If The Persona Is Wrong, Everything Else Is In Vain - Chapter 13

Wei An still intended to continue pestering him, but Uncle Li grabbed him by the back of his collar. Uncle Li apologized to everyone and dragged him to a less crowded spot to teach him a lesson.

“Goudanzi?” Lin Luo murmured. The name sounded a bit familiar, but he couldn’t recall it for the life of him.

“You know him?” Zhou Wan glanced at him, his tone frosty.

Jokes aside, in this current era where the philosophy of “a humble name makes a child easier to raise” was followed to the absolute letter, in a village of about 200 households, at least 80 of them probably had someone named Goudanzi.

“No…” Lin Luo instinctively replied. He glanced back at Zhou Wan, a flash of slyness suddenly crossing his eyes as he shifted his tone, “Shouldn’t he be an old acquaintance of yours, ‘Wanwan’?”

Zhou Wan smiled without sincerity, gritting his teeth as he threatened via ventriloquism, “Say that one more time.”

Lin Luo curled his lips and tucked away his smile.

With the leader who had charged ahead now gone, the remaining fans basically regained their composure. Lin Luo arranged for them to head over to a nearby pavilion, making sure they were well looked after with plenty of food and drinks.

By the time Lin Luo made his way back, arrangements had already been made to send Wei An home. Uncle Li was talking to the director about something, and both of their expressions looked rather strained.

It turned out that the production crew had booked the entire scenic area of the tea mountain for the day. Reasonably speaking, today the entire mountain, including some of the outer entertainment facilities, should have been closed to the public. However, no one knew through what channels Wei An had managed to get his hands on tickets, letting in the fans who had traveled from far and wide after hearing rumors online.

Because they held valid tickets for the day, the staff at the ticket gates of the tea mountain sub-scenic area assumed it had been arranged by the production crew and let them straight through.

“What exactly happened just now?” Lin Luo asked casually.

“Goudanzi,” Uncle Li looked up at everyone, “is Wei An.”

“He’s a young fellow from our Shuihe Village. He’s not very old, just 20. Originally, he was a top student at Yunzhou University and the pride of our village, but later…”

He rubbed his deeply lined face with his rough, aged hands and let out a sigh. “Later, who knows what kind of evil entity possessed him, but he suddenly fell for a male classmate. He insisted on eloping with him. His family absolutely refused to allow it, and so he lost his mind.”

Lin Luo secretly clenched his fists. The version of this story was all too familiar.

“But it’s already the ABO era now. What’s so unusual about liking a man? It’s not like he likes someone of the same attribute,” the director expressed his confusion.

Uncle Li glanced at him through the gaps between his fingers, equally unable to understand the composure with which the director said those words.

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Even though I don’t understand how ‘open-minded’ you outsiders are, what’s more severe is that as a male Omega, he likes a male Omega.”

Hearing this, the director also fell silent.

Uncle Li lamented, “I don’t know what has been happening these past few years. Could there be something wrong with the village ancestral hall? Why have several younger generations in recent years, one after another, developed problems with liking the same sex?”

“A few years ago, there was also one in the village…”

Zhou Wan wheeled himself over. The pfft-pfft sound of the wheels crushing the gravel interrupted Uncle Li’s recollections.

He asked, “What’s wrong with liking the same sex?”

“Why can’t an Alpha like an Alpha, and why can’t an Omega like an Omega?”

He let out a light laugh. “And then there are Betas, who are said to be born without pheromones. Why should even they be bound by these kinds of rules? If a Beta cannot be with another Beta, are they supposed to have some kind of romantic or physical entanglement with an Alpha or an Omega instead?”

Hearing this, everyone’s gaze instantly focused on him.

If such treasonous words were to be overheard by the official ABO Association, it would result in punishment.

Setting aside the secondary genders of male and female, if someone didn’t even follow the standard ABO guidelines, they would still face punishment even if they were the son of the wealthiest man.

