Chapter 97: Nineteen

For most people, not knowing the date of their death was a stroke of considerable luck. You never knew when your end would come, so tomorrow always held hope, and the future brimmed with endless longing. Even in the face of setbacks and despair, you found the courage to rally, step forward, and bounce back.

But before coming to this world, Ye Can had never given a thought to the future. To her, life was something that could end at any moment—tomorrow might never arrive.

She lived wildly and freely, utterly indifferent to others’ comings and goings, lives or deaths. Apart from that one time when she tried to let Lin Zixi go, she hadn’t done a single praiseworthy deed.

Of course, Lin Zixi hadn’t left. Instead, she chose to die alongside her.

After arriving in this world, constrained by the Immoral God’s restrictions—and worried that her own existence might harm Lin Zixi—Ye Can had lived a thoroughly stifled life.

She compromised and scraped by in the cracks, all to negotiate with the Immoral God for a bright future for Lin Zixi.

Now, things were settled. The Immoral God had told Ye Can outright that she would leave this world again in three years. And after she left, the Immoral God promised to erase all of Lin Zixi’s memories of her.

This lifted Ye Can’s shackles, granting her unfettered freedom in this world once more.

Yet at the same time, the Immoral God imposed a new restriction: In the three years before her departure, Ye Can had to fight desperately to stay alive, pushing her Favorability to 1999…

In other words, for these three years, Ye Can had to claw her way through the entertainment industry, earning the recognition and affection of more people.

This was another leash on Ye Can in this world—otherwise, after she left in three years, she would inflict irreversible harm on Lin Zixi.

Ye Can pondered deeply. Gaining more people’s affection meant she now had to show some restraint in her actions.

Live freely and boldly, but with principles. No murder or arson, no robbery or plunder—otherwise, she could lose her freedom in this world at any moment.

Of course, she couldn’t live too ordinarily either, or she’d never build Favorability.

After mulling it over, Ye Can realized this was a constrained freedom. To achieve it, she needed to reconcile her true self with how she presented it to the world—strike a balance.

Even if it was all fake, she had to craft an image that everyone would like.

Ye Can felt like the Immoral God was forcing her to sculpt a perfect facade for herself, then lock herself inside it to harvest more adoration.

It was like being a statue on an altar, gleaming gold and basking in the incense of worshippers.

Though the demand grew more uncomfortable the more she thought about it, after half a year of adaptation, she could stomach it. Cursing the Immoral God under her breath, she racked her brains on how to grow her fanbase.

These thoughts were exhausting, leaving Ye Can sleepless night after night for days.

Lin Zixi, on the other hand, had been in high spirits since that rare confession from Ye Can. During their intimate moments, she clung to her even more than before.

Ye Can no longer dodged evasively as she once had. Instead, she responded as the situation called for. In those responses, Lin Zixi tasted a sweetness unlike any before.

Soon, May arrived, and filming on Things Unknown to Others neared its end.

That afternoon, Ye Can shot the final scene on set.

Later, Xiao Shi learned why her father and stepmother had fled in haste.

The idle, lazy stepmother had racked up debts with loan sharks, and the collectors came knocking. For his son’s sake, her father had whisked away the stepmother and little brother overnight.

That evening, the loan sharks burst in to find Xiao Shi alone. Luckily, the boy appeared just in time to bail her out.

They shared a brief spell of peace. The boy even taught Xiao Shi how to fight back against her school bullies. With her parents ignoring her completely, Xiao Shi unleashed everything she’d suppressed, rebelling against every chain that bound her.

Her father’s calls grew rare. The last one came on some day after deep autumn. Soon after, he died in a car crash, his body shipped back to their hometown for the funeral.

After handling her father’s affairs, Xiao Shi felt an unprecedented lightness. All those years of stifled endurance seemed to vanish with his death.

The boy, visible only to her, patted her shoulder and comforted her: a brand-new life was about to begin.

But the stepmother returned with the little brother, shattering Xiao Shi’s peace again. They ransacked the house, searching for something, only to be cornered once more by the vicious loan sharks.

This time, the thugs weren’t so forgiving.

In the cramped room, a thug slapped a steel pipe against his palm, eyeing the woman whose arms they’d pinned. “You owe the money, you pay it back,” he snarled.

Terrified, the woman blurted under threats: “Life insurance! I have my husband’s life insurance payout! But it’s all in his daughter’s bank card!”

“Go find her—at XXX High School. She’s got a million on her! Just scare the little brat, and she’ll spill everything!”

