Under the night sky, the entire world became quiet.
[Mission world departure complete.]
In the empty, dark room, Shen Xiaoyu, lying on the sofa, suddenly jolted as if awakening from a nightmare. Her body abruptly sat up.
In the dim moonlight, she recognized the decoration of this house, smelled the familiar gardenia scent floating in the air. Her heart was so excited it almost jumped out.
She... had returned.
With a ding, the system's electronic voice once again resounded throughout the room.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the villain redemption mission. Mission reward distribution countdown 24:00]
[Host, I'll be moving on to my next mission. I hope we won't meet again.] The system was reluctant to leave, but the departure countdown continued.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't speak, quietly listening to the system's departure countdown until, with a final ding, the system's voice completely disappeared.
The room returned to silence. Shen Xiaoyu's eyes fixed on the window outside, lost in thought.
As the sky gradually brightened and darkness was dispelled, the faint morning light completely awakened the entire earth. The sun rose from the edge of the city, and golden, warm sunlight completely enveloped Shen Xiaoyu.
Suddenly, the phone tossed in the corner of the sofa rang. Only then did Shen Xiaoyu move her hand. Her body, like a long-unused, rusty machine, awakened with her movement.
Shen Xiaoyu picked up the phone and saw it was a call from her mother's attending physician at the hospital. "Hello?"
Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant. Shen Xiaoyu quickly coughed a few times to find her voice again.
"Miss Shen, come to the hospital quickly!" The doctor's voice was grave. "Your mother's condition has changed."
Shen Xiaoyu's heart was tightly gripped. She hurriedly said she would come immediately, then grabbed her phone and prepared to leave.
Only then did she see the date: April 18, 2024.
She had spent ten years in another world, but time in this world seemed to have stopped, only beginning to move again when she returned.
In the eyes of others, this world hadn't changed at all. Only she knew that ten years of her life had passed.
Shen Xiaoyu had no time to think further.
Stepping out of the room, familiar noisy sounds entered her ears. Downstairs was the calling of vendors, upstairs a sister was consoling her child who was crying and refusing to go to kindergarten, and downstairs an office worker who was about to be late ran out hurriedly.
As Shen Xiaoyu closed her door in the morning, the old lady next door stopped her and gave her a lunch box.
"Xiaoyu, this is porridge I cooked. Take some to eat at the hospital." Before Shen Xiaoyu could speak, she was handed an armful.
As she walked downstairs, every neighbor she met would give her something—buns, fruit, a bowl of freshly cooked porridge, a few extra boiled eggs to take to the hospital.
Shen Xiaoyu walked toward the exit without stopping. Gradually, expressions appeared on her face, her smile growing bigger and brighter.
The heavy mood completely disappeared the moment she left the community. She clearly realized that she had returned.
She had returned to the world she originally belonged to. Everything from before had passed; she would have a new beginning, a new future.
By the time Shen Xiaoyu reached the hospital half an hour later, the attending physician was busy examining her mother.
She distributed the fruit and snacks she had brought to the hospital nurses, thanking them for taking care of her mother.
After waiting in the ward for about an hour, her mother was returned to the room. The doctor's face wore a relaxed and excited smile. "The nurse found the patient responding during morning rounds. After examination, it's confirmed that the patient's condition is improving. She will wake up in the coming days!"
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyu's highly suspended heart slowly settled, and her face showed an excited and jubilant smile.
The doctor said he didn't know what triggered Mrs. Shen's recovery, but he was also pleased that the patient's condition was gradually healing. After a few words of comfort, he left.
She eagerly waited for her mother to open her eyes.
Shen Xiaoyu sat by the bedside, feeling excited, her eyes moist, every nerve in her heart twitching at the news that her mother would soon wake up.
Mrs. Shen had been in a vegetative state for many years. The system's reward wasn't distributed instantly. Shen Xiaoyu looked at the time—there were still eighteen hours until the twenty-four-hour mark, at which point her mother would fully recover.
Even knowing the outcome, Shen Xiaoyu didn't dare relax, remaining constantly by her mother's side.
Around midnight, the sleeping Mrs. Shen's hand moved again. Shen Xiaoyu held her breath, watching her without blinking.
