren’t you a little too thoughtful?”
Gu Cheng’s expression was calm. “As I should be.”
Giving his partner a better life in every possible way was something he was supposed to do.
And this year, there would be much, much more—
More than she could probably imagine.
Gu Cheng’s lips curved slightly.
Ning Yi looked at her future empire and couldn’t help sighing. “I really never expected this!”
Gu Cheng came back to himself, raised a hand around her shoulder, and glanced at her. “Expected what?”
Ning Yi thought: I was originally supposed to be a cannon-fodder character brutally abused by you, but now everything’s gone in the complete opposite direction—
Although Gu Cheng had already said he liked her,
Ning Yi could truly feel it in the details of daily life: you definitely like me a lot.
Hehe.
Their figures stretched into one shadow under the sunset.
One was 188 cm, the other 170 cm. A perfect height difference, and there was also an indescribable sense of perfect harmony between them.
Assistant Zhou watched from afar and couldn’t think of any words other than: perfectly matched!
Let the years continue peacefully like this. Let Young Master Gu and Madam have the most beautiful and smooth love story! Wuwuwu.
Ning Yi recalled the original plot and smiled, shaking her head—anyway, the strongest big boss in the book had fallen in love with the little cannon fodder. This plot had definitely collapsed.
Usually, plots wouldn’t be that simple, but who knew?
Ning Yi had been through too much. She felt the present mattered most.
For example, right now, she really liked this man who gave her a huge diamond and drew an empire for her.
So Ning Yi smiled and leaned over, burying her face into his chest beneath his coat.
Kiss kiss kiss.
Of course—
Although Ning Yi felt that she and Gu Cheng had collapsed one corner of the original plot, there would always be someone in this world supporting the original storyline!
Princess Ding Ding—forever young, forever that same style!
Ever since Ning Yi ran into Ning Zhuo while buying coffee that day, she hadn’t seen him at the group again. Of course, the Ning family’s return banquet for Ning Zhuo had nothing to do with her either. However, Ning Zhuo being sent down to a Gu branch company was pitifully told to Ding Ziyue.
And Ding Ziyue believed all of this was caused by Jiang Linyi—
Ding Ziyue’s crazy logic was very simple: if Jiang Linyi hadn’t gone to Gu Group that day to find Ning Zhuo, and if the three of them hadn’t caused a scene in front of Young Master Gu, then Young Master Gu wouldn’t have disliked such an outstanding talent as Ning Zhuo. He would definitely have kept him in a senior position at headquarters!
So Jiang Linyi had ruined Ning Zhuo’s job because he loved her too much! Of course, even though she had been the one who accompanied Ning Zhuo to the interview that day, she had amnesia, so none of this had anything to do with her! ^_^
The love-hate drama among the three of them played out wonderfully on CMore, becoming the main source of New Year gossip for netizens.
In the end, it concluded with Jiang Linyi saying he would take Ding Ziyue to another province to meet his parents.
Ding Ziyue shed moved tears. “Brother Linyi, I knew you…”
Jiang Linyi had also been tortured almost to madness by their love. He hugged Ding Ziyue deeply. “Yueyue, stop making trouble. Whether you remember everything between us or not, only you will become my wife.”
Ding Ziyue nodded through teary eyes. “Mm!”
—Hahahaha!
Now that the plot had progressed to this point, she could more or less regain her memory!
When the time came, she would “remember everything” in a grand and ceremonial way, making Jiang Linyi feel that all the suffering had finally paid off, and cherish her even more.
—Love was like this. Pure sweetness would gradually become dull!
Only after experiencing sourness and bitterness within sweetness could love become unforgettable!
Ding Ziyue felt she was practically a master of love. As expected of the woman most deserving of being pampered in this world!
So how could Ning Yi’s love compare with hers?~
Could Ning Yi have such rich, layered, sweet-and-abusive, unforgettable love?
So the best love, the deepest love—
Only she, Ding Ziyue, could possess it!
[@Ding Ziyue: I forgot many things, but I could not forget you. I remembered many things, and most of them were you.]
[[Image][Image][Image][Image]]
This sorrowful caption came so easily. As expected of an amnesiac youth-pain Mary Sue!
Ning Yi felt quite emotional—now, whenever she saw Ding Ziyue, it was like seeing a sea-calming needle. It reassured her that the world was still operating as usual.
