Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 89

The white light finally dissipated completely, and the strange fluctuations of energy in the air gradually settled into stillness.

Li Ting’s arms remained steady as she held Si Xiaoxiao, feeling the tangible weight and warmth in her embrace. Her heart, which had been suspended high, gnawed by endless anxiety and worry, finally settled back into place, sending a wave of tingling, numbing ecstasy through her.

She carefully adjusted her posture, letting Si Xiaoxiao lean more comfortably against her chest, her gaze lingering on the face she had nearly lost and finally regained.

Si Xiaoxiao’s skin still bore a moist radiance from the light that had just bathed her. Her long, curled eyelashes were like resting butterflies, casting shallow shadows over her eyelids. Her breathing became even and deep—no longer the lively, vibrant rhythm she had as a flower.

Li Ting held her breath, fearing she might disturb this hard-won awakening. She reached out, her fingertips trembling imperceptibly as she brushed a stray lock of hair from Si Xiaoxiao’s forehead.

At that moment, Si Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes fluttered more violently. Her brow furrowed slightly, and she let out a faint, sleepy moan.

Then, those eyes—once sparkling with spirit and cleverness—slowly opened.

Li Ting’s heart skipped a beat. A massive wave of joy surged through her like a warm current, making her eyes sting with heat.

She instinctively wore a smile, her voice softening until it was tender enough to drip like honey: “Xiaoxiao? You’re awake? How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?”

In the dungeon world, even though Si Xiaoxiao had been with her constantly, it felt as though they hadn’t seen each other in forever.

What kind of expression would Xiaoxiao show?

Would she be ashamed and indignant, or perhaps annoyed?

Li Ting had even prepared herself to be blamed or scolded.

However, to Li Ting’s surprise, Si Xiaoxiao’s reaction was nothing like what she had anticipated.

The beautiful eyes were open, the pupils were the familiar color, but the gaze was exceptionally vacant and… innocent.

They moved slowly, curiously sizing up Li Ting’s face inches away, then looked around at the unfamiliar environment with bewilderment. There was no relief from surviving a disaster, no familiar dependence, and certainly none of the bright spirit belonging to the quirky, sometimes silly, sometimes haughty Si Xiaoxiao.

She tilted her head with a childlike, defenseless clumsiness. Her pink lips puckered slightly as if she were trying hard to solve an extremely difficult puzzle.

Then, she raised a hand—the movement somewhat limp and uncoordinated—trying to grab a strand of Li Ting’s hanging hair. Her throat emitted slurred, indistinct sounds: “Ugh… ee-ya…”

The tender, expectant smile on Li Ting’s face froze instantly. The corners of her mouth stiffened and sank until the smile vanished entirely.

A sudden, icy chill shot up from her spine, spreading through her limbs with alarming speed, leaving her feeling as though she had fallen into an ice cellar. Her pupils shrank as she stared at the person in her arms in disbelief.

Something was clearly wrong with this Si Xiaoxiao!

“Xiaoxiao?” she tried calling again. Her voice carried a violent tremor she didn’t even notice and an irrepressible urgency—even a hint of desperate pleading: “How are you? Are you okay?”

Si Xiaoxiao seemed attracted by the hurried, almost tearful voice. Her gaze refocused on Li Ting’s face.

She stared at Li Ting for a few seconds as if trying to identify something. Suddenly, she grinned, revealing a pure smile devoid of any complexity or shadow—innocent and brilliant.

“Who… are you?” Si Xiaoxiao spoke. Her voice was soft and waxy, her eyes filled with total naivety. “Where is this?”

Who are you? Where is this?

How could Si Xiaoxiao react like this!

Could it be… amnesia? But, but…

Li Ting suppressed the stormy waves of shock that threatened to tear her apart. She forced herself to slow down and attempted a simpler level of communication, using the gentlest, simplest words she could find, one by one: “Xiaoxiao, my name is Li Ting. I am… I am your friend.”

She struggled to spit out the word “friend,” her heart aching.

“Hello, Big Sister!!” Si Xiaoxiao’s round cat-eyes lit up immediately. she stared at Li Ting without blinking, as if she had heard something wonderful.

She reached out like a curious but timid little animal, tentatively and quickly poking Li Ting’s cheek before retracting her hand instantly, seemingly startled by the soft texture. Then, a bigger, sweeter smile bloomed on her face: “Sister, you are so pretty! I like you so much~”

This reaction… is it really amnesia?

Except something still felt off. If it were just simple amnesia, Xiaoxiao’s behavior seemed… excessively juvenile.

What exactly was going on?

Li Ting’s heart felt as though it were being squeezed hard. She told herself desperately: It’s okay, Xiaoxiao will remember. Didn’t the System vow that this was a “triple-win”?

Why did Xiaoxiao become like this?! Was the soul energy still incomplete? Or did this so-called “solution” have a terrible flaw?!

“System! System, get out here!” Li Ting called out frantically in her mind, forcing herself to stay calm. “What is happening?! Why did Xiaoxiao become like this?! Give me an explanation!!”

However, there was dead silence in the depths of her consciousness. The System gave no response, as if it had completely vanished after completing some crucial task.

