Chapter 104 Keep by My Side

The girl lay on the soft bed, her eyelashes glistening with cold sweat, and a few strands of damp hair clung to her flushed cheeks.

His breathing was rapid and heavy, and his chest was heaving violently, clearly indicating that he was being controlled by a nightmare.

Consciousness completely plunged into a chaotic dream.

Memories of the past are like a screen window soaked in water, so blurry that the outlines are indistinguishable, yet at certain moments they are so clear that they are piercing.

The scene depicts an argument, with the man urgently chasing after her, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

He didn't understand. Not long ago, the two of them were inseparable, and they were tenderly kissing the top of her head.

Everything is as clear as if it happened yesterday, how could it have turned out like this in the blink of an eye?

In the man's eyes, everything rewinds uncontrollably, returning to that evening that changed everything.

He had just finished his date with Ruan Yi, and the warmth of holding her hand still lingered on his fingertips.

Then she saw Ruan Yi's younger brother, who was about the same age as her, standing not far away, his expression as strange as a stagnant pool.

The boy's gaze was initially fixed on Ruan Yi's face, then slowly moved down to the man's hands clasped with hers.

Those eyes seemed calm and even, but what lay beneath them was chilling.

Ruan Yi tiptoed and gently placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. The soft touch brushed against his skin, carrying her faint fragrance.

"Kyung-shin, I'll head back now."

The girl's cheeks flushed instantly, and she turned and ran towards her younger brother, leaving him standing there.

His fingertips traced the spot where she had kissed him, his heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, and the love in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Anyone who saw them could tell they were a sweet couple.

But from that day on, the girl became busy.

With more and more excuses like "I need to spend time with my family" and "I have other things to do," he had fewer and fewer opportunities to see her.

He was her professor, and reason reminded him that even though he was reluctant to let go, he did not want to bind her with his emotions.

They could only watch as the two of them went from being inseparable and intimate to being distant, only able to hug and kiss occasionally.

Until that holiday, everything completely spiraled out of control.

His video calls went unanswered, his messages disappeared without a trace, and her replies went from perfunctory to indifferent, until finally, as if all her emotions had been drained away, she decisively abandoned him.

He got dumped.

No matter how hard I tried to salvage the relationship, it was no use.

In the dim light of the bar, the usually composed and self-possessed man slumped in a booth, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, his shirt collar open, revealing his prominent collarbone.

The man tilted his head back and downed a glass of whiskey, his Adam's apple bobbing in a pathetic arc, his eyes filled with an unprecedented crimson and dejection.

The bottle fell to the table with a dull thud, but he was oblivious, his eyes lowered, his fingertips unconsciously stroking his phone, on which Ruan Yi still had left a small sticker.

At this moment, the man beside him slowly approached.

Silver-white hair fell across her forehead, partially obscuring the corners of her eyes, but it couldn't hide her deep, captivating eyes, which were both playful and calmly indifferent.

He stopped beside the booth, his gaze sweeping over the drunken man, and lightly tapped the table with his fingertips.

"Do you need any help, Professor Fu?"

When Fu Jingchen raised his eyes, those eyes, which had once been full of reason, were completely unfocused, and bloodshot veins covered his eyeballs, making him look like a puppet whose soul had been taken away.

"Get out..." He stared at the white-haired man in front of him, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a complete syllable. Only the heavy smell of alcohol mixed with the atmosphere of despair hit him.

It was as if, after losing the girl, all that remained was a completely crushed void, along with the calm and self-control that had sustained him for so many years, which had also crumbled into dust.

The man looked down at Fu Jingchen's appearance, a hint of undisguised mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Too easy."

Fu Jingchen was already on the verge of losing control. This man, who usually used reason as armor, could actually go crazy like this for a woman.

He couldn't even figure out why she left, so he let himself wallow in this meaningless pain, struggling harder and clinging tighter.

This is the best time.

The man's fingertips lightly traced the cool glass, his gaze falling on Fu Jingchen's hand gripping his phone.

His inability to let go, his obsession with her, became the sharpest knife at this moment, capable of slicing through his reason.

It can also become the most handy tool in one's own hands.

Use him to achieve the goal of collecting perfect works of art.

With just a little control, this man, who is on the verge of collapse, will follow her like a puppet on strings.

The man leaned slightly forward, lowered his voice, and spoke each word with deliberate pause, each one piercing the heart.

"She doesn't want you anymore, right?"

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his gaze playfully locking onto the other person's unfocused pupils, watching the blood vessels inside explode in an instant.

Then, he slowly took a photo out of his pocket and waved it gently in front of the man.

The lighting in the photo is ambiguous, and the girl is being embraced, her eyebrows and eyes curving into a gentle arc.

The boy was the girl's so-called younger brother.

The boy was looking down at Ruan Yi, his arm half-circling behind her, their posture as intimate as vines entwining a tree.

The background is a corner café, and the photo was taken from a carefully chosen angle, amplifying the intimate atmosphere between the two a thousandfold.

Fu Jingchen's gaze was fixed on the photo, completely oblivious to the commotion around him.

The clear liquor swirled on the glass, while a white powdery drug fell into the glass as the man lowered his head and gasped for breath.

It sank silently to the bottom of the glass, blending with the amber-colored liquid. The man gently placed the glass back, even considerately pushing it towards Fu Jingchen's hand.

“You see,” the man’s voice held a hint of amusement, as if stating a trivial fact.

"It seems she has a new love interest."

Fu Jingchen let out a broken hiss, as if something had gripped his lungs tightly.

He suddenly raised his hand to snatch it, his cloudy eyes fixed on the person in the photo, his pupils shrinking to a point, his breathing suddenly becoming rapid, as if he were on the verge of suffocation.

