Chapter 42: Thank You

The surrounding crowd was clamoring noisily.

Liu Qiu forced herself to calm down and dialed the emergency number.

It would be fine.

When the car hit the lamppost, it had absorbed part of the impact.

Song Ciyu would be fine.

The most important thing right now was to stay calm.

[System, I know you can’t directly save her, but scan her body and determine the probability of Song Ciyu surviving.]

The system replied: [Host, there is a very high probability that the target will survive.]

Whether the system was comforting her or not, hearing that made Liu Qiu feel slightly better.

She looked toward the front of the car.

The hood was already caved in.

With such a violent collision, the person inside could not possibly be unharmed.

She had not stepped onto the road at all.

She had only been standing beneath the lamppost.

That car had clearly been aimed at her.

Liu Qiu looked around and found her glasses.

One lens had fallen out.

The other lens was stained with blood.

She put them on anyway and slowly walked toward the accident vehicle.

In the driver’s seat, she saw someone she never would have imagined.

Liu Zhiliao.

Liu Zhiliao’s head was covered in blood.

She slumped over the steering wheel, tilting her head to meet Liu Qiu’s gaze.

Liu Qiu’s expression was blank, her voice hoarse to the extreme.

“Why… is it you?”

Liu Zhiliao’s eyes were filled with hatred.

“It’s all because of you people… you made my child leave me!”

“Yuan Yuan calls you Mom… Tiantian was taken away and never came back!”

“Liu Qiu! You’re a devil!”

As she spoke, Liu Zhiliao began to cry.

Her head throbbed with stabbing pain and her body was weak, yet she still forced out hoarse curses at Liu Qiu.

Liu Qiu staggered back a few steps.

Tears blurred her vision, and her heart became just as muddled.

She had seen Liu Zhiliao two days ago at the orphanage where the little girl lived.

At that time, Liu Zhiliao’s condition had seemed stable.

There had even been a gentle smile on her face.

She and Liu Xia had been playing with the little girl.

For some reason, the child kept calling her “Mom.”

It had been an ordinary day when Liu Zhiliao, escorted by someone, arrived at the orphanage.

The little girl had stood behind Liu Qiu, tugging at her pant leg, looking timidly at Liu Zhiliao.

Back then, Liu Qiu hadn’t understood why the child had begun rejecting Liu Zhiliao despite them having been separated for only a short time.

Liu Zhiliao had appeared completely normal.

She spoke softly and gently, like a true mother, gazing at the little girl with tender eyes and softly calling her name.

Yet the little girl clung to Liu Qiu the entire time.

Liu Zhiliao showed no sign of abnormality.

Instead, she even chatted casually with Liu Qiu.

“I’m really sorry for what I did back then. It was dangerous.”

“Oh, and the doctor said my condition isn’t serious anymore. It’s stabilized. I might even be discharged tomorrow.”

“Where are you and Liu Xia living? After I successfully bring Yuan Yuan home, I’d like to visit with her.”

She had spoken clearly and logically.

On the surface, she truly seemed recovered.

Only now did Liu Qiu understand why the little girl had refused to approach her.

Liu Zhiliao had never been sane.

She had deceived the adults.

But she hadn’t deceived her own biological daughter.

Liu Qiu didn’t know what expression she should wear in front of Liu Zhiliao.

Nor did she know what to say.

What could she possibly say to a mentally ill person?

Her body trembling, Liu Qiu returned to Song Ciyu’s side.

“I’m sorry.”

The car had clearly been aimed at her.

Song Ciyu should not have had to bear this.

The ambulance arrived quickly.

So did the police.

Liu Qiu followed the medical staff into the vehicle.

At the moment the doors closed, she caught sight of Bai Qingqing.

Maybe Bai Qingqing could save Song Ciyu.

[System, isn’t half of Bai Qingqing’s demon core still inside my body? Give the other half back to her too.]

The system responded: [That’s possible, but she must be in front of you for me to transfer the demon core.]

If this target died, perhaps the host would be trapped in this world.

---

The light outside the emergency room remained on.

Liu Qiu sat on the cold bench, praying over and over that nothing would happen to Song Ciyu.

“Liu Qiu!”

The call was slightly breathless.

Liu Xia’s hair was disheveled and her forehead damp with sweat.

When she had called Liu Qiu earlier and heard the hoarseness and tremor in her voice, she had known something was wrong.

She just hadn’t expected a car accident.

In an instant, Liu Xia’s heart tightened to the extreme.

Seeing Liu Qiu sitting there in a gray, dust-covered state, Liu Xia could no longer maintain her composure.

She ran over.

Her fingers lifted, then fell, before she gently took Liu Qiu’s hand.

