Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years: Fake! Fake Again!

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, exclusively produced by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He.

Su Qingying truly had no idea what Wu Chen was thinking. When he had held her, she'd gained leverage over him. They each had something on the other and would keep each other's secrets. From the start, she had never considered it a threat.

She also understood that a woman as proud as Li Ruobing would retaliate if her boyfriend betrayed her, then kick him to the curb.

She would do it without hesitation. She might not even bother retaliating against the woman who'd taken her man. Li Ruobing was fiercely dominant and controlling: either she kept her man firmly under her thumb, or, if he displeased or betrayed her, she threw him away like trash. She was not the kind of person to get tangled up in a messy affair.

So what on earth was Wu Chen thinking?

Had he gone mad?

Su Qingying stared wide-eyed at Wu Chen, waiting for his answer.

"The truth is," Wu Chen said. He reached out, pinched Su Qingying's cheek, and gave it a gentle tug. After letting go, he added, "Li Ruobing and I aren't a couple. That's our secret."

Su Qingying's eyes widened even more. Then she raised a finger and gestured, her face lighting up with understanding. "Oh, I get it! You two are fake, too."

Wu Chen smiled and nodded. He didn't explain any further; he didn't need to. He was telling the truth, and Su Qingying would believe him as soon as she heard it. She wouldn't have the slightest doubt or any lingering questions.

After all, Li Ruobing had a history of this. Three times, in fact. Everyone in East Sea's business circles knew her family had pressured her to marry, prompting her to flee to East Sea and start her own business.

She had pulled the fake-boyfriend trick three times before. That way, she wouldn't be single; she could use a fake boyfriend as a shield. But those boyfriends had been so obviously fake that people could barely stand to watch.

At banquets, her fake boyfriends trailed behind her like obsequious lackeys. If Li Ruobing hadn't introduced them, everyone would have assumed they were her assistants. They acted so servile and cautious in public that in private they probably treated her like an empress, even an ancestor to be worshipped. Boyfriends? Really?

Would Li Ruobing ever like a man like that?

They had all been fake!

This time, though, Su Qingying had discovered that the man who texted her was Li Ruobing's boyfriend. Given the rumors circulating around East Sea these past few days, she had naturally assumed, like everyone else, that the relationship was real. It had seemed so real. She never would have imagined that this one was fake too!

"Only Li Ruobing and I know about this. To make the act convincing, even her younger brother doesn't know. You have to keep it secret. Understand?"

Wu Chen spoke calmly.

"Of course I won't tell anyone. Why would I make trouble for myself?"

Su Qingying shifted closer to Wu Chen as she spoke.

Li Ruobing's relationship with Wu Chen was tied to her own relationship with him, and therefore to her secret. She wouldn't dare tell anyone even if she had a hundred times the courage. Besides, she wasn't the sort of person who leaked secrets.

"Then that means you tricked me?"

The realization suddenly struck Su Qingying. She had moved close enough to kneel beside Wu Chen, and now she narrowed her eyes at him.

"The leverage you gave me was fake. You aren't afraid of Li Ruobing at all. Did you think I knew your secret and came here deliberately to disrupt your life?"

"Do you regret it?"

Wu Chen smiled without denying it.

Su Qingying narrowed her eyes, then suddenly laughed. She turned, lay across Wu Chen's lap, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, she obediently answered with two words: "Not at all." She didn't regret it. If anything, she seemed happier.

She felt she ought to thank Wu Chen. He had helped her take that first step and finally given her the courage to defy her mother.

Today had also been the most relaxed, content, authentic, and comfortable day of her twenty-seven years.

She was a masochist, and in those four hours, Wu Chen had truly conquered her.

In truth, she had already been reluctant to part with Wu Chen. She had planned to let herself go completely today and treasure it as the most precious day of her life. Tomorrow, she would go home and face the storm.

In the end, nothing much would happen to her. She would still inherit the family business. Her life would return to its orderly, familiar course.

She had intended to cut off contact with Wu Chen after today. Everything about him suited her tastes; he had even made her feel that he was the man destined to whip her. But she still couldn't see him again, for many reasons. Most importantly, Wu Chen was Li Ruobing's boyfriend. She couldn't do that. She couldn't keep herself entangled with him.

Now that she knew Wu Chen was only a fake boyfriend, she was genuinely happy. It meant she could still secretly get together with him in the future.

"Get up and get dressed. Li Ruobing will be here soon—maybe in half an hour or forty minutes."

Wu Chen pinched Su Qingying's cheek as he spoke.

Su Qingying sat bolt upright, suddenly nervous. "She's coming? What for?"

