THD Chapter 16

The initial emotions had subsided, but unexpectedly, Ye Xiqing steered the conversation back to the topic. A wave of frustration rose in Miao Shuangshuang's chest.

No one knew why she felt so uneasy.

Her rebirth was a secret known only to herself. A person could carry countless secrets and never feel troubled by them, that is until the day those secrets risked being dragged into the light. Only then did panic truly set in.

For the first time, Miao Shuangshuang found herself wondering what she would do if someone else learned about her rebirth. What if they began scrutinizing everything she had done since returning? What if that person was Ye Xiqing?

The thought alone made her scalp tingle.

Ye Xiqing would learn how badly she had failed in her previous life. She would discover that in this life, Miao Shuangshuang had desperately seized every opportunity she could, stolen away the future richest man whom Ye Xiqing was supposed to marry, and tried to push her original bankrupt husband onto her instead.

She would realize that Miao Shuangshuang was never some admirable celebrity worthy of admiration. Beneath the glamorous façade was merely a rat hiding in the gutter, scheming in the shadows and doing shameful things behind people's backs.

Miao Shuangshuang couldn't tell whether it would hurt more to have her mask ripped away or to see disappointment in Ye Xiqing's eyes. She only knew that imagining such a possibility made her wish she could disappear from this world altogether.

Seeing her troubled expression, Ye Xiqing smiled lightly.

"Forget it. Maybe I'm just overthinking things. I've always had a habit of imagining things that don't exist."

Relief flooded through Miao Shuangshuang.

Since Ye Xiqing wasn't pursuing the matter any further, she quickly seized the chance to strike back.

"Exactly! What do you mean my complexion looks bad? Maybe I just didn't sleep well! You're making such a huge fuss over something so simple. Can't you think a little more positively?"

Ye Xiqing immediately raised both hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. My mistake. Shall we head home?"

Home.

Miao Shuangshuang paused.

Since when had her relationship with Ye Xiqing become so simple that the two of them could casually talk about going home together?

For a brief moment, memories surfaced from long ago—two little girls stubbornly sitting back-to-back, each refusing to speak first. Yet those memories soon faded again like distant mist.

That had happened so many years ago.

They had grown up.

Only after becoming adults did they realize that many so-called grudges didn't need to be resolved at all. Given enough time, they simply vanished on their own.

Emotion welled up unexpectedly within her.

"Let's go home," Miao Shuangshuang said softly.

Then, after a moment, she added, "But before we go home, I want to buy my mom a gold bracelet. Do you want to buy one for your mother too?"

"I do," Ye Xiqing replied, "but I don't have enough money right now."

"Then... should I lend you some first?"

"Okay. Thank you, Shuangshuang."

Miao Shuangshuang: "..."

Was she crazy?

Why had she offered to lend money?

Ye Xiqing never refused her requests!

Yet after the initial irritation faded, a strange sense of happiness emerged.

Since Ye Xiqing hadn't refused, then perhaps all those old grievances could simply be considered settled.

Even if Ye Xiqing never knew it.

---

Soon, two gold bracelets wrapped in red silk were placed into the hands of two mothers.

The results were exactly as expected.

Ye Shiying weighed the bracelet in her hand, unable to hide the delight on her face.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from complaining.

"You're wasting money again. How much money do you think you have?"

Miao Shuangshuang hated hearing that kind of thing.

Immediately, she reached out.

"If you don't want it, give it back!"

Ye Shiying reacted with astonishing speed, dodging the grab instantly. Despite her age, her movements were remarkably agile.

Clutching the bracelet protectively, she glared.

"I want it. So what?"

Miao Shuangshuang: "..."

Then why did you say all that?!

Compared to Ye Shiying's straightforward joy, Ye Shimei appeared much more restrained.

Too much time had passed between her and Ye Xiqing.

So much that she no longer knew how to interact with her own daughter.

In the blink of an eye, the little girl she remembered had grown into an adult.

There were countless things she wanted to say, but whenever the words reached her lips, she found herself unable to speak.

Just as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, Ye Xiqing held up the bracelet and smiled.

"Do you want me to help you put it on?"

Ye Shimei froze for a moment before nodding quickly.

Ye Xiqing lowered her head and carefully slipped the bracelet onto her mother's slender wrist.

Watching her daughter's gentle movements, Ye Shimei suddenly burst into tears.

Even if some feelings couldn't be expressed perfectly, they could still be spoken little by little.

There was still plenty of time ahead.

Little by little was enough.

---

The two mothers, delighted with their gifts, seemed to gain endless energy.

Ye Shiying even insisted on buying an enormous feast that none of them could possibly finish.

Nowadays, families sat around round tables. There were enough chairs for everyone, and no special seat reserved for the head of the household anymore.

Miao Shuangshuang sat alongside everyone else as an equal.

The conversation wandered everywhere.

They talked about how Father Lu had been discovered embezzling 120 million yuan and was likely finished.

Then they discussed a famous director's upcoming movie.

Occasionally, they even drifted into conversations about national affairs and international trade.

After a satisfying meal, people always seemed to have an abundance of free time.

Miao Shuangshuang found herself hoping that such peaceful days could continue forever.

---

Thirty years later.

From landline telephones to smartphones—the people of the 1990s could never have imagined such dramatic changes.

Yet in reality, it had only taken thirty years.

