Chapter 29 The Protagonist

Chapter 29: The Protagonist

Lin Xishan said this with a bit of a "whatever happens, happens" attitude.

He didn't want to be seen as a doormat with no self-respect by Ye Jiaonan anymore, nor did he want to be seen as a wishy-washy player by Pei Zhi.

But he didn't expect them to believe him anyway.

Although he had briefly mentioned to Pei Zhi that he could keep Lin Xishan clear-headed in front of Ye Jiaonan, Pei Zhi had never pressed for details, and Lin Xishan didn't want to go into it.

—After all, it sounded really absurd, and he'd probably be written off as crazy.

If someone told Lin Xishan that they were actually living in a trashy novel where the love interest gets swapped out, he'd think that person was out of their mind.

So he said it offhandedly, mostly to vent at the unfair world.

But what he didn't expect was that after he said it, Ye Jiaonan across from him looked absolutely horrified.

"Wait, the control hasn't failed..." As soon as those words left Ye Jiaonan's mouth, the air froze solid.

He clearly realized something was wrong himself. The color drained from his face, his lips moved like he was trying to backtrack, but his mind had already gone blank.

In the end, he just turned and ran, his steps so fast it looked like the devil was on his heels.

Lin Xishan stood there, staring at the fleeing figure, the wire in his head pulled tight, humming with tension.

Ye Jiaonan knew about the "control"—and it wasn't just that he knew.

"What did he mean by 'control'?" Pei Zhi's voice came from beside him. "Does that have something to do with the 'clarity' you mentioned earlier?"

Lin Xishan turned his head and met Pei Zhi's gaze, not knowing how to answer.

It's too long a story, and too insane. And right now, his head was a total mess.

"It's a long story." Lin Xishan rubbed his temples. "I haven't fully figured it out myself. I'll tell you once I figure it out, okay?"

Pei Zhi held his gaze for two seconds, nodded, and didn't press further.

Lin Xishan sometimes thought the best thing about Pei Zhi was that he knew when to shut up and never pried into things he shouldn't.

Except when he was jealous, of course.

"I'll walk you back." Lin Xishan took Pei Zhi's hand again.

"Mm."

They walked down the campus path to the gate, where Pei Zhi's motorcycle was still parked.

Lin Xishan carefully re-tied Pei Zhi's scarf and zipped his jacket all the way up.

After all, you take care of your own man.

No wait, for now, you take care of your own patron.

"You look like you're heading out to knock over a bank," Lin Xishan said.

Pei Zhi kept a straight face: "I'd rob it and give you the cash."

Wow, a bossy CEO—no wait, a bossy crook.

"I wouldn't dare spend it, scared of ending up in jail." Lin Xishan laughed, put on the helmet, hopped on the back, and looped his arms around Pei Zhi's waist.

It was more like going home with him than taking him home.

Lin Xishan wondered if he should get a motorcycle license. Always riding in the back made him feel like he had no presence.

But first, he needed to deal with all this messy crap.

As he was lost in thought, the bike revved to life. Lin Xishan squeezed his arms tighter and rested his chin on Pei Zhi's shoulder.

The wind whipped past his ears, and he remembered the first time he rode this motorcycle, hesitating forever before even touching Pei Zhi's waist, scared he'd accidentally touch somewhere he shouldn't.

And now, he wished he could just wrap his arms around Pei Zhi while he drove.

Yeah, you get braver with practice.

Soon they arrived at the apartment building. As he got off the bike, Lin Xishan gave Pei Zhi's side a quick pinch.

Pei Zhi tensed up for a second, his ears turning red at the tips.

"What are you doing?" His voice came out a little strained.

"Nothing." Lin Xishan pulled his hand back and gave an innocent smile. "Therapy."

Pei Zhi shot him a look, but that "look" had zero bite because his ears gave away his cool.

"Wanna come up for a bit?" Pei Zhi asked, his tone all casual, but his eyes kept sneaking glances at Lin Xishan, obviously hoping like crazy.

Too bad...

"Not today," Lin Xishan said. "Professor Chen said we have a meeting for the next project this afternoon."

"Okay." Pei Zhi didn't want to look too needy, but he couldn't stop himself from adding, "Then you better video call me."

"Got it." Lin Xishan watched him turn and head inside, waiting until the light in the twelfth-floor window flicked on before he left.

He left the complex and flagged down a cab on the street.

After giving the school address, he leaned back in the seat, pulled out his phone, and scrolled through his chat history with Ye Jiaonan.

The latest messages were ones he'd sent while he was under control. They felt alien now, like someone else had sent them.

No, someone else had sent them.

What he was about to send now came from his own free will.

Lin Xishan typed each word carefully: "Tomorrow at 3 PM, the library. I have questions for you. Don't ghost me, I know you're there."

Then, he hit send.

Ye Jiaonan sprinted all the way back to his dorm. He stumbled in, locked the door behind him, and slid down the door to the floor, panting.

