CHAPTER 75

After Ye Chengxing said that, she looked at Li Jia, who clearly had a collapsing world expression, and finally fully realized what was happening.

Her previously muddled consciousness became slightly clearer as a result.

...How did she just blurt everything out like that?

She was truly influenced, she should never have been so straightforward in normal circumstances.

Ye Chengxing met Li Jia's gaze, feeling both regretful and worried at the same time.

Before Li Jia could speak, she raised her hand and embraced her. "Xiaoli, listen to me first. I still have some time, and I stayed behind on my own..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard Li Jia suddenly interrupt her, "Sister, I made some porridge and honey lemon water for you. Have something to eat first. Can we talk later?"

Ye Chengxing's voice faltered upon hearing her words, and the Omega withdrew from her embrace.

Her expression seemed less devastated than before, and her voice no longer trembled.

Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds before responding, "Okay, we can talk when you come back."

Li Jia softly murmured in agreement, opened the bedroom door, and left.

However, as soon as she entered the kitchen on the first floor, she couldn't maintain her composure any longer. Tears rolled down uncontrollably.

She took off the collar around her neck, and almost at the same time, she heard a distorted electronic sound in her mind.

"Hey, Main Villainess, what's up? Have you finally remembered to let me out? Where's Ye Chengxing? Since you've let me out, I'll go find Ye Chengxing. Don't try to stop me..."

That electronic voice sounded noticeably weak, but due to the anger brewing within, it had a subtly strange tone.

However, before Li Jia could respond, the strange voice of 001 abruptly stopped on its own.

Then, the electronic sound suddenly escalated, to the point of being sharp, "How long have you kept me locked up?!"

Li Jia listened to the rapidly changing electronic sound, her gaze becoming confused. Instead of answering, she directly asked, "Do you still have the energy to send Ye Chengxing back?"

After her words fell, she didn't hear 001's voice in response for a long time. When it finally resurfaced, 001's emotions seemed to have completely collapsed, "It's useless, too late, it's all too late..."

Its voice was intermittent, and Li Jia seemed to be greatly shocked by its words, unable to react at all.

"What are you saying?" she murmured, "How could this be? Why... Aren't you the system?"

Suddenly, 001 let out a bitter laugh, "Li Jia, why are you asking me why? Don't you know it better than anyone?"

"Why do you think Ye Chengxing stayed behind?"

"Just because you triggered a BUG and locked me up? Or was it because of some other means?"

"The World Will detected that if a stranded mission participant meets the conditions for leaving, they will be sent back. She could have left, but she didn't go! She chose not to go by herself!"

At this point, 001's electronic voice choked up, "The previous energy has been automatically exhausted, and the maintenance measures have been removed. Now you want me to send her back? But she can't go back anymore. She knows she will become weaker and weaker, yet she still chose to stay in this world..."

As Li Jia listened to 001's words, her body trembled for a moment.

The Omega tightly held onto the Nakajima stand beside her, her knuckles turning pale from the force, and only one thing echoed in her mind: "She chose not to go by herself."

It was as if something in her mind had suddenly shattered.

She chose not to go by herself...

She chose to stay in this world...

Li Jia suddenly let out a painful sob, gasping for breath. Then she realized that she had been standing in the same spot for too long since she came down, as if trapped in an icy cellar. She forced herself to snap out of that state.

She brought out the vegetable porridge and lemon water she had previously put in the intelligent storage room and slowly made her way back upstairs.

.......

When the bedroom door was opened, Ye Chengxing was struggling to get up from the floor.

Upon hearing the door, the Alpha looked up.

In that instant, when their eyes met, Ye Chengxing couldn't help but lower her gaze slightly, but a faint smile appeared on her lips, pretending to be at ease. "I haven't seen Xiaoli for a long time, and I was worried that something happened, so I wanted to go down and check, but..."

But it seemed she had overestimated herself and underestimated how weak she would become after the removal of the maintenance measures.

"But actually, there's nothing wrong, it just looks a bit messy."

Ye Chengxing's tone was light as she spoke, but her gaze never met Li Jia's.

Li Jia walked over and embraced her.

"Not messy, not at all."

She helped Ye Chengxing lean against the bed, gently kissed her lips, and then brought over the vegetable porridge and honey lemon water that had been placed aside. "Sister, shall I feed you?"

Ye Chengxing didn't have much appetite at the moment, but seeing that Li Jia had prepared everything, she agreed.

She took a sip of the porridge that Li Jia fed her. "Actually, I can eat by myself... But Xiaoli, you always make delicious food."

Li Jia nodded, "Then please eat a little more, Sister."

After saying that, she didn't say anything else.

So after eating a few mouthfuls of porridge, Ye Chengxing hesitated for a moment and softly called out, "Xiaoli."

Their eyes met, and Ye Chengxing reached up to touch her face before speaking up, "I'm not entirely sure how you feel about this, but staying in this world was my own choice."

"Xiaoli hasn't done anything wrong. It has always been my own decision from the beginning to the end. Even if this is the outcome, it's not because of Xiaoli, and Xiaoli doesn't need to bear any psychological burden or feel responsible for it."

Ye Chengxing's tone was very gentle.

In fact, besides these words, she had many other things she wanted to say, but the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy, and she was afraid that if she continued, it would turn into a farewell atmosphere.

Ye Chengxing imagined this in her mind, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

She also understood what Li Jia was feeling right now, but...

Apart from letting her know that this was her own choice, she didn't know how else to express it.

It would be too futile.

Li Jia listened to her words slowly.

