Zhong Ruanxing was jolted awake by the sound of a ringing phone.
Still half-asleep, she reached out for the phone with her eyes closed and instinctively swiped to answer. She had just let out a drowsy "Hello?" when something felt... wrong.
Why was her voice so deep?
Like a man's?!
Her eyes flew open. She raised her hand—and her slender wrist was gone. In its place was a strong, masculine arm, with defined joints and a pricey men's wristwatch gleaming on it.
This wasn't her body.
Zhong Ruanxing snapped awake instantly.
She jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. In the mirror, a man stared back at her—dressed in a button-up shirt and slacks. His sleeves were slightly rolled up, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a lean, toned figure beneath. His tie was hanging loosely around his neck, giving him a relaxed but aristocratic air.
Zhong Ruanxing's eyes widened.
The man in the mirror responded with an equally stunned—and comically mismatched—expression that clashed with his CEO-like aura.
"Holy crap!"
Zhong Ruanxing blurted out, "I'm so handsome!"
That reminded her of a post she'd seen online:
"If one day you woke up as a man, what's the first thing you'd do?"
The top-liked reply: "Give it a rub."
Her gaze couldn't help drifting downward—but she quickly shook off the pervy thought.
Just then, the phone lying on the bed rang again.
She rushed over and picked it up. The caller ID showed a number that looked very familiar.
Wasn't this… her own number?
Could it be...
Taking a deep breath, Zhong Ruanxing answered the call again and cautiously said, "Hello?"
Her own voice came from the other end:
"Have you calmed down now?"
Zhong Ruanxing: "Ah…"
Song Jinxing said, "Check your left wrist. See if there's a mole."
Zhong Ruanxing raised her left hand. Sure enough, in the middle of the clearly defined veins of that masculine wrist, there was a small mole—one that somehow made the contours of the joint look even more attractive.
She answered, "Yes, there is."
The voice on the other end—using her voice—calmly replied, "I think we've swapped bodies. My name is Song Jinxing. I'm the owner of the body you're in now. You're Zhong Ruanxing, right?"
Even though she had already suspected as much, hearing it confirmed made Zhong Ruanxing suck in a sharp breath. "I am… But how did this happen? Is this even scientifically possible?"
Song Jinxing said, "We can figure out the science later. Two things. First, use the phone in your hand to call Fu Ling. Have him pick me up at the parking lot in Area B of Huayun Hot Spring Hotel, then take me to the villa on Binhai Road. Second, you're about to attend a family dinner. The two oldest people there are my grandparents. Don't give yourself away—just find an excuse to leave early. We'll meet at the villa."
Zhong Ruanxing hesitated. "But I don't know anyone. What if I say the wrong thing or call someone the wrong name?"
Song Jinxing replied, "You don't have to say anything. I usually don't talk much, and I barely interact with them. No matter what they ask, just stay quiet."
Zhong Ruanxing: "…Fine."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, followed by a respectful voice:
"Third Young Master, the dinner is about to begin. The Madam asked me to fetch you."
Zhong Ruanxing cleared her throat and replied in a deep voice, "Got it."
Then, lowering her voice again toward the phone, she added, "Alright, I'm off then."
Song Jinxing responded with a curt, "Mm."
Hearing her own voice sounding so aloof and cold made Zhong Ruanxing feel a little weird.
After ending the call, she followed Song Jinxing's instructions. She opened the contacts list, found Fu Ling, and called him.
The call was answered instantly—it must have been his assistant.
"Boss," came the voice on the other end.
Zhong Ruanxing said, "Go to Huayun Hot Spring Hotel and pick someone up. Take her to the villa on Binhai Road."
She paused, then added, "She'll be waiting for you in the Area B parking lot. I'll send you her photo."
Fu Ling replied, "Understood, Boss."
After hanging up, Zhong Ruanxing opened a search app, looked up a photo of herself, took a screenshot, and sent it to Fu Ling.
Then, on a second thought, she typed in the name "Song Jinxing" in the search bar.
Relevant links quickly appeared.
How could Zhong Ruanxing not know the Song Corporation?
It was one of the top elite conglomerates in the capital. Old Master Song had founded the Song family enterprise decades ago with real estate, and over the years, the company had expanded into construction, e-commerce, software, and renewable energy. Today, the Song Group was one of the most powerful business empires in the country.
