After returning home, Shen Nian'an was still feeling dejected.
Shi Qiubai casually found a game and sat beside her to start playing.
Shen Nian'an rarely had contact with these things. At first, she sat beside Shi Qiubai watching her play with little interest, but gradually became more engaged, clamoring to try it herself.
The two even had a small argument over competing for the same character.
Standing in the kitchen, Shen Xiaoyu sighed helplessly. They really couldn't stay quiet for even a moment.
However, thanks to this method, Shen Nian'an's mood had clearly improved.
Even when it was time to sleep at night, she was still fixated on the game, insisting on playing a bit more, until Shi Qiubai coaxed her into her room with other games.
After Shi Qiubai came out from Shen Nian'an's room to the balcony and sat in the rocking chair next to Shen Xiaoyu, she let out a long breath.
"Raising a child is really mentally and physically exhausting work," she sighed. "I don't know how people in the past had the energy to have so many children. Just this one little ancestor Nian'an is enough to give us headaches."
"Probably because in the past they just let kids roam free, and if children didn't listen, they'd get a good beating," Shen Xiaoyu smiled as she poured her a glass of water. "Rest for a while. Thank you for accompanying me around everywhere today."
Shi Qiubai shook her head. "Sister's matters are my matters. What's there to thank me for? I'm happy to help Sister. If there's ever a day when Sister doesn't need me anymore, I'd probably cry myself to death."
She stared directly at Shen Xiaoyu, half-jokingly expressing her true feelings while anticipating her response.
Shen Xiaoyu's smile faltered slightly, her grip on the cup unconsciously tightening.
She looked up at the sky, pretending to admire the night sky, not responding, hoping to skip over the topic entirely.
The weather tonight was quite nice. From the balcony, they could see many stars, bright and twinkling slightly.
Shi Qiubai followed her gaze upward. The starry night sky looked like gems adorning a black curtain, particularly dazzling.
"When I was little writing compositions, I always liked to write about stars blinking," Shi Qiubai suddenly spoke. "I'd always fantasize that there was other life in space, and every time the stars blinked, they were looking at us."
"As a child, I always thought that when I grew up, I'd figure out what was really in space, why these stars looked so bright and beautiful." She said lightly, "But no one expected that I'd end up in the entertainment industry and become an artist."
Shi Qiubai leaned back in her chair, rocking gently, feeling the cool breeze brushing against her face. "Life is always full of changes. No one can say whether these changes are good or bad. All we can do is embrace change."
Embrace change...
But this change was too fast, and she wasn't sure she could handle it, especially regarding her relationship with Shi Qiubai.
In her mind, Shi Qiubai was like a younger sister, and the system's assigned mission seemed to her like saving a wayward youth.
Feelings?
She had never considered that Shi Qiubai would like her before this, thinking it was just because the original owner had brought her too much warmth, which was why she was so good to her now.
She never expected to hear Shi Qiubai's confession, and today they had even pretended to be a couple in front of Su Huan.
Thinking about that scene, Shen Xiaoyu felt a belated embarrassment that could make her want to disappear into the ground.
Shi Qiubai tilted her head and looked at her with a smile, bluntly calling out her embarrassment.
"Sister, you need to learn to embrace change too!" She opened her arms, making a gesture of hugging the air. "My liking you is my business. I'm not asking Sister to give me anything in return, so Sister doesn't need to feel burdened."
"But this isn't fair to you," Shen Xiaoyu said quietly, a trace of worry between her brows. "You don't need to go to such lengths."
"I'm willing."
Shi Qiubai spoke word by word, "I like you. I'm willing to do anything for you."
Shen Xiaoyu's lips moved twice, but in the end, she could only manage two words: "I'm sorry."
She didn't know what she should say.
Hearing Shi Qiubai's confession again, she was still so nervous she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, only able to escape by avoiding her gaze, thinking this would free her from this awkward situation.
Shi Qiubai gazed at her and slowly smiled. "Sister doesn't need to apologize. I know you haven't thought about dating right now. If we can't be lovers, we can still be friends."
