Chapter 9 A New Ying Xue!

Xin Ran sensed that she was strolling in an extremely colourful floral garden. It had felt so comfortable, that she was unsure if she was Chu Xin Ran or Tang Ying Xue then. She didn't know if it was a dream or a memory, and then she continued. She realized everything felt so realistic, that she was doubtful if she was in a dreamscape or if it was reality.

This time, she didn't see Goddess Qiwan in her dreams. A tall and muscular figure stood with his back towards her, and her instinct was to ask if this person was Jing Yue.

But why had she thought of Jing Yue? Her mind was in a whirl. Had she really fallen for the man?

"Xin Ran, come back."

The man's voice was so familiar, and yet she couldn't be assured he was Jing Yue. As she came closer, the man turned around, but before she could catch a glimpse of his face, she had woken up.

"Xue Xue, it's time for your check-up!" Janny exclaimed in a flurry. Would this girl ever calm down? Xin Ran thought as the familiar figure of a nurse's uniform emerged.

"Janny, please excuse me for a bit," Xin Ran said, and the nurse pulled a curtain over them as she proceeded to take Xin Ran's vitals for her records. Janny looked dejected as she headed out of the room to allow the nurse to do her work. All of a sudden, she sensed her friend was a lot distant from her like she had become an entirely different person. In the past, the two of them had been so close as to change clothes together. They would even discuss their problems with each other. Xin Ran had always involved her in everything that happened in her life, be it rain or shine.

Janny scouted the hospital for a bit, feeling concerned that her friend had lost all memory of her, walking down the corridors in an unfocused state. Her mind whirred with various emotions encompassing her fear of losing her friend. Due to her imprudence, she failed to see another person coming from the other side as she crossed the corner and crashed into the person hard. 

"You should really be careful this time, Janny Xu," a low-pitched voice startled her. She realized that she was lying on the man's chest and jolted up in fright.

"Tang Ying Huo?" she gasped. To her surprise, the man seemed to be in a good mood, not the irked and bothered man she had seen earlier! 

"Let me buy you a coffee," he said, and she looked down to realize that this time, it was the man who had spilt coffee on her outfit. Fortunately, as she was wearing dark-coloured clothes, the stains weren't very apparent. Ying Huo handed her a pack of wet tissues, which she recognized as her own.

"Now, don't you think I did that for revenge," he said. "You bumped into me, and I splashed my drink by accident on you. That's a case of 'without fighting, we don't get to make friends' (Chinese idiom)."

She agreed, and they entered the cafe nearby.

"Ying Huo, do you know your sister has met with an accident?" she asked him earnestly.

"It's been years since I last saw her," he explained. "Is she in the hospital, and which ward is she in?"

"She has amnesia," Janny sighed. "Do you recall anything from your childhood or anything that can bring back her memories?"

"My sister always liked sweet desserts," Ying Huo said after a few minutes. Though there were many possibilities he could think of, Ying Huo did not know how to react to the fact that his own sister would not recognize him.

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For the next three days up to the date of her discharge, Xin Ran heeded the advice of the doctor and performed daily memorizing activities as recommended. She glanced at the flowers on the desk and wondered when Jing Yue would come by again to visit her. 

She was starting to admit that she missed the presence of the sexy man. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. For the past few weeks she had grown so used to the man visiting her day after day, that in his absence, something didn't feel right.

And then, there was the problem now that she had a brother added to her already confusing identity! Xin Ran didn't recognize the young man with Janny who she had at first misinterpreted as Janny's boyfriend due to their compatibility and physical intimacy. How in the world would she had not known her own brother? She didn't quite comprehend this fact at all. Next, they had taken her to a strange cafe that only served cold ice-topped dishes known as desserts, and ordered various types of desserts for her consumption, but she didn't enjoy them at all! Was she really Tang Ying Xue, and was Tang Ying Xue fond of all these foods?

Now she was starting to realize that there was a possibility that she wasn't Tang Ying Xue at all. Considering those free stories on the book platforms she read for the past few days, she had encountered tales of body-swapping. But she knew it didn't sound logical at all, considering she was a perfect replica of Tang Ying Xue! 

But did it mean she was Tang Ying Xue? Finally, she realized she was tired of trying to find out or act as Ying Xue did because, after the sweet dessert thing, she was aware that she would always have differences from the real Ying Xue!

She knew that questioning this further was pointless, and she probably should come to terms with the truth that she had indeed taken the identity of Tang Ying Xue, even if at heart, she wasn't Tang Ying Xue. She was determined to have things her way, and do things the Xin Ran method! So basically, she was in Ying Xue's shell, but her true identity would always be Chu Xin Ran! 

As for her admiration for Jing Yue, it now no longer mattered whether Ying Xue did like him or not. Because it was Chu Xin Ran who liked Jing Yue, and that was all mattered!

She dumped the phone into her suitcase which Janny had kindly packed and brought along for her. In the future, she would not attempt any longer to be Ying Xue, or to find out who Ying Xue was, because she was not going to be the Ying Xue of the past! 

It was time to say goodbye to the Ying Xue of the past, and welcome the Ying Xue of the present. Let's say this is Ying Xue reborn. She thought and smiled. 

Jing Yue, you will be in for a big surprise, she said in her mind.

Then she remembered one more thing she had to do, and that was to give 'Marvel' a call and tell him that she would not be attending the event with him.