25 Don't Wait For Me
The system stopped controlling his body, and Mo Aini let go of the knife.
"Hu Chuntian! Hu Chuntian, stay with me, don't fall asleep! I'm calling for help!" Mo Aini's shaky fingers reached for his phone and dialed for an ambulance.
"Mo... Aini...." Hu Chuntian's eyes were drooping.
"The ambulance will be here, okay? Stay with me!" Mo Aini patted his cheek lightly.
"Are you.... crying?" Hu Chuntian asked him. Mo Aini had just now realized that tears had started to fall down his face and went to Hu Chuntian's cheek.
Mo Aini wiped them away. "I am, so don't you die on me! Please, Hu Chuntian! Stay conscious until they get here!"
"You're crying.... for me...." Hu Chuntian slowly smiled despite the pain. "I love you..."
"Don't say that yet like you're dying! Say that when you'll be alive and well!" Mo Aini took his hand and sobbed. "I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry...."
The ambulance and paramedics arrived, making the students follow it with interest. Mo Aini did not mind the meddling students who gawk at him and Hu Chuntian. They took pictures of him with his shirt full of blood and a knife laying on the grass. They whispered conspiracies among themselves, but Mo Aini did not care.
He just wanted Hu Chuntian to be safe...
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"Hu Chuntian will not be joining the show on Monday."
Ma Jianyu nodded. "I saw the posts and the news too. He was attacked by his lover during a quarrel. Should we reschedule and find a replacement for him?"
Mo Jiagei rubbed her chin, her eyebrows creasing. "It's very unfortunate, and the tickets had been sold out too. But I feel like it would be disrespectful to continue the show after such a major incident."
"This is not only a small practice play of the Theater Club. This is a major project for most of us, the teachers had already signed it as part of their grading for this semester. We cannot delay it for too long. " She Haoran reasoned.
"But who will replace Hu Chuntian? He was perfect for the role!" Shu Chuanli said.
Gou Manchu, though he does not know Hu Chuntian and disliked him for being a delinquent, was crying on the side because his roommate Mo Aini was involved in that case as well. Wang Jing handed him over some tissues and Li Youman patted his back.
"What do you think, Jie Taime? You are the one who could talk to Hu Chuntian in the hospital, you must know what decision he would make."
Mo Aini, who was now a known crazy knife assaulter, could only return to school in his alter ego Jie Taime. He spoke in a solemn voice. "Hu Chuntian has not awakened yet, but I believe..... That he would not want people's efforts to be wasted because of him. He would want the show to be continued even without him."
"Then who can replace Hu Chuntian in such a short amount of time?" Mo Jiagei asked the whole club room.
She Haoran raised his hand. "I have memorized the whole script and I believe I could substitute for his part. Wang Jing has been practicing my lines as the adviser with me, so she could replace me on that role."
Ma Jianyu sighed, relieved. "You're a true hero, She Haoran! Your natural giftedness in everything is outstanding!"
"I'm glad that it is settled now." Mo Jiagei was also relieved that the problem was solved, but could not bear to see her lover crying so hard. "Then.... You are all dismissed. Please give me and Gou Manchu some space."
The members left, the atmosphere still bleak and dull. Though it was resolved, Hu Chuntian's absence had made a great impact on them. He always had sarcastic remarks, but the more he spend time with 'Jie Taime', the more he softened towards other club members. He made the rehearsals easier too, and was a diligent helper.
They can't help but blame this lover, Mo Aini, without knowing the person they admire and the person they blame are one and the same.
Mo Aini watched from the door gap how Mo Jiagei comforted his friend.
".....gongzi would never do such a thing! He's a good person!"
Every time Mo Aini's name would come up to Mo Jiagei, it was always censored out so she won't recognize that her brother is here.
"There's evidence about your friend's crime, Gou Manchu. Maybe there's an explanation for this. We will find out soon."
(They will never find out, because I'm leaving this world.) Mo Aini closed the door fully.
[You have now fixed the 'bug'. Good Ending is underway.]
"What Good Ending? You guys just assign whatever you think is a good ending. You're all delusional, treating life as a game. Disgusting." Mo Aini tiredly left the school, and got in a cab.
