There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage. - Chapter 39

 After everything was laid bare that day, the system suddenly disappeared.

Who knew if it had really vanished, or if it was sulking from the shock.

“Has the system contacted you?” Wen Zhao asked, sitting on the couch. She moved her eyes away from the computer screen and turned to look at the butler behind her, who was gently massaging her shoulders.

He shook his head, “No, it hasn’t shown up since.”

“Tch.” She thought the system was too fragile, unable to handle such a small blow.

The butler smiled softly, “Have you finished your work?”

“For now.” She closed the laptop and set it aside. She leaned back on the sofa, her head resting against the cushion, and looked up at him. “Do you… want to see your parents?”

The butler paused for a moment. “Not right now.”

“Your mother was quite pleased with you,” she said with a laugh, her dark eyes reflecting the chandelier’s light above, shining like a galaxy. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him closer. “If I had let you go back then, would you have gone?”

“No, because I had an agreement with the system,” the butler replied with a low chuckle.

She laughed out loud at his words. “Are you serious?”

“Of course,” he said with innocent eyes. He had no intention of honoring that agreement, but the system had already broken it first, hadn’t it?

Wen Zhao looked at him. This man had silently resisted his fate time and time again, without her knowing. “Why did you…”

She stopped halfway through her question, seeing her own face reflected in his gray eyes, and suddenly didn’t want to ask anymore.

Instead, she held his head in place and lifted her chin to give him a brief kiss on the lips.

It was just a quick, light kiss. She let go of his neck and was about to stand up, but he stopped her. He cupped her face and kissed her deeply, as if trying to convey all the years of longing that had seeped into his bones.

He knew what she wanted to ask: why he noticed the abnormalities, why he chose to resist the plot. He could have pretended he didn’t know anything, quietly taking over the body of the one who sought to steal it, allowing the plot to continue, and still gaining everything.

But how would that be the same?

Being a tool for someone else, losing himself, or keeping his self-identity and loving the one he wanted to love—there was never a choice to be made. 

He needed her to understand that with him, there was no such dilemma.

His kiss was full of deep love, mixed with a bit of uncontrollable anger and jealousy.

Jealousy that he could only watch while Wen Zhao kissed that imposter, even though he knew she was just enduring it to torment the other. Rationality is one thing, but feelings are another.

Anger that she couldn’t see through the imposter, that she couldn’t recognize the deception. Though he wasn’t without his own grievances, he understood that Wen Zhao’s situation was different from his. He had been taken over by an external force, and he could clearly understand what was happening to his body.

Wen Zhao, on the other hand, had not experienced any of this. She only saw her lover gradually become unrecognizable. Who would suspect that their lover had been completely replaced by someone else?

People’s hearts can change, and it’s not unheard of for feelings to shift. And once the plot began, she herself was caught in it, unable to see the bigger picture unless she stepped outside of it.

He slowly released her, the sound of their heavy breathing mingling with the quickened beats of their hearts. “ZhaoZhao.”

“Hmm?” Her voice was laced with a nasal tone, slightly lazy.

“Next time, don’t kiss him again.” He couldn’t help but bring it up.

She laughed but said nothing, so hr leaned down to kiss her again, stopping only when she playfully punched him.

“What, are you planning to drag me down with you?” She stared at the man in front of her, who looked like he was about to burst with jealousy. “If you care so much, why didn’t you stop me back then?”

“Because I had neither the position nor the identity to do so,” he replied with a sigh. “I was just a kept man in the shadows.”

She thought about how the butler always beat people up with such fervor. “You must have held a grudge and took it out on them.”

“Wasn’t that what you allowed me to do?” He didn’t feel guilty at all. “What are you planning to do next?”

The sound of a car stopping outside reached them, and the butler glanced toward the door. “Tsk, your husband is back.”

“Yes, so what does the kept man plan to do now?” Wen Zhao found it funny. Before the confrontation, the butler had always acted calm and gentlemanly, watching her with Gu Xianting without any visible emotion.

But now, after everything had been revealed, he seemed to have let go entirely, no longer hiding his feelings. “The kept man will find a way to do something bad.”

As soon as Gu Xianting opened the door, the butler quickly pecked her on the cheek before stepping back, his gaze fixed on Gu Xianting with a challenging expression before he slowly walked away.

Gu Xianting had been doing rehab at the hospital for the past two weeks and could now walk with the help of crutches, leaving the wheelchair behind.

He was eager to surprise Wen Zhao, having worked hard to stand and walk after being in a wheelchair and always having to look up at her.

But when he opened the door, he saw that damn butler smiling at her, then looking at him with a provocative expression.

The joy he felt just moments ago had already been greatly diminished.

