The girl's palm, as always, was icy cold, and she held Lu Shizhen's withdrawing hand tightly.
Lu Shizhen could hardly believe her eyes. The light swayed in her falling vision like an arc, and the person was holding her hand, his expression as calm as ever.
In fact, Xu Shiyue didn't know why she reached out to help Lu Shizhen.
Perhaps it was subconscious kindness, or something else, but once again, when she could have perfectly dealt with this madwoman, she stepped in to save her.
What she didn't know was that Lu Shizhen wasn't trying to regain her balance after stepping into the air, but rather making a subconscious movement after losing leg strength.
Although Xu Shiyue's health has been recovering better these days, she still has very little strength.
The force of the fall pulled Lu Shizhen downwards, and Xu Shiyue, caught off guard, was also pulled down with her.
In an instant, the world seemed to be turning upside down and tumbling, and the hard iron edges of the steps hurt people.
It's hard to say who was protecting whom. As Lu Shizhen subconsciously held Xu Shiyue in her arms, she felt the warmth of Xu Shiyue's hand on her vulnerable neck.
"Tense your body."
The girl's extremely calm voice reached Lu Shizhen's ears, causing her to instinctively obey.
In a daze, Lu Shizhen raised her eyes and suddenly realized that the friendly distance between the two of them had suddenly shrunk to the extreme, with the tip of their noses almost invisible.
The light and shadow flickered, falling frame by frame into Lu Shizhen's vision.
She could see Xu Shiyue's furrowed brows and her raven-feather-like eyelashes fluttering.
The scent of this person was enveloping her, cool yet warm because of her breath brushing against her ear.
In an instant, Lu Shizhen's heart, which had been pounding with fear at the impending punishment, returned to its original position.
It's a feeling that's hard to describe.
The loss of control over her legs threw her into a panic, and at that moment, someone appeared beside her who was going through the same ordeal.
It seems like we've been through thick and thin together.
However, Lu Shizhen felt that using "sharing weal and woe" to describe it was too hasty.
She didn't know how much time had passed—maybe only a few seconds, or maybe a century—when Lu Shizhen's chaotic thoughts were suddenly jolted apart by a slightly severe pain, and then she felt calm again.
Finally, it rolled down the stairs to the flat ground.
Lu Shizhen felt that her whole body, except for her legs, was screaming in pain.
She lay there on the ground, not fully conscious, when she heard footsteps.
"Miss! Miss Xu!"
"Miss, are you alright?"
"What happened? How did he fall from the building?"
"Quickly, call Dr. Qin!"
...
Aunt Sun and the other maids heard the noise and rushed over from all directions, surrounding the area in a great commotion.
Everyone's face showed anxiety and tension, and their words filled Lu Shizhen's ears.
"Miss Lai, let me help you up."
Aunt Sun squatted down next to Lu Shizhen, and was about to help Lu Shizhen up from the ground.
Lu Shizhen knew she couldn't stand up right now, and she felt a little panicked.
"That... me..."
"Buzz—"
Just as Lu Shizhen was trying to find an excuse to delay until the punishment time was over, the ticking countdown in her mind suddenly distorted.
It felt like an electric current had passed through her, buzzing and hitting her head, making a piercing sound in her ears.
The countdown timer, which was flashing an indigo light, seemed to have suddenly broken down, and the numbers that were slowly counting down suddenly started to move forward rapidly.
The countdown continued until it reached 00:01, then the countdown timer was cleared, and a sharp sound rang in Lu Shizhen's ears: "Beep—!!"
Then, the main system notification sounded mechanically: [Appeal successful, penalty withdrawn.]
Lu Shizhen was completely bewildered by this series of changes and hadn't even realized what was going on when Qiuqiu rushed up to her, flashing with light.
The round body supported by those weak wings circled in Lu Shizhen's line of sight, and even left afterimages as it flew away.
Qiuqiu was overjoyed and excitedly announced, "Host! Host! The appeal was successful! The main system has withdrawn the punishment! You're alright!!"
Lu Shizhen was stunned for a moment, and then Aunt Sun and the maid helped her up from the ground.
Her leg, which had just gone out of control, was a little stiff, but she managed to get it back on its feet steadily.
Her leg... is back.
Joy, mixed with other emotions.
As Lu Shizhen was enjoying the freedom to control her legs, a sudden exclamation rang in her ears: "Oh! Miss, what happened to that big gash on your knee?"
