BMLVS – Chapter 53

【Host Cen Lingqiu, mission analysis in progress… Analysis result: Failure.】

【Plot triggered. Romance plot ending successful. Female lead’s romantic partner: Cen Lingqiu. Character error. Reporting to the analysis center.】

The cold, mechanical voice of the System Center echoed in her ears. Since waking up, Cen Lingqiu had been in a daze, as if living in a dream she never wanted to wake from.

It wasn’t until today that she came to the System Center. She wanted to negotiate terms with the center.

But before they could talk, the System first analyzed her mission results for her.

As expected, it was another failure.

She could understand the first sentence, but what did the second one mean?

Before she could react, System 77 excitedly spoke up, “Qiuqiu, this is great! Your wish has come true.”

“What?”

The System explained it to her.

Originally, with her mission failed, the center had planned to reassign another agent to that world. However, at the last moment, the System detected that the female lead’s romance plot had already been completed.

This was, after all, a romance-focused novel. The female lead’s love life was the core of the plot; all other storylines served as a foundation for her romance.

With Lin Dong’s imprisonment, the female lead’s romance plot should have ended. But then the System suddenly detected the female lead’s confession. She had completed the romance plot, and the object of her affection turned out to be Cen Lingqiu.

The System couldn’t possibly destroy the female lead’s feelings; that would violate the world’s consciousness. But Cen Lingqiu was an outsider to this world and, according to regulations, was not supposed to remain in the mission world long-term.

On one hand, there was the world’s consciousness; on the other, there were strict regulations.

The System Center deliberated on this for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.

Because Cen Lingqiu had not completed her mission, the center decided to let her go to Yu Mingjiao’s world in her original body to continue her task.

The System was even more excited than she was. “Although they say they’re sending you to complete a failed mission, it’s really just a way to let you settle down in that world. This way, the world’s consciousness isn’t violated, and the regulations aren’t broken either. You’re just going there to do a mission, but the center has relaxed the requirements a bit.”

“You need to lower her self-destruction coefficient. But the center didn’t specify what her self-destruction coefficient is. In other words, this is a mission that can never be completed. And as long as you can’t complete it, you can never return to your original world.”

“You will stay in Yu Mingjiao’s world until the moment you die.”

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Iceland.

Yu Mingjiao wore a black overcoat, the scarf Cen Lingqiu had given her wrapped around her neck. Crystalline chunks of ice were scattered across the black sand beach.

She sat in her wheelchair, her expression quiet and cold.

The wind was strong, whipping Yu Mingjiao’s long black hair into disarray.

This wasn’t her first time in Iceland. Since Cen Lingqiu left, this was her fourth visit.

She came here every year.

Lin Qiu’s body had already been buried. It was impossible for Cen Lingqiu to come back.

She would never see that face again.

Yu Mingjiao didn’t know what she was holding on to, day after day, year after year.

Perhaps it was because she believed in Cen Lingqiu.

After all, Cen Lingqiu would never lie to her.

She would always come back.

Yu Mingjiao deceived herself like this every single day.

She no longer had hallucinations or heard things. She started eating and working on a regular schedule. She had become a dazzling and brilliant person.

She wanted Cen Lingqiu to see her at her most beautiful when she returned.

Cen Lingqiu was someone who loved beautiful things.

It looked like it was about to rain. The people on the beach hurried back.

Yu Mingjiao’s phone rang. It was her colleague.

“Xiao Yu, where are you? I can’t see you.”

“At the black sand beach.”

Her colleague exclaimed, “Why are you still there? Didn’t they take you back? It’s about to rain, and the cars have already left. How are you going to get back?”

Yu Mingjiao didn’t speak. She felt a few light drops of rain.

Her colleague was panicking on the other end. She had accompanied Yu Mingjiao here for an event. If anything happened to Yu Mingjiao, she would be dead.

“I remember—” A thought struck the colleague. “There’s an older sister in our translation team who also went to the beach, she should still be there now. I’ll give you her number in a bit. Oh, right, what was her name again—”

The colleague thought for a moment on the other end.

Just then, the rain grew heavier. Yu Mingjiao had already braced herself to get soaked when, in the next second, a black umbrella opened above her.

Yu Mingjiao turned her head.

Her colleague’s voice came through the phone.

“Her name is Cen Lingqiu.”

“Hello.”

The woman before her was wearing a peacock-blue overcoat. She looked to be in her thirties, with long, black, curly hair falling casually over her chest. She had monolids, thin, pale lips, and long, narrow eyes. Her face bore some resemblance to Lin Qiu’s, but this one was colder and more indifferent.

She held a bouquet of vibrant, dewy eustomas in her arms. Her posture was elegant and straight, and a faint, gentle smile graced her face.

“My name is Cen Lingqiu.”

“Ling, as in to listen. Qiu, as in autumn.”

“Do you need me to take you home?”