With a loud bang, the door had been closed for a long time before Bai Song finally opened her eyes, red and swollen like hickory nuts, her pupils misted over with a shimmering, sorrowful haze.
Bai Song had maintained the same position for too long, her body stiff. She wanted to stretch her arms and legs, but the slightest movement sent waves of pain through her. She immediately stopped trying.
Her face etched with worry, Bai Song called out, “System, are you back yet?”
After being locked in the “black room” for several hours, the system emerged only to be met with Bai Song’s pitiful state. It fell silent. They had imagined countless ways Tong Yao might retaliate, but this outcome was beyond even their wildest nightmares.
The system replied, “I’m back. Though I wish I weren’t.”
Bai Song had cried until no more tears would come. Exhausted, she no longer had the energy to weep. Her voice was heavy with fatigue as she said, “This isn’t working. I can’t do this anymore. Get me out of this world right now.”
The system sighed wearily, “We can’t leave until her corruption value is reduced.”
The system’s words struck her like Thor’s hammer, each syllable a heavy blow to her heart.
“How can this be?” Bai Song couldn’t help but protest. “Tong Yao isn’t just corrupted anymore she’s downright psychotic! You didn’t see her, she” Her face flushed with shame as she forced out the words, “She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing!”
While Tong Yao appeared composed and elegant, Bai Song was left in a wretched state. The system, of course, knew the marks on Bai Song’s body were evidence enough of the brutal battle they had just endured.
Bai Song continued her lament, “Forget about twisted love, she doesn’t love me at all now. I think she hates me.” She felt utterly violated, body and soul.
The system responded, “Within that obsession, there’s both hate and love.”
Bai Song let out a melancholic sigh. “But this kind of love. I can’t bear it. Forget everything else my kidneys are the first to give out!”
The system: “…”
“Take it one step at a time,” the system said helplessly. “I don’t have the authority to pull you out of this world. You just protect yourself.”
Bai Song: “Never mind. Just stop talking. I need some peace.” Her mind was a mess, incapable of coherent thought.
The system offered, “Should I play the Great Compassion Mantra for you?”
Bai Song: “…”
Meanwhile, Tong Yao had stepped out but hadn’t left immediately. She leaned against the wall, covering her face with her hands, as if drained of her last ounce of strength, and slid down to sit on the floor.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t how the two of them should coexist in the same space. Bai Song loved her, they loved each other. But the memory of Bai Song’s cold, detached expression when she had severed their ties flashed unbidden in Tong Yao’s mind. Her wavering gaze gradually hardened.
You brought this upon yourself, Bai Song. You deserve this!
Late into the night, Tong Yao found herself standing once more outside Bai Song’s door. She raised her hand several times, her fingertips even brushing the doorknob, yet she couldn’t bring herself to push it open. Taking a deep breath, as if steeling herself, she finally entered.
She couldn’t help it, she couldn’t stop thinking about Bai Song, worrying about her.
Exhausted and aching, Bai Song had succumbed to overwhelming drowsiness shortly after Tong Yao left. She slept deeply now, showing no signs of waking. Curled on her side, she lay quietly, her breathing soft and even.
She must have been truly exhausted, for even in sleep, a faint frown lingered between her brows. Her soft black hair cascaded down, accentuating the pallor of her skin, lending her a sickly, fragile beauty.
Most of the blanket was tangled between her legs, leaving little covering her body.
Tong Yao gazed down at the girl on the bed, her expression momentarily dazed.
The sleeping Bai Song was utterly deceptive her tender expression, her posture that seemed to crave care at every moment. Tong Yao reached out, aching to pull her into her arms, to soothe her with gentle pats and lull her into sweet dreams.
But then she remembered, how she had deliberately spoken harsh words to sever all ties with her family, how she had abandoned kinship, friends, the Tong Group, everything, just to be with her.
This wasn’t a momentary impulse. It was a madness she had embraced wholeheartedly for love.
Yet, in the end, she had only moved herself.
Had Bai Song secretly mocked her sincerity back then? Mocked her devotion?
Tong Yao didn’t blame her for not loving her.
But she should never have trampled on her love.
Closing her eyes, Tong Yao immediately saw Bai Song from that night every subtle expression, every rise and fall in her tone, every inscrutable look she had given her. It was all still etched vividly in her mind, as if carved into her heart.
Every word Bai Song had spoken was like a sharp blade, stabbing deep into her flesh, into her heart, leaving her bleeding.
Her persistence, her sacrifices, her love in Bai Song’s eyes, they were nothing but a joke.
Tong Yao couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t stand Bai Song’s dismissive words about her, couldn’t bear the emotionless gaze Bai Song fixed on her. She wanted revenge to make Bai Song’s voice cry for her, to make her eyes shed tears for her, to make her suffer a fate worse than death!
Tong Yao lifted her hand lightly, her fingertips brushing against Bai Song’s slightly trembling eyelids. Her lips moved soundlessly as she asked:
Song Song, tell me, why did you betray me?
We could have had such a beautiful life. We could have loved each other like normal people. But you had to leave.
Did it have to come to this to us standing against each other like enemies before you realized how harmonious and wonderful our past was?
Bai Song didn’t wake until noon the next day. By then, Tong Yao had long since left for work, and Bai Song had no idea she had visited during the night.
As for the system.
It knew, of course. It just didn’t dare tell her.
The system was afraid Bai Song would be scared out of her wits, too terrified to even close her eyes at night.
Bai Song tried to sit up, but her body ached. Halfway through the motion, she froze, then slowly, laboriously, sank back down.
Staring at the ceiling, she lay in bed for a long while before asking, “System, what should I do now?”
The system sighed. “What can you do? Just survive for now.”
Bai Song: “I’m afraid she’ll torture me to death.”
Dying before actively leaving this world would be a devastating blow to her psyche.
Bai Song didn’t have strong enough mental resilience. A spiritual shock could easily damage her soul, leaving her a fool when she returned to the real world.
The system reassured her, “She won’t. Sure, Tong Yao could crush you like an ant, and with a little maneuvering, she could cover up the truth of your death. But I don’t think she’ll actually kill you. She’ll just make you wish you were dead.”
Bai Song muttered, “Thanks.” She didn’t feel comforted at all.
Inwardly cursing her luck, Bai Song was about to lie there until the end of time when her stomach let out a loud, unmistakable growl.
Only then did she remember, she had skipped lunch that day to save room for a feast at someone else’s expense.
But in the end, she got nothing to eat. Instead, she had been kidnapped by a tyrant and thoroughly devoured.
At the time, Bai Song had been drinking high-proof liquor and passed out before being locked away. When she woke up, the curtains were drawn, and she had no idea what time it was.
After lying there for so long, even if it hadn’t been days, it must have been at least two.
Her stomach was practically caving in from hunger. Slowly, she pushed herself up, her vision swimming slightly from low blood sugar.
Grabbing a random piece of clothing to wrap around herself, Bai Song shuffled to the window and cautiously pulled back the curtain just a crack.
“!” Outside, the world was bright and clear, the sun hanging high in the sky. Golden sunlight spilled over her, warm and soothing.
Her exhausted spirit eased slightly. Squinting against the glare, she blinked several times before her vision adjusted.
Below stretched an enormous lawn, like something out of a suburban villa district.
Just where the hell had Tong Yao taken her?!
As Bai Song stood on tiptoe, trying to get a better look, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from behind her.