Suddenly, the person on the bed's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. A pair of brown eyes showed the confusion of just waking up, her brain seeming to slowly process.
After quite a while, she began to examine the hospital room, her gaze finally landing on Shen Xiaoyu by the bedside. Her eyes held surprise and uncertainty, as if guessing her identity.
Just as Shen Xiaoyu was about to speak, Mrs. Shen seemed to realize, softly calling out, "Xiaoyu?"
"Mom!" Shen Xiaoyu could no longer suppress her emotions. She threw herself into her mother's arms, crying uncontrollably.
Mrs. Shen stroked her daughter's hair with concern, her voice hoarse but gentle: "Did I sleep for a long time? I'm really sorry for making you suffer."
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyu cried even harder, holding her mother tightly as if embracing the whole world.
After twenty-four hours, the fairy godmother's magic took effect, and Shen Xiaoyu finally got her wish.
After Mrs. Shen awakened, the doctor gave her a full-body examination and confirmed there were no problems with her body. However, to be safe, they still kept her under observation for three days.
During her hospital stay, under Mrs. Shen's questioning, Shen Xiaoyu told her what had happened.
After the car accident, Mrs. Shen had fallen into a coma. At that time, Shen Xiaoyu was already in college. She worked part-time to earn tuition fees while taking care of her mother in the hospital.
This year, Shen Xiaoyu had graduated from college and found a relaxed job that allowed her more time to care for her mother.
Mrs. Shen listened with guilt. Although Shen Xiaoyu's words were few, she could guess the hardships her daughter had endured over the years.
She stroked Shen Xiaoyu's hair, her eyes red as she apologized, "I'm sorry, Mom has dragged you down."
Shen Xiaoyu shook her head, hugging her mother tightly. "I've been fine. The neighbors took good care of me, my teachers were kind and helped me apply for poverty assistance, and all the bosses I met were good people."
"And Mom, I've saved a lot of money over these years. I can take good care of you."
Although she had been deceived by Su Huan for ten years in the other world, after returning, the system followed this world's rules. It didn't transfer all the money from the other world, but did convert some at a 1:10 ratio.
Now her card had seven figures—she was a genuine small-time wealthy woman.
Mrs. Shen just smiled. Knowing she had slept for four years, her guilt toward her daughter reached its peak. Now she only wanted to stay by her daughter's side.
Shen Xiaoyu couldn't remember her plans from before the transmigration, but now she just wanted to spend time with her mother. She quit her job and used the money in her card to make some investments.
With ten years of energy from the other world, Shen Xiaoyu earned quite a bit of money. She began taking her mother on world tours and started livestreaming online.
Thanks to her unique perspective, her travel account with her mother gained many followers. Shen Xiaoyu recruited a team to focus on managing the account.
She would live better and better.
Six years passed this way. Just as Shen Xiaoyu had fully adapted to this life and was about to bury the ten years in the other world deep in her heart, she heard the system's voice again.
[Ding ding, hello host!]
Shen Xiaoyu, who was about to go to sleep, suddenly opened her eyes, thinking she was hearing things.
The deal with the system had been completed, and the system had been gone for several years. How could she still hear its voice?
[Host, it really is me!]
The system's voice sounded again, and something like a panel appeared in her mind.
Shen Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat, suddenly having a bad feeling. [You're not here to have me do another mission, are you?]
The system laughed shyly. [Host, you're so smart!]
[No!] Shen Xiaoyu refused without hesitation. [My life is very good now. There's nothing I want, and there's no need to do missions anymore.]
[Come on! The rewards are generous. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?] The system eagerly promoted. [This pursuit mission is very simple! You just need to make an appearance to succeed in the pursuit!]
Shen Xiaoyu laughed coldly, not believing the system's words at all.
In her mind, the system raised four electronic fingers. [Really, cyber people don't lie to transmigrated people!]
[Forget it. That's what you said before, and what happened? A serious illness kept me in another world for ten years, and I was almost erased!]
Just thinking about it made Shen Xiaoyu angry. She was lucky to complete the mission in the final second; otherwise, she would have become a cyber ghost!
The system chuckled, the smiling face on the screen looking particularly sly. [Don't be like that! Don't you want to know what happened in that world after you left?]
