After Failing to Reverse the Plot, I Made My Escape - Chapter 18

“Remember, the man who is your husband now is me.”

Soft lips brushed against Jiang Tingzhi’s palm. His eyes flickered as he snapped back to his senses. His hand was clamped around Yu Fuqiu’s slender neck, and the porcelain skin already showed visible red marks from the pressure.

Beneath him, the beauty’s watery eyes looked at him hazily. The reddened corners of those eyes resembled red plum blossoms blooming on a sacred, snow-capped mountain. The sensation of suffocation at his throat forced Yu Fuqiu to part his lips slightly, revealing the tip of his pink tongue. Through the dim light, the slight moisture on his tongue reflected in Jiang Tingzhi’s eyes.

He clearly could have struggled, yet Yu Fuqiu only tilted his head back obediently. He slightly exposed his tongue, which was already red and swollen from being kissed. His eyes were misty, gazing at Jiang Tingzhi like a damp-eyed fawn.

Jiang Tingzhi loosened his grip to allow the beauty to breathe smoothly, but his fingers restlessly slipped into the moist mouth. His fingers were long with well-defined knuckles. Yu Fuqiu had cared for him well, and the young man, whose skin was as smooth as congealed fat, tilted his head and obediently took the fingers into his mouth.

Sensing that the previously violent movements had turned slow, Yu Fuqiu knew this was a sign of Jiang Tingzhi’s pleasure. Before the memory loss, Yu Fuqiu knew exactly how heavy Jiang Tingzhi’s desire for him was. Had it not been for his work, he feared he would have been locked to the bed every day.

The thin lips, swollen from suction, looked like flower petals. The moist red hue appeared exceptionally decadent under the light. His long hair spread out in a mess, blurring the background for Jiang Tingzhi. In his eyes, there was only Yu Fuqiu kneeling before him, obediently licking his fingers.

His gaze slowly drifted downward. The collar had been pulled open to reveal a large expanse of snow-white skin covered in varying shades of red marks.

“Hold me. Hold me again.”

Yu Fuqiu’s tongue licked the long knuckles until they were glistening with moisture, his teeth lightly grazing them. He lifted his eyes slightly with a blurred expression, and fragments of light flickered at the corners of his eyes.

“Tingzhi, I beg you.”

The moment Jiang Tingzhi heard that name, his expression instantly turned cold. The beauty before him hooked the corners of his eyes, fine strands of hair clinging to his forehead. His snow-white body was flushed with a peach-pink hue, and his small tongue gently licked the fingertips like a small animal begging for mercy.

He laughed softly. “What did you just call me? Call you what?”

Yu Fuqiu’s brain was complete mush, an absolute blank. His entire body felt as if it were being roasted by fire. The heat crawled upward along his nerve endings. A voice in his subconscious told him that the person in front of him could relieve this burning heat. He had to please him.

Yu Fuqiu’s mind turned slowly. Suddenly, he felt the world spin. When he regained his senses, his nose was pressed against the back of the sofa. Realizing what position he was in, his body tensed up. His back was pressed against that warm body, and scorching breath was tight against his skin.

The man sneered as he grabbed Yu Fuqiu’s long hair, saying in a deep voice near his ear, “Do not mention that name in front of me again. Since you want so badly to maintain your persona as the perfect Mrs. Jiang, I will naturally satisfy you.”

“Oh!”

A surge of sharp pain climbed up his spine. He tilted his head back like a dying swan, his eyes unfocused and his mind a total blank. What little remained of his sanity scattered instantly. His thin throat was blocked by long fingers.

The man bit his earlobe, his dark eyes staring deeply at Yu Fuqiu.

“Remember, the man who is your husband now is me.”

“Where is this?”

Yu Fuqiu’s consciousness suddenly snapped back. He found himself floating in the air as a soul, overlooking the entire City H from his vantage point. Suddenly, as if pulled by some gravitational force, he plummeted downward from a height of a hundred meters.

“Tingzhi!”

Just as his dizziness began to fade, he heard a familiar voice. Yu Fuqiu’s body trembled violently, and he collapsed onto the ground, unable to support himself.

Ke Qi’an’s face peeked through the door. He scanned the room to confirm the person he wanted was inside, and his voice was filled with joy. Yu Fuqiu realized that this place was none other than the wedding home he had decorated with his own hands.

“An’an.”

The familiar smile from his memory reappeared before Yu Fuqiu. His heart felt a pang of bitterness, and he reached out to touch Jiang Tingzhi. But his hand froze in mid-air. He saw Jiang Tingzhi smiling tenderly as he took Ke Qi’an into his arms. He affectionately rubbed his nose against the other’s cheek and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Such a grown man, yet still jumping around,” Jiang Tingzhi said as he held Ke Qi’an in his lap while sitting on a chair. Those hands, which used to always hold Yu Fuqiu, now rested on someone else’s body, carefully stroking Ke Qi’an’s lower abdomen.

“Is the child bothering you again?”

A child? What child?

