After Lin Luoqing finished advising Ji Leyu and hung up the phone, the smile slowly faded from his lips, and the worry in his eyes gradually surfaced.
He couldn’t directly bring up Song Qiang’s name and ask Ji Leyu if he had developed feelings for her. All he could do was probe subtly, pretending to be casual about it.
Fortunately, judging by Ji Leyu’s expression just now, it seemed he hadn’t developed feelings for Song Qiang yet.
That’s good, Lin Luoqing thought. He plans to take a break after finishing this drama, until Lin Fei and Ji Leyu finish their college entrance examinations, and then he will take on other roles again. During this time, he can pay more attention to Ji Leyu and try to get him to focus on his studies so that he does not become interested in Song Qiang during his senior year.
Fundamentally, in the book, Ji Leyu’s feelings for Song Qiang largely stemmed from the early loss of his parents and Ji Yuxiao. He had lost the people he cared about and had grown up resilient but in pain, so when he encountered Song Qiang, he was drawn to her warmth, understanding, and care, leading him to want her to stay by his side.
That’s why, after Song Qiang rejected him, he chose to imprison her.
But he didn’t truly love Song Qiang—or rather, he didn’t love her very much.
When Ji Leyu loved someone, he would retract all his stubbornness and sharp edges, presenting only his most obedient and best self to them. He would be very well-behaved, even at the cost of his own happiness, just to make the person he cared about happy.
This was something Lin Luoqing only realized after being transported into the novel.
When he had read the book before, he had thought that Ji Leyu was just a crazy person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even if it meant forcing someone to love him against their will.
But after entering the book, after truly seeing Ji Leyu as a person, witnessing his interactions with Ji Yuxiao, and later his interactions with himself and Lin Fei, Lin Luoqing was surprised to discover that Ji Leyu was actually someone who knew how to love deeply.
If he truly loved someone, he would never harm them. Not to mention harming them, even if the other person showed a hint of sadness in front of him, Ji Leyu would be more pained than them, wishing he could take their place.
The more he loved someone, the more he cherished them.
So, from this perspective, it was clear that he didn’t actually like Song Qiang all that much, or at least not as much as it seemed.
With this realization, Lin Luoqing felt a bit more at ease.
Right now, Ji Leyu wasn’t lacking in warmth or love, so Song Qiang’s attraction wasn’t as strong as it was in the book.
Moreover, he had just reminded him not to start a relationship too early. Given how much Ji Leyu cared about him and Ji Yuxiao, there was no way he would disregard his words for someone like Song Qiang.
At least during his senior year, he probably wouldn’t develop any feelings for Song Qiang beyond that of classmates.
However, Song Qiang was the female lead, and on top of that, the butterfly effects he had caused all took place before the story began.
Now that Song Qiang had transferred schools and the story was starting, Lin Luoqing wasn’t sure if she still had the protagonist’s aura or if Ji Leyu would be drawn to her as he was in the book, taking the initiative to approach her.
He didn’t dare take any risks, so he could only do his best to ensure there was distance between Ji Leyu and Song Qiang.
But at least, Lin Luoqing comforted himself, once they went to college, they should be separated.
As long as they were apart and couldn’t see each other, the protagonist’s aura wouldn’t make a difference whether it existed or not.
Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but sigh. ‘Qiang, take some advice from your uncle: when you go to college, make sure it’s not the same one as Ji Leyu, okay?’
‘Run as far as you can, stay away from him, and live a good life with Shang Yunyang, alright?’
—As for why it wasn’t Ji Leyu who should be the one to stay far away and avoid going to the same school as Song Qiang, Lin Luoqing thought, ‘Isn’t that obvious?’
He was Ji Leyu’s father, not Song Qiang’s, so while his concern for Song Qiang’s safety was due to his strong moral and legal sense, ultimately, his focus was on Ji Leyu’s wishes. Ji Leyu’s happiness was the most important thing.
Ji Leyu could go wherever he wanted without considering others, as long as he was happy.
Song Qiang, who was absorbed in her homework, sneezed.
She rubbed her nose and continued organizing the key points of her high school math curriculum. According to her memory, the next day Shang Yunyang would be reported for cheating, accused of copying her test paper, which had led to his sudden improvement in the recent monthly exam.
At that time, the teacher would call her to the office to ask about the situation, leading to their interaction.
Song Qiang remembered that in her previous life, after the cheating scandal, Shang Yunyang approached her, asking for tutoring. She agreed because he offered a good price and her family was in financial need at the time.
