“Ding ding ding!”
A sudden copper bell rang out sharply inside the quiet side room.
The two figures sitting opposite each other on the formation both swayed at once, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
A red thread connected their little fingers, with a bell tied at its center, trembling on its own as if alive.
To maintain the formation that allowed entry into the Paper Gu nightmare, the System had exhausted all its power and fallen into sleep mode.
Wen Shuyu was the first to wake.
He coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face was frighteningly pale, without a trace of color, like a sheet of paper.
Before he could recover, he forced himself up unsteadily.
“Good heavens! What a terrifying dream! Wasn’t I just picking vegetables? How did I end up in the main hall?”
Wang Cuihua rubbed her aching head, swaying as she stood while leaning against the wall. She looked at the two people sitting across the formation and asked in confusion.
“What are you two doing sitting on the floor? Young people don’t know the coldness of the ground!”
“…”
Wen Shuyu’s eyes flickered with a trace of sorrow, but he did not respond.
Instead, he immediately looked at the other person in the formation.
Wen Shuyu knelt beside Tang Li and gently cupped her sleeping face, calling out anxiously.
“Li’er… wake up, Li’er…”
But the woman in his arms gave no response.
Wen Shuyu’s expression grew darker and darker, emotions seemingly locked behind his eyes.
The moment he released his hand, Tang Li’s sleeping body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
“Li’er!”
He hurriedly caught her, holding her tightly in his arms.
Only then did Wang Cuihua, no matter how slow she was, realize something was wrong. Seeing Wen Shuyu’s silent panic, she sensed that something had happened to Tang Li.
“What happened to her? Is she just sleeping?”
Wang Cuihua asked.
Wen Shuyu held the unconscious Tang Li, his usually steady face now showing rare panic.
“Call a doctor! Now!”
His voice was hoarse, almost a roar.
System Space
Tang Li lay on the sofa lazily cracking sunflower seeds, holding a remote control while watching a trending drama on the big screen.
Ten minutes ago, in the Paper Bride Attendant nightmare, she had been forced to stab herself.
She never gave up resisting, but when she finally crawled toward the exit, the stone slabs beneath her collapsed completely.
Tang Li: “!… So you’re deliberately messing with my mentality, huh!”
So she was neatly transported back to the System space to await death.
Her life value on the panel had already dropped to 0.001.
In a little while, she would be completely dead and reborn into a new life…
The alarm grew louder as System 812 pushed the door open, staring at her with a speechless expression as she lounged on the sofa.
“…”
Tang Li glanced at it.
“You’re here? The Wi-Fi in this system space is way too slow… hurry up and send me to reincarnation. I’ll miss the good fate slots if I’m late.”
The System replied flatly.
“Regretfully, Host, you cannot end your transmigration mission yet.”
Tang Li: “???”
The System pulled up the mission records.
“Due to your actions during transmigration, the story deviation rate has exceeded the threshold, triggering hidden plot activation. You are required to return and repair the storyline as punishment.”
“Hey! I haven’t even settled why you gave me a cannon fodder role yet! And you dragged my mother-in-law into this too! Plus you, capitalist System! I can’t even survive, and you still want to punish me? I quit!”
“The main system will reward you with a nomination for Outstanding Transmigrator.”
“Not interested.”
“The main system will arrange a wealthy reincarnation in your next life.”
“Don’t like it.”
“Ten seconds of female lead aura.”
“Still no.”
The System continued coldly.
“According to the soul contract you signed upon transmigration, if you refuse to repair the storyline, you will not only die, but your next life will be assigned the worst possible fate.”
“…I’ve been framed by capitalism!”
The sunflower seeds scattered across the floor. Tang Li buried her head in despair.
“This mission is too hard… I don’t want it…”
Divine Doctor Chai sat by the bedside, checking Tang Li’s pulse.
The room was silent, the atmosphere suffocating.
Wen Shuyu sat at the table, head lowered, his worry almost overflowing.
He regretted it deeply.