Yu Fuqiu’s gaze stiffened as he slowly looked down. Ke Qi’an’s lower abdomen was slightly protruding. Their hands overlapped, and the light from the window spilled over them, appearing exceptionally soft.

“Yes. You are the father, but you are not by my side. He missed you, so of course he bothered me.”

Ke Qi’an looked up playfully and pouted his red lips. “Kiss me, or I will not forgive you.”

Jiang Tingzhi flicked Ke Qi’an’s nose and laughed helplessly. “You really are something.”

“Oh! Hubby, did you feel that? A fetal movement! It is so magical!” Ke Qi’an blinked his eyes like a child full of curiosity about the world.

“Yes. Around this month, the baby will start to move against you.”

Jiang Tingzhi squeezed Ke Qi’an’s fair ankles, his eyes full of heartache. “They are all swollen. Even though I massage them every day, I feel so sorry for you every time you get up at night.”

“I do this willingly. I am willing to bear a child for you, a child that belongs only to us. I am a very petty person. I do not like the child you have with him,” Ke Qi’an said, patting his stomach. “Will he be your only one?”

Jiang Tingzhi paused, then held him even tighter, leaning his forehead against Ke Qi’an’s. “I know you do not like that child. He is the child of that other Jiang Tingzhi, not mine. I have already sent him away. He will never appear before you again. An’an.”

Just as Jiang Tingzhi was about to kiss Ke Qi’an’s lips, Yu Fuqiu could no longer bear it. He knelt on the ground and retched violently. However, he could not throw up anything.

What was this? Was this the future plot? Where was Chun-chun? Where was my Chun-chun? My child. Jiang Tingzhi, he is your child too. How could you be so cruel?

Tears fell uncontrollably. Yu Fuqiu cried until he could not catch his breath. Suddenly, he had a strong intuition. This was the modified plot.

He was not originally a character in the novel, nor did he belong to this world. According to the original plot, Jiang Tingzhi and Ke Qi’an were supposed to meet at a charity gala. Ke Qi’an served as a waiter at the party and ended up in a hotel with a drugged Jiang Tingzhi. It was a very cliché plot. It was not until later, when Ke Qi’an was bruised and battered, that Jiang Tingzhi learned Ke Qi’an was the person who had saved him as a child.

This was the convergence point of the plot. The timeline was supposed to start shortly after. But because of Yu Fuqiu’s intervention, he had snatched the plot that belonged to Ke Qi’an. He had brought Jiang Tingzhi back to his own home and raised him slowly. Therefore, the plot detected a deviation and sought to correct it.

This dream he was having placed him as one of the novel’s characters, a character that was never meant to exist and was destined to disappear.

“But, but,” Yu Fuqiu’s eyes were bloodshot. His beautiful face was entirely filled with sorrow and anger.

At least in the original plot, there was no child. He had at least one child with Jiang Tingzhi. This meant the plot could be modified. Then he would modify it until it reached the ending he wanted. He wanted his Jiang Tingzhi. The one he raised himself was his. Why should he give him to someone else? He did not want to be alone anymore.

In the endless darkness, Yu Fuqiu’s body curled up tightly. If only his Jiang Tingzhi were still here.

“Tingzhi, wait for me a little longer. I will definitely make you come back to my side, even if it costs me everything,” Yu Fuqiu whispered in his heart. Like a most devout believer praying to a collapsed deity, he used this broken belief as the sole pillar to support his shattered body.

Just as he was about to be swallowed by the darkness, a voice called out.

“Qiuqiu.”

A familiar voice, filled with the tenderness and heartache he yearned for, echoed softly in his ear like a glimmer of light piercing through a thick fog. Yu Fuqiu trembled violently, almost believing he was having a hallucination caused by the pain.

“Qiuqiu.”

It came again, clearer and more real than before. The voice was a distorted phantom, yet it carried the deepest, most exclusive love from his memory. The darkness behind him seemed to dissipate slightly. A warm and familiar chest pressed against his trembling body. A pair of strong hands held him with a strength that was both careful and deeply craved.

He was pulled into a firm and warm embrace. Was it a dream? Had his wait finally ended?

“Tingzhi, is it my Tingzhi?” Yu Fuqiu did not dare to look back, fearing that all of this was fake.

That warm breath fanned across his skin, nearly making it burn, yet he did not hide. Small kisses fell near his lips, prying them open. Unlike the fierce kisses from before, these were filled with a careful fragility. It was his Jiang Tingzhi.

He grabbed Jiang Tingzhi’s sleeve and pleaded with a sob, “Do not leave. I beg you. Please stay by my side.”

“Do not be afraid, Qiuqiu. I will not leave. Wait for me a little longer. I will definitely return. I will come to your side.”

The voice became lighter and more distant, as if it had exhausted its last bit of strength. In the endless darkness, Yu Fuqiu could perceive that burning, reluctant, and loving gaze. The warmth of the embrace slowly cooled down. Yu Fuqiu’s eyes widened suddenly as he tried to catch the last remaining warmth, wanting to turn and see his lover’s face clearly.

What he saw was still an endless void. There was no embrace, and his body remained ice-cold. He was, in the end, still alone.