As long as Princess Ding Ding’s world didn’t collapse, this world would continue being brainless and happy.
Very nice.
And Ding Ziyue had finally made her choice between her childhood sweetheart brother and the devoted Film Emperor.
After she returned home with Jiang Linyi, she officially began treating herself as the Film Emperor’s fiancée. She even went on a show with Jiang Linyi, hinting with a blissful expression that she and Jiang Linyi might get married, making Jiang’s fans cry and netizens envious!
—So in the wedding round, she would definitely win against Ning Yi!
Ding Ziyue had made up her mind. Surely in this life, she couldn’t fail to beat Ning Yi even once, right?
Besides, Young Master Gu hadn’t shown any intention of making up a wedding for Ning Yi, had he? But Jiang Linyi clearly would give her everything she wanted~
In terms of financial power, Jiang Linyi would find it hard to beat Young Master Gu, but the Jiang family was also a local powerhouse in their region! And Jiang Linyi’s recent film had already been nominated. According to the dream plot, he would win an award, and his status would rise even further!
After sweetness, bitterness, heartbreak, and finally deep affection, Jiang Linyi would definitely give his beloved princess a grand wedding of the century!
Ding Ziyue had already started checking which date would be best for their wedding~ When the time came, she would definitely invite Ning Yi!
Ah~ She was simply too excited~
Ning Yi also briefly reviewed the original plot.
Because Princess Ding had inserted herself into the amnesia plotline, the overall progress seemed to have sped up a little.
Of course, tracing back to the beginning, Gu Cheng had awakened earlier than in the original plot. Originally, “Ning Yi” would have abused Gu Cheng for a period of time, and only after Gu Cheng had blackened enough would he awaken.
But when Ning Yi transmigrated, she had only just stabbed Gu Cheng once before he woke up early because of their body swap.
So, in a way, Ding Ziyue’s adaptability was actually pretty strong—just as strong as her ability to repair herself after breaking down!
Respect ^_^
May Princess Ding continue propping up this world and stay brainlessly happy forever!
After the new year passed, the first lunar month soon arrived, and the festive atmosphere gradually grew stronger.
Even brainless wealthy families still had to joyfully celebrate the New Year!
Ning Yi was also very excited for it.
New Year meant stocking up on food for the holiday! Ning Yi finally had a proper excuse to move a supermarket home again!
This time, Gu Cheng accompanied her. Watching Ning Yi sweep through the shelves, he felt rather helpless.
“It’s not like we don’t have these at home,” Gu Cheng said, pushing the shopping cart for her.
Ning Yi looked at the chocolate popcorn and caramel popcorn. Feeling that she liked both, she took five tubs of each and threw them into the almost-full cart.
“You don’t understand!” Ning Yi wagged her finger. “You don’t understand this happiness!”
The last person to push a shopping cart for her had been Brother Wan. Brother Wan understood very well—
People always compensated themselves after suffering!
The shelves were fully stocked, everything fresh, unexpired, and didn’t even need to be fought over. This kind of happiness was simply indescribable.
Gu Cheng sighed lightly, then helped her grab a few more flavours. Fine, then buy them.
After all, buying an entire supermarket wouldn’t be a problem.
In the end, Ning Yi bought a whole cart of New Year goods and brought them home. When Song Lan saw it, she smiled and encouraged her. “Xiao Yi is amazing. This year, we don’t even need to prepare New Year goods at home.”
The kitchen would definitely show off their skills for such an important holiday as New Year. Madam’s happy smile while eating was their motivation!
Ning Yi cheerfully went to discuss the New Year’s Eve dinner menu with her mother-in-law.
After finishing that, Ning Yi happily went to bond with the chefs she deeply loved.
Meanwhile, Song Lan quietly kept Gu Cheng behind. “You and Xiao Yi have such a good relationship now. Have you made any plans for the wedding and such?”
Gu Cheng said calmly, “You can rest assured.”
Song Lan knew he had been decisive since childhood. Seeing his expression, she knew he had already planned it.
She covered her mouth and smiled. “And the honeymoon too. Arrange everything that should be arranged.”
Gu Cheng: “I know.”
As he turned to leave, a thought suddenly arose in his mind.
If this new swapping mechanism kept going, then based on what they experienced last time… their honeymoon…
Young Master Gu adjusted his collar expressionlessly.
