So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 21

“Take off your clothes.”

The sound of distant waves surged; the world was both tranquil and chaotic.

The lush leaves on the hillside blocked most of the sunlight. The sun fell through the gaps between the violently trembling branches, dappling the green scenery.

The rapid descent was abruptly halted. Shi Jinlan looked up into the blinding light. Through the vast whiteness, Chi Qian’s brow was tightly furrowed as she held onto her hand, struggling but firm.

“Chi Qian…” Shi Jinlan’s voice was as faint as a murmur, laced with a thread of disbelief.

She never would have thought that Chi Qian would save her.

“Hold on tight, I’ll pull you up.” Chi Qian gripped Shi Jinlan’s hand forcefully, trying to haul her up.

But the place they were in was a steep slope. Chi Qian had to wrap an arm around a protruding tree just to barely keep her footing.

She couldn’t free her other hand to pull Shi Jinlan. No matter how hard she tried to retract her left arm, veins bulging, she couldn’t move Shi Jinlan a single millimeter.

“Don’t waste your energy.”

As Chi Qian struggled desperately, it was Shi Jinlan who first threw cold water on her efforts.

She knew her own legs were useless; she couldn’t use the strength of Chi Qian’s arm to climb back up.

Her body was being dragged down by a force. If Chi Qian hadn’t been holding her, she would have already tumbled down.

Chi Qian couldn’t save her.

It was better for one person to die than for both to die.

The coarse bark scraped one’s hand raw. On the hillside where the sun couldn’t penetrate, even the air carried a chill.

Sunlight fell into Shi Jinlan’s eyes, and Chi Qian saw a very calm sort of resolution.

Shi Jinlan’s emotions were like paint that faded upon touching water, visibly turning gray before Chi Qian’s eyes.

The original black of unwillingness and resentment was replaced by another emotion. A cold thorn pierced Chi Qian’s palm, not like plunder, but like destruction, freezing the flowing blood in Chi Qian’s veins inch by inch.

Shi Jinlan wanted to give up!

Give up on letting her save her.

Give up on living.

Chi Qian instantly felt the hand she was holding begin to loosen.

With a rare sharpness, her tone was anxious, and even more so, angry. “This isn’t a waste of energy!”

This was something she had failed to do in her dream.

She didn’t want to feel that sense of powerlessness again, of being unable to grasp Shi Jinlan’s hand no matter how she reached out!

Chi Qian didn’t know why her obsession was so deep.

It was just a dream where she failed to save Shi Jinlan, not reality.

But she just had to do it.

She had to save Shi Jinlan.

This ravine was too deep. Shi Jinlan couldn’t walk; if she fell, she would be left to fend for herself.

Even if they both fell, two people were better than one.

“Chi Qian, it’s not…”

Shua la——!!

Before she could say the word “worth it,” Shi Jinlan felt the ground beneath her give way.

It seemed the branch that had caught her legs had snapped, and her entire body was being pulled downward by the earth’s gravity.

And Chi Qian had never once thought of letting go of Shi Jinlan’s hand. She was immediately dragged along with Shi Jinlan’s fall, tumbling down with her.

The tree bark scraped across her palm, a fiery pain shooting out.

In spring, all things revived, and the steep slope was covered in newly grown plants.

Tender grass, flower buds, and shrubs and branches that pushed out from under clumps of dirt and gravel.

All of this was a far cry from the sea.

Before Chi Qian could recover from the pain in her palm, countless hard, protruding objects rolled over her body.

She felt like there wasn’t a single part of her that didn’t hurt. She didn’t even know which part of her body to protect with her free hand.

The mountain wind, mixed with the smell of dirt, was forced into her nostrils, a complex and unpleasant odor.

Just as Chi Qian’s brow was about to furrow even tighter, she suddenly caught a whiff of a clean scent.

The sky and earth that had been churning in her vision were, in that second, enveloped by a warm-toned white.

Shi Jinlan reacted quickly, wrapping her arms around Chi Qian’s body.

Chi Qian’s breath hit Shi Jinlan’s chest, then bounced back.

A patch of warmth before her nose.

Thump, thump.

Her heart was rebelling, slamming against her chest.

But even though her heart was beating more fiercely than before, Chi Qian was clearly not as panicked.

She was held in Shi Jinlan’s embrace, the hand she had been holding one-sidedly now wrapped around hers.

Fingers intertwined, hands clasped tightly together.

She didn’t know how long they had been rolling. Just as Chi Qian felt heaven and earth were about to merge into one, the endless tumbling stopped.

