A gentle spring breeze caressed the river surface not far away, and the rippling water reflected shimmering light.
Calm, yet not calm.
Lu Shizhen held Xu Shiyue's hand tightly, her dark eyes filled with eager anticipation for the answer she was about to receive.
It seemed like she was stammering because of her eagerness, but it didn't seem like it either. Lu Shizhen repeated, "Is it—"
The question was on the tip of their tongue, but it suddenly got stuck in their throat.
Lu Shizhen frowned slightly, the feeling of blockage as powerless yet clear as her body, which she couldn't control at the moment.
Just as Lu Shizhen was about to ask a question for the second time, she suddenly realized that she couldn't say the word "system" at all.
This world seems to have deliberately set up some forbidden words, and it can intelligently distinguish the context in which these words are used.
Just like that morning at the hotel, when Xu Shiyue mentioned transmigration novels with a system, she could communicate with her without any obstacles.
But this time, she couldn't bring herself to say those two simple words to Xu Shiyue.
Xu Shiyue also noticed Lu Shizhen's unusual behavior and frowned slightly: "Is something wrong?"
Lu Shizhen was unwilling to let it end like this, and tried to start over from the beginning, catching the main system off guard: "Do you know—"
As expected, she got stuck again.
A cool breeze swept across the river, flowing back into her empty yet blocked throat.
The person caught off guard became Lu Shizhen.
The supreme deity forbids the protagonists under her control from knowing that they are puppets being controlled.
She controls the puppet, yet she fears that the puppet will overthrow her.
The more she forbids it, the more afraid she is.
Since the protagonist can overturn and destroy a world, it's not impossible for him to overturn and destroy it as well.
This thought made Lu Shizhen frown.
She was no longer a follower of the main system's rules, nor was she a program under a branch of the main system. The more she was forbidden, the stronger her rebellious spirit became.
Struggling, Lu Shizhen still wanted to try to say those two words to Xu Shiyue, but the shimmering light in the river was tinged with alternating blue and red colors.
Like a savior summoned by the system, the ambulance arrived with its siren blaring.
Li Qing pressed the earpiece twice, hung up the phone, and strode over: "Ms. Xu, the ambulance has arrived as you instructed. The accident scene is being handled, and the cause of the accident is being analyzed. We have already contacted Ms. Shi En."
“Okay.” Xu Shiyue nodded expressionlessly, her voice towards Lu Shizhen containing a tenderness she hadn’t shown to Li. “Calm down first. We can talk about it after we get checked at the hospital. We’ve already wasted eight or nine minutes here, and there are only a few seconds left until ten minutes are up.”
Xu Shiyue's seemingly unintentional words of comfort to Lu Shizhen sounded like a reminder.
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly checked the countdown that was floating in her mind.
The countdown timer, shimmering with a crystal blue light, kept dropping numbers, falling from two digits to one digit the instant she checked it.
With less than nine seconds left, she will be able to regain control of her body and move again.
“Okay.” Lu Shizhen nodded and deliberately squeezed Xu Shiyue’s hand with a bit more force. “But you have to promise me that you won’t let me not see you when the time comes.”
"I will always be by your side," Xu Shiyue promised.
As the two were talking, medical staff quickly ran over with a stretcher and skillfully and professionally moved Lu Shizhen onto it.
The countdown ended the moment Lu Shizhen settled into her position on the stretcher.
Fu Su's body throbbed with blood and trembled with unease.
The pain surged towards Lu Shizhen like a raging flood, without warning.
pain.
It hurts even more than when you have a biopsy.
Her whole body ached, as if different forces were tearing her apart in all directions.
She instinctively wanted to curl up and shrink herself away, but the slightest movement felt like thousands of needles piercing her chest.
Lu Shizhen's brows were tightly furrowed together.
She truly felt that she had never been in so much pain in her entire life.
"Does it hurt a lot? Hang in there, we'll get in the car and go to the hospital soon," the accompanying doctor reassured Lu Shizhen, looking at her expression.
“Okay…” Lu Shizhen nodded, her voice trembling as she replied.
She thought, "If only I could give her some painkillers right now."
And then, at that very moment, a hand was offered to her hand, which was in so much pain that she didn't have the strength to clench it.
The distinct bones pressed against her palm, cool yet carrying a hint of warmth.
Lu Shizhen felt most of the pain in her body disappear at once. She slowly took a breath of oxygen from the air filled with the smell of disinfectant and caught her breath.
The pain felt like it was trying to devour Lu Shizhen, but she felt much better.
It could be that they've gotten used to it, or it could be that Xu Shiyue has arrived.
In the past, Lu Shizhen always laughed at her best friend, saying that seeing him would make her feel better, her headache would disappear, and she would feel more energetic.
It's clearly a physical problem; how can it get better without seeing a doctor or taking medicine? It's just a lie.
But at this moment, Xu Shiyue held her hand, and although it was a tiny gesture in the ambulance full of doctors and equipment, it made her feel much more relaxed.
It turns out there really is such a person who can make you forget the pain.
As long as she's there, it's like being given a painkiller.
