Chapter 9
“You have recognized the wrong person!” Shen Mingxu exclaimed loudly, “She is Su Ning, not Su Wen!”
“Forget it, I’m too lazy to explain to you, Su Ning, let’s go.” Shen Mingxu took Su Ning and walked out of the door, while Su Ning kept her head lowered, avoiding Shen Mingxuan’s gaze.
Two black-clothed bodyguards suddenly appeared outside the door and restrained Shen Mingxu without a word. Shen Mingxu angrily shouted, “Brother! What are you doing?! I told you that you recognized the wrong person! She is Su Ning, not your fiancée!”
“Yes, yes, I’m Su Ning…” Su Ning grabbed Shen Mingxu’s sleeve and firmly stated, “The Su Wen you’re talking about is my sister. We look very similar, but I am not her! You’ve mistaken me for someone else!”
Mrs. Shen grew more anxious and pleaded, “Mingxuan, please release Mingxu. We won’t interfere in your matters with Su Wen. Don’t harm Mingxu!”
Shen Mingxuan remained silent, instructing the nanny standing nearby, “Take my mother and let her rest.”
He then turned to the bodyguards on either side of Shen Mingxu and commanded, “Send him abroad tomorrow.”
Ignoring Shen Mingxu’s enraged protests, Shen Mingxuan waited until the hall was quiet, leaving only the two of them.
Su Ning anxiously tightened her grip on the tabletop, attempting one final struggle. She said, “You truly recognized the wrong person. If you let me go, I promise I’ll find my sister for you.”
Shen Mingxuan gazed at her for a moment with his black eyes and spoke indifferently, “It has been five years. She cannot be as young as you. Come here, let me take a closer look. If you haven’t applied any makeup, I will let you go.”
Hope filled Su Ning’s heart. Fortunately, she was naturally beautiful, and time had left no wrinkles on her face. She believed she could deceive him.
Su Ning composed herself and approached him slowly. She deliberately lifted her bangs, pointing to the corners of her eyes and forehead, and said, “Look closely, do you see any wrinkles?” Shen Mingxuan reached out, but she continued, “No makeup, see? Absolutely no wrinkles!”
As he extended his hand, Su Ning resisted the urge to dodge and allowed him to stroke her face gently.
Realizing he still didn’t intend to release her, Su Ning took matters into her own hands. She let her bangs fall and smiled apologetically, saying, “Can I go now? I still have some unfinished homework.”
Shen Mingxuan spoke slowly, “How long do you intend to play this tedious game of ‘recognizing the wrong person’? Or do you think I am so foolish that I wouldn’t recognize the face of my fiancée whom I’ve been dating for four years?”
Su Ning was stunned.
He pulled her into his embrace and whispered, “I was mistaken earlier. I should have never given you any freedom. But this time, I won’t repeat the same mistakes. We will return to the beach. I’ll buy a villa and lock you in a room. I’ll chain you up, and once you give birth to my child, I’ll remove the chain. But don’t even think about taking a single step outside on your own for the rest of your life. You’ve lost that privilege.”
“No, please don’t.” Su Ning trembled, unable to contain her fear. “You are breaking the law. The police will catch you, and you will go to prison.”
“They can try. Believe me, I won’t get caught.”
Su Ning began to panic. She realized that Shen Mingxuan was not bluffing. Can I really not escape this time? No, no! I don’t want this kind of life. What should I do?
Suddenly, a spark of hope ignited within Su Ning as she recalled the system, 555, which was said to be all-powerful.
【Su Ning: 555, are you still there? Don’t you want to bind with me?】
【444: Senior 555 has departed, I am 444.】
【Su Ning: Is there a difference?】
【444: Senior 555 is on a slightly higher level compared to me, just a little bit, like the difference of a fingernail.】
【Su Ning: Whatever, can you take me out of here?】
【444: Of course, as long as the host binds with me, I can take you into the system space to pick up a task.】
【Su Ning: Will my physical body come along?】
【444: …Yes.】
【Su Ning: I have two more questions. I heard 555 mention before that after binding, you can travel through different spaces and times. Is there an opportunity to enter a world similar to mine?】
【444: Absolutely!】
【Su Ning: The second question is, what kind of tasks will I have to do? Will there be punishment for failure?】
【444: If you can’t complete the task, you can choose to give up and re-enter the system space to select a different task. But in that case, you won’t receive any rewards.】
【Su Ning: What if I don’t complete the task and refuse to give up?】
【444: Refusing to give up means staying in that world forever. Logically speaking, if you don’t complete the task and choose not to give up, you’ll remain trapped in that world, growing old, getting sick, and eventually dying. Basically, you’ll live a normal life until old age in that world.】
【Su Ning: That’s alright. Hurry up and bind with me!】
Su Ning thought to herself, once I enter a world similar to mine, I won’t complete the task, and I won’t give up. I will be free!
444 was thrilled. It never imagined that it could successfully bind with a host when even Senior 555 couldn’t. Due to its unfortunate name, hosts assigned by the main system disliked it, and a system without a host couldn’t earn points to upgrade. So despite being one of the earliest systems created, its level remained low. It never thought it would experience the joy of successfully binding a host. Ying ying ying, how exciting!
【Su Ning: Is the binding complete?】
【444: It’s done.】
【Su Ning: Then hurry up and take me away!】
【444: Not right now. You have to be alone before I can take you away.】
Even in the car, Shen Mingxuan, who held her tightly in his arms, was dozing off with his eyes closed.
Su Ning cautiously asked, “Mingxuan, are you asleep?”
Shen Mingxuan opened his eyes and looked at her. “What’s the matter?”
“I need to use the restroom…” Su Ning said, hoping for a response. However, Shen Mingxuan remained silent, just staring at her intently. Su Ning quickly raised three fingers and said, “I swear! I only need to use the restroom. I won’t run away!”
Shen Mingxuan withdrew his hand, squeezing hers tightly. “Alright.”
“Stop at that hotel.”
The driver nodded.
Standing at the entrance of the restroom, Shen Mingxuan pressed her shoulders, looking into her eyes.
“I own this hotel, and the windows are guarded. If you dare to attempt an escape, you won’t want to know the consequences.”
Su Ning obediently nodded.
“I won’t run away.”
Only then did Shen Mingxuan allow her to enter.
After half an hour, Shen Mingxuan could no longer remain calm. He stormed into the restroom, kicking open door after door, but Su Ning had already vanished.
…
Su Ning felt a sense of dizziness in her head. When she woke up, she found herself sitting on a stool in an antique room. There were desserts on the table. Sitting across from her was an elegant woman dressed in ancient attire, speaking nonstop.
“Although your appearance is not exceptional, you must make good use of this opportunity to enter the palace. Your older sister is now an imperial concubine and can take care of you there.”
“You are the only girl entering the emperor’s palace this year. The emperor will surely call you to serve in his bed. When the time comes, remember to claim the child as your sister’s.”
“Don’t complain. You must understand that the child of an imperial concubine will receive more benefits than the child of a low-ranking noble.”