Daytime was not suitable for such… thoughts. Not suitable for deep thinking.
Before the official New Year holiday, the Gu Group had its annual meeting, and CMore also launched Spring Festival activities.
Creators from the livestream, gaming, and now e-commerce beauty sections all recorded New Year greetings.
The gaming clubs contacted all the popular streamers—unsurprisingly, Wander was once again unreachable.
He hadn’t streamed for quite a while.
And Ning Yi had somehow become the only person who could still contact him.
It was as if, in this world, he had muted everyone except her.
That gave Ning Yi a slightly uneasy feeling.
[Bro, are you in seclusion again?]
A day after she sent the message, Wander—probably just waking up—replied.
[No]
[Just been sleeping a lot lately]
Ning Yi sighed. [Don’t overwork yourself, okay]
[Eat healthy, live properly, drink tea, take care of yourself, sleep early and wake early]
Wander smiled.
So that’s how she’d been living lately. That’s good.
Wander: [01, have you been dreaming when you sleep lately?]
Ning Yi: [Nope]
Her sleep quality had been great lately. Aside from occasionally hogging the bed and squeezing Gu Cheng into a strip at night, everything was fine.
Wander tapped his phone screen.
Then maybe—just maybe—there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance that 01 was lucky.
[What if—I mean, just what if—you go back one day?]
Ning Yi paused, then thought about it seriously.
If that happened, she’d still be able to live well. Ning Yi had never believed anything could truly defeat her. But what she had gone through before—those life-and-death struggles—were too painful and humiliating. She had already forced herself to forget them. Ideally, she’d never have to go through that again.
And she didn’t want Wander to experience it again either.
And there was no need for Gu Cheng to know.
Ning Yi: [It’s almost New Year—let’s keep things auspicious, okay?]
Wander smiled. [Okay]
Ning Yi thought for a moment. [Captain, from now on, check in with me every day—just send a “1”]
She needed to make sure her Captain was alive and well.
There was a long pause before a reply finally came:
[1]
That meant he agreed.
Ning Yi felt a bit reassured. Just as she was about to put down her phone, another message came through:
[If there’s a day I don’t check in, come find me]
Then Wander sent her an address—where he lived.
For some reason, Ning Yi suddenly felt the weight of it.
[1111]
Got it.
Even though Ning Yi had already learned to take everything lightly after the apocalypse, Wander’s words still settled somewhere in her heart.
Fortunately, over the next two days, she received a “1” from him every day.
That made things feel steadier.
Ning Yi stared at the “1” on her phone, thinking for a long time.
So long that Gu Cheng had already finished his work and came over, glancing at her chat window. He raised a brow. “What’s he doing?”
Sending a “1” every day—what’s wrong with him?
Ning Yi snapped out of it. “Reporting that his vital signs are stable.”
Gu Cheng let out a soft laugh. “Is he a vegetative patient too?”
Ning Yi poked his abdomen. “Then you send a ‘1’ too, husband. The Buddha will forgive your sharp tongue.”
Gu Cheng smiled and traced a “1” on the tip of her nose.
Just now, Ning Yi’s emotions had passed over to him again—slightly more subdued than usual.
But after talking to him for a bit, she clearly adjusted quickly.
A very strong internal resilience.
Gu Cheng’s gaze lingered on her features. His A Yi always seemed… remarkable.
That kind of emotional regulation and control…
Ning Yi looked up at him, her eyes landing on his sharply defined jawline, pale neck, and long, well-formed fingers.
And suddenly, she recalled their experience on New Year’s Eve.
Ning Yi: “O3O”
Her emotions shifted subtly—and that little bit of mischievous heat passed over to him.
Gu Cheng: “?” He hadn’t even reacted yet.
Ning Yi: *I didn’t mean to—my brain just did it on its own!*
Her brain had automatically replayed that “healthy and positive” experience from that night—
As the saying goes: when you’re well-fed and warm, you start thinking about… things.
And once you’ve experienced it—
Well… it really *was*… something.
So Ning Yi warmly and cheerfully leaned over.
Gu Cheng’s gaze darkened, and his lips curved. “What are you thinking about, hm?”
As Ning Yi snuggled closer, she said, “I’m thinking about prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality…”
Gu Cheng laughed and couldn’t help lowering his head.
