Chapter 76
The polished, dark gray pebble lay forlornly on the dry tabletop, like an actor whose performance had been abruptly halted, bewildered and jarring. The original owner of this body, Shi Ye, still clutched a damp towel, her fingertips retaining the stone's cool touch and another fleeting chill. Her head was bowed, the faint blush on her ears still lingering, and she stood frozen in place, as if the person who had just mustered the courage to clean the stone and then hastily accepted the towel was not herself.
Qi Jin had already withdrawn his hand and put it back in his pocket. His face remained expressionless, but his gaze lingered for a moment on the "treated" stone, then lightly swept over Shi Yu's hand tightly clutching the towel, before finally looking away, reverting to his detached and aloof demeanor, as if the one who had just handed over the towel was merely a phantom.
[Ding! Changes detected in key variables of the host's survival environment... Worldline disturbances intensify... The conflict rate between the original mission 'bringing together Qi Jin and the original host Shi Ye to a happy ending' and the current world's underlying logic has increased to 71%... The optimal survival path has been recalculated...]
[Calculation complete.]
[Final core mission issued: Survive in this derivative subworld 7749.]
[Mission Description: Due to the chain reaction triggered by the host's early intervention (saving Qi Jin) and the return of the original owner's consciousness, the current worldline has entered a highly unstable state. The forced connection progress is in dynamic equilibrium due to the host's unique existence mode and the world's corrective forces (current estimated value: fluctuating between 95% and 100%). The host must find a stable 'anchor point of existence' before the world's logic completely collapses or the self-consciousness is erased.]
[Warning: The existence of the original owner, Shi Ye, and the deepening of his interactions with Qi Jin may accelerate the world line's rejection of the host's 'erroneous data'. Please handle this with caution.]
[Survival Assistance Suggestions: Observe, adapt, and intervene when necessary to ensure your existence is not overwritten. The residual isolation layer of the emotional module is experiencing unstable fluctuations; please remain conscious.]
A series of cold, rapid electronic voices exploded in Su Xiao's (Shi Ye's) mind, a deluge of information. The mission had changed? No longer matchmaking, but survival? Because the original owner had returned, her "erroneous data" might be "rejected" by the world? The forced association progress was teetering on the brink of danger? And the emotional module's isolation layer was unstable…
Su Xiao felt as if her consciousness had been thrown into a washing machine, spinning rapidly until only a cold, dizzying sensation remained. She looked a few steps away at the "herself" who was still hanging her head, anxious and uneasy, and at Qi Jin by the window, who was silent and distant, yet had just offered her a towel.
She (Shi Ye) was the one who pushed Qi Jin away during the explosion.
Standing here now, bearing the name Su Xiao, it is she (Shi Ye) who is watching all of this.
The one who was scrutinized by Qi Jin, who evoked subtle emotions in her, and who even offered her a towel, was another "Shi Ye".
A sense of absurdity washed over her like a tidal wave, almost overwhelming her. She had been scheming like a clumsy matchmaker, trying to bring them together, but now the system was telling her that her very existence was becoming a problem, and any progress between the two of them could become the bell ringing to force her to leave.
Lin Xiaoyu broke the eerie silence in the room. She leaned close to Shi Ye and whispered, "Sister Shi Ye, are you alright? It's good that the stone is clean now. Senior sister was just being kind by giving you the towel." She tried to explain what had just happened as a normal interaction.
Teacher Wang stepped forward at the opportune moment and gently took the half-damp towel from Shi Ye's hand: "Miss Shi, give me the towel. You did very well just now, following your instincts." She cleverly shifted the focus from "Qi Jin handing over the towel" back to the act of "Shi Ye cleaning the stone" itself, helping Shi Ye extricate herself from the embarrassment.