"Besides, I'm still young, I can wait," her tone was relaxed. "If you never want to date for your whole life, I'll accompany you for your whole life. But if someday you want to date, I hope I'm the first person Sister considers."
Shen Xiaoyu's heart stirred as she looked up at her, meeting her gaze directly.
Under the lamplight, Shi Qiubai's eyes were very bright, her fluttering eyelashes like the stars in the sky, so beautiful they couldn't help but draw attention.
Thump thump—
Under the night sky, whose heartbeat was getting louder and louder? Shi Qiubai's face flushed red, though it wasn't very clear in the darkness.
She didn't speak, leaning back in her chair, suppressing her heartbeat and trying to return her emotions to normal.
But she couldn't fool herself—Shi Qiubai's words had moved her.
Even at night, tossing and turning, her mind was full of Shi Qiubai's voice.
'If you never want to date for your whole life, I'll accompany you for your whole life. But if someday you want to date, I hope I'm the first person Sister considers.'
"Ahh—"
Shen Xiaoyu sat up in frustration, ruffling her messy hair, then flopped back down on the bed, burying herself under the covers.
What should she do!
Being moved wasn't the same as love.
She simply couldn't respond to Shi Qiubai's feelings!
Although she said she didn't expect a response, how could she really turn a blind eye to Shi Qiubai's dedication?
Shen Xiaoyu couldn't sleep, so she could only pull out the system. [You heard what Shi Qiubai said too. If I complete the mission and leave, what will happen to her?]
The system's blue screen lit up, countless letters jumping continuously. After a long while, a voice finally responded.
[Based on plot analysis, after you leave, the mission target will continue to corrupt until she reaches the villain's original tragic ending.]
In that instant, many scenes flashed through Shen Xiaoyu's mind, all from Shi Qiubai's perspective, showing her continuing to fight with Su Huan, constantly causing trouble for her until she completely destroyed herself.
Shen Xiaoyu's heart began beating frantically as she sat up abruptly. [What, what are all these?]
[These are behavioral predictions based on Shi Qiubai's personality, things she might do after the host leaves this world.]
[...]
After hearing the data, Shen Xiaoyu laughed bitterly. Wasn't this just a pure villain?
[Since Shi Qiubai will corrupt no matter what, what's the point of you having me transmigrate here to eliminate her corruption value?]
The system chuckled twice. [So the host needs to work hard! As long as you completely end the target's obsession, she won't continue to corrupt, and your mission will be complete.]
[Ha ha!] Shen Xiaoyu rolled her eyes, sitting cross-legged against the headboard. After a long silence, she suddenly asked: [After I succeed in the mission, can I take her away from this world?]
Now it was the system's turn to fall silent.
[You've never mentioned my mission reward, so since you won't say, I'll decide what I want myself!] Shen Xiaoyu said quickly.
The system said: [The mission reward is: upon success, you can take one person away from this world.]
What a coincidence? Shen Xiaoyu was stunned.
The system continued: [As long as the host completes the mission, you can take one person away from this world. Do you want to choose to take the mission target away from this world?]
[Can I only take one person?]
[Yes.]
Shen Xiaoyu's expression paused as she began to hesitate.
Using someone to complete a mission and then abandoning them—she couldn't do such a thing. But taking Shi Qiubai back wasn't such a simple matter either.
Her thoughts were in turmoil as she hesitated: [I, I need to think about it more.]
The system clearly sighed in relief: [Right, right, don't be impulsive. You should focus on completing the mission first. We can discuss the reward exchange after you succeed. Maybe by then you won't want to take Shi Qiubai with you anymore.]
This statement was strange. Shen Xiaoyu felt something was off. If she didn't take Shi Qiubai, who else could she take?
She couldn't possibly take Su Huan, right?
As soon as this thought emerged, Shen Xiaoyu couldn't help but be startled.
She wasn't the original owner, so she had no real relationship with Su Huan. How could she possibly take her? Even taking Shen Nian'an would be better than taking that scumbag Su Huan!
Thinking of Shen Nian'an, Shen Xiaoyu felt somewhat wistful. Although the little one wasn't her daughter, they had spent so much time together that she had developed feelings for her. Thinking about not being able to see her after leaving, she couldn't help feeling reluctant.