Aunt Sun's voice was full of tension, and she sounded a little scared.
Lu Shizhen looked down, puzzled, and saw a long trail of blood flowing down her knee. Her pampered skin was scraped raw, revealing a bright and cruel scarlet color.
Lu Shizhen felt that the scene was both familiar and unfamiliar.
She had experienced something similar a long time ago, or rather, not long ago.
The inability to feel pain seemed to become a divinely granted barrier.
She wished she could feel the empathy and pain that the person on the other end felt when they saw her wound.
And at that moment, she felt it.
The sensation in my legs slowly returned, and the forgotten pain, like countless ants, climbed back up into the blood vessels and muscles of my legs.
In an instant, it was as if her soul, which had been thrown away by the impact, had returned to its master's body. The belated pain was like a surging wave, catching Lu Shizhen off guard.
pain.
It really hurts.
"Go get the first-aid kit!" Seeing Lu Shizhen's brows gradually furrowing, Aunt Sun hurriedly instructed the maid beside her, and helped her to leave, "Miss, let me help you to the sofa."
Hurried footsteps echoed through the large villa, and figures flashed past the windows, their shadows flickering in and out of the light.
Xu Shiyue sat there as if she had been forgotten, with only Yuanzi by her side.
The midday sun was bright and dazzling. She listened as the sounds surged toward her in a noisy, bustling manner, and then retreated in twos and threes.
It was as if all of this had nothing to do with her.
Xu Shiyue knew clearly that this was not her place, and that she was not the one being cared for and worried.
But as she watched the figure surrounded by people in the center gradually move away from her, a sudden feeling of unease settled over her.
The surroundings quieted down, and the scent of roses slowly faded in the cool air.
After a pause, Xu Shiyue, supporting her reddened palms, prepared to get up on her own.
Just then, she heard a voice calling out, "Where is Xu Shiyue?"
Just as Aunt Sun helped her take a step, Lu Shizhen stopped and hurriedly asked the question.
Upon hearing Lu Shizhen's question, Aunt Sun realized that Xu Shiyue hadn't come along and hurriedly exclaimed, "Why hasn't anyone checked on Miss Xu?!"
She was helped up from the ground, her empty gaze revealing a subtle, almost imperceptible, gloom.
Her despair, which had almost reached rock bottom, was lifted up again, and she was cleaned up again as the maid tidied the dust off her clothes.
Surrounded by people again, Xu Shiyue subtly watched the figure being supported in the distance.
Just like she didn't know why she suddenly reached out to help her.
Just when she thought she had been forgotten, this person still remembered her.
But she always seems to remember the most trivial things.
"Miss Xu has no wounds on her legs, only a small cut on her elbow," the maid replied carefully after examining Xu Shiyue.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Sun didn't wait for Lu Shizhen to speak before immediately saying, "Then what are you all standing there for? Hurry up and help her over to apply the medicine!"
"yes!"
In a flurry, Lu Shizhen and Xu Shiyue were helped to the living room sofa.
While applying the medicine to Lu Shizhen, Aunt Sun asked, "Miss, how did you fall like that? Are you feeling unwell? Or was it because you drank alcohol last night?"
Lu Shizhen shook her head, enduring the pain in her knee: "No, I just accidentally lost focus and stepped into the air."
"Miss, try not to think about things while walking in the future," Aunt Sun advised. "Be careful, it's too scary."
Lu Shizhen nodded.
She gently stroked her fingers, and then thought of the hand that had grasped hers in the chaos.
As if possessed, Lu Shizhen turned slightly and looked at Xu Shiyue sitting to the side.
The sunlight slanted slightly, falling into the living room without being too glaring.
Xu Shiyue sat upright as always, while the maid carefully applied medicine to her elbow.
Although the wound on her elbow was smaller than mine, it was still a scrape, and the skin was bright red with blood.
As the brownish-red iodine was applied, Lu Shizhen, who had truly experienced pain, couldn't help but gasp inwardly.
Xu Shiyue remained expressionless, not even furrowing her brow.
They were calm and composed, as if they were immune to these things.
Suddenly, Lu Shizhen remembered what Xu Shiyue experienced after her house caught fire in the original text.
The pain back then must have been a hundred times worse than it is now.
The girl's still-joyful heart sank for a moment. Half a second later, Lu Shizhen said to Xu Shiyue, "Thank you for earlier. I owe you two favors now. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."
