Kapitel 10: The Encrypted Friend

Suddenly, a message popped up on the encrypted chat. Feng Ruoxi stared at it apprehensively, her heart rate picking up. She hesitated whether to open it or not. But after contemplating for a few tense minutes, her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the chat. It was her online friend, someone she had never met in person but had grown to trust over their years of anonymous communication. This person had helped her with invaluable intel so many times, intel that had saved her life on dangerous spy missions.

The person's username Hawkeye007 popped up and Feng Ruoxi felt a wave of relief wash over her as she read the message: "Butterfly, is that you? God, you had me really worried when I couldn't get ahold of you for the past two days."

Feng Ruoxi's fingers trembled slightly as she replied, the gravity of her situation weighing on her, "Hey, well it's complicated."

Hawkeye007 responded with evident concern, "Are you okay?"

Feng Ruoxi took a deep, steadying breath before typing the words that still seemed unbelievable even to her, "I am dead."

Hawkeye007 sent back a string of laughing emojis, clearly thinking she was joking. "Dead yet talking to me?"

But Feng Ruoxi's expression remained solemn. "Well I can't explain it."

Hawkeye007 seemed to sense her serious tone and said inquisitively, "Try me?"

Feng Ruoxi's brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of it herself. "Well I got shot, died, then transmigrated."

There was a long, palpable pause in their chat as Hawkeye007 processed that unbelievable statement. Finally they typed with equal parts confusion and skepticism, "Transmigration, is that even a real thing?"

Feng Ruoxi sighed, raking a hand through her hair in frustration. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."

Hawkeye007's response was tinged with curiosity, "Well if you have transmigrated that will mean you are in another person's body."

"Correct," Feng Ruoxi affirmed, her heart fluttering at the sheer improbability of her situation.

Then another weighted pause from Hawkeye007 before they asked with uncertainty, "Are you still...you know in that job of yours?"

Feng Ruoxi shook her head, feeling almost giddy as she typed, "No, I am now an 18-year-old high school student."

There was another obvious pause as Hawkeye007 absorbed that shocking revelation. Then they typed with a mix of bewilderment and excitement, "Then...then can we finally meet? I have known you for so many years but I still don't know your face, now you have even changed faces."

A small smile tugged at Feng Ruoxi's lips at the prospect of finally unveiling herself to this mysterious friend. "In due time, old friend."

Hawkeye007's reply was warm and reassuring, "If you need anything, please let me know okay?"

Feng Ruoxi nodded to herself, profoundly grateful for this person's understanding so far. Then she remembered something with a start, her eyes going wide. She was still in school and had important monthly exams tomorrow! Scrambling, she typed hurriedly, "Can you find me past exam papers? I have monthly exams tomorrow."

Hawkeye007 replied incredulously, "Wait, were you serious? Are you really a high school girl?"

"Yes," Feng Ruoxi stated simply, somehow feeling lighter now that she had shared her unbelievable truth.

"Okay, I will upload them here, though it would have been easier if I had your WeChat," Hawkeye007 said with a winking emoji, their teasing tone putting Feng Ruoxi at ease.

She paused, carefully considering the implications of what she was about to do. This person was still essentially a stranger, and yet she trusted them implicitly after their years of rapport. And now she was a new person after all, no longer bound by the intense secrecy that her spy life had demanded. Making up her mind, she felt a sense of liberation as she took her phone and checked WeChat, finding she only had one contact listed which was her supposed friend Xia Xingxing from school. She swiftly changed her username to Butterfly and sent the WeChat link to Hawkeye007.

After a few tense seconds, she received a request and quickly accepted it. A smile crept across her face as they began chatting directly on WeChat, Hawkeye007's familiar username popping up with the message, "Thanks, will send everything here. Nail that test, okay?"

They said their goodbyes and Feng Ruoxi felt a warm glow of gratitude and optimism. Maybe this fresh start held some pleasant surprises in store. Feeling drowsy from the rollercoaster of emotions, she decided to go back to bed and get some rest, opting for an afternoon nap. She would just wake up when it was dinner time. As she snuggled into her pillow, she was overwhelmed by a sense of possibility and intrigue about what lay ahead.

Feng Ruoxi tossed and turned, her peaceful afternoon nap plagued by unsettling dreams. Just as she was starting to drift into a deeper sleep, a loud pounding at her door startled her awake. She jolted upright, instantly on alert.

"Wake up you lazy girl! You still have your punishment!" A shrill voice screeched from the other side of the door.

Feng Ruoxi's face contorted in disgust as she recognized the voice of her new stepmother, Qiao Yingyao. God, she hated this life she had been thrust into. The luxurious villa she now called home was full of vile people like Qiao Yingyao. Feng Ruoxi had to work so hard to hold her temper in check around them.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Feng Ruoxi stood up and marched over to the door, flinging it open with cold, narrowed eyes that startled Qiao Yingyao.

"What do you want?" Feng Ruoxi demanded flatly.

Qiao Yingyao quickly regained her composure, raising her chin haughtily. "Listen here, if you can just drop that marriage alliance from Master Jiang Yukan and allow one of your cousins to be your substitute, I will forget how you caused my miscarriage."

Feng Ruoxi snorted derisively, obviously irritated by the absurd request and accusation. "Miscarriage? We both know I didn't push you down those stairs."

Qiao Yingyao smirked viciously, leaning in closer with a threatening look in her eyes. "But who will believe you? There is no CCTV footage, no witnesses, nothing. It was only you and I there and we both know your father listens to me more. So if I say you pushed me down the stairs, causing my miscarriage, that means you did it."

Feng Ruoxi didn't even flinch, staring back at her stepmother with an eerie calm. "Oh is that so? Now we haven't even established if you were really pregnant in the first place, or if it was just your way of tricking my foolish father."

Qiao Yingyao paused, taken aback by the accusation as she took a few steps back. "What are you implying, young girl?"

A cold smirk played across Feng Ruoxi's lips as she crossed her arms. "Whatever you want me to imply. Now get out of my face and let me have my nap before I investigate that sham pregnancy you claim I caused you to lose. You wouldn't want that now, would you...stepmother?"

She punctuated the last word with biting disdain before slamming the door closed on Qiao Yingyao's ashen face. Feng Ruoxi stood there for a moment, hands balled into fists as she fought to regain control of her breathing and beating heart.

This new life made her feel off-balance and vulnerable in ways her former life as a spy had not prepared her for. Taking a few calming breaths, she returned to her bed and laid back down, determined not to let that vile woman ruin what little reprieve she could find in rest. She would deal with the messy family politics later. For now, Feng Ruoxi closed her eyes and willed herself into a semblance of tranquility, at least on the surface.

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