PTYS Chapter 185

Shen Qingqiu understood. “You want to unlock the Xiao family’s memories?”

Xiao Muyu nodded. “Although I can get some information from Xiao Qian, there are things I should know but don’t. Asking him directly isn’t an option.

Now we’ve found the three main figures from back then, excluding Xiao Qian because I don’t remember. This has always been a hidden danger. Also, without the Xiao family memories, many things are inconvenient to inquire about. It’s better to unlock them.”

Chen Kaijie nodded. “Indeed, the Shen and Xiao families are crucial in this instance. Captain Xiao’s character is also very important. Having complete memories is necessary. However, will unlocking them cause any problems?”

Shen Qingqiu finished her porridge and said calmly, “This instance offers 900 points per person as a reward, which is unusually high. It seems there will be many places where we will need it.”

“However, since the system arranged it this way, it’s a reminder that there might be more instances like this in the future. If it’s necessary, Muyu, don’t feel burdened. Anyway, my points are yours, so use them as you please.”

Xiao Mu Yu glanced at her, somewhat amused, as she looked at the two options below. A five-draw for 200 points, a discount of 50 points, wasn’t much different from many pay-to-win games.

Based on experience, choosing the five-draw should increase the probability a bit, but Xiao Muyu wasn’t one to follow the norm.

She moved the control panel in front of Shen Qingqiu. “You help me draw, just pick the 50-point ‘draw again’.”

Shen Qingqiu was stunned. She looked at Xiao Muyu again and confirmed, “My luck is really bad, are you sure you want me to do it?”

Xiao Muyu looked at her with a half-smile, and Shen Qingqiu shrugged indifferently. “Alright, if you want me to draw, I’ll draw.” With that, she decisively clicked the 50-point ‘draw again’ option, and the progress bar trembled.

The memory unlock progress reached 10.1%.

Although Shen Qingqiu was mentally prepared, seeing the 0.1% progress still left her speechless. “This is ridiculous, is this polite?”

Chen Kaijie and a few others gathered to look and didn’t know whether to laugh or not.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at the progress bar and then at Xiao Muyu, feeling a bit helpless. “I told you my luck was bad, and you still wanted me to do it.”

Xiao Muyu nodded, glanced at her hand, and said seriously, “Your luck is indeed bad.”

Shen Qingqiu pouted, feeling a bit aggrieved.

Xiao Muyu’s eyes curved with a smile but soon became serious again. She glanced at the control panel and quickly clicked the 50-point ‘draw again’ option once more. This time, the progress bar jumped directly to 75%.

Shen Qingqiu: …

“You did that on purpose.”

“No, I was just thinking about whether there was such a thing as ‘extreme sorrow turns to joy’. Do you want to try again?” Xiao Muyu coaxed her.

Shen Qingqiu almost laughed in anger. “What kind of twisted logic is that?”

“It’s just a random guess, no logic to it. Try again.” Xiao Mu Yu was indeed trying randomly, just like drawing lots after finishing a dungeon; sometimes good, sometimes bad. Anyway, neither she nor Shen Qingqiu had great luck, so it didn’t matter.

Seeing that Xiao Muyu was indeed random, Shen Qingqiu clicked again. This time, it reached 99%.

Shen Qingqiu’s mouth twitched. “Was I lucky this time, or unlucky?”

Xiao Muyu patted her head, handed her the medicine that had been set aside, and said, “Forget about it, take your medicine first.”

“That’s how you repay me? Even though my luck is bad, you can’t treat me like this.” Shen Qingqiu looked at the unpleasant-smelling medicine and felt nauseated.

She was picky about food, let alone medicine, and had no interest in taking it.

Xiao Muyu didn’t say anything, just looked at her. After a while, Shen Qingqiu’s muttering grew quieter, and finally, she took the medicine and drank it all in one go, her expression twisted with disgust.

Chen Kaijie and the others couldn’t help but laugh. In their eyes, Shen Qingqiu was a formidable figure, but Xiao Muyu had her completely under control.

If it were them persuading her to take medicine, they’d probably end up being forced to drink it themselves. But Xiao Muyu didn’t say a word, just with a look, made Shen Qingqiu obediently comply. Truly, the saying was right: “Each pot has its lid.”

Xiao Muyu didn’t immediately click the last draw. She watched Shen Qingqiu drink the medicine, took the empty bowl, and while Shen Qingqiu was grimacing, magically produced a handkerchief and a sweet date, popping it into Shen Qingqiu’s mouth.

