TMWTGD CH12

This was how things had actually played out.

Xie Jianwei and Lu Li had been holding hands, gazing at the moon and stars, as sweet as could be.

Yet in that very instant, completely out of nowhere, Xie Jianwei saw a car straight ahead of him barreling through the dead of night, accelerator floored as if possessed.

At first, Xie Jianwei had not thought much of it, because no matter how erratically the vehicle drove, it wouldn’t jump onto the curb. Yet right as that thought crossed his mind, a painfully familiar figure suddenly stepped into the road.

He seemed to be crossing the street, yet appeared entirely lost in thought, oblivious to the car hurtling toward him.

It was Lu Li!

Xie Jianwei’s heart dropped. Rationally, he knew Lu Li was right beside him, their hands clasped together, but when he turned his head, there was no one there. The Lu Li holding his hand had vanished, replaced by the Lu Li about to be struck by the car!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Had this involved anyone else, no matter how brief the window, Xie Jianwei would have made the correct assessment, but this was Lu Li.

With Lu Li’s life in danger, Xie Jianwei’s physical instincts moved faster than his mind.

Lunging forward, he shoved “Lu Li” out of harm’s way, only to collapse beneath the screeching tires of the braking vehicle.

Then came the scene Lu Li witnessed, where Xie Jianwei threw himself into a pool of blood to save Xu Li.

Hearing the explanation, Yan Ke was thoroughly stunned. “What is going on here? The one being hit was Xu Li, but Xu Li suddenly morphed into the Lord Marshal?”

Xie Jianwei nodded. His pulse was still racing. Even knowing it was a dream, the moment Lu Li was in danger had triggered a memory he was least willing to confront.

Back then, because of him, Lu Li had nearly died inside the heart of the Hundred-Limbed race’s lair.

That was the first time he had tasted what it felt like for his heart to stop beating, and now he had experienced it a second time.

Closing his eyes to steady his emotions, Xie Jianwei said, “I am going back in to see.”

Wearing an odd expression, Yan Ke asked, “My Lord, could Xu Li also be one of the Lord Marshal’s personalities?”

It was not surprising for him to wonder. Xie Jianwei had entered Lu Li’s mental realm, and in a sense, everything within that spiritual world was Lu Li, whether born of conscious thought or the subconscious.

Human nature was complex, carrying both good and evil, brilliance and flaws. Perhaps Xu Li represented a fragmented facet of Lu Li.

“No,” Xie Jianwei shook his head. “Xu Li is not Lu Li.”

Yan Ke did not understand why he sounded so certain. “Why?”

Xie Jianwei replied, “I can be certain he is not, because from start to finish, he has only ever used me.”

Xu Li did not love Xie Jianwei. He did not love him three years ago, and he did not love him three years later. The main reason Xu Li had returned from abroad to badger Xie Jianwei was his elder sister.

Xu Li’s sister had married into a prominent family in City S, but over recent years, her in-laws’ business had run into constant trouble, tottering on the brink of bankruptcy.

Xu Li’s carefree indulgence overseas had been funded largely thanks to his sister.

After all, the freedom Xu Li craved was inextricably bound to money. When trouble struck his sister’s family, Xu Li suffered as well.

So Xu Li remembered his wealthy former patron, Xie Jianwei. If Xie Jianwei stepped in, the crisis facing his sister’s in-laws would easily be resolved.

That was why, after three years, Xu Li had suddenly seen the light and discovered that he was head over heels for Xie Jianwei.

Such schemes might have fooled the dream’s native President Xie, but they could never fool the real Xie Jianwei.

A brief inquiry was all it took for him to uncover the truth.

He knew exactly what kind of person Xu Li was, and he understood Xu Li’s true intentions toward him.

How could someone like that ever be a personality of Lu Li?

Xie Jianwei had interacted with four of Lu Li’s personalities for quite some time. Though their temperaments varied wildly and some were exceedingly willful, one premise remained beyond question.

No matter which Lu Li it was, their heart was devoted entirely to Xie Jianwei.

Were it not for loving Xie Jianwei so deeply, why would they grow so fiercely jealous of themselves, sour enough to contemplate fratricide?

Yan Ke held unconditional faith in Xie Jianwei. If he said it wasn’t, then it certainly wasn’t. Pondering further, Yan Ke said between laughter and tears, “Could the Lord Marshal have done this intentionally? He was convinced that if Xu Li were in danger, you would risk your life to save him, so the dream reflected your perception when generating the scene?”

After all, if the real Xu Li were hit by a car, Xie Jianwei would never lift a finger, but if Xu Li turned into Lu Li, Xie Jianwei would throw his life away without hesitation.

Xie Jianwei considered it, then murmured, “Not necessarily. Someone might be interfering from behind the scenes.”

Those words carried profound implications.

Yan Ke blinked, failing to catch on for quite a while.

Fortunately, Xie Jianwei had regained complete composure.

When he returned to the dream world, he was already lying in a hospital bed.

Even though the accident had looked horrific, this was Lu Li’s dream after all, so how could he ever let Xie Jianwei die? Thus, even though he had been sent flying by a speeding vehicle and shed enough blood to water a flower garden, he had survived. His internal organs were entirely intact, leaving only frightening superficial injuries.