But she couldn't stay in this world forever. She had her own things to do, and her mother was waiting for her to return...
Shen Xiaoyu couldn't figure things out, especially not knowing how to face Shi Qiubai's feelings. She lay back down in frustration, her mind in chaos.
Should she tell her the truth?
If Shi Qiubai knew that her approach was only for the sake of completing a mission, would she corrupt even more thoroughly?
Shen Xiaoyu's thoughts wandered aimlessly until she dozily fell asleep without knowing when.
The night had grown very quiet, with cool little breezes blowing in through the open window.
Click—the door made a sound.
The room's door was gently pushed open, and a black shadow tiptoed in from outside, slowly walking to the bedside and gazing tenderly at the person lying on the bed, sighing softly.
Afraid of waking her, she sat on the floor mat, lying against the bed and carefully tracing Shen Xiaoyu's features with her eyes.
"Sister, when will you willingly stay by my side?" she asked softly.
Thinking of Su Huan's kiss during the day, jealousy kept rising in her heart. Why could Su Huan touch and kiss her but she couldn't? She even kissed Sister!
Jealousy distorted her features.
Shi Qiubai suddenly stood up, carefully leaning down toward Shen Xiaoyu. Her heart whispered apologies, but her kissing motion was quick and gentle.
Their soft lips touched, and Shen Xiaoyu's unique scent instantly overwhelmed her. Shi Qiubai couldn't control herself as she wanted to deepen the kiss and take more.
But worried about waking her, she could only taste briefly before stopping. This restrained action only made her heart itch more.
Shi Qiubai smacked her lips, about to taste the tenderness again when she saw the sleeping person slowly open her eyes with the confusion of being awakened.
Shen Xiaoyu's vision was blurry for a while before she recognized who was in front of her.
"Qiubai?" she asked in confusion. "Why are you in my room? Just now—"
The remaining warmth on her lips told Shen Xiaoyu what had just happened. She instantly became fully awake, holding back for a long time but unable to say a complete sentence.
Shi Qiubai's heart skipped a beat. Before her brain could fully process what was happening, she plopped down beside her, leaning on her shoulder and acting sweetly coquettish.
"Sorry, Sister." She looked pitiful. "I really couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw images of Su Huan kissing you. If she wasn't already in the hospital, I definitely wouldn't let her off."
Shi Qiubai waved her hands a couple of times, hugging her neck and nuzzling against her.
"So I wanted to come find Sister to chat, but I didn't expect Sister was already asleep, so I, I..." She didn't continue.
Shen Xiaoyu's cheeks flushed with a faint red as she chided, "Alright, don't say anymore."
Her voice was soft without much authority, which instead let Shi Qiubai hear that she was shy, immediately giving her more interest.
"Sister really isn't angry anymore?" She tilted her head, deliberately blowing air toward Shen Xiaoyu's ear.
The warm breath scattered around her ear, tingling and making half her body go soft.
She hummed in response, "Not angry."
Facing Shi Qiubai like this, how could she possibly stay angry?
Shi Qiubai was delighted, directly taking off her shoes to get on the bed and slip into her covers, intimately hugging her. "Sister, can I sleep with you tonight?"
Shen Xiaoyu hesitated, "Sleep together?"
This wasn't quite appropriate, was it?
Shi Qiubai had just confessed to her tonight, and now they were sleeping together...
Shen Xiaoyu couldn't get past that hurdle in her heart. If she couldn't be with her, she shouldn't give her hope, or it wouldn't be fair to Shi Qiubai.
Thinking this way, she gently pushed away the person leaning on her shoulder, turning on the bedside lamp. Under the dim light, both their faces were illuminated.
Looking at the bright smile on Shi Qiubai's face, Shen Xiaoyu's heart softened, her lips curving slightly. "About tonight's matter, I still have some things I want to tell you."
"I can't respond to your confession right now. I need time to think through some things." She said, "I'm not sure what my final decision will be, but I know I don't want to hurt you."
