Chapter 50 – Narcissist

In addition to Yu Mandong’s faltering voice, there was another sharp sound that exploded in her ear.

The system’s shrill screams were like the noise of a boiling kettle, “Ahhhhhh.”

“Oh no!”

“He knows, he actually knows! What do we do now?!”

Lu Hui’s ears were sore from the noise. “Stop shouting.”

The system seemed to have lost its sanity, “The fire’s already at the eyebrows! What do we do?! Help! Is there anyone?! Save me, SOS!”

Lu Hui, the person directly involved, wasn’t scared at all and remained completely calm. “Even if you scream your throat out, no one is coming to save you. Only I can hear you.”

The system cried.

It wasn’t pretending; it was truly crying.

After crying, it wiped away the “tears” made by the code and bravely stood up, giving up on resistance and facing reality. “The male lead’s intelligence is favored by the heavens.”

Lu Hui watched with great interest as the expression on Yu Mandong’s face changed, “Didn’t you say that if they knew the truth, they would collapse? Doesn’t seem like it.”

The system sneered, “Well, just wait a little longer.”

Lu Hui didn’t back down when Yu Mandong questioned her, crossing her arms and giving him a mocking look. She didn’t speak, but her expression seemed to confirm the truth of his questions.

Such speculation might be unimaginable and unacceptable for others. But for Yu Mandong, who had lived through two lifetimes, it no longer seemed absurd.

Yu Mandong could almost confirm his suspicions from her expression. His body was exhausted, and his palm pressed hard against the table as he turned his body sideways. He pointed to the man with long hair behind him. “He’s one of them, right?”

Lu Hui neither nodded nor shook her head.

Yan Zhao seemed to half understand but didn’t care much about the conversation. Soon, he and Lu Hui would return home anyway.

Yu Mandong could endure resentment and tolerate neglect or mockery, but he couldn’t stand being deceived.

He thought she loved him deeply. All those emotions he had seen, turns out they were all acts—calculated and purposeful.

His once passionate eyes were tormented by the realization. He couldn’t sleep at night, overwhelmed with guilt and pain. He wished to rip his heart out to make it up to her.

But it was all a joke. A complete joke. Yu Mandong foolishly thought he had let down her true heart, not even considering for a second that she was a heartless person.

The love she spoke of, the “I love you” she said while holding him, the tears she shed in sorrow, perhaps they were all wholesale emotions, shared with everyone.

A deep sense of betrayal enveloped Yu Mandong. His intense love and hate were now overwhelmingly focused on her.

Yu Mandong clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, wanting to bite his gums raw. He asked, “Do you think I’m a joke?”

The Yu Mandong in Lu Hui’s eyes was a refined scoundrel, a victorious strategist. It was rare to see him lose his composure.

Before she was sent to prison, he even patted her face and said, “Be good.”

He had never taken her threats seriously after begging in vain. He might have even mocked her for her lack of self-awareness.

Now that Lu Hui finally had the chance to kick him when he was down, she certainly wouldn’t miss it. With a sharp tongue inherited from Cen Yueze, she smirked, “You look pretty ridiculous right now.”

“Is it fun to play with me? Lu Hui,” Yu Mandong said, his eyes half-lidded and expressionless, a storm brewing in the air, the impending sense of doom suffocating.

Lu Hui said, “Oh? Why do you think I’m playing with you?”

She covered her mouth and smiled, “You weren’t exactly kind to me before either.”

Lu Hui didn’t admit that she had deceived his feelings; after all, her empathetic book experience had been emotionally and physically tormenting, okay!? The one who suffered was definitely not the male protagonist.

In all his years of struggling, the one thing Yu Mandong could not tolerate was betrayal and being played with. His eyes fixed on the woman’s slender neck, his sharp teeth grinding, desperately holding back the urge to reach out and choke her neck.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had stayed up all night, “Am I your tool?”

Lu Hui was already tired of this drama. She called the system out again to torment it, “Is this what you meant by ‘collapse’?”

Is this it? Just this?

The system was defeated, “According to data analysis, the male protagonists may do some uncontrollable things after learning the truth, but we don’t know exactly what that would be.”

“Sigh, the more he suffers, the more I enjoy it. I’m such a freak.”

“……”

“Could it be… he really fell in love with me?”

The system didn’t want to respond, if he didn’t love her, would he have gone through all this trouble, disrupted the stability of the world, and forcibly crossed over?

“What do you want? Are you disgusted?”

Lu Hui denied it: “No, this is fine.”

“???”

“The wheel of fortune turns, he can wait for death.”

The system fled before her, leaving her with a mess of problems—no other hosts had these after-sales issues, just Lu Hui had all these complications!

Yu Mandong waited for two minutes but still didn’t get her response.

“Answer me.”

“You don’t really think you’re someone in my heart, do you?” He had never been involved with anything human-related, and now he still dared to ask her. It was really laughable.

Normally, Yu Mandong couldn’t tolerate this kind of verbal humiliation. But tonight, he had endured more than enough, his bottom line retreating again and again.

She had faked her feelings for him. Fine, he accepted that.

All those illusions were part of a purposeful mission, and he could bear that too.

Now that he knew that Lu Hui had cast her net wide with her so-called “love” for others, he could bear it after some careful thought.

Lu Hui was very disappointed that she didn’t get to see Yu Mandong throw a tantrum, slamming tables and chairs and shouting.

She said, “If you want to silence me, go ahead. If you want to delete my scenes, go ahead. I don’t care. But if you think I’ll beg for your mercy like before, that’s impossible.”