What was more baffling was that lying on the sickbed, Xie Jianwei felt no pain whatsoever.

He had braced himself mentally to suffer agonizing torment, yet aside from being unable to get out of bed, he felt nothing at all.

Talk about completely abandoning all logic.

Who in the world got hit like that without feeling an itch of pain? Biased to such an absurd degree, Big Li, did you secretly figure out you were dreaming!

Xie Jianwei found his double standards quite something.

He turned a blind eye to his own glaring logical plotholes, yet the moment Xie Jianwei stepped out of line, he splintered into new personalities.

If this bastard’s mental health weren’t genuinely in dire straits, Xie Jianwei would have suspected the man was just messing with him!

Xie Jianwei slowly opened his eyes, and only then did the rigid frame of Lu Li sitting by his bedside relax slightly.

Xie Jianwei had been unconscious for three days and three nights. Lu Li had watched over him without resting or changing clothes, his internal organs churned into a battered mess.

He felt desperate over Xie Jianwei’s willingness to die for Xu Li, while simultaneously terrified of what he would do if Xie Jianwei truly perished.

Deprived of sleep for so long, Lu Li felt no fatigue, merely lost in endless contemplation, formulating hypothesis after hypothesis only to tear them down again.

He wanted him to open his eyes, wanted him to live, thinking that as long as Xie Jianwei was safe, he would help him obtain his heart’s desire.

If Xie Jianwei loved Xu Li, he would give him Xu Li.

Whatever Xie Jianwei feared, whatever worried him, whatever made him uneasy, Lu Li would resolve it all on his behalf.

Lu Li even harbored the humble thought that since he could not give Xie Jianwei what he wanted, he would help him obtain it instead.

Even if it meant drowning in boundless regret and despair for the rest of his life.

Lu Li had mulled over these thoughts endlessly, countless times.

Yet the moment Xie Jianwei opened his eyes, all of those resolutions vanished into thin air.

He could not let go of Xie Jianwei. How could he ever let him go? Loving him with every fiber of his being, how could he bear to watch him be with someone else?

He could not do it, absolutely never!

He wanted Xie Jianwei, and would never tolerate him being with anyone else!

Xie Jianwei opened his eyes and looked at him, remaining silent for a long moment.

Lu Li gathered his wits quickly. Saying nothing, he pressed the bedside call button.

Doctors filed into the room. The series of rudimentary examinations made Xie Jianwei knit his brow, lamenting the primitive medical standards. What a pity this was only a dream, otherwise he would have tripled the lifespan of these ancient Earthlings.

The attending physician said with relief, “Mr. Xie is out of danger.”

Lu Li visibly exhaled in relief.

The physician added, “Mr. Lu should get some rest as well. Having watched over him for so long, you must be…”

“Who…” a feeble voice rasped out. Xie Jianwei looked around with bewilderment. “…are you people?”

The moment the question left his lips, everyone present froze.

Lu Li stepped up to the edge of the bed, his dark eyes staring fixedly at him. “What did you say?”

Xie Jianwei met his gaze, blinked, and furrowed his brow. “Who are you?”

Lu Li was stunned into silence.

The doctors hurried forward to examine him again. After finishing, the attending physician frowned, saying, “Although we cannot make a definitive diagnosis, this occurrence is not uncommon. A blow to the head likely resulted in temporary retrograde amnesia…”

As the doctor rattled off clinical jargon, Xie Jianwei, Postdoctoral Medical Scholar and Level One Academician of the Research Institute, thought to himself that it was utter nonsense.

Xie Jianwei was merely faking amnesia.

This was an effective breakthrough. Since Lu Li believed he was irrevocably in love with Xu Li, he might as well play the amnesia card. If he forgot everything, how could there be any lingering affection?

Lu Li clearly bought it. After all, the Lord Marshal had humble roughneck roots and lacked formal schooling, making him remarkably easy to fool.

Once the medical team departed, Xie Jianwei whispered, “I am thirsty.”

Lu Li froze, taking a moment to process the words before his throat tightened. “I will pour some water for you.”

Xie Jianwei smiled faintly.

Supporting him upright to help him drink, Xie Jianwei looked up at him and said, “Even though I can’t remember, you must be someone very important to me, right?”

Lu Li’s hand trembled so violently he nearly dropped the glass onto the bed.

Xie Jianwei appeared to search his memory, but soon furrowed his brows in defeat. “I really can’t recall. Could you tell me who you are?”

“Lu Li,” his heart thudded violently, his voice raspy. “…Your lover.”

Xie Jianwei paused in apparent surprise. “My lover?”

The corners of Lu Li’s lips curved upward slightly, his lowered voice as intoxicating as an early summer night. “Yes. We have been together for a very long time.”

Xie Jianwei gazed at him for a long moment before offering a warm smile, his eyes filled with pure trust. “I’m sorry. To think I actually forgot my own lover.”

Lu Li leaned in and kissed him with effortless familiarity. “It is fine. I will help you remember.”

Showing no hint of resistance to the kiss, Xie Jianwei blushed slightly and lowered his head, whispering an agreement.

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Author’s Note:

Military Advisor Xie: “In order to get locked in a dark room, I’ve truly racked my brains.”