Chapter 80 Hide in my throat, I won't eat you up.

"Remember? We were the protagonists of all the worlds we experienced. Before the story completely ended, we had the right to rewrite the world, second only to the author. Since the author's script was more advanced than ours, we could only step in to fix the bugs when the world's operating system crashed and the storyline could not continue..."

He reached out his hand, his fingertips lightly touching the air, as if he had touched an invisible boundary.

Xu Wenci was stunned.

He stared blankly at Fu Yanli, as if he were truly getting to know the person in front of him for the first time.

He had always thought Fu Yanli was playing a complex game, but he never expected that what Fu Yanli wanted was not victory on the board, but to overturn the entire board and redefine the rules.

Whether it's Old Master Fu, Old Master Qiao, Fu Rongzhen, or Yi Lou, they all vainly want to control him and make him stand in the right place on their chessboard.

Old Master Fu wanted him to balance the power between Fu Rongzhen and Fu Yanli, to become an informant who could control both sides, so that he could enjoy his old age in peace.

Old Master Qiao wanted him to become his loyal informant, using mutual benefits to bind him tightly so that he could help him bring down the Fu family.

Fu Rongzhen wanted him to become Fu Yanli's weakness, a pawn who would unconditionally favor him and be at his beck and call, so that he could smoothly obtain the protagonist's halo.

Yi Lou saw him as a stepping stone to get closer to Gu Pei, the author, and to find his younger brother.

And Fu Yanli, the person he hates the most, actually said today that he would take him out of the game, out of the script, out of all those who want to control them, and together the two of them would redefine the rules of their world.

"Is this your complete plan?" Xu Wenci's voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the shock of being overwhelmed by such a huge possibility.

Because what is unacceptable may have been the truth from the beginning.

"No." Fu Yanli shook his head, his gaze falling once more on Xu Wenci's face, where extremely complex emotions surged.

There was a desperate resolve, a barely perceptible plea, and an almost instinctive protectiveness.

“This is my entire plan. Today, I’m telling you everything.”

"And your plan, Xu Wenci, your plan that even I can't fully see through, your plan to completely sever our connection..."

He took a deep breath and uttered the most crucial sentence:

"What exactly does the severance you desire look like...?"

"We need to make the world's operating system determine that its correction has completely failed, even triggering more fatal and uncontrollable errors. We need to force it to admit... that this world must be shaped by the two of us, the main characters, to prevent it from easily collapsing..."

The air seemed to freeze.

The dining table seemed to have transformed into a cold negotiating table, with negotiators from two different worlds sitting at opposite ends, each harboring their own secrets, yet forced to temporarily shake hands and make peace.

Xu Wenci remained silent for a long time. He looked down at the pair of chopsticks he had dropped, then slowly picked them up again and gripped them tightly.

When he looked up again, the ice in his amber eyes remained, but beneath it ignited a cluster of cold flames similar to those in Fu Yanli's eyes.

“Fu Yanli,” he said, his voice regaining its usual calmness, but with an added hint of something else, “you are truly a complete madman.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Yanli's lips curled into a faint yet incredibly genuine smile, a smile that dispelled some of the gloom in his eyes, revealing his tired yet excited nature.

This was the first time in so many years that Xu Wenci had seen such a genuine smile from Fu Yanli himself.

"Thank you," Fu Yanli said softly, the fire in his eyes flickering slightly. "Xu Wenci, we are natural allies."

No matter how much we hate each other, no matter how unwilling we are.

This is what the world's operating system has given us, and it's our only hope for breaking this deadlock.

“A natural-born… ally.” Xu Wenci repeated these words in a low voice, as if grinding them between his teeth, finally tasting the absurd yet undeniably bitter truth after years of brewing them in lukewarm water.

He gripped the chopsticks in his hand even tighter, his knuckles bulging.

He raised his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over the genuine yet jarring smile on Fu Yanli's face.

"Fu Yanli, you say you'll tell me everything, but why should I believe you? Isn't this just another, more realistic, and bigger charade you're staging to keep me calm?"

Two people sharing an umbrella cannot trust each other during every downpour.

Trust between them had long since crumbled into dust.

They looked up at the ruins, gazing at the trust that once belonged to the two of them, a trust that had long since vanished.

Fu Yanli's smile slowly faded. He did not avoid Xu Wenci's scrutinizing gaze. His deep purple eyes held an unprecedented frankness and an almost cruel clarity.

“Because it’s unnecessary, Xu Wenci. When the chessboard itself ceases to exist, what’s the point of manipulating the pieces?” He leaned forward slightly, closing the cold distance between them, his voice low but each word clear and distinct in Xu Wenci’s ears, “My ambition, my plans, my trump cards, are all laid bare before you now.”

He paused, a faint hint of self-mockery flashing in his eyes. "Besides, you know better than I what a truly complete severance means. My plan needs you. You know perfectly well that you're not a pawn, and you know perfectly well that I would never harm you."

This is a tacit admission, and more importantly, it hands over some of the initiative to Xu Wenci.

Xu Wenci remained silent.

Only the barely audible breathing of the two remained in the restaurant.