Yu Mandong’s lips twitched, “I didn’t mean that.”

Lu Hui scoffed, “Don’t pretend to be a good person in front of me.”

“Let’s start over, okay?”

“No,” Lu Hui stretched lazily. “I never look back. And if you want to win me back, first go to prison for seven years, earn the qualification to pursue me, or else don’t even bother.”

Even though Yu Mandong still had the male protagonist halo, in this world, he had to follow the law. The anti-crime and anti-corruption campaign was in full swing. If he tried anything extreme like kidnapping or confinement, these plots worked in old stories but would get him thrown in jail here. So Lu Hui wasn’t afraid of him at all.

Lu Hui opened the door, leaned in to eavesdrop, and everyone who had been spying collapsed in a pile, awkwardly smiling at her, “We were just passing by.”

Yan Zhao followed her, initially keeping a two-step distance, but soon walked almost side by side with her.

Yan Zhao’s voice was clear like spring water flowing over stones, “Did he hurt you too?”

Lu Hui stood in the cold breeze at the hotel door, “Yes.”

Yan Zhao lowered his beautiful eyes, “How did he hurt you?”

Lu Hui tilted her aching neck, staring at the sky full of stars, “It wasn’t much different from how you did.”

Yan Zhao’s voice was low, “I can help you get revenge.”

Lu Hui felt a twinge of melancholy, “Is it even worth it?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Lu Hui looked at the stars and the moon, and thought of Yan Zhao in his youth. He had always been the most dedicated disciple in the sect, standing tall with his back straight, a sword on his back, wearing white robes, with red lips and white teeth, but no expression except for coldness.

Cultivating for ascension was etched in his bones.

Before he killed her, Yan Zhao had been decent toward her, his junior and fiancée. When he came down from the mountain, he’d bring her small accessories and snacks she liked. In the secret realms, he would occasionally look after her.

When Lu Hui died by his sword, she looked at the falling snow, cold against her face, and her feelings for the male lead slowly peeled away. For a moment, she thought that if Yan Zhao really ascended, that would be a good thing.

It was rare to see someone who valued their career over beauty.

He shouldn’t be like this now, following her like a tail, doing things he didn’t like. He clearly hated being watched, spied on, and scrutinized, yet was willing to face the cameras.

Compared to Yu Mandong, Yan Zhao didn’t seem so repulsive.

Lu Hui said, “Yan Zhao, you shouldn’t have come to find me.”

Yan Zhao stood beside her, blowing in the breeze, “There’s no should or shouldn’t.”

Lu Hui sighed, “Are you really willing to give up cultivating immortality?”

“I am.”

Once he decided on something, he wouldn’t regret it. With so much blood on his hands to find her, Yan Zhao would never be swayed by her words.

Lu Hui’s silent mouth was destined not to be a great educator.

Yan Zhao took out the Kunpeng from his pocket, “He really misses you.”

The little Kunpeng flew to her shoulder. It nuzzled her face with its beak, squinting with joy, full of energy and life.

Lu Hui gave a dry laugh, “I get it. You can make him stop now.”

Yan Zhao flicked his finger, but the Kunpeng didn’t listen, continuing to roll around her, even sticking out its tongue to lick her face.

Lu Hui avoided it with a look of disdain, “Kiss-up! Don’t even think about winning me over!”

Yan Zhao grabbed its tail and pulled it back, “Stop making trouble.”

Lu Hui admired the moonlight for a while before heading back to her room to rest. She lay on her bed playing with her phone. When she glanced at the time and date, she suddenly realized—tomorrow was her birthday.

It seemed like she’d never had a peaceful birthday before.

She didn’t expect much from birthdays anyway. Just buying herself a small cake was enough to make her happy.

She kept scrolling on her phone, eyes still open. Just after midnight, a new message popped up on WeChat.

Sheng Zhaoming: [Congratulations on your longevity.]

Lu Hui ignored him—she had already fallen asleep.

Sheng Zhaoming: [Asleep?]

Sheng Zhaoming: [Quit pretending.]

Lu Hui glanced at the messages but kept scrolling through Douyin.

A minute later, Sheng Zhaoming sent her a red envelope.

Lu Hui couldn’t resist clicking it. Just 200 yuan. A complete waste of her data.

Sheng Zhaoming: [?]

Sheng Zhaoming: [Are you deaf? I say happy birthday and you ignore me, but when there’s money involved you run faster than a dog.]

Lu Hui replied with a voice message: “You’re the blind one. What does ‘Congratulations on your longevity’ have to do with ‘Happy Birthday’?”

Sheng Zhaoming: [Then give it back.]

Sheng Zhaoming: [Return the 200 yuan.]

Lu Hui, without hesitation, muted his messages.

She let out a breath—finally, she could enjoy scrolling in peace.

But then, another WeChat notification popped up.

Cen bking sent a voice message, his voice lazy and groggy, “Heard it’s your birthday today?”

She was about to reply when three more voice messages, each over ten seconds long, popped up. Just seeing those two red dots made her not want to open them.

“I’ll do you a favor and let you treat me to a meal.”
“I’m the kind of person who can’t say no to a birthday wish. It’d be a sin. Hurry and send the time and place—I’ll make your dream come true.”
“Admit it. You’ve been waiting for this day, haven’t you?”

Lu Hui sneered and typed: “You got it wrong. Today’s not my birthday. And around here, people don’t celebrate birthdays. It’s not a thing.”

She could totally skip it. What a narcissist.

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