SWNOVELXO Chapter 38 - Lin Tian Sees Jiang Yifeng—Like Running Into a Ghost in Broad Daylight!
Chapter 38: Lin Tian Sees Jiang Yifeng—Like Running Into a Ghost in Broad Daylight!
It wasn’t unreasonable for Lin Tian to be shocked!
The main issue was that, according to his calculations, Jiang Yifeng shouldn’t be appearing here at this time…
The sandalwood incense box—this particular opportunity—wasn’t supposed to fall into Jiang Yifeng’s hands until at least a few months later in the original story. Before that, the novel had never once mentioned Jiang Yifeng showing up at the Bali Antique Market.
At worst, Lin Tian thought he might run into Jiang Yifeng here—but he never expected to turn his head and spot him right away.
This was basically like running into a ghost in the middle of the night!
Cursing in his heart, Lin Tian instinctively prepared to slip away, but then paused—if he left now, wouldn’t it look a little too deliberate?
Plus, there was still that gorgeous woman he had just spoken to standing nearby…
When Lin Tian saw Jiang Yifeng walking alongside that woman, her identity clicked in an instant.
Xuan Yuan Qingya!
She was the mysterious woman who played a huge role in helping Jiang Yifeng—the third female lead.
In the original novel, she was described as proud and regal, exuding the aura of a strong, elegant woman—a queen in every sense of the word. Even among Jiang Yifeng’s harem, she held a particularly unique position.
[So I was right. This woman really is connected to Jiang Yifeng… Damn, but what are they doing here? Jiang Yifeng shouldn’t know me, but Xuan Yuan Qingya… that’s a different story. We just talked. What if she remembers me?]
[Then again, with her personality, she probably wouldn’t be interested in saying hello anyway, right? This is rough… Alright, the plan is to buy the incense box the moment they look away, then get the hell out of here! Seriously, what kind of rotten luck is this? Why the hell is Jiang Yifeng showing up now of all times?!]
On the surface, Lin Tian remained composed, standing still as if he were just enjoying the view.
But inside, Lin Tian was anything but calm.
Even back at the Zhao family’s banquet, he had never been this close to Jiang Yifeng…
That guy was the so-called Child of Destiny. Just seeing him made Lin Tian instinctively recoil—not because he was timid or cowardly, but because in the original story, he, the minor villain, had died at Jiang Yifeng’s hands.
Even though Lin Tian now knew the plot and had already shifted the trajectory of his fate, suddenly coming face-to-face with Jiang Yifeng still made him a little tense.
What he didn’t know, however, was that every one of those inner thoughts had been heard loud and clear by Xuan Yuan Qingya.
…
As she and Jiang Yifeng walked along, they spotted the hanging sign of the Xue family’s antique shop—and at the same time, saw Lin Tian standing there.
In that moment, Lin Tian’s stunned expression, followed by his feigned calm, were all caught in Xuan Yuan Qingya’s eyes.
Seeing this man—clearly uneasy yet forcing himself to stay put instead of turning and fleeing—Xuan Yuan Qingya’s curiosity had reached its peak.
He actually knows my name?
What does he mean, Jiang Yifeng shouldn’t be here?
He seems to know quite a lot… how intriguing…
As she walked forward, her mind turned over thought after thought. On the surface, however, she showed no sign of recognizing Lin Tian. Without even glancing in his direction, she headed straight for the front of the Xue family’s antique shop.
From the moment she had first heard Lin Tian’s inner voice, even she hadn’t realized—she had subconsciously started to hide that fact.
But that was only natural. After all, if you could hear someone else’s thoughts, you’d want to stay hidden and listen a little longer. That kind of covert eavesdropping came with its own strange thrill.
No one could resist that kind of temptation.
And given her disinterest in Jiang Yifeng, coupled with her favorable first impression of Lin Tian, even when Xuan Yuan Qingya heard the parts of Lin Tian’s inner thoughts involving Jiang Yifeng, she had no intention of telling Jiang Yifeng any of it.
In fact, during all of this, Xuan Yuan Qingya had subconsciously begun to protect Lin Tian—keeping him from being noticed by Jiang Yifeng.
