There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage. - Chapter 45

The surroundings were pitch black, with no sound. 

No, that wasn’t right. 

There was a sound. 

Drip, drip, drip… 

Water was dripping from somewhere, hitting some unknown surface, creating a regular, rhythmic sound. 

Gu Xianting had no idea how long he had been left in this place. He only knew that he was extremely hungry now. 

When he was first thrown in here, he kept shouting loudly, trying to call Wen Zhao over. But after shouting for a long time until his voice was hoarse and no one responded, he realized that she was serious this time. 

In his mind, the image of her standing there quietly in the apartment, when he first opened his eyes and saw her through the crowd, flashed before him again. 

At that moment, Wen Zhao was standing there quietly, and for a brief instant, he saw a mocking coldness in her eyes. 

He felt a sense of panic, as if he had been seen through. 

Could it be that she had already realized he wasn’t really Gu Xianting? 

The thought suddenly surfaced in his mind and then couldn’t be suppressed. 

In fact, many of the strange things that had happened before suddenly made sense. 

After they got married, apart from the initial days on the island when she deliberately made Gu Xianting sleep in the same bed, she never slept with him again. 

Yes, at that time, his leg was broken, which might have been one reason. 

But later, even after his leg had recovered, Wen Zhao still didn’t suggest living together. At that time, he was secretly pleased because it meant he didn’t have to deal with her. 

It was only now that he realized he was nothing more than a clown who had been revealing his flaws all along. 

Back then, it was Wen Zhao who had chosen the rehabilitation hospital for him, and on the day he discovered Su Mengyao and Shen Han Feng together, it was also Wen Zhao who had first seen them while accompanying him to rehab. 

He had reason to suspect that she had quietly orchestrated all of this! 

If she truly loved him, there’s no way she would have pushed him into the arms of another woman. 

There was only one explanation left! 

From the very beginning, she had never believed he was Gu Xianting! 

He remained in the darkness for a long time. He stopped making any noise, realizing he needed to conserve his strength. He couldn’t afford to die here because this world was far from normal! 

The natives of this small world, whom he had never taken seriously, now posed a threat to him. 

He didn’t dare die easily now because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to return to the Quick Transmigration Bureau after dying. He had tried communicating with the world consciousness of this world, but no matter how many times he tried, there was no response. 

Behind him was a cold and damp wall. He was so hungry that he no longer had the energy to focus on thinking about how to deal with what was coming next. 

Another reason was that whatever happened next was not up to him. 

The only thing he could do now was wait—wait for Wen Zhao to come and see him. 

But waiting was such a torturous thing. 

Meanwhile, on the top floor of Yipin Mansion, the weather was surprisingly pleasant today, with a light breeze and sunshine. Wen Zhao sat on the rooftop, enjoying the breeze. The butler sat across from her, demonstrating a new skill he had learned recently—tea ceremony. 

“Did you send the video?” Wen Zhao rested her chin in her hands, watching the butler. The butler’s fingers were long and beautiful, and the delicate movements of the tea ceremony were a pleasure to watch. 

“I did,” the butler replied. 

She had asked him to send a video, one that he had casually recorded on his phone after they had stormed into the apartment that day. 

After Gu Xianting was forcibly taken away, the people who had accompanied Wen Zhao didn’t stay behind, leaving only Su Mengyao in a pitiful state there. 

The butler had sent the video to Shen Han Feng. 

Three days had passed since then. 

“Hmm, Shen Han Feng is surprisingly patient,” Wen Zhao smiled. “Perhaps he truly loves Su Mengyao.” 

Of course, she knew that the beautiful woman was Su Mengyao. In fact, Su Mengyao’s every move had never escaped her watchful eyes. 

“Don’t insult the words ‘true love,’” the butler said, pouring a small cup of tea and placing it in front of her, the fresh aroma of the tea wafting over. “True love? Ha.” 

The butler scoffed, expressing his disdain. 

