Always…… always……
These words bored into Yue Yiyue’s pupils, constantly enlarging—enlarging—enlarging.
The room was abnormally quiet except for the occasional hum from the computer case.
Yue Yiyue stood there, quietly staring at these lines of text, her expression inscrutable.
After a long while, she walked to the computer and looked at the poster’s ID: Goddess, Please Look at Me Once More.
If it had been before, Yue Yiyue would have glanced at it and ignored it—after all, such usernames were too common.
But now.
Who could it be?
Some passerby who had brushed past Gu Nanqiu?
Or one of her current classmates?
Or perhaps Wu Zhen?
Many faces flashed through her mind, but Yue Yiyue still couldn’t find the answer.
The Original Work had clearly described it, but whenever a key plot point came up, a fog clouded her mind, blocking the direct answer.
Tsk, if that was the case, why had they made her read this book in the first place?
What was the point of her transmigrating into this book?
What was the point of her being here?
Guilt over her inability to help Gu Nanqiu surged through Yue Yiyue’s mind.
Her head throbbed fiercely, nearly driving her to her knees.
Little figures kept jumping out in her mind, shrieking sharply: ‘Useless.’
‘Yue Yiyue, useless.’
‘You don’t know any of the plot, useless!’
‘If you’re not needed, just go die!’
‘Hee hee! Go die!’
The surrounding space gradually distorted, and pairs of bright red eyes outside the window stared fixedly at the person in the room.
Pairs of beautiful hands emerged from Their eye sockets, beckoning Yue Yiyue in waves: ‘Come on~’
‘Come with us—’
‘You’re not needed—’
‘Come on—’
The reflection in the glass became clearer. Yue Yiyue saw herself in the glass: a pallid face dotted with sparse freckles, eyes bloodshot.
And her body was somehow covered densely with the word “useless.”
Useless.
Go back.
One step……
Two steps……
Yue Yiyue’s pace quickened, getting closer and closer to the glass window. The voices outside grew gentler and gentler, but the pain in her head didn’t lessen.
Only the scent of Strawberry Cake in the air grew thicker, like a reward for her obedience.
‘Come on—’
‘Good child, come with us—don’t drag Gu Nanqiu down anymore—’
‘Only by coming here will you forever, forever, have the right to stand by Gu Nanqiu’s side……’
‘Come on, come quickly, jump down, and you’ll be free…… your head won’t hurt anymore…….’
If a third person had been in the room, they would have seen the computer screen flickering repeatedly before turning into a smiling face.
Just as Yue Yiyue’s hand was about to reach the window.
The phone sitting quietly on the desk let out a piercing screech, followed by a cheerful ringtone.
‘Hello—Mom……’ The ring immediately pulled Yue Yiyue back. Dazed, she picked up the phone and answered without thinking.
There was still inexplicable static on the other end, and Mom’s voice was as ethereal as ever.
‘Yiyue, I recently heard that something happened to your classmate. Mom happens to have a friend who’s a great psychologist.
‘At your age…… go…… find ……her.’
The voice grew stranger toward the end, devolving into fragmented syllables.
The call was still connected, with constant squelching sounds from the other side, like something slimy rubbing together.
Occasionally, there were screams and faint pleas for mercy.
After a moment of chaos, a sizzling sound came from the other end, and Mom’s gentle voice rang out again.
‘Baby…… sorry, I’m at work. I didn’t hear clearly just now, let me say it again. Her name is Coroner. You should also pay attention to your mental health.’
‘Is your money enough?’ A low chuckle came from the other end, as if suppressing some complex emotion: ‘Baby, you haven’t asked me for money lately.’
‘Everything I have is yours……’
‘Baby…… spend more, okay? This is what I can give you, the only thing I can give you……’
‘Baby….. I miss you so much.’
Yue Yiyue stood by the desk. She glanced at the computer, which had gone black at some point. The pain in her head was soothed bit by bit by the woman’s words on the other end.
It felt like returning to her mother’s womb, wrapped in warm amniotic fluid—the safest place there was.
Mom continued complaining that her daughter was too sensible and unwilling to trouble her, talking about her loneliness and the sorrow of not being able to see her daughter.
In the end, Yue Yiyue had to make a promise: ‘Okay, Mom, I’ll try to spend three thousand every month.’
‘Yes, that’s right, Mom, I…… miss you too. You’ve given me so much…… Mom…… I’ll come see you later……’
After hanging up, Yue Yiyue looked at the phone number sent over. What a coincidence—how did she know the Coroner too?
And the sounds on Mom’s end were as strange as ever.
Only then did she belatedly remember that she had been looking at the computer for info, and then something strange happened with the window.
Yue Yiyue instinctively looked up at the window. Intersecting red bloodstains covered the entire glass, as if evenly smeared by something.
And in the least noticeable corner at the edge, there was a small heart.
It didn’t seem like a warning to the person inside; rather, it was like some strange confession of love.
The headache had completely vanished. Yue Yiyue then remembered that she had just lost control and nearly pushed open the window to jump.
Thirty-second floor…..
Yue Yiyue stood in place for a moment. If she called cleaning services for this, would it cost extra…..
She picked up her phone, hesitated a moment, then finally dialed Gu Nanqiu’s number: ‘Nanqiu, sorry, something bad seems to have happened here……’
Two minutes later, Gu Nanqiu and Gu Ye appeared in the room together.
