There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage. - Chapter 49

The reality show “Your Heartbeat is You” was released and quickly topped the trending searches.

Aside from Wen Zhao’s investment, the show featured nearly all the top celebrities in the entertainment industry. Typically, securing even one of these stars for a show is an achievement, but this show had managed to bring them all together.

Initially, people didn’t pay much attention to the two ordinary individuals among these big names. Wen Zhao had carefully guided the discussion to expose the past of Su Mengyao and Gu Xianting.

The internet, lacking memory, quickly shifts from one hot topic to another. Su Mengyao and Gu Xianting had once been hot topics, reviled by many, but their scandal had long been replaced by fresher news over the past few months.

“So it’s these two people! What’s the show team thinking?”

“Of course it’s for the shock factor. The scumbag and the schemer both have new partners and are still participating in the same show. They must be crazy for fame!”

“I don’t think it’s about fame. It’s clearly about creating a scandal.”

“I bet a penny that these two still have a connection!”

“Hey, when the show airs, I’ll be watching with a magnifying glass. It’s going to be a spectacular show!”

The comment section was filled with excitement and outrage, with some criticizing the show for its lack of decency.

All of this was exactly as Wen Zhao had planned. She wanted people to remember the forgotten scandal and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, magnify every interaction between Su Mengyao and Gu Xianting.

She looked at the online buzz with satisfaction, smirking as she closed the page.

Wen Zhao: 【System, it’s begun.】

The system did not respond directly but sent a message.

Su Mengyao shivered as she looked at the screen filled with insults and malicious speculation. Her earlier excitement about seeing Gu Xianting through the show had faded.

She stared at the abusive comments, biting her nails unconsciously.

What did these people know? They didn’t understand anything yet were attacking her. She and Gu Xianting were in love. They had overcome so many obstacles. Why couldn’t these people wish her well?

Ding.

A crisp notification sound came from her phone.

She glanced at her phone with disgust. The number was one Shen Han Feng had set up for her; her old number was no longer in use.

Reluctantly, she picked up the phone and opened the message, finding a link to a file. She initially intended to ignore it but felt a sudden urge to click on it.

It was a link to a cloud drive.

Her heart raced inexplicably as she downloaded and opened the video. Her body stiffened, and her pupils contracted sharply!

The person in the video was Gu Xianting!

The footage was dimly lit, with only faint light barely illuminating the figures in the dark.

He sat on the ground in a disheveled state, while Wen Zhao stood with her back to the camera, holding a whip and striking him fiercely.

Wen Zhao’s voice was calm. “You’ve been very disobedient. We’re married now, and I forgave you for your infidelity, pretending nothing happened.”

“But how have you repaid me!” she raised her voice, “Since our marriage, you’ve never fulfilled your duties as a husband. Not only that, but you also ended up with that woman. What do you think our marriage is to you!”

Another loud crack echoed as the whip struck again.

His back was covered in whip marks, looking horrific with blood and flesh.

The video quickly ended, and the next clip showed him being forcefully held underwater, nearly drowned before being pulled out, only to be pushed back in.

Su Mengyao was heartbroken, trembling with anger. Wen Zhao was a monster, torturing Gu Xianting. How could she do this!

The eighteen videos, each showing Wen Zhao’s brutal treatment of Gu Xianting, made her eyes bloodshot.

The hatred and resentment she once had for Gu Xianting vanished completely, replaced by deep compassion and love, and a towering rage toward Wen Zhao.

The online commenters had all been deceived; they were all fooled by Wen Zhao!

She was not a pitiful original partner!

Su Mengyao, with trembling hands, uploaded each video to her Weibo account.

Meanwhile, Wen Zhao was sitting on the sofa, the butler behind her giving her a scalp massage.

System: 【It has started. Su Mengyao has posted the videos online.】

Wen Zhao: 【Increase the buzz and get her trending.】

System: 【Understood. Only three days remain until the show starts, and we have only three days left.】

She slowly opened her eyes.

The night was outside, and the window reflected the figure of the person standing behind her.

“Let’s go on a trip,” she suddenly said.

The butler’s hand paused, and he looked up, meeting her gaze through the glass window.

She lifted her hand, pulling him down by his collar, a faint smile playing at her lips. “This time, just the two of us.”

In her previous life, she had been a puppet caught in the narrative vortex, leading to a complete destruction of the world.

In this life, she was focused on revenge, wanting to tear apart the sky above her and vent her anger and dissatisfaction.

After recognizing the person beside her, their time together was incredibly limited.

The butler bent down, embracing her from behind, and leaned in close, their breaths almost touching. “So, where shall we go first?”

She hugged his neck with her free hand, thinking for a moment. “Let’s go see the Northern Lights.”

Her other hand snapped shut her laptop.

An hour later, they boarded a private plane.

Wen Zhao’s phone kept ringing. She glanced at it and saw it was the PR department director calling.

She answered the call, and the director’s anxious voice came through. “Ms. Wen, there’s a lot of traffic to our official website right now. We’re trying to lower the heat and delete comments, but it’s not working well.”

She smiled at the efficiency of the system.

Well, it should be efficient, being the world’s consciousness in this realm. If it couldn’t handle such matters, it would be too pathetic.

“It’s alright. From now on, stop all PR efforts,” she said, her tone calm and unhurried.

The PR director on the other end was stunned, even doubting if they had heard correctly.

“Ms. Wen, did you just…” The director hesitated, trying to confirm.

Wen Zhao: “You heard correctly. Stop all PR efforts from now on.”

The director was baffled, questioning her sanity. The videos had been posted online, and comments were already out of control. Some people felt vindicated, while others began to sympathize with Gu Xianting, finding him less guilty and even defending his previous infidelity, portraying Wen Zhao as the villain.

