Beauty and Ugliness Depend on Ourselves

But this time——

When she opened the box, she was taken aback.

At the very top of the box lay a half-sheet of Xuan paper, placed neatly in the exact center. What surprised her even more was that the way it was folded was exactly the same as hers—carefully folded and secured with a thin red string.

This…?

Only she knew that this document had mysteriously appeared in the box, folded in precisely the same manner as her own.

At that moment, even someone as rational and composed as her couldn’t help but feel a ripple of emotion, her mind inevitably wandering into wild speculation.

After a long while—

Her expression grew solemn as she slowly reached out with her right hand to take it, gently untying the red string and unfolding the paper.

Her gaze fixed on it—

The Xuan paper measured 38 centimeters by 25 centimeters.

“Is this a marriage contract?”

But the moment she read the content, Ji Qingyi’s beautiful eyes snapped wide open, her usually calm, still gaze now filled with shock and confusion.

Then, her eyes caught the signature, and the astonishment on her face deepened, even tinged with a trace of fear.

Not only was there the family head’s handwritten signature, but also the private seal of the Ji family patriarch—the highest symbol of authority in the Ji clan.

What this meant was obvious without explanation.

She murmured, “Impossible…”

Still trying to process the shock, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of another name on the far right.

Ji Qingyi.

At that instant, Ji Qingyi felt her mind explode with a deafening roar—because that was her own signature!

This discovery—

was even more shocking than seeing the family head’s signature.

But she was no ordinary woman. After a brief moment of stunned confusion, she quickly regained her composure and began scrutinizing her own handwriting.

She could be one hundred percent certain that this was indeed her own penmanship!

However, this time the signature…

As the saying goes: “What the heart feels must show on the surface.”

She hurriedly began analyzing the signature to understand her emotional state and psychological activity at the moment she signed it.

Though it was just a simple three-character signature, the writer’s mental state inevitably left traces in the handwriting—like the spacing, the absence of sharp strokes, and fewer flicks on the brush.

From this, she could accurately deduce her mindset at the time.

This was one of her special abilities!

Closing her eyes gently, she traced the three characters with her fingers, as if trying to penetrate the strokes to sense the emotional shifts and the state of mind she had been in, hoping to uncover the hidden message behind it.

Suddenly, her body stiffened.

She slowly turned her head to the side and saw a faint white silhouette standing beside her, head bowed.

Her gaze fixed intently on the side profile of this girl, and a complex swirl of emotions flooded her heart.

Because it was herself.

Her own apparition stood beside her, signing the marriage contract with a brush, the expression on her face so focused and solemn it was as if she were handling a priceless treasure—completely unlike her usual self.

Soon, the apparition finished signing.

She began gently blowing on the ink to dry it, then carefully folded the marriage contract once more, finally tying it securely with a thin red string. The ring on her ring finger caught Ji Qingyi’s attention particularly.

Just as Ji Qingyi thought the apparition was about to put the contract back into the box, unexpectedly, the figure turned around——

She faced her directly, then offered the marriage certificate with both hands. Her lips parted softly, uttering three clear syllables.

“Please.”

Ji Qingyi’s dazed pupils gradually focused, locking eyes with the version of herself standing before her. That self was gazing deeply back, eyes filled with hope and trust, tinged with a faint sadness.

“Did you expect this? So you deliberately put on this act?”

Ji Qingyi remained unmoved, silently staring at the other self, lost in thought for a long while.

“Fine then.”

At last, her peripheral vision caught the ring on her own finger. A slight, provocative smile curled at the corner of her mouth. “If you insist, I’ll accept this challenge.”

With those words, she raised her right hand, attempting to take the marriage certificate. But just as her fingers were about to touch it—

Her heart suddenly surged with an overwhelming heat. In the next moment, she felt as if she had become a bridge connecting different timelines, traveling through past, present, and future.

As the shadow of herself faded away, a powerful wave of emotion surged from deep within, crashing over her soul like a tidal wave, shaking her to the core, nearly breaking her.

Just when she thought she could no longer bear it, suddenly she seemed to be transported to a distant future—a future both strange and yet familiar.

She saw herself, she saw...

Fragments of memories flashed by like a carousel, then slowly pieced together like a puzzle, revealing complete stories one by one. Her memories gradually filled in, becoming vivid and clear.

………………

At some unknown moment,

Ji Qingyi awoke from that strange sensation. With the return of her memories came an emotional depth that left her unable to calm down. She remained frozen in her original posture.

