Lin Weiwei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat felt as if something had blocked it, unable to utter a single word.
Stay in this world? Stay by her side?
This revelation hit harder than discovering she was the villainous female supporting character. She'd been resigned to waiting for death or clinging to a sliver of hope, never imagining the plot would shatter completely—and that the source of this collapse was the female lead herself reaching out to her.
Su Qingyu watched her frozen expression without prompting. She withdrew her hand, resettling into her chair with the same easy grace as before, as if those earth-shattering words had been nothing more than casual small talk about the weather.
"Are you enjoying the food here?" She even switched topics effortlessly, her gaze drifting to the plate of sesame cakes on the table.
Lin Weiwei nodded instinctively, then shook her head violently, her mind still in turmoil. "No... Su Qingyu, you... you're serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Su Qingyu raised an eyebrow, her cold, clear eyes now sharp as blades, slicing through every shred of Lin Weiwei's hope and hesitation.
Not at all. Not in the slightest. She seemed even more resolute, more... dangerous than the Su Qingyu in the original story—the one obsessed with career and revenge against the female supporting characters.
"Why me?" Lin Weiwei finally found her voice, hoarse with disbelief. "Just because I didn't follow the plot? Just because I'm a 'variable'?" She couldn't comprehend why a female lead who knew the "plot" and held the "script" would choose a doomed, tragic supporting character as an ally... or, judging by the implication in that earlier tone, a far more complex relationship.
Su Qingyu fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting to the window. The sky, divided by iron bars, seemed unable to confine her thoughts.
"You know," she began slowly, her voice tinged with barely perceptible weariness and sarcasm, "in the 'plot,' I'm like a string puppet programmed with set instructions. When to fall for Gu Chen, when to be framed by you, when to be strong, when to break... Every emotion and choice feels manipulated by an invisible hand."
She turned to face Lin Weiwei, her gaze complex. "I could feel that lack of freedom. Every time I acted according to the 'script,' it was like suffocating in the depths of the ocean. Until you appeared."
"Me?"
"Your eyes," Su Qingyu stated firmly. "In the way you looked at me, there wasn't that programmed, formulaic jealousy or hatred. You had genuine confusion, resigned resignation, and even... a detached, spectator-like amusement." She paused, a faint curve touching her lips. "When you sat here, in this place meant to fill you with fear and despair, enjoying hotpot and mahjong with such ease, I suddenly felt... maybe this world isn't just about living by the 'script'."
"You're like a loophole, a glitch, a... glimmer of hope." Su Qingyu's voice was soft, yet it struck Lin Weiwei's heart like a heavy blow. "Clinging to you might just be my way out of this damn script."
Lin Weiwei stared at her blankly. She'd never imagined that her self-destructive, fatalistic behavior could hold such profound meaning in Su Qingyu's eyes.
"So," Lin Weiwei licked her dry lips, trying to gather her thoughts, "you don't want to follow the plot, and you don't want me to either. Then what... are we now?"
"Partners?" Su Qingyu tilted her head slightly, as if pondering, then dismissed the idea. "No. That's not enough."
She stood up and walked back to Lin Weiwei, this time not getting too close, yet radiating an invisible sense of pressure.
"I need you, Lin Weiwei." Su Qingyu looked at her, her gaze honest to the point of cruelty. "I need you, this 'variable,' to completely disrupt the predetermined fate. And you need me now, don't you? Without me, you might scrape by for a few more days in this asylum under the Lin family's protection, but ultimately, you won't escape the 'plot's' punishment. Kidney removal, heart extraction—or worse."
Lin Weiwei shuddered. Su Qingyu spoke the truth. Alone, she couldn't resist the plot's overwhelming inertia.
"We are each other's only allies, and... the only kindred spirits." Su Qingyu delivered her final verdict. "As for the rest..." Her gaze lingered faintly over Lin Weiwei's lips, where the sensation of that night still seemed to linger. "...we can define that slowly."
