novelraw Chapter 81 : Side Story 11. Time to Give Up
Chapter 81 : Side Story 11. Time to Give Up
Su Huan didn't speak, slamming the car door shut with a bang.
Shen Xiaoyu's sense of something being wrong grew stronger, her brow furrowing tighter. Not caring about anything else, she took two steps to the back seat and pulled open the door beside Su Huan.
"What exactly are you hiding from me?" She looked down from above, her gaze scrutinizing Su Huan, "You still haven't told me how you actually got here."
Su Huan's gaze flickered. After a moment, she shook her head helplessly, "I just opened a door and came here. I was also wondering where this was when I saw you and An'an standing not far from me."
"Just like that?" Shen Xiaoyu expressed doubt.
"Just like that." Su Huan nodded.
Afraid Shen Xiaoyu would continue asking, Su Huan quickly changed the subject, "Alright, stop talking about me. An'an is still waiting for you. I definitely can't go. You call me a car to take me back, and I won't need to follow you to the amusement park. I'll just wait here."
Su Huan took her bag out of the car and leaned against a tree beside the road, waving at her.
"Go quickly. If you're any later, An'an will get anxious."
Shen Xiaoyu stood by the car, looking at her with a deeply furrowed brow, a hint of irritation showing in her eyes.
Su Huan heard the system's voice ringing out one after another.
[Target affection level rose to: -85%]
[Target affection level decreased to: -99%]
[Target affection level rose to: -90%]
...
The affection level went up and down, reaching the critical value and bouncing back up. Su Huan's heart also went up and down with it, completely unsettled.
The affection level never had a fixed value, showing just how complex Shen Xiaoyu's emotions were.
At this point, the system couldn't say anything else either, only silently waiting for the final result.
A gentle breeze blew softly, like an invisible giant hand caressing the earth, like silky silver hair swaying, like threads trembling.
Su Huan no longer looked at Shen Xiaoyu, gazing at the endless rice fields, feeling a moment of tranquility, even having the mood to joke.
[System, can you give me the "Su Huan" you created?] she asked, [After I go back, if there's work I don't want to do, she could righteously help me.]
The system neither agreed nor disagreed, only explaining: ["Su Huan" is just program-created data. After you go back, the data will be recycled. Moreover, if you two exist simultaneously, it might attract the world's attention, causing the world line to reset early. More seriously, the world might choose to erase your memories, and then you'd be like Shi Qiubai, only able to be forced to accept.]
Then that was definitely not good.
Su Huan felt somewhat disappointed, [Then forget it. It's pretty good as it is now, still having a chance to breathe. Besides, I've already seen Xiaoyu and An'an. Their world is indeed much better than that side. I'm already very satisfied.]
The system fell silent, its blue screen flickering repeatedly. It seemed to have something to say, but after stammering for a long time, it didn't make any sound.
[Just consider it a dream.]
Dreams always have to end.
Having seen them, she could put her mind at ease and continue fighting the plot. Perhaps in the future, she'd have a chance to challenge the plot again and return to this world.
She hoped that by then, Xiaoyu and An'an would still remember her.
Shen Xiaoyu looked at the person whose aura was calm and peaceful, her entire face almost rigid with tension. She could be certain that Su Huan was hiding something from her!
But since Su Huan was unwilling to speak, she couldn't force her to open up.
Thinking about it, Shen Xiaoyu took out her phone and sent a message to Mother Shen, then said to Su Huan, "Let's go. I'll take you back."
Su Huan made a confused sound, "You're taking me back? What about An'an?"
"With Mom and Si'en and the others accompanying her, An'an will be fine." She said while getting in the car, "Get in."
Shen Xiaoyu had already started the car.
Seeing this, Su Huan didn't say anything else and hobbled into the car.
This time she sat in the passenger seat.
Meeting Shen Xiaoyu's mocking gaze, she explained, "I was afraid you'd be bored driving alone, and I wanted to talk with you."
"Talk about what?" Shen Xiaoyu turned the steering wheel, and the car got back on the road.
"I think what you said was right. Shi Qiubai really was a good person." Su Huan said, acting like she was catching up with an old friend, "After you left, I secretly kept in contact with Shi Qiubai. To avoid the system finding out, we always went through Li Xiang."
She paused, "You remember Li Xiang, right? The assistant who used to follow me around and later helped manage my studio."
"I remember, but later in the book, your assistant wasn't her. It was someone Tang Tang found for you."
Su Huan nodded, "That's how the plot went. Later I discovered that person was actually Ning Yu's spy, left by my side to monitor my interactions with Tang Tang. After her plot ended, I found an excuse to dismiss her. Li Xiang was someone I hired myself. I used her name to set up a studio, signed several artists unrelated to the plot, and had her help me watch over them. I also had her contact Shi Qiubai for me."
Shen Xiaoyu nodded understandingly, "So you were able to help Shi Qiubai through Li Xiang? The plot didn't discover it?"
