Chapter 126: Linking everything together
I didn’t remember anything that happened in the car afterwards. I vaguely recalled Anson stabbing a needle in my arm. There was an intense prickly pain and then I lost all consciousness. By the time I woke up, my hands and legs were locked up in iron chains. I was in a stuffy black room.
My head was spinning. I tried to move my fingers, but my body was reacting very strangely. It was having a hard time obeying my orders and I wasn’t accustomed to it. It was as if it wasn’t my body.
“You’re awake?” A woman dressed in a kimono pushed open the door and came in. She was holding something in her hands. Due to the dim lighting, I couldn’t see her face clearly.
“Who are you?”
The moment I spoke, I froze. Why was my voice....so deep?!
“What’s going on?” I said another line. This wasn’t my voice! This was a man’s voice! Also, upon more careful examination, when were my hands and legs ever this long? I was also dressed in men’s clothing!
“Anson, calm down.” The woman came closer and handed a mirror to me. My reflection was the Anson makeup artist I met from Japan!
“Ah!” I screamed and threw the mirror. It shattered into pieces and I shoved the woman as I tried to break free from the iron chains. Due to my dramatic movements, metal clanging could be heard all around.
The woman stood up and solemnly stated, “From today onward, you are Anson.”
“What are you saying? What did you guys do to me?!” I wanted to grab the woman, but due to the iron chains, I was very restrained.
“Tell him to come here!” I knew there was no point in screaming. So I tried to calm down, “I want to see Anson.”
“You’ll never see him again. We’re about to leave here.”
“What do you mean?”
“In another 5 hours, we will be taking a private plane and returning back to Japan. You should prepare yourself. You are no longer Lin Yixin. From now on, you will be living as a man. You will be living as Anson.”
“What type of joke are you trying to play?” I icily laughed, “I’m Lin Yixin.”
“You already saw who you are.” Then, the woman coldly turned around to leave.
“Wait!” I called out, “Why... why are you guys doing this to me? What is your motive?”
“Sorry, I cannot respond to your question. I’m only following orders.” Then, she left the room and I was left all alone in the pitch blackness.
I’m now....a man?
All these crazy things kept happening one after another. As a woman for 26 years, I’ve suddenly became a man.
Anson must have used some type of spell to switch our souls. He was able to possess Shen Shaoqian’s body, so it must be no big deal for him.
Based on what I could gather, Anson had already targetted me from Japan. But what was his motive? Why switch souls with me? How come he wanted to be me?
The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt. Oh no! The woman said in 5 hours, we will be leaving here forever. That means, I must quickly find a way to escape and run. I have no idea what Anson is going to use my body for. What will he do to Suyang? I must hurry back!
But my hands and legs were chained. How could I escape.....
At this time, the door opened once again.
“Oh? You’re awake?” It was a woman. But her voice was different from the previous one. This woman’s tone was a bit giddy. The one from earlier was very solemn.
“Who are you?” I cautiously stared at her; thinking, she must be one of the bad guys. They were working as a team.
“Shhh! You don’t know me. But I know you!” The woman lowered her voice as she quietly tiptoed towards me, “Do you know Xiazhi?”
“Who is Xiazhi?”
“Humph! It’s useless to ask you. As expected, you have no idea!” The young lady sounded resentful, “He is my brother. My name is Xialing.”
I still had no idea who she was talking about.
While I was confused, Xialing pulled out a hair clip from her hair and began to jab it into the keyhole area.
“You’re....”
“My poor big brother. He begged me to save you, yet you don’t even know his name!” Xialing continued to angrily jabbed at the lock. Soon, one of the chain bracelet came undone.
I didn’t dare to say too much. I was afraid I would anger her and she wouldn’t help me anymore. So I waited until she unlocked all the chains before I asked, “Seriously, who is Xiazhi?”
“Xiazhi is the ghost bodyguard that guards your door 365 days a year! He’s my biological brother!” She blurted.
What? So the ghost bodyguard’s name is Xiazhi? He has a younger sister and she can see ghosts?
I rubbed my injured wrists, “You could see ghosts too?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m part of Anson’s team.” Xialing laughed.
Although she said that, I had a feeling she wasn’t going to harm me.
Xialing patted my shoulder, “I’m here to help you escape!”
Based on my current circumstances, I was in no place to ponder whether she was being genuine or not. So I directly went straight to the point, “Are you seriously going to help me escape?”
“Of course!” Xialing responded confidently, “Follow me! I guarantee I’ll bring you back to my brother undamaged and intact. Except...your current appearance will probably be a huge disappointment to him!”
Xialing reminded me that I was currently in Anson’s body. I had his face and I was a man.
Xialing lightly pushed open the door and poked her head out. After she was certain there were no one around, she quietly whispered, “Listen. There are surveillance cameras everywhere. Regardless of how much we try to hide, we will be discovered. So, the best solution is to run for your life. Run as fast as you can through the secret path and you will see the exit. I parked my car right outside the exit. So, we will run into the car and escape as quickly as possible. Understand?”
