After Failing to Reverse the Plot, I Made My Escape - Chapter 22

Let me briefly and secretly possess your wife.

“Fuqiu!”

As Yu Fuqiu’s struggling hands gradually fell limp by his side and his consciousness began to plunge into a bottomless abyss, a voice pierced through the haze. It broke through layers of obstacles and reached him.

Ah, I am so tired.

Who is it?

Is it his Tingzhi?

His Tingzhi was never coming back.

What was the meaning of his existence in this world?

He was a product born of guilt, abandoned by everyone, and destined to die alone in the innermost room of a psychiatric hospital.

He wanted so badly to love this world.

He wanted so badly to keep living.

However, his soul felt as if it had been hollowed out.

Perhaps leaving this way was for the best?

After all, no one cared about him anyway.

The person he loved was gone, and the person who loved him had become a stranger.

Perhaps only by letting go could he find something better.

“Fuqiu!”

“Yu Fuqiu! Wake up!”

This voice.

Yu Fuqiu forced his eyes open with great effort. A face that bore a striking resemblance to Chang Tingzhi appeared before him. He reached out a trembling hand. His porcelain-white arms were covered in dark purple bruises.

His shirt had been torn open, hanging messily over his clothes.

Did he look pathetic like this?

He could not let Tingzhi see him like this.

As Yu Fuqiu tried to pull his hand back, the man pressed his cheek tightly against Fuqiu’s palm, hoarsely shouting his name and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“You are safe. You are safe. I am here. The police are here.”

The man’s cheek was cold, carrying the chill of the night wind, yet it strangely transmitted a grounding and reassuring strength.

“Qiuqiu.” A raspy call, pushed to the limit and saturated with immense terror and the relief of a narrow recovery, sounded against his palm. The voice trembled, nearly losing its melody. “Qiuqiu, it is me.”

In that familiar embrace and amid those repeated reassurances, Yu Fuqiu’s unfocused, hollow pupils began to refocus agonizingly slowly.

His wandering gaze finally landed on the handsome face inches away—a face etched with horror and heartache.

His cracked lips moved slightly. He wanted to say something. He wanted to ask how the man got there and to tell him how terrifying it had just been.

However, his throat felt as if it were blocked. A violent, uncontrollable cough suddenly surged up.

Shocking streaks of bright red blood stained the white shirt.

“Ting”

Upon seeing the face clearly, his words caught in his throat.

It was not that face from his dreams that haunted his memories. It was not his Chang Tingzhi.

Zuo Chenshuang’s eyes were filled entirely with worry. He held Yu Fuqiu tightly in his arms. His usually meticulous hair was now disheveled by the wind, and even his glasses were skewed to one side from running too fast.

“Zuo Chenshuang.”

His vocal cords felt as if they were being torn apart as he spoke, word by word, “How is it you?”

And why did you call me Qiuqiu?

Only Chang Tingzhi called him that.

Zuo Chenshuang picked him up in one swift motion. On the way to the hospital, he wrapped his own clothes around Yu Fuqiu.

He sighed, smoothing out Yu Fuqiu’s messy long hair and pulling him even closer.

How did he get so thin?

Facing those sorrowful eyes, he spoke softly, “You might not believe it.”

“Tingzhi called me and told me to come find you.”

Yu Fuqiu’s eyes widened suddenly, like a traveler finding an oasis in the desert. Even his breathing grew hurried.

Zuo Chenshuang had just finished his night shift and was about to catch some sleep when a certain ringtone made his nerves snap to attention.

This was a dedicated line between him and Chang Tingzhi.

Normally, they would not use this number unless there was an emergency.

However, the current Chang Tingzhi had lost his memory and turned into a different personality. How could he know about this phone?

Without time to overthink, he immediately answered.

The connection on the other end was intermittent. He could hear Chang Tingzhi’s voice, suppressed to the extreme, “Go. Go find Qiuqiu. Someone wants to hurt him. I do not know where he went, but I put a tracker on his phone. I will send the location to you immediately. You must go find him!”

“Call him Qiuqiu. Call him by his name.”

“Tingzhi! What happened? What is going on with you? Why?”

“I” The other end went silent for a moment before Chang Tingzhi’s dry voice returned, “Tell Qiuqiu.”

“I love him very much.”

Zuo Chenshuang naturally omitted the part about the GPS tracker. He said, “He asked me to find you. I drove around this street a few times and suddenly heard a noise in the alley, and that is how I found you.”

Zuo Chenshuang leaned his chin against Yu Fuqiu’s temple. His warm breath fanned across Fuqiu’s shoulders. They were incredibly close. He looked down, meeting Yu Fuqiu’s beautiful, mist-filled eyes, and his throat bobbed.

“Tingzhi said he will come back.”

“He said”

“He loves you very much.”

Yu Fuqiu began to cough violently. His entire body convulsed with the force of it, as if he were trying to cough up his internal organs.

The coughing pulled at the bruises and abrasions on his body, bringing waves of sharp pain and causing the terror of the assault to sweep over him once more.

