novelraw Chapter 71 : Side Story 1. Strategy System Online
Chapter 71 : Side Story 1. Strategy System Online
In the first month after returning, Shen Xiaoyu would always have nightmares.
In her dreams, she dragged a crippled leg, unable to escape the explosion's range no matter what, only able to feel her body being torn apart over and over again.
After waking with a start, she would look at the familiar room with a dazed expression, as if she could hear the system's mission reminder at any moment.
For an instant, she thought she had entered the next stage of the cycle, but feeling the warm embrace of the child in her arms, she would snap back to reality the next second.
She had indeed returned.
During the sleepless hours, Shen Xiaoyu told her mother about what had happened to her, though she used gentler words, glossing over the grievances and harm she had suffered during her missions, picking out some happy content to tell her mother.
She also confessed Shen Nian'an's identity.
Mother Shen felt incredibly sorry for her granddaughter, carefully taking care of Shen Nian'an and Shen Xiaoyu, desperately trying to build affection whenever Shen Nian'an was in good spirits.
Shen Nian'an's condition wasn't good either.
During the first period after returning, Shen Nian'an had continuous high fevers, often calling for Mommy in her dreams.
Mother Shen was so worried she couldn't sleep all night, wishing she could live in the hospital room twenty-four hours a day.
Shen Xiaoyu wasn't too worried though. The system had said before that because the two worlds were different, after bringing Shen Nian'an out, her body would experience temporary rejection reactions.
Especially after the system had modified Shen Nian'an's physical parameters, the rejection reaction would be even stronger, but once the rejection ended, Shen Nian'an would completely integrate with this world.
The illness she was born with would completely disappear.
A month passed, and Shen Nian'an's body gradually improved, but her emotions remained poor.
She seemed to understand something. She didn't cry or make a fuss, just stared out the window all day in a daze, only showing a smile when she saw Shen Xiaoyu.
Mother Shen stood outside the door wiping away tears, "Xiaoyu, what should we do? An'an stays cooped up in her room all day, she'll eventually develop problems."
Shen Xiaoyu stood beside her, half-leaning against the wall. A continuous month without proper rest made her face look somewhat haggard.
She looked at Shen Nian'an's back, her heart aching in waves.
She knew what Shen Nian'an was thinking, but she couldn't solve it.
The novel world had already restarted. As a villain, Su Huan's fate had to follow the plot and couldn't be changed.
"Mom, you go rest first. I'll go talk with An'an."
She pushed open the door and sat beside Shen Nian'an, lowering her head to ask, "Grandma said she made chicken soup noodles for you. Do you want to eat some?"
Shen Nian'an came back to her senses, turned to look at her, then shook her head.
"Mama, I don't want to eat." The little girl's voice was listless, her mood very low.
"If you don't want to eat, then don't." Shen Xiaoyu reached out to hold the little girl in her arms, gently swaying her legs and soothingly patting her back.
When Shen Nian'an was drowsy, a voice suddenly came from above her head, "The year I met your Mommy, I was 20 years old. I suddenly arrived in a strange world, surrounded by strange people, but fortunately I had a home."
Shen Nian'an's head was a bit fuzzy, "But Mommy said when she met Mama, Mama was 18 years old, how could..."
"Because this is Mama's home. Mama just went to another world, just like how An'an came to Mama's world." Shen Xiaoyu's tone was cryptic, "You might not understand Mama's words right now, but Mama must tell you the truth. You have the right to know."
Shen Nian'an looked up at Shen Xiaoyu, and tears suddenly streamed down her face.
"Then, then..." She choked up for a long time, couldn't finish her words, and burst into loud crying.
Shen Xiaoyu hurriedly used tissues to wipe her tears, feeling heartbroken but also relieved.
As long as she could cry it out, she would gradually get better.
After crying for a long time, Shen Nian'an gradually stopped crying and asked with a choked voice, "Will I never see Mommy again?"
Shen Xiaoyu's hand wiping her tears paused, then her gaze softened as she quietly looked into her eyes.
She didn't need to say anything, but Shen Nian'an understood everything.
Shen Nian'an pouted, trying hard to hold back, but still couldn't help it. She turned and buried her face in Shen Xiaoyu's embrace, silently shedding tears.
"I'm sorry." Shen Xiaoyu's voice was low.
This was an unsolvable situation.
From the moment the system found her, both she and Su Huan, who was being pursued, were passive. Su Huan had researched for so many years but couldn't capture the system, showing just how advanced their technology was.
But everything was over now. Being able to save herself and her daughter was already the greatest fortune.
Shen Nian'an cried for a long time, still shedding tears even after falling asleep, her hand tightly gripping Shen Xiaoyu's clothes, afraid she would leave too.
Shen Xiaoyu followed her movement and lay down on the bed together, looking at her daughter's aggrieved sleeping face, her eyes dimming with sorrow.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was very light, like a breeze gently floating by.
The next day when she woke up, Shen Nian'an saw Shen Xiaoyu beside her, her mouth turned down about to cry, but she wiped away the tears with her small hand and held them back.
"Mama, I'm better now."
She got up and obediently went to the bathroom to wash up.
When she came out and saw Mother Shen standing at the door, she softly called out, "Grandma, I'm hungry."
One sentence made Mother Shen cry uncontrollably.
"Good, good, good. Grandma will go cook for our precious baby, go cook."
Mother Shen immediately wanted to hug Shen Nian'an, but afraid of scaring her, she restrainedly took Shen Nian'an's hand to go to the kitchen together.
Shen Xiaoyu sat on the bed, listening to their conversation, covering her eyes with her hands, holding back the urge to cry.
