THD Chapter 17

Miao Shuangshuang was utterly bewildered.

She had never expected to hear such news.

The headline "Chairwoman of the Ye Group and newly crowned richest woman in the country suspected of being critically ill" had already exploded across the internet.

Sitting in her airplane seat, Miao Shuangshuang leaned back with her eyes closed.

The voices around her drifted in and out of her consciousness.

"Sister Shuangshuang, don't panic. It might just be a common illness."

"Exactly. No disease can suddenly become that serious overnight."

Miao Shuangshuang remained silent.

She had a feeling that if she opened her mouth, something she desperately didn't want to hear would come spilling out.

So she simply waited.

Waited for the plane to land.

A flight that normally felt short now seemed unbearably long.

---

The small county town of the past had changed beyond recognition.

Back then, it had been poor, remote, and forgotten. Now it was thriving.

When the railway was first planned, Ye Xiqing had pulled every string she could to ensure it passed through the county.

Later, when discussions about constructing an airport began, she once again lobbied tirelessly until the final location made travel to the county exceptionally convenient.

Transportation brought people. People brought resources. Resources brought prosperity.

Today, the county's commercial and healthcare industries ranked among the strongest in the region.

The transformation had not only elevated local officials into influential figures but had also made it far easier for Miao Shuangshuang to return home.

The moment she entered the hospital, however, her final hope shattered.

The grief on Ye Shiying's and Ye Shimei's faces told her everything.

It was true.

Ye Xiqing was really dying.

After offering a few hurried words of comfort to her mother and aunt, Miao Shuangshuang pushed open the hospital room door.

The first thing she saw was Ye Xiqing lying in bed.

Ye Xiqing turned her head and looked at her.

"You took your time."

"I'm going to die in about five minutes."

Miao Shuangshuang: "..."

The solemn atmosphere she had imagined instantly shattered.

Dragging a chair over, she sat beside the bed and rubbed her knees nervously.

"You're... not joking, right?"

"Shouldn't we try another emergency treatment?"

Ye Xiqing shook her head.

Her complexion was pale as death itself, yet her expression remained strangely peaceful.

"No."

"I'm really dying."

"You've already wasted another minute."

"There are four minutes left."

"So tell me whatever you want to say."

Miao Shuangshuang: "..."

She had thought of countless things she wanted to tell Ye Xiqing.

Now that she was actually dying, her mind had gone completely blank.

After a long silence, she finally found a topic.

"Gu Pengfei and I broke up."

Ye Xiqing: "..."

Seeing that indescribable expression, Miao Shuangshuang felt slightly embarrassed. Yet somehow, she couldn't stop talking.

She had spent many years with Gu Pengfei. Nobody understood why better than she did. Over the years, she gradually realized that he wasn't the person she once believed him to be.

Outwardly, he appeared gentle and cultured. In reality, he possessed a deeply traditional and fragile pride. He couldn't tolerate his wife being stronger than him. Yet he was unwilling to give up the advantages that came with having a powerful wife. So he spent years acting. Whenever he couldn't compete financially, he would shift the battlefield elsewhere. He would boast about culture. About literature. About refinement.

At first, Miao Shuangshuang had been furious. Then she studied those subjects herself.

Only to discover that much of what he said was shallow, secondhand knowledge, and ironically most often wrong. Over time, she watched him transform into a boastful old man. Then she watched his son gradually become a younger version of him.

At some point, she began wondering:

How had people like this reached such heights in her previous life?

When Ye Xiqing eventually became the richest woman in the country, Miao Shuangshuang suddenly felt relieved.

Perhaps some people really had stolen opportunities that never belonged to them.

The thought almost made her laugh.

Whether she was laughing at Gu Pengfei or at herself, she couldn't tell.

The whole thing felt absurd.

Fortunately, while Ye Xiqing had been advancing all these years, she hadn't stood still either.

After earning her first fortune as an actress, she moved into production and distribution.

Using her fame, her knowledge from rebirth, and the support of Qingqing Winery, she eventually built one of the entertainment industry's most influential companies.

Countless celebrities now relied on her. With a single gesture, she could attract endless young and handsome admirers. Compared to all that, Gu Pengfei was insignificant. Easy to discard.

Still, she couldn't resist complaining.

"Do you know what he said?"

"He threatened to take part of my assets."

"And if that didn't work, he'd expose all the things we've done over the years."

She snorted.

"As if I'd care."

"He's ridiculous."

