Chapter 23: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Master, I’ve Achieved Enlightenment
Dong Ling felt a strange sensation in her body.
A feeling of restlessness, as if seeds were rapidly taking root and sprouting within her, expanding, branches spreading through every blood vessel.
She was like dry tinder, so parched that even without a spark, the friction of air alone could ignite her.
The girl in front of her had innocent-looking makeup, but her attire was extremely daring. Dong Ling felt dizzy just glancing down.
“No need.”
Dong Ling’s throat moved slightly, the heat causing dehydration and making her extremely thirsty. She put on a cold expression and refused, wanting to get away from the crowd.
But the busty girl thought she was playing hard to get. Why would she swallow if she wasn’t interested? She had been eyeing Dong Ling for a while now, this face was simply heavenly.
“Sister, my special blend is very thirst-quenching, you’ll like it.”
The girl pressed closer, showing off her assets.
Dong Ling pushed her away and wiggled her manicured fingers, hoping the other party would back off, understanding that she wasn’t into girls.
The girl suddenly understood and immediately changed her approach, saying: “Is it inconvenient to remove your nail polish? It’s okay, sister, you can just lie down.”
The girl didn’t mind, Dong Ling was beautiful, she wasn’t against it either.
“I’m straight.”
Dong Ling took a deep breath, her beautiful features slightly contorted.
Where did she look not straight???
“Is that so…” The girl said regretfully, took out a business card, and placed it in Dong Ling’s hand, “Then if you ever want to try a woman, be sure to contact me.”
Dong Ling ignored her and fled in her high heels.
She didn’t want to! She didn’t want to at all!
Dong Ling called out to 021 in her mind: [Dude, help me find the nearest room.]
021 said apologetically: [I can, but it will require some main storyline energy…]
Dong Ling interrupted mercilessly: [Forget it, useless system.]
The hard-earned main storyline progress shouldn’t be wasted on such things.
021 didn’t dare to say a word, biting its handkerchief and shedding tears. The girl was so heartless, calling it “dude” when she needed it, and “useless” when she didn’t. Wuwuwu, which system could endure such grievance?
Dong Ling ignored the sobbing system in her mind. Her vision was starting to blur, she threw the business card aside, grabbed a waiter, and asked where the nearest room was.
The waiter, understanding perfectly, took Dong Ling to a private lounge. Dong Ling entered, locked the door behind her, and stumbled towards the bathroom.
Water sprayed from the showerhead, drenching Dong Ling’s head, sliding down her hair. The cold water made her shiver in the winter, but it also made her slightly more alert.
Dong Ling turned off the faucet, took out her phone from her handbag, and was about to contact Chen Shang Shang, who had disappeared, asking her to come and take her away.
Only when the call went unanswered did Dong Ling remember that Chen Shang Shang’s phone was broken and couldn’t receive calls, otherwise she wouldn’t have come here looking for her.
The heat surged back intensely, Dong Ling collapsed on the floor, her mind gradually becoming hazy, as if filled with super-strength glue, sticking all her thoughts together, turning her into a wooden, inorganic being, unable to feel or think.
Dong Ling struggled to keep her eyes open, searching for a contact. She didn’t want her family to know about this and subconsciously dialed Song Mingzhi’s number.
When the phone rang, Song Mingzhi was discussing indices with Ji Yiling. She didn’t look at the caller ID immediately, and only glanced at the screen after a few seconds, then put the phone to her ear.
“I… ugh… Ruyi Mansion 417… help…”
Dong Ling’s voice was slurred, followed by the sound of rushing water, covering up all other sounds.
Song Mingzhi was startled, immediately stood up from her chair, grabbed her coat from the coat rack as she walked towards the door, and explained to Ji Yiling: “My friend is in trouble, I’ll talk about this later.”
“Okay, do you need me…”
Ji Yiling also stood up, but before she could finish, the door closed.
“To help?”
She paused and finished her sentence.
Song Mingzhi opened the navigation app and stepped on the gas pedal.
The call was still connected, but the only sound coming from the other end was the endless rushing water, like the incessant mechanical sound of rain, without any other noise.
This made Song Mingzhi extremely uneasy. Various possible scenes flashed through her mind, her palms turning cold.
She rushed to Ruyi Mansion as quickly as possible, pushed through the laughing crowd, and went upstairs.
At the door of room 417, Song Mingzhi found the door locked. She frowned and twisted the doorknob, considering the possibility of breaking in.
“Ling Ling, are you in there? I’m here, open the door!”
Song Mingzhi knocked on the door, speaking to the person inside, and also to the person on the other end of the phone.
There was no response.
Just as Song Mingzhi was about to find someone to open the door, she heard a noise from the other end of the phone.
She knocked even more urgently, shouting Dong Ling’s name.
The sound of the lock turning came, and the door opened.
Song Mingzhi didn’t expect to see Dong Ling like this.
She was drenched, her face pale but flushed, like a pitiful, homeless, and strangely alluring ghost wandering in a rainy night.
Song Mingzhi immediately supported the swaying Dong Ling, and hearing footsteps approaching from the stairwell, pulled her inside and closed the door.
Even lifting her eyelids was a great effort for Dong Ling. She felt both hot and cold, her body trembling violently. Water droplets dripped from her eyelashes, blurring her vision.
She didn’t know who was holding her and subconsciously resisted.
“Don’t touch me.”
The person’s face was blurry, Dong Ling’s voice was filled with disgust, she tugged at her hair, trying to stay conscious.
Song Mingzhi was caught off guard and pushed away by Dong Ling. Hearing her cold tone, she knew she wasn’t quite fully conscious. She used a towel placed aside to wipe the water droplets from Dong Ling’s face, repeating: “It’s me, Song Mingzhi.”
