Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Shen Yu stood firmly in front of me, facing Xie Ting without giving an inch.

I understood his concern. I hurried to explain everything, and only after I was certain he had not drawn any terrible conclusions did I turn back to Xie Ting.

Not only was Xie Ting’s head bandaged, his elbow was scraped raw.

I dragged him into the house and started searching for the first-aid kit. Before I could find it, he yanked me into his arms.

My mind was full of his injuries. I was about to tell him to behave when his low, hoarse voice sounded beside my ear.

“Don’t go.”

I fell silent.

The comments said the plot had changed. At this point in the original story, Xie Ting could never have been injured.

My appearance had diverted the plot from its original course. Whatever had happened to him must be my fault.

I bit my lip and pretended to be angry.

“Ha! You locked me up for so long, and now you expect me to feel sorry for you?”

I faltered, then forced the next words out.

“I meant what I said before. Let’s get divorced.”

I expected Xie Ting to rage, to lose control, perhaps even to drag me back into that dark room.

I had already steeled myself for a vicious fight.

I waited a long time.

Xie Ting did nothing.

He only gathered me gently into his arms, just as he always did, and pressed a slow kiss to the crown of my head.

Still holding me, he looked up at the empty room.

His voice rang with absolute certainty.

“I understand now.”

“Someone is manipulating things from behind the scenes.”

“They want to take away my right to serve my wife.”

“That’s too cruel.”

“Don’t you know? Without his wife’s leash… a husband is just a stray.”

“One who has been abandoned.”

“One anyone may mock.”

“One who will go mad…”

…

My eyes widened as I listened.

“You know?”

Xie Ting shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you can tell me.”

I frowned. “I’m afraid you won’t believe me.”

The comments, the spoilers–it all sounded absurd. Had I not seen them myself, I would have thought I was losing my mind.

“I believe you.”

I smiled helplessly. “You believe we’re living inside a book?”

“I believe you.”

“You believe people have been watching our every move?”

“I believe you.”

He answered without the slightest hesitation. I finally met his eyes and told him everything I had learned since the comments first appeared, holding nothing back.

When I finished, Xie Ting sighed softly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice aching. “I should have noticed sooner.”

Then he explained, “Baby, I didn’t lock you up because I wanted to hurt you. I was worried.”

“I was afraid bad people would slowly deceive you and steal you away.”

The comments went still.

[………Oh no. Were we the bad people all along?]

[Why do I suddenly feel guilty?]

I asked sourly, “Then why did you go to the hospital to see Song Xinran every day?”

“At first, I thought she was only my psychologist. I didn’t know she was supposed to be this world’s heroine.”

Xie Ting’s voice tightened. “The psychologist told me to stand before you without hiding anything. But every time I imagined you leaving me and meeting someone new, jealousy nearly killed me.”

His eyes reddened. His voice trembled with tears, yet each word came more firmly than the last.

“I was afraid you were learning how to live without me. That you would leave soon. That you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

“I’m not like other people. I’m timid. Cowardly. I couldn’t speak.”

“I followed her advice and practiced every night until I had nothing left.”

“I’m not afraid of speaking anymore. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay with you.”

“I only want to become an ordinary man who can stand beside you.”

“I can’t leave you.”

So that was the truth.

It matched every spoiler in the floating comments.

As the original plot required, Xie Ting had met the heroine and spoken at their very first encounter.

But he had done it because he was terrified.

Fear could make a person cower. It could also make him brave.

Xie Ting’s voice had already been halting. Now that he was crying, each word came with a hitch. Despite myself, I wanted to laugh.

So that was why he had seemed to recover overnight.

He had been practicing in secret.

Smiling, I tapped the tip of his nose.

“I understand now. What I saw was false. The love between us is real.”

The comments remained speechless for a long time.

[You do realize we’re still here, right?]

[Damn it, no. The picture is flickering and blacking out again, and they aren’t even doing anything unmentionable this time!]

[The plot started collapsing ages ago…]

[What about the heroine? Does anyone know what’s happening on her side? How did my fluffy urban romance turn into a medical drama with her as the star?]

[The heroine seems to be able to see me too. Is she looking at the sky and wishing them a lifetime together, or am I imagining things?]

[You’re not alone. I saw it too.]

[Damn. So this is what being watched feels like. It’s awful!]

[Fine. Then I wish them a lifetime together.]

[Forever.]

The comments drifting before my eyes slowly turned transparent and vanished.

The story was no longer under the original book’s control. It was moving toward something better.

I picked up the chain that had never truly kept me prisoner and looped it around Xie Ting’s neck, forcing his tear-streaked face upward.

I could not resist teasing him.

“Still crying?”

“Come home, puppy.”

Xie Ting looked at me.

“Woof.”