It was only later, after they were together, that she accidentally learned Shang Yunyang had actually wanted to repay her for speaking up for him in the office, and he had proactively sought her out, fearing she might refuse, by proposing the tutoring.
Her boyfriend turned out to be more thoughtful and gentle than she had imagined, so this life, Song Qiang hoped to organize the key points he needed early on, helping him improve and achieve better results.
Having been reborn, she hoped they could all have a better life.
Song Qiang thought of Lin Fei again and sighed with relief. Thankfully, Jiang Jingshuo, after a brief period of blindness and confusion, returns to Lin Fei’s side and becomes friends with him.
This is good. With Lin Fei’s friendship still intact, if he wants to start a business in the future, he can still do so with Jiang Jingshuo and others.
After all, Lin Fei was the one who had helped her become better and supported her during critical moments in her past life. Even though she no longer harbors a crush on him in this life, she still hopes for his well-being.
Song Qiang lowered her head and continued to organize the math key points for Shang Yunyang with a good mood.
…
After finishing a week of classes, on the weekend, Shi Qi immediately urged, “Let’s go play a murder mystery game.”
“The last time was quite fun, but unfortunately the study god couldn’t make it. This time, he can join us.”
Ji Leyu turned to look at Lin Fei upon hearing this.
Lin Fei did not refuse. “Sure.”
“Then it’s settled.” Shi Qi, seeing that Lin Fei had agreed, was confident that it was going to happen. “We’ll meet tomorrow at noon. I’ll send you the address later.”
“You’re really enthusiastic,” Ji Leyu teased him.
Shi Qi chuckled lightly. “It’s just a bit of itchiness. I didn’t perform well last time, so I’m looking forward to redeeming myself this time.”
“Then good luck,” Ji Leyu smiled and said, as he and Lin Fei got into the car and left the school.
Shi Qi quickly sent the address to the WeChat group and asked who was available tomorrow.
Jian Hao, Dong Junbo, and Zheng Binbai all responded, and the group quickly finalized the time and place for their meeting.
However, when they actually met up, Ji Leyu found that their murder mystery team had an extra person.
“What are you doing here?” he asked Jiang Jingshuo.
Jiang Jingshuo smiled. “Shi Qi invited me.”
Shi Qi raised his hand automatically. “The game I wanted to play needs seven people, so I asked Jiang Jingshuo along.”
Ji Leyu was speechless but, considering Lin Fei, did not say anything to send him away.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning around and walking forward with Lin Fei.
Shi Qi had already booked the room, and after a brief exchange with the owner, they were led inside by the DM. [1] In the context of a murder mystery game or similar role-playing games, “DM” stands for “Dungeon Master” or “Game Master.” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3574311_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3574311_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
The DM looked at their group of seven, blinked, and took out the character books from the box. With a gentle tone, she said, “In this script, there are three female roles, so we’ll need three people to cross-play. Do you mind?”
“No, we don’t mind.”
“Do you mind getting a couple’s script?” the DM asked again.
“A couple’s script?” Ji Leyu asked.
The DM nodded, “If anyone minds, you can avoid these two roles when choosing the script later. After all, the script starts with a wedding scene for the new couple, so you might need to perform a small skit.”
At this, Ji Leyu couldn’t sit still.
Newlyweds, and a wedding scene?!
What if Lin Fei accidentally picks one of those roles?
“Give it to me,” he said proactively.
The DM took out two scripts from a stack and handed them to him.
Ji Leyu looked at the covers of the two scripts and asked Lin Fei, “Which one do you want?”
DM: !!!!
Zheng Binbai: ????
Jiang Jingshuo: …
As expected of a late-stage brother complex, Jiang Jingshuo thought silently, feeling that he was already accustomed to it.
The DM, who was new to handling their group, clearly hadn’t grasped the situation. She looked at the couple-like faces of Ji Leyu and Lin Fei and asked curiously, “Are you two a couple?”
Ji Leyu smiled at her, “Does it look like we are?”
The DM, observing his bright and charming face, nodded and said sincerely, “Yes, it does.”
Ji Leyu laughed and didn’t say anything more. He turned to Lin Fei, “Which one do you want?”
“Either is fine,” Lin Fei’s voice was soft and indifferent.
Ji Leyu glanced at the scripts and eventually handed the female role to Lin Fei. “Then you take the female role.”
Lin Fei took the script expressionlessly and looked at the cover.
