The Script I Received Was Wrong - Chapter 1

Clang—

The crisp sound of metal colliding rang through the silent room. Xie Yunjin leaned against the headboard, staring in disbelief at the wrist he had just pulled from beneath the quilt.

Under the dim lamplight, the youth’s wrist appeared slender and delicate. Against his snow-white skin, the cold metal chain did not ruin the aesthetic; instead, it made him look even more fragile, a sight that invited a misplaced sense of pity.

Who locked me here?

Where is this?

Suppressing the questions that surfaced one after another, Xie Yunjin quietly observed his surroundings, his fingers unconsciously bunching the fabric of the blanket.

The room was dark, but it wasn’t hard to tell that this was a luxuriously decorated bedroom. Furthermore…

Xie Yunjin’s expression gradually turned strange. The more he looked at this room, the more familiar it felt. While there were differences from his memory, the similarities were far more striking.

His gaze lingered on a display shelf, specifically on a slightly crude porcelain figurine placed there. Compared to the other ornaments, each easily worth a thousand gold. This little figurine sat right in the center, clearly cherished by its owner. It looked entirely out of place.

Xie Yunjin remembered that figurine. It was a gift he had brought back for his best friend from his grandfather’s house in Jiangnan last year. Its material value couldn’t compare to the other gifts because he had made it himself, yet his friend loved it dearly.

In fact, Xie Yunjin had felt a bit embarrassed at the time.

“I made this when I was still learning. It isn’t very good…” Seeing his flawed work being kept so carefully, Xie Yunjin had scratched his chin sheepishly. “Just look at it casually. If you like it, I’ll make you a better one later.”

The tall man had closed the lid of the brocade box and replied, “This is the first finished piece you made. It deserves to be cherished.”

As the Crown Prince of the Great Liang, what could Liang Xuan possibly lack? Seeing him treat the gift with such care, Xie Yunjin hadn’t said anything, but he felt a warm glow of satisfaction in his heart.

“You said it yourself that you like it. You aren’t allowed to dislike it later.”

“As long as it is a gift from A-Jin, I will love it regardless of what it is.”

One would never fail to recognize something they made with their own hands. Even if he was reluctant to believe it, Xie Yunjin had to admit that this was likely a private villa belonging to his lifelong friend, Liang Xuan.

But their relationship was so good. Why would Liang Xuan lock him up here?

Or perhaps Liang Xuan was unaware, and someone was intentionally trying to drive a wedge between them?

Xie Yunjin dared not let down his guard. The Crown Prince held great power, and as the other princes grew into adulthood, the Emperor seemed content to watch them fight for dominance. The court was far from united. As the Crown Prince’s study companion, Xie Yunjin had faced countless schemes and assassinations over the years.

Regardless of the motive behind this, the most important thing now was to escape.

He tugged at the chain on his wrist and discovered that the inner side was lined with soft velvet to prevent it from chafing his skin. The chain, made of a specialized metal, was incredibly sturdy, and its other end disappeared into the wall, impossible to budge.

Xie Yunjin observed that there was no one else in the room. Whether there were guards outside remained a mystery.

The chain was quite long. Xie Yunjin tested its length, intending to get out of bed to investigate, but as soon as he moved his legs, he realized something was wrong. He flung the covers aside. An identical chain was fastened tightly around his ankle. Unlike the wrist cuff, the one on his ankle was adorned with a ring of small bells that let out a soft ding-ling, ding-ling with every movement.

What on earth!

Xie Yunjin’s face went through several shades of emotion. Locking his wrists was one thing, but why the ankles? And why hang a bunch of bells on them? It was so… erotic.

He quickly surveyed himself. He was dressed only in a white silk robe—loose and oversized. With every movement, large patches of skin were exposed.

Clearly, these clothes did not belong to him.

At this point, Xie Yunjin would have to be a fool not to realize the other party’s intentions. His eyes reddened with sheer frustration.

Inhale. Exhale.

Stay calm.

