Green Plum, Green Plum (21)
Touched by love
What does it feel like to see someone who is inherently cold, domineering, unrestrained, and unapproachable in the eyes of others, but shows a pitiful crying appearance in front of you?
Shen Yelan had imagined it countless times.
However, when this day finally arrived, she realized that the scenes she had imagined before were not even one percent of the reality.
The person, drenched in sweat, leaned against her weakly, pressing her forehead against her shoulder, letting all those chaotic, hot and cold breaths spill onto her neck, along with the sounds that could no longer be suppressed.
It has to be said—
Actually, Xu Jiao’s physical strength was very good. At the beginning, even though she was tormented by the changing rhythm of cold and hot, she did not say anything out of control, but silently, enduringly, like a business, covered Shen Yelan’s eyes, hoping to get through this quickly.
However, Shen Yelan did not follow her wishes. At the moment when Xu Jiao was overly focused, she suddenly raised her hand and slowly moved towards those places that could be touched, those that couldn’t be touched, and those that were forbidden.
Once the rhythm was disrupted, the initiative…
could never be taken back.
……
The light outside the window gradually faded from its peak, and after dusk, it was slowly devoured by the cold, silent night until it was completely swallowed.
The originally gentle breeze, rustling the leaves, was replaced by small creatures that dared to jump out in the cover of night, occasionally making a sound, not knowing whose attention they wanted to attract.
The room completely darkened.
No matter how good Xu Jiao’s stamina was, she gradually softened at this moment. Even the part of the bed sheet pressed by her calf, after sinking down, had its surface color darkened in small patches.
The darkness always magnifies certain emotions in one’s heart that are despised—
So much so that Xu Jiao finally couldn’t hold it back, her eyes became blurred, and her clarity completely collapsed. Taking advantage of the fact that the other party couldn’t see clearly, she softly said in a tired and pitiful voice:
“Please.”
The first plea that came out was like the first person to raise their hand and surrender on the battlefield, followed by a complete collapse, utterly defeated.
No matter what Shen Yelan asked for, there was only one thought left in her mind:
End it quickly.
As long as it ends quickly, she would do anything.
In such a lively and fragrant scene, the system naturally couldn’t appear, which means, there wasn’t even a voice to wake her up again, as if she had fallen into a game and the cruel exit back to reality was closed—
Xu Jiao’s seven emotions and six desires, at the moment of surrender, were all handed over to Shen Yelan to control. Whatever the other party wanted, she had to comply, with no other option but to obey.
At first, only physiological tears flowed from her eyes. Later, even Xu Jiao couldn’t control the sounds from her throat. She was like a broken rag doll, pleading and crying out that name:
“Shen Yelan.”
“Shen Yelan…”
In her hoarse, sobbing voice, all the unspeakable pleas were expressed.
At this moment, how did she resemble the high and mighty god she once was?
This was a deity pulled down from the altar by a heretic, stripped of her divine nature… an ordinary person, only to be slaughtered, powerlessly and helplessly praying for the enemy’s kindness and forgiveness.
Shen Yelan was finally moved and changed her actions like giving alms, letting Xu Jiao lie down. Then, she leaned over to her ear and said with a joyful chuckle:
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“Continue.”
“Sister Xu Jiao, as long as you keep calling my name, I will keep helping you.”
“If you stop, I won’t continue either.”
She wanted to use this method to imprint her name as deeply as possible in Xu Jiao’s heart, the more unforgettable, the better. She wanted Xu Jiao to always carry her mark in all her emotions and desires in the future.
……
The light of the next day came slower than usual.
When Xu Jiao woke up, she felt exhausted, as if she had been run over by a car. Her eyelids were particularly heavy, and her arms and legs were sore from overexertion, making even turning over feel like a struggle.
It was all because of the madness of the previous day.
From noon to sunset, and from evening to deep night, and most of the time, she was deceived into exerting herself and sweating, so the consumption was naturally not small.
“You’re awake?” The system’s voice sounded, the long-lost mechanical voice representing absolute reason, opening a path to clarity in Xu Jiao’s still muddled mind.
Xu Jiao took a moment, buried her head in the quilt, and after a long time, she gave a response: “Hmm.”
The system asked, “Do you still think she doesn’t like you now?”
Xu Jiao: “…”
Her sigh was swallowed by the cotton, not making a sound in the air.
Opening her eyes, Xu Jiao found no trace of Shen Yelan on the bed. She reached out and groped around under the quilt. Except for the place where she slept, everything around was cold, indicating that the other party had been gone for a while.
Xu Jiao wanted to raise her hand to rub her head, but after moving her fingers a bit, she gave up lazily. She maintained her prone position and asked the system, “Is Shen Yelan still in my house?”
The system could still detect such a short distance and immediately replied: “No.”
Xu Jiao immediately cursed: “That little scoundrel who ate and ran without paying the bill——”
She laughed in anger, causing the muscles on her body to ache. Desperately, she turned over like a salted fish, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, looking at the wall lamp for a while before slowly closing her eyes.
“I admit, I made a misjudgment this time.”
Xu Jiao slowly said to the system in her heart: “I originally thought she was just curious about this matter, or felt that she had been taken advantage of and wanted to humiliate me twice as much… well… to make me truly feel the situation she was in at the time.”
