Chapter 29

Chen Lu was speechless, on the verge of tears, feeling like he’ll suffer from a heart attack.

The emotion he had always made others feel in the past had finally come full circle and struck him. 

Looking at Fang Qizhi, Chen Lu’s eyes uncontrollably filled with wrongness.

He had prepared so hard for this scene with the vicious male supporting character! Yet, the other party hadn’t even given him a chance to perform, bluntly informing him that he was already beyond saving long before this part of the plot even began.

Was there no justice in the world?!

Who was he neglecting his streams for all this time?! 

Facing Chen Lu’s eyes brimming with genuine emotion, Fang Qizhi faltered for a moment.

A little angel in his mind reflected on whether he had been too harsh. A little demon screamed, ‘Don’t you know Just Green Tea? It’s all an act! An act! Only an idiot would believe it!’

In the end, Fang Qizhi, having tempered his iron heart through his investments in the entertainment industry, said to Chen Lu, “Stop trying to act pitiful with me! I’m not buying it! I won’t allow you to stay in the Qin residence any longer! Come with me!!!”

——Original Script: “Stop trying to act pitiful! I’m not Guchuan-gege. Imitating Weiyu-jiejie won’t work on me! I’m not buying it! I won’t allow you to stay in the Qin residence any longer! Get out!!!” 

Chen Lu compared the lines Fang Qizhi should have said according to the plot with what actually came out of his mouth…

At first glance, the two sentences seemed similar, but upon closer thought, they conveyed completely different meanings!

Chen Lu was struggling to maintain his expression. His mind raced with thoughts of ‘It’s over, it’s over,’ but his brain instinctively started working—was there any saving this world if he told Fang Qizhi he actually had a twin brother and he wasn’t ‘Just Passing By’?

Oh, right, he did have a brother in this world. 

Chen Lu’s mind whirred rapidly, but as it spun, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Huh? Before, when Zhu Yi deviated from the plot, heading in two different directions, the world immediately showed a crisis, and the shadow of death fell over Chen Lu. But this time…

It seems… it hasn’t?

Something’s not right. Why aren’t there any signs of the world collapsing? 

Chen Lu blinked slowly, his mind starting to race again.

Wait, although Fang Qizhi’s words conveyed almost two different intentions, the actual result they aimed for seems roughly the same.

They both demanded he leave the Qin estate and cut ties with Qin Guchuan.

So, did that mean the lines didn’t necessarily have to be perfectly accurate, as long as the outcome aligned with the plot’s requirements? 

Chen Lu felt he had grasped a crucial point. His heart, which had been panicked and flustered by the overly explosive development, suddenly calmed down. He glanced at the line he was supposed to say now.

It seemed he could still say it.

“I’m not leaving. I have to stay here. I can only be here,” Chen Lu delivered the line in a blank tone, his attention focused on what Fang Qizhi was supposed to do next according to the plot in his mind.

——Original Script: Fang Qizhi reaches out and slaps ‘Chen Lu’ hard across the face. The loud sound echoes through the Qin estate hall. Fang Qizhi snorted coldly. “I said, ‘I’m not buying it.’” 

Reality: Fang Qizhi reached out and tried to pull Chen Lu off the sofa… but failed to move him.

Fang Qizhi shrieked, “How much do you weigh?! How much have you been eating?! You know you’ll look three times heavier on camera, right?! You’re a streamer! Half your fans love you for your face!”

Chen Lu, who was pretending to be weak, felt these questions were like several critical hits.

…What was the difference between this and slapping him in the face? One injured his body, the other injured his soul! 

Did this count as achieving the same result? Because both were meant to humiliate him?

Not feeling any imminent world-ending crisis, Chen Lu choked up slightly, then couldn’t help but start wondering if he had indeed been gaining weight recently.

He shouldn’t have.

After the previous lesson he’d learned, although he hadn’t controlled his diet much, he had been going to the gym for half an hour every day. 

Chen Lu threw a pleading look at the old butler. ‘Can’t you do something about him?!’

The old butler, receiving Chen Lu’s look, stepped forward and pulled Fang Qizhi away. “Young Master Fang, please calm down. Regarding Young Master Lu’s health, we have hired a nutritionist. Professionals have always been overseeing it.”

Chen Lu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the old butler.

No wonder there had been less meaty, luxurious food on the table recently, and the flavors had become much lighter! 

However, the Qin estate’s chef was exceptionally skilled so the food was still delicious. So, Chen Lu had assumed it was just a seasonal adjustment because summer was approaching.

…Wait, that wasn’t the point.

Moreover, now the old butler’s lines were starting to deviate too! The original script for the butler wasn’t like this! 