Gu Nanqiu looked at Yue Yiyue, who was squatting in the corner with a dazed look. She walked over and easily scooped her up: ‘Poor Yiyue….. to think something like this happened in the room…… Don’t leave our sight after this, okay?’
Yue Yiyue nodded obediently.
Her mood was complicated. She thought she had caused trouble for Gu Nanqiu again.
She sniffled and buried herself in Gu Nanqiu’s embrace: ‘Sorry……’
‘No, Yiyue, you don’t need to apologize.’ Gu Nanqiu rubbed against Yue Yiyue and patted her back like coaxing a child: ‘Yiyue, you were just doing what you wanted to do.’
Gu Ye looked satisfied at their handiwork. It was just a pity that the heart in the corner was drawn too small…… If it had been her, she would have confessed her love to Yiyue more passionately—that was her only advantage.
She was fresh enough.
‘Yiyue, don’t worry about anything. I’ll clean everything up for you.’
————
Living room
Yue Yiyue pulled herself together and told Gu Nanqiu that someone had targeted her, wanting to use that ghostly Wishing Cake to force her to fall in love with them.
At this point, Yue Yiyue paced back and forth anxiously, rubbing her hands uneasily: ‘This sounds ridiculous, but that’s it—Xie Ying probably wanted to warn you about this before.’
‘The one who sent the cake before might have been a warning, to remind…… Sorry, I’m so stupid. I only noticed these details now.’
‘Sorry, Nanqiu.’
‘How about taking leave this time? I’ll stay with you in the house, and then……’
‘And then?’ Gu Nanqiu patiently listened for Yue Yiyue’s follow-up, waiting for her idea.
But all she got was Yue Yiyue circling in place even more anxiously.
After a brief sigh, Gu Nanqiu stepped forward and grabbed Yue Yiyue. She cupped Yue Yiyue’s face with both hands, forehead to forehead: ‘Is there no way to avoid this?’
Yue Yiyue’s eyes darkened……
No way to avoid it.
They couldn’t possibly never go out again.
Besides, there seemed to be many things watching them from outside the house.
Yue Yiyue closed her eyes in discouragement. In that instant, she felt truly insignificant.
As a Book Transmigrator, she was this incompetent.
Unable to avert inevitable events, and always adding trouble for Gu Nanqiu.
If she had opened the window just now, those things would have swarmed straight to Gu Nanqiu’s location, brainwashed her, made her fall in love with someone she didn’t love, and fulfilled the wish.
Such a thing couldn’t happen….. absolutely not!
At this thought, Yue Yiyue trembled lightly all over. She desperately needed to cut something to force herself to calm down, or bite her nails.
But she couldn’t do anything.
She could only look at Gu Nanqiu in front of her.
‘Yiyue, do you believe me?’ Gu Nanqiu’s hand fell onto Yue Yiyue’s icy one, covering it, then slipping between her fingers, interlocking them. The slightly higher temperature gradually dispelled Yue Yiyue’s anxiety.
Gu Nanqiu gazed at Yue Yiyue gently but firmly. She said word by word, seriously: ‘No need to overthink. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together. We don’t need to fear things that haven’t happened yet.’
‘Believe me.’
‘Yiyue, please believe me.’
————
When Yue Yiyue woke up, she was still in Gu Nanqiu and Gu Ye’s arms.
Holding both of them, for a moment Yue Yiyue thought she had returned to the Orphanage, sleeping in the big communal bed.
She sat up, feeling more relaxed in her body than ever.
It was as if someone had given her a full, comfortable massage while she slept.
She sat dazedly for a moment, then her mind jolted like an electric shock. She realized she had dreamed of a segment from the Original Work.
And the Original Work repeatedly emphasized the importance of that webpage.
Dragging the groggy Gu Ye with her, she rushed to the study.
The window had been cleaned spotless, without a trace of blood.
But that wasn’t Yue Yiyue’s target.
She turned on the computer and opened the history.
Blank.
Nothing.
In disbelief, she refreshed the page again, confirming she hadn’t used incognito mode.
Unwilling to give up, Yue Yiyue searched Tieba and quickly switched to the date she remembered.
The post about the Wishing Cake was still there, but the garbled avatar was gone.
It was all just like Yue Yiyue’s nightmare…..
She immediately opened her phone and looked at that number she could never block.
She had indeed left a message for them yesterday.
‘Yiyue-jie, what’s wrong?’ Gu Ye yawned, rubbing her eyes. She wobbled over a few steps and sat in Yue Yiyue’s lap, mumbling: ‘So sleepy. I’ll just lean on you and nap.’
She then greedily took a deep breath.
‘Sorry.’ Yue Yiyue held Gu Ye with one arm, adjusted to a more comfortable position for her to lie down, placed the phone on the desk, and continued searching posts—even typing in that strange URL from memory.
The result: The page you’re looking for doesn’t exist.
She tried several other browsers.
Every one gave the same result.
Yue Yiyue leaned back in the chair, dejectedly staring at the ceiling.
Damn it.
Damn it!
Damn it!!!
So close, just so close!
The segment Yue Yiyue dreamed of was the biggest hint in the original work for everyone.
The first person to make a wish on that webpage became the site’s offering.
He/She nourished that lost, pitiable person by feeding on wishes as sustenance—nourishing the monster thirsting for power, thirsting to become a true god.
Yue Yiyue glanced down at Gu Ye sleeping soundly in her arms.
Whatever.
At least for now, this was all they could do.
