White Night was at a loss, unable to figure things out for the moment.
“System, what’s going on with my soul recovery?”
[The situation is special, and the System cannot detect it. A System upgrade is required.]
White Night was speechless; getting a straight answer out of the System was a real struggle.
“Little White Night…”
Su Shuang’er’s voice returned to its usual tone, though the end of her words still sounded a bit dry.
She was thirsty after the recent exertion, but all their supplies had been lost, so there was no water for the time being.
She folded the cloth, stuffed it into her pocket, and let her gaze rest on the legs of White Night’s soul body for a long time.
“Little White Night, your legs… do they look a bit better?”
White Night had noticed it herself.
The charred edges had indeed receded.
Although the change wasn’t huge, it was certainly an improvement compared to the way they looked earlier, as if they were about to crumble into dust.
“Yes.”
White Night nodded.
‘I was wondering what was happening just now, but the System doesn’t know either.’
Acting as a spectator, Mu Yingying’s peach-blossom eyes darted around, looking first at Su Shuang’er’s face—which was red down to her neck—and then at White Night’s flickering soul body.
“Finished?”
“Shut up,” Su Shuang’er snapped without even looking up.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Big Fat Butt, your face is as red as a cooked shrimp.”
“Damn it, Yingying. Try saying one more word.”
“Fine, fine, I won’t say another word.”
Mu Yingying had recovered some of her strength. She stood up shakily, walked over, and sat down next to White Night.
“But seriously, Little Car, you do look a bit more energetic.”
“Just now, your soul was so dim I thought you were going to fade away. Now it seems to have brightened back up.”
White Night didn’t answer immediately.
She stole a glance at her two aunties.
With just that glance, the edges of her soul body began to emit a pink glow.
“Um…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller.
“The System just… gave me three Points.”
“Three Points?”
Mu Yingying perked up.
“How did you get them for free?”
“The System said it was for… Depth Emotional Maintenance.”
White Night’s face turned as red as a bubbling teapot.
“Also… my soul seems to have healed a bit. Those charred spots on my legs have receded.”
After she finished speaking, she couldn’t help but steal another glance at Su Shuang’er.
By now, even the tips of Su Shuang’er’s ears were red.
Mu Yingying’s mind was racing.
She narrowed her peach-blossom eyes.
“Wait a second—”
She suddenly sat up straight.
“Are you saying that after Shuang’er did that with you just now, not only were her own Side Effects eased, but your soul was nourished too?”
White Night’s soul body turned a shade of pink so deep it was almost strawberry-colored.
“…Yes.”
The room fell silent for about three seconds.
Then, Su Shuang’er spoke.
Her voice was very low, as if she were afraid of hearing herself.
“Then… how about… we do it again?”
White Night was completely stunned.
Su Shuang’er turned her head away, her face flushing so hard it seemed to smoke. Her fingers twisted the corner of her clothes into wrinkles.
When the Side Effects had flared up earlier, her mind was a blur, and her body had acted entirely on instinct.
Looking back, everything felt like it was behind a veil, hazy and dreamlike.
She hadn’t felt shameful then because she hadn’t really known what she was doing.
But now was different; she was agonizingly sober.
Every second, every movement, and every point of contact—she would remember them all clearly.
These were two completely different matters.
“Auntie Frost, you really don’t have to for—”
“I’m not forcing myself.”
Su Shuang’er interrupted her. Though her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, her tone was incredibly serious.
“Your legs are burned so badly.”
She looked at White Night, her heart aching for her.
Just then—
A hand was placed on the back of White Night’s seat.
“Hold on.”
Mu Yingying bounced up, her peach-blossom eyes wide.
“Big Fat Butt, are you going to keep all the good things for yourself?”
“I haven’t even snuggled with the Little Car yet!”
“Why is it you again? Let me do it. Let go of the Little Car and let me have a turn!”
The bashfulness on Su Shuang’er’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a fierce, protective aggression.
“What do you mean, you do it? Do you even know how? What if you hurt White Night?”
“How could I not know? Isn’t it just snuggling—”
“No.”
Su Shuang’er stood her ground firmly.