However.
The fact was not so.
During the intervals of sweating yesterday, Xu Jiao met Shen Yelan’s eyes. That gaze was full of focus, persistence, and astonishing control, as if she wanted to crush her bit by bit and eat her.
The eyes of someone who likes a person will not lie—
When someone looks at the object of their affection, there will be warmth in their eyes, whether warm, scorching, or burning. Anyone who has seen this look will never forget it.
Hearing her answer, the system’s cold voice continued: “I found that your behavior is inconsistent with before. When you discovered that Shen Yelan had a tendency to like you, you chose to stay away and avoid contact with her as much as possible.”
“But yesterday, when she proposed that you compensate in this way, according to your behavior pattern, you were highly likely to refuse, but you uncharacteristically agreed. Why?”
“I did not find that you have excessive guilt about the previous offense, affecting your emotional choices, and you are not someone who would be overwhelmed by desire. According to your previous behavior, I believe you would rather find someone random on the street to meet your needs than touch Shen Yelan.”
“What changed your mind?”
Xu Jiao: “…”
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That’s why she really hated this system.
She groped around in the bed for a while, but could only find emptiness. Xu Jiao no longer had the energy to command her arms to do heavy work and directly asked the system: “Where’s my phone?”
System: “You left it by the sink when you were washing dishes yesterday and didn’t bring it over. Please don’t change the subject. The more I understand you, the more I can formulate tasks to help you achieve your ultimate goal. I believe you don’t want to keep traveling through these worlds.”
Pausing, it added: “After all, you have more than thirty finished novels, not to mention the early long serials…”
“Stop.” Xu Jiao threatened: “If you bring up my black history again, our conversation is over.”
The system complied with her wish, no longer mentioning Xu Jiao’s earlier works.
Xu Jiao didn’t rush to discuss that but instead said to the system: “Help me order takeout first, okay? I want to eat spicy hot pot, just mildly spicy. Let’s order from the best place on the street in front of our No. 18 High School. Let me think about what to add, seaweed, beef, chicken wings…”
The system was silent for two seconds. Seeing her in a mood to order food, it couldn’t help but speak: “I’m not your intelligent housekeeper!”
Xu Jiao softened her voice: “Hey, you wouldn’t want to see me become the first host in history to starve to death in a world because I didn’t complete the task, right?”
“And you’re a super AI beyond existing technology, don’t tell me you can’t do something as simple as ordering takeout?”
System: “Provocation doesn’t work on me.”
But after two seconds of silence, it continued: “Besides these, do you want anything else? Rice?”
Xu Jiao quickly responded: “One bowl of rice is enough! Oh, and I want duck intestines, ham, napa cabbage…”
……
Finally, her hungry stomach had something to look forward to.
Xu Jiao originally planned to gather her strength to take a bath but found that she was already clean, having been taken care of. So, while waiting for the takeout, she leisurely lay in bed, propping herself up with a pillow until she was comfortable—
“This is probably my own issue.”
She slowly said in her heart.
The system seemed determined to get to the bottom of things: “What issue?”
Xu Jiao’s eyes half-closed, her long lashes falling like a curtain, as if to block her own small plot of land, not even willing to let the light enter, her eyes filled with tranquility.
After a light and long exhale, Xu Jiao’s voice slowly echoed in the room: “That night when I drank too much, I confused her with someone else…”
“I don’t know if it was the alcohol, or if my memory was faulty, but I felt that Shen Yelan that night was very similar to someone I knew, causing me to space out whenever I saw her after waking up.”
“Even though I knew I was affected by the alcohol and my memory might be wrong, I… still subconsciously looked for that shadow in Shen Yelan.”
“Yesterday, when she made the request, I agreed immediately—”
“If it were that person, she wouldn’t have made such a request, but Shen Yelan did.”
So, Shen Yelan… is just Shen Yelan.
Xu Jiao finally woke herself up from that illusory dream.
With no response from the system, Xu Jiao adjusted her mindset after speaking and continued: “This was my choice. If this world ends with a bad ending, it’s my responsibility. To make up for this mistake, I will be more active than before. I will work hard to eliminate Shen Yelan’s blackening value.”
“This time it’s true.” She emphasized.
System: “…So your efforts in the last world were just a pretense to fool me, and you were essentially slacking off, right?”
Xu Jiao laughed it off: “Hey, with our relationship, how can you speak such harsh truths? It hurts my feelings.”
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System: “…”
It coldly summarized: “I hope you mean what you say… After all, before entering this world, I remember someone promised to fill this world with love.”
Xu Jiao: “?”
She was surprised: “Huh? Was it me?”
Seeing the system getting heated, Xu Jiao chuckled: “Alright, just kidding. Wait for it, once I’m full, I’ll start caring for her.”
……
Xu Jiao assured the system properly.
After finishing that mildly spicy hot pot, she got Shen Yelan’s chat ID from Su Xi and forwarded a bunch of high-quality, carefully selected motivational articles, guaranteed to uplift the soul.
Unfortunately…
She waited a whole week without a reply.
After returning to school to fill out her college application, Xu Jiao couldn’t hold back any longer and sent a punctuation mark in Shen Yelan’s chat box.
“?”