Although she already knew that Ye Chengxing had chosen to stay in this world by herself, hearing Ye Chengxing say it like this made her heart ache again, with a subtle and intense pain.

"Why...?" Her eyes welled up with tears, but she couldn't shed them anymore.

Why would you willingly stay in this world like this? Is it worth it?

She didn't voice her remaining thoughts, but Ye Chengxing heard the unspoken words in Li Jia's question and couldn't help but smile softly, "Li Jia, I love you, I really love you. Maybe even more than you can imagine."

After saying this, Ye Chengxing felt a bit embarrassed.

She rarely expressed such long statements of love, even using multiple "I love you" in her words.

But it truly reflected her innermost thoughts.

After a while, Li Jia responded with a trembling voice, "I understand."

Ye Chengxing didn't know what else to say. She gently exhaled, suppressing the bitter ache that seemed to be lodged in her heart, and spoke as normally as possible, "I still have some time left, and we've talked about wearing wedding dresses together, right? We still have New Year's Eve to celebrate together."

As she spoke, Ye Chengxing imagined for a moment, "How about we wear wedding dresses together on New Year's Eve?"

"...Okay."

"On New Year's Eve, we'll wear wedding dresses together."

She couldn't say anything else, waves of invisible suffocation and overwhelming despair almost engulfed her.

Li Jia looked at Ye Chengxing's brows and eyes, pursing her lips.

There must be another way.

It can't end like this.

There must be another way, she just hasn't found it yet.

Ye Chengxing imagined that scene for a moment, and the smile on her lips became more apparent, a smile that involuntarily appeared as she recalled the past. "That would be nice."

Li Jia took a deep breath without showing any emotions, allowing her expression to appear more natural. She even reminded Ye Chengxing, "Sister, you haven't finished your porridge."

Ye Chengxing made a sound of agreement and obediently drank some porridge in the manner Li Jia fed her.

There was a straw in the honey lemon water, and after drinking some porridge, she took two sips of lemon water. Seeing that Li Jia still wanted to feed her, she shook her head with a helpless smile. "Xiaoli, I really can't eat anymore."

Li Jia paused for a second upon hearing her words and withdrew her hand. She nodded somewhat flustered, "Then let's not eat it for now. Is there anything else you want to eat, Sister? I'll make it for you next."

Ye Chengxing felt like she had lost her sense of taste, just like the porridge and lemon water she had just drunk. She couldn't discern any specific flavors, at most, there was a slight difference in texture.

"Anything is fine. Xiaoli, do you want to make it together? After all, everything Xiaoli makes tastes delicious." So she ultimately said.

After saying that, Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds. "Xiaoli, you should eat well too. Don't just think about making me eat more. You should remember to eat properly."

Li Jia looked somewhat dazed, lightly acknowledging her words, and also drank some porridge. Then she tidied up the things and had the robot come to collect them.

They chatted as usual, but not long after, Ye Chengxing felt her body becoming tired again, a sense of exhaustion sweeping over her.

She listened to Li Jia's voice, trying hard to stay awake, but it didn't seem to have much effect, and her responsive voice gradually weakened.

Li Jia looked at her visibly struggling with weariness but still trying to listen to her, and her fingertips moved, then she raised her hand and gently touched Ye Chengxing's face, helping her lie down again and covering her with the blanket. "It's okay, Sister. If you're tired, you can sleep for a while. We'll continue talking when you wake up."

Ye Chengxing could no longer hear the specific content of what Li Jia was saying, but she could feel Li Jia's fingertips lingering in front of her eyes.

Her consciousness began to uncontrollably fade, no longer staying clear. She lifted her hand and covered Li Jia's hand, her fingertips slipping through the gaps between their fingers, lightly holding her hand, speaking to her in a comforting tone, "Hmm, I'll just sleep for a while. I'll wake up. Xiaoli, don't be afraid."

Her words trailed off.

...But how could she not be afraid?

Outside the window, the sun and moon alternated, and Li Jia sat by the bed, watching as Ye Chengxing would wake up after sleeping for one or two hours at first, then four or five hours, and later seven or eight hours, even more than ten hours.

She watched helplessly as Ye Chengxing's awake time grew shorter and she inevitably grew weaker.

Her body became increasingly frail, and she still hadn't thought of a solution.

What should she do?

What should she do to give Ye Chengxing enough energy to return home?

Wait, energy to return home...

She seemed to have thought of something...

Li Jia fell into her own thoughts, as if losing her perception of the outside world along with it. When she came back to her senses, it was Ye Chengxing who had woken up again.

"What day is it today?" Ye Chengxing's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. She blinked her eyes, blinked again, and then slightly parted her lips to ask Li Jia, "How long did I sleep this time? I feel so tired."

Li Jia froze upon seeing her movements. "Sister, I'm here."

Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds upon hearing her words before turning her gaze back, her tone carrying a hint of a helpless smile. "I'm not quite clear-headed right after waking up."

But little did she know that she had turned in the wrong direction this time.

After saying that, Ye Chengxing recalled something. "Xiaoli, you haven't answered my question."

Li Jia mentioned the date and added, "It's currently four in the morning, less than a day away from the New Year's Eve we agreed on. Sister, you've slept for over a day this time..."

Upon hearing her response, Ye Chengxing spoke with a smile in her voice. "So, I woke up at just the right time."

As she finished speaking, she reached out and tugged at the hem of Li Jia's clothes, searching for Omega's sleeve. "Xiaoli, let's go try on wedding dresses."

Her voice still carried a gentle laughter. "Let's choose two of the most beautiful ones. Will you help me pick, Xiaoli?"

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