Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

Master Shuiyue was naturally aware of this, and Su Ru, who had visited several times, had also noticed something amiss.

Wenmin, under Shuiyue's orders, would send over some mild and nourishing elixirs every few days.

When Su Ru came, she would bring some homemade, easy-to-eat pastries and stews. They watched as "Lu Xueqi" became more and more lazy and sleepy, her belly gradually growing bigger, while "Jiang Xiaochuan" silently and meticulously took care of everything, his eyes filled with heartache and tenderness that he could not hide.

At first, they were just relieved that the two of them had finally gotten together and were very much in love. But gradually, Shuiyue and Suru both sensed something was different.

Xueqi's personality seemed much more carefree and easygoing, while Xiaochuan was unusually calm. Especially when taking care of Xueqi, his eyes and actions made Shuiyue feel as if she saw the shadow of herself when she was young and taking care of her junior sister Su Ru.

Finally, one day, when Su Ru brought over some newly made Poria cocos cake, she couldn't help but pull Jiang Xiaochuan aside and whisper, "Xiaochuan, tell your master's wife the truth, did you and Xueqi... use some... special method?"

Lu Xueqi paused for a moment, knowing she couldn't hide it from these elders who had watched them grow up, so she nodded and said briefly, "Yes, I used a secret technique to change my body."

Even though Shuiyue and Suru were well-informed, they were stunned into silence for a long time by these words.

Shuiyue looked at "Lu Xueqi" on the couch, who was touching her belly and eating snacks, with complicated emotions, and then looked at "Jiang Xiaochuan" in front of her.

After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Nonsense."

There was little blame in his tone, but rather helplessness and heartache.

Su Ru asked worriedly, "Can this be changed back? Could it be harmful to the child?"

"I can switch back after giving birth," Lu Xueqi replied.

Shuiyue and Suru exchanged a glance, both seeing the understanding in each other's eyes.

They had suspected it for a while, and now it's confirmed. As for who made the move...

Most of them can be guessed.

Shuiyue walked to the bedside, looked at Lu Xueqi's obviously protruding belly, her eyes softened for a moment, then she put on a stern face and said: "You too, now that you're pregnant, you should take good care of yourself and stop fooling around."

He then turned to Lu Xueqi, his tone serious.

"Since you've taken his body and made him suffer for you, you must treat him well. If I find out you've bullied him, I won't let you off easily."

Lu Xueqi lowered her head and replied, "Yes, Master, I understand."

Looking at her respectful yet subtly guilty expression, Shuiyue felt both amused and annoyed. In the end, she didn't say anything more, only telling her to rest well, before leaving with Su Ru.

From then on, this "strange event" on Xiaozhu Peak was officially acknowledged by Shuiyue and Suru, and the two visited each other more frequently. However, every time they saw the two people wearing each other's skins, their expressions were always somewhat strange and subtle.

Xiao Bai became increasingly brazen in his freeloading.

She seemed to have fallen in love with the food that "Jiang Xiaochuan" (Lu Xueqi) cooked. Even the simplest porridge and side dishes could make her smile. Sometimes she would lean against the kitchen door and watch "Jiang Xiaochuan" wearing an apron, skillfully starting a fire, rinsing rice, and chopping vegetables. His focused profile made her feel momentarily dazed.

It seems she once fantasized about such a life.

……

Time flies, and soon it was time to start production.

The bamboo hut was still filled with a faint smell of blood, mixed with the warm and astringent scent of hot water and herbs. The window was ajar, and the wind slipped in, causing the candlelight to flicker.

Using Jiang Xiaochuan's hands, Lu Xueqi clumsily but with exceptional care used a soft cloth soaked in warm water to gently wipe the sweaty neck and cheeks of the person on the bed.

On the bed, Jiang Xiaochuan had his eyes closed, his face as pale as a faded flower petal, his lips devoid of any color, a few strands of wet hair stuck to his forehead, and he looked as if he had been pulled out of the water and twisted violently, even his breathing was weak and feeble.

Hongli sat at the foot of the bed, head down, holding a dry, soft cloth in her hand, carefully wiping the two tiny swaddled babies.

Her movements were slow. When her fingers brushed across the baby's delicate skin, she paused for a moment, something flashed in her eyes, and then she returned to calm. The two little ones did not cry or fuss, only occasionally letting out a soft whimper. Their eyes were not fully open yet, and their tiny fists were clenched and pressed against their cheeks.

After wiping, Lu Xueqi threw the cloth into the copper basin next to her, bent over, and supported herself on her side with her hands.

She looked at him through "Jiang Xiaochuan's" eyes, or rather, at her own body lying there at that moment.

That face was one she had seen for twenty years, but now, due to extreme exhaustion and pain, it showed a strange vulnerability.

She reached out and brushed aside the sweaty hair on his forehead, her fingertips touching his cold forehead, then moving down to gently touch his tightly closed eyelids.

"Xiao Chuan," she said.

Jiang Xiaochuan's eyelashes trembled, but he didn't open them; only a faint, indistinct breath escaped from his throat.

"How are you?" Lu Xueqi asked again, her fingers sliding to his cheek and touching it. "Are you alright?"

Jiang Xiaochuan finally managed to lift his eyelids a little.

My gaze was initially unfocused, but it gradually came together and met the familiar yet unfamiliar face before me.

