After Failing to Reverse the Plot, I Made My Escape - Chapter 41

You only need to look at me.

“Memory erasure?”

These two words struck Yu Fuqiu’s frayed nerves like a sudden thunderstorm.

Whose memory were they erasing? Was it Little Tree’s, Chang Tingzhi’s, or perhaps Chun Chun’s?

No, they must not touch his child. Chun Chun had already suffered far too much.

Yu Fuqiu felt as if he were floating in the freezing deep sea. His body was too heavy to move, and his ears were filled with the intermittent, blurred echoes of his life. These key words exploded in the dark world of his consciousness. Whose memory was being cleared? The answer was on the tip of his tongue, yet he was so terrified that he wanted to flee from it.

But they were so close. The protagonist personality from the original book had finally started to embrace him. On the Ferris wheel, at the most dangerous moment, he had shielded Yu Fuqiu in his arms. He had kissed his temples and told him in a low, tender voice, over and over again, “I am here. I am here.”

That voice had cut through the screams of the crowd, the piercing wail of the sirens, and all the grievances Yu Fuqiu had wanted to shout out to the person holding him. It had pinned itself directly into the deepest part of his soul.

The protagonist who was supposed to love the original hero was the same man who, in that moment, held him, kissed him, and protected him with his own life.

Deep down, Yu Fuqiu had wanted this personality to disappear quickly. He wanted it to vanish completely so that his Chang Tingzhi could return. But in the moment he lost gravity and fell from the Ferris wheel, his heart had softened for a split second.

His thoughts sank deeper into the ocean of memory.

It was a very ordinary night carrying the scent of a minty tide. Yu Fuqiu had just finished the final interview on his schedule and happened to pass by Chang Tingzhi’s university. For some reason, he felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to see him. In that moment, he wanted to see Chang Tingzhi more than anything.

In the gentle summer evening breeze, he stepped onto the campus he had never attended. To fulfill his own fantasies, he strolled through the grounds alone. He took off his mask, letting himself fade into the shadows of the trees. He wore wired earphones that played the math formulas and English words he had always wanted to learn. He longed to fit in and to have the life he had dreamed of.

He sat quietly under the shade of a tree. His pen moved aimlessly back and forth across a white sheet of paper. This time, he did not write his own name. Instead, he spelled out English words, one by one.

A shadow fell over him, bringing a familiar scent that made his heart tremble. Before he could react, the earphone in his left ear was gently pulled away. Warm fingertips accidentally brushed against his earlobe, sending a series of faint shivers through him.

“What are you listening to? Is it more attractive than me?”

Chang Tingzhi’s voice was very low, carrying its usual hint of laziness as he whispered right in his ear.

Because of the wired earphones, he maintained a half-squatting posture with his hands braced on the grass as he leaned down. The distance between them vanished instantly. They were so close that Yu Fuqiu could see his downward-sweeping eyelashes and feel the hot breath against his skin.

Yu Fuqiu froze. His fingers tightened around his pen as his heart skipped an uncontrollable beat. This corner was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of lingering kisses from passing young couples echoing between them. Sharing these earphones created a private, breathtaking boundary in the silence.

In the earphones, the beat was clear and the melody was flowing. The English words had finished playing. Just then, Chang Tingzhi looked up, catching the second Yu Fuqiu’s eyes widened in surprise. At the start of the song, a male voice began a tender melody.

“I want to stay by your side and love you until we are one hundred years old.”

Time seemed to press the pause button. Chang Tingzhi’s gaze was deep. He was silhouetted against the light as he faced Yu Fuqiu. The dim lamplight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, but that sudden, locked gaze gave the lyrics a weight of a thousand pounds.

Yu Fuqiu’s breath hitched. This face, so close at hand, caused the thoughts he had buried deep in his heart to break through the soil again. Summer cicadas buzzed loudly, and the breeze rustled the green leaves. There seemed to be infinite stars in those eyes, drowning Yu Fuqiu within them.

The song continued and his heart beat like a drum. Yu Fuqiu thought he might never forget those lyrics for the rest of his life.

Was it the lyrics he could not forget, or the warmth of Chang Tingzhi’s fingertips when he took the earphone? He could not forget the way Chang Tingzhi crouched down to meet his eyes, carrying that pleasant, faint, clean scent of soap. He could not forget the moment the song reached the line about loving until they were one hundred years old, when Chang Tingzhi quietly touched his skin, craving the warmth of his palm.

He should have known their relationship was complicated. He was only Chang Tingzhi’s guardian. Chang Tingzhi would have his own destined lover and he should not have interfered. But in this moment, Yu Fuqiu admitted he was greedy. He wanted to take a step further.

“It sounds very nice.” Chang Tingzhi’s throat moved slightly. He leaned in further. Yu Fuqiu thought he was going to kiss him and closed his eyes uncomfortably, but the expected touch did not come. Instead, there was a soft chuckle.

