The voice of the main system was as calm and monotonous as last time, sounding like a completely emotionless machine.
It suddenly popped up in Lu Shizhen's sight, and disappeared instantly after displaying the entire judgment content.
Qiuqiu floated over with a somewhat dejected voice, and compared to the heroic and high-spirited voice last time, her voice was full of frustration: "I tried my best, host, but the main system rejected my appeal."
In fact, when Qiuqiu didn't show up this afternoon, Lu Shizhen realized where it had gone and was prepared to punish it.
But she didn't expect that the main system would choose to notify her at this time, and suddenly give her a blow in such a wonderful situation that she thought was beautiful.
She had just felt the warmth and sense of belonging that she had never felt before, but suddenly she fell into an ice cellar.
It was as if the main system was deliberately reminding her that this world was just an unrealistic dream and you shouldn't attach too much emotion to it.
Lu Shizhen paused for a moment, then asked calmly: "Then do you know what the punishment is?"
"It should be the same as last time." Qiuqiu replied, "The main system will treat the hosts' violations according to their wishes..."
When Lu Shizhen heard Qiuqiu's answer, he frowned slightly.
However, she was not angry about the main system's threat to her weakness, but rather she said something off topic: "You should update and improve your language library."
Without going crazy or giving up on himself, Lu Shizhen just calmly reminded and complained.
Qiuqiu felt a little scared after hearing this, and flapped his wings to fly to her nose: "Host, what's wrong with you? I'm a little scared..."
Lu Shizhen looked at the cowardly look of the ball in front of him, and probably knew that he was too calm compared to the past, so he couldn't help but smile, and his voice became more calm: "What are you afraid of? Are you not allowing people to grow? Didn't I say yesterday that I would accept any punishment?"
"Host..." Qiuqiu's originally emotionless body suddenly felt a little sour after hearing these words. She leaned awkwardly on Lu Shizhen's face, as if hugging her, "It's really not easy for you."
"You know it's not easy for me. Can you help me find out how long I will be punished this time?" Lu Shizhen asked back.
"I can infer this." Qiuqiu said immediately, "The main system will set the time according to the severity of the violation, so host, I think the time of our punishment this time may not be very optimistic."
"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen's eyes darkened even more.
Today is the third to last day of November, and the day after tomorrow is the 30th as notified by the main system.
She was like a fish on a chopping board, not knowing when the executioner's knife would fall and how he would cut off her legs.
People were coming and going around, and Lu Shien's childish and clear voice reached Lu Shizhen's ears.
Xu Shiyue walked towards the backstage lounge with the support of Teacher Chen and Cheng Meiyan, adding some pure warmth to the noisy scene.
She just stared at the scene in front of her, with her eyes raised for a long time without blinking, as if she wanted to remember every detail in her sight.
Racing against time, just like she did in her original world.
While Lu Shizhen was remembering this, Cheng Meiyan came over to her who was lagging behind and cautiously revealed to her: "Zhenzhen, Shiyue's incident last night was a little strange."
Lu Shizhen suddenly came back to his senses and turned to look at Cheng Meiyan who was holding his arm.
Compared to the expected punishment, the "strange" thing that Cheng Meiyan mentioned was completely beyond her imagination.
Cheng Meiyan didn't notice Lu Shizhen's somewhat excited reaction. She looked at Xu Shiyue who was walking in front of Teacher Chen, and Lu Shize who was educating Lu Shien, and whispered to her: "Your brother didn't let me tell you, but I think you still need to know. We judged that it was most likely someone sent by the Xu family."
Lu Shizhen frowned, then seemed to understand something.
She also felt that the system would not set up some deliberate plots for no reason and without logic. If the man's sneaky behavior yesterday afternoon was linked to the Xu family, it would probably make sense.
He was looking for Xu Shiyue's room.
The most obvious thing is that he was the one who stood up for Xu Shiyue and taught that man a lesson, but his brother knocked on Xu Shiyue's door instead of himself.
"Because we are out of the province now, our family can't protect us, so it's easy for them to take action?" Lu Shizhen speculated.
Cheng Meiyan nodded and carefully reminded him: "You should pay more attention here these two days. I have brought all the bodyguards from home. Don't think that you can't bring them with you. Your safety is the first priority now."
Lu Shizhen nodded. For some reason, she felt that there was something strange about the second half of Cheng Meiyan's advice.
Just as she was about to make a promise, she saw Cheng Meiyan's eyes suddenly fixed on her: "And..."
Lu Shizhen's heart suddenly tightened.
She just faced Cheng Meiyan's gaze and pretended to be calm: "What, what's wrong, Mom?"
As I walked from the side of the stage to the backstage, the dim light gradually became brighter.
The woman's dark pupils slowly moved from top to bottom on Lu Shizhen's body, and finally fell on her coat.
Cheng Meiyan smiled: "Is this Shiyue's clothes?"
Lu Shizhen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but be startled.
She didn't know where Cheng Meiyan got her good memory from, but she actually recognized that these were Xu Shiyue's clothes.
The light was bright, and a strong smile blossomed on the face of this stunning beauty.
