Chapter 410: The Scent of Guilt and a Villain's Caress
"Ruoxue, before our souls switch back, I'll be working from home. If the family company needs someone to show up, you can go in my place, and I'll help you. I'll also cover for you in front of our parents and brother… Ruoxue, Ruoxue, are you listening? Are you spacing out?"
"No, I'm not spacing out, Sister Ruoshui, I know."
Looking at her gentle older sister, whose face was currently her own, Xu Ruoxue felt a wave of guilt so powerful it threatened to drown her. It churned in her stomach like acid, a bitter proof of her hidden sins.
At this moment, they were not at Tangquan No. 1, Shen Anyu's opulent sanctuary. They had returned to the sprawling Xu Family Villa. The news of "Xu Ruoxue's" return had sent ripples of joy through the household. Their parents, who had missed their long-lost daughter terribly, insisted she come home. More than that, her biological younger brother, Xu He—the boy they had only just found after twenty long years of separation—was desperate to see the sister he had only ever known through stories. And so, Xu Ruoxue had returned, bringing with her the uneasy Xu Ruoshui, who couldn't bear to let her sister face this complex situation alone.
Ever since the bewildering soul exchange, Xu Ruoshui had been a pillar of strength. She managed corporate affairs, family expectations, and the bizarre logistics of their predicament with an orderly grace that left Xu Ruoxue in awe. She offered comfort freely, her gentle words a soothing balm, perfectly embodying the roles of a capable CEO and a loving older sister.
But every kind word felt like a brand against Xu Ruoxue's skin. Every selfless act was a fresh stab of shame.
Because while Xu Ruoshui was here, working tirelessly, Xu Ruoxue… in Xu Ruoshui's body… had been with Shen Anyu. The memories assaulted her, vivid and scorching. The heat of his skin against hers, the possessive grip of his hands, the intoxicating scent of his cologne mixed with their sweat. She remembered the way he had whispered her sister's name, 'Ruoshui,' while it was her soul that trembled under his touch.
Each memory was a betrayal. Xu Ruoshui was shouldering every burden, and in a place she couldn't even imagine, Xu Ruoxue was indulging in the most shameless, forbidden acts.
'Xu Ruoxue, Xu Ruoxue, that's enough! Stop overthinking, stop, just stop!'
Her nails dug into the soft flesh of her wrist, a sharp, grounding pain against the storm in her mind. She shook her head fiercely, trying to dislodge the images, the feelings, the suffocating guilt.
"Ruoxue, what's wrong? You seem a bit off?"
Xu Ruoshui's voice—coming from her own lips—was laced with genuine concern. She looked at Xu Ruoxue, her brow furrowed with worry. In her mind, the mysterious soul exchange must have inflicted a deep psychological toll on her younger sister.
The concern was like adding fuel to the fire of Xu Ruoxue's shame. "Sister Ruoshui, I'm fine, don't worry." Her voice came out strained, a poor imitation of her sister's usual calm. She felt her cheeks flush and quickly changed the subject, unable to meet that caring gaze. "Sister Ruoshui, you should go busy yourself with company matters. I… I just need to be alone for a bit."
"Alright then," Xu Ruoshui replied, though her expression remained uneasy. "If you're feeling stressed, just tell your sister. Don't keep it all inside."
With one last worried glance, Xu Ruoshui turned and walked back toward what was originally Xu Ruoxue's room. The secret of their soul swap was a ticking bomb they dared not reveal. Not to their parents, and certainly not to Xu He. So for now, they maintained the charade. Xu Ruoxue, trapped in her sister's body, occupied Xu Ruoshui's familiar room, while Xu Ruoshui navigated the foreign territory of Xu Ruoxue's.
The moment the door clicked shut, Xu Ruoxue's composure crumbled.
"Why did this happen?" she whispered, her voice cracking. She stumbled toward the vanity, her reflection staring back at her—a face that was her sister's, gentle, beautiful, and utterly undeserving of this defilement. A choked sob caught in her throat. "Why did I have to exchange souls with my sister? And why… why did I let that kind of thing happen with Shen Anyu?"
Her own reflection seemed to judge her, its kind eyes filled with an innocence she felt she had irrevocably tainted.
"Shen Anyu, you've really messed me up!" Xu Ruoxue bit down on her lip, the sharp pain a welcome distraction. Her silver teeth indented the soft flesh as a surge of helpless anger washed over her.
"Ruoshui, my wife, what's wrong?"