The wildly growing grass of spring acted as a cushion, catching their falling bodies. A rustle went through the dense thicket.

This is… we’re saved?

Chi Qian’s mind was still in chaos. She felt like every part of her body ached, as if her bones had been broken and reset.

Just as she was about to raise a hand to brush away the messy hair from her face, a fine, dense pain shot up from her arm.

“Hiss—”

The pain came swiftly and fiercely. Chi Qian sucked in a sharp breath.

She frowned and looked at the thicket, only then realizing that she and Shi Jinlan had fallen into a large patch of lucao¹, commonly known as lalayang.

This plant was highly prolific. As soon as spring warmed up, it would eagerly begin its rampant growth. As if to aid its growth, its vines were covered in tiny saw-like teeth that wouldn’t easily let go once hooked.

Having just rolled down the slope, Chi Qian’s body was covered in patches of gray and white, among which long, thin red lines were particularly conspicuous.

From her arms to her knees, the lines were all the handiwork of this lucao.

It fucking hurt.

Chi Qian sucked in a breath as she looked at the red marks on her arm, unable to decide for a moment whether it would have been less painful to hit something else to stop, or to fall into the lucao.

The sky was covered by a thick canopy of leaves, the azure blue shattered by the deep green.

Chi Qian stared at her arm against the sky for a good while, slowly feeling as if her hand was filled with lead, becoming more and more difficult to lift.

Her breathing, too.

Even after resting for a while, Chi Qian still felt a bit oxygen-deprived, her heart still pounding.

The frantic beating seemed to be expanding, squeezing the air around her, making it hard for her to breathe…

“Chi Qian, how are you?”

Just as Chi Qian belatedly realized she was slowly becoming unable to breathe, Shi Jinlan’s voice came from beside her ear.

Not sure if she was hearing things, Chi Qian thought she detected a hint of anxiety in that voice.

The already blurry sky was obscured by a shadow leaning over. That anxiety was even in Shi Jinlan’s eyes.

Those pure black pupils were like a pool of clear water, her brows seemingly furrowed, yet not.

Perhaps it was the effect of the sunlight, but her usually cold and aloof features now held a faint trace of worry.

What is Shi Jinlan worried about?

Aren’t we fine now?

No… something seems a little off with me right now…

The lucao beneath her seemed to have entangled not just her limbs, but her thoughts as well.

Shi Jinlan watched from the side. Seeing that Chi Qian hadn’t answered her for a long time, she got up and stepped into the lucao patch to rummage through the bag they had brought. “Did you bring your asthma inhaler?”

“Asth… ma…”

The feeling of being unable to breathe grew more and more pronounced. Chi Qian’s brain felt sluggish.

She repeated this term that was completely foreign to her, only then realizing that the tightness in her chest wasn’t entirely from rolling down the steep slope.

Truly, when the house leaks, it rains all night.²

“…Here.”

Seeing the air around her growing thinner and thinner, Chi Qian’s survival instinct drove her to grab Shi Jinlan’s hand and guide it toward her own pocket.

The lucao cut into the skin. One second, Shi Jinlan was enduring the pain and searching alone; the next, her aching hand was being held.

It was a very complex feeling.

The rough fabric pressed against Shi Jinlan’s palm, while the back of her hand was touched by a warmth so light it trembled.

This place under the cliff was rarely visited by people. The rampant life force of the lucao seemed as if it would devour the person lying within it.

This person was clearly a girl with monstrous strength who could easily run around the courtyard carrying several jin³ of medicinal herbs, yet at this moment, she was as pale as a dehydrated, withered white begonia.

Shi Jinlan felt as if she had touched Chi Qian’s very life—so fragile, it seemed it would shatter with a single touch.

This feeling made her own heartbeat tremble.

As if she couldn’t face the outcome of losing Chi Qian.

Just like that moment when they were falling.

As for why she had held onto Chi Qian while they were falling, Shi Jinlan had lain in the painful patch of lucao just now, her gaze obscure.

The wind rustled through the dense, interwoven leaves, gentle and cool.

As rationality returned, Shi Jinlan calmly assessed the situation from before, defining her subconscious action as the result of a rapid cost-benefit analysis.

Falling into a place like this, without Chi Qian’s help, she would also be left to fend for herself.

She could only follow Chi Qian.

If Chi Qian lived, she could live.

And in this very moment, Shi Jinlan viewed her own suddenly racing heart in the same way.