Chang Tingzhi slowly pulled back, picking a bright green leaf from Yu Fuqiu’s hair. “The wind is strong. It blew onto your head.”

“You will not laugh at me?” Yu Fuqiu instinctively grabbed the hem of his shirt, not wanting him to leave.

Chang Tingzhi paused, waiting quietly for him to continue.

Since his debut, there were not many scandals that people could pin on Yu Fuqiu. His dramas were instant hits, and a tidal wave of fame had come his way. He became a rising star, but with that came overwhelming criticism. Most were baseless, but the one thing they attacked most was his lack of education.

“An illiterate who never went to university. Does he even deserve to stand on stage?” “No wonder only his face is worth looking at. He has not even finished a few years of school. Who knows how he got these resources? His skills in bed must be very good.” “He did not even graduate high school? Hilarious. These days, the threshold for the entertainment industry is in the gutter. I suggest checking the nine-year compulsory education records.”

Yu Fuqiu had once participated in a travel program. Because of his outstanding looks, many people approached him for help, including foreigners asking for directions. Despite them using simple words and sentences, Yu Fuqiu could not get a word out for the longest time.

During the brief years when his mother’s mental state fluctuated but she could still offer a clear smile, young Yu Fuqiu had received a gift like a blessing. He could go to school. The school was in a town over ten kilometers away. For a child, that was a distance that seemed to have no end.

But he did not find it bitter. Every day at four in the morning, while it was still pitch black and the mountain wind was freezing, he would quietly get up. He would grab the grain cake he had hidden the night before and walk the winding, rugged mountain paths through the dew.

He was truly happy. Even if his feet blistered, even if his stomach growled with hunger, even if his legs felt like lead after walking dozens of kilometers, he was happy as long as he saw his books. He told his teacher his biggest dream was to leave the mountains and get into a good university.

But later, his mother’s illness worsened and his father’s gambling addiction grew. The beatings became more frequent. Clubs, belts, and even farm tools were used. He could only curl up in a corner, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out because crying only brought more vicious blows. He was beaten so badly he could not get up to walk the mountain path to school.

Later, when his mother was taken back by her family, he was thick-skinned enough to follow, but in the end, he was sent to a mental hospital. He had only finished a few grades of elementary school. So when people mocked him later for never having gone to university, he had no power to argue. He truly did not know what the complex combinations of letters meant after the twenty-six alphabets.

“I have no education. So in the beginning, I could only do the hardest, most tiring jobs. Moving things, cleaning, working in the sun and rain on construction sites. When you were in elementary school, I actually could not answer many of the questions you asked me.” He gave a bitter smile that looked worse than crying. “I secretly flipped through dictionaries and asked others, but sometimes I still did not understand. And now, I am sitting here in such a wonderful university, listening to things I simply cannot learn.” His voice grew lower, filled with weakness and self-deprecation. “Do you not think this is very ridiculous?”

Chang Tingzhi gazed at him quietly. The song lyrics began to repeat. He leaned forward and pulled Yu Fuqiu tightly into his arms. “Shh.”

He whispered into Yu Fuqiu’s ear, his voice as tender as a lover’s murmur, masking a cold flash of satisfaction deep in his eyes. “Everyone has the right to pursue their dreams. Education does not represent everything. You sitting here is proof enough.”

He stroked Yu Fuqiu’s long hair. His movements were gentle, like soothing a frightened pet.

“Even though it was so hard, did you not raise me anyway?” His voice dropped even lower, his breath brushing against Yu Fuqiu’s ear with a hypnotic quality. “Look, now you have sent me to this top institution. You are incredible, Qiu Qiu.”

“People have things they are good at and things they are not,” he continued, his tone steady as if stating an indisputable truth. “It is fine if you are not good at these book theories. You are good at taking care of people. You are good at loving me and depending on me. That is enough.”

“What do those people outside know? They only judge you by the most superficial standards. Only I know how good you are and how precious.” His lips brushed against Yu Fuqiu’s temple. His tone was full of pity and possessiveness. “So, do not worry about those voices. The more they belittle you, the more it proves their own shallowness. You only need to look at me and trust me. I will protect you.”

Chang Tingzhi quietly picked up Yu Fuqiu’s phone. Looking at the screen full of words and math formulas, his lips curved. With a flick of his finger, he pressed the button for successful deletion. With a slight shake of his hand, he let the phone drop.

His father had once told him that people should not be too well-informed, or their hearts would grow wild and they would long for the outside world too much.

“You only need to look at me.”

Chang Tingzhi’s phone buzzed. A notification appeared: “Transaction successful. Next step is to spread deeper rumors. Awaiting instructions.”

Yu Fuqiu nestled quietly in Chang Tingzhi’s embrace. He buried himself in this harbor that made him feel safe. He did not even notice the pen falling to the ground.

Yu Fuqiu’s consciousness slowly returned, his eyes filling with tears. How did he lose such a wonderful Chang Tingzhi? Was all memory of him about to disappear?