The original owner of the body loosened her grip on the towel as if she had thrown away a hot potato, rubbing her fingers on the hem of her clothes, still not daring to look up. But her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
Qi Jin stopped paying attention to this area. She seemed to have reached a conclusion about this "on-site observation," turned and walked towards the corner where Secretary Li was, whispering a few instructions. Secretary Li nodded, then walked towards Teacher Wang and Su Xiao: "President Qi has other plans. Today's event can end here. We will notify you of the next time later."
Is that all? Su Xiao glanced at the clock on the wall; it was about twenty minutes earlier than scheduled. Was it because Qi Jin's sudden arrival and the little incident earlier had disrupted the flow? Or had Qi Jin already seen what she wanted to see and felt there was no need to continue?
After giving her instructions, Qi Jin didn't look at anyone else and headed straight for the exit. However, as she passed the creation table, she paused almost imperceptibly, her gaze seemingly sweeping over the cleaned and dried dark gray pebble, and the two white stones still nestled side by side on the cashmere cloth beside it.
Then she left. Her figure disappeared behind the door, and with it, the invisible, oppressive presence vanished.
The remaining people in the studio all breathed a sigh of relief, and even the air seemed to flow more smoothly.
Lin Xiaoyu patted her chest: "Senior's aura is really...it always makes me feel like I need to breathe oxygen." She looked at Shi Ye and regained her energy, "Shi Ye, don't just stand there, shall we pack our things? Do you still want these stones?" She pointed to the two white stones.
The original owner of this body looked at the two stones with a somewhat blank expression, and a hint of reluctance that was hard to detect. She gently shook her head.
"Then I'll keep them for you? You can play with them next time you come." Lin Xiaoyu volunteered, carefully putting the two white stones and the cashmere cloth into a clean little cloth bag. As for the dark gray one, she hesitated for a moment, then looked at Su Xiao and Teacher Wang.
Teacher Wang nodded to Su Xiao: "Assistant Su, please organize these materials according to the procedure."
“Okay.” Su Xiao stepped forward and began to tidy up skillfully. She picked up the dark gray pebble, its surface still cool from the evaporation of moisture. This was a stone that had been carefully washed by the original owner, Shi Ye, and wiped with Qi Jin’s towel. Now, through her hands, she placed it back in the basket, mixing it with the other stones, as if the minor “cleaning incident” had never happened.
Her movements were steady, but her heart felt as if it had been poked by a stone.
Survive.
Not as Shi Ye, not as matchmaker Su Xiao.
As "Su Xiao," a "faulty data" that might be rejected by the world's logic at any time, he survives in this world where Qi Jin and the original owner Shi Ye are gradually beginning to have subtle interactions.
She needed to observe. Observe the changes in Qi Jin's attitude towards the original owner, Shi Ye. Observe every reaction of the original owner, Shi Ye, for there might be traces of her (Su Xiao's) remaining influence, or it might be a completely new personality after the world's correction. Observe any interactions between them that might accelerate or delay her "existential crisis."
Intervene when necessary—not to matchmake, but to ensure that you are not instantly "overshadowed" or "rejected" because of some progress they make.
This is much harder than matchmaking. And...much more tragic.
She is now a true bystander. Watching her own body being used by another person, watching the person she once cared for with all her heart (even if she was unaware of it at the time) form a new connection with that body that she cannot control.
"Su Xiao? What are you daydreaming about?" Lin Xiaoyu's voice pulled her back to reality.
Su Xiao snapped out of her reverie and smiled, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about what materials to prepare for the next event." She glanced at the small cloth bag containing white stones and cashmere fabric that Lin Xiaoyu had carefully put away, and then looked at the now empty room, with only the red security light of the monitor flickering faintly.
The first lesson in survival: Conceal all your true emotions and play the role of "Su Xiao, the intern assistant at Su Guang Space".
Then, open your eyes wide and make sure you see every slight change in wind direction.
Fight for yourself, for a path to survival that may or may not even exist.
Matchmaker Su Xiao has officially left the game.
Survivor Su Xiao struggles to log in.
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