system

Tears streamed down her face as the system's cold voice sounded again.

"Sending the host away from the world in the book—"

Memories and the beginnings of various events surged into my mind.

She vaguely remembered that sweltering summer day when she felt incredibly cold and in excruciating pain. She had lost the most precious thing in her life, she had lost spring.

Her name is Pang Liman, a gynecologist at a top-tier hospital. She has a daughter named Pang Zhichun, who was born prematurely.

She was tall and elegant with delicate features, and seemed to have dressed herself up carefully for the day.

On May 20th, she happily left work early so she could celebrate her daughter's birthday. To celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she went into a cake shop, picked up the large cake she had ordered in advance, and started shopping on her phone for things her daughter liked.

She was rummaging through her things when a phone call suddenly popped up on her screen. She looked at it and saw that it was her neighbor, Luo An, calling.

She was rather happy, clicked to answer the call, and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey, what's wrong, An'an?"

All I could hear on the other end of the phone was Luo An's panicked voice. She cried out anxiously, "Li Man! Something terrible has happened! Zhi Chun is in trouble! Something terribly bad!"

Pang Liman remained calm, assuming it was trouble at her house again: "What happened to Xiaochun?" She picked up the cake, looked at it, and smiled as she thought of tonight's celebration banquet, "Today is Xiaochun's..."

"Zhichun jumped off the building! From the tenth floor..." Luo An didn't finish his sentence.

Upon hearing this, Pang Liman frowned, stopped in her tracks, and cried out angrily, "Luo An! Don't curse my daughter! My daughter is perfectly fine! There's absolutely no way anything could have happened to her! Absolutely not!"

"Liman! You need to go to the hospital right away! She..."

"Beep beep beep—" Pang Liman frowned and hung up immediately.

Pang Li felt inexplicably uneasy, sensing that something bad was about to happen. But then she thought about it... her daughter was so optimistic... how could this be? Yes! How could this be?

She walked faster and faster, brushing past pedestrians on the street, her whole body trembling inexplicably... she was becoming more and more afraid of something.

The more she thought about it, the more upset she became. Forgetting about the cake in her hand, she threw it into the nearby trash can. She started running, heading towards her workplace, disappearing into the crowded throng.

How could that be?! My little spring wouldn't...

Luo An! There's a limit to your jokes. How could you say that about her? ...How could you...

"Ring ring ring—" The phone rang again.

Pang Liman hurriedly took out her phone and saw that the caller's contact name was "Little Spring," and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She stopped, found an open space, and answered with a smile.

I knew it! Luo An lied to me.

She clicked to answer and then held the phone to her ear.

She greeted him softly, "Xiaochun..."

Before she could finish speaking, an unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the line.

"Are you Pang Zhichun's guardian?"

Pang Liman's heart sank to the bottom. "I am..." She paused, "You, are you a teacher? My family..."

"Please come to XX Hospital. Your daughter is in critical condition and urgently needs your presence."

Pang Li was stunned, as if struck by lightning. "What did you say! My daughter! What happened?" She was almost going crazy.

"She fell from the tenth floor and is now in the operating room..."

Before the woman could finish speaking, Pang Liman exclaimed, "I'm coming right away!" and hurriedly ran off, only to realize that the distance was still quite far, and running would be too slow! Too slow! She was afraid she wouldn't make it in time!

She hurriedly flagged down a taxi and rushed to XX Hospital.

After arriving at the hospital, she returned to her workplace.

She ran to the front desk and asked which operating room Pang Zhichun was in. Upon learning the answer, she walked towards the operating room in despair.

In the cold operating room, the screen still displayed "Operation in progress..."

She sat on the stool, staring desperately at the operating room door. She couldn't understand... why? What happened to her daughter?

Her heart pounded with unease, bringing her closer to collapse. She cried out in despair. Covering her mouth, she turned on her phone, saw the red 3 in the corner, and tapped it…

She found it was all "Little Spring" messages; she called three times, but all three times she was busy. Busy dealing with patients, so busy that she didn't even see her calls or messages.

She cried even harder, wondering. Was her daughter upset? Did she want to cry to her? Was it because she didn't answer her calls that her daughter was angry and upset, and that's why she couldn't think straight?

Pang Liman broke down in tears, her vision blurred by the tears, and she shakily opened WeChat.

Her daughter sent her four messages.

Mom, I miss you so much, but you're so busy.

