After the System Called Me Mom, My Arch-Nemesis Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 9

“Bzzzt, bzzzt.”

Seeing it was a call from Lu Ningzhi, a worried voice came through: “Sis, how did you end up hospitalized right after a physical exam? What happened to you?”

Lu Lingzhi remembered now she had been swiping her sister’s secondary credit card, and she realized she was currently in a hospital.

Her “drama queen” instincts instantly took over.

“Sister…” Lu Lingzhi’s voice immediately switched to a fragile, pitiful mode. With a sobbing tone, she deliberately sniffled to create a truly tragic effect, even grabbing a tissue to blow her nose loudly. “I’m used to spending so much… I just can’t get used to a hard life now… I thought I’d… work part time to earn some living expenses…” As she wailed, she didn’t forget to steal a glance at Jiang Mingyue on the hospital bed.

Jiang Mingyue, who had just had her IV needle removed, picked up an apple Su Xi had peeled for her and began eating in silence.

“And then?”

Lu Lingzhi ramped up the performance: “And then, you know I’ve been pampered since I was a kid. Right after my check-up, I… everything went black. I’m malnourished. Living on instant noodles and a bottle of lemon water every day… my tonsils are even inflamed…” She squeezed out a few non-existent crocodile tears, her voice sounding so aggrieved it was practically dripping. “It’s true!”

Jiang Mingyue looked at the two large bags of KFC on the table, then looked back at the “weak” second young lady.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. “Tell you what, let’s do a video call so I can see you.”

Lu Lingzhi signaled with her eyes, and Jiang Mingyue quickly vacated the bed.

The moment Jiang Mingyue moved, Lu Lingzhi slipped into the bed. She used a wet wipe to clean off all her lipstick to look pale and sickly, then stuck a medical IV patch onto her hand.

Soon, the video call from her sister came through.

Lu Ningzhi appeared on the screen, looking cold and elegant. Her voice was exceptionally gentle, her face full of heartbreak. “Oh, sister, let me see you. What’s wrong? Seeing you like this truly breaks my heart.” She even mimicked the motion of wiping away a tear.

Lu Lingzhi’s first reaction: Something’s wrong.

This gentleness was laced with thick affectation… and a hint of “green tea” passive-aggression.

I don’t need your verbal sympathy. I want you to drop some cash.

But she had to play along. Lu Lingzhi pointed to her swollen tonsils: “Look, see? My tonsils are swollen again.”

Jiang Mingyue: “…”

These two sisters were born with a talent for acting. It’s a waste they aren’t in show business.

Lu Ningzhi said, “Perfect. Don’t bother coming back for the National Day holiday. Mom and Mommy are taking me on a seven-day trip to Europe. Since you’re sick, stay there and recover. I won’t be giving you any jewelry or accessories then.”

What? No trip to Europe for National Day?

“Lu Ningzhi!!!” she roared into the phone, tearing off her mask of weakness to reveal her original spoiled self. She pointed at the screen. “You did this on purpose!”

“That’s right.” Lu Ningzhi also tore off her “gentle sister” mask, twirling a pen between her fingers. “You study finance in class and run scams after class. With your ‘genius’ logic, you’ll be setting up a Beijing branch for the Ministry of Fraud before you even graduate. By then, the whole family will have to visit you in jail.”

Lu Lingzhi fired back: “You ******” “I ******” “You ******”

[System: Detected that the sister exposed the host’s fraudulent behavior. The host has broken down and is launching personal attacks against her sister. Muting. Resetting time once. Penalty: The host is forbidden from using the reset system tomorrow.]

[System tugging at Lu Lingzhi’s clothes: Mommy, calm down! Don’t forget, Big Auntie is richer than you. Coax her! Favorability, focus on favorability!]

[Lu Lingzhi: You did this on purpose! You’re getting revenge because I gave the egg tart to Su Xi. You’re actually taking sides while I’m fighting with my sister!]

[System: Mommy, Big Auntie is praising you. She’s calling you a logical genius and saying you’re capable. If you just use it for the right reasons, you’ll be a rising billionaire the strongest post-00s richest person of the future.]

Lu Lingzhi was fuming, the censored words making her gasp for breath.

She finally understood heart disease. The feeling of insults being stuck in your throat with no release, only to be swallowed back down it makes your heart “dirty.” In severe cases, isn’t that just heart disease?

Snap.

Jiang Mingyue was back on the bed. She watched as her finished apple slowly restored itself, and felt the sharp sting of the IV needle suddenly reappearing on the back of her hand. “…”

As she lay there, a thought occurred to her. It was like writing a thesis and suddenly entering a loop. You watch the words you typed disappear one by one right before your eyes.

How would that feel? Hell is empty, and the lunatics are among us. This life was unbearable. Jiang Mingyue pulled the blanket up, covering half her face, leaving only a pair of eyes filled with a total loss of the will to live.

Just destroy everything. Quickly. I’m tired. I really wish these lunatics had weekends off.

“Bzzzt, bzzzt.”

Seeing it was Lu Ningzhi’s call, the worried voice came through upon answering: “Sis, how did you end up hospitalized right after a physical exam? What happened to you?”

This time, Lu Lingzhi had learned her lesson and told the truth: “Yeah, a friend got sick. I’m paying for her.”

Lu Ningzhi’s heart was put at ease: “Oh, as long as you’re okay, I’m relieved. Be good at school. Don’t come back for National Day; Mom, Mommy, and I have to go to Europe for some important projects. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.”

“Got it. Thanks, Sis,” Lu Lingzhi replied like an emotionless customer service agent.

Lu Ningzhi was clearly stunned for a few seconds on the other end. “I said I’m bringing you gifts—bags, that necklace you like, all that stuff.”

