Ruan Chen used very subtle words, neither using the word "erasure" nor the word "death".
She had no particular reservations; she just couldn't bear to see the look in Fu Jianzhi's eyes, as if he were in excruciating pain, when he heard those words.
To be honest, after a slight shock at first, Ruan Chen quickly accepted it all.
It wasn't just because her dreams over the years had given her a premonition of these things, but also because she naturally had a slight sense of detachment from the world—she didn't care.
“Yes,” Fu Jianzhi agreed with Ruan Chen’s statement, “Life still goes on. Even if the timeline converges, it will still be ten years from now. Will you stay at the Fu family’s place during this time? The safety level here is very high.”
Ruan Chen wasn't without safe places to go, but she still agreed.
If she were to be eventually erased from the world, she would rather spend as much time as possible with her loved ones while she is still conscious.
-------------------------------------
At night, Ruan Chen lay on the bed in the guest room on the second floor, while Fu Jianzhi slept in the master bedroom, which was next door.
She tossed and turned in bed.
Scenes from the past on two timelines flashed through her mind. In the stillness of the night, Ruan Chen gradually sorted out her thoughts.
For her, the timeline diverged when she was twelve years old, which should be the point at which the Ark tore the timeline apart.
In the main timeline, Ruan Chen lived in a hellish environment from birth to the age of twenty-six until she accidentally entered Crescent Bay, met Fu Jianzhi, and began to realize her own power.
She—Ruan Chen from the alternate timeline—met Fu Jianzhi when she was twelve years old. Although her life after that had its share of setbacks, it was generally smooth sailing.
She wondered randomly if the timelines converged, would Ruan Chen from the main timeline end up with Fu Jianzhi from that world?
No... Ruan Chen suddenly sat up. If in the alternate timeline, the world escaped that catastrophe when she was twenty-six, and the timeline began to converge, and Fu Jianzhi in this world was not erased, then who would he be with in the future?
After I am erased, will he still remember me?
If he remembers, is he remembering Ruan Chen from the main timeline, or himself?
Ruan Chen suddenly felt a little short of breath, so she opened her phone to play a game of Candy Crush to try and fall asleep.
Fu Jianzhi was also online.
Fu Jianzhi: "Online?"
Ruan Chen: "No, I'll just do my daily tasks and collect my stamina before logging off."
Nobody, incredibly ungrateful, went online.
nobody: [Insomnia?]
Ruan Chen: [When did you hack into my phone?]
nobody: [The last time you downloaded data from the cloud, the data was uploaded from your old computer.]
Ruan Chen: [Understood.]
nobody: [Fu Jianzhi lied to you.]
Ruan Chen glanced at it indifferently and continued with the match-3 game.
Nobody seemed unfazed by Ruan Chen's indifference and continued sending messages: "Haven't you noticed that his mindset is nothing like that of a thirteen-year-old?"
Ruan Chen's hands didn't stop moving; he lazily swiped the same colored and shaped squares, watching them explode into fireworks on the screen after touching them, but in his mind he was already thinking about nobody's words.
She had long noticed that Fu Jianzhi was a bit too mature. When she first picked him up in Meicheng, although he was a bit quiet, most of his words and actions were like those of an eight-year-old boy.
The two later met again in Jingzhou, and he had become even more mature and composed.
Whether speaking or acting, he is meticulous and thorough.
Ruan Chen even occasionally sensed possessiveness from him.
[You are you, and the current Fu Jianzhi is not the Fu Jianzhi you picked up. If you had seen the Fu Jianzhi from the main timeline, you should be able to sense a familiar aura about him.]
Ruan Chen fixed her finger on the screen and replied, "You knew too?"
nobody: [The Ark is also a computer. Don't forget that our physical form on Earth is a virtual signal. Besides, time doesn't exist for us.]
Ruan Chen raised an eyebrow, but made no further move and continued playing the game.
nobody: [What if I told you that when the timeline converges, you're the only one who will ultimately be erased?]
nobody: [Did Fu Jianzhi tell you that the reason why sub-timelines, which violate the laws of the universe, exist is because the civilization of the main timeline is about to be destroyed?]
nobody: [He definitely didn't tell you another reason. There's another reason this sub-timeline exists: because he wants to save his Ruan Chen—the Ruan Chen he picked up at the entrance of Crescent Bay.]
nobody: [On the day the timeline converges, only you will be erased. Ruan Chen, whom he took in, will live a long and happy life, while you will be forgotten by everyone.]
nobody: [If you go to that timeline a few more times, you'll realize that the catastrophe is inextricably linked to the insane Ruan Chen; you could even say she orchestrated it.]
nobody: [So the Ark tore open a secondary timeline. In this timeline, you didn't experience as much suffering and torment, so naturally you wouldn't think about destroying the world. Once you safely passed the age of twenty-six, the laws of the universe realized that this world had a bug and would execute a cleanup procedure on you.]
nobody: [The world will be alright, human civilization will continue, Fu Jianzhi and Ruan Chen will be together forever, and those you care about—Ruan Wenlou, Yu Xiaoya, Su Ze, Nan Jing...—will continue their lives as before.]
nobody: [Even those you hate will continue to live—your father, brother, sister, Yu Wanqing… You put a lot of effort into dealing with Ruan Zhengde, didn't you? He and Yu Wanqing are indeed suffering in prison right now, but when the timeline converges, everything you've done will be erased.]
nobody: [By then, he'll still be the high and mighty Chairman Ruan. Ye Huanhuan will die, Ruan Yu'er will die, and Ruan Luo will be crippled. Ruan Qin will become the heir, and Ruan Yunhan will be sent to a political marriage by the First Prince. Everything will return to normal. It'll be as if you've never done anything, nor been able to avenge Cong Rao.]
nobody: [And you will be erased; no one will remember you.]
The mobile game emitted a notification sound, indicating that Ruan Chen had lost this round.
nobody: [Your heart is in turmoil.]
Ruan Chen: [Get lost.]
She quit the game, turned off her computer, stood there in the dark for a moment, then turned it back on and made a phone call.
"South Institute, let's meet... I need you."
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