According to the search results, the young Song Jinxing—eldest son of the third branch of the Song family—was a graduate of an Ivy League university. He had returned to the country just six months ago, and despite opposition, Old Master Song had directly appointed him CEO.
Barring any surprises, he was next in line to inherit the entire Song empire.
Zhong Ruanxing stared at a candid profile photo of him on a biography page, deep in thought.
So now she had to sit down for dinner with the entire Song family… and the future head of the top elite household in the capital?
Help.
She had never been in such a high-stakes social setting before! She was just a third-rate celebrity—the biggest tycoon she'd ever dined with didn't even come close to being qualified to shine the shoes of someone from the Song family!
Stay calm. Don't panic. Breathe.
Drawing on her years of gossip-reading instincts, Zhong Ruanxing quickly skimmed through every entry she could find on Song family members.
Song Deming, the patriarch, was 80 years old. Though officially retired, he was still the true power behind the Song Group.
Madam Song—Zhu Mingqiao—was once the esteemed daughter of the Zhu family, a renowned jewelry dynasty in the capital. The marriage between the Zhu and Song families had been the talk of the town back in the day and was still often mentioned even now.
Back then, it was considered that Zhu Mingqiao had married beneath her status. But in the end, the Song family's rise surpassed even the Zhu family's, and people came to praise the Zhu family's foresight in choosing a worthy match.
Old Master Song and Madam Song had four children in total—three sons and one daughter. Song Jinxing was the eldest son of the third son in the family.
Zhong Ruanxing figured that as long as she could recognize Song Jinxing's parents, she'd be able to manage the dinner—she could deal with the rest later.
But as she dug deeper, she found nothing.
No matter how she searched, there was barely any available information about Song Jinxing's parents. Eventually, she stumbled upon a few news articles from over ten years ago. They briefly mentioned that Song Zhiyuan, the third son of the Song family, and his wife had both died in an accident.
It was said that Song Deming, devastated by the sudden loss of his beloved son, had turned completely white-haired overnight. But beyond that, the details were completely omitted—no mention of how, when, or why.
Over ten years ago… That would've made Song Jinxing not even ten years old at the time.
No wonder he said he had no interaction with the Song family. According to the records, he was sent abroad for school starting from middle school. For more than a decade, he'd been living alone in a foreign country.
Zhong Ruanxing, who had grown up showered in the love and affection of her parents, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy in her heart.
But then she snapped out of it.
What am I doing feeling sorry for some rich CEO who has nothing but money?
Pathetic!
She quickly stuffed away her cheap pity and went back to cramming her research.
Eldest Uncle:Song Xinwen
Second Uncle:Song Jingwu
Youngest Aunt:Song Rusi
These three held major roles within the Song Group—any one of their titles alone was a symbol of immense power and capital.
Each of them had children of their own. In fact, Song Xinwen's son already had a child himself, making it a four-generation household. The Song family—over a dozen members in total—was tightly knit and deeply rooted.
Among all of them, the only one Zhong Ruanxing actually recognized was Song Lecheng, the son of Song Jingwu, her second uncle in this body.
A few years ago, Song Lecheng had co-founded a company called Huaguang Media Entertainment, which exclusively signed female artists. Zhong Ruanxing had even received a recruitment offer from one of Huaguang's talent agents. At the time, she had been quite excited and had gone to the audition herself.
The whole process had been dramatic, and the ending, downright tragic.
In short, Zhong Ruanxing had ended up blacklisted by Huaguang Media. Since then, any drama project backed by Huaguang had explicitly rejected her participation.
Just thinking about it made her want to cry.
There were over a dozen members in the Song family—no way she could memorize them all at once. So Zhong Ruanxing decided to just focus on a few key people, then tucked the phone away.
She turned to the mirror, adjusted the collar of her shirt, and slipped on the suit jacket hanging nearby.
Reflected in the mirror was a man with broad shoulders and a slim waist. Good-looking people had a way of making a suit look especially alluring. Zhong Ruanxing couldn't help but raise her brow and tilt her lips into a classic CEO smirk.
A perfect mix of 33% mockery, 33% cold indifference, and 34% effortless arrogance.
...Only to immediately feel grossed out by how greasy she looked.