After Bai Youlan regained consciousness from emergency treatment, she was shocked and utterly unable to accept the news that she was being charged, even suspecting it was an elaborate prank everyone was playing on her.
During her police statement, her emotions ran high. She repeatedly insisted that she had only just regained awareness and that the previous events were not her doing. Yet, no one believed her words; some even suggested she undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Seeing that her words held no weight, Bai Youlan felt on the verge of collapse.
How could she possibly be so foolish! The system had been devoured by the world's consciousness. She didn't have to return to the real world to face death, and there was no punishment for failing her mission. She would have to be insane to deliberately crash into Xu Qingqing.
Although she disliked Xu Qingqing, her primary focus had always been self-interest. Her previous targeting of Xu Qingqing was driven by the system's coercion and the threat to her life, coupled with her desire to seize the Xu family fortune.
But that was only because the system provided a safety net; even if she used mall items to kill Xu Qingqing, no one would ever find out. Now, with the system gone, if she killed Xu Qingqing by hitting her with a car, she would be arrested and sent to prison! It served no purpose for her at all!
The only party that could benefit from this incident was the entity behind the system. Although the system had vanished, Bai Youlan hadn't forgotten its goal of draining the protagonists' luck.
In the hospital, the only ones accompanying Bai Youlan were Lin Donghan and Bai Yaxiu. And now, these two had also left with the police.
Now, aside from the cold medical equipment, Bai Youlan was alone in the hospital room.
Sitting alone on the bed, she replayed everything in disbelief. From the incident until now, Bai Youlan had fallen into a coma again, only waking up not long ago.
While unconscious, Bai Youlan hadn't expected to survive. She thought, as the system had once threatened, that failure meant certain death. She never imagined she would live and sense that the system had detached from her.
She wouldn't suffer the punishment for mission failure, nor would she remain under the system's control!
Overwhelmed with relief at surviving the ordeal, Bai Youlan hadn't even had time to rejoice before being unexpectedly informed of another matter.
In the short hour since she woke up, Bai Youlan's emotions had cycled from pleasant surprise to confusion, and finally to shocked disbelief.
She listened as others recounted the foolish deeds 'she' had committed after first regaining consciousness: sneaking out of the hospital alone, recklessly driving a car to ram into Xu Qingqing, and falling into a coma from the crash...
Bai Youlan had no memory of these events. Before she could even question or ponder it, she was swiftly served with a court hearing notice and interrogated by a prosecutor about her motives.
In her haste, Bai Youlan could only offer feeble protests in her own defense. Of course, she wouldn't admit to doing these things! How could she possibly be so stupid!
Even if she wanted to kill Xu Qingqing, she had a thousand methods at her disposal, not the idiotic move of driving into someone herself! What a joke—she had already died once in her past life; this lifetime, she wanted to live well!
Unfortunately, no one believed Bai Youlan's defense, not even Lin Donghan and Bai Yaxiu, who looked at her with bitter disappointment. Like the police, they believed Bai Youlan had acted impulsively out of heightened emotion upon waking, committing a crime of passion.
With dashcam footage and numerous witnesses from that day, even if she now regretted it and wanted to deny it, there was no way out.
Too much had happened recently to Bai Yaxiu, and fine wrinkles had appeared at the corners of her well-maintained eyes. Before leaving, she couldn't help but point at her daughter's head and say with exasperation, "Youlan, you! Ah, how could you be so impulsive back then!"
She never imagined her daughter could be so foolish. Had she known, she definitely wouldn't have gone to Lin Jiangxue's grave that day to chase after Xu Changshan, but would have stayed in the hospital room guarding Bai Youlan to stop her!
Bai Youlan clutched her hair, breaking down once again as she cried out, "I told you, it wasn't me! I didn't do this!"
Bai Yaxiu didn't believe her: "The surveillance and everyone saw it was you. Who's going to believe you now if you say it wasn't you?"
Only now, after everyone had left.
Bai Youlan carefully pondered all the clues. After thinking calmly, a sudden realization flashed in her mind.
It was the system.
When the system detached from her body, it must have left something behind inside her. Later, when she suddenly woke up and did all those things, the only party that could benefit was the system and the entity behind it.
Sitting on the bed, Bai Youlan thought and thought, and suddenly began to cry.
What should she do next? She didn't know how she had ended up in this situation. If only she hadn't signed that contract with the system back then, if only she hadn't tried to harm Xu Qingqing and steal her luck...
The system had always lied, saying she would die if she didn't complete the missions, and deliberately tempted her with various tools, leading her step by step into wrongdoing. Unknowingly, she had committed many acts that, upon reflection from her past life's perspective, sent chills down her spine.
Discussing with Lin Donghan how to frame Xu Qingqing, scheming for the Lin family fortune, causing Lin Jiangxue's death...
In the eyes of fans, family, and friends, her image had shattered with each successive event. Even Bai Yaxiu and Lin Donghan, who had trusted her the most, probably believed she was responsible for this incident too.
Because in everyone's eyes, she had always been that malicious person.
In the empty, silent hospital room, the sound of crying suddenly arose.
...
Aside from Bai Youlan guessing the truth, Xu Qingqing and Xie Lianging also learned about this matter.
That day, Bai Youlan's gaze had been sinister and cold, her expression resolute, like an icy machine. Everyone could see her abnormality at a glance, though others attributed it to mental or emotional issues. Only Xu Qingqing and Xie Lianging suspected the long-vanished system.
Xie Lianging examined the traces from that day and later told Xu Qingqing, "It must have been a seed left behind by the system within Bai Youlan."
The system had been devoured by the world's consciousness, and the external invasion channel was closed. Xie Lianging and Xu Qingqing had thought the matter was over. If the thing left by the system had been handled properly, Xu Qingqing might indeed have fallen victim.