It was like a sudden storm that had swept through everything, leaving behind this mess before disappearing without a trace.

Li Ting took a deep breath, her chest filled with a cold sense of powerlessness and the anger of being toyed with.

She really hated—truly loathed—this feeling of being led by the nose, completely unable to control the situation!

She could no longer rely on this mysterious System.

She had to figure it out herself!

“Xiaoxiao, can you stay by yourself for a bit? Sister has something to do.” Li Ting took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, they were filled with an indisputable, firm tenderness.

Si Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously, revealing a sweet and obedient smile: “Xiaoxiao can stay by herself. Don’t worry, Sister!”

Si Xiaoxiao nodded again, her small face sporting a sweet, shadowless grin as she said loudly, “Xiaoxiao can stay by herself! Don’t worry, Sister! Xiaoxiao is the most well-behaved!”

Li Ting got up quickly and almost fled into the master bedroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the cold door frame, finally allowing herself a moment of panic.

She took out her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed You Yilin’s number again.

According to the setting where time in the real world stops while in the dungeon world, the bet between You Yilin and Gong Zhiyuan should have reached a conclusion by now.

Li Ting asked anxiously, her voice still carrying the traces of her uncalmed agitation: “A-Lin? How is it? What… what is the situation with you guys now?”

However, the voice that came from the other end of the line belonged to a strange woman.

Her Chinese was not fluent—even clumsy. Every word was uttered slowly and clearly, possessing a cold, waveless quality, like a machine reading aloud:

“She won.”

“I… let her go.”

Clearly, the person answering the phone… was not You Yilin.

But rather… Gong Zhiyuan.

Immediately, before Li Ting could offer any reaction, the call was cut off decisively, leaving only a string of busy tones.

What did this mean? You Yilin won? So Gong Zhiyuan had accepted defeat and truly given up her obsession, letting her go? This…

But why?! Why was A-Lin’s phone in Gong Zhiyuan’s possession?!

The tone of Gong Zhiyuan’s voice… it was calm. A deathly, stagnant calm that betrayed no emotion—neither the resentment of failure nor the relief of letting go. This, instead, made one’s skin crawl even more!

Carrying a sudden surge of more chaotic questions, Li Ting immediately redialed the number.

However, this time, the phone only provided a cold, automated prompt: “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off…”

Damn it! What exactly was going on? What had happened on A-Lin’s end?!

A sense of powerlessness washed over her once more like a tide, wrapping around her tightly.

She didn’t know if offering the System’s dungeon world as a choice had been the right decision for You Yilin, nor did she know if Xiaoxiao’s emergency at the time had compromised her own judgment.

But now, she could only force herself to pack away her churning emotions. She had to calm down and face the most pressing problem right in front of her.

She rubbed her brow firmly, walked to the wardrobe, and pulled out a soft, loose T-shirt of her own, a pair of new casual pants, and a set of unopened disposable underwear. She hadn’t forgotten that at this moment, Xiaoxiao was only wrapped in a thin blanket.

When she returned to the living room with the clothes, Si Xiaoxiao remained in the exact same position as when she had left, sitting obediently on the edge of the sofa with her hands placed neatly on her knees—just like a child in kindergarten waiting for a teacher’s praise.

The moment she saw Li Ting, Si Xiaoxiao’s eyes brightened instantly. She immediately offered a huge, unreserved, and brilliant smile, her voice chirping with joy: “Sister! You’re back!”

Facing such pure dependence and joy, Li Ting’s heart—which had been restless and turbulent due to the many upheavals—strangely and suddenly settled.

It was like a ship finally finding a harbor in a storm; she now had a fixed direction, someone who needed her protection.

Li Ting’s tone softened unconsciously, carrying a patience and tenderness she hadn’t even realized she possessed: “Xiaoxiao, I brought some clothes for you. Let’s get dressed first, okay? It’ll be more comfortable.”

“Okay!” Xiaoxiao nodded happily and stood up abruptly. Her movement was so fast it startled Li Ting, causing the blanket draped over her to slide off and pile at her feet.

In an instant, that fair, exquisite, and young body—with curves so superior they seemed like a masterpiece of God—was exposed to the cool air without any shield, forcing its way into Li Ting’s vision.

Li Ting’s brain went blank for a second. Even though she turned around as fast as she could, closing her eyes tightly in a near-clumsy panic, that breathtaking whiteness and those graceful curves were already seared into her mind like a branding iron, refusing to fade.

This is going to be the death of me…

However, the puzzled, purely innocent voice of Si Xiaoxiao rising from behind her felt like a death knell: “Sister, why did you turn around?”

Her tone was as simple as a clear mirror, reflecting nothing but Li Ting’s current flustered state.

Li Ting practically tripped over her own feet as she dumped the bundle of clothes onto the coffee table. Her voice was dry and tight, her footsteps erratic as she tried to flee back into the bedroom: “The… the clothes are on the table! You… put them on yourself! I’m going inside to give you some privacy!”

But Xiaoxiao called out to her, sounding aggrieved: “But, Sister, I don’t know how to put on clothes by myself.”

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