Chapter 072: I Won't Stay Trapped in Your Cage Forever
Knock knock knock—
The sound of knocking woke Ye Zhen.
She opened her eyes groggily and looked toward the door.
"Zhenzhen, how long has it been since you last ate? No matter what, please eat something, okay? Consider it a favor from Dad."
Outside the door, it was Ye Dad's voice.
Ye Zhen hesitated for a moment before getting out of bed, unlocking the door, and opening it.
"I'm not hungry. Please take it away."
She wasn't pretending; she genuinely wasn't hungry.
Ye Dad sighed and said, "Then, let's discuss your college application."
Ye Zhen frowned.
Hadn't she already submitted her application?
Could it be held up again?
"We won't oppose your wish to go to South City, but you must choose either finance or management. Zhenzhen, please don't be stubborn about this. Your parents will grow old and won't be able to manage this family business for you forever. One day, everything will depend on you…"
Watching her father's earnest expression, Ye Zhen clenched her fingers helplessly.
She lowered her head.
Truthfully, the choice of major didn't matter much.
She was someone who thrived on going with the flow, never having any concrete life plans—just wanting to live comfortably.
Why had she chosen art?
It was probably because outside the hospital ward where she'd once lain, there was a long gallery. She happened to glance at the paintings a few extra times, and a thought sprouted in her heart: "I want to try that too."
Now, she wanted to tell Ye Dad that she wouldn't stay here long. Someday, someone more suited than her would come along to take over this business without any pressure. He didn't need to put them both in an awkward position.
But…
The words stopped at her lips.
In this family, personal preferences have never mattered.
They wouldn't listen to her words, even though right now, they seemed to value her deeply.
"Alright, I'll follow your arrangements. Whatever you decide is fine with me."
Ye Zhen agreed to the major change.
And then, not quite giving up, she asked:
"So, can I go out for a walk today?"
The joy in Ye Dad's eyes quickly faded.
He shook his head apologetically. "Zhenzhen, please stay home a little longer. Whatever you want, Mom and I will bring it back for you."
The terror of losing his daughter—he couldn't bear to experience it again.
He knew full well that confining Ye Zhen at her age was utterly unreasonable, yet Ye Dad had made his decision.
He had a premonition that if he let Ye Zhen go out now, he would lose his daughter once more.
"Then I don't want anything."
Ye Zhen took a step back and closed the door.
She turned her head and glanced at the balcony.
The wind rustled the curtains, making a rustling sound.
Ye Zhen stared blankly at the large tree outside the window and couldn't help but let out a laugh.
Whether it was Ye Fuli or her parents, it seemed everyone was trying to tame her.
But it was merely being confined to a small room…
Nothing more than that.
What might be unbearable for others was all too easy to accept for Ye Zhen, who had spent a decade confined to bed in her previous life.
"Go ahead, lock me up for another ten years if you dare."
Ye Zhen hummed a tune as she settled back into the executive chair, booted up her computer, and resumed grinding away at the game.
"This is so much better than when I was sick! Back then, I didn't have a computer to play with, no snacks or drinks on demand, and no one to talk to me either."
[Hostie is so pitiful, this cute little me is about to cry, sniffle sniffle~]
"Cry my ass! You useless system, hurry up and figure out a way for me to run farther next time!"
Ye Zhen seemed surprisingly upbeat.
She even had a hint of a smile on her lips.
The dog system couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Its lazy host might be useless, but upon reflection, she actually had some value…
[Host, consider taking on some missions? New ones have spawned here—they might greatly aid your escape.]
Ye Zhen's eyes lit up. "What are we waiting for? Get on with it!"
[Currently available simple tasks include: "Self-study any four-year college major and achieve a passing grade," "Master basic culinary skills," and "Master dance techniques and learn at least one dance routine." Interested?]
Listening to the system's task announcements, Ye Zhen's mind was filled with question marks.
"Wait! Aren't these tasks a bit too wholesome?"
It wasn't surprising that Ye Zhen asked such a question. After all, the tasks this dog system had assigned before were all related to the female lead and were rather unconventional.
Now that it suddenly turned serious, she found it a bit hard to adjust.
[Host, are you suggesting you want more challenging tasks?]
Hmm…
A sudden, uneasy premonition stirred within Ye Zhen.
What exactly did it mean by "more challenging tasks"?
Could it be that all future missions involving the female lead would be considerably tougher?
"Tell me what they are first?"
[Currently available difficult tasks include: "Engage in combat with the female lead, Ye Fuli, and subdue her," "Earn money from the female lead, Ye Fuli, amounting to at least ten million," and "Get the female lead, Ye Fuli, drunk once and record her drunken ramblings." Are you interested?]
After hearing the tasks, Ye Zhen fell silent once more.
Hmph, these are all deadly tasks indeed.
Not a single one was within her capabilities!
Still, these were optional quests. As long as they appeared, Ye Zhen never refused them. If she managed to complete one, she might even snag a reward along the way, right?
So…
What rewards did this pile of tasks offer?
[Complete any one easy quest to gain mastery of a life skill, such as appliance repair, beauty and hair styling, welding, operating an excavator…]
[Complete any difficult task to gain one chance to do something reckless.]
"A chance to take a huge risk?"
Ye Zhen perked up instantly.
"What does that mean?"
[It means that while you have this chance, whether you jump off a building, dive into the ocean, fall off a cliff, or even mistake arsenic for candy water—this little cutie can ensure you walk away unscathed, not even a hair out of place~]
Hearing this, Ye Zhen finally understood.
This wasn't an opportunity to court disaster at all.
This was her chance to make a clean break!
A chance to escape the Ye family completely, to escape Ye Fuli!
"Very well. I'll take this mission."
Ye Zhen's eyes shone brightly, and the corners of her mouth lifted.
"My life will never be trapped in this cage forever. I refuse to be a puppet they manipulate at will."
Money and power were certainly appealing.
But what Ye Zhen craved above all else was freedom.
In her previous life, she had been trapped in a hospital ward for ten years—a helpless situation.
This time around, she would escape—far, far away!
……
……
In the blink of an eye, it was late night again.
Ye Fuli climbed back over the balcony railing tonight, carrying a box of egg tarts, a box of red velvet cakes, and a cup of grass jelly. She slipped into her room.
"I ordered the wrong takeout today—all stuff I don't like. It'd be a waste to throw it away, so I'll give it to you."
She placed the items on Ye Zhen's desk.
Seeing Ye Zhen wasn't gaming, she couldn't help but let out a "tsk": "You're reading?"
Ye Zhen held a calculus textbook in her hands.
She was proficient in mathematics, but that proficiency came from three years of academic study.
Here, she could offer some help, but not much.
Still, Ye Zhen had made significant strides in understanding examples and formulas compared to before. Her self-study progress was rapid, and after a full day of learning, her head didn't ache too badly.
Having a system was pretty awesome!
"Here, you've made a mistake." Ye Fuli reached out and pointed to her solution steps.
"Oh." Ye Zhen picked up her scratch paper again and recalculated.
Ye Fuli watched her work quietly, a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.
The cramped desk was already covered in stacks of scribbled draft paper.
She picked up a couple of sheets at random to glance over them.
It wasn't scribbles—she was seriously working through the problems.
"Did I get it right this time?" Ye Zhen handed her the scrap paper.
Ye Fuli didn't need to take a pen and calculate carefully; she could tell right away whether it was correct or not.
She nodded and set the papers aside.
His gaze fixed intently on Ye Zhen.
"Something's off about you."