While unable to stop coughing, he began to shiver violently in Zuo Chenshuang’s arms. This was a physiological reaction. Tears, mixed with the moisture brought on by the coughing, poured down his face.

He was like a child who had finally found a harbor in a storm but was still terrified by the thunder.

Within the safety of that embrace, he vented the delayed, overwhelming terror and grievance.

It was hard to say how much time passed. Perhaps from exhaustion, or perhaps because his overstretched nerves finally found a gap to relax, his tense body softened slightly. His head slumped, and he fell into a deep sleep in that comforting embrace.

Yet, even in his dreams, his slender fingers unconsciously gripped Zuo Chenshuang’s hem tightly, as if it were the only piece of driftwood in a vast ocean.

The corners of his eyes were a heartbreaking red. His long eyelashes, wet with tears like butterfly wings drenched by rain, drooped obediently, with a few stray tears still clinging to them.

His small nose twitched occasionally, letting out faint, aggrieved sobs.

Zuo Chenshuang looked down at Yu Fuqiu’s fragile appearance, as if he might break at a touch. His heart felt as though it had been brushed by a soft feather, sending ripples through him. In a corner where no one could see, his expression became incredibly soft.

Let me indulge just once.

Tingzhi, I am sorry.

For now, let me overstep and take your place.

Let me briefly and secretly possess your wife.

Zuo Chenshuang leaned down slowly and, with immense treasure and a tremor of extreme restraint, lightly pressed a kiss to Yu Fuqiu’s temple.

“Mama?”

Chun Chun’s voice interrupted Yu Fuqiu’s reverie.

Yu Fuqiu snapped back to reality and flipped the circuit breaker. The dark house instantly flooded with light.

“Chun Chun, are you hungry?”

Yu Fuqiu turned around and picked up Chang Qi Chun. The child was well-nourished and felt a bit heavy in his arms.

Chun Chun shook his head, his watery eyes wide. He was now reflecting on his father’s words from that night. After staring at Yu Fuqiu for a moment, he suddenly planted a kiss on Yu Fuqiu’s cheek. “Not hungry.”

“Mama, Chun Chun took first place at the sports meet!” Chun Chun swung his little legs, resting his head against Yu Fuqiu’s neck. “The teacher said Chun Chun is amazing!”

“So Mama, no matter what happens, Chun Chun will be by your side. Chun Chun is a man now; I can protect Mama!”

Yu Fuqiu’s eyes crinkled into a smile, yet his heart was filled with infinite bitterness.

He should not let his emotions show.

Chun Chun was only seven, but his mind was so sensitive.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

“Mama, phone, phone.”

Holding Chun Chun, Yu Fuqiu leaned over. Chun Chun grabbed the phone scattered on the side of the bed.

“Fuqiu!” Chu Chu’s voice came from the other end, filled with concern. “Are you okay? Dr. Zuo said you went to the hospital yesterday.”

“I am fine. It is nothing serious.”

He had just been beaten; it was no big deal.

“Regarding the upcoming Starlight Charity Gala, we received the notice. Do you still want to go?” Chu Chu asked.

The Starlight Charity Gala?

Yu Fuqiu paused. The plot that had been delayed for fifteen years was finally returning.

In the novel, this gala was where Chang Tingzhi and Ke Qi’an met. It was also where Chang Tingzhi was drugged and ended up in bed with Ke Qi’an.

That was the beginning of their romance.

He had to prevent the start of that theater.

“I will go. Thank you, Chu Chu.”

After hanging up, Yu Fuqiu sat powerlessly on the bed. This was originally his and Chang Tingzhi’s wedding room, the room they had shared for seven years.

However, now, all his things had been moved to the guest bedroom. The originally warm-colored walls had been repainted in cold tones, and even the sheets and furniture were new. Yet Yu Fuqiu could not help himself; he had stolen a key. When Chang Tingzhi was away, he would sit quietly on the bed alone, or sometimes bury himself in the closet. The lingering scent of Chang Tingzhi would bring him an incomparable sense of peace.

Chun Chun pitter-pattered off to his own small room to grab something.

Yu Fuqiu buried himself in the bed, clutching the pillow tightly and greedily inhaling the scent. The pain in his body seemed to subside instantly.

“Mama.”

Chun Chun took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and sat next to Yu Fuqiu. His chubby little hands tied a peace knot around Yu Fuqiu’s wrist.

Yu Fuqiu dazed out.

“Chun Chun learned how to make this from the master at Shansi Temple during summer break. The master praised Chun Chun for being skillful. Chun Chun made many, many wishes inside and gathered lots of blessings. I am tying it on Mama’s hand so it will keep Mama safe.”

Shansi Temple.

The very place where Chang Tingzhi had performed the “three steps, one kowtow” ritual to pray for peace charms for him and Chun Chun.

“No matter what happens, Chun Chun will protect Mama and stand behind Mama without hesitation.”

Yu Fuqiu stared blankly at Chang Qi Chun.

This was his only flesh and blood.

And after Chang Tingzhi’s memory loss, Chun Chun was the only person who still loved him.

Perhaps he was not so alone after all.

So, maybe he could work a little harder to make Chang Tingzhi remember him and return to his side?