In this information age, almost no secrets remained hidden.

As a result, Ye Xiqing, founder of Qingqing Winery, had become a frequent topic of public discussion.

At twenty-one years old, she had been an illegitimate daughter despised by nearly everyone—poor, powerless, and trapped in hardship.

Yet with a single interview and a single commercial, she had overturned her fate.

Step by step, she built Qingqing Winery into an industry leader, accumulated immense wealth, funded countless impoverished talents, and invested in numerous emerging industries.

This year, she officially topped the national wealth rankings.

Some called her a genius.

Others claimed she had simply ridden the tide of the times.

Regardless, she had become a favorite subject in elementary school essays across the country.

Ironically, the woman hailed as a business prodigy spent surprisingly little time in corporate offices.

Most days, she preferred staying in laboratories, developing new products.

Even her assistant couldn't help asking one day:

"Chairwoman Ye, are you still more interested in creating new wines?"

Ye Xiqing smiled.

Age had taken away some of the collagen from her face, but not the elegance in her bearing.

The researchers around her were already accustomed to her presence. Unlike newcomers, they were no longer intimidated by her legendary aura.

They simply knew she was smiling.

"Managing a company is like solving endless 1 + 1 = 2 problems," she said. "It's interesting at first. After a while, though, it's even less entertaining than doing arithmetic. At least wine research offers different flavors."

The assistant laughed helplessly.

Was this truly the world of the strong?

She wished she could speak so casually about an empire worth hundreds of billions.

After the brief joke, Ye Xiqing returned her attention to the experiment.

Once the safety tests were complete, she sampled a small amount.

Years of practice had honed her palate.

She could now distinguish subtle layers of flavor with ease.

After gathering her thoughts, she opened her notebook and quickly recorded her observations.

Then, without warning, a voice she hadn't heard in many years echoed in her mind.

"Host. The time has come. You should leave this world."

Ye Xiqing's pen stopped moving.

Ever since Lu Jing'an's downfall alongside the Lu family—and after Gu Pengfei failed to become the richest man while she herself rose to that position—the system had become increasingly silent.

Now, it had appeared again for only one reason.

The mission was complete.

Ye Xiqing had anticipated this day for a very long time.

She wasn't surprised.

Closing her notebook, she smiled.

"Alright."

"I'm getting a little bored of this world anyway."

"I can leave whenever."

Then she paused.

"Although I'm curious."

"What happens to this world after I'm gone?"

"What happens when a world no longer has its 'protagonist'?"

"Heh."

The system let out a soft chuckle.

Silently, it watched Ye Xiqing.

As a system, it should never have discussed such matters with its host. But throughout this world, Ye Xiqing had repeatedly pushed it off balance. At the very last moment, it suddenly felt the urge to give her a little "surprise."

Slowly, it spoke.

"Host, what happens when you finish reading a book?"

Ye Xiqing raised an eyebrow.

"The story ends."

"Even though the characters inside the story are still looking toward tomorrow, the pages outside the story have already reached their conclusion."

The system smiled.

"Exactly."

"When a book reaches its ending, there are only two possible fates. Either it is placed on a shelf and gradually buried beneath dust, or someone picks it up and reads it again."

"No matter who reads it, the contents never change. No matter how unique the reader's notes or interpretations may be, once the book is closed, it remains the same book."

"It neither truly begins nor truly ends."

"Isn't that interesting?"

Ye Xiqing fell silent for a moment.

Then she looked at the system.

"So when I leave, this world resets?"

"That's right."

The system's smile widened.

"There are always people who desperately seek meaning in a cyclical world. But once they discover the truth, they realize everything is meaningless."

"Miao Shuangshuang will still be the vicious supporting character."

"'Ye Xiqing' will still be the impoverished illegitimate daughter."

"They'll continue fighting each other in the arena."

"No matter how much you disliked those two male leads, they remain the center of the world."

"When you leave, they'll begin an entirely new story."

The system's voice carried unmistakable malice.

"Isn't that interesting?"

"All your efforts ultimately changed nothing."

Ye Xiqing looked up.

There was no anger on her face.

Instead, she smiled.

"What does that have to do with me?"

The system paused.

Ye Xiqing leaned back in her chair.

"I just need to live my own life well."

"My score for this lifetime shouldn't be low, right?"

System: "..."

It broke a little.

Once again.

Ye Xiqing had completely deviated from every script it had prepared for her.

Yet somehow, her evaluation score had ended up absurdly high.

The system took a deep breath and forced itself to maintain a professional tone.

"Congratulations, Host."

"You have achieved an excellent result."

Like a gambler who had already lost everything but still wanted one final hand, it gathered the last of its strength and delivered a parting shot.

"Then say goodbye properly."

"After all, once you leave, everything in this world will become irrelevant to you."

Ye Xiqing blinked.

Then she smiled.

"Even if I don't say it perfectly, I should still say something."

"There's still plenty of time."

"Even if we only say a little at a time, it'll be enough to express everything we feel."

The system froze.

Its CPU nearly short-circuited.

System: "..."

Don't think I'll blush!

You won!

But I didn't lose either!

Ye Xiqing laughed.

Then she casually closed her notebook.

"There's still one more chapter left in this world."

"Opening champagne at halftime isn't a good habit."

The smile on the system's face instantly disappeared.

System: "...?"

Why did it suddenly have a bad feeling?

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