Qin Zhuyu had no classes in the afternoon. After the two finished lunch, Qin Zhuyu insisted on taking Wen Zhao to the amusement park. As soon as they validated their tickets at the entrance, she headed straight for the Ferris wheel.
There was a long queue under the Ferris wheel, but Qin Zhuyu stubbornly refused to leave, so Wen Zhao stayed to wait with her.
When they finally finished the Ferris wheel experience, Qin Zhuyu—who had arrived with a competitive and moody spirit—found her interest ignited. She pestered Wen Zhao to accompany her on other attractions.
Roller coasters, pirate ships—Wen Zhao likely would never have experienced these in her entire life on her own.
Yet, she still agreed.
Since she was still by Qin Zhuyu’s side, what reason did she have to leave her in loneliness?
With Wen Zhao’s indulgence, Qin Zhuyu had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Wen Zhao, however, had lost even the desire to eat by the time they returned to the Qin residence; she only wanted to sleep early.
After sharing a quick dinner with Qin Zhuyu, Wen Zhao said her goodbyes and went upstairs.
The system, which had been waiting for a long time, bounced up from the bed.
“Are you still unwilling to let me live inside your body? Oh, come on, as long as you sign a contract with me, I can chat with you at any time. We wouldn’t have to wait until we’re face-to-face to communicate,” the light orb swirled around Wen Zhao, trying to entice her.
Wen Zhao reached out and brushed it away. “I’m unwilling. I still find it very strange.”
Living inside her body?
Those words sounded incredibly eerie.
The light of the system dimmed for a moment.
“How is she? Has she recovered well?” Wen Zhao used a cushion brush to smooth her hair, looking at it expectantly.
The system’s light dimmed again, and even its voice carried a hint of guilt. “There’s been a bit of a problem… Zheng Miaoning’s issue hasn’t been resolved; in fact, it seems to have gotten worse.”
Wen Zhao’s hand fell weakly to her side. Her brow furrowed tightly as she asked in a low voice, “How could that be? I haven’t gone near her for the past two years.”
“As I said at the beginning, a small problem occurred,” the system’s voice grew lower and lower.
Whether it was feeling guilty or not, Wen Zhao was in no mood to care.
At this moment, only one sentence echoed in her ears, her mind, and her heart: Zheng Miaoning’s situation had not improved; instead, it had worsened.
For two whole years—whether it was because Wen Zhao had truly been hurt or because she was keeping her promise to Zheng Lihui—she had not contacted Zheng Miaoning.
Even though Wen Zhao knew that after their fight ended, Zheng Miaoning had found a way to secure a university recommendation letter for her.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Wen Zhao forced a smile to thank the system, then leaned back despondently.
In a situation where both were grieving, they had both chosen the path that caused the most pain for the other.
She was an incompetent mother.
A “bad mother” who held a grudge against her child and ignored her suffering.
Tears of self-reproach flowed along the deep hollows of her eyes into her dark hair, leaving no trace behind except for the water marks on her fair skin.
Wen Zhao was a lonely soul drifting through the world of a book.
Her identity as the “writer” allowed her to blend into the crowd without being rejected. The world’s consciousness would automatically smooth over any suspicions others might have; this was why Wen Zhao could directly enroll in the same high school as Zheng Miaoning after transmigrating into the book.
All characters would avoid questions related to her background.
In these four years, apart from the Zheng Lihui couple directly belittling her for her “lowly” origins, no one had ever asked about Wen Zhao’s family situation.
In the entire Country C, there were few prestigious families more glorious than the Zhengs; they could naturally look down on anyone’s background, and no one would find it odd.
The system repeatedly guaranteed that this was not a mistake of the world’s consciousness.
Wen Zhao believed so as well.
But she didn’t belong here, after all.
When characters in a book world spend long periods with a life form from a higher dimension, their fates are influenced by that higher life form, gradually deviating from their original trajectories.
Zheng Miaoning was the absolute protagonist of this book.
Wen Zhao had worried more than once that her companionship would cause Zheng Miaoning’s fate to drift off course.
