Shen Xiaoyu returned to the hotel, packed her things, and headed to the high-speed rail station with her suitcase. She bought a ticket for the earliest train, arriving at the station with barely any time to spare.
After rushing to board the train, Shen Xiaoyu sat in her seat, catching her breath. She took out her phone and saw a message from Shi Qiubai.
She said that Su Huan's assistant had come looking for her, asking about Shen Xiaoyu's whereabouts, and she had told the assistant that Shen Xiaoyu had gone home.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't pay much attention to this, responding with a simple "okay" before looking at rental information online.
Previously, she had thought she would always be with Su Huan, so she never considered buying a house. But now... with only about ten days left in her life, there was no point in buying a house anyway.
Shen Xiaoyu looked for apartments near the company, prioritizing security.
She didn't want to be frequently disturbed after moving in, but then again, she wouldn't be living there for long—most of her time would be spent accompanying Shi Qiubai on various trips.
After careful consideration, Shen Xiaoyu finally found a high-end complex that offered short-term rentals.
The owner was planning to sell the property but wasn't sure when they'd find a buyer, so they agreed to a short-term rental, which worked well for Shen Xiaoyu.
She just knew she had to leave before the end, no matter what. She couldn't die in someone else's house when her mission time ended, causing them trouble.
Shen Xiaoyu had it all planned out and even spoke with a landlord on the high-speed train, arranging a time to view the apartment.
By the time she got back, it was already evening. Shen Xiaoyu ordered takeout and started packing her belongings.
Hands on her hips, Shen Xiaoyu looked at the scattered items before her and felt a headache coming on. If she had known she would leave, she wouldn't have prepared so many things; now packing everything up was troublesome.
She had overseen the decoration of this house and had gradually added things to make it a warm home.
Over the years, she had accumulated many items, many of which were couple items, though they were useless now.
Shen Xiaoyu ignored those things, packing her clothes one by one into her suitcase, leaving the rest in their original places.
She originally wanted to pack everything, but considering the amount of work, she decided to just leave Su Huan a note asking her to throw away anything she didn't want.
Once she decided to leave, there was no point in dwelling on the past.
For her, and for Su Huan too.
After organizing her clothes and luggage, Shen Xiaoyu wiped the sweat from her forehead and took her remaining pajamas into the bathroom.
When she woke up the next day, it was already noon. She had trouble sleeping the previous night, tossing and turning until midnight without falling asleep.
The system advised her to continue the mission if things were so difficult. Even though only about ten days remained, she could still get a reward if she completed the mission.
Shen Xiaoyu refused. She didn't want to live like a lapdog anymore. Although her current life was painful, with cyberbullying, electric shocks, and so on... she was content with it.
The system was very moved and extended her shock time to twenty minutes, claiming it was advancing the next day's punishment so that she would have energy to move.
Shen Xiaoyu was also moved and verbally attacked the system's entire family.
Finally, under the pain of the electric current, Shen Xiaoyu passed out.
When she woke up today, Shen Xiaoyu felt dizzy, and her body was weak and without strength when she got up.
"Damn system, you really are..." Shen Xiaoyu couldn't find the words to describe it.
She seriously suspected it was a side effect of the electric shock.
As expected of the system, cold and ruthless—even a host who had spent time with it had no backdoor to escape through.
Shen Xiaoyu rested for a while before her body recovered. She rubbed her temples and made herself a cup of coffee.
By the time she finished lunch, it was almost two in the afternoon. Shen Xiaoyu repacked her luggage from the night before and threw some unwanted items into the garbage bin downstairs.
The room suddenly felt somewhat empty. Most of what remained were Su Huan's things, along with some couple items. Shen Xiaoyu had intended to pack those too, but her body wasn't cooperating, so she had to give up.
Anyway, after Su Huan got together with Tang Tang, this house might be redecorated... or maybe not. Perhaps they would buy a new place—Tang Tang might feel uncomfortable living in a house designed and decorated by her.
Looking at the house she had put so much effort into decorating, Shen Xiaoyu sighed. If she had known things would turn out this way, she would have bought and decorated her own house.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now.
As the appointed time approached, Shen Xiaoyu contacted the landlord again and drove to see the apartment.
In about twenty minutes, Shen Xiaoyu arrived at the location. The landlord lived nearby and arrived shortly after her.
Shen Xiaoyu looked at the apartment, which was just like the photos online, perhaps even cleaner and more tidy. She didn't hesitate much, signing the contract and transferring the money immediately.
After receiving the password to the apartment, Shen Xiaoyu walked around inside. The place had been cleaned in advance and was spotless.
Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window facing the community garden, she whispered, "The last month, I'll just barely survive here."
Barely survive!
[If the host completes the mission, she can leave this world,] the system reminded again.
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyu laughed. Even at this point, the system still didn't forget to urge her to complete the mission. In the past, she would have chased after Su Huan as if injected with chicken blood, but now—
"Forget it, I don't want any more entanglements with her," Shen Xiaoyu said, turning to leave.