Xu Shiyue dislikes owing favors to others, but she also dislikes worrying about favors owed to her by others.
She looked at the figure in her line of sight and calmly said, "Then from now on, walk properly and listen attentively in class."
Lu Shizhen choked for a moment, as if she could sense the female lead's disdain.
She was indeed wrong in physics, but when it comes to walking, she really can't be blamed.
It's all that damned main system!
She simply couldn't explain these things to Xu Shiyue, so she nodded and assured her, "Don't worry, I will definitely do what you said."
The girl spoke with such conviction that it seemed entirely believable.
Xu Shiyue listened without saying anything more.
She didn't care about Lu Shizhen's promise.
But for some inexplicable reason, I felt that having her as a guarantee wasn't so bad.
"Let's see if Dr. Qin has any effective medicine later." Aunt Sun interrupted their conversation with concern as she applied medical gauze to Lu Shizhen's face. "I wonder if Dr. Qin has any good medicine."
Lu Shizhen felt that Aunt Sun's reaction was particularly strong today, so she gently comforted her, "It's okay, it will fade away gradually."
“Miss, you are prone to scarring.” Aunt Sun disagreed. “The scar on your thigh only faded away after two years. This wound needs to be treated properly, otherwise Madam will be heartbroken and sad again.”
Lu Shizhen felt that Aunt Sun's words were somewhat rambling and inexplicably cryptic.
She looked at her legs, which were now hers again, and thought she saw a faint mark on the outside of her left thigh, which stretched out over the entire thigh.
Why did the original owner have such a huge, indelible scar here?
Could it be that the original owner of this body had some unspeakable secrets in the past that wasn't revealed in the book?
"In the blink of an eye, I bypassed the permissions and went straight to the main system. I said, 'Main system, wasn't it a bit hasty to judge our host as being too intimate? Our host was just drunk; she wasn't really trying to seduce the female lead. She just really wanted to share that she had a pair of healthy legs. What's wrong with that? Besides, even in the original story, the original owner still had those feelings for Xu Shiyue later on. How can you say that our host deviated from her character and did it on purpose?' The main system immediately fell into deep thought..."
As the sun sets and the moon rises, the pitch-black night descends upon the world early.
The villa was unusually quiet tonight, as if it had been deliberately kept quiet for the terrified person.
But the room of the terrified person was brightly lit, and the light reflected on the window seemed to be moving with light and shadow.
Qiuqiu's voice was powerful and resonant, and its wings gleamed with an air of grandeur.
It vividly recounted to Lu Shizhen its glorious deeds of bravely venturing into the main system and arguing its case.
But the person sitting on the bed listening seemed somewhat distracted.
She sat cross-legged, staring at the small ball that kept swaying in her line of sight, her gaze unfocused.
This was the first time Lu Shizhen had directly experienced the terror emanating from the system.
This kind of terror is different from the fear brought by the unknown and the mysterious. Rather, it is the fear that the world has already been written with a predetermined trajectory, and everyone is following the script of their destiny.
Lu Shizhen originally thought that she knew everything that was going to happen here, and that she was a person who was free from this world.
Little did she know that someone had already tied an invisible rope around her legs, strictly restricting her freedom.
The task she was tasked with breaking free from the original owner's fate was nothing more than another script given to her by the Supreme God.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world; so-called freedom is always built within a framework of rules and regulations.
She gained these legs easily, and she will lose them just as easily.
Actually, it would be easy not to do anything out of line with Xu Shiyue.
She doesn't like girls either, and she wouldn't have any improper thoughts about Xu Shiyue like the original owner did, nor would she do anything excessive or outrageous.
Just like the original plan, we will keep Xu Shiyue at home and hand her over to another female lead when it is time for her to leave.
What's there to feel down about?
Why do you feel down?
"Ta-da!"
Just then, two light knocks came from Lu Shizhen's door, interrupting Qiuqiu's impassioned narration.
Lu Shizhen thought that Aunt Sun had come to bring her calming tonics again, and reluctantly got out of bed.
Dragging her feet, Lu Shizhen slowly walked to the door.
But to her surprise, when she pushed open the door that she had blocked from the inside, the person standing in the doorway was not Aunt Sun.
It was Xu Shiyue.
The girl was wearing loose loungewear, and her straight shadow enveloped Lu Shizhen.
She seemed to be holding something in her hand, and asked in her usual calm voice, "Did I disturb your rest?"
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