"But I was so tired. Those last few months were torture every day... Only doing practice problems could make me forget all the dirty water that was thrown at me."
"But the mental numbness is only temporary. In my spare time, or even in my dreams, I still repeatedly relive the things that have already happened, or imagine an even worse future."
"Actually, when I opened my eyes and realized that I was on my way to the Wen family, I thought about giving up."
"Since I've already given up once, I don't care about anything in this world anymore."
"Perhaps even fate couldn't stand it anymore, because I happened to meet you before anything even began."
As the girl said these words, Wen Yun couldn't help but hug her tightly and silently pat her back to comfort her.
At first, she was puzzled by the protagonist's sudden willingness to get close to her.
Looking back now, for the protagonist, any slight change in the new playthrough was like a lifeline; excessive vigilance might have meant loss.
Throughout the entire narration, it was actually Wen Yun who was nervous. Every time Ruan Yu spoke about her past life, she was afraid that the system would suddenly pop up and warn them that they had violated the rules of time and space, thereby triggering unknown and terrible punishments.
However, the truth is that as Ruan Yu narrated, the system would occasionally give a gentle notification that the favorability rating had increased.
By the time Ruan Yu finished her story, the favorability rating had increased to 15,614 points. Wen Yun quickly calculated it in her mind and found that it had increased by exactly 999 points from the original level.
According to the system's prompt yesterday, it seems that even without using gifts from the store, the maximum increase in favorability should be this number.
Once the favorability rating reaches 19,999 points, it will be time for her to confess the truth to Ruan Yu.
-
Grandpa Wen's birthday banquet was quite extravagant, with the feast starting at noon. However, this time the only guests were He Sheng, Lin Qiqi, and their aunt Ruan Ruilin.
This was the first time Wen Yun had met Ruan Ruilin—an aunt who didn't even have a name in the original story. Ruan Ruilin's demeanor suggested she was a successful and accomplished professional, confident and elegant. Even when conversing with Old Master Wen, she remained poised and composed, neither servile nor arrogant.
"The apartment for the two girls has already been rented, so the Wen family doesn't need to pay for this small amount of money."
...and even a little domineering.
Grandpa Wen didn't mind, and nodded with a smile. He said leisurely to Ruan Yu, "We have to thank your aunt. If it weren't for your aunt insisting on doing a paternity test, the Wen family wouldn't even know that we had a biological daughter like you!"
However, her words contained a warning and reminder, implying that "all crows are black," and that the woman in front of her was also a self-interested person, so she should not easily give her whole heart to her.
Wen Yun's heart tightened upon hearing this, but Ruan Yu bowed earnestly to Ruan Ruilin to express her gratitude, seemingly pretending not to understand the unspoken meaning behind Old Master Wen's words.
Ruan Ruilin didn't take the implied meaning to heart and calmly said, "I'll reimburse you for your plane tickets to City C. It's fine with either of you. When you arrive at the airport in City C, someone from my team will pick you up and take you to the apartment."
She had a meeting to attend that evening, and left before her birthday party at noon was over, as she had to catch a 2 PM flight.
"Doing business is so busy!" Lin Qiqi couldn't help but sigh in the "cat room" after dinner. "Flying around everywhere at the right time, I couldn't stand it!"
"Then why did you choose finance?" He Sheng complained while feeding the cat. "If you had chosen a humanities major like Yunyun's, you might have only been dealing with books and scholars."
Lin Qiqi muttered, "But I'm not good at humanities..."
“Doing scientific research is fine too, bioengineering needs you! After graduation, there are projects that require traveling around, as well as fixed-term positions,” He Sheng added. “Or you could study animal science, didn’t you want to be a veterinarian?”
After listening, Lin Qiqi actually started to think about it seriously and nodded: "Then I'll study finance for a semester first, and then I'll consider whether I want to switch."
Ruan Yu quickly joined their conversation, while Wen Yun kept a close eye on He Sheng's every move.
As a result, He Sheng didn't mention anything about the secret to her all afternoon. She didn't know if it was because there were other people around, or because the original bad ending hadn't happened yet.
Wen Yun waited patiently, not forgetting to exchange for items in the system shop, adding the [Dreams Come True Filter] and [Couple's Picture Frame] to her previously completed painting.
She'll do her best to earn the 999 points of favorability that can be obtained with a thoughtful gift!
Finally, night fell, and a three-tiered, custom-made birthday cake for two was brought into the restaurant. Several skillful nannies carefully placed thirty-six candles on the cake.
The restaurant had already been decorated for a birthday celebration, with silver ribbons hanging from pink, white, and gold balloons, fresh flowers around the seats, and smiling Rena Bears on the windowsills and cabinets.