Mom, why don't you answer my calls?

Mom, I'm sorry... I left you three letters, filled with all the things I wanted to say to you. That's all for now.

She also added a bye-bye emoji.

Pang Liman instantly understood the meaning of those three sentences, but she couldn't be sure... she couldn't believe it...

Beep—

She looked up at the operating room, and the operating room door slowly opened.

Pang Liman's eyes widened, and she quickly stepped forward to ask.

"Doctor! Doctor! How is my daughter?!" A mother's breakdown.

The attending surgeon lowered his eyes sadly and gently shook his head: "I'm sorry, we did our best..."

Those seven short words ripped away all her hope, all her will to live. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, her head thrown back in despair, "How could this be... how could this be..." She kept pounding her head.

She was emotionally devastated for a long, long time until Luo An helped her up.

After an unknown amount of time, Pang Liman recovered from the brink of collapse, and Luo An patted her back silently to comfort her. She fainted from grief when she went to collect her daughter's body.

When she opened her eyes again, her dim vision was instantly pierced by a dazzling white light. She was sitting on the hospital bed in her hospital gown. An IV drip was in her hand. She remembered, she remembered everything…

Her daughter is dead, dead! Killed by her own hands! Three suicide notes, three events…

Seeing that she was awake, Luo An asked worriedly, "Liman! Liman! Are you alright now?!" Then he scolded her anxiously, "Why did you take pills to commit suicide?! If I hadn't broken down the door, you probably would have..."

Pang Liman's face turned pale. She looked at her, smiled bitterly, and cried, "Xiaochun... my Xiaochun..."

Seeing her like this, Luo An grasped her hand and didn't know what to say. He held her tightly and said, "Can you rest well? Xiao Chun wouldn't want to see you in so much pain. Be good... okay?"

Pang Liman nodded, holding back her tears.

"I'll go make you some food." Luo An thought she must be hungry, then got up and left.

The ward fell into a deathly silence.

Pang Liman raised her hand to cover her eyes, but she couldn't hide her tears. Her pale lips trembled as she buried her head and cried silently.

She remembered. That night, she had read those three suicide notes over and over again, and soon after, she took poison and committed suicide, never expecting to find herself transported into a book. There, she saw her daughter, whom she had been longing for day and night! She resolutely stayed, wanting to make amends for her mistakes.

That night, she suddenly sat up with a start, turning her head to look at the unfamiliar surroundings. A retro style came into view, and beside her was a small, thin girl curled up; she held her and drifted off to sleep.

Pang Liman looked at the little girl's face and instantly burst into tears. This was clearly Zhichun when she was a child!

She burst into tears, covered her mouth, and dared not make a sound lest she wake her.

She was grateful that God had given her the chance to live. Although she was no longer in the modern world, Pang Liman was content just to see her.

Suddenly, a cold, automated system voice rang in her mind. Startled, she scanned her surroundings. There was no one there, and she thought she was hallucinating.

"Welcome to the novel 'He Qing'an,' host. I am your system, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Pang Liman closed her eyes and focused her energy on her sea of ​​consciousness, where she saw the system.

Pang Liman looked at it gratefully, almost kneeling down with tears welling up in her eyes: "Thank you! Thank you! You let me see my daughter again..." Her voice gradually weakened, perhaps swallowing her excitement as she cried.

She wasn't shocked, but rather overjoyed to see her daughter.

The system did not fully understand her meaning. "Please accept the mission and advance the plot."

Pang Liman nodded, "I'm willing to do anything as long as I can be by my daughter's side."

"Adjust the storyline so that Pang Zhichun doesn't have to suffer such a painful ending."

"?" Pang Liman instantly understood the girl's name was Zhichun. She was stunned, sensing something was wrong. "System, what do you mean by this?"

"The host needs to change some of the plot points so that the supporting characters no longer have to suffer a painful end to their lives."

Pang Liman was taken aback, and after hesitating for a while, she asked, "What if no changes are made?"

"The plot will continue as it was in the original story."

She recalled the novels she had read, where the systems could grant the protagonist one wish. Whether it was wealth or resurrecting a lover, once the wish was fulfilled, they would get what they wanted: "If I accept and change the ending, will my daughter, Pang Zhichun, be able to come back to life?"

"The world in the book is not connected to the real world, and the system is temporarily unable to solve your problem."

