My Only Gold and Jade - Chapter 2

I had stayed by He Lian’s side for seven years. Aside from when he entered his study, I was almost never allowed to leave him.

But I had never imagined that what he kept locked inside this room was the sum of his deepest desires.

The bright-clad, high-spirited young lord from the book had actually clasped a gold chain around my ankle with the corners of his eyes flushed crimson.

At last, I understood what that golden cage was for.

It was meant to hold me.

The servants outside knocked twice before He Lian finally, reluctantly, dragged his gaze away from me.

He lifted my chin and kissed me. “Wen Yu, when I come back, I still want to see you here.”

“Otherwise, tell that damned System…”

“If you disappear, this world will fall apart.”

Only after he finally left did I get the chance to ask the System.

“What is going on? Wasn’t I supposed to detach from this world?”

“Why did I show up in He Lian’s arms?”

“Why can He Lian see me? Aren’t I dead?”

After He Lian’s parting threat, the System stayed silent for a long while. At last, it finally realized that He Lian was no longer the He Lian they had believed him to be.

So it gave me a brief explanation.

“Detachment is no longer possible, Host. You died for nothing.”

Because He Lian had awakened, yet had hidden it from them and obediently followed the plot for seven whole years, all for the sake of waiting for my return today.

The System said the current worldline was already in complete chaos.

It came to one major conclusion. “He Lian has gone mad.”

I fell silent. Thinking back on everything He Lian had done over the past seven years, I nodded in agreement.

“Host, your current mission is to control the male lead’s Darkening Value.”

It was only after running a new scan today that the System discovered the male lead’s Darkening Value had already reached its peak.

In other words, if I had not returned today…

He Lian truly would have made this world collapse.

My head throbbed, and I raised a hand to cover it. In the next second, an itch in my throat forced several coughs out of me.

Bright red blood surged up from my throat. Helplessly, I closed my eyes.

Why was it that even after being reborn, I was still stuck with this broken body?

He Lian returned in the evening, his scarlet robes touched by the last golden rays slanting in through the doorway.

He carefully gathered me into his arms.

“Wen Yu, I’m the male lead of this world, aren’t I?”

I nodded. He clearly already knew, and denying it would serve no purpose.

The next second, I heard He Lian ask in a dark, chilling voice, “Wen Yao is the female lead. Then can I kill the female lead?”

I said no.

Seeing the thought in He Lian’s eyes, I pressed down on his wrist and emphasized each word. “No, He Lian. You cannot kill people.”

The original He Lian was supposed to transform from a dissolute playboy into a powerful minister who understood the ways of the world without becoming jaded by them.

The author had practically carved He Lian into the finest young man in the world.

Yet now, he had become someone consumed by darkness, someone who spoke of killing as easily as breathing.

When He Lian saw how firm I was, he stared at me with a burning gaze for a while. Then he lowered his head and kissed me.

“I won’t kill anyone.”