Even if the final result couldn't be as Shi Qiubai wished, she would use all her strength to eliminate her corruption value and give her a different ending.
Shi Qiubai's eyes widened as she stared at Shen Xiaoyu, completely not expecting her to say such things.
This was completely an unexpected joy!
"It's okay! I can wait!" She pounced forward and hugged Shen Xiaoyu tightly. "As long as Sister is willing to consider it, that's my greatest happiness!"
Shen Xiaoyu wasn't prepared and was knocked down on the bed, with Shi Qiubai nuzzling against her like a big cat.
"So Sister, can we sleep together tonight?" Shi Qiubai whined coquettishly.
Although her tone was asking, her actions were quite assertive, directly tucking herself into Shen Xiaoyu's arms and thoughtfully covering them both with the blanket, turning off the bedside lamp. She clearly had no intention of getting up again.
...Did she even have room to refuse?
Shen Xiaoyu sighed helplessly, her heart growing even softer because of her actions.
She pulled her hand out from Shi Qiubai's embrace, stroking under her chin like petting a cat, then straightened the blanket that had been messed up by her movements before saying, "Sleep."
"Mm-hmm!" Shi Qiubai clung to her like an octopus, resting her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes with the appearance of already being asleep, which instead left Shen Xiaoyu speechless.
She shifted uncomfortably but didn't rescue her arm from her embrace.
Shen Xiaoyu stared helplessly at the ceiling. Whatever, this was fine.
She adapted for a while, and drowsiness attacked again as she slowly closed her eyes.
The person holding her moved slightly, quietly opening her eyes to look at Shen Xiaoyu's profile, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. She happily nuzzled against her shoulder, just about to fall asleep when she suddenly heard a faint sound from the doorway.
Click—the door opened.
A small shadow came in from outside, and after reaching the bedside, climbed up using both hands and feet.
Shi Qiubai felt the little person pulling at the blanket behind her, carefully moving toward her side.
Shi Qiubai's smile disappeared as she turned expressionlessly to look at this 'uninvited guest.'
In the darkness, the little person couldn't see clearly who was on the bed, only moving toward a vague shadow, but just before lying down, she saw the bad auntie's face.
Shen Nian'an's movements froze as she stared at her angrily, loudly demanding, "Why are you in my mama's bed?"
The little girl's voice woke Shen Xiaoyu again. After turning on the bedside lamp, she saw Shen Nian'an sitting on the bed glaring at Shi Qiubai, and she just felt a headache coming on.
She pushed the Shi Qiubai who was holding her, and after sitting up asked, "Nian'an, how did you get here?"
"Mama..." The little girl was instantly aggrieved, crawling toward her while not forgetting to step on Shi Qiubai.
Shi Qiubai winced in pain, holding her stomach as she lay on the bed. "You did that on purpose!"
Shen Nian'an nestled into Shen Xiaoyu's arms, looking at her and snorting coldly. "Who told you to sneak into Mama's room? Bleh bleh bleh!"
She made a face.
Shi Qiubai angrily sat up, grabbing the little girl's cheeks and pulling them. "Don't talk about me—what are you doing sneaking into your mommy's room in the middle of the night?"
Shen Nian'an batted away her hands, rubbing her reddened cheeks. "I couldn't sleep."
She hugged Shen Xiaoyu's arm, looking up pitifully. "Mama, I'm scared."
The little girl's face still had marks from sleeping, her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked ready to cry.
"Mama, I want to sleep with you." She said softly.
Shen Xiaoyu patted her back, asking gently, "Did you have a nightmare?"
She nodded, unable to remember what she dreamed about, but the emotions from the dream continued after waking, scaring her so much she couldn't sleep anymore and didn't dare stay alone, so she could only come find Mommy.
But she didn't expect this bad person to have also infiltrated Mommy's room!
Shen Nian'an glared at Shi Qiubai again, continuing to say to Shen Xiaoyu, "Mama, is that okay?"
Shen Xiaoyu glanced at Shi Qiubai, about to express that it would be awkward and ask her to go back to sleep on her own, when she heard Shi Qiubai speak up.
