Chapter 53: Truth

Chapter 53 The Truth

"Young Master!" A subordinate outside, hearing the commotion, entered to investigate, only to find his young master bound. He immediately cried out, "Someone! Save the young master!"

Without a word, Song Shimu snatched the dagger from the table and pressed it against Gu Wenrui's vulnerable throat, threatening, "Make them leave."

The subordinate instantly halted his rush forward, hands raised in a placating gesture, and said in a conciliatory tone, "Everything can be discussed."

Qin Xu bent down to retrieve the blood-stained blade from the floor, and as he slowly and deliberately wiped it, he stated, "If you don't want anything to happen to your young master, get out."

The subordinate's face showed hesitation, but a wary glint flickered in his eyes, as if searching for their weakness.

Feeling the cold blade against his neck, Gu Wenrui said in a low voice, "Leave. They won't harm me."

"Young Master!"

"Get out," Gu Wenrui insisted.

Seeing this, the subordinate slowly retreated, taking with him the few men who had just rushed in.

As the sounds of footsteps gradually faded, Qin Xu spoke, "We'll discuss the hush money later. First, I have a few questions for him."

"Alright," Song Shimu nodded, dropping the dagger but seizing Gu Wenrui by the collar instead.

"..." Gu Wenrui silently stared at Song Shimu.

"You've stabbed my brother so many times—don't expect to walk into prison unscathed," Song Shimu chuckled coldly.

Gu Wenrui gazed into Song Shimu's eyes, then after a long pause, let out two sudden, self-mocking laughs. "I underestimated you. You knew all along."

"Knew what?" Qin Xu asked.

Gu Wenrui glanced at Qin Xu, scoffing, "You're the only fool here."

"Smack—"

The sharp sound of flesh meeting flesh instantly reverberated through the room. Gu Wenrui grunted in pain and said with a chill in his voice, "Shimu, I never did anything bad to you."

"You've been taking advantage of me all this time. Did I ever give you permission?"

"..."

"You said he's the Child of Destiny. Why?" Qin Xu asked.

Gu Wenrui rolled his eyes at him, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his eye was struck again. "Thud!"

Gu Wenrui winced in pain. "You..."

"Mind your attitude," Song Shimu said with a displeased expression.

"..." Gu Wenrui clamped his mouth shut, choosing not to answer.

Song Shimu punched him again, saying, "Weren't you quite talkative when you were beating my brother? Now you're mute?"

"Shimu, you..."

"Ugh!"

Before he could finish, Gu Wenrui took another punch to the stomach.

"Speak quickly!"

"..." Gu Wenrui's eyes filled with annoyance, and he said dismissively, "Does the Child of Destiny need an explanation? Go look it up online yourself."

"Thud!"

Song Shimu smiled at him. "I suggest you improve your attitude."

"Cough, cough..." After several punches, a metallic taste of blood rose in Gu Wenrui's throat.

"What did you do between me and Shimu?" Qin Xu asked again.

Gu Wenrui lifted his head, squinting at Qin Xu. "Nothing much—just took your place as the Child of Destiny's original partner."

Qin Xu pursed his lips, pondering for a moment, then turned to Song Shimu. "Is this what you've been hiding from me all along?"

Song Shimu nodded indifferently. "You always said you were straight, so I didn't think you needed to know. We could just let each other go; you find your girlfriend, and I'll find mine."

"..." Qin Xu fell silent.

"You two aren't together?" Gu Wenrui exclaimed in surprise.

Song Shimu didn't answer, instead grabbing Gu Wenrui's collar and demanding, "How did you take it?"

"..." Gu Wenrui also refused to answer.

So Song Shimu began punching him, blow after blow.

"..."

Nearby, Qin Xu noticed Song Shimu's knuckles were already scraped raw. He grabbed his wrist and said, "Stop hitting him."

Song Shimu shook off Qin Xu's hand. "He has something on him that forced me to leave my home, caused strife between us, led to Qinfeng's collapse, and even your death might have been his doing. Aren't you angry?"

Qin Xu paused, slowly releasing his grip before suddenly tightening it again and pulling Song Shimu behind him. "Let me be the only one who gets hurt."

With that, a fist whistled through the air—"Thud!"—a heavy blow landed on Gu Wenrui's cheekbone. The immense force caused Gu Wenrui's head to snap violently to the side.

Gu Wenrui bit his lip hard to keep from crying out. When he looked up at Qin Xu, his eyes were already bloodshot.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could come out, a solid, direct punch landed squarely on his nose.

Physiological tears and nosebleed instantly gushed out. Combined with Song Shimu's earlier blows, Gu Wenrui's face was now a bruised and swollen mess, looking utterly wretched.

Qin Xu didn't stop. With his left hand, he grabbed Gu Wenrui's collar, and with his right, he hammered punches into his face like a sledgehammer—one after another, each strike delivered with ruthless force.

"W-wait... stop..." The beating was so severe that Gu Wenrui's speech was slurred.

Qin Xu stared at him with icy eyes. "Speak."

"Before I answer—I... I want to ask you a... question." With so many punches to the face, every word Gu Wenrui spoke caused his facial muscles to pull, making him grimace in pain.

"Speak quickly."

"How did you two realize something was wrong?"

Qin Xu looked at Song Shimu.

Song Shimu looked slightly impatient but still explained, "The fundamental reason is probably that I'm not an ordinary host. I am Song Shimu. The system's punishments are ineffective against me, so I could observe you from a bystander's perspective."