Whether through death or injury, the system might have gained luck points again, seizing the chance to reopen a channel for external contact.
However, after Bai Youlan's failure this time, the system's final move was also cleared. Only now could this matter be considered truly concluded.
When Xie Lianging mentioned this, he was somewhat worried Xu Qingqing might soften. After all, Bai Youlan was truly unaware in this incident, being innocently used by the system once. Meanwhile, Lin Donghan stood outside the Xu residence day after day, waiting to plead for leniency.
Upon learning about it, Xu Qingqing didn't have much of a reaction. She was lying on Xie Lianging's lap watching a game livestream, while he fed her fruit.
After a moment of silence, Xu Qingqing suddenly asked, "In the original book, my mother wouldn't have left so soon."
That illness had come too strangely, and the timing of Lin Jiangxue's departure was too coincidental. It was as if her passing had conveniently made way for Bai Yaxiu's family.
Xu Qingqing had suspected it before, and now she basically guessed who was behind it.
Xie Lianqing had already guessed the key point. He stroked his girlfriend's hair, leaned down to kiss her forehead, and gently changed the subject, saying, "What would you like to eat tonight?"
Ever since the near-collision with Bai Youlan, Xu Qingqing hadn't been in the best of spirits. In her previous life, she had been schemed against by a system and died in a car accident.
That experience wasn't a dream; Xu Qingqing had genuinely tasted death. So lately, she had been feeling rather listless. Fortunately, Xie Lianqing was past the busiest period of the last couple of years and often came to the Xu family home to keep her company.
Right now, Xie Lianqing didn't want Xu Qingqing to recall Lin Jiangxue's death and feel even worse.
The hardship was over; they should both look forward.
Xu Qingqing immediately named a restaurant. Then she bounced upstairs to change, and the two prepared to go out on a date.
Nowadays, Xu Qingqing was no longer afraid of heights. She had even eagerly made plans with Xie Lianqing to go to the amusement park and try all the rides they hadn't gotten to experience back then.
Xu Qingqing took a long time changing. Xie Lianqing waited patiently downstairs the entire time. Even as the dinner hour drew closer, he didn't urge her on.
Another half hour passed before footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Xu Qingqing wore a green spaghetti-strap maxi dress, her long hair cascading in loose curls down her back. Her eyelashes were long and curled, her features delicate and exquisite, and her legs were long and shapely.
Descending the stairs, Xu Qingqing walked slowly in her high heels, her fair fingers resting on the brown banister.
Xie Lianqing stood downstairs in a black suit, hands in his pockets. Leaning against the sofa, the corners of his lips lifted as he watched, eyes smiling, the beauty slowly appearing on the staircase.
He sighed, glanced at his wristwatch, and then said with amusement, "Miss Xu, I hate to interrupt. But we're going to be late for our date."
"What's the hurry? Is eating more important, or looking at me?"
Xu Qingqing walked each step with deliberate poise, her movements graceful and captivating. She snorted and righteously challenged her boyfriend, "With such a beautiful girlfriend, don't you want to look a little longer?!"
She thought Xie Lianqing was getting more and more out of line lately, daring to complain about her being late for a date! She was the demanding one here; who was he to complain about her?
Xie Lianqing just smiled good-naturedly and extended a hand. "Alright, alright, my mistake. Please take your time, Miss Xu. Do you need me to help you?"
He suddenly remembered a time when Xu Qingqing, in a fit of narcissism, had boldly declared that even her eye-rolls were beautiful.
Back then, Xie Lianqing had agreed with that statement. After all, Xu Qingqing was nearly perfect—beautiful when she cried, captivating when she smiled, every expression full of charm.
And at this moment, he couldn't agree more with that old boast.
Xu Qingqing finally reached Xie Lianqing. She pursed her lips, pretending to be disdainful. "I'll barely forgive you. I'm granting you the opportunity to date me. Let's go!"
As Xu Qingqing and Xie Lianqing walked out arm in arm, she suddenly said, "I won't soften my heart. She got what she deserved."
She understood that Xie Lianqing had been changing the subject earlier and recognized the concern behind his words and actions. But she wasn't as fragile as he thought. She was strong and rational.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have held on alone until the end, unable to tell anyone the truth.
In Xu Qingqing's eyes, this was the best outcome. Bai Youlan should pay the price for the things she had done.
On the day Bai Youlan was sentenced, Xu Qingqing went to witness it in person. In the defendant's dock, Bai Youlan was pale, her eyes dull, tear tracks streaking her face.
As she passed by the spectator seats, Bai Youlan suddenly turned her head and looked at Xu Qingqing. Her eyes glistened, but it was unclear whether with remorse or regret.
Xu Qingqing watched her, expressionless.
Countless nights she had wondered how Bai Youlan could have done such things. How could she regard the Xu family as her personal property as if it were only natural? How could she so casually take life after life?
Her mother was an obstacle, so she killed her mother. She herself was in the way, so Bai Youlan schemed against her... Were human lives so cheap in Bai Youlan's eyes?
It was only later that Xu Qingqing learned Bai Youlan wasn't originally from their world.
Bai Youlan had come from another world, living outside this book. She had read this story and consequently declared herself the only real, flesh-and-blood human. Everyone else in this world was just data and NPCs. With this absurd logic, she simply negated the meaning of others' existence, dismissed their emotions and lives.
Bai Youlan treated this place as a game. A person with no reverence for life whatsoever, paired with a malicious system possessing abilities beyond reality, had caused damage to others' lives that was nearly irreparable.
Xu Qingqing's life had been absurdly disrupted by Bai Youlan and the system. After more than a decade, it could finally return to its proper course today.