But before their lips could touch, their bodies switched.
Gu Cheng: “…”
It worked for a moment, then failed again.
So Ning Yi felt his resentful mood.
While rubbing her slightly aching head, she still couldn’t help laughing loudly.
Gu Cheng couldn’t help feeling a little gloomy.
Although the new swapping mechanism was interesting, its uncontrollable randomness still left him unable to grasp it.
After laughing, Ning Yi also sighed. “Honey, do you think our body-swapping is actually a bad thing?”
Judging from how things were developing, it was clearly becoming more and more uncontrollable.
Her willpower couldn’t end the random swaps, and neither could Gu Cheng’s.
Back when she first transmigrated, she only ate and played without thinking, feeling that body-swapping was useful because she could drag someone else in to take blame and endure pain for her. Occasionally, she could even use the domineering CEO’s body to show off.
But the randomness of the swaps had shown signs from the beginning. At first, it seemed like she had higher control, then Gu Cheng’s control increased. But in reality, in the face of randomness, neither of them had a choice.
Gu Cheng lowered his eyes, not wanting her to worry with him.
“No,” Gu Cheng held Ning Yi’s hand. “The swapping is also a good thing.”
If he hadn’t swapped bodies with Ning Yi, Gu Cheng didn’t know how much longer he would have remained trapped in endless darkness.
So even though the randomness of the swaps was unpredictable, and even though Gu Cheng had some vague guesses and worries—
It was still the beginning of him meeting Ning Yi… and gaining a new life.
Ning Yi closed her eyes and leaned against him.
She understood what Gu Cheng meant.
Aiya.
Although their bodies had swapped, their emotions were passing between them.
Night deepened, but Gu Cheng felt no sleepiness.
He made several guesses about what the next form of swapping might be—some benign, some malignant… but none of the outcomes seemed very optimistic.
This was a challenge unlike anything in his past experience.
They were fighting against an invisible force, and Gu Cheng didn’t know whether he had any chance of winning.
As he thought deeply, a cold feeling unconsciously spread out. Gu Cheng had always hated everything uncontrollable. And now, it wasn’t only because it was unsafe—it was because this involved Ning Yi. He could not accept being unable to protect her.
His personality had always been like this. Since his youth, he had controlled the group through open and hidden attacks. Later, struggling in darkness had accumulated all the gloom and resentment of his life.
So where exactly would the next step lead…
Just as Gu Cheng’s gaze grew darker, a stronger, gentler, calmer emotion swept between them like wind.
It came from Ning Yi.
Ning Yi held his hand and called him in her heart: “Honey.”
“Mm?”
“Sleep.”
Gu Cheng suddenly became calm.
It was as if, despite everything, her heart still smelled of sunlight and wind.
Gu Cheng didn’t know how rare that was.
Then he quietly stayed with Ning Yi’s emotions and watched her fall asleep peacefully.
Gu Cheng suddenly seemed to understand why the unseen mechanism had chosen him and Ning Yi to swap bodies.
One was restrained yet gloomy.
The other resilient and positive.
They could hold each other up.
Ning Yi slept deeply that night.
Gu Cheng only fell asleep beside her much later, and even then, his sleep was restless.
Gu Cheng dreamed.
The dream was made of fragmented scenes.
People were running in panic through the streets, as if some disaster had happened.
The scenes were realistic, yet unfamiliar.
Gu Cheng seemed to move aimlessly through the dream. Even from a first-person perspective, everything seemed unrelated to him. Until, amid the fragmented scenes, he happened to pass a mirror.
In the mirror, he saw… Ning Yi’s thin, gaunt face.
As if she had been hungry for a long time.
Gu Cheng’s pupils shrank, and he abruptly opened his eyes—
At some point, their bodies had switched back.
Beside him, Ning Yi was still sleeping peacefully, looking happy and calm, as if she had never suffered at all.
Yet Gu Cheng suddenly understood something.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, instinctively tightening his hold again and again.
Perhaps this dream should have been Ning Yi’s, but because their bodies had swapped, Gu Cheng dreamed it.
Or perhaps it was the guess Gu Cheng was becoming more certain of—
The next deepened stage of the random swapping mechanism.
After exchanging emotions, the next deeper stage was…
They would exchange memories.
And so, in fleeting glimpses, he had seen a little of Ning Yi’s past.
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