Raindrops kept falling from outside the window onto the desk, dampening the cardboard box placed on its surface.
A small snowball-like figure climbed onto the cardboard box, struggling to jump out. Due to the effort, it lost control and tumbled off the desk towards the floor.
Su Ci closed her eyes in panic, her whole body tensing up.
The next second, instead of feeling pain, she found herself enveloped in coldness.
Su Ci slowly opened her eyes, and a young man's handsome face came into focus before her.
His expression was blank, his hair wet from the rain. Water droplets slid down his bangs, trailing across his sharp, cold profile, slowly dripping from his chin. His pitch-black eyes were emotionless and bottomless, making it difficult to maintain eye contact.
Su Ci blinked - he had returned.
Lu Zhe looked down at the white bunny in his palm before placing it on his bed.
The room was rather small, with a single bed covered in a grayish bedsheet. Su Ci lay obediently on the bed, afraid to move, fearing she might end up trapped in the small cardboard box again.
It had been three days since she arrived here, and she had no choice but to accept that she had become a rabbit - a palm-sized baby rabbit at that - and had been picked up by the young man before her, Lu Zhe, on the day she arrived.
Su Ci raised her rabbit head, looking at Lu Zhe with a complicated expression.
She remembered that Lu Zhe was the female protagonist's brother, a minor character who only appeared a few times in the book.
Once was when the book explained how the female lead had behaved terribly before her rebirth and was abandoned by everyone, yet Lu Zhe still protected her, sacrificing everything for her, even dying for her sake.
Another time was when the female lead was reborn and began to see this brother she had always despised in a new light.
Lu Zhe's final appearance in the plot was when the female lead visited his grave.
Before she could gather her thoughts, Su Ci watched as Lu Zhe closed the window and began removing his wet clothes.
The young man was tall and well-proportioned, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
As he changed clothes, Su Ci clearly saw the lean muscles on his chest, evenly distributed and powerful, with beautiful flowing lines - completely different from how slim he appeared when clothed.
Even though she had seen many male celebrities and models before, Su Ci had to admit that Lu Zhe's physique was impressive.
Lu Zhe casually changed into a black T-shirt, his already expressionless face appearing even more rigid and cold against the dark color.
His gaze moved to the rabbit, and he picked up a nearby towel, wrapping the bunny in it to dry off the rainwater.
The towel wasn't soft, and the young man's movements were rough. Su Ci felt uncomfortable as the coarse towel rubbed against her head.
The rabbit's snow-white fur became fluffy and disheveled, making it look even more like a snowball, adorably silly. Su Ci wiggled her tiny feet, and just as she was about to try escaping from the young man's cold hands, the doorbell rang.
The door opened.
"Bro... brother."
The girl standing at the door looked excited yet timid. After hesitantly calling out to Lu Zhe once, her next words came out more firmly, "Brother."
Zhao Youyou tried hard to contain her excited, trembling heart.
Thinking of how in her previous life, when she had behaved terribly and was abandoned by everyone, only Lu Zhe - this cold, lonely, and downtrodden brother she had always despised - had appeared to save her, Zhao Youyou's eyes welled up with tears.
She looked at the young man before her with sincere gratitude. The current Lu Zhe hadn't died trying to save her; he was still here, alive and standing before her.
Thank goodness.
Lu Zhe looked at Zhao Youyou indifferently, "What is it?"
At this moment, Su Ci, who had been quietly nestled in Lu Zhe's hands, carefully observed Zhao Youyou's excited expression. She realized this girl was the female protagonist.
Hearing the female lead call Lu Zhe "brother," Su Ci confirmed that Zhao Youyou had indeed been reborn. In the book, it was described that after her rebirth, the female lead began calling him brother out of gratitude.
Zhao Youyou looked at Lu Zhe with teary eyes.
After falling asleep and waking up three years in the past, thinking of Lu Zhe who had died for her, she had rushed to find him, wanting to confirm this wasn't a dream.
Meeting Lu Zhe's cold gaze, she wanted to say something but realized she couldn't tell him about her rebirth - such an extraordinary thing.