"Such an idiot."

"Why did I ever choose him?"

"He caused trouble with my mother and even with you."

Ye Xiqing listened quietly.

Only when she noticed Ye Xiqing's gaze did Miao Shuangshuang suddenly stop.

She took a deep breath.

Honestly.

Ye Xiqing was the one dying.

Why had she spent all this time talking about herself?

Looking at her watch, she forced out a smile.

"I'm done."

"Do you have anything you want to say?"

"There should still be some time left."

Years in the entertainment industry had given Miao Shuangshuang impeccable timing.

When she said she would leave time for Ye Xiqing's final words, she truly meant it.

Ye Xiqing glanced at the system's countdown.

Then she looked up at Miao Shuangshuang.

9...

8...

7...

6...

As the numbers ticked down, she finally spoke.

"Do you think you've surpassed me in this life?"

Miao Shuangshuang froze.

At first, she didn't understand.

Then realization struck.

She abruptly stood up.

But at that exact moment

Time stopped.

Everything froze.

The room.

The hospital.

The world.

Everyone and everything became motionless.

In the final moments, there was no longer any need for secrets.

The world she knew ceased moving forward.

Instead, like an aging machine pushed beyond its limits, reality emitted a harsh buzzing noise.

Bzzzzzzzz....

The entire world began resetting.

An incomprehensibly vast amount of data rewound itself.

For a system accustomed to performing resets, the process was difficult only at the beginning and the end.

Everything in between proceeded smoothly.

Soon, the world returned to silence.

And then

Someone woke up.

---

Miao Shuangshuang sat bolt upright.

She had been reborn.

Again. Yes. Again.

Because this was already her second rebirth.

In her first life, her relationship with her cousin had been terrible.

She chose to marry the son of the local richest family. Her cousin married a poor university student. Then fate played a joke. The rich heir went bankrupt. The poor student became the country's new richest man. Filled with resentment, she was reborn.

In her second life, she immediately stole Gu Pengfei and left Lu Jing'an to her cousin. But as she recalled these memories, something suddenly felt wrong.

Her cousin was indeed her cousin. But Ye Xiqing wasn't her cousin.

She merely occupied the position of her cousin.

Her mother's name was Fang Shiying and her aunt's name was Fang Shimei. That meant her real cousin should have been.......Fang Xiaoxiao.

Miao Shuangshuang's eyes widened.

A chill ran down her spine.

How had nobody noticed such an enormous inconsistency?

Not in her first life. Not in her second. Not ever.

Clutching her head, she finally realized the truth.

She hadn't been reborn.

At least, not exactly.

She had simply inherited memories that didn't belong to her.

Memories belonging to someone named

Ye Xiqing.

One by one, she reviewed those bizarre memories.

Calling them "past-life memories" felt inaccurate.

It was more like watching a documentary dedicated entirely to Ye Xiqing.

She watched her decisively reject Lu Jing'an and Gu Pengfei.

She watched her painstakingly record brewing formulas in notebook after notebook.

She watched her build a tiny winery.

She watched herself foolishly help sell those wines.

Then she watched Ye Xiqing climb all the way to the top.

The richest woman in the country. And finally

She saw Ye Xiqing turn around and smile.

"Do you think you've surpassed me in this life?"

Miao Shuangshuang: "..."

Ah.

She no longer felt any real connection to the person named Ye Xiqing.

The memories felt like data.

A string of numbers.

Yet one thing was unmistakable.

That woman was provoking her.

Miao Shuangshuang had never tolerated being inferior to anyone. Instantly, she exploded.

Did that woman seriously think becoming some wealthy business tycoon meant she could look down on her?

At that moment

Creak.

The bedroom door slowly opened. A timid girl peeked inside. It was Fang Xiaoxiao, her real cousin.

If this had been Miao Shuangshuang's first rebirth, she would undoubtedly have focused all her attention on competing against her cousin—the lucky fool who seemed to succeed through nothing but fortune.

But now?

She only had one thought.

Ye Xiqing.

You're dead.

Absolutely dead.

---

The bedroom door creaked open. Fang Xiaoxiao cautiously poked her head inside. A matchmaker had come to her house. Soon, she would be married. She had only just turned eighteen.

To be honest, she didn't even understand what marriage truly meant. Yet things had always been this way in the village. Generation after generation. Girls grew up. Girls got married. Girls had children. Anyone who didn't follow that path became the subject of endless gossip.