"So that's how it is... cough, cough!" Gu Wenrui's face fell. "No wonder your life didn't align with the original at all."

Recalling his usual interactions with Gu Wenrui, Song Shimu spoke with a harsh tone, "So you always thought I was another host, believing the only way back was to complete missions? That's why you never took my words seriously?"

"..."

"You said... 'uprooted' meant... you would be possessed by someone else?" Qin Xu's brows furrowed deeply.

Song Shimu shook his head and explained, "I don't know why or when, but my soul was split and sent to another world. I only managed to return because the system pulled the wrong host. But I am Song Shimu, the genuine article. Whether in that world or this one, I am Song Shimu."

"...That time during the handwriting analysis, were you so excited because you confirmed you were truly Song Shimu?"

Song Shimu nodded.

"Then who did I meet in my past life?" Qin Xu's brows slightly lowered, his deep-set eyes revealing confusion for the first time.

Song Shimu said, "It was another host."

Qin Xu's gaze fell on Gu Wenrui. "Then who is he? How was he able to change so much?"

Gu Wenrui turned to look at Qin Xu. "You're a reincarnator?"

"..." Qin Xu nodded almost imperceptibly.

"How is this possible..." Gu Wenrui thought his own life was bizarre enough, never expecting even stranger things—and not just one stranger thing at that.

Song Shimu stared at him. "You'd better honestly explain how you took over. You took it but didn't fully succeed—why is that?"

Gu Wenrui raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, not fully?"

"The name of the target my system gave me was you."

"Your target was me?" Gu Wenrui's face lit up with joy, but it quickly faded as he processed the previous statement.

"The name was yours, but the one affecting the affection points was Qin Xu."

Qin Xu raised an eyebrow.

Gu Wenrui smiled bitterly. "No wonder you always stayed close to Qin Xu. So the system had a bug."

Song Shimu said coldly, "Even if the target were you, I wouldn't have gone with you. The difference between liking and not liking is obvious. The way you look at me always has a self-serving, scheming vibe—you've never truly seen me for who I am."

"...Fine." Gu Wenrui let out a bitter laugh, throwing his head back. "I lost, I lost—"

Seeing him about to lament, Song Shimu clapped a hand over his mouth and urged, "Enough lamenting. Hurry up and explain how you pulled it off."

"What if I don't?" Gu Wenrui, feeling humiliated, grew defiant. "What are you gonna do? Kill me, and you'll end up in prison. If you don't kill me, I won't say a word."

"You won't talk? Fine." Song Shimu didn't press further, only saying, "You probably haven't fully grasped the capabilities of the Child of Destiny, have you? Perfect timing—I can let your parents experience it firsthand."

A strange glint flashed in Gu Wenrui's eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Whatever I want to do, I can make it happen. Right now, I want your entire family to end up destitute and displaced, living worse than the Qin family after their collapse." Song Shimu's face was cold, his eyes filled with grim resolve.

Gu Wenrui's expression flickered with panic, but he forced himself to calm down. "You... you wouldn't do that."

Song Shimu looked at him strangely. "Why would you think I wouldn't? If it weren't for you, how could Qin Xu and I have turned against each other? How could Qinfeng have collapsed? How could Qin Xu have died saving me? So, driving Guyu to collapse and your family to wander destitute is already me being merciful."

"..."

"You should understand—whether you talk or not now doesn’t change anything for us. We've already figured out most of it. Whatever you're hiding won't affect our future lives." Song Shimu spoke with cold logic.

Gu Wenrui pursed his lips tightly, his eyes filled with conflict and hesitation.

"The only thing you can do now is use what you know in exchange for your family's safety."

...

The room fell silent. After what felt like an eternity, the sound of tires crunching over gravel came from outside. Song Shimu knew the police had arrived.

Just as he was about to make a final decision, Gu Wenrui spoke: "I used to have a system."

Song Shimu looked at him skeptically. "My system said it detected no trace of a system on you."

"Because it was expelled by the world’s rules long ago. It's not in the records, so it can't be detected." Gu Wenrui's expression was unnervingly calm, as if the final reckoning had come.

"Why was it kicked out?" Song Shimu asked while mentally pinging System 073. No response—it seemed he'd been dragged into the black room again without noticing.

Gu Wenrui sighed. "Probably for meddling with fate. It said it was just like me—not born to be a protagonist but wanting those around me to live well. So it helped me become one of this world's protagonists."

"So it told you about Qin Xu's and my future fate, and it instructed you to meddle."

"Yes... I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted the Gu family to rise higher. But there was no other way. As long as he was around, I could never earn my place beside you. Besides, he never really treated you right anyway."

Gu Wenrui spoke calmly. Song Shimu recalled details from their outings and said, "No wonder you never listened to me—you were too busy laying the groundwork for your plans."

"..."

Suddenly, Qin Xu asked, "In my previous life's timeline, did you succeed?"

"I'm not sure. The system only told me about the Qin family's collapse. After that, it disappeared. I don't know where it went." Gu Wenrui explained.

Song Shimu opened his mouth to ask more, but the police had already surrounded the place and stormed in, guns drawn. "Nobody move!"

Song Shimu raised his hands, seeing the officers' guns trained on him, and said helplessly with a hint of sarcasm, "I'm the one who reported this."

...