Chapter 1

My stepbrother couldn't stand me.

Even the girl sent to win him over had given up.

Once she left and I got my body back, the first thing I did was ask Qin Wu for money.

【Seriously? The male lead hates this scheming little sister more than anyone, and she still has the nerve to ask him for cash?】

【Exactly. He's never even acknowledged her as his sister in public.】

I thought about it, then frowned.

"Fine. Keep it, then."

Qin Wu went still. His voice turned rough.

"Be good. Call me your husband, and I'll transfer it right now."

The floating comments filled with question marks.

【???】

1

The mission agent left without so much as a goodbye.

I was dreaming that day.

In my dream, I was trapped in a room full of white bows. I couldn't get out, and in a panic I kept kicking the door.

I kicked and kicked, until suddenly my body felt weightless.

As though something had been pulled out of me.

My eyes flew open.

White ceiling. White quilt. Even the vase on the bedside table was white, with a single pink carnation in it.

I lay still for three seconds, then slowly sat up.

I looked down.

A milky-white nightdress. With a bow on the front, of course.

I threw off the quilt and padded barefoot into the bathroom.

The woman in the mirror had long, straight black hair and blunt bangs. No makeup whatsoever—not even a speck of glitter at the corners of her eyes.

I reached up and touched my hair.

Six months of care had left the ends as silky as a shampoo commercial. Not a single split end.

Okay. She'd done a good job.

But that wasn't the point.

The point was...

This wasn't my hair!

Where was my old hair? Bleached three times, dyed twice, faded to grayish green, with a few stubborn highlights hanging on for dear life?

And now I had these sweet, obedient bangs.

My nails were neatly trimmed. No extensions. Not even polish.

I took a deep breath. Then another.

At some point, comments had begun drifting through the air.

【Just got here. Is this the original owner? She looks just like the mission agent.】

【Obviously. It's the same body.】

【Totally different vibe, though—the agent looked much gentler.】

【The original looks kind of scary...】

I glanced at the comments, then calmly ruffled my hair.

Fine.

Six months.

The agent had nursed my hair back to black and removed every last nail extension.

Yes, my hair was healthier.

But I didn't LIKE long, straight black hair!

It was hideous!

2

I tore through my wardrobe.

Sure enough, not a single outfit in my style had survived.

Everything was white, beige, pale pink or pale blue.

After ages of searching, I reluctantly settled on a black dress that wasn't quite as bland as the rest.

Even that had long sleeves, a hem below the knee and a neckline that practically sealed me in.

I put it on and stood before the mirror.

Long black hair. Black dress. Bare face.

I looked like a nun on her way to a funeral.

I stared at my reflection for three seconds.

Then I turned, grabbed my bag and left.

3

I took a taxi downtown.

The salon I usually went to specialized in coloring and perms.

Its owner was called Tony. Every time he'd bleached my hair in the past, he'd shaken his head and told me I could pull off any color.

When I pushed the door open, he was blow-drying a customer's hair. He froze at the sight of me.

"Jiang Si?"

"Yeah."

"Your hair..." He hesitated. "You've really looked after it."

"Which is why we're dyeing it." I dropped into a chair. "The loudest green you've got."

"How green?"

"As green as you can make it." I thought for a moment. "And bleach a few streaks for neon-green highlights."

Tony looked at my hair, then at my face.

"Are you sure? It'd be a shame to dye hair in this condition."

"Don't worry about it." I studied the long black hair in the mirror. "Just looking at this makes me mad."

He stopped trying to persuade me and nodded.

I chose the most expensive package on the spot. Imported dye, scalp protection, structural repair, post-color treatment—the works.

As he mixed the dye, he made conversation.

"Haven't seen you in ages. I thought you'd turned over a new leaf."

"Someone borrowed me for six months." I lounged in the chair. "Only just got myself back."

"Borrowed you how?" he asked casually.

I closed my eyes.

"You wouldn't get it."

Having someone take over your body wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

The brush swept softly through my hair.

The color came out even better than I'd expected.

Tony really did know his stuff. The vivid green was perfect, and beneath the lights the neon streaks looked like fragments of emerald.

I admired myself from every angle, delighted.

"That's it. Gorgeous."

Tony packed away his tools, smiling and shaking his head.

"You haven't changed a bit."

I took out my phone to pay.

Opened the payment app. Scanned the code.

Insufficient funds.

I thought I'd misread it, closed the app and opened it again.

Balance: 2,347 yuan.

Me: ???

Two thousand three hundred and forty-seven yuan?

I stared at the number, my mind blank for three seconds.

That couldn't be right.

I'd had over five million in my account. Qin Wu transferred spending money every month, too. Besides, I hardly ever used my own card. I always used the supplementary card on his account.

Six months, and I was down to two thousand?

I opened my transaction history.

Therapy: 120,000.

Private yoga instructor: 170,000.

Vegetarian restaurants: 50,000.

Charitable donations: one million.

Flower subscription: 70,000.

Then came all the craft workshops, book clubs, meditation retreats...

All of it spent by that stupid mission agent.

Why hadn't she used Qin Wu's supplementary card?!

Why had she spent MY money?!

Expressionless, I scrolled through the rest of the transactions, then put my phone away.

I'd use Qin Wu's card instead.

Surely his account couldn't be empty.

Except!

The supplementary card had been frozen!

"I'm a little short. Give me a minute."

Tony blinked.

"No problem. Take your time."

I went to the salon door and made a call.

He picked up after three rings.

It was very quiet at the other end. Qin Wu's unhurried voice came down the line.

"What is it?"

So detached. Like an unimportant business call.

The comments appeared again.

【Here we go. The original's gone straight to Qin Wu.】

【He can't stand her. That girl spent six months trying to win him over and couldn't get a single kind word. Now the original's back, she's got even less chance.】

【Waiting for him to hang up.】

I leaned against the doorframe, in no mood to beat around the bush.

"Qin Wu, unfreeze my supplementary card."

A brief silence.

His voice didn't change.

"Finished?"

"Yeah."

The moment I said it, he hung up without another word.

I stared at "Call ended" on the screen.

Me: ?

Qin Wu had hung up on me?

The comments were howling.

【HAHAHA I KNEW IT!】

【Qin Wu: ice-cold.jpg】

【I'm dying. That sweet little agent couldn't get anywhere, and this one opens with a demand for money. Like he'd ever give her any.】

I took a deep breath and called again.

This time he picked up after a single ring.