Fang Xiaoxiao felt uneasy.

She didn't know who to talk to.

Although her relationship with Miao Shuangshuang wasn't particularly close, she still found herself wandering over here. Yet the moment she entered the room, she froze.

Miao Shuangshuang stood in the center of the room.

Motionless. Staring into empty space. The murderous aura radiating from her resembled an enraged lion preparing to devour someone alive.

Fang Xiaoxiao quietly observed her for a moment. Then she smiled. So even Shuangshuang gets bothered by matchmakers.

In that case, I won't be facing this alone.

---

"HOST! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The system's scream echoed throughout the System Space.

This was not the first time it had screamed like this.

After completing the mission, Ye Xiqing had earned a total score of 36,789 points.

Because she had previously spent all one hundred of her starting points on books, she still possessed 31,901 points after settlement.

Then, without hesitation, she spent another 4,888 points to purchase a cheat skill.

[Memory Imprint]

A powerful Golden Finger capable of converting information directly into data and implanting it into the user's brain. No studying. No memorization. No digestion process. The information could be accessed instantly at any time. An external brain. An outrageously powerful cheat.

Ye Xiqing examined the skill description with great satisfaction.

Then she smiled.

"So this cheat remains effective even when the world resets."

"Your system is surprisingly conscientious."

The system nearly exploded.

When it had originally recommended Memory Imprint, its intention had been simple.

At the time, Ye Xiqing was drowning beneath mountains of textbooks and practice exams. The system had deliberately dangled the cheat in front of her to tempt her into spending points. After all, what high-school student preparing for university entrance exams wouldn't want such a skill?

People needed desires. Desires created motivation. Motivation created mission completion. It was a perfect business model. But never, not even in its worst nightmares, had it imagined Ye Xiqing would use the cheat this way.

Since the beginning of the program, it had never witnessed such a catastrophic live-stream accident. And sure enough, the audience had gone completely insane. The barrage flooded the screen.

«"HOLY CRAP! What an ending!"»

«"System! Broadcast Miao Shuangshuang's third rebirth too! I'll pay!"»

«"This is genius!"»

«"Send another transmigrator into the world immediately!"»

«"I want to watch an unsuspecting transmigrator fight an awakened native!"»

«"Quick! Greenlight Season Two!"»

«"I need both of them on screen together!"»

The viewership numbers soared. Subscriptions skyrocketed. The audience was ecstatic. Yet the system felt nothing but despair. After all, nobody wanted their show's greatest success to come from a production disaster.

Grinding its metaphorical teeth, the system turned toward Ye Xiqing.

"Host."

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Forget everyone else."

"At least think about Miao Shuangshuang."

"You revealed part of the truth to her."

"You told her this world repeats endlessly."

"Do you really think she can bear that?"

The system's voice softened.

"Every setback she experienced before only helped her grow into a stronger version of herself."

"But now?"

"You've forced memories into her mind that don't belong to her."

"You've made her realize she's living in a false world."

"Do you think she'll thank you?"

"Or hate you?"

Ye Xiqing chuckled.

Looking at the system, she tilted her head in apparent confusion.

"System."

"Why would I care?"

The system froze.

Ye Xiqing lazily sank deeper into the sofa within the System Space.

Crossing her legs, she looked entirely relaxed.

"Did you somehow misunderstand our relationship?"

"Do you think we've become close enough that I need to worry about her feelings?"

System: "..."

Critical hit.

Direct damage.

No defense possible.

---

The system had once compared the world to a book. It had shown her two possible endings. A closed book gathering dust. Or a closed book read again and again. The system had laughed while describing them. But there was one thing the system never understood. Ye Xiqing hated predetermined endings. More than anything else.

So she gave Miao Shuangshuang a gift. A simplified, vague, and incomplete memory. Yet one that could never be erased. Completely free of charge. What Miao Shuangshuang chose to do afterward was none of her concern.

Would she spend countless cycles searching for the truth?

Would she lose herself within endless reincarnations?

Would she eventually destroy herself beneath the weight of an infinite world?

Ye Xiqing didn't care.

Because none of it had anything to do with her anymore.

After all, their relationship had never been anything more than an accidental encounter between a female lead and a female supporting character.

What interested Ye Xiqing was not the ending the system had prepared. Nor the ending Miao Shuangshuang might choose.

What interested her...was the existence of a third ending. One nobody had written.

One nobody could predict. One beyond the final page.

(Arc 1 end)

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