Realizing the situation just in time, Lin Luo let out a couple of awkward laughs, quickly trying to smooth things over. “Naturally, one cannot just do whatever they please, otherwise how could…”

“If one possesses thoughts but cannot freely express love to the person they cherish, then what is the point of speaking about liking someone or about love? It is nothing more than degenerating back into low-level creatures governed solely by instinct.”

Seeing that Zhou Wan had no intention of shutting up, Lin Luo shot a glance at Little Li, planning to find some random excuse to spirit him away.

Having listened to Zhou Wan’s rhetoric, the director and Uncle Li were already breaking out in cold sweats, sitting on pins and needles. Taking advantage of the offered way out, they hastily made their departure.

“Why won’t you let me finish speaking?” Zhou Wan looked up at Lin Luo.

Lin Luo sneered, “If I let you keep speaking, you’d be locked up by now.”

He found a stool and sat down, leaning back casually as he picked up a small portable fan nearby to blow air at himself.

The breeze dispersed from the center of his nose out in all directions, and his painfully restless heart grew a bit more comfortable along with it.

“Speak less of these taboo words in the future.” He cast a sideways glance at Zhou Wan. “Do you think you’re still a minor? The only thing that should grow with time shouldn’t just be your age, it needs to be your brain too. Being reckless with your words will only end up hurting you.”

Zhou Wan asked, “What did I say wrong?”

Lin Luo froze. The wind blew up the broken hairs across his forehead, his long eyelashes trembling slightly along with it. He pondered in deep silence for a long time before lowering his voice, asking with utmost caution, “Do you… like Goudanzi?”

Zhou Wan: “…”

He glared at Lin Luo as if trying to stare right through him. “How many years does that brain of yours need to grow before it finally develops some wrinkles?”

“Then what are you doing it for?” Lin Luo sat up straight, facing him directly. “There’s absolutely no need, is there?”

Within his worldview and experiences, going head to head never brought any benefits; it was a matter of inflicting a thousand points of damage on the enemy while suffering twelve hundred in return.

Zhou Wan insisted stubbornly, “There is a need.”

He seemed to want to find something within Lin Luo’s eyes.

He had once been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it, but now it was entirely gone, without a single trace left behind.

He longed for what was lost to be found again, hoping for that passionate “rebellion” to reappear, so he quietly and patiently waited for Lin Luo to respond.

But Lin Luo merely looked at him without saying anything, seemingly lost in a daze. Thus, Zhou Wan spoke up again, “Why aren’t you asking further?”

Lin Luo shifted his gaze away. “What’s the use of asking?” He attempted to brush it off with a joke. “If I ask, will what you say definitely be the truth? It’s not like you’re Pinocchio.”

Zhou Wan pulled him closer, forcing him to lock eyes with him once more. “As long as you dare to ask, I dare to answer.”

“I… I have nothing to ask.” Lin Luo stubbornly averted his eyes every which way, avoiding his direct, piercing gaze. That gaze was scalding hot, capable of effortlessly reigniting the wretched, withered flowers and rotten branches that had long dried up into waste at the bottom of his heart.

“I lik… ” Zhou Wan’s words were cut off right at his lips by Lin Luo.

Covering Zhou Wan’s mouth, Lin Luo smiled and shook his head at him, saying, “I don’t want to hear it.”

His courage had long since been entirely depleted, his true heart riddled with a thousand gaping wounds, leaving behind only a tiny fraction that remained intact. He could no longer bring forth anything whole and passionate to display for others to see.

However brave the teenage Lin Luo had been, the twenty-eight-year-old Lin Luo was just that cowardly; he had prematurely used up all the backbone allotted for his lifetime.

Because he could no longer bear even a single ounce of risk, he could only resort to deceiving even his own inclinations.

For instance, he had never spoken of how he was too small and cowardly to bear Gu Ning’s expectations.

And for another instance, when feelings were at their peak, that phrase expressing his affection for Zhou Wan had also been forcefully swallowed right back down.

Zhou Wan slowly pulled his hand away. “Are you sure?”

“This is the last chance I am giving you. I will never say it again in the future,” Zhou Wan said.