When she opened her eyes, the surroundings were eerily quiet, but her heart was still a stormy sea, restless and turbulent.

She stood stunned by the table, glancing around at the familiar buildings. After an unknown amount of time, she finally snapped back to reality.

“Was it a dream…?”

She murmured softly, her voice faint and ethereal.

She clearly remembered that after Su Cheng sent her a goodnight message, she soon fell asleep. But who would have thought that upon waking, she would somehow find herself back in the past, and...

She glanced at the marriage certificate in her hand, then at the ring on her ring finger. A glimmer of something mysterious flickered in her eyes.

She linked the certificate directly into the ring, storing it away, then produced a phone identical to Su Cheng’s.

She unlocked the screen and checked the date. It was still early morning, shortly after Su Cheng’s goodnight message.

She opened the chat app, but it immediately popped up with—

“Access denied, unknown error.”

She exited and tried other apps repeatedly, but every app and browser displayed the same unknown error.

The key point was, the phone had no signal at all!

“What kind of trick is he playing?”

This discovery furrowed her brow deeply. But soon, as if recalling something, she hurriedly opened the photo gallery. Seeing all the photos were still intact, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She then tucked her phone back into the ring and rubbed her forehead with her fingers, beginning to sift through the memories in her mind…

She was certain she had returned to the second day of school, the day of the opening ceremony, though she wasn’t sure about the exact details.

After all, at this point in time, she was usually calm and composed, with nothing particularly worth her attention.

But no matter what, she had indeed come back to this day.

So…

She pressed the button to summon her maid.

Not long after—

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was a knock at the front door.

“Come in.”

After she spoke, the door was pushed open, and a short-haired, beautiful maid walked in, bowing respectfully. “Young Mistress, how may I assist you?”

“Take a look.”

Without a word, Ji Qingyi produced a bus card out of thin air and tossed it to her, her voice calm and steady.

Liu Qingyue reached out to catch the card, hesitating for a moment, her face full of confusion as she looked at her young mistress. “What’s wrong with this card?”

“Take a closer look yourself.”

Ji Qingyi’s tone remained completely even. “This is something you left in my care.”

“Young Mistress, are you saying I can take out your things now?”

Liu Qingyue’s voice was filled with surprise. She quickly lowered her head to examine the bus card carefully, but still didn’t understand. “This card is indeed something I care about. But other than that, there’s nothing special about it.”

Seeing that her maid hadn’t regained her memory, Ji Qingyi frowned slightly. After pondering for a long moment, she said, “Maybe you should take a ride on this bus.”

Liu Qingyue grew even more puzzled. “Take a ride?”

Hearing this, she examined the bus card again, then curiously asked, “Young Mistress, do you mean you want me to go take this bus right now?”

“Yes.”

Ji Qingyi’s tone remained calm. “Go and try.”

Liu Qingyue still didn’t understand, but after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded slowly. “Alright, I’ll go try now.”

“Wait.”

She stopped just as she reached the hall’s doorway. Turning back, she looked at Ji Qingyi, who was sitting on the sofa, and asked with some confusion, “Young Mistress, is there something else?”

“Did anything interesting happen at the opening ceremony?”

Ji Qingyi suddenly brought it up.

After all, at this point in time, Su Cheng was confessing to Cornelia right outside the ceremony hall. It was also when the two of them had their quarrel.

And—

The crucial part was that the day after tomorrow, Su Cheng would come to the archery club to confess to her. Just thinking about it made her heart involuntarily flutter with anticipation, even a hint of excitement.

Liu Qingyue’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at her young mistress with mild surprise, seemingly not expecting her to suddenly bring up the opening ceremony. After thinking carefully, she spoke, “Interesting things, huh… Cornelia from the class next door caught a new student and put on an impromptu performance in front of everyone.”

Just when she thought her young mistress wouldn’t be interested in this, Ji Qingyi was instead taken aback and exclaimed in surprise, “What did you say?”

Then, unusually unsettled, she pressed further, “What’s the new student’s name?”

“Hm?”

Liu Qingyue was momentarily stunned. “I think the surname was Su… Su Cheng.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Has anyone confessed or anything like that?”

“No.”

“Yesterday, did anything happen?”

“No.”

Hearing a series of denials, Ji Qingyi was momentarily stunned. Her expression darkened slightly as she fell into a brief silence. After a long pause, she waved her hand and said, “You can go for now.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, one more thing. Find a way to send Cornelia and her entire family back to their home country—at least for six months.”