His roommate was out. He was alone.

He'd slipped up.

The second those words slipped out, he knew he was done for.

What do I do? What do I do?

Ye Jiaonan closed his eyes and buried his face in his knees, feeling completely helpless, not knowing when things had spiraled so far beyond his expectations into this mess.

He had awakened much earlier than Lin Xishan.

Not by a few days, not by a few months.

But by an entire lifetime.

In his past life, he and Lin Xishan had ended up together.

Just as the book described—Lin Jichuan lost the bet and ended up with Ye Jiaonan. The two fought constantly, until finally Ye Jiaonan turned his back completely and threw himself into Lin Xishan's arms.

Lin Xishan caught him.

They got together.

That was the book's grand finale—a happy ending like Snow White marrying her prince.

But the story ended, and life in the real world didn't stop.

After they got together, Lin Xishan changed. He no longer doted on him or obeyed his every whim.

He began to have his own thoughts, his own convictions.

At first, Ye Jiaonan thought Lin Xishan had gotten "bored," then he thought he had "changed," and only later did he realize what Lin Xishan was breaking free from.

Breaking free from something invisible that had locked him into a fixed pattern of behavior.

Like a puppet bound by strings, he was snapping them one by one.

Ye Jiaonan didn't know what those "strings" were, but he knew what would happen once they broke.

Once the strings broke, the puppet was no longer a puppet.

Lin Xishan would become himself—a free Lin Xishan, no longer bound by the plot.

Then, on an ordinary afternoon, he said calmly to Ye Jiaonan, "Let's break up."

He gave Ye Jiaonan no chance to win him back. After saying it, Lin Xishan simply walked away, his back looked light, as if he'd shed a burden he'd carried for ages.

Ye Jiaonan couldn't believe it. How could this be happening?

He was supposed to be the protagonist. He was supposed to receive all the love and attention.

He had already kicked Lin Jichuan to the curb and found someone who would never leave him.

Why did Lin Xishan have to leave too?

It took him the rest of his life to understand.

It wasn't that Lin Xishan was leaving—it was that Lin Xishan had never truly "been there" in the first place.

The Lin Xishan who was doting and obedient, who gave him everything he asked for, wasn't the real Lin Xishan. That was the Lin Xishan written in the novel's script.

A paper-thin character, pre-written, devoid of self-awareness, acting only according to the plot.

The real Lin Xishan had only started to wake up bit by bit after those "strings" snapped one by one.

In this second life, he didn't want to experience that feeling again.

So when he found himself back at the beginning of the story, he ran to Lin Xishan.

He showed up in Lin Xishan's life earlier than before, helped him solve problems sooner, built a connection faster, and made Lin Xishan develop feelings for him ahead of schedule.

He wanted to clutch Lin Xishan tightly before that "string" could snap.

He thought that as long as he was fast enough, as long as he locked in that spot beside Lin Xishan before the plot truly kicked in, those "strings" wouldn't break and Lin Xishan wouldn't wake up.

At first, it actually worked.

Lin Xishan was good to him—so good that Ye Jiaonan almost believed this time would be different.

Until that night.

He had called Lin Xishan to the bar, intending to show him the pitiful sight of himself being "harassed" to stir his protective instincts. But at the last moment, he changed his mind.

Because he saw Lin Jichuan at the bar entrance.

Just one glance, and all the resentment from the past life, all the grievances of being overlooked, all the obsession with "I should have gotten everything" came flooding back.

Acting on some impulse, he hung up on Lin Xishan and followed Lin Jichuan instead.

Since he knew the plot from the past life, could he possibly keep two people on the hook at once?

Unfortunately, Lin Jichuan was just as uninterested in him as before, and even his grand confession was flat-out rejected.

Then he snapped back to reality, and everything had already gone wrong.

Lin Xishan had coldly cut ties with him, and that guy named Pei Zhi had appeared by his side.

In the past life, that person didn't exist—or rather, he might have, but he hadn't shown up beside Lin Xishan.

Pei Zhi's appearance was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, and every ripple spread in directions Ye Jiaonan didn't want them to.

Lin Xishan broke free even faster.

So fast that Ye Jiaonan couldn't react, so fast that he didn't even have a chance to "seize the moment when the guard was down," so fast that he was utterly defeated.

Ye Jiaonan lifted his face from his knees, leaned his head back against the door, and tears streamed silently down his cheeks.

He couldn't accept it.

He had lost in the past life, fine.

In this life, he knew the ending in advance, prepared ahead of time, laid the groundwork early—and he still lost.

Lost to a lead singer of an underground band who had appeared out of nowhere and wasn't even worth being called a rival.

And on top of that, Lin Xishan seemed to know something too. Only he, as the protagonist, was supposed to know that this world was a novel.

Ye Jiaonan was lost in thought when his phone buzzed—a message from Lin Xishan.

"Tomorrow at 3 PM, the library. I have something to ask you. Don't play dead—I know you're there."