“Ah Yu.”
Wen Shuyu knew clearly that he was inside a nightmare, because only in dreams would that person call him by that name.
And Tang Li was his nightmare.
He had never lost his memory. From the moment he saw that face again, he began playing the role of a fool, a perfectly qualified fool, all just to find an excuse to stay by her side.
In his previous life, in terms of power, he held court authority alongside the young sovereign. In status, he stood beneath one person and above ten thousand. In wealth, his estate was filled with rare treasures.
Yet he still had one regret, a regret tied to a person who could not even be called kind.
“Ah Yu, when I grow up, can I like you?”
“…I…”
“Of course!”
The little girl cut in before the shy boy who had lowered his head could respond. Her smile was brilliant, dimples blooming like blossoms.
“Come with me. No one will ever bully you again…”
The young man bent down, applying medicine to a fresh wound on the girl’s forehead. She cried silently, stubbornly biting her lip.
“But Ah Yu, my mother-in-law, said he is my husband. I can’t leave him.”
Heavy raindrops slammed down onto the woman’s blood soaked dress. The man holding her wept toward the sky.
“Why! You blocked that blade for him, you didn’t even care about your own life!”
“Wen Shuyu… if you hurt him, I will hate you forever…”
That woman was beautiful yet vicious. She trampled his devotion underfoot and abandoned him alone in this world.
Under the Buddha’s gaze, he was given a chance to start over. He wanted revenge on that heartless woman, but the moment he saw those innocent eyes that knew nothing of the world, he instantly wavered.
He should not vent all his hatred on a substitute, even if they looked so similar. He understood that the Tang Li who once made him grind his teeth in fury and the woman after his rebirth were not the same person.
Wen Shuyu’s love and hatred for that cruel woman belonged to her alone.
He had become famous at a young age, read thousands of books, understood the unity of knowledge and action, yet he still found himself repeatedly drawn to this substitute, alternating between disgust and closeness.
Just like now. Even though he could follow the golden finger given by the system, seize the male lead’s script from the awakened villain’s role in the original story, and walk toward a dragon-slaying, overpowered destiny…
Instead of playing house with a so-called substitute who had lost her memory in a farming and wealth building game.
Just a substitute. Just a passing amusement.
Wen Shuyu repeated this to himself over and over.
But when he saw the woman lying unconscious in the room, surrounded by gauzy curtains over the bed, tormented by nightmares, his resolve still wavered, his eyes filled with emotions too tangled to name.
The system had told him that Tang Li was close to death.
One last time…
He told himself they were not the same person. After saving Tang Li, he would sever all ties with her completely.
Let their meeting be nothing more than a brief dream. From then on, they would walk their separate single log bridges. If the ending would still be the same as in the previous life, then it would be better never to meet again.
Wen Shuyu tightened the red cord in his hand. The other end was tied to Tang Li’s left pinky finger, with a small copper bell hanging in the middle.
He had traded away his own golden finger as the price, making a deal with the system to enter this Paper Bridegroom nightmare with a ninety nine percent death rate.
“Tang Li has been asleep for a long time. She may already be lost inside. Do not reveal that you are an outsider. Not even to Tang Li. Otherwise, they will be the first to kill you.
The Paper Bridegroom nightmare is a reflection of the deepest fear in one’s heart. What you face first will be your own nightmare. Do not lose yourself in it.
Only after passing the nightmare can you truly enter the Paper Bridegroom’s dream. You must find the most important thing to it, and destroy it. Only then can you take Tang Li out.”
At the final moment, the system reminded him once more.
“Remember, you only have twelve hours.”
Wen Shuyu nodded, memorizing it. Then everything before his eyes fell into darkness.
“Ah Yu~”
Wen Shuyu opened his eyes and found himself lying in Tang Li’s arms. Looking up, he saw her smiling face and her familiar dimples.
A sea of blossoms drifted down onto Tang Li’s hair. She tilted her head slightly, black hair brushing against his neck, bringing a faint itch.
“Ah Yu, why did you sleep so long? I called you and you wouldn’t wake up. I still had something I wanted to ask you.”
The girl spoke with a coy tone.
“Where is this…”
Wen Shuyu propped himself up from her embrace. After so long, he was still not used to such close contact.
“This is where we planted the sea of camellia trees together. Ah Yu, don’t you remember?”
A hint of sadness appeared in Tang Li’s eyes.
“I didn’t forget…”
Wen Shuyu unknowingly relaxed his guard and quickly changed the subject.
“Right, what were you going to ask just now?”
The girl slowly reached out, her warm hands brushing across his cheek from behind before circling around to stand behind him.
“I want to ask you a question…”
Tang Li breathed softly into his ear, her voice carrying a seductive tone.
“I’ve kept this question in my heart for so long. I couldn’t hold it in anymore…”
“Sit down and speak properly.”
Wen Shuyu’s ears turned faint red. He tried to pull away, but the hold only tightened.
