The second day, evening——
Time flew by quickly, and the snow outside grew heavier, with the large flakes showing no signs of stopping.
Jiang Ting had spent the whole day tossing and turning in bed, conjuring up numerous ideas, yet unable to figure out how exactly to escape from this story.
Was she supposed to wait until the little girl passed away? Or until her own life ended?
Annoying.
Lying sprawled on the bed, the thought of possibly spending the next sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety years in such an unfamiliar country filled Jiang Ting with apprehension.
She had no clue how the little girl was doing; now that she had the money, she shouldn’t have to come out again, right?
Getting up and bundling up in her clothes, she ventured out again.
"Return early, the Lord can’t look after a ten-year-old running around outside at night." Madam Oran’s voice came from behind, at a loss as she continued knitting.
"The brave Lord will protect the child." Jiang Ting replied in the same tone.
The street——
Large piles of snow were stacked on either side of the road; apart from the cleaning crew, there were hardly any pedestrians; the small lanes were chock-full of snow, forcing a halt to all traffic.
Jiang Ting took a look around; compared to yesterday, today was quieter. After all, the little girl was probably at home, enjoying a warm dinner, she surely wasn’t in any danger of life... Right?
???
While thinking, Jiang Ting wandered over to the street from yesterday: the same place, the same person, the same easily recognizable golden hair. The little girl was huddled up, almost as high as the snow next to her, with even more matches in her arms than before.
What on earth was she doing here today?
Rushing over to brush the snow off the girl, a puzzled Jiang Ting asked, "It’s Christmas, why are you still outside?" Does your family not celebrate any holidays?
Jiang Ting inadvertently touched the girl’s hand - terribly cold - the girl’s palm-sized face was even paler than yesterday, her lips were a faint pink.
Nearby were a few burnt-out matchsticks. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
"Father ordered me to sell matches yet again," the girl spoke softly and weakly, "I was selling it all day long but not a single one was sold..."
It was not Jiang Ting’s illusion; she felt that the little girl was in a precarious state, her eyelids seemed heavy, her eyes barely a sliver open.
Jiang Ting held the girl’s frostbitten hands in hers, huffing warm breath into them repeatedly, "Where’s your home, I’ll take you back."
"I came back here since I didn’t sell any matches, hoping to meet you again and return your gloves. I waited for ages, it’s so cold today." The little girl spoke along with a weak smile.
The gloves were properly returned, not a speck of snow on them, still somewhat warm.
The little girl leaned against the wall, slowly lighting up another matchstick, "Sister, let me tell you, I just saw a large fireplace, so spacious and warm, but it disappeared as soon as I approached it."
"And a large kitchen, with lots of delicious food on the table. But how strange, sister, you wouldn’t believe it, a goose jumped out from a plate, with a knife and fork still stuck in its back."
The final scene in the fairy book began to play out, albeit a day later than expected. Jiang Ting’s heart clenched.
"I also saw a huge Christmas tree, so beautifully decorated. It was much larger than the one I saw at the rich people’s house before, with lots of candles and pictures, so lovely..."
"Where’s your home? I’ll take you back."
Jiang Ting tightened her grip on the little girl’s hand, glancing around. However, there was not a single person in sight on the small path, let alone anyone to seek help from.
The cleaning crew all gathered around the wealthy area; no one paid attention to the paths;
"Home is a really far place, sister, I’m so tired..." The girl said weakly, looking down at the flickering fire, "Sister, I saw my grandmother. You probably don’t know her, but she loves me the most."
Self-reliance is the key to survival.
Jiang Ting bent down trying to assist the girl, moving her step by step towards her own home.
"Cough, cough, cough ..."
"Sister, I’m going with grandmother, to a place without any cold." The little girl smiled more cheerfully, looking like a weight had been lifted.
"Sister, how wonderful it would have been if I had met you earlier."
...
"So there are still good people."
After she finished speaking, Jiang Ting could distinctly feel the girl’s weight shift downward. The girl fell to the ground, motionless, a faint smile on her pale face.
