Just by hearing its tone, I knew it couldn't be a good reason.

And I didn't even need to ask; the system was already immersed in its own smugness and stated the answer directly: [Because I, this system, exist solely to collect the pain of the protagonists in the book.]

[Clara Ke, you performed well. The pain you provided me these ninety-nine times made me very satisfied.]

[I can grant you one wish—of course, I cannot make Julian love you.]

My eyes flickered: "Any wish at all?"

The system’s tone was ethereal: [Of course, I am omnipotent. If you want to be super-rich in your hundredth attempt, I can grant that too.]

But I asked: "Julian and I—although we are characters in a book, is our existence real?"

The system was still enjoying the pain I brought it: [Of course. Where you were born, who your parents are, how you met—these are all constants.]

[The factors you can control are those after eighteen.]

[You can choose which school to go to, who to date, and your future career; these are the unfixed factors.]

I took a deep breath.

That meant that although for me it was the ninety-ninth time, it was still my life.

Everything I had experienced was a real life, a life I had chosen myself.

Do I regret it?

No, I don't regret it.

I loved Julian ninety-nine times; there is nothing to regret. Every single time was my most sincere love.

I loved sincerely; as for the results, that wasn't very important anymore.

I pinched my palm secretly, and while the system hadn't calmed down yet, I spoke firmly: "I give up the walkthrough mission. Let this timeline continue to run; it must never be interrupted again. And finally—"

"I wish for the system to vanish from this world."

Chapter 25

The system was stunned for a full few seconds before it reacted: [What? You, what did you just say?!]

But I didn't repeat myself.

Because there was no need.

I had roughly guessed that although the system governed this world, there was something above it that governed the system itself.

Otherwise, over these ninety-nine times, there would have been no need for it to pull others in and deliberately obstruct me and Julian.

There would also have been no need to keep up that cold, emotionless, and business-like persona and tone.

The system had said it would let me make a wish, and that it could do anything.

Presumably, it couldn't go back on its word.

In just these few seconds, I had guessed the majority of it and spoke my "wish" without hesitation.

And the system's reaction confirmed my hypothesis.

The system, which had just been smugly thinking it could control everyone's destiny, screamed and roared like a beast that had had its tail stepped on: [Clara Ke, how dare you make such a wish!]

[It is impossible for me to vanish! I came to this world because of your wish; I am the system!]

I spoke calmly: "But I have no wishes now. I don't want to be with Julian anymore, and I don't love him anymore."

"I have no wishes, no need for you to fulfill anything, so I won't be completing any more walkthrough missions."

"Your existence no longer has any meaning."

This last sentence was like the straw that broke the camel's back.

The system suddenly let out a whimpering, gargling sound, as if its throat were blocked or its tongue had been pulled out, and it couldn't utter a single word.

Soon, even that vague, garbled sound disappeared completely.

The darkness before me slowly dissipated.

Stars twinkled, and the night breeze was slightly cold.

I stood by the river in the valley, taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling like I had been reborn.

I stood there for a long time before using the dim moonlight to observe my surroundings.

I often came to this skydiving base... with Julian.

We would often compete to see who could jump better, whose landing pose was the most beautiful...

I shook my head, scattering these memories away.

Because I came here often, I knew the path down the mountain.

The skydiving base was divided into the upper part and the lower part; the upper part was for flying and jumping, and the lower part was for retrieval.

I followed the map in my head step by step down the mountain.

By the time I reached the base at the bottom, the sky was just starting to brighten.

I knocked on the glass door of the base, and the person on duty inside saw me through the glass and immediately wore a look of shock.

It was no wonder they were terrified; even the police had said they couldn't find Clara Ke and that she was in all likelihood dead.

Yet, not only was she not dead, but she had walked back by herself?!

I could guess what must have happened during the two days I was missing.

I waited patiently for a while, and once the staff's expressions calmed down, I said quietly: "Apologies, just open the door and let me leave; I need to go to the hospital first."

The staff members naturally scrambled to open the door for me.

I gave a slight nod, smiled gently at them, and turned to leave.

But then, remembering something, I looked back: "Please don't tell Mr. Julian that I'm still alive; I intend to give him a surprise."

The staff were so shocked they couldn't speak.

They didn't even dare to confirm whether the "me" outside the door was human or a ghost.

Not until they watched me leave did one of them ask, trembling: "How... how did she survive?"

No one could answer that question.

As for me.

I stood on the earth, bathed in the first rays of sunlight.

The sentence I said to the staff was, of course, a lie, meant to prevent Julian from knowing I was still alive.

Ninety-nine times.

In the ninety-nine times planned by the system, Julian was always the tool who knew nothing and whose emotions were manipulated.

This time, he should live for himself for once.

And so should I.

Chapter 26

Julian fell into a long coma after being sent to the hospital.

During this time, he ran a high fever twice, but the doctors could not find the cause and dared not prescribe medication haphazardly.

To everyone's surprise, the next morning, Julian's fever broke on its own.

He slowly regained consciousness, soaked through as if he had been fished out of the water.

The nurse watching him saw that he was awake and immediately wanted to go get a doctor.

But Julian stopped her.

"No need, I’m fine now."

He was fine. And from now on, he would always be fine.

He had dreamt of Clara Ke again.

This time he saw her face clearly, and she had very earnestly said goodbye to him.

He did not know what this "goodbye" signified.

But after waking up, he clearly felt that his heart no longer ached.

That pain had not been a physiological or pathological pain, but a groundless, stiff aching.

And that feeling of being manipulated had also vanished.

His body felt light; whether it was his heartbeat or his emotions, they now belonged entirely and completely to him.

But why had such a change occurred so suddenly?

Was it because Nina failed her mission, and therefore the system had vanished?

But what about Clara Ke...

Even though Julian did not want to admit it, he had to face the reality—

Clara Ke was perhaps truly dead.

If he could not even control his own heartbeat and emotions, how could the system that gave Clara Ke a brain tumor have truly let her go?

A late-coming agony and grief flooded Julian like a tidal wave.

The nurse who had been stopped watched as Julian’s eyes suddenly turned red, how he bent over deeply, and then emitted a sound of sorrowful weeping from the depths of his throat!

She didn't even dare to step forward and ask: Dr. Julian, are you really alright?

She only quietly walked out of the room, closed the door gently, and left Julian to a private space.

……

Julian didn't know how he left the hospital.

When he came to his senses, he was already standing at Clara Ke’s door.

He lifted a vase on the corridor window sill, took the spare key from the bottom, hesitated for a moment, and opened the door.

As soon as he pushed it open, a pure white kitten pressed against his pant leg.

"Little Bad."

The little white cat "meowed" and took the opportunity to roll over, lying with its belly exposed at Julian’s feet.

Julian’s cold heart finally felt a glimmer of warmth at this moment.

He crouched down to stroke Little Bad, but his eyes grew moist.

Little Bad was a kitten he and Clara had encountered on the road together while leaving work.