In his view, Shen Han Feng’s feelings for Su Mengyao were not so-called true love. If anything, they were the obsession born from the inability to attain what one desired. Of course, many times, obsession arises from love, but sometimes, obsession is born from other reasons. 

Indeed, obsession can have other reasons. 

The desire to possess something one cannot obtain is an obsession. 

Hatred so deep that one wants to destroy it as soon as possible is also an obsession. 

At this moment, at the Shen family mansion, Shen Han Feng was sitting on a sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding his phone. The screen was frozen on an image of a disheveled bed with two people lying in each other’s arms. 

His eyes were deep and unreadable, making it impossible to understand what he was thinking. 

There was a knock on the door, and he turned around. Outside, a young maid looked at him with a mix of concern and fear. “Sir, Miss Fang still refuses to eat.” 

“I know,” Shen Han Feng responded faintly, dismissing her. 

His gaze returned to his phone, but the screen had already gone dark. 

He turned his head to look out the window. 

The sunlight was a bit harsh, but he didn’t avert his eyes. 

After realizing he was a character in the novel *Gu Shao’s Secret Lover*, playing the role of the infatuated second male lead who, despite all the harm he suffers, still clings to the female lead, ultimately losing everything and ending up in ruin, he refused to believe it. 

He couldn’t believe he was merely a second male lead in a novel, nor could he believe that Su Mengyao would be so heartless, especially since the Shen Corporation, which he had painstakingly secured, was ultimately taken over by the Gu family. 

He thought he loved her. He believed that, after all the harm she endured, he never gave up on her and even stayed by her side. She couldn’t possibly remain indifferent. 

However— 

The truth was chilling. 

The video on his phone was blindingly clear. How could he continue deceiving himself that she didn’t just see him as a backup plan, as someone she could use and discard at will? 

He didn’t want to admit that he was just a tool, so he stubbornly tried to stay with her, thinking that as long as she chose him, he wouldn’t end up in such a tragic state as the novel’s ending suggested. 

So, on the day Su Mengyao was publicly shamed, he rushed to her side and rescued her from that humiliating situation. Afterward, he treated her with utmost care, and she seemed moved. She finally looked at him with the same kind of gaze she once reserved for Gu Xianting. 

She even promised him that after her plastic surgery, she would marry him, and they would be together forever. 

He believed her, thinking that he had merely experienced a ridiculous nightmare because everything in reality was completely different from the future he had “seen.” 

According to the story, Su Mengyao was supposed to elope with Gu Xianting on their wedding day, officially getting together afterward. But reality was different—Gu Xianting married Wen Zhao, and they went on their honeymoon. Later, Su Mengyao, unwilling to accept it, infiltrated the island with Gu Ruoxian’s help, intending to elope but ended up having her legs broken by Wen Zhao. 

Then, Gu Xianting publicly professed his love for Wen Zhao in front of numerous media outlets. 

It was all different; none of this matched the story he had seen. 

However, the heavy rain five days ago shattered all his illusions. 

He put his phone away. On the coffee table in front of him was a jewelry box containing an expensive pair of engagement rings. 

Yes, three days ago, he and Su Mengyao were supposed to hold their engagement party. 

But four days ago, Su Mengyao and Gu Xianting were caught in bed together by Wen Zhao, and Su Mengyao returned to the Shen family in a daze. The engagement party was never held. 

How could it have been? 

His fiancée spent the night before their engagement in a passionate affair with her former lover.

After returning, she locked herself in her room, seemingly oblivious to the pain she had caused him. 

Of course, at first, he had no idea what she had done, as she wouldn’t have told him that she had been caught in the act. 

Shs looked so sad that day. He was genuinely concerned and asked her what had happened, but she avoided answering. 

He spent the entire night worrying, barely sleeping, until the next morning when someone sent him the video of the affair.

At first, he thought it was a prank, but he eventually had to accept that it was real.

He laughed in anger.

How dare Su Mengyao! How could she be so brazen as to return to him with such a self-righteous attitude after doing something like that, expecting him to comfort her?