Zhao Youyou sniffled, "Brother, have you been well lately?" If this were her previous self, she would never have said such things, preferring to keep Lu Zhe as far away as possible.
Lu Zhe's expression remained blank, his black eyes showing no emotion, "Mm."
In the past, Zhao Youyou had hated this side of Lu Zhe, but not anymore.
Zhao Youyou smiled at Lu Zhe for the first time, noticing he was holding a snow-white rabbit.
"How cute. Brother, when did you get a rabbit?"
Zhao Youyou reached out and took the rabbit from him, "Brother, is this my birthday present?"
Looking at the calendar, she had noticed her birthday was in a few days. The rabbit must be a birthday gift from Lu Zhe - otherwise, given his cold personality, how could he suddenly start keeping pets?
Suddenly being held by Zhao Youyou and hearing her words, Su Ci was stunned.
Was she being given to Zhao Youyou?
Before she could react, a sharp pain interrupted Su Ci's thoughts.
Zhao Youyou was pulling out her fur!
Su Ci was extremely sensitive to pain, and now as a rabbit, having her fur forcibly pulled out made her red eyes well up with tears.
Zhao Youyou held the rabbit in one hand while stroking it with the other, happily telling Lu Zhe, "The rabbit is really cute." As she spoke, her hand unconsciously grabbed a tuft of the rabbit's fur and pulled it out.
Zhao Youyou had a habit of pulling fur whenever she touched something fuzzy.
As more fur was pulled out by Zhao Youyou, Su Ci trembled in pain.
It hurt so much.
No, she couldn't go with Zhao Youyou - she would end up bald!
Su Ci began struggling, kicking her tiny legs frantically. She looked at Lu Zhe, thinking she would rather stay with him and eat carrots every day than become a bald rabbit.
"Brother, thank you for the birthday gift. Ah, is it trying to bite me?" Zhao Youyou held down the restless rabbit, "The rabbit is a bit fierce, I'll have to train it when I get home."
Lu Zhe looked down, seeing the rabbit in Zhao Youyou's hands struggling anxiously, its red eyes seemingly filled with tears as it looked pleadingly at him.
Meeting Lu Zhe's gaze, Su Ci struggled even harder - don't give her to Zhao Youyou!
Lu Zhe's expression remained indifferent.
Having just returned from her rebirth, Zhao Youyou's emotions were still volatile. Confirming that Lu Zhe was still alive, she felt relieved.
"Brother, you haven't had dinner yet, right? I won't bother you anymore." She needed to go home and think carefully about what would happen next - she couldn't repeat the same mistakes.
As more fur was pulled from her back by Zhao Youyou, Su Ci struggled even harder as Zhao Youyou prepared to leave with her.
"Ah!"
Zhao Youyou's hand was scratched by the rabbit's paw, startling her into letting go. The rabbit fell straight to the floor.
Su Ci was dazed from the painful fall.
In her confusion, she found herself picked up by cold hands.
Looking at Lu Zhe who had picked her up, Su Ci didn't mind his cold hands at all. She gently licked his fingertip and affectionately nuzzled her aching head against his palm.
Given how docile and adorable she was being, please don't send her away!
"Is the rabbit hurt?" The baby rabbit's claws weren't sharp, and Zhao Youyou saw that her hand hadn't been scratched. She reached out to take the rabbit back.
Su Ci curled into a ball, wanting nothing more than to burrow into Lu Zhe's embrace.
The snowball in his hands was soft and fluffy. Lu Zhe lowered his gaze to look at his fingertip, which was wet from being licked.
He moved his hand away from Zhao Youyou's reaching grasp.
"Brother?" Zhao Youyou looked at him questioningly.
"I found this rabbit. It's not your birthday gift." As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhe felt the rabbit in his palm nuzzling against his hand even more eagerly, being incredibly well-behaved.
Zhao Youyou finally realized her misunderstanding, but didn't feel embarrassed, "Ah, so you found it."
This was fine - not accepting Lu Zhe's gift meant less involvement between them. In her previous life, Lu Zhe had died saving her. In this life, while she was grateful to Lu Zhe, his personality was cold and downtrodden, and he had a terminal illness - she wouldn't fall for him.