“ZhaoZhao, I’m back,” he said, adjusting his mood and smiling at her, who was sitting on the sofa.

This time, he didn’t have to look up at her. The subtle difference filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction.

“Seems like it went well?” She remarked sincerely. “Xianting, you need to recover as soon as possible.”

“I will,” he replied. “ZhaoZhao, are you free tomorrow to accompany me to rehab?”

He hadn’t wanted her to see him in such a vulnerable state during rehab, knowing full well how difficult and painful it would be.

But the scene he had just witnessed made him instinctively ask for her company.

“Of course,” Wen Zhao agreed immediately. “I’m sorry, I’ve been too busy lately to have time to be with you.”

She stood up and walked over to him, helping him walk slowly forward.

“No, it’s my fault. You’ve been so busy because of me. You’ve taken on what should have been my responsibilities, and now I’m asking you to accompany me to rehab… I’m sorry…”

“We’re husband and wife; there’s no need to talk about who’s at fault,” she said. “I’m free tomorrow, so I’ll go with you to rehab.”

“Okay,” he said, smiling happily.

At the stairway, the butler, who hadn’t gone far, looked down with a sneer. This fool still didn’t know what was waiting for him tomorrow.

The private hospital where Gu Xianting was doing his rehab had been personally selected by Wen Zhao.

The day he was sent there, she actually accompanied him. When he entered the rehab room, he saw a woman undergoing therapy. He watched as she struggled with her movements, looking ugly in her efforts. Seeing his reflection in the mirror, he could already imagine how he would look during his own rehab.

It was hard to say why, but he didn’t want Wen Zhao to see him in such a pathetic state. So when she came to accompany him, he proactively suggested that he wanted to undergo rehabilitation alone. He wanted to surprise her by getting better.

In the backseat of the luxury car, Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting sat side by side. He was a little nervous, knowing that she would soon see him during his rehabilitation. But he was much better now compared to the beginning and wouldn’t be as embarrassed.

With that thought, he gradually relaxed.

The car slowly pulled into the hospital parking lot. Wen Zhao helped him out of the car and pushed him inside. Halfway there, she suddenly stopped and looked in a certain direction.

Gu Xianting was puzzled and turned his head. Following her gaze, he saw in the distance a hallway where Shen Han Feng was walking with a woman in his arms, gently caring for her.

His face changed instantly!

That woman was none other than Su Mengyao!

Why were they here? And why was Su Mengyao still with Shen Han Feng?

His mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

Wen Zhao withdrew her gaze and looked at him. “Xianting, what are you looking at?”

He was startled and quickly snapped back to reality. “Nothing, just looking around.”

“Is that so?” Wen Zhao replied absentmindedly, then continued pushing him forward.

In the rehab room, Gu Xianting was clearly distracted today, but with Wen Zhao watching from the side, he didn’t dare show any unusual expression that might make her suspicious.

He suddenly felt a deep hatred for his own helplessness. Why wouldn’t his legs cooperate?

After another fall, Wen Zhao’s lips curled slightly, but she quickly put on a worried expression as she walked over to him, bent down in front of him, and offered her hand. “Let me help you up.”

Gu Xianting, frustrated, looked up at her. When he met her eyes, he saw the worry and concern in them, and miraculously, his agitated mood calmed down.

He placed his hand in her and used her support to stand up. “Am I useless?”

“Feeling defeated?” She encouraged him with a smile. “The Xianting I knew wouldn’t be brought down so easily by something like this.”

“The Xianting I used to be,” he repeated softly. For some reason, a flame of anger ignited in his heart. “I used to be so strong, but now I’m just a cripple who can’t even walk.”

A trace of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. “Xianting, are you blaming me?”

He was stunned. He looked at her in confusion. Shouldn’t she be comforting him and encouraging him more when he was feeling down?

“Are you blaming me for breaking your legs?” Her eyes reddened. “I was just so heartbroken then, so determined to run away with another woman…”

He quickly covered her mouth, forcing a strained smile at the people who had started to glance their way. “We’re just joking around.”

The onlookers turned away, not wanting to intrude further.

After all, everyone knew how his legs were broken. These days, people loved gossip, especially when it involved the Gu and Wen families, two of Licheng’s elite families. The juiciest gossip always came from the wealthy.

“ZhaoZhao, I’m done with rehab for today. Let’s go home.” Gu Xianting felt those subtle glances and was deeply uncomfortable, feeling humiliated.

“Alright, let’s go home,” Wen Zhao didn’t push him any further. After all, she was playing the role of a love-struck woman who had finally been reunited with her beloved.

The next day, Gu Xianting didn’t mention her accompanying him to rehab again.

