It seems that the villain is targeting me.

"It's not a bother," the doctor looked at her, his eyes revealing genuine affection. "We are... friends. You don't have to bother me."

Xiao Niao didn't reply and seemed still hesitant.

Chen Xiaoyue felt extremely sad, and the feeling of grievance made her eyes sore. Thousands of words came to her mind at once, but she couldn't say a single word.

Normally, Dr. Chen is not a very emotional or impulsive person. The fact that she can work as a doctor in the emergency department is enough to prove the calm and composed side of her character.

But when facing Xiao Niao, the doctor seems to lose his composure easily.

She seemed to be facing an older person, and she would be a little restrained when speaking, and would easily feel that she had done something wrong - even though she was the older one.

Chen Xiaoyue acted too impulsively and too eagerly, as if she had suddenly become the helpless child she was many years ago, so weak that she could only look up at her protector.

Later she grew up, experienced many things, and worked hard to earn some fame and status.

She was eager to present all the best things to that person, trying clumsily to express her appreciation.

...but the other party could no longer recognize her.

The sadness in Chen Xiaoyue's eyes was so great that it almost overflowed, but the corners of her mouth were still trying hard to raise, pretending to smile.

She spoke softly, "It's okay. You'll still be in the hospital for a while. Think about it. Don't rush to reply to me..."

The doctor was feeling uneasy when something that was ruining the mood between the two of them started to develop again.

The long-haired cat, which had been ignored as a background for a long time, squirmed in the bird's hands and meowed "meow meow meow".

It seemed a little afraid of Chen Xiaoyue, and was trying hard to get into Xiaoniao's arms, trying to bury its head like an ostrich.

Dr. Chen suddenly felt that this fat cat was extremely annoying.

She reached out her hand coldly, grabbed the long-haired cat Fate by the scruff of its neck, and pulled its head back as it stretched forward.

Xiao Niao didn't let go, but just looked at her nervously. Doctor Chen gave her a polite smile and explained, "Pets are not allowed in the ward. Leave it to me."

"Well, doctor, I'm sorry, it was wrong of me to bring a pet in," Xiao Niao said a little stutteringly, "but this cat is mine..."

Chen Xiaoyue didn't ask Xiaoniao, "How did you get the cat when you were paralyzed and bedridden for almost a month and could only get out of bed the day before yesterday?" Instead, she nodded and tried to comfort the other party.

"Don't worry," Dr. Chen said, "I'll take care of the cat. You just need to focus on recovering."

Xiao Niao could only watch as the long-haired cat was carried away by Dr. Chen with one hand.

...It must be said that she is worthy of being a doctor. Chen Xiaoyue easily picked up the fat cat that took a lot of effort to catch the bird.

However, Dr. Chen was indeed very busy at work, and it was not realistic for her to take care of the pet herself. In the end, she sent the long-haired cat to a nearby pet shop for short-term foster care.

Later, Xiao Niao heard that after the cat went in, it refused to eat cat food or canned food. It stayed in a corner all day, depressed and even lost its hair due to worry.

Xiao Niao simply imagined the scene and felt that the system, which was like a golden finger, had actually been reduced to licking cat strips... It seemed normal for it to lose hair.

This has probably refreshed the bottom line of Hedgehog Cat's embarrassing system, right?

Xiao Niao and Chen Xiaoyue miraculously returned to their original harmonious state.

Time passed quickly between work and recuperation, and in the blink of an eye it was time to be discharged from the hospital.

Xiaoniao went through the discharge procedures herself and encountered no obstacles throughout the process: just as the agent had said before, all the expenses incurred for the treatment were settled, and even medical insurance was not used.

Xiao Niao tried to inquire about the source of the funds, but was immediately disappointed to find that the money was transferred from more than a dozen different accounts and there was no way to trace it.

Yes, how could the master controller make it so easy for people to find clues about him?

Xiao Niao grew up in the real world, so didn’t he notice the abnormality in reality?

Thinking of this, one can't help but feel a little discouraged. Xiaoniao took a few seconds to calm down, completed the remaining procedures, and prepared to leave the hospital.

She was brought in by ambulance and had no personal belongings with her. Her only set of clothes was cut into pieces during the rescue. The belongings she could take away were very few.

