Chapter 58: A Helping Hand from the System

The voice was still cursing: “I told you, if you want a prop, at least make it fit the scene! I know it’s hard to send a blind person to a mission location; you come asking me for props, I don’t think it’s a big deal. But you ask for something so ridiculous?!”

Qiansui weakly retorted: “Well… on a system level, you really are my mother. I was built based on your system template…”

Silence on the other end of the line.

A long silence.

Qiansui hesitated, then the soft voice came again, this time with a careful, ingratiating tone: “I mean… on a system level, you really are my mother. I was made from your system template, right?”

Silence.

A very long silence.

Su Yutao could feel Qiansui trembling, the furry body shivering slightly in her arms.

Then the bratty female voice exploded, fierce and impatient: “f*ck your mother—no, wait! f*ck you! I’m still considered young in the system world! And now I’m a mother?!”

Qiansui shrank back: “B-But you are my template—”

“Shut up!”

Qianxia’s voice grew even more explosive.

“If you call me that again, don’t call me anymore! Go fend for yourself with your host!”

Qiansui didn’t dare speak.

It just huddled in Su Yutao’s arms, the entire penguin trembling.

Su Yutao held Qiansui tighter.

Her heart ached for Qiansui, but she didn’t dare make a sound.

She was afraid of that voice, too—afraid that the fierce voice would really hang up.

Then Qiansui would have no one to help.

Silence stretched on.

So long that Su Yutao thought the other side had truly hung up.

Then the voice came again, still fierce but less explosive: “What prop do you want? Spit it out, and don’t give me anything ridiculous.”

Qiansui paused, then quickly said: “I-I can’t see. She needs to go to that alley to trigger the plot, but she can’t see the way.”

“I-I want to give her something to see her surroundings.”

“It doesn’t need to be clear, just enough to make out the general outline, enough to avoid people, enough to run away…”

Silence on the other end.

Then Qianxia’s voice came through, with a tone of ‘Are you an idiot?’: “You have a system map. The places you’ve unlocked are all on the map. Just give her navigation, isn’t that enough?”

Qiansui was stunned: “Map? What map?”

A sigh came from Qianxia’s side, as if she was exasperated: “There’s a map function on your system panel. The areas you’ve unlocked are displayed on the map. The places your host has been—she’s been to Lin Qingxue’s house, Shen Nian’s house, the hospital, that small alley—they’re all on the map.”

“Give her navigation, and she can walk on her own.”

Qiansui’s voice grew even smaller: “I-I didn’t know about this function…”

Qianxia’s voice exploded again: “You don’t even know what functions your own panel has?!”

Qiansui didn’t dare speak.

Qianxia on the other end grumbled: “Trash is trash, can’t even look at the panel.”

“Fine. I’ll give you a one-time prop. For two hours, it’s like sonar. After your host activates it, she can see the environment around her, the general outline. Enough for her to run to the alley, trigger the plot, and run back.”

Qiansui’s voice brightened a little: “Thank you—”

“Don’t call me Mom.”

Qianxia cut her off.

“Call me that again and I’ll take back the prop.”

Qiansui quickly changed her tune: “Thank you, Lady Qianxia!”

Qianxia ‘hmph’ed: “Prop sent to you. Once it’s used up, it’s gone. Use it sparingly.”

A pause, then the voice turned fierce again.

“And also, go through your system panel. Memorize every function on it. Next time you ask such a stupid question, I’ll directly recycle you.”

“Snap.”

The call ended.

The room fell silent.

Qiansui lay in Su Yutao’s arms for a long time.

Then the soft voice spoke up, tinged with grievance but also a little joy: “I-I got the prop for you. One-time use. For two hours, you can see your surroundings clearly, the general outline.”

“Enough for you to run to the alley, trigger the plot, and run back.”

A pause, the voice growing even smaller.

“Also… I have a map function on my system panel. I didn’t know. I-I never knew…”

“I didn’t mean to not tell you. I-I really didn’t know.”

Su Yutao held Qiansui tighter.

She wanted to say it’s okay.

Wanted to say she was already amazing.

Wanted to say she had helped her so much.

But she couldn’t speak.

She could only hold Qiansui in her arms, burying her face in its downy feathers.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “There’s a map in your mind now.”

“Think about wanting to go to that alley, and it will tell you which way to go.”

“And that sonar prop—think ‘activate,’ and you can use it.”

“Only two hours. Use it wisely.”

Su Yutao was curled up on the sofa, running the route through her mind—left, right, straight ahead.

Qiansui was in her arms, round and warm.

She thought ‘activate,’ her fingers tightening around Qiansui’s down, about to—

“You’re finally awake.”

The voice came from beside her, gentle and warm, with a hint of laughter.

Su Yutao’s whole body stiffened, her fingers loosening.

It was Bai Xue.

Footsteps moved toward the kitchen, then back.

The sound of a bowl being placed on the coffee table, the sound of a spoon hitting the bowl’s rim.

Lin Qingxue sat down next to her, leaving a gap—not as close as before, but a fist’s width of space.

Su Yutao could feel that distance.

Not close, not far.

It was deliberately left by the daytime her.

Lin Qingxue scooped a spoonful of congee and brought it to her lips: “Are you hungry? Dinner. You’ve been sleeping since afternoon, and now it’s dark.”

Su Yutao opened her mouth.

The congee was fed in, warm and sticky, with red dates, sweet.

She chewed slowly, her body still a little tense, but better than during the day.

She wasn’t sure if it was because she had slept so long that she lacked the strength to be tense, or because the daytime her sat at that end, not touching her, just feeding her.

Lin Qingxue fed her spoonful by spoonful, unhurried.

When she finished, she took the bowl, went to the kitchen, and washed it.

When she came back, she stood in front of Su Yutao for a moment, then said: “Go sleep in the bed. The sofa isn’t comfortable.”

Su Yutao didn’t move.

Lin Qingxue waited a moment, then bent down and gently helped her up from the sofa.

Su Yutao, supported, walked step by step toward the bedroom.

Qiansui was still in her arms, fluffy and warm, already dry.

They reached the bedside.

Lin Qingxue helped her onto the bed and made her sit up.

Then she crouched down, looking at Su Yutao.

Though Su Yutao couldn’t see, she could feel that gaze—not cold, but warm.

“Can I touch your head?”

The voice asked softly.

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