The strange feeling in her heart deepened because of Xiaolingdang's answer. Chen Fu felt that her memory was distorted. Before she closed her eyes in despair, she clearly saw someone rush over and kick the door.
It is Luyu Island.
The thought sent a jolt through her body, and a chilling pain, like a punishment, gradually spread through her limbs and bones.
A strange feeling filled her with inexplicable fear. Then, the door to the ward opened, and Jiang Qing walked in anxiously. He sat down next to Chen Fu and took her hand.
"How are you? Are you alright?"
Such concerned inquiries made Chen Fu feel physically nauseous. The feeling of Jiang Qing holding her hand was unpleasant. Chen Fu irritably tried to pull her hand away, but found that she couldn't move.
She heard herself say in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"I'm fine, but you, who rushed in through such a raging fire, are you hurt?"
Like a coded message for a punishment scene, as soon as Chen Fu finished speaking, she saw the ward door wide open. Ye Xin stood at the door directing three or four staff members to move the camera. The makeup artist appeared in front of her at some point, holding a powder compact to touch up Chen Fu's haggard face.
The ward suddenly became as lively as a television studio. Xiao Lingdang walked over and clipped the microphone to Chen Fu's chest. A reporter, holding a microphone, shoved it right in front of her, practically shoving it near her mouth. The reporter, with a smile, asked her, "Ms. Chen Fu, what are your thoughts on Mr. Jiang Qing risking his own safety to be the first to rush into the fire and save you?"
He wasn't the first person to save me.
The images lost deep in her memory became clearer. Before she fainted, she saw Lu Yu, enduring the scorching heat of the fire, rush over and kick open the wooden door. But the words that were about to come out of her mouth were frozen, the feeling of being frozen even more intense. An indescribable pain spread through her limbs. In a daze, she heard her own answer.
"I am extremely grateful to Jiang Qing. Without him, I might not have survived."
Panic quickly filled Chen Fu's heart. She bit her tongue to force herself to calm down. The person who saved her was not Jiang Qing, but Lu Yu, the first person to rush into the fire and kick open the door. What was she talking about?
Her best efforts to control herself were futile; she watched helplessly as she ruined everything. Jiang Qing took her hand in her hand, brought it to her lips, and gently kissed it.
The kiss made her nauseous and tremble all over. She looked at Jiang Qing in disbelief. Jiang Qing's expression was both affectionate and bitter, with a hint of joy at something lost and then regained.
“Actually, if it were someone else today, I might not have rushed in to save people immediately, but it was you. I didn’t think about anything and just rushed in.”
Chen Fu almost vomited after hearing or reading this.
I think you should understand my feelings for you.
The moment those words were spoken, the entire audience gasped in surprise. Ye Xin instructed the photographer to zoom in and capture the expression on Chen Fu's face. Xiao Lingdang stood to the side, her girlish heart overflowing. Yan Shan leaned against the door and sighed, saying, "No wonder we've cultivated this relationship for so long. My two protagonists have finally fallen in love."
Unable to hold back her tears, they rolled down Chen Fu's cheeks. She tried her best to control herself from making any movement or sound. Her willpower, which she had always been proud of, was futile at this moment. In the midst of unbearable pain, Chen Fu gently nodded at Jiang Qing's face.
...
The inverted plot caused the atmosphere to suddenly boil over, like a carnival. Jiang Qing's smile gradually turned into a hysterical grin. In the midst of the chaos, she seemed to see Lu Yu's figure. Lu Yu stood alone in the shadows, his injured hand pressed against his side, blood dripping down.
She silently watched everything before her. Jiang Qing, having received permission, pulled Chen Fu into her arms. Lu Yu watched all this in silence and left without saying a word.
Don't go!
The pent-up emotions finally erupted, and all the strength in their bodies was used to break through the shackles.
"But if you don't love Jiang Qing, who will you love?"
The reporter handed her the microphone again, and her voice became a cold, mechanical female voice.
"Bang--"
A strange noise startled the person from their dream.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and Chen Fu was panting heavily, exhausted. Little Bell accidentally knocked over a teacup and came over apologetically, saying, "Sister Fu, you're awake."
Were they all just dreams?