Fortunately, Jiang Yifeng’s full attention was wrapped around Xuan Yuan Qingya. As long as she didn’t walk up to Lin Tian and greet him outright, there was no way Jiang Yifeng would spare even a glance at some random passerby.
…
Seeing that neither Xuan Yuan Qingya nor Jiang Yifeng was coming his way, Lin Tian let out a subtle breath of relief.
Still, a heaviness pressed down on his chest.
Jiang Yifeng showing up here… there was no way it was just a coincidence.
Or at least—not a simple one.
In a sense, Jiang Yifeng showing up at the Bali Antique Market was highly likely related to him!
Lin Tian carefully recalled everything that had happened since he transmigrated…
He tried to resign from Shang Chan but failed. Then she brought him to the Zhao family, and somehow, he ended up exposing the scheme between Ice Eye Group and Jiang Yifeng, unmasking Jiang Yifeng’s true face right in the middle of the banquet…
After that, Jiang Yifeng was taken away by a group of men in black.
That group, obviously, was the Star Unit established by Xuan Yuan Qingya’s mother, Xuan Yuan Xing.
In just under two days, the storyline had already shifted dramatically—but when he thought it through carefully, Lin Tian realized that none of it had really fallen outside his field of influence.
Sure, it was partly because the early plot of the original novel revolved around the Zhao Family, Xinghai, Ice Eye, and Jiang Yifeng—but now that he looked back on it, a new idea took root in Lin Tian’s mind.
Could it be… that he himself was one of the reasons all this had changed?
It had never strayed from his line of sight—could that mean, wherever he went, the plot would inevitably be affected?
From Shang Chan to Zhao Mengmeng, and then to Jiang Yifeng and Xuan Yuan Qingya…
Lin Tian felt as if some unknown force in the shadows was deliberately steering events toward him.
If his guess was right, that force was likely the “gravitational pull” between the villain’s halo and the protagonist’s halo…
…
With that realization, Lin Tian’s urge to resolve the issue of his villain halo grew even stronger. Staring at the scrawny old man still slowly setting up his stall ahead, Lin Tian almost wanted to rush over and help him lay it out himself…
Old man, can you move a little faster? Come on already!
As anxiety crept up, Lin Tian suddenly heard Xuan Yuan Qingya’s signature icy-yet-elegant voice from not far behind him.
“Xue Xue’s birthday is coming up too… Ah, I should’ve picked out a gift for her while I was here.”
Immediately, Jiang Yifeng beside her chimed in with enthusiasm.
“Qingya, it’s alright. Even though this is an antique market, I’m sure there are plenty of other shops around. Why don’t we take a look around?”
Xuan Yuan Qingya didn’t respond right away. Instead, she pretended to be glancing toward the entrance of the Xue Antique Shop.
In truth, she was listening—waiting for Lin Tian’s inner voice.
Just like Zhao Mengmeng before her, Xuan Yuan Qingya was also a woman with razor-sharp intuition and an exceptionally clear mind.
After realizing she could hear Lin Tian’s thoughts, her first instinct was to consider how she could guide him into revealing more about himself.
But since they didn’t even know each other yet, there wasn’t much she could do directly. So, she figured she might as well make a few casual remarks and see if they triggered any kind of internal response from him.
She was absolutely certain Lin Tian’s attention was fixed on them right now.
Sure enough, in the next moment, she heard Lin Tian’s voice in her ears.
【Xue Xue? Isn’t that Xuan Yuan Qingya’s best friend? Wait a second… Xue Antique Shop… It’s actually owned by Xue Xue?! I knew it—there’s no way a store that was explicitly named in the original novel would be some insignificant hole-in-the-wall.】
Hearing Xuan Yuan Qingya mention the name, Lin Tian instantly recalled the description from the original storyline.
Xue Xue—Xuan Yuan Qingya’s bestie, and later on, also one of Jiang Yifeng’s harem members!
And don’t even think it’s just a coincidence. Xuan Yuan Qingya’s best friend? You think she’d be some average nobody?
Xue Xue’s personality was the complete opposite of Xuan Yuan Qingya’s. If Qingya was the queen above the heavens, a celestial untouched by mortal dust, proud beyond compare, then Xue Xue was the gentle, virtuous wife-type you could hardly find in this world…
According to the original novel, Xue Xue had the softest, sweetest nature—but she was born with an “Ice-Pure Heart.” Once stained by blood, it could never be cleansed. Because of this, she would only ever love one man in her lifetime.