021 chimed in: [Don’t worry, it’s Song Mingzhi, not a stranger.]
Hearing the voice in her mind, Dong Ling lowered her guard. Seeing Song Mingzhi’s familiar features, she breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed into Song Mingzhi’s arms.
“Why did it take you so long…”
Her voice was weak, with a hint of grievance.
Seeing her sudden change in demeanor, Song Mingzhi felt an inexplicable itch in her heart.
“I’m sorry I’m late, it’s okay now.”
Song Mingzhi didn’t mind Dong Ling’s wet clothes soaking hers, and used the towel to dry Dong Ling’s hair.
The flush on Dong Ling’s face became even more pronounced, and she started to struggle in Song Mingzhi’s arms, her thoughts in disarray, her face showing her inner conflict.
She was about to push the person away, but seemed to realize something and mumbled: “It’s Song Mingzhi… it’s okay…”
Song Mingzhi’s heart stirred, her voice hoarse without her realizing it.
“Others can’t touch you, but Song Mingzhi can?”
“Song Mingzhi… of course…”
Dong Ling’s eyes were vacant, she didn’t know what she was saying, repeating Song Mingzhi’s name over and over.
In her subconscious, Song Mingzhi was absolutely safe, not just as a friend she knew, but also with the blind trust brought by the female lead’s halo. As the pillar of this world, how could she have any bad intentions?
Song Mingzhi didn’t know what she was thinking, looking at Dong Ling’s completely dependent appearance, the itch in her heart swelled, almost filling her entire chest.
No one would dislike being treated specially, the girl was indifferent to others, but showed her vulnerability in front of her.
Song Mingzhi coaxed her gently: “Ling Ling, can you change out of your wet clothes? I’ll call a doctor for you later.”
Song Mingzhi had the urge to help Dong Ling change out of her wet clothes, but she felt it would be taking advantage of her, as she hadn’t decided whether to accept the girl’s feelings yet. She couldn’t let her have any unnecessary thoughts, or Dong Ling would be very embarrassed when she sobered up.
Dong Ling pinched herself, nodded, and watching Song Mingzhi turn her back, took off her wet clothes.
021, who had been watching everything, breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the task system hadn’t issued a task yet, she absolutely couldn’t be taken advantage of again!
Song Mingzhi heard the sound of the heavy, wet clothes falling to the floor. She lowered her head and contacted Wang Buli, asking her to come here.
She originally wanted to take Dong Ling away directly, but she wasn’t sure if there was a back exit. If they had to go through the front, there were too many people, and the news would spread within half a day.
Since Dong Ling came to this party, it meant this was within her social circle, so she would be easily recognized. Song Mingzhi didn’t want her to be caught in rumors, so she decided to have her doctor friend come and check on her.
After contacting Wang Buli, Song Mingzhi didn’t hear any more sounds from behind her. She was about to turn around to check when she felt a warm touch on her back.
Soft, moist, fragrant.
“Mingzhi, I feel uncomfortable…”
She unconsciously called her name, her voice like a fluttering butterfly.
Song Mingzhi stiffened, she clumsily took off her coat, then quickly wrapped it around Dong Ling, bundling her up and moving her to the bed.
Dong Ling was dragged towards the bed, her toes barely touching the ground as if she was dancing ballet, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor.
Dong Ling was wrapped into a cocoon. Song Mingzhi pulled out her coat, carefully wrapped the person up, and then let out a sigh of relief.
It was December, but she felt like it was June, her forehead covered in sweat. Her face was still pale, but her neck was flushed.
Wrapped up like this, Dong Ling quickly started sweating from the heat. She closed her eyes and struggled, but trapped by the quilt, she could only thrash her legs.
Wang Buli quickly arrived with a first-aid kit. By the time she arrived, the struggling cocoon was almost asleep. She gave Dong Ling a sedative with a sleeping agent and then drew some blood.
“I’ll go back to the hospital and test the components, then I’ll tell you the results. It doesn’t seem too serious, don’t worry.”
Wang Buli comforted her worried friend, and then left as quickly as she came.
Song Mingzhi looked at the quietly sleeping girl, wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, and helped her cool down.
After rushing back to the hospital and doing the tests, Wang Buli called Song Mingzhi.
“It’s not a very strong aphrodisiac, and there are no known hallucinogenic or addictive components. It seems like a common stimulant circulating on the market, just for recreational use, it shouldn’t cause someone to lose their mind. Your friend has lower drug resistance than average. Such a constitution is rare but does exist. She’s more sensitive. You should remind her to be careful in the future. Something that doubles the sensitivity for ordinary people might be ten times stronger for her.”
“I’ve already given her an injection. She doesn’t need further treatment, the drug will wear off on its own, she’ll be fine after a good sleep.”
Song Mingzhi was finally relieved. She removed the towel from Dong Ling’s face, sat down on the sofa, and video called Ji Yiling to continue working.
Dong Ling woke up two hours later, her memory returning. She lay in bed contemplating life.
She didn’t want to face it.
021 comforted her: [Girl, it’s okay, it wasn’t for nothing this time.]
Dong Ling didn’t want to talk, was that the point?
After lying down for a while, Dong Ling suddenly became energized and said to 021 excitedly: [This is great!]
Dong Ling was elated: [I think I won’t have to suffer any more social death doing tasks in the future!]
021: [Huh?]
Dong Ling: [Clearly Song Mingzhi has no feelings for me, so she’s a straight woman with no such concept, then what’s there to be afraid of with kissing scenes, kisses, or bed scenes?]
Straight women wouldn’t overthink it!
Dong Ling had achieved enlightenment.
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