Lei Yirui thinks that not complaining once you’ve got something good going for you is a good standard to live by. She always has after all, but…

 

Palace life is shockingly boring, alright??

 

She was totally used to the constant stimulation of living in the modern age. She had basic hobbies like reading and studying, but she also indulged in technology often! If she got bored, she could always turn to scrolling through Weibo or go online to look for new dramas to watch. She could turn to some good fanfictions, or she could text her friends - and going downtown to go to a café or enjoy a movie was always an option… It was 45 minutes away from her dorm, but Dai Rong had a car and was always willing to drive her.

 

So in comparison, palace life was sort of lame. The OG had a very sparse schedule, and she supposes it’s because she wasn’t necessarily important. She was nobility, but not of any direct relation to the emperor or his family. As far as she knew from watching Limitless, Lei Shunyuan’s family was originally the wealthy overseers of a fishing town south of the capital. Reputable enough to send their educated son to the palace as a scholar, but not enough for any special accommodations. She had trivial lessons like writing and music, but nothing important like some of the other ladies living in the palace might. 

 

Jia Zhenzhen’s prediction had been completely correct - they had all been sent back to their daily routines before it was even dark out. Lei Yirui was able to eat after that - thank you very much. It tasted… very healthy. She was probably too used to processed food at this point. 

 

She wonders if she had taken nearly getting killed for granted - she had much more fun while that was going on! Between the chaos and observing Jia Zhenzhen’s interesting interactions with other characters, well, it was a given that she’d had a better time than when all she does is attend boring lessons, drink tea by herself, and sit around and look pretty. 

 

It had been a week since she had properly seen Jia Zhenzhen - a week!! She had seen her stationed at gates and doors every now and then, and Jia Zhenzhen would always stare at her with a weirdly intense gaze, but Lei Yirui couldn’t just approach her!! She had a cover to keep, and it would be bad if Lei Yirui got her in trouble by distracting her! 

 

Lei Yirui is busy lamenting about her increasingly boring life, settled at a bench. Actually - it might not even be a bench, but it’s a built protrusion in the side of the building, and she’ll treat it as such. A guard had been suspicious of her coming out to the back of a random building, but she’d just gotten teary and started pounding on his chest with weak fists until he succumbed to Lei Yirui’s intense little sister wiles and let her pass. Security really had been ramped up since Tang Xiaodan’s escape, and everyone was a suspect now… Lei Yirui is the accuser! Leave her out of this! 

 

She’s dressed in a soft light green dress today, thin and flowy and perfect for hot weather. Her hair has lots of pins and jewels in it, and jingles softly whenever she turns her head. It feels… Too heavy! Lei Yirui was never a girl who put much in her hair - and she had always kept a simple but trendy hair style! And now, her hair was as soft as silk, constantly being treated and decorated with expensive ornaments and was so long it was past her hips. She could run her fingers through it for hours without it becoming even the slightest bit frizzy….

 

She’s distracted by her thoughts, busy thinking about bringing back some of these ancient hair products to quit finance and revolutionize the feminine hair care industry when a shadow passes over her. She startles, and looks up. 

 

It’s a girl. Probably her age, with a delicate light blue dress and ink black hair. Her face is like a bunny - with round cheeks and eyes, and slightly parted lips like she’s always a little surprised. 

 

… Lei Yirui has no clue who this is. If this is a character, she has never seen her in her life before. 

 

“Uh,” Lei Yirui says elegantly, standing to her feet. She had been sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, which wasn’t exactly proper for a girl during this time period. The bunny-like girl frowns at her, crossing her arms. 

 

“This Ren Wenqian has waited very patiently, you know. Father told me that you might be shaken from everything that happened, but I haven’t seen your face at all! You’ve missed all of our usual plans, and it’s getting on my nerves.” she says. She has the sort of haughty, stuck up kind of feel that some of the wealthier students at Lei Yirui’s university do. But… Ren Wenqian isn’t a familiar name at all. Is there even a Ren family in limitless?? Who the fuck is this???

 

“Sorry. I’ve been taking a few self-care days.” Lei Yirui responds, and Ren Wenqian huffs, brushing her hair over her shoulder. 

 

“Self care? What self care! We’ll never find husbands at this rate!” she cries. Lei Yirui blanches, and realizes that she doesn’t mind having missed out on whatever OG Lei Yirui’s schedule was, thanks!! She doesn’t want a husband! Ah - what did they even do together where they could find husbands?

