There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage. - Chapter 48

The night was like water. The black luxury car glided slowly through the traffic. Wen Zhao looked out the window at the towering skyscrapers and the thousands of lights twinkling like stars. Each light represented a home, a thousand lights for a thousand homes.

It was fascinating. Although this was merely a world within a book, the people living here might never realize the truth.

They were living their own lives on their respective trajectories. Each person had their own path to follow, living freely where there was no plot manipulation.

Wen Zhao suddenly pondered a question: What exactly is the world awakening task?

Her and Gu Xianting’s awakening resistance had pushed the world’s awakening level up by 10%. Shen Han Feng, as the passionate second male lead, had contributed 20%. The remaining 70% should be advanced by important characters set by 0733 in the plot.

She had initially planned to awaken the remaining important characters like the villainess and the yet-to-appear third and fourth male leads, and then deal with Su Mengyao.

In her view, Su Mengyao’s existence in this world was assigned by 0733. A man, according to his will, turned a woman into someone who must rely on a man, instinctively trying to please him, a character driven by extreme romantic obsession.

She had previously tried to wake Su Mengyao using harsh reality but failed.

Thus, when they decided to work together to raise the world’s awakening level, she had placed Su Mengyao at the end.

The driver suddenly slammed on the brakes. Wen Zhao, lost in thought, was jolted forward.

The butler, quick to react, raised his hand to protect her head.

Ahead, there was a loud crash followed by the screech of brakes.

“Sorry, BOSS, there’s been a collision up ahead. There’s an accident,” the driver apologized. As an experienced driver, he quickly realized that this accident would cause a severe traffic jam as more cars would keep coming. He deftly turned the steering wheel and drove in another direction.

“Zhao Zhao, did you get hurt?” The butler looked at Wen Zhao’s dazed expression and frowned with concern. “Did you hit your head?”

Wen Zhao, however, felt like her mind had been hit by a car as well.

She realized she had made a mistake!

Even if she awakened all the important characters as planned, she still couldn’t make the world fully awaken because this world was controlled and manipulated by the main world!

This world was chosen by 0733 as a part of his and Su Mengyao’s play.

Right now, this world existed for these two people.

So what if she shattered this fundamental logic?

Su Mengyao’s inability to change, her ongoing emotional turmoil with Gu Xianting—hating him, yet falling in love with him again due to the plot setting—suggested she lacked self-awareness and the concept of “self.”

Could such a person really be awakened?

If awakening wasn’t possible, then destroying her directly was the solution.

It’s like building a skyscraper on an unstable foundation; no matter how many decorations are added, it remains unsafe. At such a point, the only thing to do is to demolish the unstable building completely.

Only after destruction can there be reconstruction.

She didn’t know what Su Mengyao was originally like, but a woman with shame and self-awareness would never be as she currently was. She had been molded by 0733 through countless worlds, altering her into what he desired.

The skyscraper named “Su Mengyao” was nearly complete, needing just one last brick to be finished.

If it couldn’t be changed or shaken, then pull out the foundation and topple the building.

Once the things 0733 imposed on Su Mengyao were erased, the real her could awaken and regain her self.

When Su Mengyao realized all this, the foundation of this world would be thoroughly shaken. Only then could the world achieve full awakening and become an independent existence.

Warm water poured down from above. Su Mengyao stood under the water, trying to cleanse herself.

She had thought she could be with Shen Han Feng, but after spending an extreme night with Gu Xianting, she realized she couldn’t.

She was even somewhat resentful. She resented Shen Han Feng for treating her this way, for forcing her, for possessing her. She felt tainted and no longer wholly belonged to Gu Xianting!

She felt dirty. Her skin was wrinkled and pale from the water, but she couldn’t stop.

When Shen Han Feng pushed open the door and heard the sound of water, he frowned in disgust. He couldn’t remain calm knowing he was just a lovesick second male lead who ended up with nothing because of this woman.

Especially since his feelings for Su Mengyao were artificially imposed by the plot.

He walked straight to the bathroom door and opened it. Su Mengyao, who was desperately scrubbing herself, screamed and instinctively covered her body.

“Yao Yao, what’s wrong?” He stepped in with long strides, his face full of concern. “Are you feeling unwell? You’ve scrubbed yourself red…”

“Don’t touch me!” she instinctively recoiled, her voice sharp and piercing.

