The wedding preparation room had become a mess.
Ke Ming was forced to wear a formal dress and was pressed into his seat to be groomed, but his eyes were still dark blue and could not be concealed.
… He was distracted by the sudden appearance of the “anti-addiction system” and was about to turn off his phone, but was instantly deprived of all consciousness by an extremely strong electric current.
When he woke up again, he finally remembered many things he had long forgotten.
Ke Ming was like a puppet being manipulated by others. He had trouble controlling his body movements. He stumbled as he took a step and bumped into someone.
Ke Ming stopped and looked up at the person in front of him.
…is Sui Si.
Sui Si stood in front of him. The court verdict and the sensational public opinion storm in this period had completely destroyed the good spirits of this once glorious former movie star.
Sui Si avoided his gaze unnaturally: "Xiao Ming, I'm sorry..."
"Why are you sorry?" Ke Ming asked, "Because you were afraid that I would not help you repay your huge debt, you kept lying to me, making me think that I still had the right of inheritance, and didn't tell me that I had been abandoned by the Sui family?"
Sui Si was suddenly exposed and his face turned obviously ugly.
Ke Ming looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "I understand."
"You don't need to apologize to me. It was me who pushed you in front of the reporters and caused you to end up like this. Whatever you do to me is what I deserve."
Ke Ming said: "I have been trapped here for too long and have forgotten too many things."
Sui Si frowned: "What are you talking about?"
"I haven't decided to get married yet, so my anti-addiction system hasn't been triggered yet, so I can't think of these things."
Ke Ming shook his head: "Don't worry."
Sui Si didn't understand what he said, and a strong fear arose in his heart for no reason. He swallowed unconsciously: "Xiao Ming, what are you talking about?"
"The Sui family may not really give up on me... They may just be trying to scare me, and I will go if I obey them."
Sui Si gave such consolation that he himself did not believe. He coughed a few times with difficulty, his throat dry and hoarse: "Look, aren't there so many people coming to the wedding this time? Even if they all came for the Sui family, I may not necessarily-"
Ke Ming interrupted him: "What if that person really comes?"
Sui Si was suddenly gripped by fear and shivered violently uncontrollably.
... He didn't even know what Ke Ming meant by this sentence.
But for some reason, this fear seemed to have always been buried in his subconscious, like a sharp iron thorn that would cause blood to flow if it was pulled out.
Sui Si stood at the door, and he suddenly recalled the first day Nie Chi came to the studio. When this professional manager sent by the Sui family saw him, his face showed surprise, anger, and strong disappointment that was difficult to conceal.
At that time, he was still a successful movie star with many masterpieces and countless praises from fans across the galaxy. Even if he had some conflicts with his family, it wouldn't be such a big disappointment.
Sui Si later checked with his family and found out that Nie Chi had clearly applied to Sui Yingshi specifically to be transferred to his studio as a professional manager.
He had always wondered what kind of person this cold and elite professional manager was seeing through him.
…
Ke Ming didn't say anything else. He slowly walked around Sui Si and followed the crowd out of the preparation room.
The wedding was scheduled to be held in the banquet hall on the top floor.
Such a luxurious wedding banquet is undoubtedly not something that the current actor Sui can afford. The surveillance of the Sui family is everywhere, and the atmosphere is shrouded in an inexplicably depressing atmosphere. Even the grand and majestic banquet hall is eerily quiet.
The guests gathered in twos and threes, talking quietly, and almost no one paid attention to the newlywed couple who were about to get married.
Ke Ming clenched his fists and felt cold sweat on his palms.
… He had no idea what these people were planning, so he didn't intend to care.
He remembered what he had forgotten and the only way to escape - he must marry Sui Si. Only when he completely achieved the standard ending of "living happily ever after" could he get rid of the punishment and control of this system.
Until now, Sui Si is still trapped in this fabricated identity, which requires him to obey the plot, not do anything unnecessary, and go on honestly...
Ke Ming could hear his own heartbeat. He lowered his eyes and was led to the side of the stage.
The camera flashes stung his eyes, and Ke Ming's sight came back to normal after the white light. He glanced at the reporters holding their guns and even felt as if he was in another world.
After Sui Si bought him a destiny of debuting and becoming famous, his life went smoothly - he just had to wait in the orphanage, and someone would give him candy, someone would pay for his schooling, someone would pick him up and arrange everything for him.
He is the protagonist, and with the protection of the main plot line, he naturally becomes the luckiest one.
He successfully signed with Sui Si's company, debuted as a star, stood under the flash lights and enjoyed the prosperous scene with flowers and brocade. The long-established movie emperor broke up with his family for him, and the obedient assistant was willing to be a tool for him. He married Sui Si and lived together without worries about food and clothing.
Everything should have gone smoothly like this.
Ke Ming lowered his head, pinching the cold sweat oozing from his palms. He was led to the stage and stood with Sui Si.
The guests below the stage were concentrating on their conversation, and no one paid attention to his ceremony. In the corridor, there were constantly figures searching, as if they were looking for someone urgently.
Sui Yingshi was talking to someone in a low voice, occasionally glancing towards the stage with a terribly gloomy expression.
Sui Si stood under the cold gaze and lowered his arm with difficulty.
No matter how much he tried to deceive himself, he could no longer ignore the strange atmosphere. Sui Si shook his head uncomfortably, his eyes occasionally glancing at the figure in the corner, and his body suddenly stiffened and he couldn't move.
