Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 104.1

Song Yingshi subconsciously cursed when she heard the system's report. Simultaneously, she realized that her single-pull miracle last time was indeed because of Huai Xu!

Although Song Yingshi had already half-expected Huai Xu to be her lucky charm, she still couldn't help but grow excited upon verifying it. After all, the Life Points she obtained were directly connected to her life. Now that she had an easy and reliable way to obtain them in large amounts, how could she not be excited?

Amidst Song Yingshi's excitement, Huai Xu's voice came from outside the door, "Little Shi, are you ready? We should leave soon."

Song Yingshi quickly calmed down. Now, in her heart, Huai Xu was no longer just her girlfriend; she was also a gleaming, precious treasure.

In a voice overflowing with sweetness and affection, Song Yingshi responded, "Baby, wait for me! I'll be there in a minute, chu chu, I love you!"

Silence fell outside Song Yingshi's door for a moment. Then, in a sincere voice, Huai Xu asked, "Did I do something wrong? What traumatized you?"

Song Yingshi: "..."

Song Yingshi rolled her eyes at the door. "Go ahead without me. I'll join you in a bit."

A clear voice then replied leisurely, "No, I have to wait for my girlfriend to leave together."

Song Yingshi remained expressionless. However, a moment later, a smile crept onto her face.

Shortly after Song Yingshi changed into more appropriate clothes, just as she was about to head out, numerous miscellaneous items appeared out of thin air, some landing on the floor, and some landing on the bed, creating a huge mess.

I nearly forgot about them…

Once bitten, twice shy. Remaining unfazed, Song Yingshi calmly collected the unique junk she had won from the gachapon machine, piled them on the table, grabbed her tote bag, and headed out.

…

After Song Yingshi and Huai Xu grouped up with Kou Lengyu and the others at the lobby, they headed to a different hotel for the impromptu "teambuilding," all of them in low spirits. After working busily all day, nobody could be happy about working overtime.

Before their assigned minivan even left the parking lot, Song Yingshi pulled out Huai Xu's earbud case, took out one earbud for herself under Huai Xu's gaze, and then handed the half-empty case back to Huai Xu. The entire process looked seamless and well-practiced.

"I'm going to nap for a bit," Song Yingshi declared. As the soft melody of an old song came through the singular earbud, she leaned back and closed her eyes, looking like she was indeed taking a nap.

However, in reality, Song Yingshi was inspecting the three mystery items she had won from the gachapon machine.

A [Video Clip], a [Still Frame], and a [Clue].

Tentatively, Song Yingshi chose to inspect the [Video Clip] first.

Whether by sheer coincidence or the system's hidden manipulation, the [Video Clip] showed a complete picture of the previous [Still Frame].

In the clip, Zheng Qiyi remained kneeling on the ground. The stiletto was also in the frame.

As Song Yingshi indifferently listened to Zheng Qiyi's crying and begging, her heart gradually entered a state of suspense. After all, the [Video Clip] would most certainly provide more detailed information. Perhaps, she might even get to learn the identity of the stiletto's owner—

Under Song Yingshi's gaze, the stiletto heel stepped on Zheng Qiyi's head, grinding it to the ground as if grinding a dying ant.

The action conveyed a cold mix of mockery, disgust, condescension, and disdain.

Ignoring Zheng Qiyi's anguish, Song Yingshi stared intently at the edge of the frame, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person as soon as they appeared.

Would it be me? Song Yingshi wondered.

However, the stiletto's owner didn't enter the frame as Song Yingshi had hoped. Instead, their voice sounded in the clip.

Upon hearing the familiar pronunciation and rhythm, Song Yingshi instinctively recognized the voice's owner.

Huai Xu.

It was Huai Xu.

Yet, it wasn't entirely Huai Xu.

The voice Song Yingshi heard carried an unfamiliar laziness and danger, its tone evoking the image of an icy snake slithering across snow in her mind.

Song Yingshi subconsciously opened her eyes and dazedly looked ahead. She wanted to turn her head to look at Huai Xu, but she dared not do so.

Song Yingshi remembered seeing this unfamiliar Huai Xu before. The first time was in the morning after Huai Xu fell ill, and the second time was during the recording of My Life's Journey.

In other words, the Huai Xu in the [Video Clip] had long since appeared by her side.

This was Huai Xu's secret.

As the old singer in her earbud reached the chorus, Song Yingshi suppressed her swirling thoughts and clicked on the [Still Image] and [Clue].

Song Ming appeared in the new [Still Image], his posture equally as humble and sincere as Zheng Qiyi's. He was completely devoid of his usual spirited demeanor, and he looked so downtrodden that Song Yingshi couldn't help but think of the words "destitute" and "homeless."

With Zheng Qiyi's serving as a precedent, Song Yingshi numbly closed the [Still Frame] and shifted her focus to the [Clue].

The [Clue] was a flattened, narrow strip of paper with an address written on it.

[No. 13 South, Fengyi Avenue, Nanzhe Mountain, B City]

Song Yingshi's pupils contracted.