Shen Qingqiu, overwhelmed by the bitterness, was suddenly greeted with a sweet taste, immediately forgetting her grimace. She chewed a few times and smiled brightly at Xiao Muyu. “When did you prepare this?”

“Prepared? Someone gave it to me when I went out this morning. I don’t like sweets.” Xiao Muyu put the rest aside, her expression unchanged.

Su Jin, watching from the side, said, “I like sweets. Captain Xiao, can I have one?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at Su Jin. “You also want bitterness before sweetness?”

Su Jin quickly shook her head, exchanged a glance with Zuo Tiantian, and laughed quietly.

With only 1% left, Xiao Muyu took a deep breath and clicked again. This time, the system didn’t mess around. After spending 250 points, Xiao Muyu successfully unlocked the memory related to the Xiao family.

However, the process was very unpleasant. The system’s character settings were very detailed, even for temporary characters. The memory truly encompassed every detail of those ten years.

Such an extensive memory didn’t belong to Xiao Muyu and was abruptly transmitted to her mind, making it unbearable for her.

She staggered, her right hand slammed on the table, and her face turned pale.

“Captain Xiao!” Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian, who had been happy, were shocked, while Shen Qingqiu jumped off the bed without putting on her shoes and supported Xiao Muyu, asking nervously, “Muyu, are you alright? Is it a headache from too many memories?”

Xiao Muyu barely nodded before losing her balance. Because Shen Qingqiu and the others had both their own memories and the character’s memories, they didn’t have any issues when their memories were restored. This sudden turn of events was unexpected for everyone.

Shen Qingqiu’s face darkened, panic in her eyes. She quickly helped Xiao Muyu to the bed.

Xiao Muyu was clutching her head with one hand, the other tightly grasping Shen Qingqiu, her head resting on Shen Qingqiu’s chest. She gritted her teeth and said, “I’m fine, let me take a moment.”

Shen Qingqiu looked down at her in pain, her heart wrenching. But this wasn’t a physical wound; they couldn’t do anything to help. She bit her lip hard, holding Xiao Muyu’s head to stop her from hitting herself.

“If it hurts, grab me, don’t hit your head.” Shen Qingqiu said, massaging Xiao Muyu’s temples with her right hand, feeling utterly helpless and angry.

“It’s just a character’s memory. Why does it hurt so much to activate it?”

She questioned angrily, but no one could answer her, and the system remained silent.

Xiao Muyu groaned as countless fragments surged in her mind, hitting every nerve, making her wish she could bang her head against the wall. She saw a young Xiao Qian, her character’s mother, Zuo Tiantian, and even Shen Qingqiu in those fragments.

But she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination; some discordant scenes emerged from those classical segments.

“Xiao Muyu, don’t you find living like this boring?”

The person leaning against the lamppost had delicate and bright features, silver earrings reflecting the light, wearing a red waist-cinched long dress, looking both casual and helpless.

This scene rudely intruded among the fragments, making Xiao Muyu’s teeth chatter, her body rejecting it. Every frame felt like torture, but Xiao Muyu masochistically craved it.

“Why do you hate me so much? Is it so hard to show me a bit of kindness?”

The speaker’s voice trembled with anger, mixed with some embarrassment, and the sadness in it was painfully clear to Xiao Muyu in her agony.

The speaker’s ancient attire morphed into modern clothing, but the face that Xiao Muyu couldn’t look away from remained the same.

The sadness and questioning in the person’s eyes were like needles piercing Xiao Muyu’s heart, the pain mingling with the current agony, making it even harder to bear.

She suddenly lifted her head, her bloodshot eyes locked onto Shen Qingqiu, her pale lips trembling. She gritted her teeth and called out to Shen Qingqiu, “Qingqiu.”

Shen Qingqiu felt like her heart was being fried in oil. She was already distressed and in pain, but seeing Xiao Muyu’s expression, she was momentarily stunned. She realized that Xiao Muyu’s pain wasn’t just from the influx of memories but something related to her.

This feeling was too painful. Shen Qingqiu’s throat tightened. After a moment, she urgently said, “Muyu, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Xiao Muyu looked at her, her mind being torn apart by the agony, but she couldn’t care about the physical pain.

The character memories set by the system inexplicably mixed with scenes that didn’t belong to her current memories, scenes that the character shouldn’t have had, all involving Shen Qingqiu, each causing her heart-wrenching pain.

“As long as you’re alive, I’ll live. Muyu, you must go on, walk out of this.”

The familiar words she dared not recall now had a face, bloodstained, but with clean, light-gray eyes.

