The light cast shadows on the clean wall on one side of the room, and the book cover was flipped off the wall.
The faint sound of paper rubbing rang out continuously and then subsided. The wall did not return to its blank state; instead, a scene drawn with a marker was reflected on the wall.
Then, the plane that had made an emergency landing in the desert shook slightly.
Xu Shiyue had completely lost her sight. Her slender hands groped on the white paper and unexpectedly collided with the cartoon airplane.
She sensed its presence, as if some 3D picture was standing upright in front of her as she turned the pages of the book.
But she couldn't see because of the medication on her eyes, so she could only feel the shape of the airplane and the undulations of the desert with her hands.
Xu Shiyue originally thought that Lu Shizhen translating The Little Prince for her was already enough.
But she also created the illustrations inside.
Where have you been?
"secret."
The girl's rising intonation suddenly echoed in Xu Shiyue's mind, a sound that seemed to travel through time. It was the day she and Lu Shizhen reached an agreement on their collaboration, their conversation in the library.
Xu Shiyue's hand caressed the outline of the book's pages. The size of the book was almost the same as the one Lu Shizhen had been holding that day.
At that time, she thought the secret Lu Shizhen mentioned was some private matter of hers, or some morbid thought that she couldn't know.
Little did he know that Lu Shizhen's refusal to reveal this "secret" was a pleasant surprise for him.
Xu Shiyue touched the illustrations that stood up as the pages turned, just like the pilot walking in the vast desert.
She suddenly felt like she had lost so much in those twelve hours.
The lingering smell of alcohol and paint, not yet fully evaporated, filled the room, spreading along the imperceptible smooth paper to the girl's fingers.
Xu Shiyue never felt that the dark world could be monotonous. Anyway, life was just like that, and there was nothing worth seeing with her eyes.
But at this moment, she desperately craved color.
Even though no one was around to admire how beautiful Lu Shizhen's paintings were this time.
Xu Shiyue still remembered the nervousness in Lu Shizhen's voice when she put the things on her desk.
This person is always like this, simple and sincere. Sometimes I really feel that she is even simpler than Yuanzi.
But then Xu Shiyue paused again.
If Lu Shizhen hadn't been nervous, but instead was looking forward to seeing her open the gift, she wouldn't have known how to react.
I don't want to hide how much I like this gift that she put so much effort into.
Yet, she dared not reveal her feelings too much.
That hesitation and indecision once again clearly landed in Xu Shiyue's mind under these circumstances.
It was as if her perfectly fitting bones were rejecting this rib that didn't belong to her, shaking her feelings for Lu Shizhen.
Xu Shiyue's feelings were complicated.
Liking someone is a very simple thing; it can be decided in a single thought or an instant.
But what happens after that?
These days, her rationality keeps reminding her what she needs at this stage and what should be her top priority.
They pop up from time to time, as if they were part of a pre-programmed sequence.
Xu Shiyue felt a sense of being pulled along.
It was as if reason and emotion were at odds, and the scales in her heart were swaying.
Not long ago, she thought she could balance everything, but she fell into a trap set by Chen Miaomiao with such a simple cliché.
It's just because Lu Shizhen is coveted and liked by many classmates at school.
If someone makes her lose her calm and rational judgment and vigilance, can she still let herself like them?
After what happened last week, Xu Shouxian will no longer create another Sun Chenchen to exclude Lu Shizhen from his killing plan.
If Lu Shizhen dies, if she dies because of me.
Not only would Lu Shize not let her off the hook, but she herself would not let herself off the hook either.
Her lover was the first person in her life she could choose to care about.
But now Xu Shiyue doesn't know whether she should like Lu Shizhen or let herself truly embed this weakness into her body.
Cautious and at a loss.
Xu Shiyue is usually calm, rational, and decisive, but she doesn't know what to do about this weakness.
Xu Shiyue's unsettled emotions were indirectly reflected in Lu Shizhen's brain system as points.
That night, until the early hours of the morning, Lu Shizhen kept hearing the system's notifications about adding and subtracting points. At first, she could understand the gradual increase in points, which was because it touched her with the Braille version of "The Little Prince" that she had given to Xu Shiyue. But later, she couldn't understand why the points started to fluctuate.
Could it be that I translated something wrong and made Xu Shiyue unhappy?
Or was it the 3D illustrations she made on the book pages that upset Xu Shiyue?
Lu Shizhen was inspired by the children's books displayed at the entrance of the bookstore when she decided to create 3D illustrations for Xu Shiyue's book.
She figured that Xu Shiyue would eventually see again, and with these illustrations, even if she no longer read Braille, she would still be able to understand what the story was about.
Did she feel that she was being humiliated?
How could that be...
Xu Shiyue was not the type of person who cared about such things.
Why is that?
"Ugh." Lu Shizhen rubbed her hair in distress on the bed.
Adhering to the principle that if she wasn't asleep, no one else should be either, Lu Shizhen pulled up Qiuqiu, who was sleeping face up on the standby screen: [Qiuqiu, what's wrong with Xu Shiyue?]
【Hmm…】Ever since she managed to inhabit the phone through a system bug, Qiuqiu's sleep quality has skyrocketed. She groggily opened her eyes and calculated for Lu Shizhen: 【Host, currently, Xu Shiyue's bonuses to you are concentrated in double to triple digits, while the deductions are in single digits, indicating a positive growth trend. Fluctuations in a character's psychology are normal; don't worry, we need to look at it from a macro perspective.】
Qiuqiu wasn't quite lucid, and what she said had a systematic way of thinking, but Lu Shizhen could understand what she was trying to express.
