Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

The boundless darkness made it impossible to distinguish up from down from left from right, and one could not feel the passage of time.

Lin Xi floated in this void, yet her consciousness was clearer than ever before.

She had just finished the mission in the last world, and the notification sound of mission completion was still echoing in her ears when the system, which had been silent for a long time, arrived as scheduled.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have perfectly completed all tasks. In accordance with the initial binding agreement, the final feedback program is now being initiated as agreed: please select a world, and the system will ensure that you live a healthy and happy life."

To live a healthy and happy life?

Lin Xi had not yet recovered from the dizziness of being pulled out of the small world, and upon hearing this, she subconsciously repeated it.

The moment she opened her mouth, her thoughts quickly scattered, like fireworks exploding in the night sky, instantly illuminating countless scenes deep in her memory.

Those little worlds, memories flashed by like fleeting light. She was once a noblewoman in fine clothes, surrounded by servants; she was once a superstar under the spotlight, loved by thousands; she was even a transcendent immortal who rode the wind, unattainable in the eyes of mortals... Although there were occasional setbacks on her journey, looking back, the ending of each life could be considered perfect.

She remembered the system's initial promise very clearly—after completing the task, she could choose any world to live a healthy and happy life.

At the time, this promise was an irresistible temptation for her, a sickly woman who was about to die, and she nodded almost without hesitation.

But now that she thinks about it carefully, in the process of completing those tasks, she had actually experienced a "healthy and fulfilling" life many times.

On the surface, she was driven by a mission to try to change the fate of the male second leads who had tragic lives and left readers feeling unsatisfied, pulling them off their original tragic trajectory.

But in reality, in the process of completing this task of "changing other people's fates," she had already passed through countless lifetimes in the process.

She had personally experienced all those ups and downs, those magnificent moments.

The temptation that she couldn't resist back then has long since been over-fulfilled without her realizing it, losing its initial fatal attraction.

If I had to find something to regret...

That's probably it. In those worlds, she seemed to be just an actor. She was herself, but not her complete self. All the laughter, anger, joy, and sorrow, looking back now, all seemed like a series of beautiful dreams.

After waking up from the dream, she was ultimately just herself—a twenty-year-old girl from a bleak and ordinary real world, bound by illness.

Thinking of this, Lin Xi felt a sense of bewilderment and did not rush to make a choice, but instead fell silent.

She's had enough of living a life "for others".

Next, she wanted to exist purely, solely as "herself," just once.

Once the thought arises, it quickly expands, becoming clear and firm.

She let out a soft breath, as if to expel all the lingering emotions from her little world, and then, facing the darkness before her that seemed capable of swallowing everything, she uttered a calm yet clear question.

"System, I've completed all the tasks and gained the right to choose, right?"

"Yes, as originally agreed, you have the right to choose any mission world you have experienced."

“In that case,” Lin Xi paused, her voice exceptionally clear in the silence, “do I have to choose between these worlds? Can I choose to return to my own world? The place I came from?”

……

The darkness seemed to freeze for a moment, and the system's response seemed much slower than usual. Even though it was still that cold, mechanical voice, Lin Xi could still detect a hint of doubt in it.

"Based on data comparison, the mission worlds available to the host can all provide you with optimal survival conditions: including but not limited to a healthy body, abundant wealth, a good social status, outstanding appearance, and a loyal partner."

"Your original world situation is: neglected by your parents, unknown, suffering from a serious congenital disease, with an extremely short life expectancy, and when you were bound to this system, your physical condition was assessed as 'extremely weak and on the verge of collapse'."

At this point, the system paused for a moment before uttering a question.

Why did you make this choice?

"Yes." Lin Xi gently curved her lips into a wistful smile, "In those worlds, it seemed like I had everything, but..."

Lin paused for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "None of those things truly belong to me."

"You mean those identities and experiences belong to the original owner?" The system's mechanical voice seemed to carry a hint of doubt, before explaining in a knowing tone.

"Host need not worry about this. In fact, every world you experience is fundamentally evolved and generated to achieve the core goal of 'changing the fate of the second male lead'."

"From the moment you were thrown into the small world, the entire world's operating trajectory was reshaped with your existence as the core variable. The so-called 'original owner' is more like an identity that was preset for the sake of plot logic consistency, allowing you to intervene reasonably."

“From the moment you replaced her and made the first different choice, that timeline has evolved independently. You are the only Lin Xi in that timeline. Your choices, your experiences, and everything you have gained naturally belong to you.”

Lin Xi blinked in confusion before slowly understanding its meaning, and asked uncertainly, "Parallel world?"

“That’s a fair way to understand it,” the system affirmed. “The parallel worlds you’re referring to, which are the original characters in the basic settings, and the ‘second male lead’ in the world you’ve experienced, can be seen as branches that originated from the same main trunk but diverged at different points.”

“They are countless possible manifestations of the same person’s potential. Every different choice will create a new timeline. My existence is to precisely place you at the node that needs to ‘fork’.”

"So, strictly speaking, there is no 'original owner' whose life was taken away by you. There is only a completely new timeline that was born because of you, and on this timeline, 'Lin Xi' whose entire life was written by you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xi fell into deep thought.

She thought of the people in those little worlds; their personalities and reactions were indeed real and vivid, not just rigid puppets.

What she changed seemed to be the trajectory of a living, breathing person's fate that could have led to tragedy, rather than simply covering up or replacing someone's life.

Logically speaking, it seems to make sense.

Thinking this through, she slowly nodded. "I understand."

"So please put down any unnecessary psychological burden." The system, which is usually very human-like, sounded almost gentle at this moment.

"So make a new choice. Remember, you are 'Lin Xi'. Everything you gain in any small world is real and vivid, and it is all what you deserve."

The system thought it had explained things clearly enough, but the next second, Lin Xi smiled brightly and said in a relaxed tone, "Thank you for your explanation, but even so, I still want to return to my original world."

The system fell silent again, and this time the silence lasted longer than ever before.

Lin Xi waited for a while, but didn't hear a reply from the system. She asked uncertainly, "Is it not possible? If not, then please choose a modern world for me, as I just said. I'm not used to kneeling all the time."

"It's not impossible." After a long silence, the system's voice finally rang out again, regaining its previous calm. "However, the system must once again explain to you the risks of this choice."

"Your choice means that you are giving up the benefits of the mission world, so the system cannot guarantee the condition of 'healthy body'."

"Therefore, there is a very high probability that you will still have that sickly body after being reborn. Moreover, the rebirth point will be completely random. It could be the beginning of everything in infancy, or it could be... the moment before you stop breathing. Even so, do you still insist on going back?"

Thinking of her original body, Lin Xi hesitated for a moment, but the next second, as if she suddenly remembered something, her eyes showed a look of nostalgia, and then she became firm and nodded heavily.

"Ah."

"Why?" The system's question was direct and sharp. "All logical deductions and cost-benefit analyses show that choosing the mission world is the better solution, but you still insist on going back."

“Of course it’s because…” Lin Xi blinked, then suddenly curled her lips into a playful smile, “There’s a reason I have to go back.”

The system made no further sound.

The next moment, Lin Xi felt a gentle force enveloping her.

The endless darkness around her was penetrated and dispelled by a warm but not dazzling white light, growing brighter and brighter until it filled her entire senses.

In the last moment before her consciousness was completely swallowed by the white light, she seemed to hear a very soft sound from the system.

"The bonus has been issued."

"As you wish."