Xiao Niao picked up the things and put them away, walked down the stairs, came to the door of the inpatient department, and looked up to see a car not far away.

Chen Xiaoyue drove the car to Xiaoniao and stopped. She rolled down the window, turned her head and said to Xiaoniao, "Get in the car. I'll take you to get the cat back."

...This is really a perfect excuse.

Doctor Chen Xiaoyue looked up at her patiently, without urging her. She just looked quite friendly and waited quietly for the bird's choice.

Xiao Niao thought about it and felt that he seemed to have no choice.

She had to pick up that stupid cat first and find a place for it to stay tonight.

Xiao Niao didn't have much money left, so she could still afford to stay in a cheap hotel, but they definitely wouldn't let her bring the cat in - if she brought that stupid cat with her, she would really have no choice but to hide under a small blanket under the bridge.

The steps have been laid out so neatly for you, and if you still refuse stubbornly you will only be asking for trouble.

Xiao Niao thought rather pessimistically: Even if the doctor wants to cut my kidneys, I have no choice but to accept it, right?

She then pulled out the passenger seat and thanked the doctor in a hoarse voice.

Chen Xiaoyue smiled gently at her.

The heater in the car was on high. Xiao Niao leaned back in the passenger seat and soon fell asleep in a daze.

She had just recovered from a serious illness and was not very energetic yet, so she slept soundly. When Chen Xiaoyue gently woke her up, she had already arrived at her destination.

Xiao Niao looked back at the back seat of the car and found that the long-haired cat had been placed on the back seat. It was now looking at him pitifully through the railings of the cat box.

Chen Xiaoyue was not in the car, perhaps still talking to someone in the pet shop.

This was a good opportunity. Xiao Niao reached out and unlocked the cat box. The long-haired cat immediately slipped out like a fish, looking at Xiao Niao with tears in its eyes, as if it would cry in the next second.

"Man," whimpered the longhair cat.

"Woo woo woo, man, you finally came to save me."

Xiao Niao really wants to ask, "Can you use a slightly more normal way to address me? This generational hierarchy is really random and unclear!"

But she held back, feeling that she shouldn't be so harsh on a cat.

Xiao Niao said seriously, "Keep your story short. The doctor may be back at any time."

The long-haired cat was cheered up by these words.

It has suffered a serious psychological trauma from the custody life in the past few days - and it is even more terrified of the human who sent it in.

"Yes, it's like this," the long-haired cat said, its tail standing up nervously. "I saw the message I left for Number Three, so I thought maybe you could save it..."

Xiao Niao's brows furrowed.

Tongzi's situation is indeed not good... I was wondering how it could leave without even saying goodbye.

Xiao Niao nodded to the long-haired cat, indicating that he should continue.

As if it had thought of something, the long-haired cat's ears folded back into airplane ears, and it looked extremely depressed.

"It's a long story..."

It said dejectedly, "Don't look at me as a cat now, but I used to be a serious system... It's just that because of too many mission failures and multiple downgrades in authority, I became like this now..."

Xiao Niao thought, what a fool he is.

She tried to make her tone as gentle as possible: "Well, then? Tell me the main point."

"Then, since I had nothing to do, I was just wandering around the public channel—and I saw the message the guy wrote to number three!"

The long-haired cat became excited: "It's that note... Our 716 family's databases are all interconnected, so I recognize what's written on it!"

Xiao Niao quickly asked, "Did Tongzi see the message?"

The long-haired cat shook its head dejectedly. "No... 71603 has now become a computing module under the master controller. Its authority is even lower than mine. It has to work day and night every day, without any control at all... Woo..."

Xiao Niao received a large amount of information in a short period of time. She quickly digested all the information and tried to sort out the mess in her mind.

She looked at Idiot No. 4 in front of her with a headache.

Xiao Niao asked tentatively: "...I remember you said you came to me for help. What do you want me to help you with?"

The long-haired cat wagged its tail and its pointed ears twitched along with it.

It glanced out the window and said anxiously, "I need—I need a host who is willing to sign a contract with me!"

Xiao Niao was a little stunned: "What does this mean?"

At this time, the figure of a doctor could be vaguely seen outside the car window. She seemed to have finished negotiating with the people in the pet shop and was turning back towards the car.