“I won’t allow it. I’ll do it myself.”
Mu Yingying’s eyes rounded.
“Su Shuang’er, you greedy Big Fat Butt!”
“I fought with my life on the line, suffered injuries all over, and held out for two minutes!”
“I carried you and the Little Car for nearly 200 meters!”
“I even tripped in the middle and shredded my knees!”
“Look at my injuries!”
She threw up her sleeves, showing off the startling array of large and small wounds on her body, and pointed to the swollen red burns on her cheeks.
“And now I don’t even have the right to snuggle with the Little Car?”
“What’s the point of living? You have a big butt but a small heart!”
“Waaah, I don’t want to live anymore. I might as well just die!”
As she spoke, Mu Yingying covered her face with both hands and faked crying, peeking through the gaps in her fingers to watch White Night and Su Shuang’er’s reactions.
After all, she had scars on her face. She was worried that White Night wouldn’t be able to accept her, and she was also worried that Su Shuang’er would stop her.
“…”
Su Shuang’er was left stunned by this display.
Her mouth opened twice to argue, but her mind quickly replayed the events—
Mu Yingying really had held out alone for two minutes.
She really had carried her and White Night for nearly 200 meters while wounded.
She really had fallen, and her knees had indeed bled.
All of that was true.
It seemed… she really didn’t have much of a reason to stop her.
Su Shuang’er’s momentum visibly deflated, but she refused to admit defeat, muttering under her breath.
“Damn it, Yingying. You’re so badly hurt, can you even move… you shameless hussy…”
“Maybe if I move a bit more, my heavy injuries will actually get better.”
Mu Yingying put her hands on her hips and stood tall, her voice full of vigor.
She didn’t look at all like a critically injured person who had just crawled back from the gates of hell.
“Even if I die, I’m going to move!”
“And my butt isn’t any worse than yours!”
“Yours might be fat, but mine isn’t bad either!”
“Can you stop talking about butts!”
“You’re the Big Fat Butt who presses yourself against the Little Car’s seat every day, so it’s still about—”
“You hussy, you won’t ever shut up…”
Su Shuang’er clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking.
Mu Yingying immediately cowered, flinching back, but her mouth didn’t stop for a second.
“Go ahead, hit me. Kill me with one punch.”
“Anyway, I’ve worked hard and performed great service. If you kill me, will your conscience let you live with yourself?”
She tilted her chin up and looked at Su Shuang’er, adopting the stance of a dead pig that doesn’t fear boiling water.
Su Shuang’er glared at her for five seconds.
Her fists clenched, then loosened.
Finally, she just snorted and turned her face away.
She didn’t hit her.
Mu Yingying secretly curled her lip.
She won.
Curled up in the basket, White Night watched the entire “Auntie War” break out over her.
She didn’t say a word, not even daring to try and stop the fight.
She had been worried the two aunties would actually start fighting, wondering what she would do…
Fortunately, her worries were unnecessary; the two of them were quite restrained.
Taking advantage of the truce, White Night opened the System Store.
She had three Points—exactly what she had after her previous overdraft was cleared.
She searched for healing items.
[Healing Ointment x1: 2 Points]
[Can accelerate wound healing and relieve burns and corrosive injuries. Cannot repair deep tissue damage.]
Exchange.
One Point remaining.
She searched for something to stop bleeding.
[Basic Hemostatic Powder x1: 1 Point]
Exchange.
Zero Points left.
A small jar of pale green ointment and a packet of white powder appeared out of thin air in the basket.
“Auntie Frost, there’s medicine in the basket. Help Auntie Ying treat her wounds first, then take care of your own.”
Su Shuang’er looked down at the basket, her movements freezing.
She was stunned for two seconds, then slowly raised her head to look at White Night.
“You spent all your Points?”
White Night didn’t say anything.
Su Shuang’er’s gaze moved from the ointment to White Night’s soul body.
Finally, her eyes fell on those charred soul legs that were almost entirely gone from the knees down.
“Little White Night…”
Her voice suddenly changed. All the fire from her argument with Mu Yingying was gone.
Her voice became as gentle as water.