 

“Well, I’ve been busy, okay? Not everything is about husbands! Maybe I’m dedicated to my studies!” she retorts, and Ren Wenqian’s eyes turn to the Heavens. 

 

“You hate your studies! What’s really going on?” Ren Wenqian says, before suddenly gaining a dangerous glint in her eye. “Does it have anything to do with that guard that was personally protecting you that day? I’ve heard he was handsome, but I haven’t had the chance to see him… or you. Is it really a coincidence?” she asks, voice lowered as if there were anybody there who could overhear. The cicadas aren’t going to gossip, girl!! Lei Yirui can barely hear you!

 

Lei Yirui’s brain is overcome with a loading icon for a few moments, before the truth of what Ren Wenqian is implying hits her strongly. She isn’t really embarrassed about it - she’s heard much worse stories in university, so this idea of her being a young lady sneaking off with a palace guard to roll around in each others sheets isn’t that bad. But everyone here is so shy - to suggest such a thing to Lei Yirui’s face is awfully bold!!

 

This must mean… Ren Wenqian and the original Lei Yirui of this world must have been friends!! She had never heard any mention of Lei Yirui having friends, but she supposes that’s the way of the world for a disposable character… 

 

Lei Yirui just shrugs evasively, which apparently is enough of an answer to Ren Wenqian, who looks incredibly happy with herself. She had mostly just done it to avoid further annoying questioning, but watch out, Ren Wenqian!! If you spread this rumor around, Jia Zhenzhen will surely have a bone to pick with you!

 

“Alright then!~” she intones playfully, and taps at her lips with her finger like she’s contemplating sharing some big secret. “I’m going to speak to Su Cheng. I saw him yesterday, and he said he liked my hair. Do you think there’s a chance there?” she asks, eyes sparkling. Lei Yirui laughs, sort of awkwardly. She has no clue who that is!! How is she supposed to know??

 

“Is he attractive?” she asks. Ren Wenqian furrows her brows, before waving her arms around wildly. Her little cuff bracelets clink together with the movement. 

 

“Su Cheng? Of course he is!! Are you really so interested in this guard of yours that you won’t get jealous anymore? I thought he was your dream husband!!” she cries.

 

“That’s not it. I’ve just decided that you’re my very good friend, and you deserve a good man. If he’s hot, you should pursue him endlessly!! A hottie on your arm will make you look better after all!” Lei Yirui declares, parroting advice her aunt had given her once about boys. It was useless to her, but now she had someone she could pass it on too! Luckily, Ren Wenqian took it well, squealing gleefully and squeezing Lei Yirui in a tight hug. 

 

“Ahh, finally!! I’ve never had better advice!” she exclaimed. Lei Yirui laughed, hugging her back. Wasn’t that nice?? She smelled like flowers!!

 

“Thank you!” she exclaimed back, and Ren Wenqian offered her a sloppy goodbye before running off like a girl who had just been told her crush liked her. Good for her, really!! Even if Lei Yirui had no clue who she was up until that moment…

 

….

 

There’s been increasingly worried talk about where Tang Xiaodan is and why security is still so tight around the palace, but she’s pretty sure that the plot will progress semi-normally from this point on, considering things have more or less played out similarly in the end. 

 

Except…! She had been lounging lazily on her bed and brushing her hair at the asscrack of dawn when a paper fluttered through her window. She stared at it for a moment, stupefied, before moving over to pick it up. 

It’s a rather small cut of paper, slightly yellow and folded in the middle. She lifts it gingerly with her fingers, frowning at it quizzically. Who is awake and writing letters?? And who the fuck is sending them through some random palace lady’s window like a creep?? Was this the ancient palace version of DMing someone in the middle of the night??

 

Once she reads over the letter, though, her thoughts change rapidly. 

 

Lei Yirui, 

I am not stupid, and I don’t think you are, either. I was perhaps not honest when I had said I hadn’t known who you were. A girl like you, bustling around and demanding things above her station like a spoiled princess was hard to ignore. However… until recently, I had believed you were nothing but a moronic child. I know better now. I don’t quite know how you had the foresight to take action the way that you did, but it does not matter now. My power will be solidified elsewhere soon and I will have more important things to worry about. I believe your knowledge does not extend only to myself, but to Jia Zhenzhen. He is skilled, I will give him that, but he is an unknown. Why someone so new was chosen for such an important job is beyond me, but what’s done is done. Now, the part of the letter that has been addressed to you is for your eyes only. Do you understand, little girl? I ask that you rip this in half… and burn your half. I would be most grateful… if you could pass the other onto our Jia Zhenzhen. 

