DEG - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The Art of Disguise
Luo Nanqiu's gaze, as she sized up Jiang Xun, was obscure and uncertain.
She seemed to be pondering how someone could exist who was so much like Jiang Xun, in both appearance and personality.
But this person couldn't possibly be Jiang Xun.
How could the Jiang Xun from twelve years in the future be in such a miserable state?
Could it be that her future self had lost a power struggle and gone bankrupt?
Luo Nanqiu's thick, long lashes lowered, suppressing the arrogance in her eyes.
Impossible.
Besides, this person was so young.
Could it be that Jiang Xun's parents had another child?
But regardless, as long as it wasn't Jiang Xun, it had nothing to do with her.
She turned and started walking toward the door.
Although she was somewhat curious about the future, she wasn't that curious.
But just as she reached the doorway, the arena's host finally snapped out of his daze, shouting with excitement and disbelief.
"Who could have imagined that the winner of this match would be Miss Jiang Xun?!"
"Her gacha pull actually summoned..."
Hearing the key name, Luo Nanqiu's footsteps faltered.
After sensing the door's state, she transformed it into a magnificent, golden card and walked back to Jiang Xun's side.
"By the way, your name is also Jiang Xun?" Her tone was strange as she scrutinized her once more.
Jiang Xun chuckled inwardly. Outwardly, she cautiously raised her eyes to glance at Luo Nanqiu, her expression timid. Her body recoiled slightly, causing Luo Nanqiu's brow to furrow.
With a timid and unrefined air, she quietly reminded her, "We should get off the stage now."
Luo Nanqiu nodded, managing to suppress her displeasure and trying hard to discern the truth.
She then watched as Jiang Xun got up with what could only be described as clumsiness, looking as if she had never undergone any training.
Her frown deepened.
Decisively, she turned her head away, got up, and walked off the stage first. She looked around at her surroundings, a little bewildered, and saw the three people below with "Labels" above their heads walking purposefully toward her.
This kind of Label.
Are these people her future self knows?
Luo Nanqiu's chin lifted slightly as she pondered the details.
She saw the people gather around her, wringing their hands, wanting to say something but not knowing what.
It was Jiang Xun's arrival that rescued them.
They immediately flocked to Jiang Xun's side.
They crowded around Jiang Xun, heading to collect the reward and asking about some mission.
Luo Nanqiu didn't follow them.
She rebooted her Optical Brain and connected to this timeline's network.
A quick glance at the news headlines was enough.
She felt the news in this timeline was utterly insane.
【Victory! The Descender corps has successfully conquered the X-49 star system!】
【Another Victory! The Descender corps has successfully conquered the G-469 star system.】
...
【The Emperor personally presents an award to the Descender corps.】
Scrolling down, every single headline was about the Descenders conquering one star system or another.
A look at the Empire's map revealed it had actually doubled in size.
Luo Nanqiu was incredulous.
Which emperor had taken the throne?
So capable? So militarily accomplished?
She searched the StarNet.
The Empire's current emperor: Qi Yi.
Luo Nanqiu: ??
Who?
Qi Yi?
The same Qi Yi who had secretly suggested he could marry into the Luo Family and begged her to help him ascend the throne?
When did he become so capable?
And what in the world were these Descenders?
Luo Nanqiu felt this matter required more time to consider, so she set it aside for now. She hacked into the Imperial Military's internal network, wanting to look up Jiang Xun's current achievements.
She was a little curious whether Jiang Xun, who had been so set on attending a military academy, had achieved her dream.
What would the Jiang Xun of twelve years later be like?
But despite a thorough search, she found nothing.
There were no enlistment records, no discharge records—her name wasn't even listed among the military academy's students.
Luo Nanqiu bit her lip. Could it be that she had won their confrontation?
That Jiang Xun hadn't applied to the military academy?
She couldn't help but wonder.
Then, she hacked into the Empire's talent database to search for any trace of Jiang Xun.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Was this not her world?
No, Qi Yi existed in this world, and he had even fulfilled his wish of becoming emperor.
Luo Nanqiu's delicate fingertips trembled slightly.
She took a deep breath.
She searched for the Luo Consortium, hacked into its system, and looked for her own name.
She quickly found her own entry.
【Luo Nanqiu, head of the Luo Consortium, graduate of Imperial Royal University, married...】
Luo Nanqiu scanned the text, confirming that her history up to age eighteen was identical. She didn't read on to see what path her future self had taken, instead focusing on the photograph.
The woman in the photo had skin like snow and hair like ink. Even for a formal profile, her face was devoid of a smile.
Though her features were exceptionally beautiful, the oppressive coldness of her aura made it difficult to focus on the details of her face.
One could only think: a beautiful, terrifying woman.
Those violet eyes had completely shed the innocence of her eighteen-year-old self. They were cold, sharp, and somewhat grim—not at all like the head of a consortium, but more like an assassin feigning weakness.
But Luo Nanqiu wasn't afraid. She simply confirmed that it was her face, then began searching for details in the accessories she was wearing.
Then she saw the necklace around her neck.
It was an amethyst necklace of a very simple design. The silver chain rested against her delicate collarbone, and the amethyst shimmered with a light that perfectly resembled the eyes of the eighteen-year-old Luo Nanqiu.
It was the coming-of-age gift Jiang Xun had given her.
Luo Nanqiu was wearing it right now.
Placing a hand to her own neck and confirming her amethyst necklace was still there, Luo Nanqiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed there was a Jiang Xun in this world after all.
But Jiang Xun's existence...
Seeing that her future self didn't have even a trace of a smile, she knew her love life couldn't be very happy.
It couldn't be that her methods were too aggressive and had backfired, could it?
And then, relying on her immense power, she had imprisoned Jiang Xun?