Suppressing his anger, he checked his body for any discomfort and felt a slight sense of relief when he found none. He couldn’t just sit here and wait for death.

Dragging the long chains and listening to the constant jingle-jingle of the bells, Xie Yunjin circled the room with a blank expression. His confusion only deepened. This room, in every aspect, perfectly matched Liang Xuan’s personal style except for the fact that the doors and windows could not be opened from the inside.

Just as he was wondering if someone close to Liang Xuan had committed a betrayal, the sound of steady, unhurried footsteps echoed from outside.

Why is someone coming now?

In a moment of panic, Xie Yunjin tightly gripped the nearest object.

The door opened inch by inch. In that brief second, all sorts of theories flashed through his mind regarding the intruder. Piercing sunlight spilled through the crack of the door, and having grown accustomed to the dim interior, Xie Yunjin instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, they widened in shock.

“Liang… Liang Xuan?!” Xie Yunjin gasped.

The tall man standing outside, still holding the door open, was indeed Liang Xuan. Of all his guesses, this was the only one he hadn’t considered. He blinked, looking again. It was undoubtedly Liang Xuan.

“A-Jin, you’re awake.”

The voice belonged to Liang Xuan as well.

The man stepped inside and closed the door behind him. As the sunlight vanished, the room returned to its dim state. An overwhelming, threatening pressure approached him. The man was like a predator on the hunt, moving toward his chosen prey one step at a time.

Xie Yunjin realized that he was the prey.

“Wait a moment…”

The man acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. The distance between them shrank rapidly. Xie Yunjin instinctively took a step back.

This wasn’t right. Liang Xuan had never shown such an aggressive side in front of him before.

“A-Jin, why are you hiding from me?” The man’s voice was gentle, yet his aura became increasingly suffocating.

His hand was seized. Rough fingers forcefully pried open his clenched fist, taking the object he had been holding so tightly. The man seemed to chuckle, his low voice vibrating near Xie Yunjin’s ear.

“A-Jin is still the same. You like to grab onto things whenever you’re nervous.”

“You can grab onto me instead. Use as much force as you like.”

The heat radiating from the man’s palm was scalding. Xie Yunjin’s fingers twitched, and realizing what he had been holding, he quickly let go.

The man took the initiative to hold Xie Yunjin’s hand firmly. “Is A-Jin still angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry?” Xie Yunjin tried to pull his hand away, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Angry that I locked you up.” The man turned and sat down, applying a slight force to his grip. Xie Yunjin found himself pulled down to sit directly on the man’s lap.

It was far too intimate.

Xie Yunjin was held from behind, the man’s high nose bridge nuzzling against his nape. Warm breath fanned over his skin with every word spoken, sending shivers down his spine.

Not knowing why Liang Xuan was suddenly acting this way, Xie Yunjin, who had never been this close to anyone, panicked. He tried to dodge and push him away. “Let go of me first. Let’s talk properly.”

“Don’t move.”

His struggling body was pinned down. Xie Yunjin noticed the man’s voice had dropped an octave.

“A-Jin, we are the ones who have known each other the longest. Why would you believe that person and try to run away from me?”

“Is the only way to keep you obediently by my side to lock you up?”

An extreme sense of threat radiated from behind him. Is this really the Liang Xuan I know?

“What are you talking about?” Xie Yunjin struggled to turn his body to face the man.

At such a close distance, he could clearly see every detail of the man’s face. His features were nearly perfect, with sharp, well-defined brows and eyes. Compared to the Liang Xuan he was familiar with, the man before him appeared more mature, with a touch of gloom in his gaze. Rather than Liang Xuan, he seemed more like a version of Liang Xuan from several years into the future.

Xie Yunjin was completely lost. He had thought he’d been kidnapped by an enemy, only to find it was his best friend. Furthermore, this Liang Xuan wasn’t the one he knew, but likely a future version of him.

What happened in these few years?

Given his friendship with Liang Xuan, how serious could the conflict be for them to have a falling out?

And what is the situation between them right now?