"Li Xiang was also outside the plot, sort of a blank area in the storyline. As long as she didn't affect Ning Yu and Tang Tang's main plot, the world wouldn't care about her." Su Huan said, mysteriously leaning her head over, "Actually, this was a rule I discovered after testing for a long time.
Later, relying on this rule, I set up quite a few things. I originally wanted to establish a laboratory to research the system and plot, but unfortunately, all failed. Probably due to plot restrictions. Worried about technology affecting the world again, any research related to time and space couldn't progress further."
Shen Xiaoyu made a sound of acknowledgment, clearly not very interested in this topic.
Su Huan also noticed her absent-mindedness and looked out the window, not disturbing her anymore.
By the time they got home, it was already two hours later. On the way, Shen Nian'an, knowing Shen Xiaoyu was coming home, had sent many messages and made two phone calls.
Learning that Shen Xiaoyu was taking Su Huan home, Shen Nian'an specifically reminded her, "Then Mama, after you take mommy home, come back over. We'll wait for you here."
"No, I'm not going. You and grandma have fun." Shen Xiaoyu refused.
Shen Nian'an made a sound of acknowledgment, "Alright then. You and Mommy stay home nicely. I'll bring you gifts when I get back!"
After hanging up, Su Huan found an opening, "Actually, you didn't need to take me back. I could have flagged down a car on the roadside."
"With no village ahead and no town behind, what car could you flag down here? Anyone coming to the amusement park drove themselves. Even if there were cars, they wouldn't be on this road."
Shen Xiaoyu said irritably, "Don't change the subject. When we get back, we'll talk in detail."
"Talk about what?" Su Huan looked completely innocent, "I've already told you everything I should. I have nothing more to tell you."
Shen Xiaoyu didn't answer, quietly driving while pondering the contradictions.
Having been interrupted earlier, Shen Xiaoyu still hadn't gotten to the bottom of what secrets Su Huan was hiding.
Su Huan wasn't someone who would make unreasonable demands. If she was unwilling to speak, it indicated either the severity of the problem or that she had paid some price to come from that world.
At first, Su Huan had been quite active in getting close to her, the situation somewhat like when she used to do missions, desperately trying to complete tasks.
Thinking of this, Shen Xiaoyu frowned, her hands lightly tapping on the steering wheel.
Could it be that Su Huan also had a system?
But that wasn't right. The system had said that world was sealed and couldn't be entered again.
Moreover, during her first playthrough, the system had repeatedly warned that due to different identities, Shen Xiaoyu couldn't bring Su Huan out of that other world. Being able to bring An'an back later was only because An'an didn't belong to the plot.
So why could Su Huan come out?
Had the system made an error, or had something else abnormal happened to her?
Shen Xiaoyu didn't voice her doubts. Based on experience, Su Huan couldn't say anything due to rules, otherwise she would have mentioned her physical changes from the start.
If that was the case, how long could Su Huan stay in this world?
And what did she need to do to let Su Huan remain in this world?
Shen Xiaoyu's mind was full of confused thoughts. Even after returning home, she hadn't figured anything out.
The house was empty. Since no one was home, the housekeeper had come to clean and restock groceries before leaving.
Shen Xiaoyu opened the refrigerator, took out two bottles of water, then walked back to sit on the sofa.
"Don't go back to your room yet. Come sit. I have some questions for you," she said.
Su Huan, who had been heading to her room, stopped at these words, turned, and walked over to sit beside her, "What questions?"
Shen Xiaoyu gulped down a large mouthful of water, looked up with sharp eyes focused on her, her piercing gaze like that of a predator spotting prey.
She stood up, stepped closer to Su Huan, then ignored her panic and pressed down directly, avoiding her injured foot while grabbing her hands and pinning her down on the sofa.
Su Huan's expression suddenly tensed, her heart pounding as she held her breath, looking at the person whose face was almost touching hers.
"Xi-Xiaoyu?" she carefully spoke, "What, what do you want to do?"
Su Huan breathed frantically, nervously waiting for her next move.
However, Shen Xiaoyu just stayed motionless on top of her, staring at her face with narrowed eyes as if observing something.
After a while, Shen Xiaoyu finally released her and straightened up, moving away from her.
"Nothing, just wanted to test your reaction."
With the sudden loss of warmth, Su Huan felt a moment of disappointment, but she quickly perked up, "My reaction?"
Her eyes darted around, then she asked, "What exactly do you want to say?"
"Why did you seduce me that night?" Shen Xiaoyu got straight to the point, "Don't say it was because you missed me. With your personality, you wouldn't rashly provoke intimate actions with me before being certain of my attitude."
Su Huan's breathing hitched as she looked into her eyes, momentarily forgetting how to speak.
"And you were so eager to hook up with me—was it because of a mission?" Shen Xiaoyu's aggressive gaze turned icy, her sharp eyes seeming to see right through her.