Ruan Chen lowered her head to drink her coffee. It was a little cold and sour, but she could bear it. She desperately needed this caffeine to relieve her severe headache.
She drank a little too quickly and choked, coughing violently. Fu Jianzhi immediately got up and patted her back. "Sister, I'll go get you some hot water."
He was also so eager to leave this place after Ruan Chen asked that question.
He needs to think about how to answer on his own.
Fu Jianzhi was surprised that Ruan Chen was indeed Ruan Chen. Such a hidden point, an old matter from more than ten years ago, the only detail in the plan that had been manipulated by humans, Ruan Chen was able to seize upon it tightly.
He also understood that Ruan Chen's estrangement during this period was not just due to misunderstandings caused by memory loss, but also because Ruan Chen had long realized that there was another insurmountable gap between him and her.
Ruan Chen coughed badly, but still clung desperately to Fu Jianzhi's clothes, refusing to let him leave.
"Sister, I'll go get you some hot water; you're coughing so badly."
"I don't...no, I don't want to." Ruan Chen squeezed out these words between coughs, as if she was afraid that if she let go and let Fu Jianzhi go, he would disappear into the vast sea of people, and her answer would become an eternal mystery.
Fu Jianzhi really thought that at that moment.
He felt panicked and regretful at that moment.
He resented himself for being so greedy. He should have never seen Ruan Chen again after she returned, and even if they met by chance in the future, they would only be nodding acquaintances.
That way, she won't have another chance to ask the question she asked today.
All I ever wanted was for her to live a good life, nothing more.
But how could I be so greedy? How could I still hope to keep Ruan Chen by my side—or hope that I could stay by her side?
He wanted to leave, to escape this bookstore that had been so meticulously designed and built for her, and to end it all here.
Ruan Chen recovered and looked up at Fu Jianzhi. Perhaps because she had coughed so violently just now, her eyes were full of tears and misty fog, and her face was covered with an unhealthy crimson on top of her abnormal paleness.
She seemed so fragile and vulnerable.
She spoke, her voice hoarse, "Fu Jianzhi, did my mother deserve to die that day?"
Fu Jianzhi felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't dare to look into her eyes and hurriedly turned his head to meet his disheveled reflection in the French windows.
“Fu Jianzhi, you’ve talked so much about our… no, it should be your plans. You all have people you want to save and things you want to make amends for, but have you ever thought about why I went back? Why should I contribute my share to tearing apart the timeline?”
"Fu Jianzhi, have you ever thought about my regrets?"
"Have you ever considered that I went back to save her?"
"Tell me, was her death part of your plan?"
"Was it also part of your plan to make me believe that her death was related to me, and to cause me guilt and pain for so many years?"
In fact, Ruan Chen didn't even need to ask that question; the truth was already so obvious.
If Cong Rao hadn't died, she would have had a fatal weakness throughout her life. Even if she returned to Jingzhou and had Fu Jianzhi's support, as long as Ruan Zhengde threatened her with Cong Rao like in the main timeline, she would still obediently listen and repeat the tragedy of her previous life.
What Fu Jianzhi did was modify a tiny piece of code in the Ark's program.
This effectively cuts off Cao De's and Cong Rao's weight together in the days following his entry into this market.
As for how things will unfold, he no longer needs to worry about it, because the rest is up to the world's own laws of operation, which he doesn't need to interfere with. And when it's all over, he will have clean hands as well.
He only modified a small part of the program.
Fu Jianzhi did not answer immediately.
His lips opened and closed repeatedly, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He wanted to say he didn't know, that it had nothing to do with him, since there are too many uncertain factors in the course of time, and who can say for sure about the butterfly effect?
But he could no longer lie to her.
Ruan Chen loosened his clothes little by little, and her expression gradually calmed down.
Then she looked at him with a cold, piercing gaze that Fu Jianzhi had never seen before, and said, "I understand."
She staggered to her feet and walked towards the door, coughing as she went, her back bent, stumbling along.
Fu Jianzhi wanted to explain. He wanted to catch up with Ruan Chen and tell her that he had never imagined that her birth mother, who had always seemed indifferent to her and even participated in her abuse, would be so important to her.
He thought she was just an insignificant person in Ruan Chen's life, and perhaps Ruan Chen also harbored resentment towards her.
Fu Jianzhi was well aware of the methods Ruan Zhengde used to threaten Ruan Chen, and he knew that Ruan Chen's repeated submissions were all due to his obedience.
As for Rao, this woman's weight in the world is too light, too insignificant. Fu Jianzhi spent a lot of effort to find that red thread, so what difference does it make if she dies?
"Mr. Fu, Mr. Fu, are you alright?"
Fu Jianzhi felt weak all over. He walked to the entrance of the bookstore, wanting to make another effort.
But then he felt dizzy and bent over, leaning against the glass door. A waiter rushed over to help him.
Fu Jianzhi waved his hand weakly, "Go and check with Miss Ruan to make sure she's back at school."
He was worried that Ruan Chen would do something foolish.
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Ruan Chen hadn't gone far when she noticed someone was following her, but not stalking her. They were wearing the bookstore's uniform, so it was probably arranged by Fu Jianzhi.
She didn't care.
After entering the school gate, Ruan Chen wanted to go to her dormitory alone to have some peace and quiet, but she was worried that she would overthink things if she was alone, so she decided to go sit in the classroom instead.
It was a three-hour lecture. Ruan Chen entered through the back door and sat in the last row. She opened her book, hoping to distract herself by listening to the lecture for a while, but she couldn't help but start to drift off again.
She had thought about it many times before: if this matter really was related to Fu Jianzhi, what should she do?
She should hate him; she originally had the chance to make up for this regret, but why did he take it upon himself to indirectly cause the death of the only person who had given her love during those years?
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