 

Jia Zhenzhen, 

If one does not strain every nerve, they will pay for it dearly.

                                                                                        - TXD

 

 

What the fuck kind of plot twist is this?? HUH???

 

This sounds exactly like a fic Lei Yirui read a while ago! Tang Xiaodan had developed an obsessive interest in Jia Zhenzhen, and through back and forth letters they began a risky LDR with each other!! Eventually, Jia Zhenzhen had run off to join Tang Xiaodan and he blew her back out!!

 

Eh, that thought is making Lei Yirui cringe now, actually. She had originally liked the fic, but now it kind of felt like reading smutty fiction about people who you knew from work….

 

She resolves that she needs to calm down. Unlike the fic, there was a huge chunk of text dedicated to Lei Yirui from the villain!! That’s definitely new. And Tang Xiaodan’s little Weibo influencer note to Jia Zhenzhen was definitely a threat, not a weird declaration of his scary man-crush. 

 

So… maybe it’s not exactly like that fic. Lei Yirui shakes her head, gently folding the paper in half and licking it, before tearing it clean in half. She’s listening to his directions because she’s still not sure Jia Zhenzhen won’t totally kill her if she realizes Lei Yirui knows the truth about her, and living is a top priority!! She doesn’t have anything to burn the paper, but she does have drawers upon drawers full of balms and so-called potions. Rubbing a mysteriously unlabeled bottle of something clear and pink-ish makes the ink smudge into incoherence.. Her fingers are all stained now, but who cares!!

 

Carefully, Lei Yirui tucks the slip of paper addressed to Jia Zhenzhen into her boot. Don’t worry!! This side character will ensure that the plot progresses as intended, even if there’s some canon divergence!! Lei Yirui knows Jia Zhenzhen will succeed, after all.

 

….

 

This is total bullshit!! Lei Yirui sees Jia Zhenzhen nearly every day at some miscellaneous location in the palace without having any real reason to approach her, but when she actually needs to, she’s nowhere to be found!! 

 

Lei Yirui has looked at every possible place in the palace, and not one sight of that ponytailed head. She’s given up by midday, and retreated off to the kitchen to have a sorrowful failure-snack. She’d wandered in and made baby-eyes at the cook until he’d handed her a basket of apricots, and she had leaned against a cabinet and watched him bustle around and cook. She made friendly conversation with him as she munched on the soft fruits, and he seemed to relax once he realized she was just asking about the cooking process!! She wondered if the OG had known him too and behaved like a brat…

 

Lei Yirui is two apricots in and reaching for another when none other than Jia Zhenzhen comes stomping into the room like an animal!! Lei Yirui screams, startled, and nearly drops her basket, while the cook gives Jia Zhenzhen a resigned and exhausted look. Jia Zhenzhen looks… sort of disheveled, actually, completely pink in the face with her hair somewhat wild. Did she run all the way here???

 

“I need to speak with you,” she says, and Lei Yirui stares at her with wide eyes for a moment. She almost asks how the fuck Jia Zhenzhen knew she was in the kitchen, before she remembers that the guards have been painstakingly tracking everyones movements. She probably just had to ask!!

 

“Okay?” Lei Yirui says, and Jia Zhenzhen grabs her by the shoulders and leads her out of the room, kicking the door to the kitchen shut behind her. Lei Yirui clutches her basket to her chest and turns to Jia Zhenzhen, raising an eyebrow. What, did Jia Zhenzhen get an ominous letter too? Were they about to have a death threat valentines exchange??

 

“There’s a… I heard that… Lady Ren said…” she trails off, apparently unable to finish speaking as she turns her head and stares determinedly at the blank wall. Lei Yirui feels a lightbulb go off in her head, and laughs in relieved realization. 

 

“Oh! That rumor that we’ve been having sex spread, did it?” she asks, and Jia Zhenzhen’s face turns the color of beet soup. She furrows her brows and crosses her arms with a tiny little frustrated frown, and it’s so cute that Lei Yirui can’t help but smile at her. 