“Liu Qiu, you’re not hurt, are you?”

Liu Xia crouched in front of her, her voice soft like a warm breeze.

She tilted her head up and held Liu Qiu’s hands, her eyes slightly red.

“Does something hurt badly? Your eyes are swollen from crying.”

Liu Qiu shook her head.

“The doctor checked. I’m fine.”

She said she was fine, but tears kept streaming down.

Her glasses were broken, her cheeks dirty and smeared with dried blood.

She looked pitiful no matter how one saw it.

“But Song Ciyu got hurt. If I hadn’t stopped there…”

Her voice trembled so much it made anyone who heard it feel distressed.

Liu Xia’s heart ached terribly.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone out today.”

If she had stayed by Liu Qiu’s side, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

She stood up and sat beside Liu Qiu, pulling her gently into her arms and patting her lightly.

There was a faint fragrance about her.

Liu Qiu hadn’t wanted to cry, but with someone comforting her, she couldn’t hold it back.

“It’s all my fault… If I hadn’t stopped there…”

The system comforted her in her mind.

[Host, this isn’t your fault. It’s the bad person’s fault.]

The host was only twenty-one years old.

She had a gentle personality and blamed herself too easily.

Liu Xia removed Liu Qiu’s broken glasses stained with blood and placed them into her bag.

She took out tissues and gently wiped the endless tears from Liu Qiu’s face.

“Liu Qiu, you couldn’t have known an accident would happen. This isn’t your fault.”

Liu Qiu buried her face in Liu Xia’s embrace.

Her back curved slightly as her thin body trembled, as if silently expressing her helplessness.

After an unknown amount of time, the emergency room light finally turned green.

The doctor walked out.

Liu Qiu rushed forward, her nerves stretched to the limit.

“Doc—Doctor, how is the patient?”

The doctor said, “The car accident caused extremely severe damage to the patient’s brain. At present, her vital signs have stabilized, but she remains in a deep coma.”

“Please prepare yourselves mentally.”

The doctor did not state it bluntly, but Liu Qiu understood.

Song Ciyu might become a vegetable.

The faint sound of wheels rolling echoed softly.

Liu Qiu turned to look.

Song Ciyu lay on the hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask, her body unmoving.

After six hours of waiting, Liu Qiu was already utterly exhausted.

Watching Song Ciyu being pushed away, Liu Qiu wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

It would be fine.

Bai Qingqing would definitely have a way.

Song Ciyu was still alive.

But why hadn’t Bai Qingqing come yet?

At that moment, Bai Qingqing was on her way to find Liu Qiu.

With half her demon core inside Liu Qiu’s body, she could sense that Liu Qiu’s life was not in danger and could easily locate her.

Before coming, she had gone to deal with the woman who drove the car.

She healed the woman’s wounds enough so the police could take her back immediately.

In truth, she should have killed that human with her own hands.

But whenever she thought of Liu Qiu, she couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t imagine how Liu Qiu would look at her if she ever found out she had killed someone.

Disgust?

Fear?

She couldn’t endure either.

Bai Qingqing followed to the police station.

After listening for a while, she heard them conclude that the driver was mentally ill and would not be sentenced.

Bai Qingqing refused to accept that.

Her demon power wasn’t at its peak, but hypnotizing a human was no problem.

Concealing her form, she hypnotized the human and made her confess that it had been intentional.

She also tampered with the psychiatric evaluation.

The final result stated that the human had no mental abnormalities.

Someone who nearly harmed Qiuqiu deserved to die by her hand.

Bai Qingqing curved her lips into a seductive smile.

She had thought of a method.

After the person was imprisoned, she would kill her then.

That way, Liu Qiu would never know.

By the time the final verdict came out, the sky had already darkened.

It had taken a long time.

Using the demon core, Bai Qingqing finally arrived at the hospital.

Before seeing Liu Qiu, she found a mirror and adjusted her appearance.

The clothes she was wearing had been taken from that omega.

If it weren’t for that omega, Qiuqiu wouldn’t have run out.

It had been a long time since Qiuqiu last saw her.

She had to make herself look beautiful.

She wanted to tell Qiuqiu that the human had been locked up and hopefully make her a little happier.

After finishing, Bai Qingqing stepped toward where Liu Qiu was.

She spotted Liu Qiu almost instantly.

Her pale skin and long, wavy black hair were always striking.

At that moment, Liu Qiu was held tightly in the arms of a beta who looked somewhat similar to her.

They were pressed so closely together it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

[Green-hat value +2]

The sudden notification in her mind made Liu Qiu abruptly lift her head from Liu Xia’s embrace and look around.

Her gaze landed precisely on Bai Qingqing, who was walking toward her.

