Thank you to Hide for the ko-fi~
Lin Lan and Xie Zilu were different from superficially strong individuals.
His strength was internal.
After experiencing parallel worlds, his inner self no longer had any deficiencies. No matter what the external world threw at him, he always displayed a genuine, fearless strength.
Xie Zilu saw in him what he desired, which was why he indulged in it, craving to bind him to himself as if that would make his own inner self as strong as Lin Lan’s.
The rain poured harder and harder, and Lin Lan dared not stop.
He wiped the rain off his face and pulled Xie Zilu closer. “I know what I’m about to say sounds absurd, but I swear on my life, I’m not lying to you about a single word.”
Xie Zilu’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He felt life slipping away, but Lin Lan’s voice brought him back to reality.
“I’m not actually suffering from dissociative identity disorder, nor am I an alter ego born from this body. Strictly speaking, I’m not even the Lin Lan you know. I’m from another world, a parallel world. In that world, I wasn’t adopted by Tai Songshan, didn’t attend Ascension Academy, didn’t meet you, and wasn’t bullied. My life went relatively smoothly, and I eventually reached the pinnacle of esports. Until, inexplicably, I died in a car accident.”
“After my death, I traversed to this world three times, occupying the body of the original host. The first two times were during our battles at the internet cafe. You should have sensed something odd. The Lin Lan of this world couldn’t have been so skilled in the game just after starting. Even if his split personality was strong, he couldn’t have possessed the professional skills of a player. It’s a paradox.”
“The third traversal was because of the team tryouts. After that, the Lin Lan of this world was driven to death by Tai Zhen and his brother. My soul completely replaced his and became the Lin Lan of this world. In the process of helping him find the truth about his death, I also discovered that my accident in the original world wasn’t an accident at all, but a meticulously planned murder by the Tai brothers.”
“In this world, I uncovered the truth and learned the cause of my and the other Lin Lan’s deaths. Because of this, I was given the opportunity to choose, and I chose to stay in this world.”
After he finished speaking, Xie Zilu on his shoulder chuckled. “Your story isn’t funny at all. If what you say is true and you had a good life in that world, why would you choose to stay here?”
Lin Lan retorted, “From the outside, everyone thinks you have a good life in the Xie family, but why do you go crazy every day?”
Xie Zilu’s breath hitched. He seemed to digest it for a while before incredulously lifting his head. “You’re not joking with me, are you?”
Lin Lan: “You’re practically dying. Why would I lie to you?”
Xie Zilu: “You’re the one who’s practically dying, while I’ll live a long life…”
Xie Zilu coughed again. Lin Lan wasn’t sure if he was coughing up blood, but he could feel that Xie Zilu’s spirits had indeed improved significantly after their conversation.
Still feeling skeptical, Xie Zilu asked again, “Are you really not lying to me?”
Lin Lan: “I’m really not lying to you.”
Xie Zilu: “Why don’t you want to go back to your original world?”
Lin Lan: “There’s nothing there that I’m attached to, no one I’m attached to. I’ve obtained what I should have. Staying here is more meaningful.”
Xie Zilu fell silent again as if using his somewhat clouded consciousness to ponder something complex. “You chose to stay here, so you stayed. What would have happened if you didn’t choose?”
Lin Lan: “In that world, I wouldn’t have died completely but would have become a vegetative state. If I chose to go back, I would live there, and the Lin Lan of this world would die.”
Xie Zilu was losing blood and his mind couldn’t handle such a complex question. All he knew was, “So you almost died?”
Lin Lan: “Not died, but went back to my original world.”
Xie Zilu: “What’s the difference between that and dying?”
Xie Zilu looked at him with a strange expression, and Lin Lan couldn’t decipher what he was thinking.
All he could do was emphasize again, “I really didn’t lie to you. I didn’t have a good life in that world. Given the choice, I would definitely prefer to stay here. And think about it from your perspective, if you were given the option to leave the Xie family, you would undoubtedly leave without hesitation, right?”
Lin Lan pulled him closer again. Despite being 1.88 meters tall, Xie Zilu felt light as a feather in his arms. “You know best whether you’re living well or not. Follow your feelings, live the life you want, and be true to yourself. That’s what I’ve recently come to realize. Xie Zilu, try to think like me, it might ease your mind a bit.”