Having such a daughter was truly wonderful.
After breakfast, Shen Xiaoyu and her mother took Shen Nian'an to register for household registration, then went to the hospital for a physical examination. Only after confirming there were no problems did they relax.
After that, Shen Xiaoyu continued managing her social media account, taking her mother and Shen Nian'an on trips around the world.
Shen Nian'an had rarely gone out before, and was initially listless, but after becoming familiar with Mother Shen, she became lively and cheerful, and her proud personality gradually emerged.
Ever since learning Shen Nian'an's identity, Mother Shen treated her care as if holding her in her palms would make her fall, keeping her in her mouth would make her melt.
Shen Nian'an was extremely interested in the outside world, following Shen Xiaoyu everywhere to play and see, adapting incredibly well.
Shen Nian'an never mentioned Su Huan again.
As if everything had been a dream, now they had completely returned to the life that belonged to them.
○
In the book world.
"Oh my god, Su Huan made it to social news, kidnapping and imprisoning Tang Tang, when Tang Tang was so good to her."
"Tsk tsk tsk, Su Huan is really courting death. Look at that someone last time... Shi, what was her name?"
"Shi Qiubai!"
A woman wearing sunglasses hurriedly passed by them. When she heard the name, she paused, turned to look at them, confirmed they weren't talking to her, then continued walking forward.
The voices behind her continued.
"Oh right, Shi Qiubai! She targeted Tang Tang everywhere. Once Ning Yu took action, now she's completely vanished. I think Su Huan will definitely be blacklisted this time, but at least Tang Tang is fine."
"Isn't that obvious? After offending entertainment industry capital tycoon Ning Yu, who would dare use her in the future? But speaking of which, Ning Yu and Tang Tang are really shippable. Among all the gentle and cute female celebrities in the entertainment industry, who wouldn't ship them?"
The voices gradually faded as Shi Qiubai reached her destination, pushing open the slightly ajar door of the private room.
"Sorry, I'm late." Shi Qiubai took off her sunglasses, revealing a beautiful face, but perhaps because she hadn't rested well, she looked pale, which gave her a somewhat broken beauty.
Looking apologetic, she quickly walked to the table and sat down, then carefully looked up at the person across from her.
"Senior Su Huan, the internet is saying you kidnapped Tang Tang. You..."
Shi Qiubai hesitated and stopped, ultimately not saying anything else.
Su Huan, sitting across from her, wore a black turtleneck sweater. Her slightly curled long hair fell smoothly behind her head. Her face was beautiful and delicate, her temperament cool and aloof, as if she could float away with the wind at any moment.
At this moment, she was looking out the window, her eyes calm, showing no ripples.
Shi Qiubai followed her gaze outside and happened to see the screen on the opposite building playing an advertisement—Tang Tang's new endorsement.
Before today, that had been Su Huan's endorsement.
Yesterday, the building's screen had still been playing Su Huan's product advertisement, but today it had all been replaced with Tang Tang's advertisements.
The manufacturer's efficiency was evident.
Shi Qiubai's eyes darkened as she poured herself a glass of water, suppressing the bitterness in her heart.
"Public opinion is still fermenting. Senior Su shouldn't go out at this time."
The corner of Su Huan's mouth curved up, a faint smile appearing on her beautiful face, looking completely unconcerned.
"Whether I go out or not won't change my ending."
Poverty and dying alone.
This was justice's punishment for the villain.
No matter what Su Huan did, she couldn't escape it. She might as well accept it peacefully—it couldn't get worse than this.
"Alright, don't worry about me. Let's talk about you. Are your procedures for going abroad ready?"
Shi Qiubai nodded, "Everything's ready. I have a flight in three hours to Denmark."
As Shi Qiubai spoke, her eyes reddened, "Senior Su Huan, thank you. If you hadn't had someone take me away and arranged for my parents, our family would have had no way out. Sob, I don't know what was wrong with me either. Whenever I saw Tang Tang, I just..."
Thinking about her obsession with Tang Tang, she felt like she had become a different person.
But no one would believe such words if she said them—they'd all think it was an excuse she made for herself.
Su Huan, who knew the truth, made a sound of acknowledgment but didn't pick up on her words, continuing, "After you leave, never come back. Live a low-key life. The money I gave you is enough for you to live out the rest of your lives. As long as you don't appear, no one will remember you."
She paused, carefully observing Shi Qiubai's face, then nodded when she saw her agreement, "Though it doesn't matter anyway. Even if someone photographs you, they'll just think you look like Shi Qiubai. Someone might even sympathize with you."
"I swear I will never appear in public again, and I definitely won't return to the country."
Su Huan nodded, "Good, you can go. I want to sit alone for a while longer."
Shi Qiubai bit her lip, looking at her with tears falling, but didn't say anything more. She just gave her a deep bow before leaving.
After the person left, the private room became quiet again.
Su Huan poured herself a cup of tea, holding it in her hands and sipping slowly, murmuring to herself, "I hope Shi Qiubai won't be as stupid as before this time, and can make some progress abroad. Justice is already complete, yet she still follows the death cannon fodder plotline."
Having said that, she laughed with schadenfreude, "Cannon fodder is cannon fodder. Even in death, they have to be shattered to pieces."
She finished the last cup of tea, put on her sunglasses and was about to leave to face her upcoming fate.
But unexpectedly, the moment she opened the door, a voice suddenly rang in her mind, making her body tremble involuntarily.
[Ding—]
[Strategy System Online—]
[Matching strategy target for host—]
[Strategy target matching complete—]
[Strategy Target: Shen Xiaoyu]