Chapter 29: Finally, Rest

The room fell silent.

Su Yutao curled up on the bed, hugging Qiansui.

The bed was soft.

So soft that she sank into it completely.

The blanket was light.

Light as if nothing covered her, yet warm.

The pillow was soft, too.

So soft that once her head touched it, she didn’t want to move.

Qiansui’s tiny voice sounded by her ear:

“This bed is real…”

Su Yutao didn’t answer.

She just lay there, motionless.

The wound on her arm still throbbed.

Where the dog had bitten, where the disinfectant had cleaned—it pulsed with a dull ache.

But for some reason, the pain felt more bearable now.

Maybe it was because the bed was so soft.

Or the room was so quiet.

Or maybe it was Qiansui’s murmuring at her ear that made her less afraid.

Qiansui was still muttering:

“My master prepared an initial space for me—just a white fog, nothing else… She said beginners don’t need enjoyment, they need to suffer…”

“This place is way better than that…”

Listening to its muttering, Su Yutao’s consciousness slowly grew hazy.

She thought about last night—no, the night before.

In that corner, in the rain.

Crouching, shivering, hungry, feverish.

The concrete floor was so hard, so cold.

The rain was so loud, so noisy.

She hadn’t slept all night.

Before that.

Her first night at Lin Qingxue’s house.

After being violated by that woman…

She hadn’t slept all night.

Before that.

Her second night at Lin Qingxue’s house.

Awakened by the sound of that woman’s phone call, listening to her own miserable story, then being dragged up and asked, “How much did you hear?”

Again, she hadn’t slept all night.

Before that.

Her third night at Lin Qingxue’s house—no, that was last night.

That woman had left.

She was alone, hungry, scared, waiting.

With nothing.

And then—

Su Yutao’s consciousness began to drift.

She was so tired.

So incredibly tired.

Since she had transmigrated, she hadn’t truly slept even once.

Always wide awake.

Always listening.

Always on edge.

Now this bed, so soft.

This room, so quiet.

Qiansui by her ear, so chatty—yet reassuring.

Su Yutao closed her eyes—though they had been closed the whole time.

But this time, she really wanted to sleep.

Qiansui kept rambling:

“Do you think Shen Nian will sew me up tomorrow? Will she make it look good? Or will she make me even uglier? I’m already ugly enough, if she makes me any worse…”

Su Yutao could no longer hear clearly.

Consciousness sank, little by little.

Sinking into the soft darkness.

Not that eternal, terrifying darkness.

But a warm one.

A soft one.

A darkness she could peacefully sink into.

Qiansui’s voice grew distant:

“Hey? Are you asleep? That fast? I haven’t finished yet…”

“Forget it, forget it, go to sleep…”

“I’ll sleep too.”

Su Yutao’s breathing gradually steadied.

The wound on her arm still hurt.

But in her dream, it seemed she couldn’t feel it.

This was the most comfortable sleep she had had since transmigrating.

…

Su Yutao didn’t know how long she had slept.

She only knew that when she woke up, her whole body felt limp.

Not the ache from being beaten or thrown around.

It was the softness that came from sleeping too long, too deeply, too comfortably.

Her eyelids were heavy.

She didn’t want to open them—not that she could see anyway.

Her body felt light.

She didn’t want to move.

She lay curled under the blanket, hugging Qiansui, not wanting to stir.

After a moment.

Qiansui didn’t make a sound.

Su Yutao froze.

She gently squeezed the penguin in her arms.

Still no sound.

She began to worry.

She squeezed again.

Still nothing.

Su Yutao sat up, brought the penguin before her face, and felt it with her hands.

Furry.

Deflated.

The wetness had dried, but most of the stuffing was gone.

She shook it.

No reaction.

Su Yutao’s heart leaped into her throat.

‘No way?’

Last night when she was bathing, Qiansui had said, “If I get washed again, I’ll be gone.”

She hadn’t washed it again.

But why wasn’t Qiansui making any sound?

‘Dead?’

‘Can a system die?’

Su Yutao panicked.

She lifted the penguin to her eyes—even though she couldn’t see, she still faced it and made a “wu wu” sound.

Not crying.

Just calling to it.

“Wu wu… wu wu…”

Qiansui didn’t respond.

Su Yutao grew even more anxious.

She flipped the penguin back and forth, still calling “wu wu.”

Just then—

“Mm… stop shaking…” a groggy voice sounded, soft and sticky, with a sleepy rasp.

“Let me sleep a little longer…”

Su Yutao’s body stiffened.

Then she realized—

Qiansui had spoken.

The voice came from the penguin.

And… just now, when she had been calling “wu wu” at the penguin, Qiansui hadn’t responded.

Because—

She had been holding the penguin against her chest, its face turned toward herself.

Qiansui’s eyes had been aimed straight at her chest.

It hadn’t seen anything.

So Qiansui had thought it was still dark and continued sleeping.

Su Yutao froze.

Then she quickly turned the penguin around so its face faced outward.

Qiansui’s drowsy voice sounded again:

“Eh? Is it dawn?”

A pause.

“Wow! It’s really dawn! I can see light!”

Su Yutao breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she felt a bit annoyed.

‘You were sleeping?’

Qiansui yawned—though it didn’t need to yawn at all, but it did anyway; don’t mind the details.

“Yeah… I stayed up all night watching over you… so sleepy…”

Su Yutao: ‘Aren’t you a system? Do systems need sleep?’

Qiansui said matter-of-factly:

“Yes! Of course! Even though I’m a system, I still need rest! My master said so—balance work and rest!”

Su Yutao: ‘Didn’t your master abandon you?’

Qiansui choked.

Then it muttered quietly:

“She said that before she abandoned me… And she sleeps in every day herself… Once, when I tried to wake her up, she yelled at me…”

Su Yutao: ‘…’

Just then, the door opened.

Qiansui suddenly exclaimed:

“Shen Nian is here! She’s wearing… uh… loungewear? Gray.”

Su Yutao was startled.

‘You can see?’

Qiansui said proudly:

“Yeah! Now that my face is outward, of course I can see! Earlier, when you were holding me against your chest, I couldn’t see a thing…”

Su Yutao: ‘…’

Shen Nian’s footsteps drew near.

She stood by the bed, looking down at Su Yutao.

Qiansui whispered in her ear:

“She’s looking at you… Her expression… uh… seems kind of complicated?”

Shen Nian spoke:

“Awake?”

Su Yutao nodded.

Shen Nian watched her.

Watched her holding the penguin.

Watched the direction she had been calling “wu wu” at the penguin.

She was silent for two seconds.

Then Shen Nian asked:

“Were you… just now… talking to this penguin?”

Su Yutao was stunned.

She didn’t know how to answer.

Qiansui whispered in her ear:

“Oh no, oh no, she found out! Did you blow our cover?”

Su Yutao didn’t know.

She could only shake her head.

Then nod.

Then shake her head again.

Shen Nian saw her like that, and her eyes grew even more complicated.

She paused for a moment, then asked softly:

“Are you that lonely? All by yourself, unable to talk, so you treat your doll like a friend?”

Su Yutao was taken aback.

Shen Nian had misunderstood.

But… it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Qiansui really was her friend.

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