"It'll be alright, don't be afraid." Xu Shiyue gently squeezed Lu Shizhen's hand, reassuring her softly.
Lu Shizhen believed Xu Shiyue, but for some reason, she felt a lot of sentimental emotions. With a nasal tone, she said to Xu Shiyue, "But I feel like my whole body is about to shatter."
Xu Shiyue silently looked down at Lu Shizhen, her emotions churning after those words fell.
But she suppressed her anger in a second, leaving only gentleness and a hint of heartache: "So don't be so reckless next time."
Lu Shizhen was stubborn and didn't agree.
She kept her mouth slightly open and closed, but suddenly she seemed to understand something and froze for a moment.
She has never been one to express her pain; she usually just grits her teeth and bears it all on her own.
She knew that her parents were already working very hard to earn money for her, so she didn't expect them to have the time or patience to care about her. She couldn't even remember the last time they cared about her.
Being sick has become ingrained in her, and she has numbly hidden away her right to be spoiled.
After all, even if she tries to act cute, no one will come to comfort her.
But even Lu Shizhen herself didn't realize that she had been acting coquettishly towards Xu Shiyue.
Xu Shiyue didn't give her a silent look either.
Xu Shiyue would never ignore her, and she might like Xu Shiyue even more than she realized.
Lu Shizhen's eyes flickered slightly, the stubborn words stuck in her throat, and she said gently yet firmly, "If there is a next time, I still want to do it."
The hands that were clasped together were gently squeezed.
Xu Shiyue looked at the person in front of her who had been in excruciating pain just moments before, but was now resolute, and pressed her lips together, unable to utter a single lecturing word.
Sunlight streamed in through the small, square windows above the carriage, its bright rays reflecting in Xu Shiyue's deep eyes, her resolve no less resolute than Lu Shizhen's: "Then let's see who can outdo whom."
As it turns out, things that happen in the two-dimensional world are not suitable for being applied to the three-dimensional world.
For this protection, Lu Shizhen paid the price of fractured seventh and eighth ribs and extensive bruising and contusions to her back muscles.
Although Lu Shizhen's rib fractures were not particularly serious, and aside from not being able to run, they did not significantly affect her normal life, the three-month recovery period was still quite long.
After a series of examinations, her range of movement and range of motion were strictly restricted. The doctor drew a circle around her in the ward, just like Sun Wukong drawing a circle around Tang Sanzang, and Xu Shiyue sent Li to guard her personally.
"I must make sure Lillian suffers a broken bone too. She's fought so many times, how can she be unscathed?" Whether it was dissatisfaction with her character or envy and jealousy, Lu Shizhen lay on her hospital bed and murmured to herself.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue looked up at Lu Shizhen, then continued peeling the apple at her own pace, giving Lu Shizhen a taste of her own medicine: "Lililian made a contract with the devil, do you?"
Lu Shizhen paused for a moment.
The topic that had just been interrupted due to the main system's obstruction resurfaced in her mind.
The reason why the word "indirect" has a purpose is precisely because going straight is not feasible in this world.
An idea flashed through Lu Shizhen's mind, and her dark eyes stared intently at Xu Shiyue: "What if I did?"
The knife sliced across the rabbit's body, leaving a piece of light red skin.
Xu Shiyue stopped what she was doing and raised her head again.
Lu Shizhen knew there were some things she couldn't say, but proving something often required more than just words.
She opened the system shop and, taking a rare opportunity, used three million points to redeem a body repair function.
Whether it was due to the rapid recovery of her body or the system preventing the host from taking any further action, waves of pain crashed against the shore like gentle waves, causing Lu Shizhen to frown.
But such constraints and warnings obviously cannot stop someone who seeks the truth.
Lu Shizhen still raised her hand to support herself and carefully sat up from the bed.
The blue and white striped hospital gown stood with its back to Xu Shiyue's gaze. With a few gentle tugs, the thin fabric fell down the girl's slender shoulders.
Sunlight streamed unhindered into the ward through the window, shining brightly on Lu Shizhen's back.
The large, grotesque bruises from hitting the tree were so badly mangled that it was almost unbearable to look at.
But slowly, slowly, the bruise began to flow under the light, and the glaring purplish-blue faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Lu Shizhen pursed her lips, turned her back to Xu Shiyue, and said, "I'm not the kind of person who would rush over to someone I know has someone else in their heart. I can't tolerate someone I like having someone else in their heart."
"The advice the taxi driver gave me that day, and Xiao En's warning to me, both told me that there is someone in my heart that I can't forget and can't let go of..."
"But can you tell what that person is really like?"
His thin back was exposed to the sunlight, and the scars that hadn't faded were still heartbreaking to see.
Lu Shizhen's words sounded somewhat humble, as if some proud person had stripped away their protective shell and placed themselves entirely in the hands of their lover.
But Lu Shizhen knew that what she said didn't mean that on the surface.
She was also uneasy, wondering if Xu Shiyue understood what she meant.
Then, Xu Shiyue's voice rang out after Lu Shizhen's last sentence: "You said that there are many Lu Shizhens in this world."
“But I knew you were Lu Shizhen five years ago.”
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