"Then let's all sleep together." Shi Qiubai poked Shen Nian'an's shoulder, looking resentful. "But you have to sleep on the side!"
She wanted to hug sister while sleeping.
"I don't want to!" Shen Nian'an brushed away her hand. "I want to sleep in the middle between you two!"
She wouldn't let this bad auntie get close to Mommy!
She wanted to sleep with Mommy. Shen Nian'an thought about this bad auntie saying she would give her little sisters, and became even more nervous. What if they slept together and had a baby? Then there would be another person competing for Mommy's attention.
No no, absolutely not!
Shen Nian'an tried to squeeze between the two to sleep, but was unceremoniously pulled out by Shi Qiubai, who warned, "No way! Be good and sleep on the side!"
"Mama~" Shen Nian'an looked pitiful and aggrieved as she acted cute.
Shi Qiubai gritted her teeth in anger. This little brat was really hateful!
Tomorrow she would definitely put away all the games and not let her play with any of them!
She thought viciously, lying down and staring at Shen 'Light Bulb' Nian'an in the middle. Under the covers, her hand sneakily rubbed the little girl's tummy a couple of times.
The soft, chubby feeling was nice—she'd rub it once more.
Shen Nian'an was tickled into laughter but couldn't control her big hands. She turned to tattle, "Mama! She's rubbing my tummy! She won't let me sleep!"
"I didn't!" Shi Qiubai reflexively denied. "You put your tummy on my hand! I don't want to rub your tummy!"
If she could, she'd rather rub Sister's tummy... Mmm.
Shen Xiaoyu laughingly rubbed her little tummy. "Alright, alright, go to sleep quickly."
Shen Nian'an snorted coldly at Shi Qiubai, then snuggled against Shen Xiaoyu and closed her eyes.
Shi Qiubai angrily bit the blanket, and after she fell asleep, sneakily put her hand over too.
Not letting her rub? She'd rub anyway!
But the feeling under her hand wasn't Shen Nian'an's soft little tummy, but—another warm palm.
Shi Qiubai paused, looking up to meet Shen Xiaoyu's gaze, almost instantly gripping her hand back.
Shen Xiaoyu's thumb gently caressed the back of her hand, as if trying to soothe her emotions.
"Alright, sleep."
Under Shen Xiaoyu's gentle comfort, Shi Qiubai also fell asleep without knowing when.
That night was quiet, with only the gentle breeze caressing their faces.
Because the three had slept late, they inevitably stayed in bed the next day, especially Shen Nian'an who whined and refused to get up, insisting on rolling around in the bed.
Shi Qiubai was the same, hugging the stuffed animal Shen Nian'an had brought and whining along, also pulling on Shen Xiaoyu to prevent her from getting up.
"Mama, let's sleep a little more."
Shen Nian'an hugged Shen Xiaoyu and nuzzled in her arms. "Just a little more, okay~"
Shi Qiubai beside her also hugged the stuffed animal and nuzzled it, clearly treating the stuffed animal as Shen Xiaoyu. "Sister, let's sleep a little more~ just a little more~"
With no choice due to a certain little light bulb in the middle, she couldn't even hug the person she wanted, so she could only use this stuffed animal to comfort her empty heart.
Shen Xiaoyu was helpless against both of them and could only continue lying with them.
Shen Nian'an was satisfied and turned to play with Shi Qiubai again. "Bad auntie! Give me back my rabbit!"
"Then you give me back Sister, and I'll give you back the rabbit!" Shi Qiubai turned around and held the rabbit firmly in her arms.
"No way! Give me back my rabbit quickly!" Shen Nian'an pulled at her arms, climbing on top of her and trying to get into her embrace.
Feeling the tugging in the covers and the gap wide enough to fit another person, Shen Xiaoyu let out a long sigh.
Good thing it wasn't winter, or all the warmth from the covers would have been dispersed by them. Really, she couldn't even sleep peacefully.
She looked again at the two people hugging each other and struggling playfully, suddenly regretting yesterday's actions a bit.
She should have just kicked them both out, one foot each.
If this happened every night, she really wouldn't be able to get a single peaceful night's sleep.