Chapter 98 I will never betray or hurt you...
This is a boring world.
Uninteresting scenery, uninteresting people, every creature hanging by a thread, following its predetermined fate.
boring.
Boring.
Lu Ran always thought this way.
Whenever I walk down the street, looking at the asphalt road, I imagine a huge hole suddenly appearing, and someone falling through and dying instantly. But sadly, this road will never have a hole, not even in the event of an earthquake or meteorite impact. Of course, there will be no earthquakes or meteorites; this road will always remain peaceful and calm, without even a car accident.
Lu Ran knew, he didn't know why he knew, but he knew.
This is, of course, an intuition.
Boring.
boring.
Will life undergo some new changes?
Lu Ran grinned, looked at the sun, then at the people coming and going. He couldn't find any new changes, so he turned his attention to himself and decided to do something completely different.
Skipping school, skipping classes, racing cars—every act of defiance brought him an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. Surely, I'm different? Not a puppet, but a living, breathing person.
However……
One day, he saw his destiny.
It turns out that his destiny was to deviate from the norm. He was no different from anyone else, just a slightly special puppet. He would also follow the guidance of fate and star in a play in which he was the lead.
Hmm... I'm a little annoyed.
I can't help but want to do something even crazier.
The thought suddenly popped into Lu Ran's mind, but he couldn't quite put it into words. Perhaps the appearance of this thought was yet another sign of fate guiding him.
Lu Ran gradually lost touch with himself. He would do crazy things, but more often than not, he would fantasize about his own death. For example, being run over by a truck and turned into mincemeat when he went out, or suddenly finding himself falling from a great height while walking down the stairs. Or suddenly stabbing himself in the chest with a fruit knife while he was peeling an apple... However, a puppet is just a puppet; until the moment of death, he will always exist.
Everything changed because of that kidnapping.
I don't remember how many people there were. It was a dark, windowless room with no water or food. Several tall, masked men stood to one side like wooden figures.
one day.
Three days.
Seven days.
Half a month.
Until time became completely lost. Lu Ran was in a state of chaos, but he was conscious. He saw himself, in order to survive, straighten his swaying body and smash into the wooden figures with astonishing force. A child, a group of adults, an absolute disparity, yet he won.
The victors survive by feeding on the flesh and blood of the vanquished.
In a daze, a voice rang out—
"Your leading lady has arrived."
The voice came from nowhere, yet it seemed like a predetermined destiny.
The female lead?
What female lead?
And the voice continued to say the same thing—
"Your background, your appearance, your glory, your temper, your experiences, your current mental state, everything about you is preparing you for the leading lady role."
The voice spoke with such certainty. But he never believed it, for he could sense fate, and fate wouldn't be conveyed through such a voice. It was inexplicable; perhaps it was his kidnappers playing tricks.
However……
Through the crack in the door.
Through his blurry vision, he saw the girl.
The indistinct figure and unclear face didn't even make his heart beat faster, but his soul, already inside the puppet's body, was surging with infatuation.
Lu Ran then realized the voice's instructions; the voice was misleading him, causing him to mistakenly identify the heroine of his destiny.
But what does it matter?
He suddenly found the sound to be so pleasant.
It turns out that my awakened soul, so incompatible with this puppet-like body, had been waiting for her all along.
He was born for her.
He was absolutely certain that he was born for Pei Ci.
He accepted the fate he had chosen.
So I stopped worrying about it.
Years later, because of Ah Ci, he stepped into this operating room. Standing beside the girl wrapped in a white sheet, all his deductions were confirmed.
The girl under the white cloth is the true heroine of this puppet show.
Zhou Songyin's explanation also made it clear to Lu Ran the source of the sound.
Seemingly aware that he was about to die, Zhou Songyin smiled and began to recount some of the things he had done. He spoke of these things calmly, as if a being from a higher dimension was conducting a test on life in a lower-dimensional world.
"That kidnapping was arranged by Pei Chi and me."
"And the fact that you haven't been cured of an incurable disease for so long... is also due to our intervention."
"Did you... hear anything?" Zhou Songyin asked, his eyes lowered. "That sound was a psychological suggestion we gave you, which is why you fell in love with Pei Ci."
In a few brief words, Zhou Songyin explained what he had done behind the scenes. The kidnapping that shocked the world was orchestrated by him and Pei Chi, and even his love for Pei Ci was interfered with by them. He spoke at length, and at the end, he gazed into Lu Ran's eyes, "Do you really... like Pei Ci?"
He believes that his liking is just a result of psychological suggestion and drug control.
However, Lu Ran smiled, his eyes dark and calm. "You really think..."
"Can you control the male lead?"
