If The Persona Is Wrong, Everything Else Is In Vain - Chapter 26

Lin Luo hurriedly caught up with him, asking in confusion, “Still nothing?”

“Then what on earth did you treat me for?”

Gu Ning’s gaze flickered as he dodged the question, cursing defensively, “Do you think that illness of yours is so easy to cure? Like it can be fixed in just two or three sentences?”

Turning around, he played the victim and aggressively shifting the blame, saying aggrievedly, “To treat your illness, this bro of yours spent a lot of money, okay?” He cast a sidelong glance at Lin Luo. “And I didn’t even deduct it from your salary. What more do you want, you ungrateful thing?”

Crystal tears welled up and swirled in his eyes as he put on a fake show of wiping them away.

Lin Luo: ?

“I just…” Lin Luo sighed, “Forget it. Can you give me that psychologist’s contact information? I have… something I want to ask him.”

Gu Ning leaned in close to him, sizing him up from top to bottom, left to right, covering all angles, before finally asking with feigned nonchalance, “What is it?”

“It’s just… Zhou Wan seems a bit off,” Lin Luo said.

“Zhou Wan?” Gu Ning furrowed his brows and followed his train of thought, “What does his psychological abnormality have to do with you?”

Lin Luo pressed his hand to his forehead, rubbing his throbbing temples. “It’s not a matter of psychological abnormality…”

“If he has a problem, the Zhou family will naturally get him treated. Even if they don’t, Ming Songqin is there to look after him. May I ask what it has to do with you?”

Gu Ning caught onto this point and began to chatter endlessly to change the subject. “Don’t forget that you two are only in a cooperative relationship. No matter how it looks on the surface, privately you can only be ‘colleagues.'”

“Don’t cross the line again.”

Gu Ning’s final sentence acted as a definitive verdict, heavily striking Lin Luo’s always drifting and “indistinct” state of mind.

He peeked at Gu Ning through the gaps of his fingers, remaining silent for a long time.

Gu Ning glanced at the lights moving down the hill path. The crowd was gradually approaching them, and people could already be clearly seen. He said, “I once asked you why you chose Zhou Wan, someone with absolutely no background in the entertainment industry.”

“Do you still remember how you answered me back then?”

Lin Luo hesitated, not understanding the meaning behind his words. “…Because he fits the persona of the other character in Without a Doubt.”

Gu Ning nodded slowly, “Exactly, he fits the persona.”

Confused, Lin Luo asked, “So?”

Gu Ning sighed, speaking with a feigned depth that didn’t suit him at all, “A character persona can be flat, or it can be three dimensional.”

“The personas created by less clever creators are either purely good or purely evil, black or white. No matter how well written, they can only bring a single, one sided feeling to the audience. On the other hand, clever creators are often able to depict characters as three dimensional and vivid, giving them a thousand different facets. This allows the audience to truly perceive them as a ‘real person.’ However, this also has an unavoidable flaw.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “It won’t match the ‘persona’ that was originally set up and translated into words.”

Lin Luo was left utterly bewildered by this long-winded speech. Immediately after, he heard Gu Ning ask, “Do you think you are a less clever ‘creator,’ or an exceptionally clever one?”

“I…”

As if answering his own question, Gu Ning spoke on his behalf first, “You are neither. Because you couldn’t have created a character in the first place.”

The rare gravity in his eyes left Lin Luo momentarily stunned.

Gu Ning said, “You said it was because the impression Zhou Wan gave you matched the persona in Without a Doubt, so what you like should be that persona. But in the end, that is just the persona of a character in a drama. You cannot demand that Zhou Wan actually lives his life as that persona.”

“Then, what happens when you witness him going out of character? He is practically unrelated to the persona you chose, yet you still didn’t give up on him when there was plenty of room to do so. Perhaps you haven’t even realized it yourself…”

“Did you actually choose the persona,” the gravity in Gu Ning’s eyes suddenly gave way to a look of worry, “or did you choose Zhou Wan as a person?”

