“No, it’s not like that, I…” Bai Song shook her head, but soon, the smell of chicken soup on the quilt overwhelmed her, triggering an even stronger wave of nausea. Tears streamed down her face as she retched.
Tong Yao’s eyes gradually dimmed, and the grip on Bai Song’s shoulders loosened slowly.
Bai Song grabbed her hand just as she was about to leave, struggling to say, “No, I don’t hate you!”
“Then why? Why did you leave me? And now, you’re still.” Tong Yao glanced at Bai Song, who couldn’t stop vomiting, and didn’t believe a word she said.
“I can’t tell you.” Bai Song shook her head, crying.
Tong Yao looked at her with heartache, her lips curling into a self-mocking sneer. “Running away didn’t work, so now you’re changing tactics to win me over? Bai Song, your body is far more honest than your words.”
Bai Song clutched Tong Yao’s arm as she tried to leave, pleading with desperate eyes. “Yao Yao, I beg you, please let me go. I can’t take it anymore.”
If I don’t leave now, I’ll die.
I don’t want to, I don’t want to die in front of you. I don’t want you to live trapped in our memories.
Why? Why won’t you believe I betrayed you? If only you’d believe it, if only you’d forget me or even hate me.
Time will fade everything. In the days to come, someone better than me will love you and take care of you in my place.
Bai Song’s eyes stung with unshed tears as she gazed imploringly at Tong Yao.
But alas, Tong Yao couldn’t read minds. All she saw was Bai Song’s desperate eagerness to leave.
With a furious jerk, Tong Yao shook off her hand and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
The system marveled, “Since when did your acting get so good?”
Bai Song took a deep breath, instantly dropping the act, and smirked. “Natural talent.”
The system: “Did you secretly take acting classes without telling me?”
Bai Song rolled her eyes. “Money can unlock any potential. If you could just apply for another subsidy, this mission would be a piece of cake.”
The system: “…”
Bai Song thought of the string of zeros on the subsidy application form and suddenly felt a surge of motivation.
The system asked again, “What’s your plan? Tong Yao’s completely gone dark.”
Bai Song: “Let me confirm something are we trying to reduce her darkness level, or complete the mission?”
The mission was to break Tong Yao’s heart, let her take revenge, and then move on with her life.
Revenge had happened, but Tong Yao was stubbornly clinging to Bai Song, determined to wither away for love. Bai Song was at a loss.
She never expected that in this virtual world, she who’d never even received a love letter in real life would be so wildly popular.
No wonder so many shut-ins get addicted to games. The ego boost is unreal!
But the intensity was more than Bai Song could handle.
The system pondered. “Can you even complete the mission?”
Bai Song: “Is this really the time for jokes?!”
The mission was to erase Tong Yao’s love for her, but now. Bai Song didn’t want to brag, but facts were facts. What could she do?
Bai Song frowned in distress. “She loves me so much. I can’t guarantee she’ll transfer her feelings to someone else. And to lower her darkness level, I’ll have to use her love for me.”
The system: “Wipe that smug look off your face before you speak.”
It rolled its eyes. “Then why ask me? Lower the darkness level first.” At least get out of this world alive.
Bai Song had a rough idea in her mind. She asked the system to contact Lu Xuanxuan online and sent her the coordinates of the island.
System: “Now you don’t have to worry about dragging her down.”
Bai Song: “I might feel a little guilty toward her, but I’m certain that after my illness is exposed, Tong Yao won’t target Lu Xuanxuan.”
As long as Tong Yao still loved her, she could beg Tong Yao to spare Lu Xuanxuan.
After that day, Bai Song’s health deteriorated rapidly, but Tong Yao never appeared again.
Every morning, noon, and evening, someone would knock on her door at fixed times, but when she opened it, the hallway was always empty only a tray of steaming hot food remained.
Staring at the still-warm meal and peeking out at the deserted corridor, Bai Song fell into deep thought: “This is kind of creepy.”
Once, she tried opening the door half a minute early to see whether it was a person or a ghost delivering her meals.
But Bai Song sadly discovered that if the knock didn’t come first, the door wouldn’t open.
She barely ate any of the food not because she didn’t want to, but because she simply couldn’t stomach it.
If there was meat, she’d vomit until she nearly passed out.
In just a week, Bai Song had visibly shrunk in size.
She noticed the change while showering and let out a horrified scream.
The system rushed out in alarm: “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
Bai Song sobbed: “My chest, my chest is gone.”
System: “…”
Not just her chest her entire body had withered to skin and bones. Her ribs jutted out starkly beneath her chest, the kind of ribs that would make for unappetizing spare ribs.