It wasn’t until the system appeared that this was confirmed.
Wen Zhao had no choice but to find a way to distance herself from Zheng Miaoning, to let her return to the trajectory of a female lead and become the most dazzling and happy person in the world again.
Wen Zhao couldn’t bear to leave her, but Wen Zhao wanted her to be happy even more.
It didn’t matter even if Zheng Miaoning’s happiness didn’t include Wen Zhao.
Wen Zhao only wanted Zheng Miaoning to be happy.
The reason Wen Zhao wrote this book as an outline was due to a lack of ability, but the reason it had a “bad ending” was that she didn’t know what kind of ending was worthy of Zheng Miaoning. So, she left the choice to Zheng Miaoning herself.
She gave Zheng Miaoning the most superior background and a happy family.
She only wanted Zheng Miaoning to be happy.
She thought that short-term pain would lead to Zheng Miaoning’s long-term happiness.
At this moment, Wen Zhao only blamed herself for existing.
“If,” Wen Zhao’s voice was somewhat hoarse, and her exhausted body began to rebel, her temples throbbing with pain, “if I simply left this place, would it end this situation?”
The system thought for a moment but couldn’t give a definitive answer.
They had considered this path two years ago. After all, Wen Zhao was someone who would give up everything for Zheng Miaoning; she wouldn’t give up on such an effective method.
During the time of the fiercest argument with Zheng Miaoning, the system had calculated the best time to leave.
That was two years ago.
When she stood on the rooftop, Wen Zhao encountered Qin Zhuyu, who was hiding in the corner crying.
The words Zheng Miaoning had blurted out had sent Wen Zhao into an unprecedented state of self-reproach; she felt sorry for every character in the book.
Seeing a young girl who had just graduated high school crouching in a corner crying, Wen Zhao couldn’t bring herself to jump in front of her and cast yet another shadow over her life.
Wen Zhao gave the candies she always carried to coax Zheng Miaoning to Qin Zhuyu. Ignoring her hostility, she chatted with her, only to be caught by a pursuing Zheng Miaoning.
“I was worried you were upset and came to find you, and here you are coaxing someone else?”
Zheng Miaoning stood at the stairwell, her expression ugly.
Especially after seeing the candy wrappers on the ground.
“I…” Wen Zhao wanted to walk toward Zheng Miaoning, but she fell silent before taking the first step and withdrew her foot.
How could Zheng Miaoning, who had received unconditional favoritism, tolerate hesitation?
The bright young girl, who had chased after her out of worry, folded her arms in a defensive posture. “You’re interested in someone like this? Ha, what pathetic taste.”
“It’s enough to argue with me; don’t drag an innocent person into your insults.”
Wen Zhao reached out, shielding Qin Zhuyu behind her.
“Fine,” Zheng Miaoning nodded coldly. “Then I wish you and her a good life together. Consider me redundant, all right?”
“I didn’t even know her before today; there’s no need for you to be like this.” Wen Zhao turned her head away, avoiding Zheng Miaoning’s gaze.
Zheng Miaoning stepped back. “Is that so.”
Dropping those three words, she left the rooftop, waiting for Wen Zhao to chase after her.
Wen Zhao did not do as she wished. Instead, she turned to look at Qin Zhuyu. “I apologize to you on her behalf. I’m sorry.”
Zheng Miaoning’s words were quite offensive; for this young girl, it was a completely undeserved calamity.
She apologized sincerely, but Qin Zhuyu did not accept it immediately.
Wen Zhao walked elsewhere, trying to move into Qin Zhuyu’s blind spot so she could time her jump.
“After I leave, no one will remember me anymore, right?”
Until the very last second before her departure, Wen Zhao was still worried that if she left her memories to Zheng Miaoning, the rest of her life would be very miserable.
‘Correct.’
Wen Zhao stepped onto the ledge at the edge.
Ten, nine, eight…
“Calm down! Can just an argument with her make you this sad? Isn’t she just a lover? There are so many lonely people in this world; can’t you just find someone at random and say you’ll stay with them? It’s not like Zheng Miaoning is the only person you can date!”