The afternoon sun hung dazzlingly in the treetops. The leaves, blown by the wind, flickered in and out of Chi Qian’s vision.

She had never felt such a suffocating sensation. There was clearly so much air around her, yet she couldn’t breathe in a single wisp.

She felt like she was about to die.

But isn’t my mission incomplete? If I die like this, will I have to start over, or will I be sent to be destroyed…

Just a moment ago, I was planning how to get Shi Jinlan away from this crisis.

If I die here, what will happen to Shi Jinlan?

I’m a dignified mission executor, with a system and a golden finger, yet now I’m being defeated by asthma.

How embarrassing would that be if word got out.

【Thirteen… Thirteen, are… are you there…】

Chi Qian called out to Thirteen in her mind, wanting to struggle a little more.

But who knew where that system had run off to. Her calls went unanswered.

Her sluggish breathing grew heavier and heavier. The sun hanging high in the sky was like a ball of light that had fallen into the world.

Chi Qian struggled and fought back, but she could only watch helplessly as it fell into her pupils…

Just as the ball of light grew increasingly blinding, a shadow suddenly blocked its descent.

The lucao tangled in her scattered long hair. A gentle hand supported the back of Chi Qian’s head.

Air passed through the slight gap between her lips, stirring the strands of her fallen hair.

Shi Jinlan had finally found her asthma inhaler in Chi Qian’s pocket. She deftly opened the cap and placed it in Chi Qian’s mouth.

The hard plastic nozzle pried open Chi Qian’s mouth. The scent she had smelled before drifted down with the wind, landing on the tip of her nose, invading and spreading from the hand Shi Jinlan used to hold the inhaler.

It was Shi Jinlan’s scent.

It drilled straight into Chi Qian’s mouth, refreshing and invigorating.

The wind swept through the lucao. A palm, cool with a sheen of sweat, rested on Chi Qian’s lips.

She held the inhaler, helping her breathe. Her deep pupils were calm, a flame burning silently in the wind. The blackness, in that second, seemed to transform from a fearsome oppressiveness into a reassuring steadiness, which also calmed Chi Qian down.

With Shi Jinlan here, she wouldn’t die.

“…”

The spray was released silently into her mouth, the moist mist spreading with a cold sensation across the roof of her mouth.

The blockage in her throat rapidly contracted upon contact with the gas. A bitter taste spread, intimidating and suppressing the restless factors within Chi Qian’s body.

Clouds gathered, and the sun that had been falling in Chi Qian’s vision finally stopped its descent, hanging steadily high in the sky.

Shi Jinlan’s eyelashes were lowered, the sunlight level with her hair and lashes. The rich black was filled with composure, glinting with golden light, like a savior.

Chi Qian’s savior.

After a while, her constricted throat reopened, and oxygen flooded the organs throughout her body.

Chi Qian had never felt that breathing was something so worthy of her cherishing. She clutched the inhaler, which she had taken from Shi Jinlan’s hand at some point, and said, “I’m alive again…”

Shi Jinlan’s gaze was fixed on Chi Qian. Seeing her breathing gradually even out and the light return to her eyes, she unhurriedly laid her back down on the ground.

The sheltering shadow retreated, and the sunlight once again fell unreservedly upon Chi Qian.

She silently watched Shi Jinlan’s departing figure, an inexplicable sense of melancholy, or perhaps longing, in her heart.

This feeling is so strange. Chi Qian tapped her chest, then turned to thank Shi Jinlan. “Thank you just now. How are you? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“I’m fine.” Shi Jinlan’s expression was as calm as ever, her usual cold indifference.

The sun gradually brought a rosy color back to one’s face. Shi Jinlan remained in the same position as before.

The thorn-covered lucao had scraped against Shi Jinlan’s knees, leaving several scratches on the numb skin.

But the grass was too thick, and Chi Qian didn’t notice this detail at all.

She let out a long breath, her eyes, looking up at the sky, filled with lingering relief. “It’s good that you’re fine. We had a scare, but no real danger.”

The wind rustled the lucao, its thorns continuously scraping against skin.

Shi Jinlan listened from the side, her calm pupils gradually becoming complex and obscure.

How is this a scare with no real danger? Has this person forgotten she almost died just now?

Or rather, does this person not value her own life?

If she hadn’t brought this thing, or if it had broken when we fell, she would have died here today.

For my sake, she could actually go this far.

Am I really that worthy to her?

Sunlight pierced through the interwoven leaves above, casting mottled amber patches on the lucao.