“It’s him…” he said through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse.

"It was that little bastard! He's the one who tampered with things... and stole Xiaoyi!"

He repeated it over and over again, and with each repetition, the rationality in his eyes crumbled a little, replaced by a surging, almost destructive madness.

The silver-haired man watched him lose control silently, a cruel smile curving his lips.

He leaned close to the man's ear, his voice extremely low, like a seductive whisper from the abyss.

Do you want to keep her by your side forever?

Fu Jingchen suddenly looked up, and a trace of lingering desire shone through his crazed eyes, like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood.

"I have a way to make her stay by your side obediently and never leave again."

The man's voice was as gentle as a devil's whisper, the light cast dappled shadows on his silver hair, and his deep eyes swirled with a dark, determined glint.

Invisible chains seemed to float in the air, gradually wrapping around the man's neck with each word, dragging him deeper into hell.

Looking into the man's eyes, which were completely consumed by desire, a cold, calculating thought arose in his mind.

When he creates the most perfect work of art in the world.

Since this madman is already out of his mind, who will own this "work of art" in the future?

But it's not up to Fu Jingchen to decide.

The girl suddenly sat up in bed, her chest heaving violently, and a thin layer of sweat revealed a dark patch of her silk nightgown through her back.

Ruan Yi didn't have time to think about when she was changed into a nightgown.

It wasn't until the moonlight from outside the window shone through the gauze curtains onto the back of my hand that the real coolness gradually brought my hazy consciousness back.

It's definitely not a dream.

It's not a hallucination.

She wiped her face, but suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

Before, Gu Zhi had me so confused that my brain was completely muddled, and I actually thought there wasn't a single straight person around me...

Fu Jingchen is a complete idiot and a gay man!

Ruan Yi gently pinched the slightly damp neckline of her nightgown, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end.

She used to think this was a fictional world because there wasn't a single straight man around her, and there were those weird comments on the screen. But... what's going on now? What's the situation?

Not only are they all straight, but they're all incredibly strange!

Looking back now, those bloody "bullet comments" that used to suddenly appear in front of her eyes, when she was pushed to the brink of collapse, were they ever the only ones that appeared?

Being mentally controlled, inexplicably dying and then being reborn.

Could it be... a hallucination caused by the brain being unable to withstand the pressure?

Ruan Yi felt increasingly terrified as she thought about it, and a chill ran down her spine.

Why did Gu Zhi finally reveal his true colors in this life?

Because she believed her whole life that this was a fictional world, and that everyone had ulterior motives towards Gu Zhi.

Did the butterfly effect arise from completely trusting Gu Zhi and choosing a different path than in the previous life?

Is it because she didn't date Fu Jingchen in this life...?

If none of these people are gay, what must they have been like in their past lives?

The drugging of her mother had nothing to do with Fu Jingchen. Although Shen Xun had his problems, he had been trying to apologize to her, but Gu Zhi intercepted his advances. Even if it was all Gu Zhi's doing...

But even if Gu Zhi went mad, he couldn't possibly kill her.

So who killed her, and what benefit did they get from killing her?

Ruan couldn't think of an answer. The unknown doubts and fears were like a thorn stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow or pull out.

She moved slightly; the soft velvet on her ankles felt tight, and she struggled to sit up.

The soft hemp rope did indeed greatly increase her range of motion, at least allowing her to move around freely in the bedroom.

A very faint sound came from outside the door, like something being bumped and then quickly steadied.

Ruan Yi held her breath, her fingers, which were trying to free themselves, froze, and stopped moving. Using the faint light coming in from the window, she slowly moved towards the door.

She pressed herself against the door, her ear pressed tightly against the wall, eavesdropping furtively.

Then, I couldn't hear anything anymore. Just then, a very brief ringtone came through.

That was her phone ringing!

The cheerful tune lasted only half a second before abruptly stopping, as if it had been cut off.

Gu Zhi hung up... Who called?

In the living room.

The man was holding Ruan Yi's phone; the screen was still lit, and the caller ID showed "Hanhan."

He didn't hang up; he simply swiped his finger across the screen and pressed mute.

A few seconds later, a text message notification sounded. It wasn't from WeChat; it was a text message sent directly from the phone number.

"Why isn't Xiaoyi answering the phone? It's our agreed-upon late-night chat time! What's wrong with you?"

Gu Zhi lowered his eyes to look at the line of words, the warmth in his eyes gradually fading.

Is Lin Han's relationship with his sister too good?

He could also be a good friend to his sister; there was no need for this troublesome woman at all.

Gu Zhi twitched his fingertips and replied briefly, "I'm a little tired, I'm going to sleep."

The man's brows furrowed the moment the message notification popped up.

No, Lin Han did it on purpose.

Almost instantly, he tapped the message recall button.

In an apartment on the other side of the city.

Lin Han's urgent voice came from the computer screen.

"He withdrew, but the cell phone signal has been captured and is being locked."

His thin fingers tapped rapidly on the table, his eyes burning with anxious fire.

"Got it! Got it!" Lin Han shouted out the latitude and longitude data in a hurry.

Shen Xun stood up almost the instant the data popped up, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and rushed towards the door without even turning off his computer.

"Wait until Chen Xun!" Lin Han shouted in the video.

"You idiot, wait a minute! Don't go alone, take some people to rescue them!"

The only response she received was a resounding slam of the door closing, leaving only an empty room in the video.

"I give up... Where is she? I don't care if you're going to die! You better bring Ruan Yi back to me!"

"Oh no, I picked an idiot as a teammate. I should have asked for that boss, Ruan Yi!"