There was never any control involved; it was simply going with the flow. He indulged her because he liked her, and he obeyed her because he liked her. His awakened soul fell in love with Pei Ci, nothing more.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Songyin was unusually taken aback. He wasn't a fool; on the contrary, he was incredibly intelligent. He had even known all along that if the male lead hadn't fallen in love with Pei Ci and consistently rejected the real female lead, the plan wouldn't have progressed so smoothly. But he had assumed Lu Ran was oblivious to his own love, falling for Pei Ci and believing it was destiny. Now it seemed Lu Ran had known all along.
It was just going with the flow.
Is this NPC really that charismatic?
Zhou Songyin vaguely sensed something was wrong, but before he could think about it further, Lu Ran prepared to lift the white cloth again.
Zhou Songyin suddenly felt a strange sense of panic. "Wait!!!"
He shouted. They stopped him again.
He knew that if he didn't say something that could sway his resolve, all of this would be for naught. Zhou Songyin quickly said, "Lu Ran, are you sure you want to do this?"
Lu Ran looked at him indifferently.
“Because this is… cough cough, a task Pei Ci gave you.” Zhou Songyin pursed his lips, blood already trickling down his neck from the corner of his mouth. “What if the result of doing this… is that Pei Ci will die?”
Lu Ran's pupils suddenly contracted.
Zhou Songyin wasted no more time and blurted out his guesses to Lu Ran almost all at once. But as he revealed these truths, he also suffered a backlash.
"Actually, you've guessed the truth to some extent. This is a puppet show. You are the male lead, and the girl under the white cloth is the female lead. The script for this puppet show is that the male and female leads will eventually fall in love. However, due to interference from outsiders and the male lead's unconventional behavior, the puppet show cannot continue. So, the puppeteer has chosen a supporting character to eliminate the interference and restore everything to normal."
"Cough cough..." Zhou Songyin inhaled and exhaled, "I believe you know who that person is by now, right?"
He continued, "Then..."
"Male lead."
"Are you going to help this supporting character and restore everything to normal?"
"Can you really bear to return to your own destiny and fall in love with the heroine of your predetermined fate?"
“Lu Ran…” Zhou Songyin almost fell to the ground, staring intently at Lu Ran, “You…”
Is it really possible to fall in love with someone else?
quiet.
A deathly silence.
At this moment, the truths that Ah Ci could not say aloud were spoken by someone else in another way.
So Ye Qingyu is really special.
So that's why Pei Ci so desperately wanted him and Ye Qingyu to reconcile in those fragmented memories.
Pei Ci hopes he will fall in love with Ye Qingyu.
Like a predetermined fate.
That was his mission.
His love became her biggest source of interference.
So that's how it is. So that's how it is. No wonder Ah Ci in my memory was always so unpredictable, sometimes hot, sometimes cold.
turn out to be……
A-Ci kept pushing him away.
On this day, Lu Ran learned countless truths, but only this one truth caused him such pain.
He received no love, and even his lover hated him so much. So, those moments between him and A-Ci, those moments when A-Ci softened her attitude, when she allowed him to get close, when she let him kiss her, when she let him hug her, when she was even willing to accept him… was all of this just to use him to achieve her own ends?
Is that all there is between them?
pain.
An invisible dagger pierced his chest, and at that moment he felt excruciating pain.
Zhou Songyin, who was already half-sitting on the ground, said softly between breaths, "Lu Ran, given this young lady's personality, if you ruin her plans, it's tantamount to... betraying her. She'll hate you to death..."
"So," he said, a slight smile playing on his lips, "are you prepared to fall in love with someone else, or... betray her?"
This is a difficult choice.
After learning the truth, Lu Ran truly understood how important this mission was to Pei Ci. He also understood that Pei Ci would never abandon this mission. And if he followed her instructions, now that he was to cooperate in rescuing Ye Qingyu, what would Pei Ci ask him to do after rescuing Ye Qingyu?
First, he reconciled with Ye Qingyu, then became friends with her. Next, he was asked to confess his feelings to Ye Qingyu, then kiss her, and then get married...
These things were only a matter of time.
At this moment, Lu Ran felt as if he were at a crossroads. He knew that both paths led to despair, but he still chose to choose one and continue forward.
One second.
Two seconds.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
Time passed unnoticed, until Zhou Songyin could no longer hold on and collapsed. He coughed, clutching his chest, a broken sound like an old windmill coming from his throat. In this deathly silence, Lu Ran's voice softly rang out: "If this is what she wants, I will grant her wish."
This was a decision Lu Ran made after careful consideration.
Long ago, he had fantasized about his wedding with Aci, where they would exchange rings and he would recite his vows.
"I love you.
I love everything about you.
I will think what you think.
Love what you love.
From the day I met you, I was born for you. I will never betray or hurt you; I will make you happy.
Although Lu Ran didn't have the chance to make his vow, thankfully, now he has the opportunity to fulfill it.
If this is what Aci wants, then make him like someone else, and he will do it.
Even if the result is his death.
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Author's Note: The foreshadowing in Chapter 23 has been resolved.
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