Her eyes flickered, clearly disappointed. She didn't understand why the system had chosen her. "Of all the people in the world, why did you choose me?"

"The host is currently in a dying state, and because the host's obsession is too deep, the system is merely giving him a hope of survival."

Pang Liman froze, seemingly on the verge of collapse, "I'm not dead? I'm not... dead... I..."

She glanced at the sleeping Pang Zhichun. So alike! Absolutely! But… she… wanted to die! All she knew was that if she accepted the system's mission…

She couldn't die! She would only sink deeper and deeper, becoming more and more attached, and guilt would engulf her like a tidal wave, preventing her from leaving this world. Would Zhichun, separated from her by death, hate her? Would she hate that she had another daughter, allowing Zhichun to take Zhichun's place...?

Can she do it?

She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and turned her head to enter her sea of ​​consciousness.

"You...you should just send me back. I'm determined to die. You should find someone else to do this."

The system is currently identifying the system: "..."

"Don't you want to spend more time with your daughter?" The system seemed to be able to read her mind.

Pang Liman stared wide-eyed at it in disbelief, opening her mouth but remaining silent. The mere mention of the word "daughter" instantly overwhelmed her with guilt and regret, making it hard to breathe! She was caught in a dilemma, then looked at the thin, pitiful Pang Zhichun.

A maternal feeling welled up inside her, and she thought back...

When Xiao Chuntian was this age, she wasn't this thin and small. If I leave... will she be harmed by someone else?

She...admitted that she had lost; she couldn't let go of her at all. She thought perhaps she could try to make up for what she had done to Zhichun by taking it out on Zhichun.

Zhichun and Zhichun differ by only one character; I wonder what their personalities are like.

Her eyes filled with maternal love as she gently stroked the sleeping Pang Zhichun. "I accept." With just three words, she decisively chose to stay.

"Beep—"

"Tell me, what is this book about?" She wanted to know the story, wondering what Pang Zhichun's fate would be, and prayed that it would be a happy one.

On the blue screen, dense text appeared, followed by the system's announcement.

"Host Pang Liman, do you accept the status of a concubine in the Pang family's third household?"

Pang Liman hesitated for a moment, surprised that she was a concubine, but she didn't care anymore. She had only one thought in her mind: to keep her daughter alive.

She clicked the "OK" option directly.

"The novel 'He Qing An' mainly tells the love story between the female protagonist Shu An and the male protagonist Qin Mohe, while Peng Xuan'an is the second male lead, because..."

"Just tell the story of Zhichun."

"The minor supporting character, Pang Zhichun, is the fourth young lady of the Pang family. She was born to Tang Qi'an, the third concubine of the Pang family. Pang Zhichun has been lonely and isolated since childhood and is not favored by the head of the Pang family. Tang often beats and scolds Pang Zhichun for this reason, which makes Pang Zhichun cold and indifferent."

"At the age of fifteen, she was forced to marry Peng Xuan'an as his principal wife under the imperial decree and the pressure from her family. The two did not like each other. Peng Xuan'an, unable to win the heart of his beloved, spent his days drinking in brothels and took in nearly twenty concubines. He neglected his principal wife for nine years. Under the persuasion of his family, the two had sex three times."

"After Pang Zhichun's last sexual encounter, she gave birth to a daughter after ten months of pregnancy, named Sihe. Rumors spread throughout the capital, and she soon died of illness and resentment due to the rumors. Peng Xuan'an did not visit her because of this. He regarded Peng Sihe as a disgrace to the Peng family, and Sihe lived like a servant."

"In the end, the protagonist Shu An saved two-year-old Shu An and took her away from the Peng residence, caring for her with great care. Peng Xuan An held a grudge and suggested taking three-year-old Si He on a trip, after which he personally pushed her into the well."

Pang Liman was furious after hearing this, "Scumbag! Beast! I don't want to marry my daughter to such a scumbag!"

"System! Can I let my daughter marry the man she loves? If not, marrying someone else would be a million times better!"

The system warned: "The official pairing and the secondary pairing cannot be separated. Otherwise, it will seriously deviate from the original plot and the host will be expelled from the world of the book."

Pang Liman couldn't stand it any longer and glared angrily at the system: "Since you want me to make adjustments, why can't I let my daughter have a happy ending?"

"Beep—No matter how the host adjusts, Pang Zhichun's fate will ultimately lead to death. You cannot deviate too much from the original plot. This is unavoidable and an important part of the story."