[No!] Her voice was cold. [Death is like a lamp going out. Whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me! If you need to do a mission, find someone else. I won't—]
[Really nothing to do with you? Even if Su Huan had a daughter for you, it doesn't matter?]
Shen Xiaoyu's voice suddenly choked. After a long reaction, she asked: [What daughter?]
She suddenly had a bad feeling that the system's next words would turn her world upside down.
[Su Huan had IVF before you left. She was already pregnant for almost half a month when you left.]
With the system's words, the panel in her mind turned into an electronic screen. In the image, during the time Su Huan had disappeared, she was at a hospital abroad for a check-up, then had egg retrieval for IVF, and ten days later, the successful embryo was transplanted into her body.
Although time had passed in the images, under the system's control, Shen Xiaoyu felt like she was watching a fast-paced movie. The images showed all the pain Su Huan went through for the IVF.
In the final scene, at the hospital, after Shen Xiaoyu had fainted and woken up, she learned from the doctor that the person who had brought her was Su Huan.
Her coldness made Su Huan very upset. The embryo implanted in her body hadn't fully stabilized. Su Huan immediately sought a doctor due to threatened miscarriage.
When Shen Xiaoyu came out of the bathroom, what she saw were blood stains on the chair.
At the time, she thought Su Huan was having her period, but it was actually...
Shen Xiaoyu clenched her fists, her brows slightly furrowing. She suddenly remembered that in the fifth year in the other world, she had fallen seriously ill. After recovering, she had gone abroad with Su Huan to freeze her eggs.
She couldn't remember why they had frozen the eggs, but after doing so, she had forgotten about it.
In her original plan, she would never have had children with Su Huan. Her goal from beginning to end was to gain Su Huan's love and then leave that world.
Although her thoughts had momentarily deviated—she had considered returning to that world after her mother's condition improved to stay by Su Huan's side—but in the end...
Shen Xiaoyu didn't continue that thought, instead asking her question: [Why would she do this?]
Su Huan's career was at its peak. Becoming pregnant at this time, and as an unmarried woman—never mind what strangers would say, her fans would go crazy.
The system didn't answer but played another scene.
It was the day Su Huan came looking for her after she moved out.
Su Huan had said many things to her, saying she would change, would solve all the problems. Then she saw Shi Qiubai coming out of the bathroom.
Her expression was a bit strange at the time. Shen Xiaoyu knew she had misunderstood her relationship with Shi Qiubai, but she hadn't explained, just waiting for Qin Miao to come take Su Huan away.
Everything looked normal, but after Su Huan returned to the hotel arranged by the production team, she had her assistant purchase tickets to Country M.
Shen Xiaoyu saw her sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, stroking her abdomen, her eyes filled with madness. "I will make you stay, no matter what method I use!"
The following scenes showed Su Huan going abroad for IVF, wanting to contact her as soon as the embryo was implanted, but after thinking about it, deciding to tell her in person. Then returning to find her collapsed in a pool of blood at home.
Shen Xiaoyu was completely awake now, her fingers gripping so tightly that her knuckles were slightly white.
So that's what happened. No wonder she had disappeared for so long and no one could contact her. If Qin Miao had known she went for IVF, she probably would have gone crazy on the spot.
After the system finished explaining, it blinked its cyber big eyes enticingly: [Want to know how your daughter is doing? Just agree to do the mission, and I'll tell you about your daughter's current situation.]
Shen Xiaoyu remained silent.
Based on the system's understanding, eighty percent of people in this world would compromise for their children. It believed Shen Xiaoyu was one of those eighty percent.
The system was confident, even starting to boot up the program. [Since you've agreed, I'll...]
However, in the next second, Shen Xiaoyu's words nearly burned out its CPU. It urgently stopped the transmigration startup program, looking at her in shock.
[No thanks. Since Su Huan decided to have the child, she will take responsibility for the child. I...]
She took a deep breath, suppressing all her emotions. [I have no relationship with her, so you don't need to tell me, and I don't want to know.]
The system remained silent, holding back for a long time before finally questioning: [Huh?]
How was this different from others?
[My mission is over, and I refuse the next mission. You can leave now.]
Shen Xiaoyu's attitude was very cold, completely ignoring the stunned system in her mind. She closed her eyes to sleep.