Xiao Muyu’s eyes turned completely red, tears starting to form. She looked at Shen Qingqiu, her calmness shattered, revealing unhidden pain and despair that suffocated Shen Qingqiu.

She couldn’t stand seeing Xiao Muyu like this, even if she didn’t understand what Xiao Muyu remembered. She felt crushed by Xiao Muyu’s sorrow.

“Muyu, stop thinking, don’t think about it. Please, don’t be like this. Clear your mind, let’s not think about it.”

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t take it anymore, hugging Xiao Muyu tightly, trying to dispel the painful memories from her mind.

Shen Qingqiu felt her clothes getting wet, hot tears soaking through the fabric, burning her heart.

She vaguely felt she knew what was wrong with Xiao Muyu but simultaneously knew nothing, leaving her unable to comfort her except to wait for Xiao Muyu to recover.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know, and neither did Chen Kaijie, Su Jin, and Zuo Tiantian, who were at a loss, watching Xiao Muyu with concern and confusion.

“Vice Captain, what’s happening to Captain Xiao?”

They knew little about Xiao Muyu but enough to know she wouldn’t show such pain unless something was seriously wrong.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were red as she shook her head. Xiao Muyu, no longer trembling, buried her face in Shen Qingqiu’s chest, her breathing steady.

Shen Qingqiu felt extreme heartache, gently patting her back, slightly turning away from Chen Kaijie and the others, and softly wiping her tears with her clothes. Xiao Muyu had calmed down.

Su Jin felt inexplicable sadness, even without knowing the details. The pain was too intense to need an explanation or a reason; its sheer intensity was evident.

She tugged Chen Kaijie’s clothes, shook her head, and said, “This system is too much, isn’t it? We’re not crossing over, yet it has such bizarre settings. Captain Xiao, are you still in pain? Should we go back so you can rest?”

Su Jin proactively suggested that Xiao Muyu’s distress was due to the pain, and Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian quickly understood and echoed the sentiment.

Xiao Muyu had already calmed down. The character memories had settled, and she now understood some details.

As for the unexpected scenes, she tightened her grip on Shen Qingqiu’s hand, feeling she understood something.

She then lifted her head from Shen Qingqiu’s embrace, pressed her hand against her head, and hoarsely said, “No need. It’s over. The memories have settled, and they should be arriving soon.”

Indeed, someone knocked on the door. Chen Kaijie quickly answered, and the person outside whispered a few words, glancing inside.

“I understand, we’ll be there soon.” Chen Kaijie turned, hesitating, and asked, “Xiao Qian and Shen Wanlin are here. Should we allocate our favorability points now?”

Xiao Muyu seemed composed again. Aside from her pale face and red eyes, there was no sign of her earlier breakdown.

“Xiao Qian and Shen Wanlin love their children. If we increase their favorability, it might create unexpected outcomes. However, right now, Miao Anli and Mei Qianqian are our most challenging opponents. They harbor intense hatred for us.”

Shen Qingqiu spoke up, still holding Xiao Muyu’s hand, clearly leaning towards Miao Anli and Mei Qianqian.

“But their favorability conversion rate is low, and they don’t have much positive regard for us. What change can this make?”

What if it turns out to be completely useless, and Xiao Qian and Shen Wanlin intentionally hide the truth or remain unrepentant for what they did back then?

Chen Kaijie was a bit worried. If even paper figures were sent to deal with it, what could possibly change?

“I agree with Qingqiu’s idea. Our task is to uncover the truth from back then, as well as the loves and hatreds of these people involved.

Baihe Langjun’s words have already outlined the rough story, and now Xiao Qian and Shen Wanlin can’t hide it anymore.

So, the focus of this task is still Miao Anli and Mei Qianqian. What they say is the most important, as they know things that Baihe Langjun might not even know.

Based on my character’s memory, Mei Qianqian is a very complex person. At least previously, she didn’t harbor any ill intentions towards me. Also, she is skilled in painting, especially portraits. She even taught me when I was little.”

The information given by Xiao Muyu was very important. She spoke clearly and calmly, displaying her usual composure and wisdom. Her suffering hadn’t destroyed her reason.

“So, Mei Qianqian made the paper figures. Doesn’t that make her the culprit?” Chen Kaijie immediately asked.

But as soon as he said it, he felt something was off. Xiao Muyu calmly added, “On the contrary, she is hesitating and hasn’t been ruthless enough to kill. I am more inclined to believe that Miao Anli is the mastermind…”

Author’s note: This side quest is significant for them. Can you feel what I mean?