Even without checking online, Song Yingshi already knew where this place was. After all, she had seen this address just today.

This was the address of the sanatorium where Zheng Qiyi was staying.

Before Song Yingshi could recover from her shock, the car suddenly braked hard, causing her to lurch forward uncontrollably. Fortunately, just as she was about to hit her head, Huai Xu caught and steadied her.

"Are you okay, Little Shi?" Huai Xu asked.

Huai Xu's palm felt uncharacteristically warm. Or perhaps it was just that Song Yingshi's body was too cold at this moment.

At Huai Xu's question, Song Yingshi shook her head and whispered, "I'm fine."

"Ow, I hit my forehead," Wan Jiao said.

"Sorry about that; a car suddenly cut in front of me…" the driver apologized quickly.

"We're not in a hurry, so please drive slowly and safely," Hu Wan said.

"Exactly. That jolt woke me up completely. By the way, I heard that Director Wu invited someone else …"

"Who could it be?"

The sudden brake sparked a ripple of conversation in the car. As the girls' pleasant voices intertwined, a lively, almost vibrant atmosphere formed.

In the dimly lit cabin, Huai Xu didn't notice Song Yingshi's slight abnormality, and they continued listening to music.

Song Yingshi's shoulder still felt warm, and the warmth from Huai Xu was undeniably real.

Just now, the sheer ruthlessness of the Huai Xu in the video had filled the screen, her demeanor so different from normal that it sent a chill running down Song Yingshi's spine. Now, as warmth and rationality returned to her body, she gradually calmed down and began to ponder the situation itself.

Song Yingshi had long since noticed that something was abnormal with Huai Xu, and that Huai Xu carried secrets. However, that wasn't important. What was important was what exactly had happened to Huai Xu?

Is she an "outsider" like me?

Song Yingshi quickly denied this possibility. She was certain that Huai Xu's core remained unchanged, and Huai Xu was still the same Huai Xu she knew.

Song Yingshi shifted her perspective to Zheng Qiyi and the other male leads. In the original novel, although all three male leads suffered from unrequited love, they remained dazzling figures with successful careers. However, based on the one [Video Clip] and two [Still Frames] she had, their destinies seemed completely altered. Although she hadn't seen Fu Shu's part yet, she had a creeping suspicion that all three male leads from the original novel had met unfortunate ends.

Most importantly, Huai Xu was directly responsible for the male leads' demise.

Even now, Huai Xu's cold words to Zheng Qiyi still rang in Song Yingshi's mind: "I will only be satisfied once you are dead."

Since transmigrating into the novel, Song Yingshi had always believed that, apart from Huai Xu's personality being inconsistent with the novel, all other changes were due to her arrival—she was the one disrupting the male leads' unethical plots and causing them to fail.

However, Song Yingshi now realized that, in another timeline, Huai Xu had done a similar thing, only through colder and more ruthless methods.

Of course, Song Yingshi firmly believed Huai Xu was in the right. The male leads in this different timeline must've provoked Huai Xu first for her to treat them as such. Otherwise, she would've certainly been too lazy to bother with them.

As Song Yingshi's fear of the Huai Xu from another timeline gradually changed to sympathy, she suddenly recalled something—she hadn't finished reading the original novel.

More specifically, the original novel was incomplete, meaning Song Yingshi never got to see the later plots. In that case, could she assume that what she saw in the [Video Clip] happened in the unfinished parts of the novel? Could the male leads' plan to forcefully obtain Huai Xu have backfired on them, leading to Huai Xu, the female lead, successfully eliminating them?

Following this line of thought, Song Yingshi's mind raced.

Song Yingshi was certain that when she first arrived in this world, Huai Xu hadn't displayed the characteristics of the other Huai Xu. While it was possible that Huai Xu was just very good at hiding it, a greater possibility was that…at some point, the Huai Xu from that world had arrived.

Song Yingshi felt as if the fog clouding her eyes had dispersed, and the whistle of an unseen truth rang clearly in her ears.

Amidst the guitar sounds coming from the earbud, Song Yingshi abruptly gripped Huai Xu's arm.

Huai Xu retracted her gaze from the window and turned to look at Song Yingshi.

"Huai Xu, Instructor Huai, I want to take you somewhere tomorrow," Song Yingshi declared, her eyes bright and resolute.

"Where?" Huai Xu asked.

"It's settled, then. You have to come with me no matter where it is," Song Yingshi said willfully.

Even before obtaining the [Clue], Song Yingshi had already decided to visit Zheng Qiyi. The [Clue] just gave her another reason to do so. Moreover, she wouldn't be the only one visiting; Huai Xu had to go as well.

After Song Yingshi finished speaking, she fumbled for Huai Xu's hand and gripped it tightly, using her actions to show her determination to keep Huai Xu, her lucky charm, bound to her.

Huai Xu smiled, her voice soft and mellow as she said, "Okay, you mustn't forget to bring me along, Instructor Song."

Song Yingshi didn't reply, simply tightening her grip on Huai Xu's hand.

No matter what Huai Xu's actually like inside, she's still my Huai Xu.