“I’ve been stabbed three times, and you’re preaching to me? Can I even listen to your righteous words?” Xie Zilu gripped his neck fiercely. Although his tone sounded harsh, he ended up lying on Lin Lan’s shoulder like a child, his voice filled with grievance. “Lin Lan, you’re not lying to me, are you? I can’t tell if what you’re saying is right or not, but it all just seems absurd to me…”
Lin Lan: “Absurdity is right; life itself is absurd.”
Lin Lan: “Do you remember what you told me before? You wanted to become the strongest version of yourself.”
Lin Lan: “Actually, you started off on the wrong path. External strength is only temporary; the longer it lasts, the more exhausting it becomes. Only inner strength is eternal; it will make you very calm…”
Listening to Lin Lan’s rambling, Xie Zilu couldn’t really absorb what he was saying anymore.
He just really enjoyed listening to Lin Lan talking to him; it was a very comforting feeling.
It was as if no matter what he said, he would always get a response, without needing to strain himself to gain attention or receiving strange looks,
As long as Lin Lan was there, the demon suppressed in his heart would also become very quiet…
Lin Lan felt the person on his shoulder couldn’t hold on anymore, slipping downward. He gritted his teeth and pulled him up, almost dragging him forward. “Xie Zilu, I’m exchanging secrets with you, are you sleeping on me?”
Xie Zilu, who had almost lost his strength, immediately regained it upon hearing this. He scolded him vigorously, “What kind of secret is that? If I tell someone you came from another world, who the hell is gonna believe me…”
Lin Lan couldn’t help but laugh. He was panting heavily, feeling the warmth on his back soaking his clothes. He knew it was blood, so he dared not stop.
“Boom!” A thunder sounded, illuminating half the sky with lightning.
Lin Lan realized he had taken the wrong path.
The factory was backed against a hillside, and he had just chosen the innermost dead-end alley.
He felt a chill in his heart, “I’m screwed.”
Xie Zilu chuckled in exasperation, “Lin Lan, you…Damn it. Are you actually directionally challenged? Leading me into a dead-end… You’ve really outdone yourself…”
Lin Lan had no mood to scold him anymore. He searched everywhere for an escape route, even a dog hole would do.
Another bolt of lightning struck, followed by a booming sound.
Lin Lan looked up and saw a figure. It was Tai Yuan. He was crawling forward like a ghost emerging from hell. His face was bruised and swollen from the beatings.
In the instant the lightning illuminated, Tai Yuan also saw them. He limped faster towards them.
Lin Lan originally wanted to put down Xie Zilu and confront Tai Yuan. As the lightning illuminated again, he saw another figure not far away; Tai Zhen had also arrived.
“Lin Lan,” Tai Zhen called out his name loudly, his voice icy, “Hand over Xie Zilu, and I’ll let you go.”
Though he spoke of letting Lin Lan go, in reality, his position had already blocked Lin Lan’s path.
With the cruelty of the two brothers, how could they possibly let him go?
Lin Lan’s heart was pounding. He searched the ground for a handy tool, while Xie Zilu on his shoulder chuckled, “You’re powerless. What good will it do?”
He fell silent for a moment, then slowly released Xie Zilu. Xie Zilu jokingly said, “You can climb the wall and run. Anyway, even if I die, I’ll drag someone down to cushion the fall…”
Lin Lan: “No time.”
Lin Lan also wanted to escape, but now there was no time.
Breathing heavily, he set Xie Zilu down and picked up a stick, his palms sweating profusely.
He indeed lacked talent in fighting, and due to his slender frame, he was at a significant disadvantage in terms of strength.
The rain intensified, and in the darkness, visibility became increasingly blurry. Only the booming thunder briefly illuminated the situation.
Tai Zhen blocked the only path Lin Lan could take.
Tai Yuan also approached. His eyebrows were raised high, his face pale with blood under the wash of the rain, frighteningly white. Surviving this, it could only be said that bad people indeed lived long.
Lin Lan’s body temperature was dropping. He tightened his grip on the stick, engaging with the opponent. “Tai Zhen, your brother killed someone, not you. If you help him this time, you’ll also become a murderer.”
Tai Yuan chuckled and looked at Tai Zhen. In the darkness, Tai Zhen’s expression was even colder. “You’re wrong. My brother didn’t actually kill anyone with his beating. In the end, I dragged him away and buried him alive, finishing the job.”
Lin Lan couldn’t help but shudder.
These two brothers were practically born devils.