Zhao Youyou left.
Su Ci lay on the gray bed, her heart finally at ease.
She had almost become a bald little rabbit!
Su Ci snorted indignantly, thinking about how Zhao Youyou had plucked her soft and cute fur three times. No matter how the book described the reborn female lead as gentle and intelligent, Su Ci had lost all goodwill towards her.
The rain outside grew heavier, pounding against the window incessantly.
Su Ci lay listlessly, thinking about the possibility of being a rabbit for the rest of her life, she couldn't even muster the energy to be angry.
After drinking some water, Lu Zhe picked up the dumbbell in the corner and began his workout.
Su Ci watched the young man perform bicep curls, one after another, at a slow but steady pace. His movements were a bit stiff, but it was clear to see the muscles on Lu Zhe's arms bulging, tight and firm, as if brimming with explosive power.
Su Ci watched quietly, and when her gaze fell on Lu Zhe's wrist, she noticed a symbol there.
She blinked hard, making sure she wasn't seeing things.
What was that?
She clearly saw a horizontal bar divided into ten small sections on Lu Zhe's inner wrist, three of which were red, with the annotation: 3 years.
【This is your life value.】
Suddenly, a sweet, childish voice appeared in Su Ci's mind.
She was so startled that she covered her rabbit head with her little paws, thinking she was hallucinating.
The sweet voice didn't worry about scaring Su Ci to death. 【One section represents one year. Lu Zhe's life value shows three sections, meaning he only has three years left to live.】
Su Ci lifted her rabbit head in surprise.
She looked at Lu Zhe, who had a stern face and was slowly and forcefully lifting the dumbbell. He only had three years to live?
The male supporting character was really pitiful.
Then, Su Ci heard the sweet voice say: 【Every time you kiss Lu Zhe, he gains an extra day of life.】
Each word made sense individually, but together, she didn't understand. She kissed Lu Zhe once, and he could live an extra day?
Sweet voice: 【That's right.】
Su Ci scoffed, why should she? Lu Zhe's life and death weren't her responsibility.
【Because he picked you up.】
Su Ci: ......
Su Ci admitted she wasn't a kind-hearted person. Now that she was just a rabbit, she couldn't even take care of herself, let alone someone else's life. Maybe she would die even faster than Lu Zhe.
Thinking about this, Su Ci felt even more distressed. She wasn't afraid of anything, except for becoming ugly and dying.
Sweet voice: 【Also, your life is bound to Lu Zhe's. If he dies, you will die too.】
Upon hearing this, Su Ci's eyes turned even redder with anger. She had already become a rabbit, wasn't that bad enough? Now her life had to be bound to a short-lived male supporting character?
What a tragic fate!
Sweet voice: 【Reward: Kissing Lu Zhe can restore you to human form.】
As soon as the sweet voice finished, Su Ci's red eyes lit up with excitement. Really? Don't lie to her!
Kissing Lu Zhe could make her human again, she could even kiss his lips swollen!
Sweet voice: 【Zhao Cai never lies.】
Su Ci slowly digested the sweet voice's words and quickly understood.
So, she was the tool to save the male supporting character, and in return, Lu Zhe was the tool to help her become human. Moreover, their lives were bound together.
Knowing there was a way to become human again and not have to be a rabbit forever, Su Ci's mood instantly improved. She asked if Zhao Cai was the sweet voice's name.
【This was the name my previous master gave me. Now you are my master.】
Su Ci realized this must be her golden finger from crossing over.
She happily narrowed her eyes. Zhao Cai was too common, lacking taste. She decided to rename it: Fu Gui.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed when Lu Zhe finally put down the dumbbell.
Just finished with his workout, his arms were pumped with blood, muscles tight to the extreme. Feeling the muscles twitch one by one, Lu Zhe's expression remained unchanged. He clenched his fists, alleviating some of the weakness.
Even if he exercised every day, it barely made a difference to his condition.
Lu Zhe put the dumbbell back in the corner and turned around, his eyes meeting the bright red eyes of the rabbit.
