With My Ability To Swap, I Will Never End Up In A Love Triangle Mess - Chapter 36

“Ah, that familiar feeling—you creepy old pervert! Finally decided to show up?!”

It was noon the day after returning from Bai Xiao Cha’s body.

Xia Xi, now controlling Liu Yiyi’s body, rolled over in bed, shifting onto his back.

What kind of weirdo sleeps face-down? How is having your chest squashed even comfortable? No wonder her “little bears” never grew.

“Ahem. I was ambushed by villains recently. Now that I’ve regained some of my power, I came straight to you.”

Xia Xi clutched his chest dramatically, feigning anguish.

“Get your filthy hands off my— GYAAAAH!”

The moment Liu Yiyi felt the softness under her own palm, she shrieked again.

“And don’t give me that ‘ambushed’ crap! You were probably rolling around in some girl’s warm embrace, huh?!”

Since she’d kept in touch with Luo Xinyu, she knew exactly what Xia Xi had been up to. Sure, he’d helped her finish two manga volumes for free, but that didn’t ease her resentment.

I’m not bad-looking either. Am I really that much worse than Luo Xinyu? Is that rich girl really so unforgettable?

“Ahem, let’s not dwell on that.”

Xia Xi deftly changed the subject and opened the message inbox on her author dashboard.

The red notification bubble—99+—irritated him instantly.

“You never check your DMs?”

“They’re all just people begging for updates. Why waste time?”

She wasn’t wrong. Most messages were either praise or demands for new chapters, with only a handful of hate comments.

But some were inquiries about adaptation rights.

People had called before, asking to buy the rights to her works, but she’d always brushed them off.

As a novelist, she’d yet to see any adaptation—not even illustrations—capture the essence of her stories as well as Xia Xi’s manga versions. If static images couldn’t get it right, what hope did animations have?

“Hm? This one…”

Suddenly, Xia Xi spotted a familiar name in the messages.

Shinkai-sensei!

The surname was different from that legendary director’s, but paired with Your Name—now under Liu Yiyi’s pen—it was hard to believe this was a coincidence.

“Teacher, please add me on WeChat to discuss further.”

The message overflowed with praise for her work before pivoting to an earnest plea to adapt it into an animated film.

“What’s so special about this guy? There are messages from big studios too—why not pick one of them?”

Liu Yiyi didn’t get why Xia Xi had zeroed in on this “Shinkai” person.

“Because he’ll make Your Name perfect.”

“How do you know?”

“No reason~ Just the intuition of a thousand-year-old monster.”

Liu Yiyi wanted to press further but held back, afraid of annoying him. If he stopped visiting her body, she’d lose her advantage.

They added each other on WeChat immediately.

The first thing Shinkai sent was an address—somewhere in Sakura Province.

Shinkai: “Liu Yiyi-sensei, hello! I’m Shinkai, from Sakura. After reading your work, I’m desperate to adapt it into an animated film. If possible, I’d love to meet in person to discuss licensing the rights.”

No small talk, just pure confidence—as if face-to-face, he could guarantee she’d agree.

“How about tomorrow at 3 PM? xxx Café in Modu. Can you make it?”

After college, Liu Yiyi had settled in Modu, living off her writing with no plans to get a “real job.” To her, writing was the dream.

If I ever run out of money, I’ll just mooch off my sister.

Shinkai: “No problem! I’ll book my flight now!”

His excitement bled through the screen, flooding the chat with gratitude—and exclamation marks.

“Hey, hey! I don’t wanna meet some random netizen!”

Liu Yiyi protested internally.

She didn’t want to hand her “child” to strangers. Who’d willingly let their baby get disfigured?

“Trust me. He’ll elevate this work to new heights.”

She had no idea where Xia Xi’s confidence came from. Could he—on top of body-swapping—also judge character at a glance?

“Then YOU go meet him. I’m not showing up.”

“Fine. I’ll come by tomorrow noon.”

Originally, he’d planned to visit Luo Xinyu and soothe the delicate heiress. But plans change.

Next time. Next time, I’ll pick her.

Hearing Xia Xi would return tomorrow, Liu Yiyi’s mood brightened instantly.

“So why’d you come today? Don’t tell me it was just to ‘favor this neglected concubine’?”

If he’d taken over her body, he definitely had an agenda.

“How dare you!”

Xia Xi feigned indignation.

“You’re not a ‘neglected concubine’!”

Oh? So I’m the main wife? The one who can compete for favor?

“The ‘neglected’ ones are still the emperor’s consorts. You? Pfft. At best, you’re a lowly maid~”

Hearing her own voice mock her, Liu Yiyi exploded.

“SCREW YOU! You disgusting pervert! Trash! Playboy! Who’d wanna be your maid?! I wouldn’t even be your concubine! No—I wouldn’t keep you even as a DOG!”

Ah, still so easy to rile up. Never gets old.

With a smirk, Xia Xi clicked “New Work” on her writing software.

“Alright, alright. I just noticed you haven’t put out anything new in a while, so I’m here to… inspire you.”

His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing a cryptic title.

“Five Centimeters Per Second?”

What did that even mean?

Liu Yiyi couldn’t decipher it.

“Heh. Do you know how fast cherry blossoms fall?”

“…Five centimeters per second?”

So the title was just… the literal speed of falling petals? What did that have to do with the story?

“Here’s the plot…”

“As the train passed, Takaki Tono’s gaze lost sight of the girl. Just then, a cherry blossom drifted down, landing on his head—at exactly five centimeters per second…”

By the time Xia Xi finished summarizing, Liu Yiyi was already a teary mess.

Five Centimeters Per Second hit even harder than The Forest of Fireflies—a different kind of heartbreak, yet another masterpiece!