Despite his best efforts to cooperate with the doctors for examinations and take medication, Shen Nanxing’s health only worsened. After Fu Chengyu came to visit him in the hospital, putting on an act, his condition took a further nosedive. Gradually, one morning, Shen Nanxing quietly passed away.

After his death, he was locked in a dark space by something called a system. It was at this moment that he realized he was just a character in a novel. According to the plot, he was supposed to be the protagonist of this world, living a peaceful and happy life. But all of this was forcibly destroyed by Lin Bai, an outsider, and his system, causing this once happy and warm world to fall apart.

Shen Nanxing was furious, cursing Lin Bai as a shameless thief who had stolen everything from him. This anger turned into resentment. However, locked in the dark space, he couldn’t even dream of escaping. There was a small window in the space, and through it, Shen Nanxing saw many people. The only ones who truly grieved his passing were his parents and his brother. Xia Zimu and Zhou He occasionally visited his grave. As for Fu Chengyu and Lin Bai, they seemed to have completely forgotten about him, with the two of them eventually marrying.

Shen Nanxing was enraged upon seeing this. He now understood that he had been replaced by Lin Bai. Because Lin Bai had bound himself to the system, with its help, he not only took Shen Nanxing’s life but also replaced him as the protagonist of this world. Shen Nanxing was trapped in endless darkness, and the only thing he could do was watch their lives unfold.

However, Lin Bai’s life after marriage was far from stable. Fu Chengyu became increasingly irritable, and Lin Bai grew more insecure. The two of them frequently argued, which made Lin Bai unable to bear the situation any longer and asked the system for help. The system told him that he had only completed a third of his mission and had not fully replaced Shen Nanxing as the protagonist. Strictly speaking, Shen Nanxing was still the true protagonist of the world. Now that the protagonist had suddenly disappeared, the world’s consciousness had started to notice. If Lin Bai couldn’t succeed in his task of winning over Xia Zimu and Zhou He in the remaining six months, both he and the system would be erased.

This news made Lin Bai even more anxious. He desperately wanted to complete his mission but had made no progress. During a family gathering at the Fu household, Lin Bai met Fu Zhiyuan, who was elegant and dignified, and that’s when he truly understood what it meant to fall in love. The system excitedly alerted him that Fu Zhiyuan’s fortune value was far higher than Xia Zimu and Zhou He’s, and if he could successfully pursue him, he wouldn’t have to worry about being erased.

Upon hearing this good news, Lin Bai was thrilled. He decided to change his mission: to pursue Fu Zhiyuan. The system reminded him that if the mission failed, both of them would be erased. But at this point, Lin Bai couldn’t care less. He believed that Fu Zhiyuan was the love of his life.

He began to approach Fu Zhiyuan, both intentionally and unintentionally. However, Fu Zhiyuan completely ignored him, never even sparing him a glance. Lin Bai, frustrated, couldn’t understand why Fu Zhiyuan was still indifferent to him, even though he had become so much better. With only a month left to complete his task, Lin Bai decided to take a risky move. He secretly checked Fu Chengyu’s phone, found Fu Zhiyuan’s schedule, and lay naked on the large bed at the hotel Fu Chengyu had booked for Fu Zhiyuan, eagerly waiting for his arrival.

The moment Fu Zhiyuan opened the door, he immediately realized someone had been in the room, and his fury erupted. He ordered his bodyguards to throw Lin Bai out of the hotel, and to make matters worse, Lin Bai was thrown out naked.

Shen Nanxing, witnessing this scene from the dark space, felt a sense of relief. Lin Bai was thrown onto the street, humiliated, while people passing by pointed and stared at him. Lin Bai felt utterly ashamed and fainted from the embarrassment. This was not what he had imagined at all. He had lost all face.

When Fu Chengyu learned of this, he mocked Lin Bai, calling him something that would never rise above a low status. The two of them had another big argument. Shen Nanxing, watching all of this from the dark space, thought Lin Bai was incredibly foolish—greedy and wanting everything. With such low intelligence, how could he ever become the protagonist of this world? It was laughable.

The world’s consciousness, too, seemed like a fool—carefully maintaining a world, only for it to be ruined by someone, and still not noticing it. As Shen Nanxing continued to ridicule, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang in his ears, “It seems you have awakened your self-awareness. Now, go and take back everything that belongs to you!”

Then, Shen Nanxing felt himself being pulled into a vortex.

Inside the vortex, he saw Lin Bai’s fate: Lin Bai had failed to complete his mission and was once again abandoned, with the system in his mind disappearing. To test Shen Nanxing, the world’s consciousness directly transported him to a parallel world, erasing his previous memories. At the age of nineteen, he was returned to his original world. Similarly, Lin Bai had his memories erased by the world’s consciousness.

After seeing all this, Shen Nanxing felt that life was utterly messed up. What kind of test was this? It was as if his life didn’t matter at all. Who cares about being the protagonist of this broken world? And that heart disease—counting everything, it tortured him for two lifetimes! When Shen Nanxing fully awoke, his mind was filled with many memories. At that moment, he understood that he had always been a person of this world. He had always been playing himself.

When he returned to this world again, the gears of fate turned once more. In that instant, Shen Nanxing felt like crying. He had finally completely broken free from fate’s control over him.

Shen Nanxing looked at Fu Zhiyuan, who appeared exhausted and pale, and mechanically raised his hand, wanting to touch his face. The slight motion completely startled Fu Zhiyuan, who had been dozing off. He stared at the person before him, his voice choking and hoarse, “Wife?” Shen Nanxing smiled and nodded at him. Fu Zhiyuan, trembling, embraced him tightly, his eyes red and wet, “You scared me to death!”

Shen Nanxing stiffened for a moment, feeling warm liquid fall at the back of his neck. He reached out to hold Fu Zhiyuan in return, comforting him, “It’s okay, I’m fine!” The two of them hugged tightly for a long time before reluctantly letting go. Fu Zhiyuan’s eyes lingered on Shen Nanxing’s face, repeatedly confirming, “Wife, are you really awake?”

The doctor’s words had left him shaken. Although Shen Nanxing was right in front of him, he was still afraid deep down, scared that he might just be dreaming and that once he woke up, everything would be gone. Shen Nanxing made a soft sound of affirmation, his eyes filled with bittersweetness. He took Fu Zhiyuan’s hand and placed it over his heart, “Then feel it carefully.”

He then leaned in and gently bit Fu Zhiyuan’s lip, gazing back at him with deep affection, “I’m right here beside you.”