"Fortunately, the stab didn't hit any vital organs, and since it was treated promptly with only a small wound, stitching it up will be enough," the doctor at Zhongwu Hospital told Ye Shuang the next morning, discussing Chen Qin's condition. "But even a small wound can be dangerous if it hits the heart or similar areas."
"Understood."
After exchanging a few more words with the doctor, Ye Shuang entered the ward to check on Chen Qin.
She was lying in bed, with several nurses attending to her.
When Chen Qin saw Ye Shuang walk in, she playfully flashed a peace sign. "I'm fine, yay!"
"Just rest for now," Ye Shuang said, sitting beside the bed.
"Should I contact Uncle Chen and the others?"
"No, they’d be terrified," Chen Qin replied, forcing a lighthearted tone. "I prefer sharing only good news."
"Telling family would just make them worry without helping anything."
Ye Shuang could only sigh. "Then let me be the only one worrying."
Chen Qin giggled. "Sorry to trouble you~"
But her complexion was pale—she was clearly putting on a brave face just to ease Ye Shuang’s concerns.
"What about work?"
"The doctor said I’ll need at least half a month of bed rest, but it’s fine. I’ll just work from the hospital," Chen Qin said.
"I’ll stay here and help handle company matters too," Ye Shuang offered. "Luckily, the knife missed all the vital organs. The doctor said the angle was extremely tricky but somehow avoided everything important."
"Huh? A stroke of luck in misfortune, then."
"How can you still laugh about it?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Because I’m happy."
"Happy?" Ye Shuang was puzzled. What was there to be happy about?
"Because I only got a minor injury," Chen Qin said, tilting her head. "But what if the knife had hit you somewhere fatal? Even if Zhao Mengyao just meant to scare you with the knife, I was so afraid of losing you."
"If it happened again…"
"I’d still choose to do the same."
Ye Shuang: "..."
"You’re such a fool," Ye Shuang murmured. Then, after a pause, he suddenly asked,
"So… we’re really not dating?"
"Nope," Chen Qin said, then proceeded to recount everything about Ye Shuang and Zhao Mengyao from beginning to end.
Ye Shuang listened quietly. Though it was his own story, it felt completely unfamiliar—as if it had happened to someone else.
"None of that matters now," Ye Shuang shook his head and said earnestly,
"Be with me."
Chen Qin stared at him blankly before smiling and shaking her head.
"No."
"Why…?"
Chen Qin lowered her head, deep in thought.
"I really do like you, but…"
"I don’t want you to be with me out of obligation or guilt."
"I don’t want you to be with me because of those jumbled memories."
"Of course, at first, when I realized you’d replaced Zhao Mengyao in your memories with me, I was overjoyed…"
"It felt like we had shared memories, like… the girl you worked so hard to please… was actually me."
"But then I realized—that just made me a substitute."
"Zhao Mengyao is Zhao Mengyao."
"And I am me."
Chen Qin placed a hand over her chest. Even wounded, bathed in the morning light streaming through the window, her smile seemed to glow brilliantly.
"This lady is one of a kind! I’m no one’s replacement, and I don’t need anyone’s pity."
"I love you for who you are, and I want a love that’s just as unique."
"I want you to genuinely like this girl, not just feel like you owe her."
"Ye Shuang, I want you to remember everything."
"And then, properly tell me, ‘I love you.’"
Ye Shuang gazed at the radiant girl before him, momentarily speechless—she was so dazzling that he felt like a corpse dragged out of the gutter and forced into the sunlight.
She was extraordinary, with her own pride and dignity. Even if Chen Qin could humble herself to the bone for Ye Shuang, that didn’t mean she’d accept being a stand-in or a bandage for his wounds.
Right.
Ye Shuang suddenly understood.
They’d grown up together—he remembered Chen Qin’s favorite foods.
So why, during dinner yesterday, had Zhao Mengyao’s preferences overwritten those memories?
Chen Qin was Chen Qin. Zhao Mengyao was Zhao Mengyao.
"Memories…"
A sharp pain shot through Ye Shuang’s head, but nothing came back to him.
Noticing his discomfort, Chen Qin gently reassured him, "Take your time. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m sure you’ll be okay."
"After all, this lady isn’t going anywhere."
"..." Ye Shuang smiled. "Yeah."
Just then, his phone rang.
It was the police station.
"Hello? Yes… What? Seriously? Alright." Hanging up, Ye Shuang frowned slightly, lost in thought.
"Huh?" Chen Qin asked.
"Zhao Mengyao…"
"She got arrested?" Chen Qin sounded displeased. "What a joke. My injury barely counts as minor."
Ye Shuang shook his head. "No, when she ran out of her apartment, she was in such a hurry that…"
"She got hit by a dump truck at the corner."
Chen Qin: "..."
"You’re kidding?"
"Nope. The police said it was instant—they couldn’t even find her head." Ye Shuang felt neither sorrow nor joy. While Zhao Mengyao didn’t deserve death, it seemed too lenient for her.
Rather than a quick end, rotting in prison with regret would’ve been more fitting.
After all, death was over in an instant.
"As the Analects say, ‘Heaven punishes the wicked. If Heaven won’t, I know a thing or two about fists.’"
Ye Shuang laughed. "That’s in the Analects?"
"Heh."
They exchanged a glance and smiled in unison.
"Hey, Ye Shuang."
"Yeah?"
"It hurts…"
"Idiot. Lie down already."
Not long after Zhao Mengyao’s encounter with the dump truck, Tang Hao also ran into trouble overseas. While transferring assets, he was betrayed by someone he trusted, losing everything before getting robbed by locals in a "zero-dollar shopping" spree.
After that, news of Tang Hao simply vanished.
Overseas, death often goes unnoticed.
With Zhao Mengyao’s demise and the collapse of the Zhao Corporation, the chapter closed—erasing her not just from the world, but from Ye Shuang’s life as well.
As if she’d never existed.
And with this interlude over, Yinshan Academy finally welcomed its annual sports festival—
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
