NOVEL WEB Ch. 2
Chapter 2
After I “completed” her, Zhao Ge became a bestselling romance author with a million copies in print.
After I “completed” her, Chen Zhijing turned into a celebrity artist in the ACG circle.
And I, Lin Zhe—master strategist of capturing troubled pretty girls—after completing them, became a lonely old geezer...
We all have bright futures.
Still, this is fine. It’s enough. They’re already the heroines of their own lives; even without me, they can keep living—firmly, beautifully.
Thinking this, the corner of Lin Zhe’s mouth lifted in a quiet smile.
Inside the private room Yang Zhen was glued to his girlfriend, and the two other animals were finally making headway with their targets; the atmosphere was heating up.
Bored, Lin Zhe stepped out and stood at the bend of the corridor, leaning lightly on the railing. A breeze slipped past and cleared the fog in his head.
At some point, his most recent ex-girlfriend appeared a few steps away.
About 1.5 meters of petite frame, delicate and cute, a tiny teardrop mole at the outer corner of her right eye adding a touch of something extra. If it weren’t for the occasional dead-fish stare, she’d probably be even more popular. Her thin silhouette made you want to shield her just by looking.
He remembered when they’d first met: the girl hadn’t even known how to tidy herself up, lost all day in her sketchboard. Sometimes she wouldn’t notice him standing beside her; when she finally did, she’d jump as if he’d popped out of nowhere. Adorable, of course.
Lin Zhe chuckled and, without thinking, murmured, “Still hate noisy places, huh.”
...?
Startled by a stranger’s voice, Chen Zhijing’s eyes went dead again. She asked lazily,
“...Are you talking to me?”
Only then did Lin Zhe realize: they’d broken up a week ago. Yet the time they’d spent together felt like yesterday, and the words had slipped out.
“Are we... close?” She tilted her head, blank.
Lin Zhe’s mood tangled; he waved it off. “Sorry, forget it.”
He looked at her and offered, “I’m heading back to campus by cab. Share the ride? We’ll split the fare.”
He suddenly recalled: every time they’d hit a crowded place, she’d wear that exact dead-fish expression and hide behind him. Straight-up social anxiety. She seemed a little better now.
Chen Zhijing pointed toward the private room. “What about... them?”
“I’ll text them. You don’t like the noise either, right?” He waggled his phone.
“Mm...” She stood frozen, thinking.
For some reason the boy felt familiar, though she couldn’t fish a single memory of him out of her head. And oddly, she didn’t hate the idea.
After a moment she answered softly, “Okay.”
Seeing her spaced-out face, Lin Zhe remembered: when they’d dated she’d drifted off like this all the time. Still cute.
He messaged Dormitory Head Yang Zhen—Both of us are heading back first; you guys have fun—then led her into the elevator and out of the KTV to Aiyue Plaza.
But he noticed she kept a careful half-step of distance. If he moved an inch closer, she retreated the same inch.
He wanted to crack, Are you seriously doing the “one step back” dance?
It stung. They’d only been broken up a few days and she was already like this. Sigh...
At this hour Aiyue Plaza belonged to Lihai University students; the whole mall lived off their wallets. Lin Zhe found a cab without effort.
Even inside the taxi she kept the gap, silent as a good little kid. He itched to tease her—nowhere to run in here—but stopped himself. To her, he was basically a stranger again; teasing would only earn disgust. He knew her personality better than anyone.
Ten minutes later they were on campus.
After getting out Chen Zhijing solemnly fished a crisp 5-yuan note from her bag and held it out without a word.
Lin Zhe knew: if he refused, she’d keep that arm stuck out forever. He took the bill.
Same as before—every date, every meal, she’d insisted on paying half. If he’d argued, she’d sulk and ignore him for days.
To Lin Zhe, that bashfulness was exactly what made Chen Zhijing so adorable.
If someone actually asked him to list every cute thing about his girlfriend, he could probably fill an entire book—handwritten, front to back, without breaking a sweat.
He’d even done it once.
The result: Chen Zhijing’s face flamed scarlet, she clamped her mouth shut, and her tiny fists pummelled his chest—hardly painful, more like a flurry of embarrassed butterfly wings.
When he accepted the bus fare she pressed on him, she looked up, serious and sweet, and whispered, “Thank you.”
Then she spun around and left—
just like that—
Lin Zhe’s half-raised hand lingered in empty air before he awkwardly lowered it.
Wish we could’ve wandered around together a little longer...
Once she was gone, gloom swallowed him whole. He dragged himself back to the dorm, flopped onto the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Meanwhile, Yang Zhen received Lin Zhe’s message and exchanged a knowing smile with his own girlfriend; who would’ve guessed the two misfits had actually come back together?
Lin Zhe lifted his right hand into the lamplight, studying it as though it belonged to a stranger.
If not for this weird condition of mine, what would my life look like right now?
I’d be at the university I dreamed of, dating the girl I dreamed of, staying together until graduation, moving in, building a life—maybe even walking down the aisle.
Maybe we’d have a kid.
But this body won’t let me.
Every girl leaves an indelible, glittering memory.
Each relationship is a treasure chest I bury deeper and deeper in my heart.
I can take those treasures out and polish them when I’m lonely, yet I can never live them.
God—if You’re up there—take this curse away.