He looked at Fu Yanli, trying to find a trace of pretense in those eyes, but all he saw was a pile of ashes after the fire, and deep purple sparks that refused to go out beneath the ashes.

After a long while, Xu Wenci very slowly loosened his grip on the chopsticks, gently placing them side by side on the edge of the bowl, making a soft clicking sound, like a ritualistic drumbeat.

"Okay." He uttered a single word, crisp and decisive, yet carrying immense weight.

He stood up and looked down at Fu Yanli, who was still sitting there. The unspeakable bewilderment in his amber eyes was gone, replaced by an almost cold clarity.

“I agree, Fu Yanli. But remember, this doesn’t mean we’ve reconciled, it’s just… a cooperative alliance.” His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness; their relationship was merely one of cooperation.

“I’ll join your plan. But how and when I sever all ties between us is my decision. You have no right to interfere until the ultimate goal is achieved.”

Fu Yanli looked up at him, his eyes swirling with complex emotions, which finally turned into a very soft sigh and a very heavy promise: "Okay."

Xu Wenci nodded, said no more, turned and walked towards the living room with resolute steps, without the slightest hesitation.

Fu Yanli watched his figure disappear through the restaurant entrance before slowly leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. A smile seemed to be playing on his lips, but it ultimately faded into a heavy weariness.

They really are natural allies.

However, whether their alliance can ultimately break free from its constraints, and whether it will still be effective after everything has settled, remains to be seen.

He didn't know any of this.

But he knew that from this moment on, all the unpleasantness, all the hesitation, and all the scheming between them could no longer be mentioned.

The two of them completely entrusted their backs to each other.

The two of them actually became true allies.

Xu Wenci sat by the window, silently lit a cigarette, took a puff, and rested his wrist on the windowsill with the hand holding the cigarette, looking somewhat dazed.

The two of them actually became true allies.

Xu Wenci silently repeated it in his heart again.

Night seeped through the glass, spilling over the crimson dot between his fingers, and wisps of smoke rose, blurring his sharply defined profile.

Xu Wenci took another drag, feeling the slight numbness brought by the nicotine, trying to use it to suppress the surging sense of absurdity in his heart and... a sense of relief that he himself did not want to delve into or recall.

After harboring hatred and scheming for so long, in the end, he found himself bound together with the person he hated most.

"Alliance..." He moved his lips silently, the ash from his cigarette falling softly from his fingertips.

Footsteps sounded from behind, very light, with a deliberate slowing down and hesitation.

Xu Wenci didn't turn around, but the fingers holding the cigarette tightened almost imperceptibly.

Then, without hesitation, I extinguished it.

Fu Yanli stopped a few steps behind him, neither approaching nor speaking.

He simply stared silently at the figure shrouded in smoke and night by the window, distant, frail, yet ramrod straight, like a taut bowstring.

He remembered that a long time ago, he wanted to keep Xu Wenci safe and sound. He never expected that the crossbow, because it had been quietly placed in a corner, would become more and more taut.

Until the bowstring snapped, injuring him who had come to visit, and shattering the last vestige of the crossbow's pride.

"Next step," Xu Wenci suddenly spoke, his voice slightly hoarse from the lingering smoke, breaking the suffocating silence, "what do you plan to do?"

He offered no pleasantries, no sentimental remarks, and went straight to the point. It was as if the conversation just now, about forming an alliance of destiny, was merely a business contract finalized during a meeting.

Fu Yanli was slightly taken aback by his overly calm demeanor, and then a bitter sense of understanding welled up in his heart.

Xu Wenci is like that.

There are very few emotions.

All emotions are hidden deep inside.

"Wait." Fu Yanli walked to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking out at the deep night sky.

Xu Wenci gently fanned the air in front of him before finally speaking: "Wait?"

He tilted his head, his eyes behind the smoke filled with questions.

"Hmm." Fu Yanli nodded, his gaze fixed on a distant, empty point, as if he could penetrate this illusory sky and see the invisible rules operating beneath it.

"Wait for a signal. Wait for the world to react more negatively because of our return and alliance, or... wait for the world's operating system itself to lose its composure first."

He paused, his voice lowering, his deep purple eyes gleaming slightly.

Like a venomous snake silently waiting in the dark for its prey to take the bait.

Xu Wenci was taken aback and stared silently into Fu Yanli's eyes.

He murmured softly, just like a snake.

Like a venomous snake.

Fu Yanli narrowed his eyes, his deep purple pupils shrinking slightly.

Xu Wenci, hide it in my throat.

I won't eat you.

A note from the author: I've actually been really tired these past few days, but also incredibly happy.

Starting a new story so quickly after finishing one is definitely not good for my health, but watching the story slowly come to an end and the new story about to begin makes me really happy.

Actually, when I talked to my friend about starting a new story immediately after finishing the main story, my friend was worried that if I wrote with recklessness and enthusiasm, I might come to hate writing itself once the enthusiasm faded.

But I find writing to be a very enjoyable process. However, when I review and revise my work afterward, I often fall into deep doubt.

I consulted my mother about this, and she said that I write every day, and she reads every day. Even if I stop writing one day, my novel will still be there. I might one day grow to hate my own hard work, but even if I almost denigrate it, I wouldn't want to delete it. I think that's actually quite good.