With only a few seconds left, Wen Zhao was suddenly hugged from behind and dragged toward the safe area. Wen Zhao instinctively struggled, but Qin Zhuyu held her even tighter.
Qin Zhuyu had heard of Zheng Miaoning and her girlfriend, Wen Zhao. She loathed people like Zheng Miaoning, who were always the center of attention, and by extension, she disliked Wen Zhao.
The hard fruit candy Wen Zhao had given her had only melted halfway.
The candy is delicious; I just wanted to ask for the brand name, Qin Zhuyu thought to herself, which was why she had followed Wen Zhao.
The protagonist, dragged back from the brink of death, had wet tear stains on both cheeks. Qin Zhuyu froze.
This woman named Wen Zhao was pale, her lips only a faint pink, her eyebrows a light brown. At a glance, her entire face possessed a fragile whiteness. With tear stains hanging by her fair face, she looked more elegant and delicate than a lily in the rain.
If she’s showing such a fragile side because she was abandoned by Zheng Miaoning…
Possessed by a sudden whim, Qin Zhuyu said, “I saved your life. You owe me a favor. Give it back to me next time we meet, okay?”
I want to be more involved with her; I can’t let it end here.
That was Qin Zhuyu’s only thought at the moment.
So she didn’t speak her true thoughts but instead left the opportunity for their next meeting.
After seeing Wen Zhao’s tears, Qin Zhuyu hated Zheng Miaoning even more.
Wen Zhao seemed immersed in her sorrow and did not respond.
Qin Zhuyu thought about it, then like a bandit, she grabbed Wen Zhao’s right hand and made a pinky promise with her before leading her away from that dangerous place.
Sitting in Miss Qin’s private lounge, Wen Zhao’s heart was half-dead. While Qin Zhuyu was busy driving her “fair-weather friends” out, Wen Zhao asked: ‘Is there still a chance?’
Wen Zhao was not a task-taker bound by a contract to the system; the system could not decide her departure and could only rely on the right time and place.
The system said pityingly: ‘I don’t know when the next time will be. But, look on the bright side, you can still actively distance yourself from her. Besides, it’s not entirely a bad thing that you’re affecting the characters’ original destinies. Since you’ve been left behind, you can approach those whose original fates weren’t very good; they might very well become lucky.’
Wen Zhao accepted reality with a headache.
The next day, Zheng Miaoning went abroad.
The third day, Zheng Lihui and Xu Hexuan found her and expressed directly that they did not wish for her to continue dating Zheng Miaoning. Wen Zhao no longer wasted effort explaining her relationship with Zheng Miaoning and silently found someone to move her luggage out of the Zheng house.
The fourth day, Qin Zhuyu came knocking.
“I heard she doesn’t want you anymore?” The girl had a mischievous smile in her eyes. “Want to follow me?”
Wen Zhao didn’t speak.
Qin Zhuyu said, “I saved your life, you know.”
“Six months at most.” Wen Zhao remembered that Qin Zhuyu held the status of a “cannon fodder” in the original text; she might bring her good luck, but she didn’t dare stay too long—too much of a good thing could be a curse.
Qin Zhuyu frowned. “Five years.”
Wen Zhao gritted her teeth. “One year.”
“Two years. If you still don’t agree, I’m going back to five years.” Qin Zhuyu threatened her blatantly.
Two years—Zheng Miaoning wouldn’t have finished her studies. If she didn’t see it with her own eyes, perhaps she wouldn’t be too sad.
Wen Zhao hesitated, repeatedly weighing whether this choice would cause too much harm to Zheng Miaoning. After all, staying by Qin Zhuyu’s side meant being separated from Zheng Miaoning by a great distance.
The system had said that Zheng Miaoning’s fate had already deviated from its smoothest path.
The girl before her also held a trace of unease within her cunning gaze.
Recalling what Qin Zhuyu had said, Wen Zhao understood that the “lonely person” she spoke of was herself.
Wen Zhao had no choice but to nod.
She became Zheng Miaoning’s “bad mother.”