Zheng Binbai observed Ji Leyu with a calm demeanor but felt that the confusion and subtle tension from before had returned.
What is he trying to imply?
Why does he and Lin Fei get the couple’s script?
This action seems too ambiguous.
Zheng Binbai found himself puzzled again.
The DM, seeing that Ji Leyu and Lin Fei had chosen their scripts, let the others select from the remaining ones.
“Next, everyone should start reading your scripts. You’re not allowed to turn to the next page without the host’s permission.”
Then she told Ji Leyu and Lin Fei, “After you’re done reading, please come find me.”
“Okay,” Ji Leyu replied.
Lin Fei nodded, acknowledging the instructions.
Lin Fei’s reading speed was always fast, and he soon finished his role’s content. He looked over at Ji Leyu, who was still reading, and waited for him.
Meanwhile, the DM sat on the sofa in the lobby, quietly discussing the earlier situation with her colleague.
“I really didn’t expect them to be a couple.”
“Really?” The colleague immediately perked up, eyes sparkling.
“Of course. When I mentioned there were couple roles, they immediately took them and even asked if they looked like a couple.”
“So what did you say?”
“I said they did,” the DM chuckled. “They really do look good together. They’re so good-looking, much better than any stars I’ve seen on set.”
“That’s true, and their temperament is also great. I didn’t have such good-looking guys in my school days.”
“With looks like that, they must be the school heartthrobs. Once they’re done with the game, I’ll ask them to take a photo and post it on our review site. That should boost our shop’s popularity.”
As they were talking, Ji Leyu and Lin Fei walked over.
“We’re done,” Ji Leyu said proactively.
The DM stood up. “Then come with me.”
Hearing this, the colleague sitting next to her also put down the unfinished sunflower seeds and followed them.
“These are the costumes for this script. You two can decide if you want to change into them,” the DM said, pointing to the red traditional wedding dress and groom’s outfit in the changing room.
Lin Fei hadn’t expected a costume change and instinctively wanted to refuse. However, before he could speak, he heard Ji Leyu say, “Sure.”
Lin Fei turned and saw Ji Leyu taking the red bridal gown from the DM, his face full of mischievous intent. “Try it on.”
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei thought Ji Leyu was being quite unruly at the moment.
Ji Leyu looked at the dress in his hands and then glanced at the rack. He pointed at the phoenix crown on the rack and asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s a phoenix crown,” the DM explained. “It’s part of the set with the dress and is also for the bride.”
But since they are both guys, the crown probably isn’t necessary?
As she was thinking, she saw Ji Leyu walk over and pick it up. The pearls on the crown gently swayed, looking exquisite and beautiful. Ji Leyu turned and smiled at Lin Fei with a beaming grin.
He approached Lin Fei, holding the phoenix crown slightly aloft. “Do you want to try it on too?”
As he spoke, he eagerly tried to place it on Lin Fei’s head.
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei reached out and grabbed Ji Leyu’s hand, stopping his mischievous act.
He looked at DM and her colleague standing by the rack and said calmly, “Could you step outside for a moment?”
Miss DM nodded in agreement, briefly explaining a few straps on the clothes: “This one goes with that one,” “These two need to be tied in front,” before taking her colleague out and closing the door behind them.
Once they had left, Lin Fei leisurely said, “Do you want to see me dressed?”
Ji Leyu, heedless of danger, nodded eagerly.
“Do you also want me to wear the phoenix crown?”
Ji Leyu, undeterred, replied, “Yes.”
Very well.
Lin Fei snatched the phoenix crown from his hands and placed it directly on his head.
The pearls swayed slightly, the tassels moved gently, and the golden crown made his fair skin appear even more radiant. For a moment, he seemed like a vision of beauty, with the glow of dusk illuminating him.
“Not bad,” Lin Fei said casually. “Now, you can change clothes.”
Ji Leyu: ???
“Change into the bride’s dress you’re holding, or else I’ll help you pick a book on wedding customs from different dynasties tonight. You’ll have to read it carefully and write a 1,000-word reflection.”
Author’s note:
Xiaoyu: Don’t say any more, I’ll put it on right now!
Feifei: … Aren’t you going to resist at all?
Xiaoyu: Is there any need to resist?
Xiaoyu: No way, no way. There really isn’t someone who would choose to write a 1000-word reflection, right?
Feifei: …
Feifei: What I meant was, you could resist and choose neither option.
Xiaoyu: ??? There’s that option too?!
References[+]