Lin Luo kept his head lowered, never daring to look straight into his eyes. Without a moment’s hesitation, he repeated, “Yes, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Alright.” Zhou Wan nodded, deftly turning his wheelchair around and leaving without looking back.

Lin Luo watched his departing figure blankly, his mind going empty and his thoughts settling into stillness.

After an unknown amount of time, the young guide, Xiao Yang, suddenly came running over, asking, “Mr. Lin, have you seen Mr. Zhou?”

His tank top was completely drenched in sweat. His breathing was uneven and he was panting slightly as he spoke, appearing extremely anxious.

Lin Luo pointed in a direction, asking in confusion, “What happened?”

He stammered and covered things up for quite a while, seemingly not very willing to talk. After blurting out a word of thanks, he ran off on his own toward the direction of Zhou Wan.

Feeling uneasy, Lin Luo followed him.

The resting areas were all set up under large sun umbrellas. There were no partitions between them, so one could spot the resting zone where Zhou Wan was from a great distance away.

Zhou Wan sat in his wheelchair with his manager, Ming Zheng, standing beside him. Xiao Yang, who had just run over, said something and then repeatedly bowed to Zhou Wan, appearing as though he were begging.

All three of them had rather unpleasant expressions.

Ming Zheng quickly stepped forward to help him stand up straight. “Don’t be like this. We cannot help with this favor.”

Xiao Yang refused to give up no matter what, coming just short of dropping to his knees before Zhou Wan.

Zhou Wan had a dark expression. Just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of Lin Luo walking over. His tense expression suddenly loosened slightly. Pointing at Lin Luo, he shifted his tone and said, “If you can get him to apologize to me, I’ll agree to help you.”

Unclear on the context, Xiao Yang followed the direction of his finger and looked over, his gaze happening to collide with Lin Luo, who was equally mystified.

“Are you talking about me?” Lin Luo pointed at himself.

Though he didn’t understand it, Xiao Yang still braced himself and stepped forward. “Mr. Lin, could you please offer an apology to Mr. Zhou?”

“The condition you traded to exchange for his help was to have him come and find me to apologize to you?” Lin Luo’s gaze bypassed him to look at Zhou Wan. “Do you dare to be any more childish?”

Zhou Wan curled his lips, shifted his gaze away, and remained silent.

Xiao Yang bent his waist, preparing to bow to Lin Luo once more. “Please…”

He was quickly hooked back up by Lin Luo’s swift hands. Lin Luo plucked away a leaf that had tangled itself in Xiao Yang’s hair. “Fine, I’ll apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” Lin Luo said to Zhou Wan.

Zhou Wan looked at him, his eyes filled with absolute disbelief, unable to credit that he would apologize so incredibly easily.

He said stiffly, “What are you apologizing for?”

“I apologize for everything,” Lin Luo chimed in immediately as soon as the other’s words fell, repeating it once more, “I’m sorry.”

“So, what exactly are you asking him to help with?” He looked toward Xiao Yang.

Then, pointing at Zhou Wan, he said, “And you, remember to keep your word. Don’t act like a child.”

Zhou Wan let out a soft huff. “I’m not a child.” He wheeled himself right to the very front, lifting his chin toward Xiao Yang behind him as he said, “Aren’t you going to lead the way yet?”

Ming Zheng glared at him, hesitating to speak. She silently pulled out her phone and noted down a line in her memo pad: Advised against it multiple times, but Zhou Wan refuses to listen to advice and has promised to bear the responsibility himself. Cannot beat him up, so left him to his own devices.

Xiao Yang followed a moment late, quickly stepping forward with the intention of pushing the wheelchair for him. However, Lin Luo’s hand caught the handles of the wheelchair a step ahead of him, nodding and blinking at him to signify that he only needed to focus on leading the way.

Zhou Wan released his grip, leaning right back against the backrest and washing his hands of it entirely. Aside from trying hard to press down the corners of his mouth which were curling upward, he was completely relaxed from head to toe.