Current illness generated: Intermittent Blindness.

After two and a half days, He Qiuting once again heard that damned voice, almost pressed against his eardrum.

This symptom will last for 72 hours, accompanied by severe headaches. Only by seeking help from a loved one can the duration of blindness be shortened and the pain alleviated.

Before the system voice faded, his previously blurred vision completely turned into pitch black. He Qiuting held his breath slightly, lowered his head and blinked hard several times, trying to struggle for a sliver of light, but it was still useless.

The office that had been brightly lit just a second ago suddenly became so dark he couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. It wasn’t the kind of darkness when normal people close their eyes, but complete darkness without any light perception.

So it wasn’t an auditory hallucination this thing calling itself the Frail System really existed!

Thump, thump, thump.

He Qiuting listened to his own heavy heartbeat, his fingers resting on the document pages unconsciously curling up.

Despair and fear surged along with the darkness, pulling at his limbs and entire body to sink downward, just like that night over a decade ago when his father jumped from a building so dark it was suffocating.

That night, after witnessing his father’s suicide, He Qiuting hugged himself tightly while curled up in a corner. He stared at the open window, watching the curtains billow high in the howling night wind like death ghosts trying to take him away too.

That night, many relatives came to the house. He Qiuting couldn’t remember who they all were, only remembering many different pairs of shoes appearing before him.

“Get up, Qiuting, go see your father one last time.”

“Xiao Ting, your father is waiting for you.”

“How can this child be so cold-hearted? That was your father after all!”

…

He Qiuting stubbornly refused to move. He buried his face deep in his arms, tightly closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of laundry detergent from his school uniform fresh, pleasant, so calm as if nothing had happened.

He Qiuting stayed like that in the dark house for a full day and night no lights turned on, no food eaten, not a single tear shed.

He just knew that the father who loved him most was gone, never to return.

Since then, He Qiuting had been terribly afraid of the dark.

He couldn’t stay in dark spaces for too long, dared not undergo MRI scans, dared not watch movies, and even had to keep his bedside lamp on while sleeping.

For He Qiuting, the symptom of blindness was a thousand times more unbearable than asthma every second recreating that insurmountable abyss from the past.

“What’s wrong?”

Lu Shun’s voice suddenly came through, carrying some confusion as he leaned closer. “Is there a problem with this page? You’ve been staring at it for so long.”

He Qiuting shuddered.

With his eyes unable to see, his other senses became unusually sharp. Even just the sound made him tremble subtly.

He could even feel Lu Shun’s breath, brushing against his ear like a feather, itching unbearably.

Hearing that voice approach from afar, the fine hairs on the back of He Qiuting’s neck stood up slightly. He couldn’t see Lu Shun’s movements or posture, nor could he guess how Lu Shun was looking at him right now. This uncertainty was the source of his unease.

He Qiuting calmly closed the folder, raised his hand and pressed his knuckles against his Sun Spot, gently massaging it as if merely tired, and said: “Didn’t sleep well yesterday, having a bit of a headache.”

“You’ve been staying up late again.” Lu Shun said it like it was nothing unusual, throwing a barbed remark his way, “At your age, Boss He, it’d be better to keep a regular schedule.”

He Qiuting nodded slightly, fingers massaging his temples, opting for tactical silence.

If it was intermittent blindness, his vision should recover soon enough, but the darkness before him was stubborn, showing not the slightest hint of light.

After a prolonged silence, Lu Shun was the first to lose patience. He spoke up directly, “If you think there’s something unreasonable about the proposal, just say it. I have another meeting soon.”

He checked the time, looking somewhat rushed.

He Qiuting didn’t want to waste time either. Like Lu Shun, his schedule for the day was packed, and he couldn’t afford to delay like this.

After weighing his options, He Qiuting decided to compromise with the system.

“Lu Shun…” He lifted his eyes, gaze vacant, his eyelashes fluttering slightly as his breath trembled. He spoke truthfully, “My head hurts terribly, like it’s splitting open. It’s unbearable.”

He Qiuting clenched his fists, breaking through his own psychological barriers, “Could you massage it for me?”

Lu Shun’s eyes widened slightly, unable to believe what he was hearing. “…What?”

“My head hurts.”

He Qiuting wasn’t lying. Sharp, neuralgic pain was spreading from behind his eyeballs to the back of his entire head. Because of the blindness, the sensation of pain was magnified infinitely, becoming increasingly unbearable.

“Could you massage it for me?” He Qiuting repeated, his lips pale.

Beep

The system triggered.

[Host’s request for assistance detected. Symptoms are being alleviated…]

[Congratulations, host. Vision has improved from complete darkness to 2000-degree myopia~]

2000-degree myopia?

He Qiuting’s headache intensified. What difference did that make from being blind? Still, a faint glimmer of light seeped through, easing his fear somewhat.

In his blurry vision, he saw the person beside him stand up and walk away step by step.

Click

Lu Shun walked to the office door, locked it from the inside, and turned back.

He looked at He Qiuting sitting on the sofa and fell into a few seconds of contemplation. This was He Qiuting, no doubt about it.