Yes, there was already a large-scale whitewashing effort.

“Regarding the company’s stock…”

Wen Zhao: “It’s only at rock bottom before it rebounds. I’m not worried, so why should you be?” 

The director silently ended the call.

After hanging up, she received another incoming call, this time from her mother.

The butler did not interrupt her. He sat on the sofa, searching for the best spots to view the aurora borealis that day.

By the time she finished her call and turned off her phone, it was half an hour later.

She had dealt with all necessary instructions and reassurances; the remaining issues were irrelevant and not worth her attention.

Wen Zhao sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as they looked at the screen together.

“It’s so beautiful,” Wen Zhao sighed softly, admiring the stunning images of the aurora on the screen.

The butler turned his head to look at her, his eyes filled with an unchanging smile. “Yes, it’s truly beautiful.”

Shen Han Feng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to his secretary report on the online trends.

Due to the videos Su Mengyao had posted, the reservations for “Your Heartbeat is You” surged again. So far, none of the parties involved in the videos had come forward to clarify the situation.

Since Wen Zhao had informed the PR department to cease managing online opinions and monitoring, the heat had skyrocketed. The internet may lack memory, but it could instantly recall and amplify past events.

Initially, viewers were drawn to “Your Heartbeat is You” because of the top celebrities and the highly popular guests. Shen Han Feng and Su Mengyao, along with Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting, were considered mere ordinary participants.

However, because Su Mengyao, Wen Zhao, and Gu Xianting had engaged in a public feud six months ago, and now Su Mengyao, once a scandalous mistress, had resurfaced with explosive videos of the original partner torturing the cheating man, the memory of the scandal was reignited and rapidly spread.

Now, the attention online was focused on these two previously ordinary pairs.

People were eager to see what would happen when the fake couple Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting encountered Su Mengyao. As Su Mengyao’s fiancé, Shen Han Feng’s background was also scrutinized.

The exposure of Shen Han Feng’s background was significant, as the Shen Corporation was far from a small, insignificant company.

Many female viewers developed complex feelings toward Su Mengyao. Some even eagerly awaited her live stream, demanding she sell courses!

Forget about morals and ethics, she was impressive. Despite the public’s scorn, she had managed to keep Gu Xianting, the president of the Gu Corporation, and even won Shen Han Feng’s acceptance and support, including cosmetic surgery and marriage!

What kind of skill was this!

Many people expressed their desire to learn her ways!

The world was indeed crazy; one moment, she was a condemned mistress, and the next, her reputation was starting to turn around.

“Mr. Shen, should we guide public opinion to improve Ms. Su’s image?” the secretary asked.

Shen Han Feng replied calmly, “No need. Since public opinion is already shifting, using PR tactics might backfire. Let it be.”

The secretary was puzzled. Normally, in such situations, targeted PR efforts were needed to successfully whitewash the image. This was the best opportunity…

“Don’t do anything unnecessary,” Shen Han Feng added.

The secretary nodded and left, resigned to his role as just an employee.

He looked down. The pedestrians below appeared as insignificant as ants, and the vehicles resembled small boxes. For a moment, he felt an odd sense of unreality about the world.

Or rather, was a world constructed from stories really real?

Where did ordinary people outside the novels come from?

He rubbed his forehead and slowly returned to his desk. He opened a video file on his computer screen.

The screen showed surveillance footage.

In the video, Su Mengyao sat in front of her computer, her face twisted with a mix of cruelty and satisfaction.

She had posted the videos on Weibo to expose Wen Zhao’s false front and the abuse, hoping to draw condemnation for her. However, she hadn’t anticipated an unexpected benefit.

The once unanimous condemnation of her began to flip, with people starting to admire and envy her. Two domineering CEOs loved her; wasn’t this like a real-life drama where the CEO falls for her?

Even Wen Zhao’s role was now seen as the villain blocking the heroine’s happiness.

Everyone had a devil hidden in the corners of their hearts, restrained by morality and ethics, too afraid to reveal it easily.

Compared to her, who was born into privilege, Su Mengyao, a grassroots girl, was more relatable, wasn’t she?

Because she represented the majority.

“Wen Zhao… the world is on my side,” she murmured.

This was just the first day; in two days, she would meet Gu Xianting.

She had to face him with everyone’s expectations and blessings.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she began posting about her initial meeting with him, their sweet moments, and challenges on Weibo.

Due to the high volume of interest, each of her Weibo posts quickly garnered a flood of replies.

She trembled with excitement, hoping time would pass faster so she could see Gu Xianting and Wen Zhao.

The topics on Weibo piled up one after another. Netizens went from watching the drama to taking sides, celebrating in a grand, unrestrained frenzy behind each character.

Night fell.

Wen Zhao and the butler finished setting up their tent.

Wen Zhao, wearing a thick down jacket, sat on the ground, looking up at the fantastical sky.

No photograph could compare to seeing it in person, as the immersive experience and the awe-inspiring light were beyond any image.

“If we fail in three days,” Wen Zhao suddenly turned to the butler, “would you feel regret?”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. “If it’s with you that we turn to dust, what’s there to regret?”

She smiled softly. The man before her had never changed.

The real Gu Xianting never understood letting go or self-sacrifice; even if it meant dying together, he wanted his beloved by his side.

So, before the storyline began, he would repeatedly kill Su Mengyao, and the world would be reset time and again until he was erased.

She reached up and pulled the man’s neck closer. His gray eyes were truly captivating.

She tilted her head and kissed him.

His lips were hot and intense, much like the emotions hidden beneath his calm exterior.

“Then, it’s a promise,” she whispered as their lips intertwined.

This grand, ultimate end, if accompanied by you, would be a kind of undying romance.