After the Paranoid Female Lead Lost Her Memory, She Insisted on Pursuing This Cannon Fodder - Chapter 12

Lin Zhaoyue’s pupils constricted sharply.

Could it be that Shen Yuan has truly regained her senses under my torment?

The thought had barely flashed through her mind when Shen Yuan’s grip on her wrist suddenly loosened.

Before Lin Zhaoyue could even process what was happening, her survival instincts kicked in, propelling her upward.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Lin Zhaoyue burst to the surface, gasping for air.

Wiping the water from her face, she glared at Shen Yuan, still submerged below. Though her heart pounded with lingering terror, she maintained her villainess persona, her words as venomous as ever:

“Shen Yuan! You… you dare, cough, cough… you dare drag me down here! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Scared me to death… Thank goodness the plot hasn’t derailed…

Lin Zhaoyue’s heart still raced with fear, but she couldn’t help but recall Shen Yuan’s expression moments earlier.

Has the world line converged? Will Shen Yuan now follow the original plot, realizing the true nature of our relationship and seeking revenge?

That would be ideal. Shen Yuan wouldn’t need to fawn over someone destined to hurt her. Yet, despite this being the plot finally falling into place, Lin Zhaoyue found herself strangely unable to rejoice.

System: Host, please continue following the plot.

Lin Zhaoyue: I know, I know! The original text said Shen Yuan could swim and was always wary of me. She must be holding her breath right now. At most, she’ll choke on some water, but she won’t die… Five seconds should be enough, right? Yes, five seconds—no more!

One, two, three…

System, she doesn’t seem to be struggling much anymore. I’m pulling her up now!

Five!

Lin Zhaoyue mentally counted to five and immediately reached out, yanking Shen Yuan’s head out of the water.

According to her expectations, Shen Yuan should have coughed violently, gasped for air, and then glared at her with a look of both hatred and fear.

But instead—

When Shen Yuan was pulled to the surface, her wet black hair clung tightly to her pale cheeks, and water droplets continuously slid down her tightly closed eyelashes.

Her body was limp and unresponsive, her head lolling weakly to one side.

She seemed to have… fainted?!

Lin Zhaoyue: “??!!!”

Holy sh1t?! System! How did she faint?! The original text said she’d only choke on some water and then glare at me fiercely!

System: Uh… maybe she just wasn’t expecting you to attack?

Not that reason!

Lin Zhaoyue completely panicked, her earlier fierce demeanor vanishing instantly.

She stared at the lifeless Shen Yuan in her arms, her mind blank.

Lin Zhaoyue: Oh no, oh no, oh no! Did I drown the Female Lead?!

Trembling, she reached out and gently patted Shen Yuan’s cold, slippery cheek.

“Shen Yuan? Shen Yuan! Wake up! Don’t scare me like this!”

Shen Yuan remained motionless, her eyes tightly shut, water droplets clinging to her long lashes.

Lin Zhaoyue pressed her fingers beneath Shen Yuan’s nose, finding only icy coldness and no sign of breath.

“System! System, come out now!”

This time, Lin Zhaoyue was truly desperate. She even forgot to communicate with the System mentally and blurted out loud, her voice cracking with tears as it echoed through the empty bathroom.

“S-she’s not breathing! What do I do?! I didn’t mean to! I swear, I didn’t mean to!”

Host! Host, calm down! Don’t panic! She has the Female Lead halo! She definitely won’t die… but but but, she can’t actually be in danger! The world’s timeline will collapse! Quick! Perform first aid! CPR! Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! Do you know how?!

“I-I’ve seen it on TV! Chest compressions? Mouth-to-mouth?”

Lin Zhaoyue’s mind raced, desperately trying to recall the hazy first aid scenes she’d witnessed.

Stop wasting time! Learn first aid procedures now! Immediately! The System’s voice fired rapidly like machine-gun fire. First, lay her flat on the ground! Hurry!

“O-okay!”

Lin Zhaoyue snapped out of her daze, frantically trying to lift Shen Yuan.

But Shen Yuan was soaking wet, unconscious, and as heavy as a stone.

With Herculean effort, Lin Zhaoyue dragged and pulled her into a proper position, finally managing to lay her flat on the bathroom tiles.

Her gaze inevitably fell upon Shen Yuan’s completely exposed body.

Smooth, delicate skin gleamed like ivory under the steamy air and soft light, her curves rising and falling…

Lin Zhaoyue’s cheeks flushed crimson, her heart pounding faster, but this time with a different, unfamiliar emotion mixed in.

What am I thinking at a time like this?! she scolded herself inwardly.

But as she gazed at Shen Yuan’s still-naked body, especially her exposed br3asts, Lin Zhaoyue felt a surge of intense discomfort.

Even though the situation was urgent, this… this was too embarrassing!

Almost instinctively, she swiftly stripped off her own soaking-wet long-sleeved T-shirt, not caring that she was left wearing only a thin lace bra underneath. She hastily draped the shirt over Shen Yuan, barely covering her exposed skin.

Having done that, Lin Zhaoyue herself was left wearing only her wet pants and a similarly drenched bra clinging tightly to her skin.

Water droplets trickled down her graceful collarbones, and her long hair clung messily to her cheeks and neck. Though she looked equally disheveled, the sudden crisis and her disheveled state added an unexpectedly thrilling allure to her appearance.

The System urgently barked instructions:

Find the lower half of the sternum! Overlap your hands, press down vertically with the heels of your palms! Hurry! Aim for a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute! Depth should be at least five centimeters! Press harder!

“I-I understand!”

Forgetting all about proper posture, Lin Zhaoyue straddled Shen Yuan’s waist and abdomen, spreading her legs wide for leverage. Following the System’s instructions, she located the correct pressure points and placed her stacked hands over them.

Right! Press harder! Faster! Don’t stop! Count! One, two, three, four…

Lin Zhaoyue gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and leaned her full weight into each compression.

The icy floor tiles, Shen Yuan’s equally cold body, and her own scalding tears and frantic heartbeat formed a chaotic tableau.

She clumsily mimicked the emergency resuscitation scenes she’d seen on TV, pressing down again and again while chanting the numbers in sync with the System’s rhythm:

“…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

Stop! Pinch her nose, lift her chin to open her airway! Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! Quick! Two breaths! Watch for chest rise!

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?!

Lin Zhaoyue froze, staring at Shen Yuan’s bloodless lips, now mere inches away. Her heart skipped a beat.

But there was no time for hesitation!

She took a deep breath, as if bracing herself for the executioner’s block, leaned down, pinched Shen Yuan’s delicate nose with one hand, and lifted her chin with the other. Aiming for those cold, soft lips, she pressed her mouth against them and forcefully blew air into her lungs.

The unfamiliar sensation made her body stiffen, an indescribable electric current surging through her limbs and bones.

She jerked her head back, her face flushed crimson, gasping for breath. She couldn’t tell if it was from nervousness or something else entirely.

Continue! Chest compressions! Don’t stop! Repeat the cycle! the System urged.

Lin Zhaoyue dared not hesitate. She straightened up immediately and resumed chest compressions, followed by artificial respiration. After completing the entire sequence, she was already panting heavily, sweat beading on her forehead, and her arms ached fiercely. Yet she couldn’t stop, mechanically repeating the motions, her mind fixed on a single thought:

Shen Yuan, you absolutely can’t die!

Unbeknownst to Lin Zhaoyue, as Shen Yuan lay motionless on the ground, her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.