Chi Qian spoke again as she looked at Shi Jinlan. The flames on her body burned silently in the sunlight. Perhaps because of the green of the lucao, it wasn’t the black Chi Qian had hoped to see restored, but it wasn’t so chaotic either.

It burned cleanly, like the purest of flames, a layer of platinum white showing through the black.

Thirteen had said that negative emotions were cool-toned, and positive emotions were warm-toned.

Did the platinum white emanating from Shi Jinlan’s body mean her emotions weren’t as completely dark as before?

Was it because I fell with her that she feels better about me, and even about the world?

Chi Qian felt the pain in her body instantly lessen, and her previously heavy mood suddenly lightened.

This is great.

I can finally see hope!

“You fell down with me. Have you thought about who will go find someone to rescue us?”

Just as Chi Qian was getting excited, Shi Jinlan’s voice came from beside her.

The voice was cold, completely different from the color of the flames.

Chi Qian was stunned for a moment, but she reacted quickly, cleverly pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I have my phone with me.”

The next second.

The phone showed no signal.

“…”

The air fell into a strange silence. For some reason, Chi Qian felt a little embarrassed.

She scratched her face and saw Shi Jinlan’s somewhat cool gaze sweep past her.

“You shouldn’t have saved me,” Shi Jinlan said faintly. “You should have let go of my hand and gone to find help.”

That would have been the most prudent way to rescue someone.

Assuming Shi Jinlan was an able-bodied person.

“Can you guarantee your own safety?” Chi Qian retorted.

This place was deeper than she had imagined. Not only were there no paths through the overgrown weeds, but they would also swallow up any trace of one’s route. If she hadn’t come down, Shi Jinlan would have certainly died.

Now that she had followed her down, things weren’t so bad.

“Am I supposed to let go when I can clearly hold onto your hand? I can’t do that.”

Chi Qian’s voice was firmer than any of her previous sentences, completely devoid of the cautiousness she had shown around Shi Jinlan these past few days.

Since the system gave her this damn mission, no one could stop her from saving Shi Jinlan.

Not even Shi Jinlan herself.

Chi Qian was actually a very stubborn person.

Once she set her mind on something, no one could stop her. Even if she had to stumble, she had to do it herself.

Chi Qian looked up at Shi Jinlan. The sunlight fell on her deep brown pupils, which held no less obsession than Shi Jinlan’s.

She supported herself on her knees and stood up from the lucao patch, declaring to Shi Jinlan, “I can still walk. I will definitely carry you out of here.”

“This place should be behind the island. Xiaoyu Island is surrounded by beaches. We just need to walk in the direction we were originally heading.” Chi Qian’s attitude was resolute. As she spoke, she walked out of the lucao patch and looked around.

The flattened lucao held a distinct patch of orange; the shared bikes they had scanned had also fallen down with them.

Although Chi Qian went over to check and found the bike chain was broken, it could still be pushed and used.

Her goal was for both of them to get out of here alive.

As long as it was usable, it was fine. Who needed a good bicycle? It was much more energy-efficient than carrying Shi Jinlan out.

What’s done is done; one should think about how to solve the problem.

This was a lesson Shi Jinlan had taught her a few days ago, and she would make good use of it.

After passing its most dazzling point, the sun gradually sank along the mountain’s silhouette.

Shi Jinlan watched Chi Qian’s back, her vision filled with the dense lucao.

She understood this person less and less, and yet she wanted to understand her more and more.

In her world, weighing the pros and cons was the most important thing.

If she had been Chi Qian and Chi Qian had been her, she absolutely would not have chosen to fall down with her just now.

She had to ensure her own interests first before thinking about others.

She had been doing this for years.

Her grandfather had also taught her, demanded this of her.

“If you cannot protect yourself in a matter, that is the greatest stupidity.”

“You pity others, but who pities you?”

“This is the consequence of your actions, see? You had good intentions, but you also benefited others! Do you have any idea how much of a loss this will bring to the company?”

“Your mission is to ensure the group’s maximum benefit. Put away your pity, or you won’t even know how you died.”

“No one is more important than yourself!”

…

The wind passed through the thicket of branches and leaves, the leaves striking each other with a sharp, clamorous sound.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze lowered. She felt that if Chi Qian were placed in her world, she would have died countless times already.

“Heh.”

As she thought this, a short, light laugh came on the wind.

Those long, thick eyelashes pressed down low, smearing a layer of cold indifference across her black pupils.