——Original Script: The old butler, seeing this scene, felt his eyebrow twitch. He immediately stepped forward and pulled Fang Qizhi away, his expression cold. “Young Master Fang, please calm down. This is the Qin estate, not the Fang family.”

——”Uncle Sun, you’re actually protecting him!” Fang Qizhi looked at the old butler in disbelief, pointing angrily at Chen Lu, who was covering his face and remaining silent. “How can a man like this be allowed through the Qin residence’s gates?”

——Seeing the old butler remain unmoved, Fang Qizhi grew even angrier, turned, and stormed off. “Just you wait! I’ll tell Auntie Feng everything that happened here!”

——The old butler’s face remained deferential, but his words were, “Young Master Fang, I hope you understand that the head of the Qin family is now the Eldest Young Master.” He then showed not the slightest intention of stopping Fang Qizhi, simply waving his hand to have the servants see the guest out. 

Chen Lu re-read this section of the plot in his mind, and then heard Fang Qizhi start delivering the butler’s lines, “Uncle Sun, you’re actually protecting him! He’s a man! How can he be allowed through the Qin residence’s gates? Indulging him like this will only harm him!”

Hearing Fang Qizhi’s words, the old butler’s expression remained unmoved. His mind flashed with countless images of his own Eldest Young Master’s helpless, headache-filled expressions every time he faced Chen Lu. He also thought of the bodyguards at the Qin estate, who were still arguing over ‘Who exactly is Big Head?’ There was a growing tendency to pin this title on the head of security because he was their boss and leader. Given Chen Lu’s train of thought, it was highly possible he’d call him ‘Big Head.’

So far, only he and the other servants had been spared.

One could only say that their usual practice of adhering to servant protocols of trying not to appear in the masters’ line of sight was a very good thing. 

So, in a way… Chen Lu entering the Qin estate would indeed ‘harm’ many people. But the old butler felt that, no matter who was ‘harmed,’ it certainly wasn’t the kind of harm Fang Qizhi meant, and it definitely wouldn’t be Chen Lu himself.

Seeing the old butler remain unmoved, Fang Qizhi grew even angrier. Looking at the Qin estate servants and bodyguards around him, he knew he couldn’t accomplish anything alone. He glared furiously at these people who clearly didn’t genuinely care for Chen Lu: “Just you wait! I’ll tell Auntie Feng everything that happened here!”

This Auntie Feng was Qin Guchuan’s mother, or rather, stepmother.

The old butler’s expression remained deferential towards Fang Qizhi. “Young Master Fang, I hope you understand that the head of the Qin family is now the Eldest Young Master.” 

So, calling Mrs. Feng back would be useless! The current problem was that as long as Chen Lu put on a false, tearful performance for their Eldest Young Master, their Eldest Young Master would immediately say ‘Okay, okay, okay!’ How could they, mere employees, possibly impose any restraint on Chen Lu?

Fang Qizhi glared at the old butler, then once again turned a ‘hating iron for not becoming steel look’ onto Chen Lu. “Just Passing By! Open your eyes! They just want to spoil you rotten! Only I truly have your best interests at heart!

“I’ll make you see sense!” After roaring this at Chen Lu, Fang Qizhi finally left in a huff, filled with anger and resentment.

Chen Lu, who had coasted through the entire scene just playing the pitiful little white flower: “…” 

Somehow, he had the illusion that the roles of the righteous side and the villainous side in this plot segment had been reversed.

Was this really okay?

Having felt no signs of the world collapsing throughout the ordeal, Chen Lu watched Fang Qizhi’s departing figure, floated unsteadily to his feet, and went upstairs as if in a dream.

He should just get some sleep. Maybe it was an illusion caused by not sleeping much last night to appear sufficiently fragile. Maybe when he woke up, the plot would be back to normal. 

However, the moment he lay down in his room, he heard a knock on his door, followed by the old butler’s voice from outside, “Young Master Lu, Young Master Fang just sent me a message asking me to ask you… are you going live today?”

Chen Lu, instantly wide awake upon hearing the live stream pressure: “..…”

Chen Lu closed his eyes in pain, never imagining he would one day face this kind of in-person live stream pressure. But then he thought about how he’d skipped streaming for several days to prepare for the plot involving Fang Qizhi.

“…I’ll stream,” Chen Lu replied weakly. 

Thinking about Fang Qizhi’s attitude, Chen Lu was seriously worried that if he didn’t stream today, Fang Qizhi, who had just left, would come charging back, frantically demanding to know why he wasn’t live streaming!

After all, Fang Qizhi’s next move was supposed to be reporting to Qin Guchuan’s stepmother! If he came charging back now, it would definitely count as an incorrect outcome, likely causing the world to collapse, right?