"To see you."

"My relationship with her is fake, but we have to keep up appearances. What I have with you is real, so we have to hide it. She needs reassurance. Understand?"

Wu Chen smiled.

"Oh." Su Qingying seemed to work it out and relaxed.

"So I just need to act natural?"

Wu Chen nodded.

"Can you not tell her my secret? Just say we're dating in secret, okay?"

Su Qingying looked at him pleadingly.

"Okay."

Wu Chen nodded again, smiling.

"Love you."

Su Qingying hugged Wu Chen and kissed him, then got up to dress.

Su Qingying's relationship was a secret too, since the Su Family forbade her from dating, but she wasn't afraid of Li Ruobing finding out. When Wu Chen admitted he'd tricked her, she had realized that although the leverage he'd given her was fake, he had given her something new to hold over him: his fake relationship with Li Ruobing, which neither of them could reveal.

So she and Wu Chen once again had a balance of mutual leverage, and Li Ruobing was part of it too. The three of them were bound together by a delicate web of checks and balances.

Su Qingying was smart enough to realize she might have fallen into a trap Wu Chen had carefully laid, a bottomless mire that was swallowing her whole. But rather than resent it, she enjoyed it a little.

Wu Chen was controlling her in a way she liked. She was willing to be drawn in.

She had always longed for a powerful man to conquer her. Wu Chen was that man.

Su Qingying even found herself looking forward to seeing Li Ruobing. She felt as though the three of them formed a tiny secret circle, like they were on the same side.

She could talk to Li Ruobing at ease, without putting on airs or pretending anymore.

What she didn't know was that although Li Ruobing and Wu Chen's relationship was fake, it was already heading toward becoming real.

More than half an hour later, knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked on the door. Wu Chen went to answer it. Of course, it was Li Ruobing.

The moment the door opened, Li Ruobing stared straight at Wu Chen with an unnervingly strange look. She was utterly beside herself.

She had driven over, racking her brains the whole way and frantically working through every possibility, yet she couldn't find a reasonable explanation.

How had they gotten together? And why was Su Qingying calling him her husband?

Su Qingying wasn't that kind of woman!

Li Ruobing understood that the problem wasn't Su Qingying. It was Wu Chen.

That man truly was as mysterious and unfathomable as a spirit.

"You're here. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do I have flowers growing on my face again?"

Smiling, Wu Chen invited Li Ruobing in and brought her a pair of slippers.

Bag in hand, Li Ruobing kicked off her high heels and slipped into the slippers, looking around as she did.

She knew the exact address of Wu Chen's old apartment but had never been inside. Naturally, she looked around the unfamiliar place. She was also looking for someone.

Wu Chen's home still felt lived-in. He had moved out only the day before yesterday, taking some clothes and daily necessities with him. Everything else was still there, and he hadn't done any special tidying or cleaning.

Li Ruobing smelled food cooking. It wasn't mealtime, and she didn't know whether the smell had drifted in from another home. She also heard a low humming noise.

As she walked farther into the living room and looked around, she noticed the bathroom door was open. The washing machine inside was running.

She had no idea why Wu Chen felt like doing laundry now.

"Where is she?"

Li Ruobing reached the coffee table before turning back to ask.

Wu Chen raised a hand and pointed toward the kitchen.

Just then, a voice called out, "Honey? Oh, is that Miss Li?"

Su Qingying took a few steps back in the kitchen and turned to look out. From where she stood, she could see Li Ruobing, and Li Ruobing could see her.

"Miss Li, long time no see."

Su Qingying greeted her with a smile. Her voice was soft and sweet, her manner polite.

"Miss Su. Yes, it's been a long time."

Li Ruobing froze, even stumbling over her words. Su Qingying had tied up her hair and was wearing sleeve protectors and an apron, with a soup ladle in her hand. She looked like a young wife cooking at home. She was cooking. The sight felt wildly out of place.

She was stunned.

Su Qingying had always been so glamorous. She was an heiress to a fortune worth billions, an ethereal beauty to be admired from afar, never approached.

Cooking?

She was cooking for Wu Chen? She even knew how to cook?

As it happened, Su Qingying really could cook. At home, she had never been allowed to cook or even learn because her family said it would damage her hands.

She had studied abroad, and during those years she had learned to cook from the nanny who looked after her.

Wu Chen hadn't asked Su Qingying to cook for him; she had volunteered. First she said she was hungry. Wu Chen suggested waiting for Li Ruobing so they could eat out together. Su Qingying then said she would cook, that she knew how, and that she wanted to welcome Li Ruobing. She had settled naturally into the role of hostess. Wu Chen didn't mind, so he agreed.