Shi Jinlan suddenly felt that she was truly despicable. Chi Qian had clearly come down to save her, yet here she was, mocking her for her foolishness.

See? She shouldn’t be so kind to me.

I’m no good person.

“It’s fixed!”

Just then, Chi Qian managed to fix the wheel.

She clapped her dirty hands together and extended one to Shi Jinlan, full of energy. “Let’s go. I’ll take you out of here.”

Time seemed to slow to 0.75x speed in that instant. A gust of wind blew a leaf up. Frankness and despicableness collided.

Shi Jinlan stared wordlessly at the hand Chi Qian extended to her. The setting sun shone on her, draping a thin layer of resilient light over her features, which had been so frail just moments before.

Books said that lucao was extremely adaptable, with a wide range of suitable habitats. It wasn’t picky about its environment and loved sunlight.

It was practically a synonym for savage growth.⁴

Savage growth, huh.

The distant sunlight was receding. The light of the setting sun burned across half the sky.

Shi Jinlan took the lucao leaf from her wrist, squeezed it casually in her hand, and then gave her hand to Chi Qian.

Then let me see just what a person of savage growth is like.

---

The wheels left a long track as they rolled over the earth, only to be swallowed up again by the lush green grass.

The clouds burned by the sunset hung low. The sky was a hazy gray as the sun withdrew its light.

Chi Qian pushed the bike forward in the direction of the sun, passing by a river and rolling over weeds.

But for some reason, she felt that something was increasingly wrong with her surroundings, or to put it another way—

“Miss Shen, I think maybe…”

“We’ve been here before.”

Just as Chi Qian was about to speak, Shi Jinlan finished her sentence.

Sitting on the back seat, she was in a better position than Chi Qian to observe their surroundings.

The river gurgled, its tranquil sound disappearing and reappearing along the path they had just taken.

Shi Jinlan pointed to a cave not far away and said with certainty, “This is where we fell. The branches you used to fix the bike are still over there.”

“How could that be…” Chi Qian stopped and looked in the direction Shi Jinlan was pointing. When she saw the few oil-stained branches, a cold sweat broke out on her back.

No way, did we run into a ghost-built wall?⁵

That can’t be right. This world isn’t a fantasy world…

is it?

Perhaps it’s just that the sky is getting dark and there are a lot of weeds around, so I misjudged and ended up walking in circles?

That’s not right…

The original owner grew up on this island and had an absolute sense of direction.

After she arrived, she went with Chi Qingyan to gather herbs and could walk down from the back of the island’s mountain with her eyes closed. How could she fail today?

The most terrifying thing in the world is to make a mistake in the field you are most confident in.

It was like that for Chi Qian when she wrote code in her original world, and it was like that now, leading Shi Jinlan down the wrong path.

This was too bizarre.

How could they walk for so long and end up back where they started…

The chirping of insects and the faint calls of birds echoed from the grass.

Chi Qian frantically recited the Core Socialist Values⁶ in her mind. But just as she began, an abnormal static sound suddenly crackled by her ear: “Zzt-zzt-zzt-zzt—”

I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die…

Demons and monsters, go away! Demons and monsters, go away!!!

Chi Qian’s mind was instantly thrown into chaos. Her heart, which had just been pounding wildly from the asthma attack, began to race once more.

A layer of cold sweat broke out on her hands gripping the handlebars. Without looking back, Chi Qian lifted her foot, about to push the bike and run with Shi Jinlan.

But before she could take a single step, a few familiar words suddenly mixed in with the eerie static.

【Ho-zzt… Host, Host, zzt-zzt, can you… can you hear me, zzt-zzt-zzt?】

【Thirteen?! Thirteen—】

The happiest thing in the world is to have a false alarm.

Chi Qian’s foot, which was about to move, slammed to a halt. She was so happy she could have cried. The way she called out to Thirteen had the distinct feel of seeing your own mother in the apocalypse.

【No, where did you go just now! Why couldn’t I contact you at all! Do you know what I just went through! I rolled down a hillside! Did you go off to care about your host who runs away with the ball⁷ again!!】 Chi Qian lamented Thirteen’s heartlessness in her mind, her wailing voice full of pity.

【No.】 Thirteen said hurriedly, 【It was the other other host.】

【…】

If Chi Qian had felt comforted by Thirteen a second ago, then the next second, hearing about a third host from Thirteen’s mouth, she instantly understood the meaning of utter despair: 【Let’s break up. I have system-monogamy.】

【Don’t, Host! The moment I sensed you were in trouble, I rushed right over.】 Thirteen hurriedly sidled up to Chi Qian in her mind, nuzzling her cheek.

