Chapter 7: What Do You Need Me To Do?

Meng Yao knew very clearly that she was dreaming.

She couldn’t say how long it had been since she last dreamt of the first lifetime.

“Meng Yao, I’m sorry, I’m really powerless to help.” The boy wore a mask of gentleness, looking as if he were genuinely pained by his inability to assist her.

But Meng Yao was like a madwoman; her eyes were bloodshot as she clutched the boy’s collar: “Su Xu, even now you’re still acting. Is playing with me really that fun?”

Then, another voice chimed in mockingly: “Seems she found out. Didn’t you look down on us ‘rich second-generation’ kids?”

“Thinking those little tricks of yours could actually attract us… it’s hilarious. Seeing you now, shamelessly begging us for money, is truly pathetic.”

“I’ll tell you the truth: your grandmother’s illness was actually incurable from the start. I lied when I said it could be treated. Watching you crawl for a bit of cash was really great entertainment.”

The words drifted into her ears in fragments, but she could no longer hear them clearly, because her grandmother had passed away.

Meng Yao watched the scene like a detached bystander. Her heart had perhaps already shattered in that first life; by the time she saw Su Xu and his group wagging their tails and begging for her forgiveness in later cycles, she had long since become indifferent.

Suddenly, the dream broke.

Meng Yao slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She looked toward the window, her gaze hollow.

In the first life, she had committed suicide two months after her grandmother left. She hadn’t expected that upon opening her eyes, she would be back in high school.

Except she later discovered that no matter how hard she worked—even if she saved up an astronomical sum for surgery—it was useless. She couldn’t hire those top surgeons. She could only watch helplessly as her grandmother died during her nineteenth year, over and over again.

Repeating the suicide, wandering within a fixed timeframe, watching the person she cared about most die again and again—sometimes Meng Yao felt a massive sense of the absurd.

Her grandmother’s death seemed irreversible.

So much so that by the ninth suicide, a profound despair and powerlessness enveloped her, withering her soul and extinguishing her spirit. Finally, she could no longer produce a single shred of hope; she only wished never to wake up again.

But she had woken up anyway.

The sound of clinking came from the living room; the housekeeper must have arrived to make breakfast. Meng Yao retracted her thoughts and got up to wash.

The housekeeper left after preparing the meal. When Zhao Xue came downstairs yawning, she saw Meng Yao standing alone in the living room wearing her school uniform.

Because Meng Yao’s back was turned, her expression was hidden. She didn’t turn around even when she heard Zhao Xue’s rhythmic footsteps.

Zhao Xue curled her lips and stepped in front of Meng Yao. Gazing into Meng Yao’s dark, quiet eyes, she tilted her head slightly. Her slender hand reached out slowly to cup the back of Meng Yao’s head, forcing her to look down.

Zhao Xue narrowed her eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in to kiss her without hesitation. However, at the moment of contact, Meng Yao turned her head. The kiss landed on Meng Yao’s soft cheek.

Being dodged, Zhao Xue’s expression instantly cooled, her eyes filling with icy shards. She stared coldly at Meng Yao’s profile: “Meng Yao, did I give you some kind of misconception that made you think you could resist me?”

Meng Yao’s thin lips were pressed tight: “Sorry… I’m just not used to it. I’ll learn to be.”

She hadn’t realized what Zhao Xue’s movement meant at first; only when the kiss was about to land did she realize what Zhao Xue was doing, and she had instinctively turned away.

Zhao Xue’s expression did not soften. She said indifferently: “That’s the second time.”

[Host, did you just hit the female lead again?] The system instinctively asked upon seeing the “pixels.”

[Hehe, guess~] Zhao Xue’s smiling voice made the system’s non-existent ears go numb.

[…Then you definitely did! Host, you should restrain yourself a bit. I’m really afraid you’ll accidentally break the game.] The system felt its worry was justified. Except for a true masochist, anyone would hate someone who constantly bullies them—especially since the host’s role was the villainess who bullied the female lead.

Though it was a system that had guided ten hosts, it hadn’t completed a single mission world yet, so it was still a “trash-tier” system. If the host died in a mission world, it had no way to save her.

Silence fell between the two.

Zhao Xue sat down at the dining table. Looking at the motionless Meng Yao, she lifted her eyelids, her fingers slowly tapping on the table: “Do I need to personally invite you to eat?” Her voice was biting and sarcastic.

Zhao Xue’s displeasure was obvious, but Meng Yao didn’t know how to comfort people; she only remained silent.

After a long moment, under Zhao Xue’s increasingly cold gaze, she sat in her seat and finished breakfast quietly.

Today, Zhao Xue made no demands. She walked in front, and Meng Yao followed silently behind like a little shadow.

On the podium, the teacher was lecturing on material she already knew by heart. No matter how many times she’d heard it, she usually listened seriously, but today she was distracted.

Is Zhao Xue really angry? Because I dodged her again.

The image of the two of them kissing yesterday surfaced in her mind. Meng Yao’s expression remained faint, but the hand holding her pen tightened uncontrollably. Why did I kiss her?

When school let out, Meng Yao saw Zhao Xue, but Zhao Xue’s expression remained cold, and her gaze did not settle on her.

Strangely, Meng Yao felt a bit of irritability in her heart.