Seeing Lin Lan trapped in a dead-end, Tai Zhen’s expression suddenly relaxed. “Lin Lan, my brother and I were once like you, unable to eat or dress warmly at the orphanage, bullied relentlessly. But fortunately, we grew up quickly. We brothers joined forces and sent away those who dared to bully us. The video Xie Zilu took, it wasn’t the first time we did such a thing…”
Once a person opens Pandora’s box, it’s impossible to close it again.
“At first, our methods of dealing with things weren’t pretty. But after a few times, we became proficient. You might not know, but in the orphanage, if one or two kids go missing, nobody cares,” Tai Zhen said casually as if discussing buying vegetables. “We knew who could be moved and who couldn’t. My brother and I cooperated very well, and each time, we left no evidence behind. This time won’t be any different…”
No wonder they were so skilled at doing bad things. It turns out they had been up to mischief from such an early age.
Tai Yuan beside him chuckled along. His tone lifted. “Bro, help me kill all those who bullied me.”
Tai Zhen pulled out a knife from his pocket, its sharp gleam chilling in the thunderstorm.
Lin Lan tightened his grip on the stick, his body trembling.
Behind him, Xie Zilu propped himself up on Lin Lan’s shoulder. His breath was short and rapid, yet he managed to laugh. “Lin Lan, it seems we’re going to die together.”
Lin Lan was about to retort when Xie Zilu suddenly lunged at Tai Yuan, knocking him down. Lin Lan quickly raised the stick and started wrestling with Tai Zhen.
At first, Tai Zhen didn’t take Lin Lan seriously. But after a few exchanges, he realized Lin Lan wasn’t as weak as he thought. His breathing became rapid involuntarily.
His gaze turned malicious, and suddenly, he grabbed a handful of gravel from the ground and threw it at Lin Lan’s face. Taking advantage of the distraction, he lunged forward, fiercely tightening the stick around Lin Lan’s neck with brutal force.
Lin Lan couldn’t break free, and his breathing gradually became difficult.
Xie Zilu wanted to save him but was punched twice by Tai Yuan, leaving him lying on the ground with no strength to even get up.
He lay in the dirty mud, looking up at Lin Lan, still smiling as if joking with him even in the face of death: “Look, we’re going to die together, huh?”
Lin Lan had no mood for jokes; he was suffocating, on the brink of death.
White light flashed in his mind, accompanied by a buzzing sound in his ears, a sign of impending death.
At the very last moment before death, Lin Lan heard the muffled sound of a blow from behind. Suddenly, the stick around his neck loosened, and Tai Zhen behind him screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.
Lin Lan couldn’t see clearly; all he remembered were countless lights, blinding his eyes.
His shaking body, just before collapsing, was enveloped in a broad embrace.
It held him so tightly as if he had been pulled back from leaving this world.
The voice in his ear trembled, the fear rendering it hoarse: “It’s okay, Lan Lan, you’re okay now. I’m here. I’m sorry I’m late. But it’s all okay now…”
“Lan Lan, why are you covered in so much blood? Where are you injured? Let me see…”
Lin Lan’s vision gradually began to recover. Around him, deafening sirens and bright lights were illuminating the scene like a dazzling fireworks display.
He wanted to speak but his throat was so sore that before he could open his mouth, tears were streaming down his cheeks.
Xiao Shengjing couldn’t find any wounds on him. He finally realized that the blood wasn’t Lin Lan’s. The stone weighing on his heart finally lifted, his fear overwhelming. In the pouring rain, he held Lin Lan tightly, not wanting to let go, wanting only to ensure that he was standing safely in front of him. “I’ll take you to the hospital, Lan Lan. I’ll take you to the hospital…”
Wrapped in the warmth of the coat, Xiao Shengjing lifted him up in his arms and everything fell into place.
Lin Lan saw Tai Zhen and Tai Yuan still attempting to flee, only to be swiftly caught and pinned down by the police a few steps away.
He saw Xie Zilu lying in the mud, unconscious, still smiling at him even as he passed out.
The paramedics lifted him from the ground. He looked like a ragged cloth, not a single part of him unscathed. The sight was a stark contrast to his usual demeanor of indifference towards everyone.
Lin Lan suddenly felt the blade hanging over his head disappear. There was nothing in the world that could threaten him anymore.
It was finally over.
Everything had come to an end.
The Tai Zhen and Tai Yuan of this world were finally brought to justice by the law.
And he could finally live peacefully from now on.