Or perhaps, in her mind, he was only worthy of pleasing her, and her willingness to come back to him, allowing him to comfort her in her moments of sadness, was already a form of charity.

A tool.

The word echoed in his mind, clear and mocking.

The devoted second male lead, whose life revolved around the female lead, ultimately burning out like a candle once he was no longer needed to protect her.

He picked up the ring box and opened it, gazing at the pair of diamond rings inside. The diamonds, meticulously cut by a master craftsman, sparkled brilliantly as they reflected the sunlight.

He began to ponder a question: when did he start falling for Su Mengyao?

Did he truly love her?

H was an illegitimate child of the Shen family. His mother was just a mistress who, in an attempt to secure a place in the family, secretly got pregnant with him. However, the Shen family had seen it all and had no interest in an illegitimate child.

His mother’s scheming failed, so she angrily took him back to a remote town.

The house they rented was next to Su Mengyao’s.

The walls were thin, so Shen Han Feng could hear the constant arguments from next door almost every day. At that time, he was indifferent to it all and had little interaction with her.

Until—

The day her father died, his volatile mother dragged him out of the house to attend the funeral at the Su residence.

That was when he saw her, but he felt nothing special.

Later, when they entered middle school, his mother started seeing someone new, almost forgetting about her son. However, she had a shred of decency left and gave some money to Su Mengyao’s mother to help cover his meals.

That’s when they started having more interactions.

But it never went beyond that.

He suddenly thought that he might have developed feelings for Su Mengyao when she was seventeen.

Amid the many malicious and mocking gazes, only she was different. She was so kind, so pure, so unique that she made his heart race.

He wanted to confess his feelings to her after her eighteenth birthday, but before he could, he discovered that Gu Xianting had already entered her life.

He was unwilling to accept it; he felt anger and a sense of loss, as if his most precious treasure had been taken away. He wanted to take it back.

But he was powerless. Compared to Gu Xianting, he was nothing. He could only quietly stay by Su Mengyao’s side, letting his ambition to win her grow with each fleeting glance she cast his way.

Fate seemed to favor him. Soon after, his father’s only legitimate son died in a car accident, leaving him as the sole heir. He hated the Shen family, but if he wanted to be with her, he had to return, take control of the family, and finally stand a chance against Gu Xianting.

“Heh…” he couldn’t hold back a low laugh. He suddenly found it all absurd!

The reason he suddenly fell in love with Su Mengyao was absurd, and the reason he returned to become the heir was equally absurd.

He had previously refused to acknowledge such an absurd reality, but now, he couldn’t help but believe it.

He had never been someone overflowing with emotions. In fact, he had always looked at everything with a detached indifference. But to think that a bit of kindness from Su Mengyao could turn him into a groveling dog with no dignity, bottom line, or self-respect?

What a joke!

He harshly threw the ring box in his hand to the ground. The diamond ring rolled across the floor, much like his suddenly awakened mind.

He took a few deep breaths, gradually calming the fury within his chest.

Three days. It took him three days to accept the truth.

Staring at himself in the mirror, now free of the anger that once clouded his eyes, he smiled faintly. He told himself to stay composed. It was okay.

As long as he stayed clear-headed, he would never allow anything to take control of his life again!

He walked out of his room. Su Mengyao’s room was at the other end of the corridor. Recently, she had promised to marry him, but refused to live with him yet. He had respected that.

A trace of mockery flickered in his eyes.

The version of him in that story was so foolish, being played for a fool over and over again, eventually even bringing down the entire Shen Corporation.

He stood outside Su Mengyao’s door, where a servant was on duty.

“Go handle your tasks; you don’t need to stay here anymore,” he said.

“Yes, sir.” The servant heaved a sigh of relief; she had really had enough of serving the lady inside!

He knocked on the door.

“Didn’t I say I wanted to be alone for a while? Can’t you understand plain words?” Su Mengyao’s voice was filled with irritation from inside.

