7

Cen Lingqiu was abruptly awakened from her sleep by a mild electric shock. The system's anxious voice echoed in her mind.

[The female lead's self-destructive tendency has risen to 95%. She is in life-threatening danger. Please take immediate action, Host!]

She opened her eyes, groggily gathering her thoughts before fully waking up.

Yu Mingjiao!

Without wasting any time, she rushed to the next room, still in her pajamas.

"Click—"

She turned on the light.

Her pupils contracted instantly at the sight before her—something that would be etched in her memory for a long time.

Yu Mingjiao's pale and emaciated wrist hung limply off the side of the bed, with blood continuously flowing onto the floor, quickly forming a large pool.

The glaring red stream snaked towards Cen Lingqiu's feet.

Her face was as white as death, her eyelids tightly shut, lying motionless in the blood. The scene was terrifying, yet it possessed a strange and decadent beauty.

Cen Lingqiu covered her mouth, as the bloody scene stirred up some deeply buried memories, nausea almost overcoming her. But this was no time for hesitation. She forced down the urge to vomit, her hands trembling as she tore off some gauze to bind the deep wound. Then, without stopping, she carried Yu Mingjiao to the car.

Luckily, the rain had stopped, making driving less difficult.

Cen Lingqiu drove to the nearest hospital at the fastest speed possible, and by the time she had Yu Mingjiao admitted to the emergency room, it was already midnight.

She sat outside the emergency room, trying to calm the tremors that the recent scene had caused her.

Cen Lingqiu loathed the color red, loathed blood.

The sight of Yu Mingjiao lying in a pool of blood brought back memories of a cold winter when she was eighteen.

On the day of her eighteenth Spring Festival, she had been burning with a high fever when she accidentally broke a dish while washing it. Her grandmother, thinking it was unlucky, was very displeased and locked her in the storeroom.

The storeroom window was left open, and it was snowing outside. Shivering with fever, Cen Lingqiu felt cold and tried to close the window.

The window was high up, and she couldn't reach it, so she stood on a stool. Unfortunately, her fever had left her too dizzy, and she lost her balance, falling to the ground. Instinctively, she reached out to grab something, but accidentally knocked over a pile of bamboo and wood stored in the room.

Her grandfather, a carpenter, often worked in the storeroom, which was cluttered with various tools and materials. Being a careless old man, he would leave his tools lying around on the wood when he was done working.

The bamboo and wood fell on her waist and legs with a clatter, and she felt something sharp pierce her side. It must have been one of her grandfather's tools.

She had no strength left, panic overwhelming her, but she was too weak to call for help. She could only watch as her body grew colder and colder.

Before she lost consciousness, all she saw was a large patch of blood seeping from her side.

Flowing, with a strong smell of iron, red.

The damp room was filled with red.

Outside, the snow was pristine and white.

Cen Lingqiu died in that storeroom, with no one knowing that the next day was her eighteenth birthday.

She hadn't even fully grown up before she died.

Fortunately, she later found herself working at a transmigration agency, but the shadow of her deep-rooted fear and loathing of blood continued to haunt her life.

It had been a long time since she'd remembered that scene. Ever since she started working at the transmigration agency, she had forgotten many of her memories from her previous life. Her spirit had become numb, indifferent to the past.

Those memories were painful, and she didn't want to think about them.

But today, Yu Mingjiao brought those memories back.

For a brief moment, Cen Lingqiu felt as if she saw herself dying in the snow that night.

[Host.]

The system's voice sounded.

[I detected your emotional fluctuations. It's okay, I've just detected the female lead's vital signs. Your mission didn't fail, so don't be disheartened.]

The system had been with her for almost eight years. Although it rarely appeared, it often showed up to comfort her with human-like concern during her moments of mental distraction.

Cen Lingqiu never shared her true thoughts with an electronic system, and the system couldn't understand them anyway.

"Mm," Cen Lingqiu replied in her mind. "Thank you, Qiqi."

Qiqi was her system's serial number.

The doctor came out.

Thanks to the timely intervention, there was no life-threatening danger. The doctor only advised Cen Lingqiu to pay more attention to the patient's mental state.

Yu Mingjiao was moved to a ward, her hands wrapped in thick bandages. Her lips were pale, and her face was so drained of color that it was nearly as white as the wall.

Cen Lingqiu sat by her bedside, staring at her.

After calming the turmoil in her heart, she began to ponder the suddenness of Yu Mingjiao's actions.

Just a few days ago, she seemed fine. Why did she suddenly decide to end her life?

Did something upset her?

There were only the two of them in this manor, and Cen Lingqiu had been treating Yu Mingjiao well these past few days, so it shouldn't have been something she did.

No, wait.

Cen Lingqiu's mind flashed to the phone call from yesterday.