Her curved eyes were bright and there was a hint of seriousness in her amused banter.
Lu Shizhen knew clearly that she and Xu Shiyue did not do anything inappropriate yesterday, but for some reason she still felt a little guilty.
In order not to let Cheng Meiyan misunderstand, Lu Shizhen hurriedly explained: "I ran out in a hurry last night and didn't wear thick clothes, so Xu Shiyue lent me her clothes."
"Oh." Cheng Meiyan nodded, with a smile of seeing through but not saying it appearing on her face.
She raised her hand and placed her arm on Lu Shizhen's shoulder, embracing her daughter: "So, our Shiyue really knows how to repay a favor."
Later, Lu Shizhen understood.
The fact that she wore Xu Shiyue's clothes was essentially a very ambiguous and intimate thing.
Xu Shiyue would never wear other people's clothes and never lend clothes to others.
.
As evening approaches, the sun hangs at the foot of the mountain in the west, and the sky is filled with a fiery red color.
The opera house was crowded with people, and sparrows flew up from the dead branches that were not enough to cover their eyes, and flew across the sky.
The first day of the symphony orchestra competition came to an end. Lu Shizhen's school orchestra ranked first and had secured the highest gold medal.
Teacher Chen's face was beaming with joy. In order to reward the orchestra members who had worked hard in rehearsal these days, she booked a large private room in a famous local restaurant. It could accommodate more than 20 people, just enough to seat two full tables.
When Lu Shizhen and Xu Shiyue arrived, it was already a little late and there was only one seat left at the main table.
According to the orchestra's contribution, Xu Shiyue was the most qualified person to sit at the main table, and everyone tacitly agreed that she should sit here. However, this would mean that Lu Shizhen would have to separate from Xu Shiyue.
Lu Shizhen has been in the band frequently these days and has become familiar with everyone else. Seeing this, several people moved a chair and tableware from another table to make a seat for her.
Originally, the matter would have ended here. One more or one less person is not a big deal.
But Sun Chenchen happened to sit at the main table.
She had already settled the grudge with Lu Shizhen about the previous incident, and was very dissatisfied to see that she was being treated specially. While fixing her hair, she sneered and asked: "If you are not from the band, why do you have to come to the main table?"
This sentence was very aggressive, as if it had locked Lu Shizhen out of the symphony orchestra.
Xu Shiyue clearly felt the arm she was holding pause, and she frowned.
There was a moment of silence in the box, and then Chen Miaomiao, who was sitting at another table, sneered and retorted: "What's wrong with that? If it wasn't for Lu Shizhen, would the concertmaster of our orchestra be so outstanding?"
Another clarinetist who was on good terms with her also nodded and said, "Yes, our orchestra's score for the principal position was much higher than other orchestras. If it weren't for this score, we might not even have this meal today. I don't know if others could get such a score."
The meaning of these words was obscure, but everyone in the orchestra understood them.
Lu Shizhen felt the protection from others, and felt a lot of warmth in his heart.
But the more this happened, the more Sun Chenchen didn't want to let Lu Shizhen go, so he opened his mouth to stop her, saying, "Teacher Chen has already calculated the dishes. According to the dishes ordered by twelve people per table, won't there be enough for one more dish?"
Chen Miaomiao couldn't stand Sun Chenchen anymore, and she muttered in a loud voice: "If you don't know, you might think she's the reincarnation of a starving ghost. Why isn't there enough food for her with one more person?"
"That's right." Everyone echoed, and some even suggested to Sun Chenchen, "If you feel you haven't eaten enough, why don't you sit over there? Teacher Chen is still an adult, so he might eat more than the people over there."
Sun Chenchen had always coveted the seat at the main table and there was no way he would give it up.
She originally wanted to make Lu Shizhen unhappy, but she didn't expect to be criticized and was suddenly speechless.
No one paid any attention to Sun Chenchen anymore, and just asked Lu Shizhen to bring Xu Shiyue over and sit together.
Lu Shizhen didn’t care much about where she sat, and after what happened just now, she didn’t really want to eat at the same table with Sun Chenchen.
But since the band members were so enthusiastic about standing up for me, and I just turned around and sat at another table, wouldn't that just make Sun Chenchen happy and hurt everyone else's feelings
As hesitantly, Lu Shizhen felt someone pulling his wrist and turning it.
Xu Shiyue turned around and walked to the table opposite the main table. She calmly declined the members' invitation: "No need to move chairs for us. The doctor told me to protect my eyes, fearing that seeing dirty things would affect the treatment."
"Hahaha."
Chen Miaomiao couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She knew that Xu Shiyue didn't like to talk much, but whenever she wanted to speak, she would always be very sharp and make people feel particularly uncomfortable.
"Hey, is everyone almost here?"
The brief interlude of farce had just ended when Teacher Chen arrived at the door of the box.
She looked at the students who had almost arrived and said to the waiter behind her: "It's time to serve the food."
"Okay." The waiter nodded slightly and was about to close the door when the last few band members arrived at the door. "Teacher Chen, we are late."