It was clearly just a mass of data with no physical form, yet it gave one the feeling of a small cat trying to curry favor.

Chi Qian was actually quite easy to placate. Seeing Thirteen act like this, her mood improved a bit: 【Fine, then.】

Since contact had been re-established, it was more important to get down to business.

Chi Qian didn’t dally with Thirteen any longer, instead saying with a mix of threat and demand: 【I’ll let the matter of you neglecting your duties and causing me and Shi Jinlan to roll off a cliff slide for now. Quickly pull up the navigation for us. We’re lost.】

【Host… actually, it’s not that I was neglecting my duties.】 Thirteen hesitated before telling Chi Qian a piece of bad news: 【You and Shi Jinlan cannot leave this place right now.】

【Why?!】 Chi Qian was extremely puzzled. So that really was a supernatural event just now, except it was a supernatural being she knew.

【To avoid the people Shi Cheng sent to find Shi Jinlan.】 Thirteen answered, 【The system has determined that Shi Jinlan and you, Host, do not currently have the ability to fight these people, so it has activated a protective shield. You and Shi Jinlan can only be found, or rather, walk out, after those people fail to find Shi Jinlan, report to Shi Cheng that she is not on this island.】

Hearing this, Chi Qian couldn’t help but twitch her lips, her eyes full of contempt.

Only now did she understand. So this was how Shi Jinlan had avoided those people.

Chi Qian couldn’t help but roast it: 【For fuck’s sake⁸, is there a screw loose in you systems? To help Shi Jinlan avoid the people her uncle sent, you make us roll down a hillside.】

【What kind of injure the enemy by one thousand while losing eight hundred yourself⁹ tactic is this?! We almost died, you know! What kind of trashy, old-school, melodramatic novel is this!】

【The original text also had a plot where you and Shi Jinlan accidentally fell off a cliff.】 Thirteen said, feeling guilty.

【Accidentally?】 Chi Qian didn’t believe it for a second, a cold smirk on her lips.

Seeing that Chi Qian had seen through them, Thirteen tried a different way to persuade her: 【Host, you can actually think of it this way. This place only has you and Shi Jinlan. It’s a great opportunity to deepen your relationship.】

Chi Qian rolled her eyes: 【I’ll give this opportunity to you. Want it?】

【The system is not equipped with such a function.】 Thirteen replied honestly.

Chi Qian pouted, speechless.

She had a mental breakdown for a good while before she had no choice but to start considering the practical situation: 【Well, since it’s already like this, shouldn’t you give us some support to survive here?】

【The cave over there is a very good shelter. It’s also near a river with fresh water, and it’s rich in fish resources.】 Thirteen explained carefully to Chi Qian.

【Wow, that’s great. I feel like I could live here with Shi Jinlan for a lifetime.】 The more cheerful Chi Qian’s voice was, the colder the expression on her face.

Thirteen’s data cluster showed a state of confusion: 【Host, please do not express your thoughts in this manner. The system will fall into misjudgment.】

【Haven’t you misjudged enough?】 Chi Qian retorted coldly, unconcerned.

She now understood that she and Shi Jinlan would never survive by relying on this blockhead Thirteen alone. She might as well give Thirteen examples of what she needed. 【Can you give us some ready-made things, like food, medicine, sleeping bags…】

Thirteen refused: 【Apologies, the conditions for materials to appear out of thin air do not exist in this world. This does not conform to this world’s realistic logic.】

【…】

Chi Qian’s fists clenched. She really wanted to pry open the system’s little brain and see what kind of advanced program was inside.

Forget it.

The system is unreliable. I’d better see how I can exploit loopholes in the settings.

As she thought this, Chi Qian’s eyes suddenly paused.

She seemed to have thought of something and said to Thirteen: 【I have a bottle of water in my bag. Can you turn it into rubbing alcohol with similar packaging? They look similar, so it should be possible, right? Also, these medicine bottles in my pocket, help me refill them.】

【Shi Jinlan and I are both injured. You should at least give us some means to disinfect, right? Otherwise, what if we get an infection and a fever and don’t live until those people leave? Wouldn’t that also be a dereliction of duty on your part as a system?】

The plan of action and the justification were both laid out before Thirteen. It pondered for a moment, then did a simple calculation: 【It should be possible.】

In the time Thirteen was preparing, Chi Qian turned to look at Shi Jinlan.