His own face, however, was now framed by a pair of eyes belonging to Lu Xueqi, filled with worry and... something profound. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to laugh, but failed, only moving his head very slightly.

"fine."

Lu Xueqi stared at him for several breaths, as if trying to confirm whether there was any truth to his words.

Then, she straightened up and walked to Hongli's side.

Hongli didn't look up, but handed over the two swaddled babies she had wiped clean. Lu Xueqi took them, one in each hand, holding them a little stiffly, but her arms were very steady.

She walked back to the bedside, sat down, turned slightly to the side, and gently placed the two small packages next to Jiang Xiaochuan's pillow.

"Take a look," she said.

Jiang Xiaochuan slowly turned his face. The warm yellow candlelight illuminated the two little fleshy balls lying side by side. Their skin was still red and wrinkled, like two little monkeys, but the outlines of their eyebrows and eyes already showed some delicate features.

He stared for a long time, his eyes unblinking, and then, extremely slowly, raised a weak hand, his fingertips trembling, and touched one of their cheeks—soft and warm.

His fingertips paused there, motionless. After a while, he turned his gaze back to Lu Xueqi, and a very faint but genuine smile slowly bloomed on his pale face.

"It's beautiful," he said, his voice still soft but clearer, "just like you...."

Lu Xueqi didn't look at the child, she only looked at him, and seeing the smile on his face, the corners of her mouth also curved slightly.

"Um."

"What... is it?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked, his gaze returning to the children's faces, sweeping back and forth.

Lu Xueqi paused for a moment before speaking, her voice flat and even, as if she had rehearsed it countless times: "Brother, Jiang Yunzhou; sister, Jiang Yueyao."

"Jiang Yunzhou... Jiang Yueyao..." Jiang Xiaochuan repeated softly, twice, then once more. A thin layer of tears slowly welled up in his eyes, glistening in the candlelight. He sniffed, looked at Lu Xueqi, and smiled more broadly, with the weariness of surviving a disaster and a pure joy.

"That sounds so good, Xueqi...you're amazing."

……

In the depths of her mind, in a state of profound silence, Linglong "watches".

Through Jiang Xiaochuan's eyes, she looked at the two tiny, wrinkled infants, watched them unconsciously smack their lips, watched their weak breaths cause their chests to rise and fall slightly, and watched the almost sacred, soft, smile on Jiang Xiaochuan's face when his fingertips trembled as he touched them—a smile she had never seen before.

That smile was like a dull knife, slowly cutting into her heart, which no longer existed but still ached.

This is the life he wants.

There is her, there are children, there is this bamboo house, and there is the bamboo forest and the wind outside the window.

Without me.

This realization was cruelly clear. She had waited for thousands of years, and she had finally found him, but his heart was already filled with someone else.

These two little ones will cry, laugh, call him "Daddy," pester him for candy, and snuggle in his arms. They will grow up little by little, looking like him, or like Lu Xueqi. They will take away all his attention, all his love, and all his future.

As for her, Linglong, she could only hide deep within her consciousness, watching him become a father, watching him stay with his beloved, watching him have a vibrant and warm life that she could never reach.

She recalled a thousand years ago, when she was still alive and he was by her side, she had also imagined such a scene: candlelight, the cry of a baby, the tender eyes of her lover, and their hands clasped together.

But now...

She was just a bystander, a pathetic bystander who didn't even have the right to touch it.

Jiang Xiaochuan seemed to sense something. His fingers, which were stroking the child's cheek, paused, and his eyes momentarily dazed.

Linglong immediately suppressed all her emotional fluctuations and buried herself even deeper into the darkness.

I can't let him know, I can't put him in a difficult position, I can't make him...feel guilty.

He's already exhausted enough.

Besides, this is the path I chose, and I can stay by his side.

enough.

This is enough.

……

Lu Xueqi's smile deepened slightly as she looked at Jiang Xiaochuan and slowly said, "Isn't it better than... Zhang Xiaoding?"

Jiang Xiaochuan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. The chuckle aggravated a certain part of his lower body, causing him to hiss in pain and furrow his brow, but the smile did not fade.

"Why...why are you so vengeful..."

He took a breath before continuing, "Yes, yes, yes... Xueqi chose them all, they all sound good... the best ones..."

Lu Xueqi finally smiled. She reached out and gently wiped away the moisture from the corner of his eyes with her fingertips.

Hongli had been sitting at the foot of the bed, watching the two little ones. At this moment, she reached out her finger and very lightly poked the cheek of her brother, Yunzhou. The little guy moved his mouth but didn't wake up.

She touched her younger sister Yueyao's little hand again, and those tiny fingers unconsciously gripped hers a little. Hongli watched, her face expressionless, but her eyes softened for a moment. She looked for a while before shifting her gaze to the two people on the bed.

"Alright, you just gave birth and went through a near-death experience. Save your energy. We can talk about it tomorrow."

She lowered her head and teased the two children again, a faint, warm red light emanating from her fingertips, brushing across the two little ones' foreheads. The two children seemed to sleep even more soundly, a comfortable blush appearing on their little faces.

Jiang Xiaochuan glanced at Lu Xueqi helplessly. Lu Xueqi also shook her head.

After playing with it for a while, Hongli's figure gradually faded, as if melting into the candlelight, and disappeared.