"Ye... Jinzhi..."
The three words were so soft they seemed as though they would be swallowed by the sound of the rain outside the window at any moment.
Bella felt as if her vocal cords had been rubbed with coarse sandpaper; they were incredibly dry.
Having not spoken for so long, a faint, stinging pain arose.
She couldn't help but cough softly a few times.
Looking at the head resting beside her, her voice grew a bit more urgent:
"Ye Jinzhi! Wake up! Can you hear me talking?"
"Ye Jinzhi, open your eyes! You can't sleep now, do you hear me!"
Her voice had been a little hoarse at first, but now it was exceptionally clear.
Ye Jinzhi struggled to open his eyes a crack, his gaze somewhat unfocused.
"Bella..."
He stared blankly at that originally lifeless face, his eyes landing on those eyes that were now brimming with tension and anxiety, his expression turning somewhat dazed.
The young man felt as if he had returned to that year, seeing those exact same eyes.
"Have I... arrived in heaven?"
He murmured softly.
Otherwise... why would his Bella be talking to him again?
Bella must still be mad at him.
"You didn't mishear, it is me talking to you."
The young man's gaze focused on Bella's slightly parting lips.
It was a living, breathing Bella.
How wonderful.
She had come back again.
"Ye Jinzhi, tell me quickly! Are there any tools in the car to contact your people?"
Bella was so nervous that even her fingertips were trembling.
Of the three people in the car, the driver had long since passed out completely, his fate unknown;
The yandere in her arms was exhaling more than he was inhaling, and for some reason, blood kept gushing out.
It was also unclear what had happened to the gang that had been tailing Ye Jinzhi.
Quite some time had passed, and the other party still hadn't shown up.
They probably... met a grim fate as well.
Now, the only person she could rely on was herself.
"Press... the button..."
His voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"What?" Bella leaned in urgently, almost pressing against his lips.
Due to the sound of the rain and the ringing in her ears from the crash, she didn't hear him clearly for a moment.
Just as she was about to ask again, a deafening clang suddenly rang out!
Bella turned her head in astonishment, only to see a massive pair of hydraulic shears forcefully biting open the deformed car door.
Outside the crack, countless dark figures were moving about in the rainstorm.
Seeing the anxious expressions on these people's faces, Bella guessed they must be Ye Jinzhi's bodyguards.
"Woo—woo—"
In the distance, the shrill wail of an ambulance siren finally pierced through the heavy thunderclouds, approaching from afar.
"Hurry! The ambulance! The young master is here!"
"Stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding first!"
Bella's entire body completely went limp in that instant.
[Thank goodness... he can be saved.]
Bella looked down at herself; her once beautiful dress was now a horrific sight.
His blood had soaked through the dress, especially the part over her chest, clinging tightly to her skin.
Seeing that people would be crawling in shortly, she immediately restrained all her expressions, quickly reverting to that dull, cold, lifeless doll.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Detected that the male lead's life is in critical danger. The host is at risk of synchronized termination. Forcibly activating the second emergency protocol...]
[Error! Error! Error!]
[Locus deviation. Insufficient energy. About to execute soul transfer—]
The originally dead silent system interface popped open on Bella's retinas without any warning.
The red warning text danced crazily, making her dizzy.
[Countdown initiated: 10... 9... 8...]
Bella: [What????]
[System, is that you? Come out and explain this clearly. What do you mean by transfer? Where are you taking me?]
However, that cold, mechanical voice did not answer her.
At the same time, Ye Jinzhi, who had already fallen into a semi-coma due to excessive blood loss, suddenly had a sharp mechanical voice invade his mind.
He snapped his eyes open, his pupils contracting violently from weakness.
In his line of sight, a translucent screen emitting a faint blue light was actually floating out of thin air above Bella's head.
He clearly saw the crazily jumping content, especially that glaring last sentence—"About to execute soul transfer."
"No—"
Panic rose in the young man's heart.
"Bella..."
Ye Jinzhi acted as if he had gone mad, desperately propping up his body.
His hands gripped Bella's shoulders in a death grip, his nails even digging into the silicone skin.
"Bella! Look at me! Speak! Say something!"
[5... 4...]
"Speak, Bella! I know you can speak right now!"
The young man roared hoarsely.
No, he had only just gotten her back.
Don't do this.
It was too late...
Looking at the numbers continuously counting down to zero, he lowered his head almost submissively,
Pressing his forehead against Bella's, hot tears falling onto Bella's face.
"You will come back, right? Promise me... you will definitely come back!"
[2... 1...]
"Bella! Don't be afraid."
In the final moments of the countdown, Bella was completely stunned by this overwhelming turn of events.
She opened her mouth subconsciously.
But, what should she say?
The sound caught in her dry throat. Before she could even let out a complete tremor, her vision was instantly swallowed by a massive wave of darkness.
The moment her consciousness was pulled away, the last sound she heard was not the system's mechanical voice,
But the young man's heart-wrenching, tearful final three words.
Bella closed her eyes weakly in the darkness, and the last thought that flashed through her mind was actually:
[Tsk, this unbearably arrogant yandere demon king... actually cried like this over a doll.]