The struggle in her dream felt so real that Chen Fu closed her eyes, utterly exhausted.
But the moment she closed her eyes, the distorted images from her dream reappeared before Chen Fu in the darkness, and the fear and pain that lingered in her heart forced her to open her eyes again.
The little bell had already disappeared.
Chen Fu sat up blankly and looked around. When she turned around, Lu Yu was standing in front of her.
Lu Yu exuded a chilling aura, his icy fingers touching Chen Fu's chin as he forcefully lifted it.
"But if you don't love Jiang Qing, then who do you love?"
She heard Lu Yu say this.
*
0505's words were unacceptable to Lu Xiaomi.
Excessive resentment and grievances turned into uncontrollable anger. The surge of passion only made her more composed. Lu Xiaomi raised her chin and said to 0505, "I understand." She waved to 0413.
The guilty fox cub wriggled out of 0505's arms and hesitantly approached Lu Xiaomi.
The person before her was the creator of this world. 0413 and 0505 could only be considered as tools to help her repair this world. In front of the gloomy creator god, 0413 gradually felt a faint fear.
"Among the cards you mentioned earlier, there's one called 'Enter the Dream'?"
The affinity system has indeed added a new card. After use, the host can enter the dream of any character in the storyline, and the host can set the events and scenes in the dream to their own liking. Furthermore, the character who enters the host's dream will not forget the events that happened in the dream after waking up. Most importantly, this card is so useless that it can be exchanged for with only three affinity points.
"Exchange for two cards."
Lu Xiaomi said to 0413.
"I want to enter Chen Fu's dream."
--------------------
Author's Note:
Thank you for purchasing the VIP chapter! Just between you and me, I've started a new story in my author's column, it's probably a "chasing the crematorium" plot! Those who like this genre can pre-order it! Thank you!
Chapter 25 CP25
Everything in the dream is controlled by the dreamer. Lu Xiaomi carried the chill of winter and lifted Chen Fu's chin with one hand.
Her injured left hand was still bleeding, and the warm liquid fell onto Chen Fu's chest and neck, turning into scorching flowers. The heat almost burned her fair skin, and her strange emotions instantly reached their peak. When she saw Lu Yu, she felt a surge of joy. Chen Fu's feelings for Lu Yu slowly changed; initially, she had only thought of him as an easily fooled rich kid.
She always liked to bring up her age; she considered herself a few years older than Lu Yu, so she always treated Lu Yu like a child. She had seen too many children like this, who, because of their privileged backgrounds and wealth, always wanted to buy a romantic love affair with money. Chen Fu usually disdained such children, but because she had been driven to a dead end before, she had no choice but to agree in a conciliatory manner.
However, as she spent more time with him, she discovered that Lu Yu was different from the people she had met before.
She loves herself.
Chen Fu lay on the hospital bed, pondering the question Lu Yu had posed to her with a somewhat blank expression.
Whom should she love?
She had heard this word from too many different mouths; vows of eternal love vanished in an instant after a glass of wine. With so much disappointment, she learned to lower her expectations. Chen Fu and Lu Yu were not on equal footing; their relationship, which started unhealthily, had become, in essence, a half-hearted transaction. Those seemingly affectionate glances and ambiguous kisses were nothing more than readily available flattery.
What does Chen Fu herself have that makes her worthy of being loved?
She was stubborn, aloof, and dull, knowing full well that one path was blocked yet showing no flexibility whatsoever. Even her only redeeming quality—her appearance—would age in a few years, and her fairly pretty face would one day be covered in wrinkles. Chen Fu wasn't insecure or self-deprecating; she had simply been immersed in the world of fame and fortune for too long, understanding herself and human nature all too well.
So what exactly does Lu Yu love about her?
So she decided to lower her expectations; she felt she could be a plaything, but not a lover.
But Lu Yu wanted to turn her into a lover.
Chen Fu was unprepared for an answer, and her frozen body was clearly not strong enough to support her. In the long silence, she saw Lu Yu slowly withdraw his fingers.
"All right."
The child looked somewhat dejected. She said, "Okay, the word 'love' is too difficult for you."
It seems like a compromise. Lu Xiaomi knows Chen Fu's past; her blank romantic history and terrible experiences certainly aren't enough to teach her the meaning of love. So, what about liking her? "Liking" is broad and general enough. She's so good to Chen Fu; surely Chen Fu must like her back?