After shouting, she realized what she had done and looked up at his hurt expression. “I’m not… I’m just a bit unwell. I might have a cold. Please go out, I don’t want to infect you.”

He sneered inwardly. This woman, indeed, had her heart elsewhere. No wonder she stole his company’s confidential documents in that so-called story. She had never truly cared for him.

Out of the plot’s control, he clearly saw that she only used him as a fallback and a tool to provoke Gu Xianting.

“Are you really okay?” he asked with concern. “I can call a doctor for you.”

Su Mengyao looked at his concerned face and felt a pang of guilt. Had she been a bit too harsh just now?

“I’ll go now. Yao Yao, get some rest,” he said, then added, “I’ll get someone to recalculate the dates. The 6th of next month is a good day. Let’s have our wedding then, shall we? I’ll give you a wedding for the ages.”

Hearing this, she instinctively looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I… Han Feng… I feel…”

He sneered inwardly, but his face showed a hurt expression. “Yao Yao, don’t you want to? But you’ve already agreed to marry me. Or is it… that you still love Gu Xianting? But he’s already married. Yao Yao, you’re so kind, you surely wouldn’t want to break up a couple, would you?”

Su Mengyao forced a strained smile at him. “How could that be? I don’t, really. I just feel like I’m not ready yet. Han Feng, we’ve come this far. What more do you need to be assured? I’ve given you my most important thing.”

Shen Han Feng felt nauseous, a bit like he wanted to throw up. He now questioned how he ever managed to tolerate someone like this and still acted affectionate.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you to be ready,” he said, unable to continue the pretense. After his heartfelt confession, he decisively walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He took a deep breath to clear the nausea from his mind.

He strode out and immediately took out his phone, dialing Wen Zhao’s number.

Wen Zhao, just out of the shower and sitting on the sofa, was typing away at her computer keyboard, her fingers moving rapidly.

The butler patiently towel-dried her damp hair.

She answered the call, and Shen Han Feng’s slightly irritated voice came through. “Ms. Wen, when do you plan to take action?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s the matter, Mr. Shen? Now that you can be with your beloved Yao Yao, is it not as precious anymore? Are you starting to be dissatisfied?”

Shen Han Feng was left speechless by her remark for a while. “Ms. Wen, please don’t make such jokes. It’s not funny.”

She finished typing the last line, saved the document, and sent it to him. “Take a look at what I just sent you. If everything is fine, we can start anytime.”

He ended the call and opened the document she had sent him.

It was a proposal for a reality show titled “Your Heartbeat is You.” The list of invited guests included major celebrities, all with substantial followings. Besides them, the remaining two groups were Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting, and the soon-to-be-married couple Shen Han Feng and Su Mengyao.

Upon seeing this proposal, Shen Han Feng quickly guessed Wen Zhao’s intention.

She wanted to tear away Su Mengyao and Gu Xianting’s facade under the scrutiny of the entire nation, crushing Su Mengyao. Previously, Su Mengyao had experienced a small-scale public shaming, after which she had undergone plastic surgery to transform into a desired beauty. But that was just a minor incident compared to facing global condemnation.

Wen Zhao’s goal was to completely destroy her, and such a reality show was a public move. She was not afraid of her refusing; Su Mengyao would definitely agree if it meant a chance to be close to Gu Xianting.

Indeed, the next day, Shen Han Feng presented the reality show proposal to Su Mengyao and earnestly said, “Yao Yao, let’s participate in this show. This way, the whole world will know you’re going to be my bride.”

Su Mengyao’s body stiffened, and her face grew a bit pale. She tried to think of a way to refuse, but then she saw Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting’s names on the guest list, and her eyes lit up.

“Yao Yao, didn’t you say you hate Gu Xianting? He and that Wen Zhao are also coming. I’ll show them how well I treat you,” he said, holding her hand. “I’ll pamper you to the point where every woman in the world envies you. You can show Gu Xianting that if he doesn’t want you, someone else will. You don’t need his love.”

Her expression twisted unnaturally. “Alright, Han Feng, we’ll participate.”

He happily embraced her. The woman in his arms was stiff, as if forced.

He found it amusing. Despite being able to push him away and speak honestly, she couldn’t bear to part with such a useful tool. Without him, how would she maintain her comfortable lifestyle or have the chance to approach Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting?

Though they were tightly embraced, both their faces were grim.

It was far from the image of a couple about to marry and having been intimate.