Do I look like a psychopath?

Yan Rouxi froze. Her brain short-circuited.

Just to be sure she wasn't hallucinating, she pinched herself—hard.

"Ow!" Okay, not a dream.

So, reality check: Not only did she have a professional assassin casually sitting at her dining table, but she also had an empress. An actual empress?!!

An actual ruler of a dynasty? A living piece of history?

A woman who once held the power of life and death in the palm of her hands?

She let out a breathless laugh, almost hysterical. "Haha... my father... he wouldn't believe this in a million years... he would never believe my luck....." Her voice wavered between awe and disbelief. "An empress. A real empress is sitting at my dining table."

Xia Yuqing observed her quietly, watching her face go from shock to disbelief to a crazy level of excitement. "Are you.... alright?" she asked, hesitantly. 

"Alright?" Yan Rouxi turned off the stove with a sharp click and rushed towards her, her eyes glinting with excitement. "I am over the moon!!! An empress! At my dining table! Oh my god! I need to sit down. Deep breaths, Rouxi. Deep breaths—"

Xia Yuqing narrowed her eyes as she watched Yan Rouxi hyperventilate like a fangirl meeting her idol. Was this normal behavior?

"…Are you sure you're alright?"

Yan Rouxi nodded vigorously, then shook her head just as fast. "No. No, I am not fine. How can I be fine? An empress is sitting in front of me! How am I supposed to be fine? Do I bow? Do I kneel? Do I call you 'Your Majesty', 'Your Highness' or something? Oh god—I almost killed you last night!!"

Xia Yuqing: "...…"

"But wait!" Yan Rouxi gasped, eyes suddenly sparkling. "Since you're an empress, I must've read about you in history books! What dynasty are you from? Qin? Zhou? Tang?" She paused again. "Wait, wait, wait. I've never heard of an empress who was also an assassin… Hold on! Are you from a parallel time and space or something?!"

"…A what now?" Xia Yuqing blinked, failing to keep up with Yan Rouxi's enthusiasm. 

"You know, parallel worlds! Alternate universes! Maybe you're not from ancient times in this world but from a completely different one."

Xia Yuqing thought about it and nodded slowly. "That… actually makes sense. I was from Longyuan Kingdom, which doesn't seem to exist here, so…"

"Hah! This is simply amazing!" Yan Rouxi beamed. "Scientists have been trying to prove this theory for years, and yet—bam! The answer is right in front of me. A living proof of an alternate universe." 

Scientists?

Xia Yuqing stiffened.

She had heard about these "scientists." Some were good, but others… others were obsessed with experiments. New discoveries. They would stop at nothing to unravel mysteries, even if it meant treating a living person as an experiment.

If she fell into their hands…

Her fingers curled into tight fists beneath the table. "Are you... going to hand me over?"

Yan Rouxi froze. "What?"

"To the scientists!"

"WHAT?!" Yan Rouxi reeled back in horror, her eyes wide. "No! Are you crazy? Do you think I would sell you off like a lab rat? Do I look like a psychopath? Why would I do that to you?!"

She took a deep breath, her voice turning softer. "You're my friend! I would never do that to you. I am not crazy, I am not a monster! Please, don't say such things...." 

Xia Yuqing stared. Friend? 

She knew better than to believe in that nonsense. Life and the emperor taught her that. Even the original Xia Yuqing was stabbed in the back by someone she trusted. So, she does not need friends. Who knew when someone would turn evil and go crazy?

Trusting herself was the only way to survive.

Still… for now, she decided to put Yan Rouxi in the "good people' category.

Yan Rouxi stared at Xia Yuqing and seeing the expression on her face, she sighed. "I won't deny that there are people like that. For greed, for madness, for fame, they do such a thing... but, I am not one of them. I know you don't trust me now, but I am sure, time will tell...." 

"Also, what you were in the past doesn't matter anymore. This body is what you are....," she added but then paused again. "Wait, I almost forget to ask. What is the identity of this body? Who was she?" 

Xia Yuqing exhaled slowly. "This body's name is also Xia Yuqing. She was a reporter working for..." 

"Wait," Yan Rouxi suddenly grabbed her wrist. "You're THAT Xia Yuqing? The one who had an affair with Hu Chengyu?!"

Xia Yuqing's eye twitched. "You know about that?"

"Know about it? Everyone in the media industry knows about it! You are famous. You got blacklisted by him! No one will hire you anymore!"

Xia Yuqing's expression darkened. That bastard. Not only did he frame the original owner, but he took also her job, ruined her reputation, and then made sure she had no way to recover.

He wanted her to disappear completely.

Too bad for him—she wasn't the original Xia Yuqing. She was an assassin empress. Dealing with such a nuisance was too easy for her. If Hu Chengyu thought he could wash himself clean by throwing her into the fire, he was wrong.

He had another thing coming for him.

Meanwhile, Yan Rouxi leaned in closer, her eyes gleaming with gossip. "So... did you?" 

Xia Yuqing frowned. "Did I what?" 

"Sleep with him? I mean, the original owner? Was she guilty or framed?" 

"Framed," Xia Yuqing answered. 

"I KNEW IT!" Yan Rouxi smacked the table, her eyes narrowing with excitement and anger. "That scumbag! Framing an innocent person just to save his own reputation? Classic Hu Chengyu behavior!"

Xia Yuqing narrowed her eyes. "You sound like you know a lot about him."

"Of course! I have to! I work in the same industry."

"You're a reporter too?"

"Nah." Yan Rouxi grinned. "I am not a reporter but I do own a news company."

Xia Yuqing: "....…"

Oh great. So, it's not only her who has a great identity. She's met her match—the CEO of Gossip.