He walked into a hospital carrying a container of food and some flowers.
"Still not awake?" Mo Aini sat beside Hu Chuntian's hospital bed. He set down the flowers and food at the table. He sighed. "I hope you will be awake before the 'Good Ending'. Before I leave."
He stroked Hu Chuntian's hair. It hurts. Seeing Hu Chuntian like this, the noisy Hu Chuntian who keeps annoying him, all quiet and still in a small white room.
Mo Aini learned how heartbreak felt like because of him.
"When I rejected you, you were crying that day. You shouldn't be crying for me like that. I'm the one who's worthless and don't deserve to be loved back." Mo Aini smiled bitterly to himself.
"The system thought that I didn't want to accept your feelings because I don't care about you enough. They were wrong. It was because I was afraid of love itself." Mo Aini took Hu Chuntian's hand. "I had never been... loved before. I didn't know how it felt. But now I do."
He continued, eyes becoming glassy: "Hu Chuntian, why didn't you push me away that time? Are you really willing to give your life away for me? Don't. I don't deserve it. I wish I could have treated you better. That we could have treated each other better."
Mo Aini let go of his hand. He took a pen and paper, and started to write a letter.
"In case you wouldn't be awake in time." Mo Aini's tears had fallen on the paper. "Be happy without me, okay? Find someone else who will treat you better and not cause you harm. Forget about me."
Hu Chuntian really did not wake in time for him to leave. The food was spoiled and the flowers have wilted.
"Maybe it's for the best. I don't know if I could bear it if he asks me to stay." Mo Aini rode an elevator that the system told him to go to. "Will this take me to the parallel universe?"
[Yes.]
"The Hu Chuntian of this world.... Will he have a good life after this?" Mo Aini asked.
[He will wake up soon surrounded by his friends from the Theater Club right after their performance. But he will be disappointed not to see you and with that letter. We could manipulate his Happiness stats if you want—]
"No. I don't want him to have fake happiness. I hope he will naturally move on from me."
[.....You always say you hate bad boy characters. Why do you care about him now?]
"Because he is not just a 'bad boy character'. He is a person. Who changed himself because of me."
[Hmm..... 40% must have been an understatement. Or did your affection for him increased out of guilt?]
Mo Aini was quiet for the whole elevator ride, looking down on the floor with his clenched fist.
The elevator dinged and open its automatic doors. Before stepping out, Mo Aini made one final request.
"System, you said you can control my stats, right? Can you make me forget about my memories of knowing the truth about you and Shuaige, about loving Hu Chuntian, and lessen my Affection for him as well?"
[How much should we lessen your Affection for him?]
"All the way to 0."
[Easily done. Can we ask why?]
"I want to continue this next world thinking that I am still assigned to an otome game. So that I could easily become your pawn as a 'Cupid', helping my sister get through these 'routes'. And.... To get rid of this pain from leaving Hu Chuntian behind."
[Alright then. We will be editing your stats in three.... Two.... One.....]
Mo Aini smiled to the void and closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Hu Chuntian of this world. I..... I wish you the best."
The system had finished the changes that Mo Aini requested.
When Mo Aini opened his eyes, he blinked. "Where am I? Wasn't I from the final dress rehearsal just now?"
[Congratulations on completing the Good Ending, User Mo Aini! ]
"Eh??? I didn't even get to see it yet!"
[You have gained 35 Cupid points, you can now use a Cheat Pass!]
"Cool. Which route will this one be?" Mo Aini said.
[You choose.]
"Hmm.... How about Shu Chuanli? That guy needs a girlfriend so he wouldn't be so weird and nerdy all the time."
[Done. The game is set on Shu Chuanli's route without your interaction with any of the characters in the Prologue.]
"That means that stupid Tiger Emperor Hu Chuntian won't annoy me anymore! Nice!" Mo Aini raised his fist to the air and went out of the elevator.
For a second he looked back for a while. He felt like.... He was forgetting something. Something important.
He shrugged. "Well, it must not be that important anyway if I forgot about it so easily!'"
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