Luo Nanqiu pouted. Convinced she had found the truth, she felt incredibly annoyed.
She closed the page, even wiping the traces of her intrusion.
Looking up, she saw Jiang Xun, having collected her prize money, had come to her side.
She was waiting for her cautiously.
Luo Nanqiu looked up and gave her a proud nod.
Now that she had confirmed her Jiang Xun hadn't disappeared and wasn't living as wretchedly as the girl before her, Luo Nanqiu's mood improved, and she even felt a bit more goodwill toward the girl in front of her who bore such a strong resemblance to Jiang Xun.
The fact that a gacha Ability could summon her was a sign of their fate.
Indeed, Jiang Xun and Luo Nanqiu were fated to be together.
Her mood brightened, and even taking into consideration that Jiang Xun had only a sliver of Mental Power left, she turned and returned to the card.
"Farewell."
Jiang Xun froze for a moment, looking down at the card in her hand.
The door to the room had opened, revealing a lavish main hall.
She saw the Eldest Miss back in the room, her mood having soured again. She was sitting at the tea table in the center of the room, sipping tea distractedly, as if silently waiting for the real eighteen-year-old Jiang Xun to apologize to her.
Recalling how Luo Eighteen had turned to leave without a second thought earlier, Jiang Xun couldn't help but affectionately tap the little head of Luo Nanqiu on the card.
So two-faced, Jiang Xun thought with a smile.
But what were they arguing about?
Jiang Xun tried to recall.
In her memory, they rarely argued.
Because Jiang Xun had few family ties, Luo Nanqiu, her childhood friend who had grown up alongside her, was the person she cherished most in the world.
She was her childhood friend.
Her dearest friend.
The one she had promised to spend the rest of her life with.
They had once promised they would never be separated, that they would be together even in death.
Jiang Xun couldn't bear to argue with her.
But disagreements were ultimately unavoidable.
The most serious one occurred when they were eighteen and choosing which university to attend.
Jiang Xun was dead set on attending a military academy, but Luo Nanqiu's status meant she could never be accepted into one.
Luo Nanqiu was unwilling to be separated from her and felt that Jiang Xun was betraying their promise to be together forever.
The pampered Eldest Miss didn't think for a second that she was meddling in another person's life.
After all, in the face of supreme power, no matter how hard a person struggled with their bare hands, it was nearly impossible to be deemed worthy by the top echelons of the nobility.
In Luo Nanqiu's eyes, joining the military meant enduring great hardship, fighting countless battles, and suffering many injuries. It was extremely dangerous, incredibly arduous, promotions were difficult to come by, and the trade-off was simply not worth it.
It was nothing compared to the future she had arranged for Jiang Xun.
The future Luo Nanqiu had planned for Jiang Xun would have allowed her to easily and comfortably reach a position nearly equal to her own.
But Jiang Xun refused.
In truth, Jiang Xun herself couldn't clearly articulate why she had been so stubborn back then.
Perhaps she had a vague feeling that if she followed the path Luo Nanqiu had laid out for her, she would never be able to hold her head high.
So she refused.
She wanted to apply to the military academy.
And so began the biggest argument they had ever had.
Luo Nanqiu cried and threw tantrums, stubbornly waiting with her chin held high for an apology.
Jiang Xun did apologize and offered plenty of placating words, but she refused to change her decision.
She never compromised. In the end, it was Luo Nanqiu who couldn't bear their constant fighting and relented.
To this day, Jiang Xun still remembered the Eldest Miss, her eyes red from crying. When she found Jiang Xun, she kept biting her lip, looking pitiful and adorable, like a rain-drenched kitten being forced to apologize but secretly refusing to admit fault.
Yet the words she spoke were a concession.
Her voice still trembled as if she were out of breath from crying, but the Eldest Miss's upbringing demanded she maintain her composure at all times. So, standing before Jiang Xun, she took a long moment to regulate her breathing before managing a complete sentence. "I'll agree to you applying to the military academy."
She followed it with a deep gasp for air.
Her violet eyes, washed by tears, looked even more translucent and clear.
"But you have to meet my condition."
This was a huge concession for the Eldest Miss!
Jiang Xun fought the urge to comfort her. "And what's that?"
"You have to properly learn the art of disguise!"
"If you can disguise yourself so well that even I can't recognize you, then I'll agree to you applying to the military academy!"
"Of course, I'll remove the Ability I have on you," she added, her chin held high.
The truth was, Jiang Xun's disguise skills in high school were atrocious.
And they had always been atrocious.
Luo Nanqiu's demand was clearly meant to make things difficult for Jiang Xun.
She hoped Jiang Xun would recognize the difficulty and give up.
But Jiang Xun seized the opportunity.
After all, the Eldest Miss's Ability was to place Labels on people.
On the surface, Luo Nanqiu could recognize everyone, remembering all their preferences and the little anecdotes that came up in conversation.
As a result, she had an excellent reputation in high society.
But who could have known that if the Eldest Miss were to deactivate her Ability, she wouldn't remember the person she had been cheerfully chatting with just a moment before?
It wasn't face blindness, exactly; she simply wasn't in the habit of remembering people by their faces.
Therefore, Jiang Xun felt she had a very good chance of success.
Unfortunately, despite studying diligently for half a year, fooling everyone who knew her, and even having the top professor of disguise arts claim he had nothing left to teach her, she still couldn't deceive Luo Nanqiu.
Jiang Xun had even suspected that Luo Nanqiu hadn't kept her promise and had left an Ability Label on her.
But every time, Luo Nanqiu was able to point out exactly how she had given herself away.
Her reasoning was always sound.
This was the first time she had ever managed to fool her and experience how Luo Nanqiu treated a stranger.
It was, she had to admit, a novel experience.
Jiang Xun couldn't help but smile.
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