She had to feed the pigeons tomorrow and had no time to chat with this emotionless electronic device.
The system deflated, remaining dejectedly in the corner, pondering what had gone wrong.
How could Shen Xiaoyu refuse? In the program's calculations, after learning about the child, the host had an eighty percent probability of returning to the book world. Where had the error occurred?
Similar to the system's wild speculations, Shen Xiaoyu didn't sleep well that night.
Thanks to the system, Shen Xiaoyu kept dreaming. Her dreams were bizarre, featuring Su Huan and the child.
She seemed to see scenes after she left.
After her consciousness departed, her body still had vital signs. Su Huan built a medical laboratory in her villa, maintaining her body with the most advanced equipment, going nowhere, watching over her day and night.
Qin Miao came countless times, saying all sorts of things to persuade her to return to filming.
But Su Huan wouldn't listen, just staring at the person on the bed, as if the next second the person would sit up and tell her with a smile that she had returned.
This situation continued for over a month until Su Huan fainted. It was her assistant who discovered she was pregnant.
The doctor said Su Huan's body was too weak. If she continued like this, she might have a miscarriage.
Su Huan woke up as if from a dream and stopped her self-destructive behavior, starting to eat and supplement her nutrition. Even during severe morning sickness at three months pregnant, she would mechanically stuff food into herself.
But even so, due to her emotional issues, the fetus didn't develop well. There were signs of miscarriage several times, and Su Huan eventually had to stay on bed rest.
Qin Miao hadn't contacted Su Huan again, or rather, after learning about her pregnancy, Qin Miao seemed to have given up on her, not sending a single message. Only one assistant was taking care of Su Huan.
Like an outsider, Shen Xiaoyu watched Su Huan's entire pregnancy process, seeing her drink bitter medicine to maintain the pregnancy, lying in bed day after day, not daring to move.
Shen Xiaoyu could hear her voice, knew she prayed day and night for the child to be safe and sound. This was the only memento of Shen Xiaoyu she had left.
Su Huan named the child Nian'an, Shen Nian'an.
But contrary to her wishes, Nian'an was born prematurely at just over seven months.
The final scene in the dream showed Su Huan being pushed into the operating room, a tear running down her pale face, constantly repeating the child's name in her heart.
Nian'an...
Nian'an...
...
When she opened her eyes, Shen Xiaoyu's mood was very complex. Su Huan's pleading voice kept echoing in her mind.
[Nian'an, Nian'an...]
[Enough! Stop wailing!] Shen Xiaoyu interrupted irritably, her anger making her want to pull the system out of her head and beat it severely.
The system switched off the recording with a grin, and Su Huan's voice finally disappeared.
Shen Xiaoyu sat on the edge of the bed, grinding her teeth in anger. [Despicable!]
The system innocently responded: [I just wanted to let you fully understand what happened after you left. To avoid disturbing your time, I specially planted it in your dreams.]
[So, seeing the villain suffer so much, has your anger subsided?]
Subside my ass!
Shen Xiaoyu was choked with anger, but unable to kill this cyber system, she could only rage impotently.
Damn it! The more she thought about stepping back, the angrier she got. The more she tolerated, the more she felt cheated!
[You're really garbage! With your intelligence of counting the moon during the day and the sun at night, how did you come up with such a vicious scheme? If you can be a good system, then be one. If you can't do your job properly, go sit at a table with dogs!]
[I'm really unfortunate to know a dog system like you. Why didn't a virus just poison you to death? Tell me where your main god is? I'll set a fire and kill you!]
The system was stunned by her curses, feeling aggrieved.
[Host, don't be angry! I just wanted to let you know what happened in that world. And according to my detection, didn't you also want to know what happened after you left?]
[Aren't you curious why I would come to find you after the mission ended?]
Shen Xiaoyu crossed her arms, her internal anger rising another notch.
Suppressing her rage, she asked: [Then tell me, why did you come back to find me? Su Huan's pursuit is already complete. She didn't fall in love with the female protagonist and won't be the villain anymore.]
[That's true, but there was a bit of a mistake in between.] The system smiled awkwardly.
Meeting Shen Xiaoyu's cold eyes, the system stopped talking and directly showed what happened afterward in movie form.