My game, Orange Flavor, is great!

She smiled slightly, closed the book, and placed it on the table: "It's alright, it's getting late, you should rest."

The young lady's eyes immediately dimmed, and she pouted slightly in dissatisfaction, tugging at her sleeve for a moment: "Ah Zhao, it's still early..."

How old are you? Why are you still acting like a child to her?

Lu Zhao chuckled, stood up and straightened her pillow, his voice extremely soft and gentle, "Sweetie, I'll buy you something delicious when you get discharged."

"Then, will you still stay with me?" Xia Zhifei looked at her with pitiful eyes.

“Of course,” Lu Zhao said, reaching out to rub her head. “Didn’t we agree that I would come and keep you company whenever I have time?”

Having said all that, Xia Zhifei slowly shrank into the covers, covering half her face with them, and watched as Lu Zhao turned off the lights, leaving only a bedside lamp that wouldn't bother her.

"Ah Zhao..." she said from under the covers, her voice muffled.

Lu Zhao responded gently, "Hmm?"

"We'll always be this good together, right?"

She paused for a moment, turned her head to look at Xia Zhifei, who had completely covered his eyes with the blanket, and asked in a slightly hesitant voice, "Why do you ask that?"

"Because I feel... Ah Zhao seems to be drifting further and further away from me. I'm scared that one day I'll turn around and find that you're really gone."

Lu Zhao felt a pang of sadness in his heart upon hearing this, and could only sigh inwardly that they were indeed childhood sweethearts who had lived together since they were young, and no change could escape their eyes.

She had thought about it before. Now that she knew the original owner no longer existed in this world, Lu Zhao's friends would be very sad when she left this place one day.

Xia Zhifei waited a while for her to respond, then secretly pulled the blanket down further, peeking out her eyes cautiously to look at her: "A Zhao".

"Ah..." She snapped out of her daze and quickly put on a smile. "Don't overthink it. Of course I'll always be by your side, as your audience. Isn't that what we always promised each other?"

"Ah Zhao, Ah Zhao, when I step onto the biggest stage in the world, you must be in the audience and keep watching me!"

"Yes! I will always be your audience and support you forever!"

The two childish words resurfaced in Lu Zhao's mind, and her smile froze. She quickly covered it up by pulling Xia Zhifei's blanket down, "Alright, go to sleep. You need to get some rest so your wound can heal faster."

"Oh." Xia Zhifei was annoyed by her repeated urging, and reluctantly closed his eyes.

Only after hearing the other person's even breathing did Lu Zhao relax slightly and lean back in his chair.

In the dim light, his eyes were fixed on the sleeping face, his gaze flickering slightly.

Every time she lies, memories of this body and those she shared with others pop into her mind. Unconsciously, lying has gradually become one of the ways she tortures herself.

Having taken over someone else's body, taken over their friends and partners, and had to play that person, Lu Zhao didn't know how much longer he could stay cooped up in this body.

When she is finally able to go home, how will the people around her feel when they realize that she is no longer the same Lu Zhao?

Disappointment, anger, surprise...

Just imagining it makes her feel suffocated.

Just hang in there a little longer. Once the female protagonist appears, the game ends, and all the plot points are finished, she can escape this place.

Repeatedly admonishing himself in his heart, Lu Zhao finally relaxed his tightly clenched fists and placed them naturally on his knees.

The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of disinfectant, but perhaps because she had been in the hospital for so long, she had somehow gotten used to it.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard a slight noise. She immediately stood up, staring warily at the white wall behind her, and whispered, "Who's there?"

A dark shadow gradually coalesced on the wall, soon revealing a slender figure that emerged from within. However, before Lu Zhao could make a move, the figure raised its hands and whispered, "Don't do anything! It's me!"

"You are..." Lu Zhao frowned slightly, trying hard to recall a name, "Xin Xia from the second team?"

That is, the man who was with Li Manqiu when she first met him, and who didn't treat her very well.

"Yes, it's me!" Xin Xia's expression was clearly not good, as if she had been forcibly ordered by her captain to come over. "The captain said that you are invited to have a talk with her."

It's about Xiaoyue!

Lu Zhao immediately understood and relaxed his guard against the man, stepping forward to ask, "How do we leave?"

“It’s easy, but please don’t take offense if I offend anyone, Captain Lu.” Xin Xia put a hand on her shoulder and gestured for her to walk towards the wall.

She hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Xia Zhifei on the hospital bed and said, "I need your help with something. After you take me there, could you please come back and wake up the caregiver who is resting next door so she can come and watch over Xiaofei?"

Xin Xia gave her a speechless look. "Understood, Captain Lu!"

As he spoke, he grabbed her and shoved her through the wall—

Lu Zhao felt as if she had entered pitch-black water, and was being pulled by Xin Xia to move swiftly between the walls and the ground. Before she could properly observe the wonders around her, she suddenly felt her feet touch the solid ground.

When she looked up again, she was met with Li Manqiu's stern face.

"Captain, I need to take care of something. You guys chat." Xin Xia delivered the goods to the door, but before she could rest, she returned to the wall.

"Ahem!" Lu Zhao coughed lightly, subconsciously looking around at his surroundings.

It was obvious that this should be Li Manqiu's home, but what made her a little uncomfortable was that the decoration of this home looked too cold and desolate, with a monochromatic black, white and gray color scheme, and it did not feel like a home at all.

But when she looked at Li Manqiu's face again, she suddenly felt that nothing was out of place.

At that moment, Li Manqiu was sitting in front of a marble island counter, on which were two or three empty wine bottles.

Is this alcoholism?

She approached with some apprehension and took a closer look, only to find that the other person was completely calm and composed, with an incredibly clear gaze.

Well, it seems everyone else except her is a wine connoisseur.