Lu Lingzhi replied with a faint sense of “living person” detachment: “Thanks, Sis.”

“???” On the other end, Lu Ningzhi was clearly thrown off by this overly well-behaved response, especially the inclusion of a “thank you.” “Sis? Are you really my sister? You’re making me a little scared. Did you get some bad news from your physical exam? Don’t be afraid; the one thing our family isn’t short on is money. I’ll hop on a flight right now.”

Usually, whenever her sister heard her “drop gold coins,” she would say, Oh, I love you most, my dearest sister!

Lu Lingzhi: “…”

Scared? Lu Ningzhi, where’s your pride? Weren’t you acting all tough? Even you have moments of fear.

If I become basic, you lose your footing.

Her sister had forgotten their earlier argument, but Lu Lingzhi hadn’t. That surge of suppressed rage, smoldering in her chest after being forced back down, flared up again instantly. Her sister’s “getting the better of her while acting innocent” attitude truly rubbed her the wrong way.

Lu Lingzhi retorted sharply: “Then give me 1 million, and I guarantee I’ll be happier than if I received any gift.”

The other end went silent for two seconds, followed by Lu Ningzhi’s explosion of relieved laughter: “Hahaha! The truth comes out! That’s more like it; that’s my good sister. Alright, take good care of your friend. Sister is busy…” And she hung up.

“Beep….beep…. beep…”

This time, it was Lu Lingzhi who ruthlessly cut the call, as if saying one more word to her sister would be a secondary trauma to her aggrieved soul.

Jiang Mingyue leaned back against the hospital bed, a look of shock on her face. Did Lu the Second… also get stuck in the loop?

She stared at Lu Lingzhi’s back.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Two minutes passed. There was no sound of “snap-click,” only the cold air blowing from the air conditioner.

Something was wrong!

Very wrong!

During the first call, Lu Lingzhi was clearly invested in her performance and cursing her heart out, only to be reset by some mysterious force mid-sentence.

But her reaction the second time was too abnormal. She actually gave up the act and spoke the truth. However, she was radiating a palpable sense of “the Second Young Lady is pissed, but she’s forced to accept it.”

This didn’t fit Lu Lingzhi’s character.

It felt more like a forced compromise under some kind of rule.

Does Lu Lingzhi realize the existence of the loop? Maybe… she can partially control it? Or maybe she can’t control all of it, but exists as a ‘bug’ within the loop.

Should I test her?

Jiang Mingyue asked, “Lu the Second, do you ever feel like life is… fragmented?”

“In what way?”

Jiang Mingyue asked tentatively, “Why did you stop asking your sister for money? That doesn’t seem like your usual style.”

The sunlight filtered through the window, plating Lu Lingzhi’s beautiful profile in a pale gold. In those phoenix eyes that were usually full of arrogance, a flicker of an extremely complex emotion passed through.

Lu Lingzhi’s heart skipped a beat. Why is she asking that?

Oh, right. To her, my giving up on the money must seem incredibly out of character. No wonder she’s asking if life feels fragmented.

Having been seen through, Lu Lingzhi immediately erected her “tsundere” defenses. She tilted her elegantly lined chin and used a tone that suggested she had long since seen through the world, dropping an explanation that seemed plausible but was full of holes: “I’ve already done the whole ‘crying, screaming, and hanging myself’ act at home. I’ve given up on my sister.”

It was quite the picture of calm indifference, as if she had transcended worldly desires.

Ultimately, Jiang Mingyue just looked silently out the window at the drifting clouds, thinking to herself: You were forced to give up. This loop made you swallow your insults.

This loop was getting more interesting by the second.

Seeing Jiang Mingyue’s “I’ll believe you when pigs fly” expression, Lu Lingzhi felt a bit annoyed. To reclaim some dignity, she tugged at Jiang Mingyue’s sleeve, but Jiang Mingyue ignored her.

The next second, Lu Lingzhi cupped Jiang Mingyue’s face with both hands, forcing her attention away from the window and back to her own face. She tried to salvage her pride: “Jiang Mingyue, look. See how much my sister cares about me? Then look at yourself.”

Jiang Mingyue waved a black card in her hand. “There’s really no comparison. My brother is eight years older than me. He pampers me like a little princess. I have his black card and can swipe it infinitely. Do you have that kind of treatment? Where the money is, the love is.”

Lu Lingzhi: “…”

She felt that mouthful of old blood she hadn’t managed to swallow earlier surging back up. Their sibling relationship is that good?

Then again, Young Master Jiang and Jiang Mingyue were biological siblings.

One was a “beast in a suit” pervert, and the other was a liar full of nonsense. Truly a pair of siblings chosen by fate.

Jiang Mingyue, you win!

If she hadn’t run out of resets, she wouldn’t have stayed a single step longer in this wretched hospital room.

Why was she so stupid to come over just because of a phone call?

She had been verbally bullied by Jiang Mingyue again.

Lu Lingzhi stood up and charged straight out of the ward without looking back.

Bang!

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud, echoing through the quiet VIP corridor.

Jiang Mingyue’s heart hung in suspense as her eyes locked onto the door.

One second…

Two seconds…

Three seconds…

Two minutes passed, and the expected “snap” sound did not occur.

Jiang Mingyue had said those things on purpose. Lu the Second was truly ticked off. If she really could control the system and reset time given her spoiled nature where she couldn’t stand losing even an inch she would have definitely restarted the system. She would never allow herself to suffer such a loss in silence.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible that there was a limit on the number of resets. Ten loops happened at the bar yesterday, but only five today. However, the count couldn’t be confirmed. Lu the Second must have bargained for it.

Or, she didn’t have a system and was just a “bug” in the loop.

Just then, the ward door was pushed open again.