Ye Siyu had no idea how long she'd been unconscious.
In the endless darkness, she relived the same dream over and over. It was always that evening—the house brightly lit, the air thick with the aroma of food, her parents laughing, her brother goofing around. Again and again, she reached out, trying to hold on to that warmth, but every time, the scene shattered like a mirage, leaving only a cold, piercing darkness.
She didn't want to wake up. The waking world was hell.
After what felt like an eternity, a burning thirst pulled her from the darkness. Her throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire. She forced her eyes open, the white ceiling glaring down at her.
The hospital room was empty. Gu Jingshen was gone.
Good. She didn't want to see anyone. She didn't want anything to do with this world.
She lay there, a lifeless shell, as time ticked by. Each tick of the clock on the wall was a hammer blow to her hollow heart.
*There's no point in living.*
*It would be better to die. If I die, I can see Mom, Dad, and Siyuan again.*
The thought, once it took root, wrapped around her heart like a thorny vine, squeezing tighter and tighter.
She slowly turned her head, her gaze falling on the bedside table. A fruit basket sat there, and inside it, a small fruit knife. The blade glinted.
Her breathing quickened. *Just one quick cut, and it'll all be over.*
She reached out, her hand trembling with weakness, her fingertips inching toward the knife.
Just as she was about to touch the handle—
A flat, synthesized voice echoed in her mind.
[Host's vital signs are rapidly declining. Will to survive is below the critical threshold.]
[Survival Protocol activating.]
Ye Siyu froze. *Who? Who's talking?*
She looked around, her eyes darting nervously, but the room was empty. The door and windows were shut tight.
*Am I hallucinating? Has the grief finally driven me mad?*
A bitter smile touched her lips. She had to be.
She ignored the voice and reached for the knife again.
[Surrender is for the weak.]
The voice was back, cold and devoid of emotion.
[Do you want to save your family?]
The words struck Ye Siyu's heart like a physical blow. She snatched her hand back and pushed herself up in bed. The sudden movement sent a jolt of pain through her, and her vision swam.
"Who are you? Who's there?!" she yelled into the empty room, her voice hoarse.
The only answer was the sound of her own ragged breathing.
"Get out!"
[I am inside your consciousness,] the voice stated calmly. [You can think of me as an entity from a higher dimension. A system.]
Ye Siyu froze. *Consciousness? A system?* It sounded like something straight out of one of the web novels she used to read. She bit her lip, hard. The sharp pain was real. This wasn't a dream.
"What... what did you just say?" Her voice trembled. "You said... save my family? But they're... they're already..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word.
[Physically, they are deceased,] the system stated, its tone cold and factual. [However, in higher-dimensional spacetime, time is not linear. If certain conditions are met, I can send your consciousness back to a point before the accident, creating a new timeline.]
Ye Siyu's head was spinning, but she latched onto the most important words.
"Back... to before the accident?" Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart, which had felt like a dead weight in her chest, began to pound like a drum.
It was an absurd, impossible, yet incredibly tempting offer.
"Why should I believe you?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
[You have no other choice.]
The system's reply was simple and direct. And it was right. She had nothing left to lose. What could be worse than this? Even if it was a one-in-a-million chance, it was the only hope she had.
"Conditions," Ye Siyu said through gritted teeth. "What do I have to do?" She knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
[Mission Assignment:]
The system's voice was like a judge reading a verdict.
[Main Quest: Marry Shen Boyan.]
[Quest Objective: After the marriage, you must be given the Shen family heirloom, the 'Dragon Head Jade Bracelet,' as a true gift.]
[Quest Reward: Time reversal will be activated. The Host's consciousness will be transported back to three hours before the car accident.]
[Quest Deadline: One year.]
Ye Siyu was stunned into silence. For a moment, she thought she must have misheard.
"Marry who?"
[Shen Boyan.]
That reckless, flippant playboy she'd always gone out of her way to avoid? It had to be a joke.
"Impossible!" she refused without a second thought. "Why him? I don't even like him! I hate him!"
[This is the only way,] the system explained. [The 'Dragon Head Jade Bracelet' is the power source required for time reversal. Its energy is intrinsically tied to the Shen family's fate. The only way to harness that power without causing a temporal paradox is for it to be given to you freely, as a member of the family, through marriage.]
"But it can't be him!" Ye Siyu cried, her emotions flaring. "Can't it be someone else? Anyone else! Why does it have to be Shen Boyan?"
[The target is non-negotiable.] The system's voice was unyielding. [This is the optimal solution calculated by the destiny algorithm.]
*Destiny?* Ye Siyu wanted to laugh. Her destiny was to fall from heaven into hell, only to be forced by some mysterious "system" to marry the man she despised most?
"What if I refuse?" she asked, her voice cold.
[The system will sever its connection in twenty-four hours. You will lose your only chance to save your family.]
[A final reminder: Your parents and younger brother are waiting for you in a cold, lonely place.]
That last sentence was a knife to the heart. *A cold, lonely place...*
An image of the white sheet flashed in her mind—her mother's lifeless hand, the jade bracelet on her wrist... Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.
On one side was the family she loved more than life itself. On the other was a chance to get them back, but it would cost her everything—her love, her dignity, her future.
How could she possibly choose?
She clutched her head, burying her face in her knees. *Why Shen Boyan...*
She remembered his eyes, always filled with that mix of mockery and curiosity. She remembered the faint smell of tobacco on him in the hallway, and his flippant words: *"I could give you more than he ever could."* She had been disgusted by him then. Now, his words felt like a twisted prophecy.
And Gu Jingshen... How could she ever face him? The man who had stayed by her side, who had cried for her. The man she had loved since she was a child, the man she had been about to build a future with. How could she tell him she was going to marry someone else for a reason so insane it sounded like a lie?
The thought alone was more painful than death.
[Host, please make your choice. The countdown has begun.]
[23:59:58]
The cold, emotionless countdown echoed in her mind, a death knell pounding against her fragile nerves. Ye Siyu's body trembled uncontrollably.
She lifted her head, her vision blurred by tears. Outside the window, the sky was beginning to lighten. A new day was dawning, but her world would be forever frozen in that blood-red twilight.
Did she really have a choice? No. She didn't.
For her father, for her mother, for Siyuan... she would do anything. She would marry the devil himself. She would go to hell and back.
She slowly wiped the tears from her face. When she looked up again, the hollow despair in her eyes was gone, replaced by a flicker of cold, hard fire.
It was the resolve of someone who had nothing left to lose.
"I'll do it," she spoke the words into the empty room, her voice slow and clear.
"Whatever it takes, I'll bring them back."