If Yu Mingjiao overheard her conversation with the male lead, that could explain her breakdown.

In these uneventful days, that was the only thing that could have pushed Yu Mingjiao over the edge.

Cen Lingqiu realized the influence the male lead had on Yu Mingjiao—just one phone call had shattered her defenses.

She knew exactly what kind of person the male lead was. He didn't care about the female lead's feelings at all. If he got closer to her, it would only push her closer to the grave.

Cen Lingqiu gently stroked Yu Mingjiao's hair, thinking to herself.

She had already made up her mind.

She couldn't let the male lead and the female lead have any contact. As long as she kept them apart before the female lead's birthday, perhaps her emotions would gradually stabilize, and Cen Lingqiu's mission would be complete.

This was the most straightforward solution.

But beyond the mission itself, Cen Lingqiu had her own motives.

She knew she was starting to feel a pang of sympathy for the mission target.

This had never happened before.

In all her previous missions, she only wanted to complete them quickly and rest as soon as possible, always remaining indifferent to the emotions and experiences of the characters.

Yu Mingjiao was different.

Cen Lingqiu couldn't quite explain why she felt such a pang of pity, perhaps because the blood on her wrist was too shocking, or perhaps she simply didn't want her to die so young.

In any case, Cen Lingqiu genuinely hoped Yu Mingjiao would live well.

Yu Mingjiao had no family, no friends, so Cen Lingqiu stayed in the hospital to take care of her until she woke up.

After the heavy rain, today was finally a sunny day.

Cen Lingqiu sat by the window, typing on her laptop.

The original host of this body was a freelance translator, fluent in English and French.

Cen Lingqiu had once played the role of a university student majoring in French in one of her missions. The role was as a minor friend of the female lead, occasionally helping her out. It was a relatively easy mission, so Cen Lingqiu took the opportunity to learn some French.

As for English, it was Cen Lingqiu's strongest suit. She had always been good at it in high school, and she often read English books and watched movies when she wasn't on a mission.

After arriving in this world, she spent some time furthering her English skills. Coupled with the original host's memory and talents, her work had been smooth.

These past few days, she had taken on a job translating a pharmaceutical company's product manuals from Chinese to French. The specialized and complex terminology kept her busy for several days.

Her attention was fully absorbed in the document, so she didn't notice that Yu Mingjiao had opened her eyes.

Yu Mingjiao opened her eyes to a world of white.

She had failed to die again.

This was her first thought.

The sound of typing reached her ears, and she turned her head towards it.

Outside the window, the sunlight was bright, and a gentle breeze moved the white curtains, like petals of spring. Cen Lingqiu was sitting at the boundary between the sunlight and the white curtains. The light softly fell on her chestnut curls, flowing over her delicate, serene features.

Sensing something, Cen Lingqiu turned her head slightly, her cold eyes softened by the sunlight. She gave Yu Mingjiao a light smile.

"You're awake."

Cen Lingqiu closed the laptop and walked over.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I..."

Yu Mingjiao murmured with her pale lips, looking at her with confused and despairing eyes.

"Why am I still alive?"

Cen Lingqiu was silent.

"Do you really need to die?" she asked.

"Yes." Yu Mingjiao's voice was like it had been soaked in cold water.

"Why did you save me again?" Her eyes were empty, devoid of any vitality.

Cen Lingqiu's tone was calm, "Do I need a reason to save someone?"

Yu Mingjiao seemed to hear something amusing. She wanted to laugh, but it had been so long since she last laughed that her face was stiff, unable to form a smile. All she could do was twitch her lips, her beautiful face taking on a twisted, grotesque appearance.

"Why won't you let me die?" She propped herself up, but the effort drained her strength, and she leaned against the headboard, panting lightly.

Then, with a blank expression, her eyes drooped, as if she had guessed something. Tilting her head with childlike innocence, she said, "Ah, are you afraid that if I die, you'll lose a toy you can beat and abuse at will?"

Cen Lingqiu was really not good at explaining, and she couldn't reveal the truth to her. Feeling a bit helpless, she said, "I never thought that way."

"Then what do you want to do?!" Yu Mingjiao suddenly grabbed her collar, pulling her face close.

Cen Lingqiu staggered, fearing she might hurt her wound, so she braced herself against the bed.

"Lin Qiu, what are you pretending for?" Yu Mingjiao's voice was hoarse, filled with gritted teeth and hatred. "Why don't you just torture me like before? Why did you lie and say you'd take me away? And why did you stop me from dying? What are you trying to do with all your hypocritical actions?!"

"As long as I'm dead, your dear brother won't be with me. Isn't that what you want?"

"You tormented me day after day because of this, didn't you? If that's the case, why did you save me? Why didn't you let me die? Why do you want me to stay alive just to suffer more from you and your brother—"

Yu Mingjiao's eyes were bloodshot. She had had enough of being toyed with and tormented. She had clearly decided to end this wretched life, so why did she keep failing?