She knew that minor deductions were negligible compared to huge bonuses, and that such things had happened before.
However, when this macro-level situation is applied to an individual, every fluctuation makes people anxious.
Especially today.
There was no wind that night, and Lu Shizhen's wisps of hair on her forehead fluttered in the breeze from her long sigh.
I can't quite explain why I care.
Regarding her points.
Regarding Xu Shiyue's opinion of herself.
The next day, Lu Shizhen tried to subtly inquire about Xu Shiyue's attitude towards her, but Xu Shiyue's attitude towards her remained unchanged.
The peculiar bitterness of the ointment slowly accumulated and spread as the gauze was unwrapped. Even though Lu Shizhen could see Xu Shiyue's eyes, she had no way of knowing what had happened to her the night before.
In the following days, Lu Shizhen applied medicine to Xu Shiyue on time, and occasionally a few double or even triple points would appear, but the frequent fluctuations in points like that night never happened again.
As December arrived, S City grew even colder, and the quiet winter made the days seem as if they would continue like this forever.
On the last workday, the sun was a bit cold. Lu Shizhen, who was still on sick leave, got up after Aunt Sun called her, just like usual. However, the sound of her slippers on the stairs was not as lively. She walked downstairs with a rare look of distress.
Xu Shiyue sat upright at the dining table as always, basking in the sunlight streaming in from the window.
Her vision was much clearer than before, and she could see Lu Shizhen looking down at her phone.
Xu Shiyue calmly took a sip of milk, then looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Xiao En said the weather is getting colder and colder, and if we don't go to the horse farm this month, we'll have to wait until next year." Lu Shizhen looked at the message Lu Shien sent her that morning with a worried expression.
Xu Shiyue responded with a lukewarm "Oh" to Lu Shizhen's words.
The whole cheese was mercilessly torn apart by the silver fork, and the broken pieces were spread onto the bagel.
Xu Shiyue picked up the bagels she had assembled and asked casually, "Didn't you promise them this? What, you don't want to go now? Won't your Xiao En throw a tantrum?"
Lu Shizhen didn't understand the meaning behind Xu Shiyue's words. She simply pulled out a chair and sat down facing her, then sighed.
Since you've already made a promise, it's not good to go back on your word.
Moreover, given Lu Shien's personality, even if he pushed her away this time, she would do it again until he agreed.
Most importantly, she really can't ride a horse.
This isn't something you can master in a short time. What if you get caught in a double trap?
If the Lu siblings knew that the real Lu Shizhen was no longer in this body, given how much they doted on their sister, she probably wouldn't even need Xu Shiyue to lift a finger; she would have already had her hands and feet cut off and been thrown into a fire.
It was as if the temperature around her suddenly dropped, and Lu Shizhen's back was covered in cold sweat.
She even forgot that Xu Shiyue was sitting opposite her, waiting for her answer.
Just then, Aunt Sun hurried over: "Miss, a Miss Shen Yanxing has come to our villa and says she wants to visit Miss Xu."
Upon hearing this name, Lu Shizhen's thoughts were immediately pulled back: "Shen Yanxing?"
Xu Shiyue was also a little surprised. After thinking for a moment, she explained, "Uncle Shen wanted to meet with me a couple of days ago, but he couldn't come in person, so he probably sent Shen Yanxing instead."
Upon hearing Xu Shiyue's explanation, Lu Shizhen's doubts were largely dispelled, leaving only discomfort.
She knew the system wouldn't let Xu Shiyue have a chance to contact Shen Yanxing, and she also knew that the two of them had a reasonable reason. As an outsider, all she could do was nod and say, "Let her in."
Aunt Sun nodded and used her pager to signal the gatekeeper to let Shen Yanxing in.
Then, led by the family servants, Shen Yanxing pushed open the villa door. She was carrying some things in her hands and said generously and politely, "Excuse me, my parents brought back a lot of local specialties from X City last month. We can't finish them all at home, so they asked me to share them with Shiyue and Lu."
Lu Shizhen frowned slightly upon hearing Shen Yanxing's two forms of address.
However, she still wanted to maintain the manners and etiquette of a hostess, just like the original owner, and immediately gestured to Aunt Sun, who seemed to have improved her perception today: "Aunt Sun."
Perhaps because there were outsiders at home today, Aunt Sun, who was usually very approachable to Xu Shiyue, adopted a distant and aloof housekeeper demeanor: "Thank you, Miss Chen, please give it to me."
As she spoke, Aunt Sun took the things from Shen Yanxing's hands in a formal manner, turned around and left the living room.
Shen Yanxing seemed to have something he couldn't tell outsiders. Seeing that the other servants had left the living room and only Lu Shizhen and Xu Shiyue remained, he whispered, "Shiyue, my father asked me to bring you a message. He still hopes to meet you if there's a chance. Some things are easier to do face-to-face."
"And ever since my mother found out about these things about you, she has always wanted to have a chance to meet you."
With just a few words, appealing to both emotion and reason, Xu Shiyue did not disappoint Shen Yanxing's expectations and nodded.
However, unlike Shen Yanxing, her words were less emotional: "Uncle Shen's idea is also my idea. Meeting in person will be more efficient."
As if considering where to hold the meeting, Xu Shiyue's eyes lowered slightly.
Less than a second later, her thick eyelashes opened like a fan, revealing her deep and bright eyes.
Xu Shiyue looked at Shen Yanxing with a relaxed laugh in her voice and said, "In that case, I'll arrange to meet with my uncle this weekend at the newly opened horse farm in the eastern suburbs."
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