"do you like me?"
Chen Fu heard Lu Yu say to her.
These five words were suddenly stretched out and applied to Chen Fu one by one: Do you like it? She thought she probably liked Lu Yu.
But is her liking the same thing as Lu Yu's liking?
How old is Lu Yu? A twenty-one or twenty-two-year-old girl, the age when she most yearns for and anticipates love. For her, liking and loving represent a very profound meaning, just like the love stories passed down for thousands of years, it must be unforgettable and unwavering.
She was a little resentful, resenting why Lu Yu hadn't appeared sooner. Sooner, much sooner, before she signed the contract with Tian Yu, before she "accidentally" broke her leg, before Wei Xi made things difficult for her and Han Xiao humiliated her, before she became numb, before she was able to love Lu Yu.
She had long been shattered from the inside out by these ups and downs.
What Lu Yu wants, Chen Fu can no longer give him.
But it's okay, everyone eventually gives up. Yu will find out sooner or later that she's not the one worth loving.
"No."
Chen Fu blurted out the word uncontrollably. In a way, this answer was both against her will and not against her will. Although she didn't think that way in her heart, she would still say the same answer.
This answer was indeed enough to make one back down. Chen Fu lowered her head. She could imagine the expression on Lu Yu's face at this moment: lost, incredulous, and painful. She might stagger back two steps and leave, loudly accusing herself of loving the wrong person and feeding her heart to the dogs before she left.
It's a real shame that after leaving Luyu, I'll probably go back to my old life.
But it's better than deceiving someone who loves you like that.
But the expected slamming of the door didn't happen. Instead, there were a few cold laughs from Lu Yu. Then everything suddenly changed. Chen Fu collapsed onto a large, off-white carpet, surrounded by the aroma of wine. In the dim indoor light, she looked at her bright red chest.
Her original hospital gown was transformed into a fiery red fishtail gown, the same gown Chen Fu wore when they first met.
The sudden change left Chen Fu stunned, but Lu Yu showed no reaction. Standing in the shadows, Lu Yu's expression was obscured. She picked up an open bottle of red wine from the table and poured it over Chen Fu. In the darkness, Lu Yu gritted her teeth in anger.
"You should wake up."
The icy liquid made Chen Fu shiver, but the skin that had been splashed with the wine immediately felt hot. Lu Yu grabbed her arm and threw her onto the sofa. The feeling of dashed expectations was like the sudden drop on a roller coaster, especially after Lu Xiaomi saw what Chen Fu was thinking.
As the one in control of this dream, Chen Fu's thoughts are laid bare before Lu Xiaomi. She can understand that Chen Fu dislikes her and therefore rejects her, but she cannot accept Chen Fu's cowardly retreat.
She clearly has feelings for him too, yet she avoids him for some unfounded reason. Chen Fu is always brave and fearless in her career, but she becomes weak and retreats when it comes to her own feelings. What kind of person is she?
The icy liquor made Chen Fu cough. Trembling, she said to Lu Xiaomi, "Are you crazy?" Lu Xiaomi pressed her down onto the sofa with one hand. She said, "Yes, I am crazy."
"You can finish what you didn't do before now. I won't push you away this time."
The chill gradually rose as Lu Yu spoke, and the person in front of her looked down at her as before, making her feel scrutinized again. Chen Fu stared wide-eyed silently, overwhelmed by Lu Yu's forceful attitude.
There was a sudden knock on the office door.
"Mr. Lu, I've brought you some documents from the performing arts department."
"Enter."
As expected, Chen Fu's breath caught in her throat upon hearing this, while Lu Yu pleasurably felt the increasingly stiff skin beneath her hand. She seemed surprised by Lu Yu's quick agreement, the stimulation causing Chen Fu to whimper, but before she could struggle, her lips were sealed with a kiss. Even knowing she was in a hallucination, Chen Fu was still blushing at the sight before her. Lu Yu held her wrists and pinned her down, while outside the door was her secretary, who wanted to discuss work with Lu Yu. This scene seemed to only exist in melodramatic novels, and Chen Fu felt as if they were having an affair.