Shortly after, Jiang Ting felt her consciousness fading away again. When she opened her eyes, she returned to that bright room from before, with the display screen once again positioned in front of her.
Reading the text and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different. Just moments before, Jiang Ting had witnessed the death of a living person, and felt utterly powerless.
A good little girl, with gentle, innocent words.
She was unfortunate as it was, but to be born in an era that brought her even more misfortune?
No one ever came to her rescue until she died.
"Plane completion rate 0%, The little match girl dies 18 hours late, Host Points -18" The system is auto-settling.
The protagonist dies late and there are still deductions? Where did this lousy system come from, it just can’t see others prosper?
Jiang Ting raised an eyebrow, reluctantly sitting in a chair.
"Please make more efforts, Host, to turn points to positive and return to your original world as soon as possible."
"What are the consequences of having negative Points?" Jiang Ting asked, puzzled.
"There are none."
??
"Well, what if I have a lot of negative points? Thousands of them, tens of thousands."
"Continue doing the tasks."
Jiang Ting clapped her hands together, her expression clear as day.
She understood now.
This system had rewards but no punishments.
Then it’s really easy then.
"So apart from being resurrected, what else can I do with my extra points?" As she spoke, Jiang Ting propped up her face, an unprecedentedly serious expression on her face. With her scarlet lips pursed, she asked seriously: "Can it give me a handsome guy?"
0971: ?
Jiang Ting, who had been single for twenty-four years, said the lure of a handsome guy was great.
What if they really gave one...
Before Jiang Ting had a chance to fantasize further, the space within suddenly lit up, blinding her.
0971: Goodbye.
——
By the time Jiang Ting opened her eyes, she had already arrived in another unfamiliar place; she must be in another story this time around.
No handsome guy is fine, but could her work attitude become so bad that she teleports so suddenly?
Compared to the European-style bedroom she saw last time, the first thing Jiang Ting saw this time was mud.
What kind of tofu-dregs project is this, plastering mud on the ceiling?
Jiang Ting quickly realized that things were not simple; not only were the ceiling and the four walls made of mud, but she was basically in a cave.
The only source of light was a small hole in the ceiling. It must be night outside, with moonlight shining into the cave through the hole.
Jiang Ting’s head throbbed with pain, information was being transmitted into it.
This time, she was a field mouse in the story of Thumbelina. In the original story, after adopting the homeless Thumbelina, the mouse tried to forcefully have her marry the neighbor mole. Later on, they were interrupted by a swallow that Thumbelina had once saved. The swallow took the saddened Thumbelina away before the wedding, and they flew back home. Coincidentally, Thumbelina met a king of the same size as her, the two got married and lived sweetly together.
The protagonist was sweetly in love while she was a field mouse living underground??
Jiang Ting looked at her own claws and fur, feeling absolutely wronged.
She was mentally exhausted and felt like crying.
"Oh my dear neighbor, how are you?" A voice came from one of the tunnels.
Perhaps due to their proficiency in burrowing, the place where Jiang Ting was located was connected to several tunnels. Looking around, everything was pitch black; she had no idea where the tunnels led to.
The only thing she could be grateful for was that there was a door rather than a tunnel by the stubble field, leading directly outside.
A black mouse appeared at the tunnel, with its incisors protruding, "I’d really like to marry a wife. That way, someone would take care of me when I’m sick."
"And then she could bear me a few children, and then..."
"Scram, I’m sleeping, I’m tired." Jiang Ting rudely interrupted the fantasies of the mole. She was already annoyed enough about turning into a field mouse, and seeing the daydreaming big black mouse - it was giving her a major headache. She turned her head to the side; preferring to look at the mud than him.
Is a wife only for bearing children and attending to a husband?
The suspicious-looking mole is surely not a good thing.
"Your attitude is pretty poor, I think..."
"Did you know that people who disturb others’ sleep can’t find wives."
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