The long-haired cat suddenly became anxious: "That's right, brother, are you willing to sign a contract with me and become Ma Houshao - no, to save the small world!"

Xiao Niao thought, wow, I am very familiar with the rhetoric of your system. Tongzi used the same words to bluff me back then.

She then shook her head indifferently at Number Four: "I have no reason to take on new tasks. What good would it do me?"

"Yes, yes."

The long-haired cat emphasized desperately, "I know there's a small world that the main controller has been unable to process for a long time. Several dispatchers have been assigned to it but have failed to successfully resolve it."

"If you're willing to deal with the 'chaos' of that world, I can use this opportunity to negotiate with the Master Controller and redeem Number Three for my use—that way, ownership of 71603 will be yours again!"

Xiao Niao looked at the big cat with messy fur with a scrutinizing gaze, as if judging the truthfulness of its words.

She pondered for a while, then asked, "Then what benefits will you get if I sign a contract with you?"

The long-haired cat stretched out its paw and waved it in the air, looking a little embarrassed.

"Well, it's like this. My authority has been reduced to the lowest level, so I can't sign a new host. And if I fail the mission again, I'll be forced to do hard labor."

"I wanted to try my luck here, sir..."

The long-haired cat's voice gradually lowered as he spoke: "If you succeed in your mission, I can also restore the original system permissions..."

The doctor was almost at the car door, and the long-haired cat quickly stuck its butt out and got into the cat box, while mumbling to Xiao Niao in a muffled voice: "Hey, hey, think about it."

Xiao Niao reached out and locked the cat box again without saying a word.

As soon as she retracted her arm, Chen Xiaoyue opened the car door and returned to the driver's seat.

"you're awake?"

Dr. Chen seemed to be in a good mood and had been smiling since he got into the car.

"We'll be home in a little while," she said. "I've prepared the basic necessities for you in advance. Just let me know if you need anything... Is there anything you'd like to eat tonight?"

Xiao Niao was silent for a while, his mood a little downcast: "Just keep it simple."

Doctor Chen started the car and said, "Okay, let's keep it simple."

The car was driving on the road and passing through a tunnel. A large shadow fell on the front window, covering Xiao Niao's expression.

She sat in the passenger seat and closed her eyes tiredly. The wound that had recently healed began to throb slightly again.

Chapter 9 God always likes to play some harmless jokes

and also

Perhaps it was true, Gwyneth thought, that sometimes God liked to play harmless jokes on humans.

Strictly speaking, Gwen is not actually a very devout believer - this may be an essential quality for a qualified leader.

For example, sayings like "king's power is granted by God" and "the destiny is determined by fate" are fine to deceive others, but be careful not to deceive yourself.

In short, Gwyneth stopped believing in the existence of gods in this world a long time ago.

Even if there really is a God in this world, His hands that manipulate the fate of mortals must not have any body temperature.

The empire is in the depths of winter.

It is now approaching the end of the year, and as the weather gets colder, people throughout the capital are beginning to look forward to the New Year holiday.

This was a public holiday set by the former Prime Minister after he revised the Gregorian calendar, and it was eventually even written into the calendar - even the most stingy employer had to give his workers enough time off during these days.

Although the actual celebration is still some time away, the capital is already shrouded in the atmosphere of the upcoming festival.

But everything in the outside world seems to have little to do with Gwyneth.

Her Majesty the Empress of the Empire is not one who enjoys feasting and having fun. She is extremely diligent in her work. Apart from necessary rest, she spends almost all of her time immersed in government affairs, like a tireless puppet.

The inner court ministers also revealed that His Majesty often works until late at night and only goes to bed when he feels tired... and rarely actually returns to the bedroom.

But even though he seldom went back to rest, His Majesty still specifically instructed the chief steward of the inner court: to maintain the original layout of the bedroom, there is no need to replace any furnishings, and everything should remain as it was.

So after more than ten years, the room remained the same as before.

The ink pen, arm guard, and blanket that Xiaoniao used to use to keep warm at night were still placed in the same place as she used them, without even a trace of dust.

No one could guess that their owner had been dead for more than ten years.

Sometimes, Gwyneth feels that her behavior is extremely contradictory.

She has been trying her best to preserve the traces of the bird in her life, but she always unconsciously avoids the situation of being reminded of the bird when seeing the bird.