Define slowly... Lin Weiwei felt her cheeks grow warm. This ambiguous phrasing unsettled her more than a direct declaration of ownership.
"Then... what do we do next?" " Lin Weiwei took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Since she'd already boarded this ship of thieves, she had no choice but to follow the captain. At least for now, Captain Su Qingyu seemed far preferable to the tyrant from the "plot" who demanded organs at the drop of a hat.
"First," Su Qingyu noted her apparent acceptance of the situation, a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes, "you need to 'recover' and be discharged from the hospital."
"How do I 'recover'?"
"I'll handle negotiations with the Lin family." Su Qingyu's tone was flat yet carried an undeniable authority. "Your father may be disappointed in you, but he hasn't truly given up on you. His previous reluctance stemmed from the constraints of the 'plot' and my... well, the original 'female lead' aura. Now that I've decided to deviate from the script, getting him to take you out won't be difficult."
"As for Gu Chen..." Her eyes grew colder at the mention of his name. "He's busy expanding overseas markets and won't have time for you, a minor supporting character, anytime soon. By the time he returns, the situation will have changed entirely."
Lin Weiwei felt a flicker of reassurance at Su Qingyu's methodical plan. Having the former "female lead" orchestrate things seemed far more reliable than her own clumsy attempts.
"But what happens after I leave?"
"You'll stay at my place." Su Qingyu stated it matter-of-factly.
"What?!" Lin Weiwei was stunned again. "That... that's not appropriate, is it? What will people outside think? Gu Chen..."
"What about people outside?" Su Qingyu scoffed. "Do you think I care? As for Gu Chen..." She looked at Lin Weiwei, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Do you still care about him?"
"Of course not!" Lin Weiwei denied immediately. She had zero interest in that arrogant male lead.
"Good." Su Qingyu nodded. "Staying at my place is the safest and most convenient way for our 'collaboration.' Or perhaps—" she narrowed her eyes slightly—"you'd rather return to the Lin household, continue playing the spoiled, headstrong heiress madly in love with Gu Chen, and wait for some unknown 'plot twist' to kill you off?"
Lin Weiwei shook her head like a bobblehead. Are you kidding? She couldn't endure that life for even a single day.
"I... I'll go to your place," she murmured, feeling her cheeks burn hotter. This turn of events felt utterly bizarre. The villainous supporting character and the original female lead were about to live together?
Su Qingyu finally revealed a genuine, faint smile, like ice and snow beginning to melt. "Very well."
She glanced at the time. "It'll take a few days to arrange. For now, stay here... and rest." Her gaze swept the room again, her meaning clear. "Want to play mahjong? Crave hotpot? Go ahead."
With that, she turned toward the door. Her hand paused on the doorknob, but she didn't look back. Instead, she left with a single, detached sentence:
"Remember our agreement, Lin Weiwei."
Then she opened the door and vanished outside. The iron gate closed again, but there was no sound of it locking.
Lin Weiwei stood rooted to the spot, motionless for a long time.
Outside the window, the setting sun bathed the sky in warm orange hues, casting mottled shadows through the iron bars at her feet.
The air seemed to linger with Su Qingyu's crisp, cool fragrance, mingling with the earlier sweet scent of sesame cakes to create a strange, unfamiliar atmosphere.
Her plan to wallow in despair and wait for death had utterly failed.
She seemed to have latched onto an incredibly powerful patron? Though this patron's intentions were deeply inscrutable, tinged with an inexplicable hint of ambiguity.
But regardless, the hope of survival now felt significantly greater than before.
Lin Weiwei walked to the window, watching the distant lights gradually illuminate the cityscape. For the first time, she felt a vague sense of belonging to this world she'd been transported into—a feeling distinct from that of a mere spectator.
A storm was brewing.
And she, it seemed, was no longer just a paper doll adrift, waiting to be torn to shreds.