After Swapping Bodies, the Princess and I Became Each Other’s Cheat Code - Chapter 5

Here, the blinding white light pierced through Chu Yue’s eyelids, sending a wave of intense dizziness crashing over her. Her head felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, ringing incessantly. The persistent beeping of machines and the acrid smell of disinfectant filled her senses, instantly making her realize this was no place she recognized.

“Tiantian! You’re finally awake!” A tearful, unfamiliar female voice suddenly shattered the oppressive silence.

Chu Yue’s eyes snapped open, revealing a completely foreign room. The snow-white walls, devoid of any decoration, seemed stark and monotonous.

“Who are you? Where am I?” Chu Yue instinctively tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through her forehead with the slightest movement. She reached up to touch it, her fingers brushing against a rough bandage tightly covering the wound.

The woman with the ponytail stared wide-eyed, her eyes filled with terror and disbelief. “Tiantian, don’t scare me like that! I’m Lecheng! Zhou Lecheng! Your best friend!”

Chu Yue looked around in bewilderment. Everything in the room was beyond her comprehension. A glowing rectangular box hung on the wall, its surface flickering with strange numbers that seemed to speak in a mysterious language. Beside the bed stood a metal stand, supporting a peculiar transparent bottle that emitted soft ticking sounds as liquid flowed through its tubes. Through the window, she saw towering buildings that pierced the clouds, layer upon layer, densely packed together—a stark contrast to the Great Chu Imperial Palace.

“I… This Princess…” Chu Yue began, instinctively using her royal title. But the words caught in her throat as she realized her mistake, forcing herself to change course. “Who am I?”

Zhou Lecheng’s face drained of color, her eyes swirling with terror and concern. She frantically reached for the red button beside the bed, her voice trembling as she nearly screamed, “Doctor! Doctor! My friend seems to have lost her memory!”

Within moments, a middle-aged man in a white coat strode into the room, holding a strange metallic device. His expression was both concerned and professionally calm.

“Miss Jiang Tian, can you tell me your name?” The doctor gently pressed the cold metal object against Chu Yue’s chest, causing her to flinch involuntarily.

“I don’t remember,” Chu Yue murmured, her memory still stuck at the moment she fell into the water yesterday. She couldn’t understand how she had woken up in this strange place.

“It seems she’s experiencing temporary amnesia,” the doctor said, putting away his stethoscope and flipping open the clipboard in his hand. He carefully reviewed the records. “Retrograde amnesia caused by concussion is quite common. It usually recovers gradually over a few weeks to a few months.”

Zhou Lecheng wrung her hands anxiously, tears welling up in her eyes again. “When will she remember? She doesn’t even recognize me!”

“Her memory will gradually return. Don’t put too much pressure on her,” the doctor reassured her. He gently examined the wound on Chu Yue’s head with meticulous care. “All her other vital signs are normal. If she remains stable for three days, she can be discharged.”

After the doctor left, Zhou Lecheng plopped down on the edge of the bed, clutching Chu Yue’s hand as if she could grasp their shared memories. “Tiantian, you really don’t remember anything? Not even Ye Shuyu, that scumbag?”

“Ye… Shuyu?” Chu Yue’s face was a mask of confusion. The name was utterly foreign to her.

“He’s the white moonlight you secretly pined for for eight years!” Zhou Lecheng exclaimed indignantly, her voice rising with emotion and her words tumbling out in a rush. “During the three days you were unconscious, he only visited you once, standing here for less than half an hour before leaving. Remember last year when he had surgery and was hospitalized? You brought him meals every day and took care of him for an entire month! Why would you like such a scumbag?”

Chu Yue listened, utterly bewildered. Her mind was a blank slate, filled only with confusion and bewilderment. Yet she vaguely sensed that she had somehow taken over another woman’s body and identity. She slowly lowered her gaze to her hands. These hands were noticeably rougher than the delicate hands she had possessed as a princess. The nails were trimmed short and painted a pale pink.

Chu Yue took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and accept this bizarre reality. Since things had come to this, she needed to understand the situation as quickly as possible. “I… my head hurts terribly, and I can’t remember much. Can you tell me what happened?”

“You were in a car accident…” Zhou Lecheng said, shuddering as if reliving the terrifying scene. “Thankfully, a kind person called an ambulance for you. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”

Chu Yue heard many unfamiliar terms: car accident, ambulance. These were things she had never encountered before. Though she didn’t understand what Zhou Lecheng was saying, just imagining the perilous scene sent shivers down her spine. This world sounded far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

“Then… what about my family?” Chu Yue asked cautiously, her longing for her loved ones surging like a tidal wave.

“Your parents are back in our hometown. Your mother’s health isn’t good, so I didn’t dare tell them about the accident,” Zhou Lecheng sighed.

Just then, the hospital room door creaked open. A tall man and a young woman appeared in the doorway. The man held a bouquet of vibrant flowers, their vivid colors clashing sharply with the sterile, icy atmosphere of the room.

“Ye Shuyu?” Zhou Lecheng immediately stood up, her voice sharp and her eyes blazing with anger and resentment. “What are you and your girlfriend doing here?”

The man stood awkwardly in the doorway, his handsome face tinged with guilt. His eyes darted around, avoiding Zhou Lecheng’s gaze. “I came to see Tiantian… Tiantian, how are you feeling?”

Liu Shishi, who had been trailing behind Ye Shuyu, chimed in with a seemingly concerned smile. “Tiantian-jie, Shuyu is very worried about you.” Yet her tone carried a subtle undercurrent of smug satisfaction.

Chu Yue scrutinized the man called Ye Shuyu. He was dressed in a tailored dark suit, his hair meticulously combed and slicked back. A glittering accessory adorned his wrist, and his entire demeanor exuded the air of someone accustomed to privilege, his every gesture radiating the arrogance of a wealthy heir.

Seeing Chu Yue staring at him without a word, Ye Shuyu grew even more flustered. His hands unconsciously tightened around the bouquet, his knuckles turning white. “Tiantian, I know you’re angry with me. I was wrong to say those things to you last time…”

“I’m sorry,” Chu Yue said cautiously, her voice soft yet distant. “The doctor said I’ve temporarily lost my memory. Who are you…?”

Ye Shuyu’s face paled instantly, shock and disbelief flashing in his eyes. “You don’t remember me?”

Zhou Lecheng scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “She doesn’t even remember me. How could she possibly remember you?”

The bouquet of flowers in Ye Shuyu’s hand trembled slightly, mirroring his own panicked heart. “Tiantian, I’m really worried about you…”

“Enough!” Zhou Lecheng interrupted him angrily, her voice rising with emotion. “Tiantian just woke up and needs to rest. Please leave.”

Liu Shishi maintained her seemingly innocent expression, her voice dripping with faux concern. “Tiantian-jie, I know you like Shuyu, but you can’t force feelings. Shuyu likes me. If you really insist on this, I can step aside…”

Chu Yue was utterly bewildered, finding the entire scene chaotic and absurd. Ye Shuyu hesitated, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he merely placed the bouquet on the bedside table, his voice low and resigned. “I’ll come back another day.” With that, he turned and hurried away, pulling Liu Shishi along.

Chu Yue remained in a daze throughout the entire exchange, but she keenly picked up on a crucial piece of information: this woman named Jiang Tian seemed to share a complex and entangled romantic history with the man who had just left.

“Don’t pay him any mind,” Zhou Lecheng said, curling her lip in disdain. “He’s just a fickle jerk.”