The taxi pulled up to the hospital entrance. Qi Zhi was about to pull out his phone to pay when he saw Lan An, who was sitting next to him, move faster. Lan An had already scanned the code and paid the fare.
Uh…
Qi Zhi felt a flicker of confusion. Lan An was a character who had literally walked out of a book—where did he get a phone? And where did he get the money to pay?
The novel Qi Zhi wrote was an urban fantasy set in a fictional world; the currency and the phones were entirely different from reality. According to the settings in his book, this phone and this money shouldn’t…
“What are you dazing off for?” Seeing that Qi Zhi wasn’t moving, Lan An frowned and asked as he held the car door open.
“Nothing… it’s nothing,” Qi Zhi snapped back to reality, tossing the messy thoughts out of his mind.
[I already arranged for him to possess someone else’s body, but then I added a study companion? It ruins the immersion…]
[Do you really have to insert such a useless character?]
[Couldn’t the Top (Gong) just carry the Bottom (Shou) and take a taxi to the hospital directly?]
[Couldn’t the Shou just wonder: ‘Hey, why does a book character have money for a taxi?’ and use that as a tiny plot hook?]
They went in for an X-ray. Fortunately, no bones were broken; it was just a mild ankle dislocation. The doctor manually popped it back into place. “It’s not very serious, so no cast is needed, but you must be careful with that leg. You can’t put weight on it for about three weeks, and it will take about a month to walk normally. The exact timing depends on your recovery. Come back for a check-up if you notice any issues.”
The abrasions were simpler to deal with just a quick cleaning and some medication.
Once everything was handled, Lan An took Qi Zhi back to school. After showing some identification, the taxi was allowed to drive directly to the base of Qi Zhi’s dormitory building.
Again, Lan An paid the fare.
Qi Zhi finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. After watching the taxi drive away, he turned to him and asked, “Can you tell me how you got out? And how did you find me?”
He had appeared exactly when Qi Zhi was injured. He even knew exactly which building Qi Zhi lived in.
“You want to know?” Lan An lowered his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curving into a smirk that held a hint of wickedness. “Fix your novel properly. If you change it in a way that makes me happy, I’ll tell you.”
Qi Zhi: “…”
If he had known this would happen, he never would have written Lan An as such a wicked, overbearing, and selfish villain. Wouldn’t a gentle and devoted second male lead have been better?
“The Blue Gum has met the Shihuai Bird; loving nothing in the world but you.”
That was the origin of Lan An’s name.
The Blue Gum is a type of eucalyptus tree with a romantic floral meaning: My tenderness is reserved for you alone.
The Blue Gum is lonely and domineering; no other plants can grow in its immediate vicinity. It stands in solitary splendor. However, there is a bird called the Red-billed Blue Magpie also known as the Shihuai Bird—that can perch upon its branches. It is as if the Blue Gum intentionally leaves a space specifically for the bird, creating a sense of blissful romance.
In the story, Lan An is the reincarnation of a Tree Demon. The protagonist (Shou), Tang Mianmian, is the only Red-billed Blue Magpie the Shihuai Bird that can nest in his branches.
It sounds romantic and gentle, doesn’t it?
But there is a second half to that saying: The Shihuai Bird comes and goes without a fixed date; returning from the dream, it has already chased the drifting clouds away.
There is more than one Blue Gum tree, and more than one Shihuai Bird.
This destined that Lan An was never meant to be a devoted man. Overbearing, selfish, unscrupulous in achieving his goals, and a philandering soul this was the true him.
“Actually, I don’t really want to know that much,” Qi Zhi muttered. Since Lan An refused to speak, Qi Zhi had no choice. He pursed his lips and looked at the stairs of the dormitory.
His room was on the fifth floor, and there was no elevator. The doctor said he had to be careful with his leg, or it would prolong the recovery time or worse, cause another dislocation.
Qi Zhi looked at Lan An, then looked back at the stairs, his eyes flashing with a desperate hint.
Lan An: “…”