Shen Han Feng’s expression remained neutral. “Yao Yao, it’s me. Open the door.”

His voice was as gentle as ever, laced with the kind of affection that seemed like it would never fade.

“Brother Han Feng, please, let me be alone for a while.” her tone softened considerably.

He tried the doorknob, but the door was locked from the inside.

He took out his phone and called the butler to bring the spare key. Once it arrived, he opened the door without hesitation.

Inside the room, Su Mengyao stared at the open door in shock, clearly not expecting him to enter directly.

She instinctively turned her head away, afraid that he would notice the bruises still faintly visible at the corner of her eye.

These bruises were from four days ago, inflicted when she was trying to protect Gu Xianting during an incident at the apartment. Father Wen had been in a furious rage and had shown no mercy, hitting with considerable force.

After fleeing back to the Shen residence, she discovered several injuries on her face, as well as numerous love marks from Gu Xianting on her neck and body.

In her current state, she couldn’t possibly let Shen Han Feng see her!

She still couldn’t understand how things had come to this.

As her engagement to him approached, she felt increasingly empty inside. It was as if the engagement would make her lose something very important. This unease reached its peak five days ago, during a rainy day.

Over the past few days, she had been sustaining herself through her resentment toward Gu Xianting, but hatred stemmed from love. She hated him because she loved him.

That rainy day reminded her of the first time she met him.

It wasn’t the time she had schemed to stage an accident and demand compensation to pay for her mother’s medical expenses.

The first time she saw him was when she was working a part-time job.

It was also a rainy day. She was wearing a heavy mascot costume and handing out flyers at the entrance of a mall.

She saw him step out of a car, holding an umbrella.

A luxury car, a handsome young man—there was something almost magical about the scene that struck her heart. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat.

Then she saw him help another person out of the car.

It was a stunningly beautiful woman, flawless from head to toe. The woman stepped under the umbrella and into his embrace, with the umbrella tilted entirely toward her.

At that moment, she felt both envy and jealousy.

She envied the woman for having such a wonderful man to cherish her and was jealous that the woman could live so well while she had to hand out flyers in the rain.

As the couple approached, she took two steps back but still handed a flyer to Gu Xianting.

He accepted it politely and continued escorting his partner into the mall.

That was the first time she saw him, and from that moment, dark desires began to grow in her heart.

Though she worked tirelessly at multiple part-time jobs, she was often jolted awake by dreams at night, filled with unrealistic desires. Why couldn’t a man like that be hers? Why did she have to struggle while others could have everything handed to them effortlessly?

Why couldn’t she have that too?

Driven by this consuming desire, she made a decision.

Of course, she justified it as trying to earn money for her mother’s medical bills. She was in such a desperate situation, after all. It wasn’t wrong, was it?

And so, on another rainy day, she carefully rehearsed her every move—the angle that would make her look the most pitiful, the gaze that would make her seem innocent and pure.

She kept telling herself it was just for the medical bills and that she had no other ambitions. She repeated it over and over, as if by doing so, she could erase the shame and filth of what she was about to do.

That rainy day was as beautiful as a dream—a dream that came true.

So much so that she could never let it go.

On a similarly rainy day, she suddenly felt a surge of impulse. She made up an excuse and left the Shen residence to visit the apartment Gu Xianting had bought for her.

When she arrived, she hesitated for a moment. But she thought that with her engagement to Shen Han Feng just around the corner, she would let herself see this place one last time as a way to say goodbye to the past.

She took the elevator upstairs, and everything was still just as it had been.

After Gu Xianting saved her, he initially brought her to live in his home. But Wen Zhao had been so aggressive that it eventually forced him to send her away. She thought she would return to having nothing, but Gu Xianting gave her this apartment, telling her that no one could drive her out of here.

This apartment held a special significance for her. She had once seen it as her home—a home she shared with Gu Xianting, even if he only stayed for a short while each time. But whenever she needed him, he was always there.

She hadn’t expected to meet him there.

She considered it fate.

How could it be a coincidence?

