In the evening, Jiang Jianguo had already picked up Nannan from school, and Xue He had prepared dinner, but Jiang Wanqing was nowhere to be seen coming out of her room. She was about to knock on the door to invite her daughter and son-in-law to dinner.
Just as she raised her hand, Cheng Ran came out from inside and smiled at her.
"mom."
"Hey, it's time to eat. Where's Wanqing? Still busy with work?"
Xue He looked into the room but didn't see anyone by the desk. Cheng Ran shook his head, went out, and closed the door.
"Wanqing is too tired, and she's also a bit exhausted from being pregnant. She's resting right now. She asked me to tell you that she won't be eating dinner tonight. I'll make her some noodles when she wakes up."
He calmly came up with an excuse. At this time, he definitely couldn't let his family know about Jiang Wanqing's situation. Firstly, he was afraid of scaring them, and secondly, he was afraid that if she woke up soon, there was really no need to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"ah?"
After hearing Cheng Ran's explanation, Xue He didn't seem to accept it very well and frowned.
"But you still need to eat before resting, this..."
"She's really alright. Let's go eat."
"Ah... well... okay then."
Xue He glanced at the room with concern, sighed, and thought that at worst she could just keep the food warm on the stove so her daughter could eat hot food when she woke up. Since her daughter was tired, she should rest. It was rare for her to have time to rest. Besides, she was fine when she came back at noon. Cheng Ran said she was fine, so she should be fine.
At the dinner table, when Nannan asked, Cheng Ran gave the same answer. Jiang Jianguo was a little more easygoing than Xue He, only instructing them to take good care of Jiang Wanqing and to wake them up whenever they wanted to eat something at night.
Cheng Ran agreed to all of these requests. After finishing his meal, he rushed into his room, locked the door, and sat on the edge of the bed, not daring to close his eyes. He held her hand and felt her body temperature before he felt at ease.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wanqing's consciousness had long since drifted away from the real world, once again entering the chaotic realm she had once been in when she was on the verge of death...
Time seemed to stand still here; you couldn't even feel the air. The screens that were lit up before were now completely white, with nothing there.
She spun around in place a few times, but there were no landmarks, no people, and no living beings around her.
This time she was calmer than before, and shouted at the top of her lungs into the void.
"Although I don't know what you are, I know you're still here. Come out here! I have something to ask you!"
She heard a hissing sound, like the sound of an old-fashioned television when there was no signal. She frowned, and soon heard a weak, mechanical voice.
"The female protagonist of the small world, Jiang Wanqing... has completely deviated from her character design, and the main plot is out of control... The system's energy is exhausted..."
"system?"
Jiang Wanqing grasped the key point, thinking she had misheard. This was clearly not a sound a real person could make, and it didn't seem like a response to her.
"What are you?! Is the world we live in under your surveillance?!"
"Unable to provide information... The system is down... The requester does not have sufficient permissions... The foreign object rejection procedure has been activated."
Soon, Jiang Wanqing felt a force tearing at her soul. In the real world, Cheng Ran's image flickered before her eyes, and she had a feeling that she was about to return to her body but was also detached from it.
In the blur, she heard two voices talking. Unlike the completely mechanical voices, the speakers seemed to be real people, but also seemed to be in a completely different world from hers.
"This is so annoying. This little world is out of my control again. I guess I'll have to give up."
"Exactly! Originally, they wanted to use the guise of a strong female lead to create a Mary Sue story, making Jiang Wanqing, the female lead, a mere appendage to Cheng Ran, the male lead. Who knew her own aura would grow stronger and stronger, it's really..."
"If you ask me, it's because the story of her starting her own business and building her fortune was written too perfectly. If she had been confined to the family compound and constantly dealing with people and getting entangled in trivial matters, she wouldn't be where she is today."
"Is it any use regretting it now? The male lead, Cheng Ran, seems to have risen in status, but nothing has changed. In reality, he's completely centered around the female lead... Sigh... Let's go, let's go check out the next small world. We don't need this one. Learn from this experience..."
"The world of novels is even more difficult to navigate than the real world. Let's move on to the next one... If we don't keep an eye on these characters and plots, our jobs will be in jeopardy."
...
The voice grew fainter and fainter, and Jiang Wanqing's head throbbed with pain. What novel world? What was a system? What did those people mean by giving up on this world?
Is she merely a fictional character, whose life, according to them, was so richly developed that it deviated from its original course, leading to her being abandoned by the world? What was the original story then?
"ah!"
A sensation of explosion struck Jiang Wanqing, and she woke up with a scream.
"You're finally awake! You scared me to death..."
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Cheng Ran sitting by the bed. He carefully placed a pillow behind her back, helped her sit up, and poured her a glass of warm water.
She slowly drank it down, sip by sip, and her throat felt much better. She could see that it was all dark outside.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"It's been less than a day, thankfully." He gently patted her back. "Did you go, like you told me before...?"
He looked up, his meaning clear, and Jiang Wanqing pursed her lips and nodded.
"Um."
"So... have you figured out the answers and the truth you wanted to know? Will this kind of thing happen again? Do you know how worried I am?"
Jiang Wanqing saw the anxiety and worry etched on his face. She forced a smile, her voice slightly hoarse.
"It should be cleared up now. As for next time... I guess not."
"real?"
"Mmm." She hugged him. "I'm hungry. Can you get me something to eat?"
She changed the subject, as there were some things she needed to sort out while her memory was still relatively clear.
"Okay, you wait here, I'll be right there."
After Cheng Ran left, the smile on Jiang Wanqing's face gradually faded, and the words she had vaguely heard kept echoing in her mind.
The world of novels... a mere appendage to life... Mary Sue...
According to them, what should this world have been like? Shouldn't she have self-awareness and revolve around men and family? If having her own career and becoming independent derails the world, then this world is far too fragile.
As Jiang Wanqing pondered, she unconsciously let out a cold snort. People create the kind of world they are; thankfully, she had escaped their control.
A short while later, Cheng Ran brought in a bowl of steaming noodles and some side dishes, set up a small table for her, and placed it in front of her.
"Eat it while it's hot, there's more in the pot if you're not full."
She looked at him and asked, "Cheng Ran, do you feel like I'm holding you back?"
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