Ke Ming asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
Sui Si opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and it seemed as if the words he was about to say were stuck in his throat.
Ke Ming followed his gaze and his expression suddenly changed.
…
There were two people sitting in the corner. One of them was wearing a silver-gray shirt, had delicate eyebrows, and was leaning back in his seat with his eyelashes drooping.
He had been sitting quietly and upright, but when the person next to him gently pressed on his waist and back, he relaxed and a light red appeared behind his ears.
The two men sat in the corner, talking in a low voice with a casual look.
He didn't try to hide, but for some reason, it was as if there was an invisible shield separating him. People came and went around him, but no one noticed him.
But that face was too familiar, so familiar that Ke Ming couldn't ignore it at all—
Ke Ming stared at the young man in the corner, his chest heaving uncontrollably.
He didn't know whether it was hatred or fear that rose up from the bottom of his heart, dragging him into the out-of-control and dislocated plot in his memory.
He still has some secrets that Sui Si knows, and some leverage over him that the Sui family has in their hands.
The recording of Ke Ming threatening Yu Tang was handed over to the police by Yu Tang, and later on, it was handed over to the Sui family, who were the relevant parties.
Nie Chi once told him that the Sui family wanted these materials and recordings to appear in the form of a video at the end of the wedding. This was the punishment and anger of the Sui family, because he thought that the Sui family not only lost an heir, but also lost a promising partner forever.
... He had always thought that this was a threat that would never come true.
The master of ceremonies' serious voice echoed in the banquet hall. The wedding vows almost became a blatant irony in this occasion. No matter poverty, illness, disgrace or frustration, they were willing to be together forever.
They always want to be with each other.
Ke Ming heard his own hoarse voice change into a different tone: "Yu Tang..."
"I didn't feel sorry for him."
Sui Si spoke in a hoarse voice, as if he was comforting Ke Ming, or as if he was repeating to himself: "My inheritance rights and property have been taken away by my family and transferred to him."
"It was through me that he came into contact with W&P, and was then discovered and appreciated, and got his current job."
"It is because he was my assistant that he was able to access so many channels and connections."
Sui Si clenched his fists and said in a low, dazed voice: "If he hadn't met me, he wouldn't know a single word and would be hiding on the streets..."
A familiar voice suddenly rang out from the speaker system.
"Don't you love Sui Si to death?"
Sui Si shuddered violently as if someone had poured a basin of cold water on him.
"It's not me!"
Ke Ming's expression suddenly changed. He pulled Sui Si tightly and said, "It's not me. Don't believe it. I want to finish the wedding quickly so that nothing goes wrong..."
He had no way to stop the recording from playing. The sound was clear and real, like a cold curse.
The guests gradually stopped talking and looked up in twos and threes.
The reporters' flashlights kept flashing, and Ke Ming stood there, cold sweat instantly breaking out like water.
The anti-addiction system no longer needed to use the phone to remind him. An emotionless mechanical voice rang in his head, mixed with a sharp warning of punishment: "Warning, the wedding process has seriously deviated. Please correct the plot line immediately. Please correct the plot line immediately..."
Ke Ming's mind exploded with a stinging pain that almost crushed him.
Everything he had said was played back word for word without any modification.
"I am willing to be his dog, to give up money and life for him, even though I know he likes me."
"Send him to the hotel to meet me, and I'll be on the lookout outside..."
"No." Yu Tang answered him in a low voice, "You are lying."
…
Ke Ming's face turned completely pale. He looked at Sui Si in despair, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Sui Si stood there, stiff and unable to move.
"If what you said is true, and we two truly love each other, I like him."
Yu Tang's previous answer was replayed like a verdict: "Then every time I see you, I must be very painful... I should have forgotten you."
"But I remember."
"I remember it," Yu Tang said, "it was the orphanage that gave me candy and asked me to change my name to the person behind me on the list of recipients of aid."
A blinding white light exploded in Ke Ming's vision.
—Buying the fate of others and trading it as a commodity cannot be done without any price.
He is just data. No matter how high the dimension or how powerful the civilization is, he will eventually lose all entities, leaving only "information" as the final record of existence.
He took advantage of the loopholes in the bookstore in order to become the protagonist of the book and seize human existence itself.
Such a crazy gamble will inevitably result in the punishment of failure.
Ke Ming was almost frozen in the stern warning in his mind. He reached out to pull Sui Si and opened his mouth with difficulty, trying to stop Sui Si from making the choice that would push him to failure.
Sui Si's figure was very close, but Ke Ming pulled at nothing.
Sui Si rushed forward a few steps, his face pale, staring at the corner of the guest seats where Yu Tang was originally.
That corner is empty.
"Listen to me, it's not like that..."
Ke Ming's voice was hoarse, and he could hardly hear his own voice: "I am different from him. This is not my world. I am—"
He could no longer make a sound.
The turmoil in this world became more and more intense, data began to spread uncontrollably, the system's alarms became sharp and piercing, and the red warning messages from the Chuanshu Bookstore filled his field of vision.
The colorful light unique to the electronic storm appeared outside the window.
It was so close, as if if I took a step, I would easily fall into that dreamlike illusion.
Sui Si shook him and the reporters off, chased after them from the wedding scene, and desperately rushed onto the empty rooftop of the hotel.