“I didn’t,” Lin Luo instinctively spoke up to deny it, but he didn’t dare to meet Gu Ning’s sharp gaze. He gave a stiff smile and said, “How could I possibly like him? You know it, my family… it’s impossible.”

“It’s just that it’s impossible, not that you don’t want to, and definitely not that you haven’t fallen for him,” Gu Ning hit the nail right on the head.

“It’s fine if you deceive me, deceive the ‘audience,’ or deceive anyone else, but don’t drag yourself into it and end up deceiving yourself in the end.”

Lin Luo pursed his lips, his breathing gradually becoming heavy. Letting go of his superfluous smile, he glanced at the faint light growing brighter not far away, the crowd was about to reach them.

He said to Gu Ning, “Precisely because it’s impossible, I can clearly restrain myself.”

The two remained at a standstill for a few seconds before Gu Ning patted his shoulder. “Don’t do anything foolish. His situation… isn’t as simple as you think. Besides, an Alpha and an Alpha won’t have any future together. Don’t trap yourself in a dilemma.”

Lin Luo lowered his head and gave a muffled grunt in response.

A heavy camera lens poked over first, followed by Song Ranyu, who poked his head out with a beaming smile, “How is it? Your relationship…”

He looked at Lin Luo and then at Gu Ning, sensing that the atmosphere between the two wasn’t right, and slowly shut his mouth.

Lin Luo reassured him, “We are perfectly fine.”

Song Ranyu’s ability to observe facial expressions was outstanding, and he instantly saw through the fact that Lin Luo was in low spirits and that his smile was forced.

Blinking his eyes, Song Ranyu comforted him, “I recorded all of your ‘mutual empathy’ in the cave just now.”

He patted the heavy, giant video camera on his shoulder, “I guarantee I’ll edit a viral video out of this for you two in a couple of days.” As he spoke, the curve of his lips never faded.

“In a couple of days?” Lin Luo caught the keyword. “Isn’t the show supposed to finish filming in a month?” He did the math, “The earliest broadcast time would have to be next year. The content of the show can’t be released ahead of time, right?”

Song Ranyu waved his hand at him, “Don’t worry, I’m not breaking any rules.”

He took out his phone and held it up in front of Lin Luo, “The director just notified us that the show has been changed to a simultaneous filming and broadcasting format. Didn’t you check your messages?”

A group notification @Everyone vividly caught his eye, sent twenty minutes ago.

Lin Luo pulled out his phone, which he had turned off in the classroom that afternoon, and powered it back on. Countless messages popped up, and indeed, there were hundreds of notifications informing him that the show had switched to a simultaneous filming and broadcasting model.

They were sent even earlier than the group message from twenty minutes ago.

The director was probably genuinely afraid that all their efforts would go down the drain and that they wouldn’t even finish filming in the end. So, he simply opted to broadcast while filming, in the worst case scenario, at least a few episodes would make it to the air.

He instinctively looked toward Gu Ning, “You knew too? So you said all that to me… just for the show’s broadcasting effects?”

Gu Ning shrugged, saying nothing. He took the arm of Little Li, who had just come huffing and puffing down the mountain, and like an old grandpa being supported by Little Li, dragged him along and vanished in a flash.

Zhou Wan, who looked physically weak, was also assisted into a vehicle that had been prepared well in advance by people arranged by Ming Songqin. As he got into the car, he kept turning his head back to look in Lin Luo’s direction, it was obvious he was being forced into it.

“Let’s go back too.” Ming Songqin walked over. His motion to drape his coat over Lin Luo paused, changing instead to handing the coat to him as he asked, “The temperature is low at night. Do you want to put on the coat?”

Lin Luo took it and thanked him.

Gazing in the direction where Zhou Wan’s car had departed, he asked, “Is he going to the hospital?”

Ming Songqin took a step forward to walk side by side with him, “Yeah.”

The two fell to the very back of the group. Once the light and the voices faded away, peace returned to the old concrete path, with only the occasional breeze causing the rapeseed flowers in the fields to rustle softly.