“Yes!” I nodded vigorously. I could only trust Xialing now.
“One! Two! Three! Run!” Xialing counted. Then, we both ran for our lives.
A man’s body was definitely designed very differently from a female’s body. I was able to take larger steps and naturally, I was much faster than I used to be. Whereas, Xialing was huffing and puffing behind me.
“Y-...you’re running too fast!” She panted as she tried her best to catch up to me.
In no time, we ran out of the secret path. The moment we exited, the bright sunlight shone through the tree branches and into our eyes. My eyes were not used to the intense lighting. Everything seemed very hazy.
“Why are you still standing around? Hurry and get on!” Xialing rushed me to get into the car. I snapped out of my zone and sat in the passenger seat. She smoothly started to vehicle and we escaped.
Wasn’t this escape a bit too simple? There weren’t anyone after us?.... It was suspicious.
“Hahaha! We escaped! I’m so smart!”
Now, I could finally see Xialing’s face. She seemed very quick-witted and cute. She was chewing gum as she hummed a song while driving.
She was relaxed, but I wasn’t. “Let me process this. So you’re Xiazhi’s little sister. And Xiazhi is the ghost bodyguard outside my apartment, right?”
“Yup!”
“Then how come I have never seen you before?”
“You must ask my big bro about that.... He was worried if you found out he has a sister who could see ghosts, you would tell me to take him away. So, he wouldn’t allow me to appear in front of you.”
“He said? You two are able to communicate?”
“Miss, not all supernatural people are like you. You don’t even know how to make basic communication. That’s so garbage... aiii.. Seriously, you’re wasting God’s gift!” Xialing sighed. “Anyhow, I promised him I would save you. He promised he will go and reincarnate as well. If he tries to change his mind, make sure you try to convince him, ok?”
“Xiazhi can reincarnate?”
“Of course! But he doesn’t want to leave you.” Xialing’s expression became more sullen, “I do want him to remain by my side, but I don’t want him to remain as a ghost forever...”
“What’s your relationship with Anson?”
“I was once his subordinate. But not anymore.” Xialing casually stated her betrayal.
“Why did you betray Anson?”
“Hey!! You can’t say it like that! I’m doing it for my brother!” Xialing emphasized.
“What is Anson’s motive?”
Xialing began to giggle. But I was clueless.
“Haha! You... haha... oh my god! I can’t handle this. Are you really stupid or acting stupid? At this point, you still can’t tell Anson’s motive?” Xialing shook her head, “I’m done.”
“Think about it. Why would Anson try his best to capture you and switch souls with you? Please, use your brain.” Xialing pointed at my head, “Think!”
“The thing I don’t understand is, he seems to recognize and knows Suyang. But Suyang has never talked about him before.... The first time I met Anson was in Japan....”
*giggle* Xialing broke out in laughter again. I turned to look at her.
She explained, “Sorry. It’s just that you have Anson’s face right now but you’re analyzing Anson. You must understand why this is hilarious to me....”
Oh yeah. My biggest issue and problem is, how can I get my body back?
“Keep investigating. You’re almost there. I won’t laugh again! I swear!”
“Japan?” I recalled Grandmother Meng saying how Suyang’s parents died in Japan. At the time, it was the fault of Suyang’s playmate....could it be?
“So Anson’s target was Suyang all along? He is Suyang’s childhood friend?”
“You’ve finally figured it out!” Xialing smiled, “You weren’t as stupid as I thought!”
“So why is he trying to get him back in every possible means? He wants to fix the friendship as Lin Yixin?”
“Pshh! What friendship!? At this point, it’s definitely love!”
“Love?!”
“I guess Miss Yixin is still confused. Allow me to simplify it for you. Back then, Anson caused the death of Suyang’s parents. Afterwards, Suyang returned to China and cut off all ties with him. But there’s another secret that no one knows. Since childhood, Anson has loved Suyang. Think about it, now that he was the main culprit of Suyang’s parents’ death, how else could he return to Suyang’s side? Of course, he must use you! Get it?”
“How come you know so much?” As Suyang’s girlfriend, I didn’t even know this...
“I’ve already been working with Anson for 4 years! If I don’t even know this, my life must be a lie....” Xialing rolled her eyes at me.
4 years?! Yet, she betrayed Anson the moment her brother asked her to. I should be thankful to Xialing; even if she wasn’t doing it for me.
“So according to you, Anson has always loved Suyang. So, he plans to use my identity to be with him?...but he’s a man?!”
“Who says a man cannot love another man?”
True...
“Anyway, he’s not a man anymore! If you don’t stop him soon, who knows what he will do with your body.” Xialing smiled cunningly, “You know, Anson is ruthless. He’s a psycho that’s willing to do anything to get to his goal. Although I was his subordinate, I must admit that he is insane.”
Of course I knew. From the day he kidnapped me, I already knew when I saw his eyes flashed.