Just when she had decided to visit this place one last time before devoting herself to a life with Shen Han Feng, she encountered Gu Xianting.

She threw herself into his arms, kissing him passionately. Her grievances, anger, hatred, and bitterness were all drowned out by an overwhelming surge of love.

Some feelings can’t be suppressed. Both she and Gu Xianting had been holding back for too long, which was why everything erupted in an instant.

In that apartment, they clung to each other desperately as if there would be no tomorrow.

Out of spite, she even told him she was going to get engaged to Shen Han Feng, which only provoked him into claiming her more fiercely.

He told her that even if he had to die, he would take her with him, never allowing her to be with another man.

He told her that he was ready. Tomorrow, he would take her away from here. They would run away together and start anew in a place where no one knew them.

They talked about many things and made beautiful plans for the future.

But all of it came to an abrupt end when Wen Zhao arrived.

With so many eyes on them, they were caught in the act. But she wasn’t afraid because Gu Xianting loved her. He had told her that he and Wen Zhao were only married in name and that nothing ever happened between them!

It was his words that gave her the confidence to demand that Wen Zhao give them her blessing in front of everyone.

She couldn’t just stand by and do nothing while he was trying so hard to be with her, could she?

Why couldn’t those people just let them be happy?

Watching him being taken away, she was in unbearable pain and overwhelmed with fear, terrified that Wen Zhao might kill him!

Last time on the island, she had merely intended to elope with Gu Xianting, but Wen Zhao had personally broken both of his legs and tortured him daily. Now, with Wen Zhao catching them in bed together, she couldn’t imagine what would happen to him next!

Instinctively, she returned to the Shen residence, hoping to seek help from Shen Han Feng as she had in the past. He would definitely help her!

But when she noticed the strange looks the servants were giving her, she suddenly realized what she and Gu Xianting had done.

She rushed back to her room and into the bathroom, where she discovered the bruises and love marks all over her body. In that moment, she finally came to understand her true position.

She was just a mistress, nothing more.

In the eyes of people like Wen Zhao, Shen Han Feng, or even Gu Xianting, her so-called love and grievances were utterly worthless.

But what could she do? She was still desperately waiting for Brother Han Feng to save her.

After all, she had nothing else left to rely on.

As she saw him walk closer, her heart raced. Her eyes filled with tears as she weakly pleaded, “Brother Han Feng… please save Gu Xianting… You said you would never let anyone bully me again…”

Shen Han Feng’s eyes were cold as he silently stared at her, taking in everything from her messy hair to her tear-streaked face. 

“Yao Yao, you should take a good look in the mirror,” he said in an eerily calm tone. He picked up a mirror from the dressing table and placed it in front of her.

“Tell me, who is this woman in the mirror?”

Tears welled up in Su Mengyao’s eyes as she avoided his gaze, feeling a deep sense of shame. She clutched her blanket tightly, trembling all over.

“Brother Han Feng, please… don’t look at me like that…”

He smirked coldly. “Yao Yao, you’ve really disappointed me. And to think I believed in you, cared for you, and gave you my everything.”

Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes as she choked out, “Brother Han Feng, I didn’t mean to… Please, just this once… help me save him…”

She could no longer maintain her pride or dignity. She knelt down and clutched his pant leg, sobbing as she pleaded.

Ge looked down at her, no longer feeling any pity.

“You still want to save him, even now? Do you think I’m here to save someone who destroyed everything I’ve worked for?” his voice was filled with ice-cold disgust.

“Brother Han Feng, I promise I’ll stay by your side forever after this… I’ll do anything you want…” her voice was desperate.

He gently stroked her hair, his tone suddenly softening. “Yao Yao, I don’t want to hurt you, but it’s time you faced reality. Gu Xianting… is beyond saving.”

With those words, Su Mengyao froze as if struck by lightning. Her world shattered.

For a moment, she stared blankly at him, her mind blank.

Suddenly, her body convulsed as she vomited uncontrollably.

