Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 115

After accepting the side quest, Si Xiaoxiao naturally wouldn’t ignore the main mission. She continued her search through the room for healing medicine.

Heaven rewards the diligent—after a search so thorough it nearly dismantled the house, Si Xiaoxiao finally found several jars and bottles tucked away in a hidden compartment.

“Heart-Breaking Powder,” “Drunken Spring Breeze,” “Seven-Day Itch”…

Si Xiaoxiao’s lips twitched as she read them. Good grief, what on earth were these? They all sounded like poisons or… well, medicines that didn’t seem quite “proper.”

Just as she was about to give up, an elegant white porcelain bottle labeled “Jade Dew Pill” caught her eye.

This name sounded much more normal!

She picked up the bottle; it was warm to the touch. On the bottom, a line of tiny, ant-sized characters was engraved: “Replenishes Qi and restores origin, heals internal injuries, recovers internal power.”

Recovers internal power!

Li Ting #2 didn’t appear to have any external wounds. Her sudden coughing up of blood was likely caused by using her internal energy to try and kill Xiaoxiao, which triggered an internal injury.

Treating it like a precious treasure, Xiaoxiao gripped the small bottle tightly and hurried back to the bedside.

When her gaze fell upon the unconscious woman again, Si Xiaoxiao tried her best to look straight ahead, chanting “See no evil, she’s just a patient…” in her mind. However, her fingertips trembled imperceptibly when they touched the woman’s delicate but icy chin.

She thought to herself: Regardless, this is still a version of Li Ting. Whatever I do or see is just what she deserves. The original Li Ting even tricked kids, and this one is at least in her teens.

No, no, no! My brain is drifting off again!

Si Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and used a bit of force to pry open Li Ting #2’s mouth. The soft lips were forced apart, revealing pearly white teeth.

Dreading to look too closely, she quickly poured out a longan-sized, brownish pill that smelled of bitter herbs. Aiming carefully, she practically threw it in.

As the pill entered her mouth, the unconscious Li Ting #2’s throat moved instinctively, as if swallowing it. Only then did Si Xiaoxiao breathe a sigh of relief, reflexively wiping non-existent sweat from her brow with her sleeve.

Having finished that, she looked at the woman’s nearly exposed state and felt it wasn’t quite right. Even though they were both women, leaving her like that… felt a bit like taking advantage of her.

She, Si Xiaoxiao, was a decent person!

Afterward, she rummaged through the room again and found some clothes to cover the woman on the bed.

Of course, the principle of “safety first” could not be forgotten.

Si Xiaoxiao hadn’t forgotten that as soon as this “Li Ting #2” woke up, she had drawn her sword.

Her eyes scanned the room and soon found a small knife on the floor by the foot of the bed. The blade looked ancient and emanated a faint chill; it was clearly no ordinary item.

So, Si Xiaoxiao walked over and silently picked it up. It felt heavy in her hand, and the icy touch gave her a shiver.

She sheepishly tucked the knife into her empty belt, thinking at least she had something for self-defense.

Hopefully, Li Ting #2 would wake up late—or be reasonable when she did.

With that done, Si Xiaoxiao slapped her forehead, remembering the original Li Ting trapped in the system space. Fearing the phone would run out of battery, she had turned it off while searching the room for supplies. Now that she had accepted such an absurd and grand side quest, she had no confidence at all and desperately wanted to hear Li Ting’s thoughts.

After all, three heads are better than one, and Li Ting’s brain was far superior to hers.

So, she turned the phone back on, only to find to her surprise that the battery was full!

That was good news—it charged automatically! It seemed the system had given them a “cheat code” after all!!

“How’s the situation on your end?” Li Ting’s voice came through the speaker, laced with obvious anxiety. She seemed to have been waiting in front of the screen the whole time, with that same oppressive, pure white background behind her.

Seeing Li Ting’s familiar face and hearing her concerned voice made Xiaoxiao’s tense nerves relax a bit. She adjusted her posture, sitting cross-legged on the cold bamboo bed, and began to spill everything—how she had taken a side quest and the general life story of her current identity.

On the other side of the screen, Li Ting listened to the slightly chaotic but information-heavy narrative. Her furrowed brows gradually relaxed. She pondered for a moment, appearing to digest the information, and then revealed a crucial detail: “I see… It seems our two sides are linked. Things have changed here too; various values and stats have appeared on my screen.”

“What do you mean, ‘various values’?” Si Xiaoxiao didn’t understand.

Li Ting was sharp and more sensitive to details. With a tone of patience intended to help Xiaoxiao understand, she explained: “Have you ever played those two-player co-op games? To put it simply, I’m the hacker/info-support. I can’t directly intervene in your world, but I can observe through the screen and analyze these stats—things like favorability, faction reputation, task progress bars, etc. I need to ‘guide’ you and help you break through at critical moments.”

Si Xiaoxiao shook her head, feeling as if she could hear water sloshing inside it. She replied bluntly, “Never played them, don’t get it.”

Li Ting seemed choked by Xiaoxiao’s self-assured “ignorance.” She sighed helplessly and gave up on the complex explanation, summarizing directly: “In short, I will assist you in unifying the martial arts world.”

Si Xiaoxiao blinked and announced with a bit of pride, “But I’m already the Alliance Leader!”

Looking at her “I’m amazing, right?” expression, Li Ting went straight for the heart: “But that’s not you. With your current combat strength, you couldn’t even kill a chicken.”

“…” Like a popped balloon, Si Xiaoxiao instantly deflated. As a modern person with zero martial arts foundation, she hung her head and asked weakly, “Do you have a plan?”