Chen Lu, clutching his head in agony, was now completely unable to sleep. He took out his phone and sent a message to Qin Guchuan, checking if it was convenient for him to take a call.

For Qin Guchuan, when had Chen Lu ever been inconvenient? Hearing the ringtone, he glanced at his phone, first paused the meeting, told the others to handle other matters and resume in the afternoon, then directly called Chen Lu back. 

Receiving Qin Guchuan’s call was like finding a safe space to talk for Chen Lu. He immediately poured out all the pain of what had just happened.

This should have been a very serious and significant matter, but… hearing Chen Lu’s pained wails, the first thought that popped into Qin Guchuan’s mind was—the wicked will be punished by the wicked.

Of course, Qin Guchuan didn’t dare let Chen Lu know this thought. He cleared his throat, suppressing the laughter in his throat. “It is a bit troublesome, but if the outcome is what matters, then this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Based on what you said before, the later stages of this plot will definitely involve a lot of physical and psychological suffering. If we’re only judged by the outcome… then some things can be avoided.” For example, certain actions that might earn him a pair of rose-gold1 after the plot ends. 

Chen Lu agreed with Qin Guchuan’s point. But if they had to guide a deviated plot towards the correct outcome, the effort required wouldn’t be solved by just rehearsing lines like before. It would involve more improvisation.

Because they couldn’t possibly know what lines the NPC would say or what actions they would take once the plot started.

And also…

“Why does Fang Qizhi have this kind of attitude towards me?” Chen Lu expressed his confusion. 

Actually, it had only been half a month since he started streaming. He didn’t think the information Qin Guchuan provided was wrong. It was impossible for Fang Qizhi to have liked Hundred Brawls and thus liked the ‘Just Passing By’ account before. Fang Qizhi must have become Chen Lu’s fan after he started streaming.

In such a short time, Chen Lu didn’t think Fang Qizhi should be acting like such an obsessive fan.

Qin Guchuan, after thinking about what he knew, had a guess. He said to Chen Lu, “I think I mentioned before that Fang Qizhi started a venture capital firm in the entertainment industry. Actually, the results were quite good at first.”

“Then, over the last two months or so, every project his company invested in started collapsing. You know, scandals like having multiple lovers, being a sugar daddy, plastic surgery failures, no figure management leading to exposure of ugly pictures, and even illegal activities… and so on. 

“All his investment projects failed. Fang Qizhi’s company went bankrupt. So now, he probably thinks you have potential in streaming, but you’re completely wasting it. He can’t stand seeing you like this…” Qin Guchuan didn’t specify ‘like this.’ “…So, he thinks you can still be saved and is determined to straighten you out, perhaps to compensate for his own loss.”

Hearing this, Chen Lu was also left speechless and could only sigh. “He’s really unlucky, huh? How did he manage to run into all that?”

“Mn… probably because Zhu Yi’s part of the plot is about to finish, so he had to go bankrupt immediately and come back to pick a fight with you,” Qin Guchuan said, recalling the information. Aside from the possibility of the world itself being unreasonable, he really couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Chen Lu: “…” 

Fuck, this guy is the truly tragic one.

Now, thinking back on Fang Qizhi’s attitude towards him, Chen Lu felt it couldn’t just be described as ‘making up for his own loss’ anymore. It had probably become an obsession.

Too tragic, too tragic.

After his internal lament, Chen Lu found he couldn’t really be angry at Fang Qizhi’s behavior anymore. He could only criticize, “But this is too extreme. In an instant, Fang Qizhi’s character setting switched from ‘the one who hates me the most’ to ‘the one who loves me the most.’ It’s too absurd. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be your admirer?” 

Hearing this question, Qin Guchuan didn’t know how to answer either.

As someone who was ‘awakened,’ he could guess a little.

That was, although this world provided all sorts of settings, and according to the settings Fang Qizhi liked him, and Fang Qizhi himself believed it too, it probably only extended to the words ‘I like Qin Guchuan.’ There wasn’t any genuine emotion behind it.

It was the same as how Qin Guchuan felt towards others when he first awakened. 

Without substantial feelings of liking, real personal emotions could naturally change very arbitrarily.

However, Qin Guchuan remembered his own ‘setting’ in front of Chen Lu was that he was a transmigrator like him. This kind of information, which only the ‘natives’ could truly understand, naturally couldn’t be told to Chen Lu. He could only counter Chen Lu’s question with another, “Do you want to try reasoning with this world?”

Chen Lu, upon hearing this, felt Qin Guchuan’s retort was very reasonable. “Indeed, if I start nitpicking the world’s settings, I’ve already lost.”