As the candles were lit, Lin Qiqi, who volunteered to be in charge of creating a festive atmosphere, played "Happy Birthday" and sang along with He Sheng, clapping their hands: "Happy birthday to you all~ Happy birthday to you all~"
Wen Yun put on a birthday hat, closed her eyes and made a wish as the song played.
I wish to stay in this world forever, and I hope that everything I do in the future will be as I wish.
My last wish...
After thinking it over carefully, she made a wish before the birthday song ended.
May Ruan Yu live a peaceful, joyful, and carefree life from now on.
-
Ruan Yu disliked the activity of smashing cakes, so the big cake was safely eaten by them.
Even a custom-made cake that cost a lot of money can still feel greasy if you eat too much cream. Wen Yun left halfway through her meal to take a walk in the courtyard to digest her food and cleanse her palate, while also waiting for He Sheng to come and tell her the truth.
While taking a walk, she glanced at the time and realized that there were only three minutes left until the Bad Ending (BE) point in the original text, which was the final moment when Ruan Yu's life came to an end.
However, those three minutes felt like three years. It wasn't until the designated time had passed that Wen Yun saw He Sheng appear at the entrance of the courtyard.
The next moment, He Sheng was already standing in front of her.
"Congratulations, role replacement." He Sheng smiled at her, his voice unusually calm. "You have already received the reward to continue living in this small world. Once your favorability rating reaches the required level, you can reveal your origins to the 'World Core' and apply to change your name back to your original name. You don't need to go through the name-changing process in this world."
"Although I had some idea beforehand, but... who exactly are you?" Wen Yun couldn't help but ask curiously.
"I am the avatar of 'Sheng,' an administrator of the Time and Space Administration, in a lower world. My responsibility is to monitor this small world for any unstable factors that threaten the 'World Core,'" He Sheng answered truthfully. "There's something I'm very sorry about. Because administrators cannot interfere with the plot, in the last cycle, all I could do was collect evidence of Wen Yun's crimes and report it to the Administration after the 'World Core' died, requesting punishment for Wen Yun and a restart of the world."
"...Is this the 'trial' that Wen Yun mentioned in her diary?" Wen Yun asked.
"Pretty much." He Sheng nodded. "Once the Administration confirms that the 'World Core' died innocently, I will have the authority to take Wen Yun's soul away. She will receive the trial and punishment she deserves."
“But you should also know that the culprit that caused Wen Yun to become like that should be the Wen family!” Wen Yun frowned.
“As you said, Wen Yun’s drastic change in personality was a combination of factors, including failing the high school entrance exam, pressure and brainwashing from her parents, and the negative atmosphere of her new environment. She improved after her brother Wen Lu went abroad, but completely turned to the dark side after learning about her fake heiress background. In order to consolidate her position, she was willing to do anything to destroy Ruan Yu, an outsider.” He Sheng’s voice turned cold as he said this. “But ultimately, choosing to destroy Ruan Yu was a choice she made step by step, and she should pay the price for it.”
Seeing Wen Yun fall silent, she changed the subject: "You also have the right to know about the information regarding 'role substitutes' and 'binding systems,' since the plot has been guided to avoid bad endings. However, you will be banned from discussing related topics and will not be able to reveal it to anyone, including Ruan Yu."
“Okay, tell me.” Wen Yun nodded. “I can accept it.”
"In order to repair this broken world, the Time and Space Administration has put the story of the real and fake heiresses into various small worlds to find suitable role replacements," He Sheng explained. "When the residents of the small worlds read 'The Rich and Powerful: The Real Heiress's Counterattack,' their data will be captured by the Time and Space Administration."
"And because you had the highest match rate, you were ultimately selected by the Administration Bureau."
"So my death was arranged by you?!" Wen Yun frowned even more deeply.
“That’s not the case. Time travel can only happen after the host dies,” He Sheng said. “Your situation… is simply due to bad luck; you were in a car accident.”
"At the moment you entered the world in the book, the Time and Space Administration restarted the world and incorporated Wen Yun's most representative evil attribute into your auxiliary system. However, your system is only an auxiliary system, so it does not have the authority to access data from the restarted world and therefore does not know that Ruan Yu is a reincarnated person."
She paused for a moment, then said, "In other words, rather than a cheat code, the system actually exists as a monitor and evaluator. If you can pass the Bureau's test, instead of harming people or profiting through cunning words, then you will receive a large reward after the world is repaired."
Wen Yun was silent for a few seconds, "So, disliking green tea girls and their scheming actually saved me?"
“These are just appearances.” He Sheng shook his head, his gaze returning to its usual amiable tone. “I’ll leave this question for you to ponder. You’ve been out for too long; Xiaoyu will be looking for you soon.”