His brain felt like it was short-circuiting. Xie Yunjin frowned, attempting to untangle the mess of information.

A warm sensation touched his brow. The man’s large hand reached up to stroke Xie Yunjin’s forehead, trying to smooth away the frown.

“What is A-Jin thinking about?”

“Let me guess. Are you thinking about how to escape?”

“It’s useless. I have already hidden you away. Those people won’t be able to find you.”

“These chains are made of thousand-year-old profound iron. You won’t be able to open them. No matter how much you beg this time, I won’t give you the key.”

Xie Yunjin’s eyes widened further, like a startled rabbit. Then, his eyes were gently kissed shut.

His perspective shifted. Xie Yunjin looked up at the man, whose expression was unreadable, and realized that at some point, he had been placed on the bed. He was pinned beneath the man in an extremely dangerous posture.

“Wait, wait,” he reached out to press against the man’s encroaching face. “Liang Xuan, listen to m— mgh…”

His lips were blocked. Xie Yunjin had zero experience. Being suddenly kissed left him dazed.

“Mph… let… let go…”

Amidst the irregular jingle-jingle of the bells, frames of images began to flash through his mind.

As it turned out, the world he lived in was a “tormented love” novel. He was one of the main characters, and his best friend, Crown Prince Liang Xuan, was the story’s antagonist—a man whose unrequited love drove him to a dark transformation.

The once-noble and elegant Crown Prince had completely blackened after experiencing the tragic death of his mother, the downfall of his maternal clan, and a series of betrayals. He, Xie Yunjin, the Crown Prince’s study companion and the “White Moonlight” the Prince could never obtain had supposedly defected to someone else’s side with the Crown Prince faction’s secrets, becoming the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

From then on, the antagonist and he began a cycle of “he chases, he flees, he cannot escape.”

Watching the high-frequency “small dark room” scenarios appearing in the mental images after several captures and escapes, Xie Yunjin’s gaze gradually became vacant.

This… this position, this duration… won’t things actually break?

Don’t use those weird things—!

And why is the rest of the plot summarized in simple text, while this specific content is shown in vivid detail…???

******

“A-Jin, why are you so hot?”

A cool touch landed on his forehead, and Xie Yunjin’s eyelids flickered.

“Where is the doctor?”

“Madam, the Crown Prince has arrived with the imperial physician!”

“Quickly, invite them in.”

The remaining voices were muffled until a sharp sting came from the inner side of his arm. Xie Yunjin opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the anxious, beautiful face of a woman.

“Mother?”

“It’s me, A-Jin. You’ve finally woken up. It’s all thanks to His Highness bringing Physician Chen over.”

Xie Yunjin had been in a coma for three full days due to a severe illness. The Duchess of Changning had been sick with worry until he finally regained consciousness.

“I’ll go check on your medicine.” Knowing the close relationship between the Crown Prince and her son, the Duchess left the two of them alone.

Once she left, Liang Xuan sat by the bed. “A-Jin, are you feeling better?”

His body moved under the covers. Without the accompanying chains, Xie Yunjin slowly sat up. “My arm hurts a bit.”

Liang Xuan supported Xie Yunjin’s arm, his face full of concern. “Physician Chen administered acupuncture. I’ll go ask him if there’s a way to soothe the pain later.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Xie Yunjin looked at the concerned Liang Xuan. The man before him was younger than the one in the dream, and his expression was more relaxed and gentle, showing no signs of having “blackened.”

Xie Yunjin knew that while it was a dream, it was not merely a dream. If things were allowed to take their course, the situation would undoubtedly spiral into that nightmare.

He truly couldn’t tell. This perfectly normal Liang Xuan would eventually be pushed to such an extent.

Being stared at, Liang Xuan felt a bit uneasy. “A-Jin, what’s wrong? Is there something improper about me?”

Xie Yunjin shook his head. Recalling those hair-raising images from the dream, he took a deep breath.

I really couldn’t tell that behind that serious face of yours, you had such “exquisite” hobbies.

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