“Brother Han Feng, I beg you, I’ll do anything… Please… save him…”

“Why were you so careless?” His eyes were filled with concern.

She felt relieved. “It was raining that day, and I accidentally slipped.”

“You’ve been hiding inside these past few days, just to keep me from seeing your injuries, haven’t you?” His tone carried a hint of worry.

“Yes, I was afraid you’d worry. I’m sorry, Han Feng. We even had to cancel our engagement party.” Su Mengyao inwardly sighed in relief. She had been unsure how to explain the marks on her face, but he had now provided her with the perfect excuse.

“Yao Yao, I’m sorry. I was a bit angry before because you refused to see me or attend our engagement party.” He reached out and pulled her into his arms. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore and still had feelings for Gu Xianting.”

Her body stiffened for a moment, uncontrollably.

“Han Feng…” She felt an urge to tell him everything.

The person she truly loved had always been Gu Xianting. There was no way she could marry him now.

“What’s wrong?” He lowered his head, his deep eyes staring into here.

The words that were on the tip of her tongue were suddenly stuck. She was terrified that if she confessed, he would kick her out. And right now, she had nowhere else to go. She was unsure if the Wen and Gu families were planning to deal with her and was afraid of facing more bloodshed.

“It’s nothing.” In the end, she said nothing.

“Yao Yao.” Shen Han Feng suddenly lowered his head and kissed her. “Do you love me?”

She lowered her eyelashes, hiding her true emotions. “Of course I love you…”

“Really?” He asked.

“Of course. Don’t you believe me?” She felt a bit embarrassed and angry as she looked up into his eyes.

“If you love me, then whatever I do to you should be acceptable, right?” He lifted her into his arms.

He eyes widened in shock as she instinctively struggled. “Brother Han Feng, what are you doing? Put me down!”

“Didn’t you say you love me?” He suppressed her resistance and directly threw her onto the bed. As she tried to get up, he pressed her back down. “Or were you lying to me?”

“Of course not… I wasn’t lying to you, Brother Han Feng. Please don’t do this!” She panicked and tried to push him away.

“Then why are you rejecting me?” His face suddenly darkened. “You say you love me, and we’re about to get engaged. You were so eager to kiss me before, so why are you refusing now?”

“I’m just not ready! Brother Han Feng, let go of me!” She  realized for the first time how powerless she was when faced with his strength. She couldn’t resist him at all!

“Not ready?” He laughed softly, but the sound was chilling. “Su Mengyao, someone told me that five days ago, you secretly met with Gu Xianting.”

Her struggle stopped abruptly, a flash of panic crossing her face. Who said that—was it Wen Zhao?

“I didn’t…” She instinctively denied it. She grabbed his collar like a lifeline that could slip away at any moment. She couldn’t afford for him to abandon her!

“Really? But the other party provided photos of you two hugging in a hallway. If I hadn’t stopped it, you both would have been trending online.” His tone was indifferent.

She felt as if she had plunged into an icy abyss. In the hallway that day, Gu Xianting had embraced her, and they had kissed without thinking. They hadn’t noticed if anyone was secretly taking pictures!

“Brother Han Feng, please let me explain… It’s not what you think!” Her tone was anxious.

“Go ahead and explain.” He wanted to see what kind of lie she would come up with!

“That day, I suddenly remembered that I had left something there, and I didn’t expect to run into him. He was the one who forcefully hugged me, Brother Han Feng. You have to believe me; I don’t love him. After what he did to me, how could I be foolish enough to love him again?” She desperately explained.

No wonder Shen Han Feng had been acting so strange these past few days!

“Really? Then prove it to me.” He moved aside, no longer pinning her down.

Her face turned pale. She knew exactly what kind of proof he wanted.

Taking a deep breath, she realized she had no choice. She needed a strong enough ally to rescue Gu Xianting!

Yes, she had to save him. He was in grave danger with Wen Zhao, who would rather destroy him than let him go. Wen Zhao didn’t love him, yet she refused to set him free!