 

“There’s no rumor. I think. She came to ask me personally.” she says, glowering at nothing. Lei Yirui giggles to herself, and when Jia Zhenzhen’s eyes snap towards her to narrow in a glare, she only hides her smile behind her hand, though her shoulders still shake and betray her amusement. It’s a little funny, okay?? Lighten up!

 

“Sorry. She came to her own conclusions and I didn’t do much to lead her away. I could do some damage control, if that’s necessary.” she says. She doesn’t know that Ren Wenqian would actually listen to her if she tried to explain herself, but it could be worth a try if the MC looks this flustered over it!! Lei Yirui doesn’t mean to insult your sensibilities! She gets it, it’s probably a little strange for a girl like you to have these sorts of things said about you and another girl!

 

Ah… even if Lei Yirui doesn’t really know why Jia Zhenzhen is so worried about this when she has a prince to assassinate. Wait - the letter! It’s tucked into the belt of her dress! 

 

“Right. Well… I wanted to make sure you were aware, since the claims were so serious and… personal. And…” Jia Zhenzhen begins to look even more embarrassed, if possible, and fails to notice Lei Yirui shoving her hands into her sash and feeling herself up to try and find the slip of paper. “I’m not sure why, but I’m more concerned than I should be, as I’ve found I’d like to get closer to y—”

 

“Aha! Bingo!” Lei Yirui interrupts, pulling the slip out of her sash and holding it out to Jia Zhenzhen. The girl looks absolutely dejected, but takes the paper with a slightly forlorn expression. 

 

“What were you saying?” Lei Yirui asks, and Jia Zhenzhen hunches in on herself slightly. 

 

“Nothing important. What is this?” she asks, slowly unfolding it. 

 

“I”m not sure,” Lei Yirui lies, watching as Jia Zhenzhen reads the short note, her eyes going wide, before flashing with fury as they turn back to look at Lei Yirui with an accusation behind them. Lei Yirui is prepared, though, and has a look of ditzy obliviousness painted on her face, complete with wide eyes and a cute smile. 

 

“I found it on my vanity this morning. I wondered if it was some sort of weird love confession… Regardless, it’s for you!” she says, clapping her hands together. Jia Zhenzhen stares at her for a few seconds, before brushing past her and leaving. Lei Yirui stares after her for a moment, before lifting an apricot to her mouth and taking a slow bite. 

 

Instantly forgetting about the interaction, her eyes light up. It’s perfectly ripe!!

 

 

….

 

Lei Yirui is sleeping dreamlessly, only coming to partial awareness when she hears quiet shuffling and feels the dip of weight on her bed. She turns her head slightly to bury her face in her blankets, still not awake enough to really think about what’s going on. Two hands settle beside her head, and soft hair tickles her cheek. 

 

“Lady Lei,” a voice whispers, and Lei Yirui’s eyes crack open. Slowly, she turns her head, and finds herself looking up at Jia Zhenzhen looking at her with a blank expression. 

 

“Wh—! holy shit!” She yelps, somehow with the forethought to do so somewhat quietly, scrambling backwards out from beneath Jia Zhenzhen, pulling her legs close to her body as she stares at the girl with wide eyes. She’s startled, and her heart is pounding in her chest like she just ran a marathon, and she tries to calm herself down. It’s not a killer, Lei Yirui!! Just Jia Zhenzhen!!

 

Er… why is it Jia Zhenzhen?

 

“What are you doing here?” she asks, lowering her own voice to a whisper. Jia Zhenzhen looks perplexed for a moment, though Lei Yirui can’t imagine why, before she moves to sit on her legs with her hands folded in her lap like she’s just sat down to eat dinner. She stares at Lei Yirui’s bare legs for a moment, as her sleeping robes have bunched up around her thighs, and when she looks back up at Lei Yirui’s face, she can’t help but bite back a laugh despite her receding panic and increasing confusion. 

 

Jia Zhenzhen looks slightly embarrassed, before her stony expression returns full force!

 

“I have something for you.” she says, and reaches into her uniform and pulls out— a dagger?? It’s shiny bronze, clearly new, with a sturdy looking handle carefully wrapped in fabric. What in the world??

 

“A weapon?” Lei Yirui asks drly, and Jia Zhenzhen nods seriously, apparently not noticing the critical tone in Lei Yirui’s voice. 