"No, that's just right." Teacher Chen touched the heads of several little girls and walked into the box.
At this moment, Teacher Chen heard a familiar and cold voice calling out: "Teacher Chen."
It was Xu Shiyue who was greeting her.
Teacher Chen suddenly stopped and looked at Xu Shiyue sitting at a table with fewer people. He didn't care about what Sun Chenchen said about the so-called main table and sat down next to Xu Shiyue.
"Haha." Chen Miaomiao laughed uncontrollably again. Teacher Chen caught her in the act: "Miaomiao, what makes you so happy?"
"Nothing, I'm just happy to see the teacher coming over." Chen Miaomiao was always sweet-mouthed, and then changed the subject: "There is indeed something quite interesting."
Teacher Chen was in a good mood and was particularly curious about what the students said: "What is it? Tell me about it."
Chen Miaomiao glanced at Xu Shiyue, then at Sun Chenchen at the opposite table, and said in a particularly clear voice: "Look, everyone's table is the same, the dishes are the same, and where the teacher sits is the main table."
Teacher Chen did not think this was interesting at all. He looked stern as he said, "What's the point of having a main desk or not? How can a little kid learn bureaucracy?"
Chen Miaomiao immediately acted serious and modest, and assured: "I was wrong, Teacher Chen. I shouldn't have taken this so seriously. I won't do it again in the future."
"That's better." Seeing that Chen Miaomiao admitted her mistake with a good attitude, Teacher Chen did not pursue the matter any further.
While the two were talking, the dishes they ordered were placed on the table in duplicate by the waiter.
As the fragrance filled the air, Lu Shizhen couldn't help feeling a little pleased when she saw that Sun Chenchen's face was even uglier than the incomprehensible abstract painting hanging on the wall.
She knew there was no pure land in the world, but she thought that at least at this moment, this band was her pure land.
She was very grateful to the people in the orchestra for protecting her, and also thanked Chen Miaomiao for her overt and covert advice just now.
The wind from the central air conditioner gently passed over Lu Shizhen's arm, slowly stirring up the warmth that remained on it.
She thought the person she should thank the most was Xu Shiyue.
So Lu Shizhen picked up the chicken leg that Qiuqiu had set her sights on, and placed it on Xu Shiyue's plate as Qiuqiu eagerly waited for it: "Try it, it smells delicious."
The girl's smile was a little too much, and seemed to contain a hint of deliberate flattery.
Xu Shiyue was not very interested in flattery or chicken legs. She just held the chopsticks and looked at Lu Shizhen, but noticed that the bright black eyes were looking at her with a smile.
After a pause, she still accepted Lu Shizhen's feeding.
Qiuqiu was very dissatisfied, so she had to settle for the next best thing and took a small crab leg that Lu Shizhen had left for her.
Although its host was not so authentic, it still floated to Lu Shizhen's ears for what had just happened, and comforted him: "Host, these are all passing clouds. When you gain eternal life and see more of the world, these will not be a big deal. Don't take it to heart."
This sentence reminded Lu Shizhen of the notice from the main system this afternoon.
In fact, to the Lord God, there is no difference between her and systems like Qiuqiu. If their systems are intelligent enough to completely simulate and replace humans, then there may be no need for hosts like her to exist.
The reason why people cannot be replaced by mechanical systems is because they have emotions.
This kind of thing comes from the heart and cannot be simulated by program code.
Lu Shizhen looked at the box where people were talking and laughing, with tenderness in her obscure eyes.
Some people read campus novels to reminisce about their youth and make up for their regretful past.
Lu Shizhen read these to fill his own gaps.
Only now did she realize that the atmosphere she was immersed in at the moment was something she could never experience no matter how many books she read.
But it happens to be in this world.
This world is a temporary foothold for her, or even a stepping stone.
It’s hard to describe this feeling. Lu Shizhen watched Qiuqiu eating crab legs enthusiastically and helped it put several more crabs on the plate.
Just to avoid people noticing anything, she only gave Qiuqiu the two meatiest front legs of the crab, and she ate the rest by herself, pretending to like it.
Teacher Chen ordered many famous local dishes, one of which was beef stew, which Aunt Sun had never made.
When Lu Shizhen was in a bad mood, she liked to eat. She put several spoonfuls of stewed beef on her rice and mixed it with the soup to make bibimbap.
But she didn't notice that the crabs that Qiuqiu ate and the beef that she ate were both added with wine.
She didn't know if it was because she was in a bad mood, or if the two kinds of wine mixed together had double the effect, but slowly she began to feel that the person in her sight was staggering.
As night fell and the dishes were finished, this early celebration banquet came to an end.
Teacher Chen looked at the time and prepared to organize the band members to go back to the hotel, and everyone got up and left in groups of three or four.
Xu Shiyue sat on the chair and watched as most people in the box had left, and prepared to get up.
But just as she was about to put her hand on Lu Shizhen's arm, she felt a heavy pressure on her shoulder.
Lu Shizhen's face flushed red as she leaned on Xu Shiyue's shoulder and said to her vaguely: "Xu Shiyue, I hate this world so much."
(End of this chapter)