She slowly leaned toward Shen him and then kissed him.

Shen Han Feng found the situation absurd. Holding this woman, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Many men would feel humiliated.

But—

He suddenly tore off her top.

This woman, who willingly used him and saw him only as a tool, was now at his mercy.

If she treated him like a disposable toy, then he might as well act the part.

Night fully descended, leaving the room in complete disarray.

Shen Han Feng turned his head to look at the woman sleeping beside him, his gaze icy cold. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom, where the sound of running water soon filled the air.

After cleaning himself up, he stood in front of the mirror, staring at the scratches on his neck.

With a sneer, he wrapped a towel around himself and walked out.

He hadn’t been gentle earlier, and Su Mengyao was exhausted, sleeping soundly.

His phone, placed on the side, suddenly rang. He glanced at it—it was an unfamiliar number.

Normally, he would have hung up right away.

But this time, he didn’t. Somehow, he had a feeling that the caller might be Wen Zhao.

He left the room and returned to his bedroom. The sensor lights turned on as he stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows and answered the call.

“Mr. Shen.” To his surprise, a male voice came from the other end.

“Who are you?” He frowned.

“I’m just an ordinary butler, sir.” The calm and composed voice replied.

This answer made him think of someone.

After Wen Zhao returned to Li City, a gray-eyed man often accompanied her.

“You’re one of Wen Zhao’s people,” he confirmed.

“Yes, our boss would like to meet with you,” the butler did not deny it.

“I don’t see the need for us to meet,” he said, ready to hang up the call.

“Seems like you weren’t happy with the gift you received the other day?” The butler’s tone remained unflustered, showing no sign of panic.

Shen Han Feng’s hand paused. “So the video was sent by you.”

He had suspected that Wen Zhao was behind the video but wasn’t sure since Su Mengyao had undergone plastic surgery. He doubted she even knew what Su Mengyao looked like now.

“Our boss just didn’t want you to be wearing a green hat because of your fiancée,” the butler said. “So, Mr. Shen, are you interested in meeting now?”

He was silent for a moment before finally replying, “Time and place.”

At Yupin.

The butler calmly hung up the phone. “Shall we head out?”

“We still have time; the appointment is at nine,” Wen Zhao said. “Let’s visit someone else first.”

The butler had no objections.

The basement was pitch dark.

Four days ago, after Wen Zhao had the butler bring Gu Xianting back, she threw him into the basement.

This darkroom was something she had specially renovated over the past few weeks.

For the past month, Gu Xianting had almost daily been undergoing rehabilitation outside. When he returned, he would stay in his upstairs room, rarely appearing elsewhere. Partly, it was to avoid Wen Zhao and avoid any intimate encounters, and partly because the rehab was exhausting, leaving him with no energy for anything else.

In this way, under Gu Xianting’s very nose, Wen Zhao spent a month transforming this dark underground room.

She suddenly switched on a spotlight, which could only illuminate the area a meter or two ahead. She walked slowly toward the door under its light.

The butler took out a key and unlocked the door with a click.

Gu Xianting, who had been on alert, squinted toward the entrance. Before he could react, a sudden beam of light blinded him.

“Ah—!” He screamed in agony, clutching his eyes tightly.

“Oops, I forgot that someone who’s been in the dark for so long shouldn’t be exposed to light suddenly,” Wen Zhao said apologetically, but her tone held no sincerity. Instead, it carried a trace of schadenfreude.

“You did it on purpose!” Gu Xianting gritted his teeth and accused her.

“Well, you’re half right,” she said as she approached him. “How about you tell me if you’ve learned your lesson?”

Gu Xianting froze, leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. “Zhao Zhao, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have every right to be angry with me…”

*Slap!*

The butler couldn’t hold back and slapped him. “Do you think you’re allowed to call her Zhao Zhao?”

“You!” Gu Xianting’s anger flared. He reached out, trying to push the butler away, but his eyes were in too much pain to locate where the butler stood.

