Su Zhiyi felt as if she had a bitter gourd in her mouth, her teeth and tongue coated with a lingering bitterness.
She looked at the man kneeling before her, her lips moving soundlessly for a long moment before she finally managed to say, "I understand. I need some time alone."
"Get out."
Faced with Song Lian's emotionally dense confession, she was utterly stunned into silence. She couldn't think of anything to say. Hitting him would only make him enjoy it; cursing him would also make him enjoy it. So she just spat out those words, wanting to calm herself down and also to get rid of him. No matter how handsome his face was, she couldn't stand looking at it anymore.
This time, Song Lian didn't cling to her. He only said, "Remember to eat breakfast," before leaving.
Su Zhiyi was silent for a long time, then slowly picked up the sandwich from the table and took a bite.
System 030 had just returned and didn't understand the situation. It had happily delivered its line, only to see a kneeling man and a Su Zhiyi who looked utterly drained of life. It was so startled that after finishing its line, it let out a burst of static.
"Ah-h-h-h-h-host, wh-wh-wh-what's going on?!" it managed to stammer after a long while, looking around and sizing up the unfamiliar room.
Questions flooded in. It desperately wanted to know what its host had experienced in the half day it had been repairing and upgrading its system.
"I've only been gone for less than half a day! Where is this? Why is it so luxuriously decorated? Host, what are those things on your feet and hands? And why was Song Lian kneeling in front of you just now?!"
"My host! What have you done?!"
Su Zhiyi sighed. "Even though it's only been half a day, I still have to say—it's a long story..."
She briefly explained the current situation to System 030. In short, Song Lian had discovered early on that she wasn't the Su family's eldest miss. He had set up layers of traps and schemes, entrapping not only Su Qinghuai and Si Yanjing but also her. He had forced a confrontation and then confined her to this small room in the villa.
Now, probably all the wealthy families in City A knew about her identity.
To sum it up: Her identity was exposed. She was caught and locked up by Song Lian. The mission had failed.
"I should have seen it coming." Su Zhiyi bit angrily into the sandwich in her hand, her voice muffled but still carrying her fury. "I knew something was off when the people in the slums looked at me like I was a ghost. I bet that's when Song Lian found out."
"And that art exhibition... that painting hanging in the school wasn't even his; it was a copy done by his friend. I thought it felt strange!"
Even her stay in the slums had been arranged by Song Lian, including the painting in the school gallery. The original must be hidden somewhere in this villa.
How had she missed all these suspicious little details?
System 030 was shocked.
System 030 was deeply disappointed.
System 030 began to reflect.
"How could the mission fail in just half a day... Ah, I guess I'm really useless. Yesterday, at such a critical moment, I was forcibly disconnected and spent the whole night repairing and upgrading."
Su Zhiyi asked curiously, "Did your system upgrade add any new features?"
At the mention of new features, System 030 became evasive. "Um... the spending limit went from 99 yuan to 100 yuan, and it also installed a currency exchange system for different worlds. Does that count as a new feature?"
"..." Su Zhiyi massaged her forehead. "That's basically useless."
She couldn't blame the system. Even if it hadn't disconnected last night, nothing could have changed the current situation.
She had been so close to completing the mission in this world. Though it was regrettable, she wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
Failure wasn't new to her. Failing once more wouldn't matter.
She would learn from this world's mistakes and plan better for the next one.
Su Zhiyi stood up. She was wearing a pure white spaghetti-strap dress, her soft, slightly wavy hair cascading over her shoulders. Her delicate features were clear and gentle, as if she had stepped straight out of one of Song Lian's paintings.
She pushed open the tightly shut window in the room. Sunlight had already broken through the clouds, spilling into the garden outside her window.
The roses in the garden were in full bloom, the sunlight gilding their delicate petals, outlining them in pale gold as if dusted with gold leaf.
A gentle breeze brushed the petals, and the roses swayed like rippling waves in the garden.
Fragrance filled the air. She could almost smell the mingled scent of sunlight and roses.
She knew she was confined to this villa by Song Lian. He would indulge her every whim, except for letting her go. He would agree to anything, even handing her a million yuan without batting an eye, just to please her.
It sounded pretty nice, didn't it?
"Forget it."
Su Zhiyi suddenly muttered this to herself.
She still preferred freedom.
System 030 asked cautiously, "So, host, you mean..."
"Since the mission has already failed and there's no way to salvage it," Su Zhiyi said without a trace of reluctance, "take me out of this world."
System 030 followed its host's instructions completely and asked routinely, "Should we return to the Quick Time Travel Bureau, or go directly to the next world?"
Su Zhiyi got irritated just thinking about the three thousand yuan in her salary card. The wages she could get from this world were bound to be pitifully small.
"Next world, next world. I've already mastered the essence of pretending to be rich. I failed this one, but I'll be damned if I fail the next!"
She took a deep breath, silently made up her mind, and said resolutely, "Oh, and make sure to report to the main system. Tell them to hold off on settling my wages for this world and only pay me in a lump sum when I clear a world."
System 030 was shocked.
System 030 didn't understand.
System 030 was a little uncertain.
But it still did as instructed and relayed the message to the main system.
A few minutes later, System 030 finished handling the matter and returned. "Okay, host. I've passed along your message. Now let me help you select the next world. World number SU39... Huh, another modern world. Let me check the mission... Mm, looks pretty simple? Then let's get ready to travel to that world, host!"
A dazzling white light flashed in the bedroom, enveloping the girl standing by the bed.
After a moment, the light dissipated, and the girl had vanished.
Clatter—
The shackles fell to the floor. The harsh sound echoed through the huge villa before fading into silence.
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Author's note: World 1 is temporarily over. This escape is not the final ending. After the story is complete, I'll pick a few worlds based on their popularity and write interludes of the protagonist returning to those worlds~