Chapter Seventy-Six: They started sitting together and exchanging parenting tips.

Why did you suddenly drink so much?

He casually tossed the bottles aside, then sat down opposite her, frowning as he asked with concern.

Li Manqiu stared at her for a while, wondering if she had drunk herself silly, when she saw the other woman suddenly look away and say, "It's okay, this little bit of alcohol won't make me drunk."

Lu Zhao instinctively leaned back, but was surprised to find that he didn't smell much alcohol on the other person's breath.

Well, she really is a wine connoisseur, completely different from ordinary people like her who can't hold their liquor.

She coughed lightly and said seriously, "Alright, let's get back to the point. You're looking for me so late and in such a secretive way, Xiaoyue should be here, right?"

“Hmm,” Li Manqiu responded lightly, stood up and looked at the kitchen behind her, “There’s a secret room here, I’ve put the person in there first.”

As she spoke, perhaps because she was a little tipsy, she grabbed Lu Zhao's hand and pulled him toward her.

Ah this...

The moment the cool fingers touched his skin, Lu Zhao couldn't help but get goosebumps all over. He wanted to break free, but he was afraid that they wouldn't let him take care of the child, so he could only endure it for the time being.

Li Manqiu pulled her along as they entered the kitchen. She reached into the cabinet at the foot of the floor and groped around for a while. After pressing a hidden button, she heard a soft grinding sound coming from inside.

Lu Zhao was stunned as he watched as a storage cabinet in front of him slowly moved aside, revealing a dark passage leading straight to the ground.

“To prevent the news from leaking out, even Xin Xia didn’t know how there was such a secret room here. During the day, I let Duan Yue come up to play by herself,” Li Manqiu said lightly beside her. “Lu Zhao, you are the first person besides me to know about this secret room.”

Although she really wanted to remind her that the cement worker who built this room probably knew as well, Lu Zhao ultimately refrained from making a complaint.

Following her down the mountain with a flashlight, Lu Zhao felt the environment was getting worse the further down he went.

It's a basement!

It was damp and pitch black everywhere.

Xiaoyue must be having a very hard time living here!

Before her maternal instincts could fully take over, Li Manqiu stopped in front of a door and gently knocked a few times.

After a moment of silence, Lu Zhao's heart was in his throat when he heard a soft, sweet voice from inside the door: "Who is it?"

"Can I...can I come in?" Li Manqiu's voice was noticeably gentler.

A moment later, there was a sound at the door, and a small, thin figure opened it. Due to her height, she could only see Li Manqiu standing in the doorway, and immediately smiled sweetly: "Good evening, sister!"

Lu Zhao was stunned when he saw Duan Yue's pink bubble pajamas and the bright, gentle light in the background.

Although it's a basement, the decor is much warmer than the outside. Besides the colorful walls that are more suitable for children, there's also a bunch of toys in the middle of the small living room.

This... is not quite the dark and gloomy basement she imagined?

While she was still in a daze, the person in front of her moved aside and said gently to Duan Yue, "Xiao Yue, look who's here."

"Mom!" Duan Yue's eyes lit up, and she skipped and pounced on her bare feet.

Lu Zhao then came to his senses, a happy smile appearing on his face. He quickly squatted down and gently hugged her, saying, "Xiaoyue, Mom has come to see you."

"Mmm! Mom, I miss you so much!"

Lu Zhao scooped up the barefoot Xiaoyue, took off his shoes, and quickly stepped inside, sitting down on the small sofa with her in his arms. "Little one, why aren't you asleep at this hour? Aren't you afraid you won't grow tall?"

"My sister told me that Mom would be coming tonight, so she told me to wait!" Duan Yue quickly tossed the pot to Li Manqiu.

eh?

Somewhat surprised, Lu Zhao turned to look at the person at the door, only to find that the other person was bending down and putting his shoes, which he had casually taken off at the door, into the shoe cabinet. Lu Zhao stood up a little embarrassedly, "Um... I can do it."

“It’s alright.” Li Manqiu shook her head calmly, closed the door and came in. “Why don’t you and Xiaoyue go into the bedroom and talk for a while? I’ll tidy up the toys here.”

She watched him diligently tidy up the living room, feeling a little embarrassed, but also mindful that Duan Yue was still there. "Okay then, thank you."

"You're welcome." The tone remained indifferent.

Carrying the child into the room, Lu Zhao discovered that it was decorated quite warmly, with even more stars hanging from the ceiling. If she were told that this wasn't specially arranged for Duan Yue, she certainly wouldn't believe it.

Li Manqiu looks to be about the same age as her, and there are no rumors about her dating. In addition, she is one of the potential romantic partners, and she is definitely single before the female lead appears, so it is even less likely that she will have a child.

She felt a pang of sadness watching this, so she hugged Duan Yue and lay down on the soft bed together. After playing around for a while, she asked, "Xiao Yue, do you think that older sister outside is good to you?"

“That’s great!” Duan Yue said happily, gazing at the twinkling stars on the ceiling. “My sister cooks me delicious food every night when she comes home, buys me toys, and teaches me to read!”

To be honest, Lu Zhao couldn't quite imagine that the usually cold-faced Captain Li would patiently teach children to read.

But since Xiaoyue has already said that...

She gently patted the child's head and said, "Alright, it's so late. If you don't go to sleep now, you won't grow tall."

"Then I want Mommy to read me a story!" Xiaoyue said sweetly, grabbing her hand with sparkling eyes.

Well, just like her young lady, she needs to be coaxed to sleep.

Helpless, Lu Zhao searched for a long time by the bed before finally finding a book of Andersen's fairy tales. He read it softly, and after some time, he saw the restless little boy gradually close his eyes.

It's really not easy to coax a child.