 

“Things have… come up. Even with heightened security, I hear you’ve been running around,” she says, clear disapproval in her tone. Lei Yirui narrows her eyes. You fucking hypocrite!! All you do in Limitless is run around!! “I want you to have something to protect yourself that isn’t something as useless as a censer.” 

 

Lei Yirui privately thinks that Jia Zhenzhen could fuck someone up with a censer if she tried hard enough, but doesn’t voice that concern. This kind of feels like when her mom got her pepper-spray for her 18th birthday…

 

The dagger is handed to Lei Yirui, who gingerly takes it. It’s cold and surprisingly heavy in her hands, and the glint of the blade tells her that it’s extremely sharp. When Lei Yirui rolls it over to look at it, she sees her own name inlaid into the hilt. Is this - is this a custom made dagger?? What the fuck?? That’s so cool!!

 

“It’s pretty,” she says, and Jia Zhenzhen has a look on her face like she had expected that but was still disappointed. “But I don’t know how to use a dagger. I’ll probably just hurt myself! These hands are clumsy, and my skin is very soft and delicate!” she announces severely. Jia Zhenzhen nods. 

 

“Yes. I intend to teach you.” she says. Lei Yirui’s brain can’t even process that. Teach her?? What time do you have to teach anyone anything, Jia Zhenzhen! You’re on a tight schedule of assissination!! 

 

“That’s—! No way! If you try and train me you’ll definitely hurt me! I’m really weak and spoiled, do you think I’ve so much as run anywhere in my life?? No!” she whines, and Jia Zhenzhen smiles - really smiles - and Lei Yirui’s jaw drops. It’s hardly a smile - just the slight upturn of her lips betraying her amusement, but Lei Yirui’s entire world feels like it’s spun on its axis. Since when does Jia Zhenzhen smile at dumb menial shit like that???

 

“We’re not going to spar.” She says, before backing off of the bed. She slips backwards through the curtains of the bedchamber, the soft fabrics parting around her and swaying softly shut like some sort of mystical waterfall portal. She hears the gentle hit of Jia Zhenzhen’s boots against the floors, and Lei Yirui takes the wordless cue and crawls out, stumbling onto her feet and staring at Jia Zhenzhen. 

 

“Okay. What’s your plan, then Scholar Zhenzhen?” she asks. Jia Zhenzhen has since lost her smile, but there’s something in the way her eyes squint just slightly that makes Lei Yirui feel like she found that a little funny. 

 

“This lowly guard is hardly deserving of such a title.” she says, moving around behind Lei Yirui, and guiding her towards the empty middle of the room. Hands are suddenly on her wrist, adjusting her hold on the dagger and maneuvering her arms to the right positions. Lei Yirui tries to look over her shoulder at Jia Zhenzhen. What the hell is going on???

 

“Look forward,” Jia Zhenzhen commands, and Lei Yirui listens. “If you’re defending yourself, you want to incapacitate them as soon as possible so you can get out of such a situation. You want to put strength behind your movements - your body is stronger than just your arm, so lunge with your whole body instead.” she says. When the fuck did Jia Zhenzhen start feeling so talkative?? Lei Yirui usually drives these conversations, but now she’s so baffled she can’t say anything. 

 

Still, Lei Yirui tries to move so that her body is ready to move and not so stiff. 

 

“Like this? I feel stupid.” she whines. 

 

“One always feels stupid when learning something for the first time,” Jia Zhenzhen says, and Lei Yirui coughs. What kind of inspirational bullshit is everybody on lately?? What was that? Whatever happened to Jia Zhenzhen’s simple, blunt speech! “And not quite. Lower yourself more, and twist a little more to the side. Here…” she says, and there’s suddenly a hand on Lei Yirui’s hip and readjusting her. Lei Yirui lets out a startled laugh - she thinks a guy did this to her at a club once!!

“Isn’t this a little bold for a guard?” she asks playfully, and Jia Zhenzhen totally freezes, before bounding backwards and away from Lei Yirui! When she turns to look at the other, a teasing grin playing at her lips, Jia Zhenzhen can apparently barely stand to look at her. Her face is all pink again, and she clears her throat into her fist before crossing her arms. She turns to level an assessing glare at Lei Yirui as if she isn’t so clearly embarrassed. 

 

“B…better. Try moving your left leg back more.” she says, and darts her eyes at Lei Yirui’s feet so she doesn’t have to look at her face anymore. 

 

“Whatever you say, boss!” Lei Yirui chirps.