At this moment, dark clouds covered the area above the research institute. Although it was the middle of the day, it seemed as if the area was immersed in thick, indissoluble ink.
Electric snakes peeked out from the clouds, and many people came out to look up at this spectacular natural phenomenon.
"The forecast didn't mention any heavy rain."
"This is terrifying! I haven't seen thunderstorms like this in years."
"You see, it seems that only the area above our research institute is in a more serious situation; in places further away, it's still light out."
"Could someone be conducting some kind of experiment?"
"Stop watching the commotion, let's go back inside and take shelter. Let's move the potted plants outside."
Nan Jing felt as if Ruan Chen in front of her had become a vortex. She stood there calmly, but it was as if she was standing in another world, looking down on all living beings with indifference and arrogance. The storm above the research institute was her eyes.
He gripped Ruan Chen's shoulders with all his might, but she stood still with her eyes slightly closed, like an unshakeable sculpture.
From Ruan Chen's perspective, she pushed Fu Jianzhi away, wanting to turn around and escape the unknown danger from the man in front of her, but when she turned around, she saw an abyss.
She was no longer on the streets of Meicheng; she stood on a cliff somewhere, with abysses in front of and behind her.
Beneath the abyss lay another world—a vast school, filled with laughing students, their voices soaring into Ruan Chen's ears.
That was the first military academy in Jingzhou.
Ruan Chen didn't ponder why the First Academy would be located at the bottom of an abyss. Her gaze lingered on the courtyard right next to the cliff, the square courtyard that housed the research institute.
Outside the research institute, Fu Jianzhi, whom she had just pushed aside, was standing there unharmed. He didn't go in; he just looked up at the dark clouds overhead.
Fu Jianzhi arrived as soon as he received the call, and the driver ran three red lights in a row.
From afar, Fu Jianzhi could see dark clouds gathering above the research institute, and a familiar aura emanated from those clouds—it was Ruan Chen's aura.
She lost control again.
Fu Jianzhi frantically pressed the doorbell at the main entrance of the research institute. He needed to get to Ruan Chen's side and stop her—no one knew better than Fu Jianzhi the kind of destruction an out-of-control Ruan Chen could cause.
However, the muffled thunder drowned out the doorbell, and the security guard was also attracted by this rare celestial phenomenon, completely ignoring Fu Jianzhi, who was blocked outside the door by a thin layer of glass.
The rumble of thunder grew louder and louder.
Fu Jianzhi looked up and saw dark clouds in his eyes, but he felt as if he and Ruan Chen were looking at each other.
Ruan Chen wanted to kill him, and the root of this thunderstorm was the resentment Ruan Chen harbored towards himself.
From Ruan Chen's perspective, she looked at Fu Jianzhi as if he were an ant. Perhaps because the distance was too great, she couldn't see the expression in Fu Jianzhi's eyes. In fact, Ruan Chen didn't care about Fu Jianzhi's expression at the moment, because it would be too easy to kill him.
Fu Jianzhi lowered his head, exhaled a deep breath, and the ring on his left little finger lit up, faintly condensing into the shape of a window breaker, which he used to smash the glass door in front of him.
However, Fu Jianzhi failed; the spiritual connection between him and Zhanlu was ruthlessly severed by Ruan Chen's power.
She still understood him perfectly; the moment he moved, she knew what Fu Jianzhi was going to do. But she didn't want to see him; she was coldly weighing whether or not to end Fu Jianzhi's life.
Fu Jianzhi gave a bitter smile; she truly resented herself.
He took off his coat, wrapped it in his hands, and began to smash the glass door repeatedly with his fists.
Blood quickly dripped down the coat, and a crack appeared on the glass door, gradually widening.
A sharp, intense pain shot through Fu Jianzhi's mind. He watched the bright red blood splatter and thought: I am as despicable as ever.
It wasn't that he couldn't find something handy to smash the door—there was a fire extinguisher just five meters away. He just started acting like a gambler again, betting on Ruan Chen's soft heart.
"Fu Jianzhi, you are truly despicable."
The girl's cool voice echoed in his mind. Fu Jianzhi smiled, his hands continuing their work, and he responded in his mind, "Coincidentally, I think so too."
After a moment, Ruan Chen asked softly, "Does it hurt?"
How could it not hurt? Fu Jianzhi thought he must have fractured his bone. His arm was in so much pain that he almost lost all feeling. He was only able to swing his hand, which was broken in many places, and smash the glass door with all his might.
But he just smiled and said, "It doesn't hurt."
“You love her very much,” Ruan Chen sighed softly. “Such a big scheme, so many years of planning, and now you’re doing all this for her, right? You’re not afraid of death, you’re not afraid of me killing you, you’re just afraid that if you die, this timeline will collapse, and you’ll never have another chance to save her.”
Fu Jianzhi was silent for a moment, then smiled again, "Sister, I think you've always misunderstood me. Is it possible that I'm a person with a grand sense of justice, wanting to save the entire civilization, and that saving her was just a side effect?"
"So I misunderstood you?"
“Yes, sis.” Fu Jianzhi replied quickly.
Ruan Chen realized that Fu Jianzhi did not seem to have said that he wanted to save Ruan Chen in the main timeline.
This information came from Yan Qian and Duan Jingfu, as well as from Ruan Chen's own speculation.
"Sister, it seems you've never listened to my explanation about this matter," Fu Jianzhi sensed Ruan Chen's emotional change and keenly seized upon the loophole in Ruan Chen's statement, pressing her advantage, "How long have you known Yan Qian? How long have you known that guy surnamed Duan? Why won't you ask me a single question about this matter and listen to my explanation? Do you think I don't have a mouth?"
“I asked you that,” Ruan Chen said sarcastically, “I asked you once when I was at your house, and you said you didn’t know anything.”
Ruan Chen is not the type to pester or insist on knowing everything.
She was sensible; once Fu Jianzhi avoided the question, she would never ask it a second time.
“That was my mistake,” Fu Jianzhi apologized readily. “Now we’re even, so listen to me.”
He spoke very quickly, as if he knew the restless heart beneath the girl's seemingly gentle and calm exterior, and her ever-impatient nature, afraid that his rambling would displease her.
He said, "I don't know what you've seen in the main timeline, but I can assure you that Fu Jianzhi in that world doesn't love Ruan Chen."
“I definitely have a right to speak because I am him, and this timeline was torn apart by my influence. In the main timeline, Ruan Chen was just a kitten I picked up. You think I love her and that I would hurt you for her, but that’s just a master’s concern for his pet. You’re overthinking it.”
"You think Ruan Chen, who is in the main timeline, doesn't know anything? Didn't you see how self-disciplined and lifeless she is? She's so boring."
"Who knew she would end up colluding with them and trying to destroy everything? Honestly, if I had known, I wouldn't have taken her in. I would have let her die wherever she wanted."
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