The thug snorted coldly and sent his underlings to the school.

At dusk, as Xiao Shi left school, two thugs claiming to be her uncles cornered her at the gate.

Sensing trouble, Xiao Shi grabbed her bag and bolted. School had just let out—crowds everywhere made driving impossible for the thugs. They spat in frustration and gave chase on foot.

Weaving through the throng, Xiao Shi reached the bustling market. The boy appeared at her side. “You can’t outrun them—call the police,” he urged.

As Xiao Shi fumbled to dial emergency services in a panic, the thugs closed in. Using the crowd for cover, she hid briefly. Unable to spot her, they called for backup, and soon the market swarmed with searchers.

Some thugs lay in wait at her home, trapping Xiao Shi after her afternoon flight right at her doorstep.

Just three of them, twisting her arm, they snarled demands about the insurance money. Xiao Shi was petrified—and clueless about any payout—frantically insisting she knew nothing.

The commotion drew neighbors’ stares; a good Samaritan called the cops.

But before sirens wailed, the thugs threatened to sell her off. Terror shattered Xiao Shi’s courage. Head down, she sank her teeth into an unguarded thug, then snatched a steel pipe from the wall and smashed it into the leader’s head.

The pipe gashed his face; blood gushed. He howled in agony as Xiao Shi bolted.

The boy appeared then, yanking her hand and leading her downstairs. In the dim stairwell, he navigated like he knew every inch, guiding her to safety.

The shadowy world blurred into dreamlike haze. Footsteps thundered behind like ghostly chains dragging her doom, spurring the girl to frantic flight.

With a crash, she shoved aside alley clutter, blocking her pursuers. Amid their curses, Xiao Shi followed the boy, running like mad.

A beam of light pierced ahead. The boy pulled the gasping, faltering Xiao Shi onward, his gaze deep and resolute.

“Run faster—you have to run faster,” he encouraged.

“Xiao Shi, you have a bright future ahead. You can’t fall into their hands.

“Don’t sink into the muddy swamp—exhaust every ounce of strength to race toward the light!”

The grueling sprint starved Xiao Shi’s brain of oxygen. Struggling, she eyed the boy’s back, faintly hearing shrill sirens amid her haze.

She tripped on a pebble, sprawling to the ground.

The thugs lunged. At the last second, Xiao Shi summoned every shred of strength and screamed for help.

Screeching brakes pierced the air. Headlights flooded the alley, illuminating Xiao Shi crumpled at its mouth.

She looked up at the police stepping from the car, her eyes sparkling with radiant hope.

“Cut!” the director shouted, clapping once.

Lin Zixi rushed forward from the sidelines, helping Ye Can up from the ground. Ye Can dusted her hands, then glanced down to see her palm scraped raw, blood seeping finely from the wound.

She stared blankly at her palm, unresponsive for a long moment. Lin Zixi followed her gaze and froze. “Did you fall just now? Does it hurt?”

Heart aching, Lin Zixi cradled her hand. “That take—anywhere else hurt? Your knee?”

Lin Zixi checked Ye Can’s knee. The school uniform pants were torn there. Anxious, she urged: “Roll up your pants—let’s see if it’s injured.”

Ye Can ignored her, shifting her gaze from her hand. Eyes dazed, she stared at Lin Zixi. “Lin Zixi… I’m bleeding.”

Lin Zixi melted with pity, sighing. “Your hand’s scraped—’course it’s bleeding.”

Ye Can shook her head. “Not my hand. Down… down there.”

She gripped Lin Zixi’s shoulder with her bloody palm, eyes gleaming strangely as she searched her face. “You know… my period?”

Lin Zixi blinked, staring at Ye Can’s strikingly beautiful face in the dim light, mind struggling to process. “Isn’t that normal? Don’t you get it every month—”

Wait… Lin Zixi tilted her head, memories flashing: details once glossed over, like Ye Can’s unnaturally pale skin, her freakish strength, and how she’d never mentioned her period.

Lin Zixi gaped at Ye Can, then eyed her abdomen hesitantly. “You’ve… never had it before?”

Ye Can shook her head. “No… never once.” She didn’t care much—it was just the Immoral God’s fake ploy, after all.

But after so long without, this mundane thing arriving so casually felt off.

Blood—the symbol of the living. Did this mean she truly existed in this world?

Ye Can gasped, cupping Lin Zixi’s face. “Lin Zixi… have I always seemed alive to you?”

Not just her—everyone else too. Not paper cutouts, but living, breathing people, right?