She looked at the sky with a serious expression, then said, “It’s about to get completely dark. Since we can’t get out, let’s stop here. There’s a cave here, and it’s not far from where we fell. If Grandpa and Auntie Zhou notice we’re missing, it’ll be easier for them to find us by following the direction of the fall.”

“Okay.” Shi Jinlan nodded. She had just roughly surveyed the surroundings and had the same thought.

Having gotten Shi Jinlan’s agreement, Chi Qian continued her performance.

She pushed the bike with Shi Jinlan to the cave. While helping Shi Jinlan down, she said, “Miss Shen, you’ve been traveling for so long. Are you thirsty? Why don’t we have some water first?”

As she said this, Chi Qian opened her bag. With a dramatic “Aiya!” she took out the “water” in her hand. “Miss Shen, I think I accidentally brought a bottle of alcohol! We have something to disinfect our wounds with!”

The sun had completely set. In the dim light of the phone’s flashlight, Chi Qian’s happiness was indistinct.

Shi Jinlan looked with a complex expression at Chi Qian and the alcohol that had suddenly appeared in her hand. She didn’t think there would be such a thing in that house, let alone placed together with water.

But how could something that wasn’t there appear in her bag?

Could it be that she had some kind of strange ability?

With a soft pfft, Shi Jinlan was amused by her own somewhat fantastical thought.

How had she become like this person, thinking about such counter-intuitive things?

The flickering black and gold flames were particularly conspicuous in the dim evening twilight. Chi Qian felt inexplicably nervous.

She gripped the alcohol bottle in her hand and directly interrupted Shi Jinlan’s thoughts. “Miss Shen, let me disinfect your leg first. There’s still poison on your leg that hasn’t been cleaned off. It’s best not to let it be affected.”

Shi Jinlan could feel that she had injuries on her body. She calmly concealed her doubts. “My apologies for the trouble.”

“No trouble, no trouble.” Chi Qian unscrewed the cap and knelt beside Shi Jinlan, taking out some trauma medicine and bandages from her pocket. “The alcohol might sting a little when I disinfect. Please bear with it.”

As Chi Qian spoke, her movements were practiced as she lifted Shi Jinlan’s leg.

Her leg couldn’t avoid it. Rolling all the way down, the skin that had just started to heal was scraped open in several places. New wounds on top of old ones, the pale skin was streaked with glistening crimson, like a carefully nurtured flower that had been trampled several times by some family’s bratty kid.

And the system was that bratty kid!

Chi Qian was both angry and heartbroken. She carefully treated Shi Jinlan’s wound.

She was completely unaware that Shi Jinlan’s expression was far from pained; she was even looking down at her, unfazed.

Shi Jinlan couldn’t feel the pain from her leg. In fact, if she were to do it herself, she certainly wouldn’t be as careful as Chi Qian.

She didn’t believe in empathy in this world. A doctor applying medicine to a patient didn’t need to invest too much emotion.

After all, once you’ve experienced enough, you become numb.

And Shi Jinlan had also seen Chi Qian change the dressing for Auntie Zhou’s son.

Her expression then was calmer than it was now, her movements swift and methodical. She didn’t seem as nervous as she was now.

Why?

What kind of situation would make emotions arise from numbness?

“Miss Shen, how did you get injured here too?”

As she was thinking, a surprised exclamation suddenly came from beside Shi Jinlan’s ear.

After treating the wounds on Shi Jinlan’s leg, Chi Qian began to check her upper body.

She was shocked to see a cut several centimeters long on her upper arm. The bleeding had barely stopped on its own. It wasn’t too deep, but it definitely wasn’t shallow either. It looked like it had been cut by something sharp…

Instantly, Chi Qian thought of the arm Shi Jinlan had used to shield her when they were falling.

She hadn’t been seriously injured when she fell. It wasn’t a matter of luck at all.

It was because someone had taken the injuries she should have received.

Chi Qian felt as if her heart had been wrung, sore and swollen, yet beating abnormally fast.

“Does it hurt?” Chi Qian’s brow furrowed tightly as she held up Shi Jinlan’s arm to carefully examine the wound.

The warmth near the fragile wound made the sensitive nerves tremble, making one feel uncomfortable.

Shi Jinlan said “I’m fine” in an extremely flat voice, then tried to pull her arm back from Chi Qian’s hand.

But how could Chi Qian let her?

She held onto Shi Jinlan’s arm and poured the last of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic powder onto the wound. “This must be treated properly. Otherwise, if it leaves a scar, it will be my fault.”