The light from the flashlight in his hand could barely illuminate two or three steps beneath their feet. Fortunately, the moonlight tonight was bright and clear. Light and shadows fell in a chaotic pattern on the ground; their silhouettes were revealed from time to time by the moonlight, only to disappear again into the fierce glare of the flashlight.

The two of them just stared at their intermittently appearing shadows on the ground, remaining silent the entire way.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Luo suddenly asked, “What exactly… is wrong with Zhou Wan?”

Ming Songqin was still immersed in his own world, pondering over what had just happened, and didn’t react right away. After buffering for a moment, he said, “It’s nothing, just an old ailment.”

“An old ailment?” Lin Luo furrowed his brows, halting his steps to look at Ming Songqin.

Ming Songqin didn’t intend to hide it either. He nodded and said, “His pheromones are unstable.”

He paused, looking at Lin Luo without continuing. Lin Luo knew what he meant. Feeling flushed under his gaze, he casually said, “I’ve heard people mention it.”

Lowering his eyes, he asked, “So does he have to go to the hospital every time he hits his heat period?”

Ming Songqin didn’t expose his lie and continued, “Not every time. Actually, I’m not entirely clear either. I only know that a few months ago, his pheromone instability worsened. For safety’s sake, the Zhou family sends him to the hospital around his heat period.”

“Though, I personally think it’s not a big deal,” he added.

“Why?” Lin Luo asked.

He took a deep look at Lin Luo, making sure he truly didn’t know, before continuing, “A marked Alpha will be quite sensitive during their heat period and will be very clingy towards… their partner.”

“Alpha?” Lin Luo asked in confusion, “What does that have to do with Zhou Wan? He is an Omega. ” Lin Luo’s expression turned stern as he shifted his words smoothly, “Could it be that he isn’t?”

Ming Songqin fell silent for a moment, letting out a quiet sigh before taking a long time to follow up on his previous point, “A marked Omega is the same way.”

This piece of information brought no less of a shock to Lin Luo than the previous one.

Who? Zhou Wan? He had been marked?

“Who is… that person?” Lin Luo clenched his fists, forcing himself to steady his breathing as he probed.

This time, Ming Songqin went completely silent. This reaction was normal on the surface but carried a strangely abnormal undertone.

The scene from the underground garage suddenly flashed through Lin Luo’s mind. Back then, Zhou Wan had mistaken Little Li’s pheromones for his. In a state of passion and confusion, he seemed to have heard Zhou Wan softly calling out a name by his ear.

“Xiao Ming?”

Lin Luo murmured the name in an extremely low voice, but it happened to be caught by Ming Songqin beside him. The moment this name came out, a subtle change crept into his expression. However, that naturally sullen face of his was truly powerful, making it impossible for Lin Luo to notice such a minute change.

By this time, the two were not far from the old house where they were staying. From a distance, they could see the open space on the half-slope brilliantly illuminated by lights.

Aside from the lighting set up by the production crew, there seemed to be many flashlights gathered together.

Water Lotus Village had no streetlights. Visiting neighbors at night relied entirely on moonlight and the flashlights held by every household. The light from those old-fashioned flashlights had become a starry display unique to the nights of Water Lotus Village.

Both of them noticed the abnormality in the open space in front of the house. Standing at the bottom of the steps, they exchanged a look and quickened their pace, heading straight toward the light.

“I don’t understand those messy explanations of yours. Just give us a solution and an explanation.”

Sitting on a long wooden bench by the door was a middle-aged man, roughly forty years old. He wore local clothing, had a stubbly beard, and sat crookedly on the bench with one foot resting on it while his other leg shook continuously. He flicked his long nailed pinky finger, having just finished picking his ear.

Behind him stood a dozen or so villagers, all holding various tools, looking hostile and apparently well-prepared.

The director sat on the long bench opposite him, attempting to reason, “We have registered with the relevant authorities, and we haven’t even been to the ancestral hall. How could we have stolen anything?”

The staff members behind him chimed in agreement.

Lin Luo focused his gaze, wasn’t the man sitting there precisely Lin Er-mao, the one who had taken his money, failed to do his job, and then completely vanished?