She couldn’t see clearly, but she knew it was Bai Qingqing.

Bai Qingqing noticed her gaze.

She forced a small smile and called softly, “Qiuqiu.”

Liu Qiu broke free from Liu Xia’s arms and rushed toward Bai Qingqing.

Bai Qingqing froze at her initiative, then was overwhelmed with joy.

She reached out and caught Liu Qiu firmly in her arms.

Liu Qiu looked up at her with reddened eyes.

“Bai Qingqing, why did you come so late?”

Bai Qingqing had never seen Liu Qiu look so pitiful and adorable at the same time.

Her heart melted.

Qiuqiu still cared about her.

She had rushed over the moment she saw her.

Bai Qingqing’s lips lifted, her eyes carrying an innate allure.

“I’m sorry, Qiuqiu, I—”

Before she could finish, Liu Qiu cupped her face and kissed her.

The moment their lips touched, Bai Qingqing’s heart pounded like thunder.

This was the first time Qiuqiu had taken the initiative.

Joy surged wildly within her.

Had Qiuqiu forgiven her?

But in the next second, a warm current flowed from Liu Qiu’s lips into her mouth.

It was the other half of her demon core.

Liu Xia watched the two of them kissing, her fists slowly clenching.

She turned her eyes away, unable to continue watching the scene that stirred her jealousy.

If she were Bai Qingqing, she would have held Liu Qiu immediately, kissed her forehead, and told her everything would be fine.

Six hours had passed without Bai Qingqing appearing.

Liu Qiu shouldn’t remain infatuated with someone like that.

After returning the demon core, Liu Qiu grabbed Bai Qingqing’s wrist and led her to the glass window.

From there, they could see Song Ciyu lying inside with a respirator.

She wanted Song Ciyu to recover.

“I—”

But when her gaze fell on Bai Qingqing’s face, her words stopped.

How could she take it for granted that Bai Qingqing would save someone?

Bai Qingqing owed her nothing.

She owed Song Ciyu nothing.

Large tears fell from Liu Qiu’s eyes.

She wiped them away again and again, but they wouldn’t stop.

Guilt nearly drowned her.

She had never expected things to turn out like this.

Sometimes Liu Qiu didn’t need to say anything.

Bai Qingqing already understood.

Her heart sank to the bottom.

Bai Qingqing’s lips moved slowly.

“You want me to save her.”

Liu Qiu lowered her long lashes and gently bit her lip.

Her slender fingers pressed against the glass, trembling slightly.

Not just her hand, but her entire fragile body was shaking, as if she were porcelain that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Bai Qingqing felt her blood turn to ice.

It was as if shards of frost flowed through her veins, bringing piercing pain wherever they passed.

So that kiss had been for this.

She still didn’t love her.

Bai Qingqing laughed at herself softly.

She really should stop overthinking.

Reaching out, she wrapped an arm around Liu Qiu’s shoulders and, with restraint and gentleness, pressed a kiss to her ear.

“I will.”

As long as it was something Liu Qiu wanted, she would do it.

Hearing that, Liu Qiu’s eyes widened with obvious surprise.

Her hoarse voice trembled.

“Th-thank you. Really. I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

Bai Qingqing had saved her from drowning in guilt.

Bai Qingqing curved her eyes gently, just like when Liu Qiu first met her.

But in those narrow, beautiful eyes, there was now an added thread of lingering love.

She reached out to wipe away Liu Qiu’s tears, her voice low.

“Qiuqiu, just don’t cry.”

How distant it felt.

It was impossible to feel happy.

Qiuqiu’s tears were for someone else.

Her thanks were for someone else.

She had never seen Qiuqiu display such intense emotion before.

Bai Qingqing’s gaze fell upon Song Ciyu lying in the ward.

Perhaps this was the person Qiuqiu truly liked.

Qiuqiu saw her every day at work.

She had even seen them hugging before.

Once, they had even slept in the same bed.

That alpha’s feelings were so obvious.

Qiuqiu must have known.

Maybe she was the only one kept in the dark.

Bai Qingqing knew she shouldn’t speculate, but she couldn’t control herself.

Why did Liu Qiu care so much about others?

Why was she crying so pitifully, so aggrieved?

She had never received such concern from Liu Qiu.

Even when she had turned into a dying little snake, Liu Qiu hadn’t looked this distressed.

[Green-hat value +10]

[Ding. Mission complete. The task executor may leave this world at any time. (Note: Upon departure, you will immediately enter the next mission world.)]

[Host, we can leave now.]

Liu Qiu refused.

[Wait. We’ll leave after Song Ciyu wakes up.]

She couldn’t abandon Song Ciyu while she was still unconscious.