chapter 2

The book was a transmigration novel. In a world that revered men and demeaned women, its formidable heroine carved out an empire in the merchant world through her own ability.

Lu Fang was her business rival. Drawn to the force of her character, he never married for the rest of his life.

The body I had transmigrated into belonged to an orphan adopted by the Lu family. She had secretly loved Lu Fang for years. Unwilling to be married off to some random stranger, she took a desperate gamble and drugged him.

What she did not know was that Lu Fang had a split personality. His primary personality was restrained and steady; his other personality could be summed up in one word: ruthless. I had taken to calling him Ruthless Lu.

After she confessed her feelings, Lu Fang succumbed to the drug and Ruthless Lu seized control of his body. He could not tolerate being schemed against. Without a second thought, he strangled Lu Jia, dumped her body in a mass grave, then dealt with the drug using cold water and his own two hands.

At that point, Lu Fang had met the cross-dressing heroine only once. Lu Jia’s death both served as a foil for the heroine and introduced Lu Fang’s split personality.

She was the very definition of a nobody.

As for me, I was simply the poor fool who had been hit by a car because I was reading while walking.

I had been given a second life, only to find another death waiting at the start of it.

At the scene of the crime stood me, the murder weapon—an inkstone—and the victim, Lu Fang.

The moment I realized the blood covering Lu Fang’s head had made him faint, I flinched and threw the inkstone away.

Amitabha, hallelujah, amen—I shouted every prayer I knew inside my head.

Footsteps sounded beyond the door. My heart shuddered as they drew closer and louder.

There was nowhere to retreat and nothing I could do. The instant the door opened, my knees gave way and I collapsed beside Lu Fang.

Only his father and mother could enter his study without announcing themselves or knocking. Now they appeared together.

They stared in horror at their precious son, whose head was covered in blood and ink, then at me, the culprit who had struck him.

“Fang’er!”

I immediately joined their wailing with tears of perfect sincerity. “I did this to Brother.”

Confession earned leniency. I had been honest since childhood and truly did not know how to lie without changing expression.

“Something was wrong with Brother after he drank the tea. He tried to… I had no choice, Father, Mother…”

In a life-or-death crisis, a little quick thinking was essential.

Some details could be omitted. For instance, I had brought him the tea, and I had also put the drug in it.

I probably gave Lu Fang a concussion. His head was wrapped like a rice dumpling, and a full day and night passed before he slowly woke.

The instant he opened his eyes, joy and alarm struck me together.

Joy, because I would not have a murder on my conscience. Alarm, because which one was he—Lu Fang or Ruthless Lu?

I stared without blinking. His gaze was unfocused when he first woke. Surrounded by relieved faces and happy tears, his eyes gradually cleared, then fixed on me.

In a voice no louder than a mosquito, I called, “Brother.”

He froze. His pupils contracted, but he quickly recovered his usual composure. “Jia’er. Come here.”

I was deeply unwilling, but under everyone’s eyes, I had no choice but to approach his bedside.

Clear guilt filled his eyes. “I wronged you. I will certainly—”

I hurried to interrupt him. “Just prepare a larger dowry for me, Brother. Jia’er wants nothing else.”

He frowned in obvious confusion. “A dowry?”

I nodded. Madam Lu spoke slowly. “Jia’er has reached marriageable age. Your father and I had already chosen a suitable family. They came to propose, and we accepted.”

What had actually happened was simple: if Lu Fang lived, I would be betrothed. If Lu Fang died, I would be buried with him.

I was merely the orphaned child of a benefactor who had died ages ago. How could gratitude diluted by so many years compare with the life of their son?

Before Lu Fang woke, the looks his parents gave me were identical to Ruthless Lu’s. Every glance felt as though the words LIFE SPAN -1 should float above my head.

Thank heaven, thank earth, thank fate itself.

If I lived and left the Lu family, countless roads would open before me.

That fiancé who had appeared at precisely the right moment was truly my lucky star.