“You should address her as Miss Wen.” The butler stood up and stepped back to Wen Zhao’s side. Taking out a handkerchief from somewhere, he disdainfully wiped his hand.

Gu Xianting said nothing more, realizing that the other party no longer intended to keep up the pretense.

In the dark room, silence reigned.

Wen Zhao looked at him and clicked her tongue. “You’ve really ruined Xianting’s body.”

“Did you know from the very beginning that I was deceiving you?” 0733 suddenly asked.

“Yes,” she answered decisively.

0733 couldn’t believe it. He had thought his disguise was flawless at first, and her embrace back then didn’t seem fake. How could she have known he was pretending from the start?

“Why? Where did I give myself away?”he felt he had to know.

“Do you remember? I asked you two questions back then,” Wen Zhao said.

0733: “You asked if I remembered when you confessed to me and when the real Gu Xianting disappeared.”

“For the first question, you said it was during the summer vacation of our first year in high school. For the second, you said it was the day he met Su Mengyao,” Wen Zhao explained.

0733: “Yes, so what’s wrong with my answers?”

“The truth is, Xianting and I never actually confessed to each other,” she said.

0733 jerked his head up, forcing his eyes open despite the pain, staring at her in disbelief. “That’s impossible!”

Even though he didn’t have all of Gu Xianting’s memories, fragments remained in his mind—those that were important and too precious for Gu Xianting to let go. Among them was a memory of that summer vacation, where the two stood facing each other, and he said something that moved her to embrace him. How could that scene not be a confession?

“Why is it impossible?” Wen Zhao’s tone softened slightly. “Between Xianting and me, we never needed to confess; every moment together was a confession.”

0733’s pupils constricted. He never imagined such an answer.

Two people so deeply in love had never formally confessed. What kind of connection could allow for such understanding?

0733 had once believed that his and Su Mengyao’s love, where they followed each other from world to world, was true and profound.

But now, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“And why was the second answer wrong?” He still didn’t understand.

“Because before everything even began, my Xianting had already disappeared,” Wen Zhao said, gripping the butler’s hand.

As long as he was still around, he wouldn’t have cooperated with the storyline. So, in the end, he left the night before it all began.

0733 suddenly let out a low laugh. He had been seen through from the very beginning yet had smugly believed his act was perfect. He was originally just an ordinary person in a small world. After being bound to the system, he became a task performer in the fast-transmigration bureau. He couldn’t recall how many tasks he had completed. Initially, he treated the people in those worlds seriously. But as he experienced more and more worlds, he realized that these people were just characters with predetermined futures.

Including himself—he had been a mere fictional character at the start.

He gradually climbed higher in the task-performer rankings, eventually reaching the top after countless missions, becoming the new director of the fast-transmigration bureau.

In those tasks, his confidence grew into arrogance. He began to see everything as mere toys in his hands, believing he could control everyone’s fate.

When a person gains unlimited power with no restraints, it becomes terrifying.

0733 no longer remembered what he was like at the beginning. He felt increasingly empty inside, as if he had everything yet nothing.

It was unclear whether he fell in love with Su Mengyao in those task worlds because of true love or because, at that moment, the feeling of love happened to fill the void in his heart.

Su Mengyao broke the rules of the fast-transmigration bureau. Even as the director, he couldn’t override the rules, as his position could be taken by another skilled task performer at any time.

But it didn’t matter. For that fleeting moment of satisfaction, he followed her from world to world, wantonly altering the storylines, treating everyone as puppets in his hands. He had too much faith in his own power and looked down on the native residents of those small worlds.

And in this final world, he fell flat.

“What’s your real name?” Wen Zhao asked he finished laughing.

He didn’t answer. “How much do you know?”

“Everything there is to know,” she replied. “Now answer my question.”

“I don’t remember my name anymore,” 0733 said with a self-mocking laugh. “My code is 0733.”

Rather than calling himself the director, it was more accurate to say he was just a puppet controlled by the main system of the fast-transmigration bureau.