She heard herself say: “I have to go to my part-time job tomorrow.”

Zhao Xue gave a non-committal nod: “Whatever. It’s a holiday tomorrow anyway.” She got into the car and then said to Meng Yao: “Get in.” After speaking, she ignored her and took out her phone to play a game.

Meng Yao’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. An unusual feeling stirred within her, and it wasn’t pleasant.

Today, Meng Yao didn’t ask to go to the hospital but followed Zhao Xue back to the villa.

It was the first time the housekeeper had seen Meng Yao. With a smile, she praised: “Xiao Xue, this is the friend you brought back a few days ago, right? She’s just as handsome as you.” There had been a lot of noise when things were being moved in a few days ago, so the aunt knew someone was moving in, but she had only just seen her today.

Zhao Xue’s expression was cold as she answered simply: “Mm. Auntie, I want sweet and sour pork ribs today.”

“You got it.” The aunt was used to Zhao Xue’s coldness and felt no discomfort. High pay, low demands, and a boss who didn’t meddle—the aunt was happy with the arrangement.

Zhao Xue turned her head and said to Meng Yao behind her: “Follow me.”

Following Zhao Xue’s lead, they went to Zhao Xue’s room on the second floor.

Meng Yao’s steps were hesitant as she entered, but Zhao Xue pulled her in directly and slammed the door shut behind them.

Meng Yao lowered her gaze. She liked this movement; it could hide her from others’ sight and prevent them from reading her emotions.

Zhao Xue stood face-to-face with Meng Yao. She tilted her head up, her eyes meeting Meng Yao’s half-lowered ones. “Do you know why I told you to come here?” Her expression was icy.

Meng Yao was silent for a long moment before saying: “Is it because of what happened this morning? I’m sorry I made you unhappy.”

Zhao Xue turned her head with a huff: “As long as you know. Don’t forget why your grandmother is receiving such good treatment at the hospital.”

“If you said you’d be my dog, then be a good one. You are not allowed to refuse me, you are not allowed to resist me, and you are not allowed to betray me—until I grow tired of you.”

“Today was the second resistance. It made me very unhappy.”

Meng Yao’s lashes veiled the emotions in her eyes. She said softly: “Zhao Xue, can we treat the money as a loan? I’ll pay you back in the future. Just… don’t kiss me anymore.” It makes me feel very strange.

Zhao Xue understood what she meant. She raised an eyebrow as if she had heard something hilarious, her lips curling into a wicked smile: “Pay me back? With what? And Meng Yao, don’t forget—you were the one who was willing at the time. Now you don’t want to be my dog anymore?”

“So you really do find kissing me disgusting, huh?”

Hearing these words, the stagnant light in Meng Yao’s eyes flickered slightly, but she didn’t argue. She had said it on purpose; she felt that continuing this kind of contact with Zhao Xue would become very “wrong.”

This was a change she didn’t want to make right now; she would rather be beaten by Zhao Xue.

Zhao Xue gave a cynical laugh: “Meng Yao, why should I lend it to you? Don’t forget, I could easily cut off your grandmother’s surgery right now.”

Meng Yao’s mind suddenly snapped awake. Her gaze grew heavy. Zhao Xue was right. The way this person had made her feel over the last two days had given her a false impression. She had forgotten—even if the person before her wasn’t the original ‘Zhao Xue’, she couldn’t be certain this person was harmless or kind.

Because she didn’t know her at all.

Meng Yao was speechless. The tiny spark that had unconsciously grown in her eyes vanished.

In the end, even after committing suicide and restarting so many times, she was still a person under twenty.

Hadn’t her initial trust in Su Xu and the others also been because of her lack of maturity and inability to distinguish truth from lies?

She hadn’t received much kindness, but in the past, she had stubbornly believed the world was beautiful and that she would eventually make friends. She thought someone would eventually realize that she and her grandmother were good people—until reality hit her with a heavy blow.

Walking through school, she would always hear: ‘Look, I can’t believe her grandmother raised her by picking up trash.’

‘Do you think she came to this school just to find a sugar daddy? I heard she was a foundling with no parents. Look how nice the gods are to her.’

‘So annoying. Can the school check backgrounds? I really don’t want to be in the same school as people like that. I feel like I smell bad just being near her.’

‘Hey, she actually dared to talk back to the gods. She’s probably using that trick to get their attention. How disgusting.’

What did it matter if she restarted so many times? She was always trapped in the past, never growing up.

A tiny bit of kindness from Zhao Xue had given her the illusion that this person could be trusted.

[Waaaah, the little dog is so pitiful. Look at her, she looks like she’s about to cry. I really want to hug her.]

The system complained: [Host, you are the culprit.]

Meng Yao’s hands slowly clenched into fists. It had been a long time since her emotions had fluctuated this much because of another person.

“I’m sorry.” Her throat was dry, her voice a bit raspy.

Zhao Xue slowly broke into a smile. “If you’re apologizing, show some sincerity.” Her features were beautiful to the extreme.

Not a single trace of emotion could be seen on Meng Yao’s numb face, her eyes dark and heavy.

“What do you need me to do?”

The interest in Zhao Xue’s eyes was undisguised. “I want you to… make love with me.”