He should not have left Tang Li alone. He would rather be the one lying unconscious on the bed right now.
His grip tightened on the edge of the table so hard that splinters pierced his palm, yet he felt no pain at all.
Divine Doctor Chai finally withdrew his hand and closed the curtain.
Wen Shuyu was the first to react. He rushed forward and grabbed the doctor’s sleeve, eyes red.
“Divine Doctor Chai, how is Tang Li? When will she wake up?”
“Alas…”
Divine Doctor Chai shook his head and sighed.
Wen Shuyu’s heart turned cold.
“No… impossible… look again…”
He refused to believe it.
Just moments ago, she was still smiling at him.
“Are you not a doctor? There must be a way!”
The gentle scholar’s demeanor vanished completely, replaced by madness and desperation.
Wang Cuihua stepped in and forcefully pulled him away.
“Let go! Calm down!”
Divine Doctor Chai left the room.
Wen Shuyu stood in the shadows, eyes bloodshot, suddenly remembering something.
His System was asleep. The only way to save Tang Li was to return to the nightmare.
He grabbed Wang Cuihua’s shoulders, voice trembling with growing madness.
“Quick! You were Madam Hua Gui in the nightmare, right? Send me back! Tang Li is waiting for me to save her!”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Speak properly!”
Wang Cuihua shoved him away.
“What nightmare? What are you trying to do? Can you even save her?”
It seemed Wang Cuihua had completely lost her memories of the nightmare. She no longer remembered anything, and thus had no way to help.
“Forget it, you’re just talking nonsense. Stay here and take care of her. I still have vegetables to pick…”
She fled in fear, clearly shaken by his behavior.
The door closed, leaving Wen Shuyu alone in the room.
He knelt by the bed and carefully held Tang Li’s hand.
Her warmth was fading.
His eyes burned with bitterness as he leaned down to warm her hand against his cheek.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’ll do anything if you wake up…”
Suddenly, something brushed his face like a cat’s paw.
“Promise kept, right?”
?!
Wen Shuyu looked up sharply.
Tang Li was staring at him with a victorious expression.
“From now on, you’re helping me work. I’ve got another task now.”
Capitalists never disappear, they just transfer.
He was now certain she had awakened from the nightmare, because only when she was conscious would Tang Li not be fond of him.
She pushed herself up, trying to get out of bed.
“Ugh…”
Her chest wound pulled painfully and she froze, breaking into a cold sweat.
Wen Shuyu instinctively supported her waist.
“You… you’re awake… don’t move! Divine Doctor Chai said you need rest!”
But Tang Li slapped his hand away without hesitation.
Just like in her previous life, using him when needed, then discarding him afterward.
“…”
Wen Shuyu stiffened, then quickly withdrew his hand like A’Niu, forcing himself to calm down and handed her a cup of warm tea.
“No need.”
His expression was dark.
Tang Li hesitated, then forced out an apology.
“I’m sorry…”
Wen Shuyu looked at her and said coldly.
“You should be sorry… to yourself.”
Tang Li blinked.
“Why did you enter the nightmare? Why did you push me out? Do you know how dangerous that was?”
Wen Shuyu’s restraint finally broke.
“Do you have a death wish, Tang Li?”
“I don’t…”
“Do you know you could have died? You stabbed yourself with a knife and you don’t feel pain?!”
Tang Li looked confused.
“I just thought I was a cannon fodder…”
Wen Shuyu’s anger surged.
“Who told you to think like that? You think Shen Mo is worth dying for? You think you’re in love with him so much you can’t live without him?”
“???”
Shen Mo?
Tang Li tried to explain, but he cut her off again.
Wen Shuyu gritted his teeth.
“You’ve acted long enough, you must be tired of it by now!”
He grabbed her shoulders.
“Do you think I’m something you can summon and discard at will?”
His voice trembled, eyes red.
“You always do this… always sacrificing yourself for men. Last time it was Shen Mo, this time it’s me. Who’s next?”
His voice softened, almost breaking.
“Can you… just learn to love yourself for once?”