Looking back, ever since she became entangled with Su Huan, nothing had gone smoothly. Perhaps in this half month, her fortunes might reverse, and she might have a bit more luck.
If that were the case, she hoped the good luck would be directed toward her artist, making Shi Qiubai's path in the entertainment industry smoother and more successful.
Shen Xiaoyu hadn't brought her luggage when she left earlier, so now she needed to go back and move all her belongings.
She had packed her things very neatly—not too much, not too little—just two suitcases.
Just as she entered the elevator with her suitcases, she received a call from Shi Qiubai.
"Sister, where are you? When are you coming back?"
Shen Xiaoyu leaned against the elevator wall, staring at the descending floor numbers, casually asking, "Did something happen at the production team?"
"It's not about me," Shi Qiubai paused for a moment, lowering her voice. "I just heard the staff saying that the video of you and Tang Tang from yesterday is trending. I-I'm a bit worried about you."
Shen Xiaoyu sighed helplessly, knowing this would be the result.
She mustered her energy and turned to comfort Shi Qiubai: "This isn't my first time trending. At most, I'll get cursed at a bit. It won't be anything serious."
"But..."
Shi Qiubai stammered for a while before saying, "But Su Huan has also gone back. She took the morning train, so she should be home by now."
Just as she finished speaking, with a "ding," the elevator reached the first floor.
The doors slowly opened, and Shen Xiaoyu raised her head to meet Su Huan's gaze.
Su Huan stared blankly at the two suitcases beside her, her face turning deathly pale instantly.
She stepped forward into the elevator just as Shen Xiaoyu spoke, "I have something to attend to here. I'll call you back later."
She hung up the phone, put it away, and acted as if she hadn't seen Su Huan, naturally pushing the two suitcases out of the elevator.
However, just as she stepped out, her arm was grabbed, and Su Huan's voice came from behind.
"Where are you going?"
"Moving out." Shen Xiaoyu shook off her hand and continued walking with her suitcases.
The wheels rolling on the ground made a humming sound, while Su Huan's heartbeat gradually accelerated.
Realizing that Shen Xiaoyu was leaving her, her body instantly felt cold.
She took three steps in two and blocked Shen Xiaoyu's path, her reddened almond eyes fixed on her intently. "Why are you moving out?"
Shen Xiaoyu didn't want to deal with her. When she moved left, the person in front of her blocked left; when she moved right, she blocked right.
Already encumbered by two suitcases, and now being blocked, her temper flared up.
"Why else? To make room for your sweetheart." Her face bore a mocking smile. "It also saves someone from finding me annoying and causing me trouble everywhere."
The drama had only been filming for a few days, yet she had already trended twice, being cursed at across the internet by their millions of fans.
If she stayed any longer, she feared she would be torn to pieces by their fans before the filming was even complete.
Hearing this, Su Huan naturally thought of what had happened yesterday. She clenched her fists, her voice low: "She is not my sweetheart."
Shen Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by this answer. If she wasn't her sweetheart after all this, could it be that the person she had pursued for ten years was actually a hidden player and a scumbag?
Thinking this, she smoothly changed her wording, "Then to make room for your ambiguous relationship."
"She's not that either..." Su Huan was about to say more when Shen Xiaoyu cut her off with a raised hand.
"Whatever your relationship is, it doesn't matter to me. I don't want any involvement with this person, and I don't want any entanglement with you. Do you understand that?"
Her words were very clear; even a fool would understand.
Su Huan stared at her blankly, her face as white as paper, her lips trembling. "Y-you want to break up with me?"
Shen Xiaoyu didn't answer, looking down at her left hand. Su Huan followed her gaze downward, her pupils suddenly contracting. She saw that the place where Shen Xiaoyu used to wear a ring was now empty.
Her breathing became rapid, her chest felt as if stuffed with cotton, making it hard to breathe. Her heart pounded loudly, as if it would jump out of her mouth if she spoke.
"No, I don't agree." She raised her head, her eyes red as she stared at Shen Xiaoyu, her voice faint but unable to hide that trace of sadness. "I don't agree to break up! You can't leave!"
She grabbed the handle of the suitcase, clutching it tightly. "Tang Tang and I have no relationship. I don't like her, and she's not my ambiguous partner. We're just..."
She seemed about to say something but appeared to remember something, and her voice suddenly caught.
Shen Xiaoyu had been waiting for her explanation, but seeing this, she laughed softly, as if mocking her own naivety and stupidity.
She moved the suitcase, but couldn't pull it away; instead, Su Huan held it even tighter. Knowing she couldn't leave without clarifying things, Shen Xiaoyu dropped the suitcase, took out her phone from her pocket, and opened Weibo. She could immediately see today's trending topics, and unsurprisingly, found her name.
Once again, she had been blacklisted on trending topics.