A note from the author:
Regarding He Sheng, there have actually been several foreshadowings in the previous chapters, and her special nature has been emphasized. I wonder how many people have noticed that~
Chapter 56 Extra 3
In late June, although the summer heat was shielded by the mountains and forests in Anxialing Village, the cicadas had already begun to chirp, and the lotus flowers planted by the villagers in the mountain ponds were blooming one after another.
Returning to her hometown after receiving her results was a wish Ruan Yu had mentioned before. Even though her grandparents had already learned about her results at the celebration banquet, she still wanted to go back for a visit.
Judging from my aunt's tone, they'll definitely be busy again after they go to City C. I wonder if they'll have time to come back during winter and summer vacations.
While Ruan Yu and her grandparents were tidying up old things, Wen Yun walked alone along the country path and arrived at the temple gate before noon.
The monks' morning prayers were not yet over, and she stood quietly under the shade of a tree, nervously fiddling with her phone.
After seeing He Sheng off that day, she suddenly remembered what Abbot Huiheng had said: if she got involved in unrelated karma, she would have another chance to extricate herself. However, it seemed that she had already actively refused this opportunity before the "judgment" of the Time and Space Administration arrived.
The so-called "withdrawal" probably refers to leaving this world and returning to her own.
That evening, she tried asking the system.
“The host’s guess is correct. There should indeed be such a selection process.” The system, which had been implanted with He Sheng’s attributes, explained seriously. “But if the host shows a strong desire to stay and also meets the conditions for staying, the administrator will assume that you have chosen not to leave. After all, it is meaningless to ask a question that has already been answered clearly.”
After receiving the system's explanation, Wen Yun felt even more strongly that Abbot Huiheng was a wise and sage. If one day she lost both the system and her direction, perhaps she could seek guidance from this wise man.
So she came here specifically today to ask for the other party's contact information.
When Abbot Huiheng came out and saw her, he was not surprised at all, and politely invited her to the reception room for tea.
“Your appearance seems to have changed again, Benefactor Wen,” he said slowly. “Although I don’t know what happened, I think it’s a good thing.”
“You’re right.” Wen Yun nodded vigorously, then said shyly, “However, I’ve voluntarily given up that chance to get away. I remember you saying last time that doing so might lead to a life of suffering and constant hardships, and I’m feeling anxious, so I wanted to come and ask you again.”
After listening, Abbot Huiheng carefully examined her and frowned slightly: "Forgive my bluntness, but Benefactor Wen probably needs to change her name, to go from elegance to commonness, and return to the masses, in order to avoid disaster."
Wen Yun was stunned. Wasn't this the Wen Yun who had asked her to change her current name back to her own?
“That’s no problem.” As she nodded, she couldn’t help but wonder if this abbot was also an incarnation of some administrator, but she continued to ask, “Do you have any other advice?”
“Never make enemies of kind-hearted people who are close to you,” said Abbot Huiheng. “If they go astray, guide them instead of distancing yourselves.”
These words reminded Wen Yun of Lin Qiqi, and she was startled again.
If she hadn't chosen to win over Lin Qiqi when she first transmigrated into the book, but instead chose to reject her, would the events that have unfolded since then have taken a different turn?
Before she could ask any more questions, Abbot Huiheng put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha, that's all I have to say. Please finish this cup of tea and leave, Benefactor Wen."
...This is probably a veiled indication that "heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
Wen Yun didn't ask any more questions, nor did she ask for his contact information. She obediently finished her tea, thanked him, got up and left the reception room. Passing by the Maitreya Buddha, she bought three sticks of incense and offered them to him.
When she returned to the Ruan family home, Ruan Yu had already packed the things she was going to take to City C into her suitcase. Seeing her return, she smiled and asked, "How did it go? Did you see Abbot Huiheng?"
Because of the local customs of Anxialing Village, Wen Yun made a point of telling Ruan Yu where she was going before she left.
But when asked at this moment, she was at a loss. She vaguely remembered that she did want to ask Abbot Huiheng some questions, but she already had clear answers to those questions in her mind.
She carefully recalled what had just happened, hesitated for a few seconds, and then shook her head. "Abbot Huiheng is not here today. I went to offer incense to Maitreya Buddha and came back."
"Really?" Ruan Yu looked at her in surprise, then casually pulled her suitcase. "I've packed all my things. After I get back, I'll pack my things at home and your gifts, then I can contact a shipping company."
As soon as she mentioned the gift, Wen Yun immediately remembered what happened on her birthday night and blushed as she responded.
To increase her favorability, she not only gave him a painting she had drawn herself, but also spent a lot of tea points to exchange for a pair of special couple necklaces from the store—Möbius strips.
—You are the starting point, and you are the ending point.
In fact, Wen Yun was long past the age of believing in "unlimited love," but she ultimately chose this meaning as the premise for their love, and also wanted to learn to love someone she could wholeheartedly trust for a lifetime.