Li Ting’s gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, falling on the figure covered by clothes on the bed. Her expression became complicated, carrying a trace of imperceptible awkwardness and… rejection?

“I do,” Li Ting’s voice lowered. “But, you need to gain… ‘her’ favorability.”

When mentioning the other version of herself, her tone became noticeably stiff, as if she were speaking of an unpleasant existence.

She paused, then added: “Based on the preliminary information displayed here, the higher ‘her’ favorability is, the stronger your martial arts will become, and the easier it will be for you to complete the side quest.”

“‘Her’?” Si Xiaoxiao acutely caught the detachment and resistance in Li Ting’s voice. She curled her lip, saying dismissively, “Isn’t she just you? Why draw such a sharp line?”

Si Xiaoxiao was quite open-minded about it. Jealousy was one thing, but facts were facts. She didn’t think Li Ting confessing to an amnesiac version of herself counted as cheating—after all, they were the same person!

Besides, she possessed the memories of her own amnesiac self! At most, it was just a little awkward.

“It’s not like that!” However, something was wrong with Li Ting. Her face immediately contorted with loathing, her emotions spiking as her voice rose several decibels.

Something was definitely wrong!

Si Xiaoxiao’s expression instantly became incredibly solemn. She stared intensely at Li Ting’s eyes on the screen—eyes streaked with blood vessels and a certain kind of terror—and pressed: “What’s wrong with you?”

Her intuition was usually spot on.

On the other side of the screen, Li Ting seemed struck by the question. Her agitated emotions slowly settled, but they were replaced by a deep sense of exhaustion and… helplessness.

She struggled internally, her long, slender fingers unconsciously curling and uncurling. Finally, as if making a monumental decision, she chose to speak.

“I might be… sick again. I have to admit, she is indeed me… her personality and origin stem from me… but it’s not right… even though we can connect…”

Her voice held a hoarse quality, as if dissecting herself was a painful labor. “It’s just that my current state is… very strange.”

“We should be one, sharing the same soul foundation, but… I seem to have become the suppressed, observed ‘secondary personality,’ while ‘she’… has taken the lead as the ‘primary personality.’ I… I can ‘hear’ her thoughts, but I cannot influence her actions. It’s like being behind a piece of one-way glass. I’m sorry.”

A nearly imperceptible sob entered Li Ting’s voice. “The current situation gives me a feeling of… extreme anxiety. I’m afraid… afraid of being replaced… afraid that ‘I’ will disappear…”

By the end, Li Ting’s voice was trembling. Hidden within it was a fear originating from the depths of her soul—the fear of her self-identity being eroded.

Si Xiaoxiao fell silent.

Looking at Li Ting on the screen—looking so fragile she might shatter at a touch—Xiaoxiao felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing her heart, sending ripples of sharp pain through her.

But simultaneously, what surged in Xiaoxiao’s heart wasn’t just heartache; it was an indescribable sense of joy and touch. She was glad Li Ting was telling her these things; she was glad to see a sister who wasn’t perfect or all-powerful.

It seemed their previous argument had been effective. Her pressure, her directness, and her willingness to tear away the other’s disguise even at the cost of mutual hurt had finally made her “Sister” willing to share her burdens instead of facing them alone.

Thus, she made a promise: “I won’t let you disappear. We’ll finish the missions early, and then I’ll take you to see a psychologist, okay?”

Hearing this, the Li Ting on the screen bit her lip, clinging to the words like a lifeline. She nodded as obediently as a small child. She even displayed a rare, childish side, whispering with a hint of grievance and bossiness: “You… you can’t be too nice to her.”

“Who would ever want to be nice to her!”

As the words left her mouth, Li Ting’s fragile, broken gaze flickered over.

Si Xiaoxiao immediately backed down, her voice softening instantly. “Just… normally nice, I guess… Anyway! With me here, I’ll keep my previous promise! You have to trust me more sometimes!”

“Thank you, Xiaoxiao.” Li Ting knew Xiaoxiao was just being shy. She smiled tenderly, her emotions finally stabilizing.

“Don’t ‘thank’ me! We are… we are…” Si Xiaoxiao was flustered by the sudden gratitude. Her cheeks flushed warm, and she habitually tried to act “tsundere,” but the word “lovers” rolled around her tongue and just wouldn’t come out. She started stuttering.

“Lo… l-lo…”

Just as she was stuck, Li Ting—with a shallow but incredibly firm smile—perfectly supplied the unfinished thought:

“Lovers. Xiaoxiao, we are lovers now.”

The voice came through the speaker, tapping clearly against Si Xiaoxiao’s heart with a sense of settled tenderness and confirmation.

“I… I haven’t forgiven you yet!” Si Xiaoxiao’s face turned bright red all at once, like a cooked shrimp.

Seeing Li Ting’s knowing, sweet smile on the screen, “Cat” Xiaoxiao bristled again, as if her tail had been stepped on. In a frantic rush, she practically slammed the power button, cutting off the image and sound that were making her heart race out of control.

The world went silent instantly.

Si Xiaoxiao hugged her knees, burying her burning cheeks in her arms, her heart still thumping wildly.

After a moment, a trace of an irrepressible, slightly smug smile crept onto the corners of her mouth.

She thought to herself: Li Ting is actually quite easy to coax… and finally, she admitted we’re lovers…

After happily finishing the call with the lover she “hadn’t forgiven,” Si Xiaoxiao now had to deal with the matters of the other lover.

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