A scar?

Does she still care about such things now?

Shi Jinlan looked at the cut, feeling a little like laughing.

Let’s not even talk about the other injuries on her body that hadn’t faded yet and were certain to leave scars. Just the cause of this wound—it was her own choice to protect Chi Qian.

Therefore, any subsequent result was something she could and must bear from the moment she made that decision.

How could she let a word like “fault” fall on Chi Qian’s head?

But this simple and clear principle was something the person in front of her didn’t seem to understand.

The dim yellow light of the phone reflected on her face, her brow furrowed deeper than ever before.

Shi Jinlan didn’t like people frowning at her. Whether it was dissatisfaction or pity, these were not the emotions she wanted.

She even felt that Chi Qian’s usual cautious and trembling demeanor was better than this frown.

In the past, when Shi Jinlan got injured, the fuss at home was even greater than this. The techniques of her regular doctor were also far better than Chi Qian’s.

Professional, swift, and never frowning.

Frowning would only create a negative psychological burden for the patient. A qualified doctor or nurse should possess such qualities.

So, don’t you frown either…

For some reason, such a sentence echoed in Shi Jinlan’s mind.

The evening wind, carrying the scent of the sea, swept past the bushes, suddenly lifting Shi Jinlan’s long hair.

Her mind was clear at this moment, yet she had a strange feeling.

She watched the powder merge with her wound and felt that this patch of her skin should be hot as well as painful.

Chi Qian’s hands were always warm and moist. Her soft fingertips brushed over the skin near the wound, and the pain dissipated.

Shi Jinlan, as usual, acted and judged based on her twenty-seven years of experience, but Chi Qian shattered these experiences time and time again.

Like a small tree growing out of a cliff, sparse and weak, twisting and turning its way into the cliff face.

No one knew how it had taken root up there, but it had tenaciously survived, leaving behind a mark that belonged only to it.

This feeling was too strange.

Shi Jinlan didn’t consider herself some morally noble person, so she couldn’t let herself be the only one feeling it.

“All done.”

Just then, Chi Qian finished treating the wounds on Shi Jinlan’s body.

She looked at the gauze she had tied off with great satisfaction.

—This was the prettiest knot she had tied since coming to this world. She even wanted to take a picture to commemorate it.

“Take off your clothes.”

But before Chi Qian’s thoughts could wander, Shi Jinlan’s voice sounded.

The voice was calm and indifferent, as if she were just stating a very ordinary thing.

But is “take off your clothes” a very ordinary thing!

And, they were the only two people here…

Chi Qian’s first thought went astray. She timidly clutched the collar of her shirt. “This… isn’t a good idea, is it…”

“There’s blood on your back,” Shi Jinlan said instead.

Since Chi Qian had done it for her, she had to treat Chi Qian’s wounds as well.

Shi Jinlan had noticed the wound on her back when she was pushing the bike earlier.

Now was the perfect opportunity.

Chi Qian was always a bit slow to realize things, even her own pain.

She had been wondering why she felt off just now. It turned out she was injured in a place she couldn’t see.

Chi Qian breathed a sigh of relief, awkwardly letting go of her shirt, while also feeling a bit embarrassed. “Well… I misunderstood.”

Shi Jinlan said nothing, taking the alcohol and the small medicine bottle from Chi Qian’s hand.

A cool breeze lingered at the mouth of the cave, kept out by the natural terrain.

Chi Qian, with her back to Shi Jinlan, very self-consciously took off her clothes. The moonlight shone in, draping her in a layer of pure white.

It had to be said, a body that had spent years running around a sea island needed no sculpting exercises to be perfect.

That undisguised waist was narrow enough to be held in one hand. The spine on either side stretched down along the bones, well-proportioned and graceful, as if kissed by the Creator.

Shi Jinlan hadn’t expected to see such a beautiful sight.

Those gloomy, heavy eyes slowly narrowed. Beneath her long lashes, her gaze slowly and languidly fixed on Chi Qian’s back.

The night grew deeper. The cave was exceptionally quiet.

The expected coldness and pain did not come, leaving Chi Qian puzzled.

Just as she was about to turn and look at Shi Jinlan, she was suddenly held in place by a warmth pressing against her from behind.

Two shadows overlapped in the dim light. Shi Jinlan reached out with one hand and seized Chi Qian’s waist.

Her thin lips were misty as she spoke into her ear, “Has anyone ever told you that your back is beautiful?”

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The author has something to say:

Your Lanlan has hooked her tail at you~

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