What did it mean?

Did he want to get back together? Was that why he was acting vulnerable?

Lu Shun pondered, reaching out to squeeze He Qiuting’s shoulder. The latter jolted violently, startling Lu Shun.

“Hmm?” Lu Shun narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you cold? Should I close the window?”

“Not cold.” He Qiuting shook his head. Just as he was about to say, “No need to massage anymore,” he heard Lu Shun murmur softly, “Turn around.”

In that instant, He Qiuting’s sense of morality suddenly awakened. To be so ambiguous after breaking up this kind of behavior was truly…

He Qiuting quickly interrupted, “I’m fine now… I… uh…”

Beep

System alert.

[Suspicion of host attempting to deceive the system detected! Penalty increased! Vision restored to complete darkness mode, headache intensity maxed out, duration: 2 hours!!!]

He Qiuting’s face instantly turned ashen. Pain and darkness surged over him simultaneously, making him choke on his breath. He coughed twice, suppressed and strained, and a layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on his temples.

“Relax.” Lu Shun patted He Qiuting’s tense nape, pressing his thumb into the stiff muscle and gently massaging it in circles. “What’s there to be nervous about? It’s not like there’s any part of you I haven’t touched before.”

He Qiuting’s breathing quickened. He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling.

When blindness set in, many ordinary things began to feel strange.

Lu Shun’s fingertips were slightly warmer than usual, and the contrast was stark against cool skin. He Qiuting kept his eyes open, feeling those fingers shift from the back of his neck to his temples, adjusting their position as a wave of warmth spread down his cheeks.

The massage was slow a stark contrast to Lu Shun’s usual temperament gentle and meticulous in its tenderness.

He Qiuting’s face grew hot, his ears burning fiercely. Every part of him felt sensitive, every part felt abnormal.

“Feeling better?” Lu Shun’s voice reached him.

He Qiuting nodded. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, “Lately… I haven’t been myself.”

Lu Shun paused his massage, gently tucking a sweat-damp strand of hair behind He Qiuting’s ear, and casually agreed, “Mm, you really haven’t.”

“I’ve encountered some strange things. Maybe from now on, I’ll become even stranger.” He Qiuting pressed his lips together, unsure of what he was trying to say, and murmured, “In the future, I might still ask for your help like I just did, but… you don’t actually have to help me.”

Hah.

He Qiuting heard a soft, cold laugh.

Lu Shun withdrew his hand from He Qiuting’s head, turned, and sat on the nearby sofa. He looked up at him and asked, “What is this? Playing with my feelings?”

His tone was light, almost teasing, but He Qiuting could tell Lu Shun was angered by his confusing words.

“He Qiuting, we’ve already broken up. If you don’t mean anything by this, then stop provoking me.” Lu Shun’s expression darkened, each word striking deep. “If my help means nothing to you, then from now on, don’t ever ask me for anything again.”

He paused, then added, “Any. Thing.”

He would no longer accept any requests for help.

He Qiuting nodded, his expression calm but his voice faint. “Can I sit here for a while?”

“President He, if you’re not feeling well today and don’t want to discuss the proposal, we can reschedule.”

Lu Shun wanted to push himself to cut ties with this failed relationship completely so he deliberately kept his tone devoid of emotion and said sternly, “My time is precious. Suit yourself, President He.”

As he finished speaking, he watched He Qiuting slowly rise from the sofa, straightening his back, his red-rimmed eyes slightly dazed.

Lu Shun didn’t want to meet his gaze. He turned and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, pulling out a cigarette but hesitating to light it.

“May I take this proposal back to review?” He Qiuting’s gentle, calm voice came from behind. “I’m truly sorry for today, President Lu.”

Lu Shun waved a hand, not wanting to hear another word from him. “Take it.”

He didn’t see the emptiness in He Qiuting’s pupils, nor did he notice his tentative, shuffling steps.

He Qiuting used the tip of his shoe to feel his way, brushing against the edge of the coffee table before subtly adjusting his direction. Summoning his courage, he took a step forward…

His leather shoes made no sound on the thick carpet, creating a dizzying sense of unreality.

He Qiuting’s head throbbed violently, his body swaying unsteadily as he struggled to find his balance. For a moment, he felt the urge to tell Lu Shun about the system, but remembering Li Feng’s reaction, he held back.

Perhaps no one in this world would believe in the existence of a system. They would only think He Qiuting had gone mad.

He Qiuting thought he must have been so overworked that he had become mentally disturbed, leading him to hallucinate such an absurd thing.

In front of Lu Shun, He Qiuting never wanted to reveal any flaws, even though they had already broken up.

He gritted his teeth, his fingers curling into a loose fist at his side. Relying on his memory of Lu Shun’s office layout, he boldly walked forward.

One step… two steps… three steps…

Thud

His knee slammed hard into the doorframe.

The impact was severe the dull thud of bone hitting glass made Lu Shun turn around in surprise.

And it was in that moment of turning that he saw He Qiuting’s body sway, his hand grasping futilely at the air before he collapsed without warning.

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