A flood of grievance overwhelmed her. After all, she was just a twenty-year-old girl, still not good at hiding her emotions. She could feel wronged, she could be angry, and she could lose her mind like a child.

Overcome with distress, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Soon, her pale face was soaked with tears.

Her grip on Cen Lingqiu's collar weakened, her head drooping as she cried silently, her body trembling.

Cen Lingqiu felt a deep despair emanating from Yu Mingjiao.

This despair was almost tangible, cold and suffocating, as if it was wrapping around Cen Lingqiu herself. Despite the oppressive heat of summer, she could feel a chill.

"Drip."

The bandage on Yu Mingjiao's hand had come loose, and blood was dripping onto the white sheets.

"Your hand," Cen Lingqiu frowned.

Yu Mingjiao acted as if she didn't hear, completely numb to the pain.

Her voice was hoarse.

"Lin Qiu, I hate you. I hate you even more for saving me."

"You and your brother are both scum. All my pain is because of you, yet you still want to take away my right to die—"

Her eyes were filled with a sinister madness, her wet hair sticking to her temples, and tears kept streaming down her face as her fists clenched tightly.

"Yu Mingjiao, calm down." Cen Lingqiu grasped her bleeding wrist, her voice steady with a hint of gravity.

Yu Mingjiao was completely lost in her emotions. She couldn't hear a word Cen Lingqiu was saying, her entire body shaking with despair.

"Lin Qiu." Her voice was faint, her pale lips trembling with sickness. "Tell me, why did you save me?"

Her despairing appearance was like a wounded kitten in a rainstorm. Cen Lingqiu felt a surge of sympathy. She crouched down to look her in the eye. "Because I want you to live, Yu Mingjiao. Death doesn't suit you. Only by living well can all your suffering end."

Cen Lingqiu wasn't speaking empty words, nor was she giving her some comforting platitude. It was a fact.

In the novel, after the female lead escaped from the male lead, she became an outstanding jewelry designer in the industry, known for her exceptional skills and unique talent in design. No one judged her for her disability; she was admired and respected by everyone.

That was the real Yu Mingjiao.

Unfortunately, the current Yu Mingjiao wouldn't understand her words.

But that was okay; Cen Lingqiu would make sure Yu Mingjiao understood eventually.

For now, Cen Lingqiu just tightened the bandage on her wrist to stop the bleeding and pressed the button by the bed to call the doctor.

Yu Mingjiao had little reason left. The fact that she was still alive was enough to drive her to the brink. Seeing Lin Qiu still by her side only made her recall all the pain this woman had caused her in the past.

This woman was full of lies, and she would never trust her again.

Yu Mingjiao's mind was spiraling. As Cen Lingqiu lowered her head to tend to her wrist wound, she noticed a small fruit knife on the bedside table. She grabbed it, pointing the blade at Cen Lingqiu's wrist, her eyes filled with a cold, detached madness.

She wanted Cen Lingqiu to feel the same pain she did.

She wanted them to die together.

Cen Lingqiu noticed the knife just as it was about to touch her, and she immediately grabbed the blade.

"Do you want to kill me, Yu Mingjiao?" She stared calmly into Yu Mingjiao's wild eyes.

"I'm in so much pain, Lin Qiu," Yu Mingjiao said, her voice trembling with each word. "Why can't you understand this pain?"

"Mingjiao, killing someone is a crime," Cen Lingqiu said slowly. "If it would ease your pain, I'll oblige."

With that, she tightened her grip on the knife. Blood dripped from her palm, and Yu Mingjiao's eyes gradually cleared, widening in disbelief as she let go of the knife.

Cen Lingqiu held the knife calmly, as if she didn't feel any pain at all. "You really shouldn't touch knives anymore. They're dangerous for you."

At that moment, the doctor came in and frowned at the sight of both of their injured hands. "What happened?"

"I was cutting fruit for my sister and accidentally cut my hand," Cen Lingqiu replied politely but distantly. "My sister just woke up. Please check her condition. I'll step out to take care of this."

Before leaving, she added to Yu Mingjiao, "Behave and let the doctor check on you."

Yu Mingjiao flinched at her lie.

Why didn't Lin Qiu expose her?

Why did she leave so calmly?

Yu Mingjiao watched Cen Lingqiu's retreating figure until the door closed behind her.

"Your sister is very good to you." The nurse commented as she changed Yu Mingjiao's bandages, "She's been taking care of you these past few days, staying by your side even at night."

"She's not my sister."

"Oh, is that so?" The nurse laughed awkwardly. "Well, she's a good person, a kind person."

Yu Mingjiao only responded with a cold laugh.

Kind?

Who?

Lin Qiu?

Heh, who knows.

All fake.