“I want to ask…”
The hands roaming over him suddenly turned ice cold. The Tang Li behind him suddenly clamped down hard on his throat.
“Why did you come to save me!”
“I don’t love you at all. Why are you separating me from my Shen Lang!”
“You’re the one who ruined everything!”
Wen Shuyu could not struggle.
He could feel the air in his throat growing thinner and thinner. He was about to suffocate.
Pain spread through his body in dull waves. He could no longer tell whether it was the lack of oxygen or her words that hurt more.
Soon, everything faded into darkness again.
When he opened his eyes once more, it was an entirely different scene.
Still shaken, Wen Shuyu coughed while clutching his throat.
The system had told him not to trust anything inside the nightmare. What he just experienced was only an illusion created by the Paper Bridegroom. It was not real.
He repeated this to himself again and again.
After a long moment, he steadied himself and looked around at where he had been sent next.
Behind a screen, he could already smell a suffocating medicinal scent, mixed with a faint trace of blood.
“Ah!”
A maidservant carrying hot water almost bumped into Wen Shuyu standing at the doorway. She cried out in anger.
“You blind fool! Why are you blocking our young master’s room!”
The commotion alerted the people inside. Soon, a young married woman walked out.
It was Wang Cuihua, yet not the same one.
Though the face was extremely similar, it was not the same “Wang Cuihua” he knew, the sharp tongued, stingy woman who clung to the little princess without letting go.
This one looked younger, barely past thirty, but her face was full of sorrow, with dried tear stains under her eyes.
The moment she saw Wen Shuyu, her gaze turned fierce.
“Who are you? One after another, you all come to disturb my Kang’er’s peace!”
What did she mean?
Has someone else already been here? Tang Li?
Wen Shuyu recalled the system’s instructions before entering. Using the agreed signal for his identity as a golden finger wielder, he said calmly,
“I am an apprentice from the Chai Family Medical Clinic. My master sent me to take the young master’s pulse.”
“So you were sent by Divine Doctor Chai…” The woman’s expression changed instantly. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I was rude.”
She quickly changed her demeanor, inviting him in and ordering tea to be served.
Beyond the screen, a young man lay on the bed.
He looked gentle in appearance, but his body was frail. His complexion was dark, clearly suffering from a serious illness with little time left.
The spittoon beside the bed was stained with dark red blood.
Wen Shuyu’s eyes dimmed slightly.
His own mother had once been like this.
After being driven out of the Xie family, his mother fell ill and could only afford doctors occasionally when there was a little money. Prolonged illness had turned him into someone who understood a bit of medicine himself.
After finishing the pulse diagnosis, Wang Cuihua immediately rushed forward anxiously.
“How is my son? Will he improve?”
Wen Shuyu only shook his head silently. The young man was born with a weak heart condition, now complicated by coughing blood. By his pulse, even immortals would find it impossible to save him.
Wang Cuihua’s face turned pale, and she collapsed beside the bed crying.
“Heaven has abandoned me! I just lost my husband, and now it takes my Kang’er too!”
Tears poured out as if long suppressed.
“Though the young master’s condition…”
Wen Shuyu coughed lightly and continued, “I can prescribe a calming and pain relieving medicine so he can suffer less.”
“Good, good.”
Wang Cuihua quickly wiped her tears, straightened her disheveled hair, and returned to her cold and stern expression as she called out,
“Camellia.”
A maidservant entered.
“Take the Chai Family Medical Clinic apprentice to prepare medicine for the young master.”
“Yes, madam.”
The girl responded obediently.
Even though she kept her head lowered, Wen Shuyu still saw her face clearly.
It was Tang Li.
He almost called out in shock, but suppressed it immediately.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Wang Cuihua standing behind him, pretending to wipe her tears while secretly watching him.
She was testing him…
Wang Cuihua still did not fully trust him. She was trying to see whether he recognized Tang Li.
Wen Shuyu stood up, maintaining a calm and composed expression, and followed Tang Li out of the room.
The courtyard was elegantly arranged, clearly the residence of a wealthy family.
Soon, Wen Shuyu followed Tang Li a distance away.
When no one was around, he dropped his disguise and quickly stepped forward.
“I finally found you. Are you hurt?”
He grabbed her wrist, turning to pull her away from the courtyard.
“I’ve been worried about you. I’ll take you out…”
“What are you doing!”
The woman in front of him suddenly flung his hand away and slapped him across the face.
“Pervert!”
Wen Shuyu froze.
“What are you looking at! You’re the one acting indecent and you still have the nerve to stare? I’ll dig your eyes out!”
“…”
What was she talking about?
Wen Shuyu’s expression darkened.
“And you call yourself someone from the Chai Family Medical Clinic! You come in and immediately harass a young girl! I’ll report you to the madam and have you sent to the authorities!”
Tang Li looked like an enraged cat, ready to explode at any moment.
She did not recognize him at all.