A deep, amused chuckle echoed through the silent room, wrapping around her like a silken trap. The voice was so close, so unexpected, that Xu Ruoxue's heart leaped into her throat.
She whirled around, and her face instantly drained of all color. There, leaning against the doorframe as if he owned the very air she breathed, was Shen Anyu. A knot of pure panic tightened in her chest.
"Shen Anyu!" she blurted out, her voice a squeak. "You… how did you get in?" The Xu Family Villa had state-of-the-art security. No one just walked in.
A slow, predatory smile spread across his lips. He pointed a casual thumb toward the large bay window. "Through the window, of course. Wasn't it always like this?" he said, his eyes glinting with a teasing light. "Ruoshui, my wife, why are you so surprised?"
His words hit her like a splash of ice water. He thought she was Ruoshui. Of course he did. He was referencing the times he had snuck into her sister's room before.
'Play along! Don't let him know!'
"Eh? Is that so?" Xu Ruoxue forced a shaky laugh, her mind racing. She was terrified of arousing his suspicion. If she told him about the soul exchange, he might treat her like some kind of freak, a monster to be dissected.
Worse, if he found out that it was her inside Xu Ruoshui's body during their intimate encounters… The thought was so mortifying that Xu Ruoxue felt she could dig a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with her toes right then and there. She would simply cease to exist from sheer embarrassment.
'Endure, Xu Ruoxue, you must endure,' she chanted internally, a desperate mantra. 'As long as I can find a way to switch our souls back, all of this will end. Right now, I absolutely cannot let Shen Anyu suspect, and I absolutely cannot let Sister Ruoshui know what happened.'
Just as she was steeling her nerves, the world suddenly spun. Before she could react, she was lifted off her feet and placed gently onto the bed.
"Shen Anyu, what are you doing?" Xu Ruoxue panicked, her body tensing as she prepared to struggle. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear.
But his large hands held her down with an effortless strength, his touch firm yet strangely gentle. "It's not what you think," he murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble that did little to calm her racing pulse. "I brought some ointment that can help you heal."
In his hand, a small, unassuming tube with a green label appeared as if from nowhere. There was no text, no pattern, just the jade-green container. He squeezed a small amount onto his fingertips, and the air filled with a faint, clean scent of herbs.
He then began to apply it to her body.
The cool ointment spread with his fingertips, a shocking sensation against her heated skin. It was followed almost immediately by a deep, penetrating warmth that was incredibly pleasant, not hot or uncomfortable in the slightest. Her involuntary shivers had nothing to do with the cold.
To Xu Ruoxue's astonished eyes, the faint bruises and marks from their last encounter began to visibly fade, the skin knitting itself back together as if by magic. She could feel his calloused fingers tracing gentle patterns, his touch both clinical and impossibly intimate. Her breath hitched, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from making a sound. The combination of fear, humiliation, and the obvious relief the ointment provided created a confusing vortex of sensation within her.
[Ding! Detected Destiny Value +1 for the Destined Heroine Xu Ruoxue. Plunder successful. Acquired +3000 Destiny Points!]
As the system notification chimed in his mind, Shen Anyu worked with detached focus, his expression unreadable. At the same time, he checked on the real Xu Ruoshui's situation through a nanometer monitoring robot he had deployed earlier.
The feed was crystal clear. Xu Ruoshui, now wearing Xu Ruoxue's form, was sitting in the study attached to Xu Ruoxue's bedroom. She was completely engrossed in handling work for Xu's Landscape Company.
Unlike Xu Ruoxue's usual cold and proud demeanor, Xu Ruoshui exuded a gentle, approachable aura that even her sister's sharper features couldn't fully conceal. She was serene and beautiful, a portrait of focused diligence. Her unadorned, naturally beautiful face was fair and exquisite. A pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses rested on the elegant bridge of her nose, and her right hand clutched a fountain pen, its nib scratching softly across various documents. The glow of a laptop screen illuminated her face, the display densely packed with complex financial reports and project proposals.
Occasionally, her perfect brows would furrow slightly, a sign of encountering a particularly thorny problem. But within moments, they would relax as she found a solution, and she would re-immerse herself in her work, a quiet determination radiating from her.
Shen Anyu watched the scene unfold, an inexplicable feeling stirring within him. It felt faintly like guilt, the kind a philandering husband might feel while his devoted wife worked tirelessly to support their family, completely oblivious to his transgressions.
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