The utilities at the apartment were still connected, and there were a few ingredients in the fridge, though not many. Before Li Ruobing arrived, Wu Chen had gone downstairs to buy groceries. The market was nearby, and he'd returned in just over ten minutes.

Cooking wasn't all Su Qingying had volunteered to do. She had also offered to wash the dirty clothes and bedsheets Wu Chen had left lying around the apartment.

Wu Chen understood her state of mind. She simply wanted to experience an ordinary person's everyday life.

"Honey, you two talk first. The soup's almost ready. I just need to fry some eggs, and then we can eat."

With that, Su Qingying disappeared back into the kitchen and resumed bustling about.

Li Ruobing still looked dazed. She slowly turned toward Wu Chen, moving so stiffly she looked possessed. Her eyes gradually widened as she stared at him. Then she abruptly grabbed him, pulled him a couple of steps aside, and asked urgently in a low voice, "What is going on?"

She wondered if she had gone mad.

Everything about this was strange. Unbearably strange.

When she had spoken to Su Qingying on the phone, Su Qingying had denied calling Wu Chen "honey." Li Ruobing had pretended to believe her and come over to see for herself.

But the moment she arrived, Su Qingying called Wu Chen "honey" right in front of her and greeted her with extraordinary warmth and ease.

Had Su Qingying lost her memory?

Did she have a split personality?

And she was cooking?

She still had eggs to fry?

Li Ruobing didn't know whether she had gone mad or the whole world had. She even began to suspect that Wu Chen had found a woman who looked like Su Qingying—or one who'd had surgery to resemble her—and asked her to put on an act to fool Li Ruobing.

The suspicion lasted only an instant before she dismissed it. A face could be altered, but someone's bearing and presence couldn't.

Especially her bearing. That was something developed over years.

Even wearing an apron stained by long use and holding a large ladle, Su Qingying still gave people the effortless impression of a fairy cooking dinner.

For convenience, Su Qingying had tied up her wavy hair, revealing the full outline of her cheeks. Her face was tiny and her skin flawless. Though she was twenty-seven, she looked barely eighteen, full of life and charm.

She couldn't be an impostor. But if she was the real Su Qingying, that was even more terrifying.

What on earth is going on?

"Nothing's going on. She's my woman."

Wu Chen smiled as he said it.

"Your woman?"

"How did she become your woman?"

"When did this happen?"

"Today. Today."

"Were you close with her before?"

"No, not at all. You—" Li Ruobing was utterly beside herself. She gripped Wu Chen and peppered him with questions in a low, rapid voice.

"Honey, the rice is ready. I'm stir-frying, so could you open the pot and fluff the rice? The nanny taught me it tastes better that way."

Busy in the kitchen, Su Qingying called out to Wu Chen.

Wu Chen answered her, then gestured to Li Ruobing. "I'll be right back."

Wu Chen went into the kitchen. Li Ruobing naturally didn't follow. She tossed her bag onto the sofa and raised a hand to cover her forehead.

She suspected she was ill. Was she ill?

Had something gone wrong with her mind? Was she hallucinating?

"Honey, it's so hot in here!"

Su Qingying's voice came from the kitchen again. "This tracksuit is so stuffy, and with an apron on top, I'm sweating. Do you have anything I can wear?"

"I have some old clothes. They're clean, though."

"Oh, right. My old pajamas are in the bedroom wardrobe, at the far left. The folded blue set is at the bottom. Keep an eye on the stove. I'll go change."

Su Qingying came out of the kitchen. Seeing Li Ruobing still standing beside the coffee table, she smiled and nodded. "Miss Li, please sit down. Don't stand on ceremony. Dinner will be ready in a moment."

"It won't be long," she added as she went into the bedroom.

The door closed. Li Ruobing actually sat down, her face blank. She felt she needed a moment to calm herself.

Two minutes later, Su Qingying emerged from the bedroom. She had changed into a pair of men's pajamas that were a little too big. Carrying the apron, she put it on and tied it as she walked.

Beep, beep, beep. A signal sounded from the bathroom. It was the washing machine.

The clothes were clean and spin-dried, ready to be taken out and hung up.

Su Qingying turned to look, then headed toward the bathroom. At the same time, she called to Wu Chen in the kitchen, "Honey, the laundry's done. Should I hang it on the balcony?"

"There won't be enough room for the bedsheets, will there?"

Li Ruobing sprang to her feet. Su Qingying had done the laundry too? Just as she had begun to calm down, Li Ruobing was beside herself all over again.

That concludes this episode. Please keep listening!