“Your work is so busy, you don’t need to worry about me. I can manage,” he said with a gentle smile, standing as straight as he could with the help of his cane as he saw her off to work.

“Alright, just be safe and don’t overdo it,” she said.

The butler opened the car door for her, and she got in. Before getting into the car himself, his gaze briefly swept over Gu Xianting.

But Gu Xianting’s thoughts were preoccupied with the sight of Su Mengyao in the private hospital yesterday, so he didn’t even react to him leaving with Wen Zhao.

After watching her car leave, Gu Xianting got into another car and headed to the hospital for rehab.

After hastily finishing his rehab for the day, he paid an elderly woman to go to the front desk and inquire about which room Su Mengyao was in. He didn’t have much hope, thinking that he might have just seen things wrong yesterday.

But the elderly woman told him that Su Mengyao was in Room 302 in the East Wing.

He hadn’t been mistaken yesterday. The woman who had been nestled in Shen Han Feng’s arms, delicate and dependent, was indeed his beloved Su Mengyao.

Although he had seen photos sent by a private detective before, photos could be misleading. He had always clung to the hope that it was all just a misunderstanding because the Su Mengyao he knew would never betray the one she loved.

Sitting in his wheelchair, his breathing became more rapid, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged with tension.

Maybe it was just someone with the same name…

With this hope in mind, he wheeled himself to the East Wing’s inpatient building.

As he anxiously approached, he saw Su Mengyao emerge from an elevator in the distance, her face wrapped in bandages. Instinctively, he wanted to move forward, but then he saw her fling herself into Shen Han Feng’s arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

“Han Feng brother, you’re here! I’ve been waiting for you for so long!” Her familiar voice had the same familiar playful tone.

But before, she would act like this only with him. Now, the person she was being coquettish with was someone else.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Gu Xianting could only look up at the pair embracing in the distance.

He couldn’t even rush forward, grab her, and take her away!

His breathing became more and more rapid, more and more labored, and his chest filled with overwhelming rage!

He had put in so much effort for her, given up so much, secretly entered this small world for her. In the previous worlds, they had been so happy, so perfect. So why, in this last world, did he have to watch helplessly as the one he loved transferred her affections to someone else?

He stayed hidden in the shadows, not knowing how much time had passed. The two people embracing intimately had already walked away.

He was trembling all over. He desperately wanted to ask why!

He had sacrificed so much, they had weathered so many storms together, and he had even rewritten the script of the punishment world for her. So why would she do this to him?

With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone. After a while, he trembled as he dialed Su Mengyao’s number.

He held the phone to his ear, hearing his own heartbeat and the ringing tone in the phone. He thought she wouldn’t answer.

After all, she was with Shen Han Feng now; she had already transferred her affections.

But—

The call was unexpectedly answered.

“Hello?” A familiar voice came from the other end.

He opened his mouth, but it took a while before he could speak.

“Did you dial the wrong number? If you don’t say something, I’ll hang up,” her voice sounded gentle.

“It’s me, YaoYao,” he finally managed to speak.

There was a brief silence on the other end. “Xianting, is that you?”

Her voice even carried a hint of surprise. “Xianting, you finally called me. I knew it; you still love me. That time, you must have been forced, I understand.”

“YaoYao,” he listened to the voice that used to always smile at him, always make him happy, relaxed, but now, it sounded so grating to his ears. “I knew you would understand me.”

Oddly, though he was filled with anger, he was very calm. “YaoYao, where are you now? How have you been lately?”

“I’m doing well. I’m at school recently,” Su Mengyao said.

“Is that so? Are you alone right now?” His hand was clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

“I’m with my roommates. Xianting, my roommate is calling me. I’ll hang up now, and we’ll talk later,” she said. Without waiting for him to respond, she hung up.

He sat there, clutching his phone tightly, before suddenly throwing it violently away!

Liar, liar, liar, liar!

Why did she lie to him?

She was clearly lying!

His anger reached its peak, but then he suddenly realized that this scene was very familiar.

In a flash, he remembered how, in the past, whenever Wen Zhao called while he was with Su Mengyao, he would tell her dismissive lies.

Back then, he only found Wen Zhao annoying, always interrupting their perfect moments and reminding him that he still had a fiancée.

Now, with the tables turned, he suddenly felt a deep sorrow.

He couldn’t tell if it was for himself or for her, who had once been repeatedly deceived but still chose to believe in him.

In Room 302, after hanging up the phone, Su Mengyao tossed it aside expressionlessly. She nestled into Shen Han Feng’s arms. “He’s so annoying, Han Feng brother. He’s so easy to fool.”

With that, she buried her head in his chest. Although her mouth was smiling, her eyes were filled with a piercing coldness and a darkness that couldn’t see the light.