Bai Song touched her increasingly dry, rough face in the mirror and sighed gloomily: “How did I end up looking like this? Well, maybe it’s for the best. Even I can’t stand looking at this face. If Tong Yao gets disgusted and loses interest, maybe the blackening value will drop, the mission will complete, and everyone will be happy.”
Hearing this, the system couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful.
But Tong Yao was still Tong Yao her thought process wasn’t something just anyone could predict.
As Bai Song was making her bed to sleep, she heard movement behind her. Turning around, she saw Tong Yao pushing the door open.
A flicker of surprise flashed in Bai Song’s eyes, followed by a barely noticeable trace of joy and longing.
Tong Yao strode toward her with a dark expression, gripping Bai Song’s shoulders so tightly it hurt her own hand. Her gaze grew even more shadowed: “Bai Song, are you trying to starve yourself to force me into letting you go?”
Bai Song lifted her eyes slightly, gazing at Tong Yao with unmistakable attachment and reluctance.
Her time was running out, she wanted to take in as much of Tong Yao as she could while she still had the chance.
Tong Yao tightened her grip, nearly crushing Bai Song’s bones, and leaned in close, staring into her eyes: “Keep dreaming! I won’t let you die! And even if you do, you’ll die by my side!”
Bai Song’s brows furrowed deeply. She tried to force a smile, but as soon as she parted her lips, a metallic taste surged up her throat, and she burst into violent coughs.
Not wanting Tong Yao to see, Bai Song quickly turned away, pressing a hand tightly over her mouth.
But the more she tried to suppress it, the worse the coughing became, until it felt like she was hacking up her lungs.
Tong Yao, impatient, grabbed her wrist and sneered coldly: “What, trying to play pitiful!”
Her words cut off abruptly as her pupils dilated, fixed on Bai Song’s hand.
She saw a palm stained crimson with blood.
“Song Song? Song Song?” Tong Yao was instantly thrown into panic. The fear from Bai Song’s previous hospital visit hadn’t fully subsided, and this time she was completely losing her composure.
Looking at the blood in Bai Song’s palm and then at her frail, leaf-like body, Tong Yao hurriedly called the doctor.
This was a sanatorium, fully equipped with medical facilities. The doctor quickly conducted a comprehensive examination of Bai Song.
While waiting for the results, the doctor spoke to Tong Yao in advance: “Yao Yao, I’m not trying to scare you, but her constitution is too weak. If there’s any serious illness, it might be hard for her to pull through, and…”
The doctor hesitated.
Tong Yao closed her eyes briefly, the image of Bai Song vomiting blood flashing in her mind. Her lips trembled as she said, “Go on, I’m listening.”
“You need to prepare yourself mentally. There’s a shadow in her stomach area, but I can’t make a definitive diagnosis yet.”
Tong Yao’s pupils contracted sharply. She stumbled back two steps, her high heels twisting as she nearly fell. Covering her mouth in disbelief, she cried out, “That’s impossible!”
The doctor shook his head: “It’s not confirmed yet, so I can’t say for certain. You shouldn’t!”
But the truth was almost certain. The doctor wanted Tong Yao to brace herself to avoid any irrational reactions toward the patient later.
“No, no, she can’t be!” Tong Yao muttered to herself before suddenly grabbing the doctor’s arm and screaming hysterically, “Doctor, she’s an excellent liar! You must have been fooled by her! Examine her again, use the most advanced equipment! I don’t believe it, she’s a liar! She must be trying to escape me this way!”
The doctor sighed: “Yao Yao, calm down. She’s still unconscious. These are professional medical assessments.”
Distraught, Tong Yao tried to charge into the examination room like a madwoman, only to be stopped by the doctor.
As if all her strength had drained away, she collapsed into the doctor’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably: “No, it can’t be! The wicked live a thousand years, how could this happen?”
Tong Yao had been exhausting herself day and night, her body already at its limit. Under this severe shock, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted as well.
The doctor quickly caught her. There was no time to lament this tragic couple, he immediately sent Tong Yao for examination.
By the time Tong Yao slowly regained consciousness, Bai Song’s test results had come in.
They matched the doctor’s initial assessment, only the situation was even worse.
Due to the patient’s emotional distress, physical weakness, and prolonged lack of treatment, the cancer cells had spread rapidly, reaching mid-to-late stages.
Even during the examination, the patient had continued vomiting blood.
Worst of all, since the patient hadn’t eaten properly for a long time, her bodily functions had deteriorated. For the remaining time, she might only be able to sustain basic life functions through IV fluids.
The doctor’s expression was one of deep regret. If detected earlier, this illness could have been managed.
As for Tong Yao, she was on the verge of madness. She roughly yanked out the IV from her hand, ignoring the broken needle still embedded in her skin. She had to see Bai Song!
Knowing it was futile to stop her, the doctor didn’t even try, letting her go.