Yeah, it’s kind of a melodramatic setup, but it did make one thing clear: once she fell for Jiang Yifeng, her heart would never waver again.
Others like Shang Chan, Bai Bing’er, Zhao Mengmeng, and Xuan Yuan Qingya all supported Jiang Yifeng in various significant ways, but Xue Xue didn’t.
Aside from her sincere heart and near-perfect looks, she had nothing else to offer Jiang Yifeng. So in the later parts of the story, she basically ended up as a quiet little maid by his side.
But when it came to emotional closeness, even Xuan Yuan Qingya—who had practically paved the road for Jiang Yifeng’s rise to power—couldn’t compare to Xue Xue, who stayed by his side day and night, never once parting from him…
At first, Lin Tian naturally had no idea that Xue Antique Shop was actually owned by Xue Xue—after all, the events at Bali Street weren’t supposed to happen until several months later!
Even in the original story, Jiang Yifeng never stepped into the antique shop during that arc…
Now that he’d pieced it all together, Lin Tian could only sigh to himself: even for a basic wish-fulfillment novel, the foreshadowing in this story was surprisingly well planted!
…….
And upon realizing that the Xue Antique Shop was actually run by Xue Xue, Lin Tian couldn’t help but start pondering again.
【Xue Xue is one of Jiang Yifeng’s harem girls too, huh… Xuan Yuan Qingya bringing him here at this point in time might trigger another major shift in the storyline… Tch, Jiang Yifeng needs twenty stunning women to fully unlock his Heavenly Sacred Body. Though he’s been thwarted by Shang Chan, Bai Bing’er, and Zhao Mengmeng so far, if he manages to get Xuan Yuan Qingya and Xue Xue on his side, things might really start snowballing for him!】
【Each level of the Sacred Body unlocked probably grants some kind of supernatural power… Damn it, he really is the chosen one!】
Not far away, hearing Lin Tian’s inner thoughts, Xuan Yuan Qingya was completely stunned!
Harem?
Xue Xue is also part of Jiang Yifeng’s harem?
Also??
Twenty peerlessly beautiful women??
Lin Tian’s few stray thoughts had revealed far too much. In that instant, even someone as sharp and composed as Xuan Yuan Qingya couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.
A moment later, she came back to herself, and her eyes instantly turned icy cold.
What happened at the Zhao family banquet had already made her view Jiang Yifeng with disgust—resorting to such underhanded methods to deal with the Zhao family, and then acting like a sore loser when it failed. That alone had left a sour impression of him.
But now, hearing Lin Tian’s inner monologue, she immediately connected the dots…
Was Jiang Yifeng targeting the Zhao family just for their wealth and influence?
Maybe that was part of it—but the real objective? Most likely Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng, those two sisters.
And based on what Lin Tian had said in his thoughts, she herself, along with Xue Xue, were also part of Jiang Yifeng’s plan?
Them… along with eighteen other women…?
Thinking of this, Xuan Yuan Qingya felt her stomach churn, an overwhelming wave of nausea washing over her.
In the original story, even though she had ultimately submitted to Jiang Yifeng, she had always remained emotionally distant from the rest of his harem. You could say that while she had fallen for him and couldn’t let go, she continued to help him in silence, unwilling to be associated with the other women in his life.
Now, with her opinion of Jiang Yifeng already quite poor—and after hearing Lin Tian’s “spoilers” in his inner voice—how could she possibly tolerate this?
This was a woman whose pride was sky-high.
She was like a rare, pure-colored aurora that graced the clouds only once in a century. If she never met someone truly worthy, she would likely remain alone for the rest of her life.
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The idea of sharing someone with other women? It shattered her bottom line a thousand times over. Even just imagining it made her feel utterly repulsed.
Looking at the handsome man beside her, wearing that eager, attentive expression, Xuan Yuan Qingya suddenly felt goosebumps rise across her skin.
She drew in a deep breath and said coldly, “Forget it. I’ll go by myself… I think choosing a gift for my best friend is something you really don’t need to be a part of.”