A Single Thought Sets It Ablaze

This story is also titled "I Faked My Death Before Completing Miss Fan's Mission"

(Changed it for the fourth time, TAT)

Life is full of choices.

For example, Zhou Jinsi chose to pester her parents for another little brother, while Zhou Qiaolu felt she received very little attention.

And when Zhou Qiaolu learned that the soul of the lover she spent every day with wasn't really her lover, she chose to make that soul disappear.

What should you do if the person whose soul inhabits the body of someone you love turns out to be a stranger? - Zhou Qiaolu

I'm that "stranger." - Yan Yixin

Miss Zhou, you made the wrong choice. You'll have to face the consequences.

Zhou Qiaolu doesn't understand love. She thinks that possessing someone means having them.

Fan Ruoqing only wants to get the compensation for her parents' car accident. Facing her ferocious relatives alone, she feels powerless.

What Zhou Qiaolu calls pursuit is nothing but coercion and force.

In the end, Zhou Qiaolu takes Fan Ruoqing to her home and forces her to agree.

After the final ultimatum is issued, the Life System comes to her and gives her one chance: she can either leave or receive as much help as possible.

Fan Ruoqing, furious and humiliated, chooses to leave. Her memories settle in another wandering soul: Yan Yixin.

Her mission is to live out the rest of Fan Ruoqing's life for her and complete her task: get the money.

The obstacle in her way is the eldest Miss of the Zhou family, who keeps pressuring "Fan Ruoqing" to become her girlfriend.

The problem is, her voice is exactly like that of the phantom in Yan Yixin's memories... and her features are so similar, too...

There were sweet words and tender affection. Knowing Zhou Qiaolu's flaws, the wandering soul moves her with love again and again, teaching her how to return it.

But the wandering soul knows that Zhou Qiaolu loves Fan Ruoqing's body, not the soul wearing that false exterior.

She doesn't want things to end, but she wants even less for the person she loves to misunderstand her, especially when Zhou Qiaolu calls her "Ruoqing" during intimate moments.

In the end, she chooses to tell the truth.

"Tell me, why did you get close to me? What is going on?"

"She chose to leave on her own, Zhou Qiaolu. She disappeared that night. It's been me for these past two months."

"If you can accept that, you can call me by my name. I'm Yan..."

"I'm sorry. I can't accept this."

"Then let's never meet again."

She speaks resolutely, and leaves without looking back.

What's the point of this kind of love?

Zhou Qiaolu is nothing like that gentle, indistinct figure in her memories.

So, in the same place, in the same dead of night, the wandering soul chooses to leave, too.

On the third day, Zhou Qiaolu stares at the urn containing the ashes from the cremation, her expression unusually lost.

She's really gone.

Two years later

Zhou Qiaolu happens upon "Fan Ruoqing's" "mission list" at home. The handwriting is elegant and strong, yet graceful. It lists two essential tasks and one bonus task:

1. Live on as Fan Ruoqing

2. Get back the compensation for the Fan family's parents' car accident

Bonus:

3. Get together with Zhou Qiaolu ///>V<///

She does everything she can to help "Fan Ruoqing" get the compensation back, but the lawyer repeatedly turns her down over the phone.

"Miss Yan, are you sure you want to refuse Miss Zhou Qiaolu's help?"

"Yes."

Reading guide:

1. Happy ending, single-couple, no switching partners, and the pursuer has to win back their love.

2. The pursuer, Zhou Qiaolu, doesn't actually love Fan Ruoqing. She sees her as an emotional outlet. There's something a little off about her, and she acts in extreme ways.

I may not have explained that very well. Of course, if you angels think Lulu loves Fan Ruoqing, that's fine too, but I still don't think Zhou Qiaolu loves her. It's more like possessiveness.

3. This isn't a traditional angst story. I'll try to keep my keyboard under control so it doesn't produce too many angsty passages (trust me!).

4. Thank you, angels, for reading!

Bonus scene:

The eldest Zhou sister makes a rare appearance at the family's weekly gathering, much to everyone's surprise. Everyone knows that Zhou Qiaolu doesn't like her third younger brother, Zhou Qun, and is rather withdrawn.

Wen Yan, the Zhou family's future son-in-law, often eats with Zhou Qun's family. Seeing Zhou Qiaolu wear a stiff smile instead of always wearing a stern expression as the gossip described, he senses that something is wrong.

At the first meal with Zhou Qiaolu, the family is both surprised and at a loss. They don't know how to make amends for the trauma she's suffered, so they say nothing and just eat, afraid of making her angry.

Testing the waters, Zhou's mother uses the serving chopsticks to place a rib in her bowl. Zhou Qiaolu looks at the meat and says calmly:

"Thank you, Mom."

After exchanging a glance and nodding, Zhou's father puts a piece of vegetable in her bowl, too. Zhou Jinsi does the same, and even Zhou Qun's hand shakes as he puts food in her bowl.

Every time, she simply says, "Thank you."

But when Zhou Qun reaches out with his chopsticks, Zhou Qiaolu looks at him. Zhou Qun thinks her gaze is rather sharp.

Wen Yan gently squeezes his hand, telling him not to be afraid.

After the meal, everyone else leaves. Zhou Qiaolu calls Zhou Qun over and asks him to stay and talk.

Zhou Jinsi is especially scared, afraid that her eldest sister might hurt Zhou Qun.

Instead, Zhou Qiaolu takes out her phone and scrolls through a series of photos, showing them to Zhou Qun one by one. The woman in the photos has lovely features and slightly upturned phoenix eyes. Her gaze should be tender, but instead it is aloof.

Some photos show her walking down the street, others show her driving, and still others capture her smiling faintly in a cafe.

Zhou Qun looks at the photos, then glances up at Zhou Qiaolu and cautiously asks, "Is... is that my sister-in-law?"

Zhou Qiaolu nods and gets straight to the point: "How do I pursue her?"

Zhou Jinsi, secretly watching the dining room from behind the railing: …

(This will probably appear in the main story.)

2022/4/3

Theme: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.