Chapter 262
Chapter 262
"…What I’m saying makes me sound like a lunatic." Zhong Ning seemed to think of something and took out her phone. Sure enough, the contacts inside had changed.
"Or maybe I’m dreaming right now." she murmured, handing the phone to Xie Shiqing. "There are photos of me and my family in the gallery, and you can see them in the contacts too. Wait… what date is it now?"
Her gaze swept across the screen—August 30. Yesterday happened to be the day her friend sent that message!
The chat history was still there.
Xie Shiqing also saw the record. She fell into a brief silence, then seemed to come to a sudden realization.
"My secret—now it’s my turn to confess."
She suddenly curled her lips, speaking with a hint of emotion. "If it were me from a few years ago, I would never have said what was truly on my mind."
"I’m someone who has been reborn once. What I experienced in my previous life is exactly everything your friend mentioned."
Zhong Ning’s mouth fell open. "Huh?"
Seeing her stunned expression, Xie Shiqing let out a soft laugh. She unfastened her seatbelt, leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek.
"In my previous life, I mistakenly trusted Zhong Lin. Zhong Zinuan and Le Xi joined forces to swallow up the Xie Corporation and drove me into bankruptcy. When I was reborn, it was also on that very day. I originally intended to cancel the engagement, but I didn’t expect that you had already arrived at my doorstep."
Her expression was calm and gentle. "Perhaps somewhere in the unseen, a greater force arranged for the two of us to meet."
Zhong Ning: "…If only I could have met you a little earlier."
Xie Shiqing’s eyes curved slightly. "Now is already good. As long as we end up together, it will never be too late."
"Where is your home? Not seeing your family for so long—you must miss them a lot, right?"
Xie Shiqing opened her phone and brought up the map, waiting for Zhong Ning to give an address.
"Wait, wait, wait—you just accepted this? That’s way too fast!" Zhong Ning was still in shock. One transmigration, one rebirth—how could they talk about it as casually as losing two dollars?
"I actually realized long ago that you weren’t her," Xie Shiqing said.
"What?! Was I that bad at pretending? When did you notice?" Zhong Ning was dumbfounded, her eyes wide as bells.
"I’m someone who has lived through another life. I know what Zhong Ning—the original Zhong Ning—was like. You are completely different from her. At first, I thought you were pretending, but when Liu Rushi’s incident happened, I realized it."
Xie Shiqing said softly, "You are definitely not her. She didn’t have your sense of responsibility and courage."
"…How is that any different from realizing it from the start!" Zhong Ning said in disbelief, stammering, "Ah? I thought I’d hidden it perfectly."
Although she had already decided to explain everything as a drastic change in personality.
She suddenly realized she hadn’t managed to pretend at all.
Zhong Ning: mixed feelings.
Instead, Xie Shiqing smiled. "So, you have your secret, and I have mine. Now we’re even. There’s nothing left that I’m hiding from you."
Zhong Ning laughed. "Same here. Everything I’ve been hiding—I’ve spilled it all. Actually, there were many times I thought about telling you, but I was afraid you’d think I was crazy, possessed or something."
"Who would believe something like this anyway?"
Xie Shiqing: "I believe it."
"I believe anything you say."
Zhong Ning raised an eyebrow. "Even if I said I’m actually an alien, you’d still believe me?"
Xie Shiqing nodded. "I would."
"Stop messing around." Zhong Ning lightly slapped her hand.
"So where exactly is your home?" Xie Shiqing asked again.
Zhong Ning reported a string of addresses.
The car followed the navigation. About halfway through the drive, Zhong Ning suddenly slapped her thigh. "Do you even have an ID?"
Xie Shiqing immediately realized how serious the problem was. The two exchanged a glance. Taking advantage of a red light, she checked her phone—completely blank, nothing at all, as if it were brand new.
Zhong Ning: "…This is bad. You’re basically undocumented."
Xie Shiqing: "…"
"How about—how about we say you have amnesia? I found you and took you in, then we report it to the police, file you as missing first, and then you can get a temporary ID."
"If you’re not actually undocumented and they can find a real identity for you, that’d be even better. What do you think?"
Xie Shiqing nodded. "That works. I can’t find anything on my side either."
"Then should we go to the police station first or go home?"
Zhong Ning: "Let’s report it. That’s more urgent."
So the car turned and headed toward the nearest police station.
A missing person case was considered serious. The technology in Zhong Ning’s world wasn’t as advanced as in Xie Shiqing’s—there was no comprehensive surveillance network—so the staff took it very seriously and asked many detailed questions.
Xie Shiqing displayed exceptional acting skills, and Zhong Ning’s performance was equally convincing, her face full of worry. "Has anyone reported a missing person?"
The officer quickly checked through recent missing person reports and shook his head. "There’s no relevant information at the moment."
"Then what should we do? How about I take her home first? This is my contact information. If someone files a report or if you find any clues, please contact me. I live on Wutong Road."
Zhong Ning pulled up her verified identity information on her phone. "This is my ID."
There wasn’t any better solution for now. The police recorded the case and said they would investigate and respond as soon as possible. Aside from the Wenjinzhou missing case, they would also review reports from other regions.
After taking a photo of Xie Shiqing, Zhong Ning led her away.
"My family is really nice."
Zhong Ning switched to the driver’s seat. "I’ve never properly introduced them to you before. For some reason, I kind of feel like laughing."
"Look at my contact list—the chat background with my mom is our family photo. The one with curly hair is Mom, the one holding her arm on the left is Mother, and the one on the right is my older sister."
Zhong Ning introduced each person by name, then added, "My family runs a small business. If you add up all our savings, it wouldn’t even come close to a fraction of what’s in your account."