After He Tianwu finished speaking, the entire staircase fell into dead silence.

The kind of silence where even a dropped pin would have been heard.

The butler had still been stunned by the young man standing on the stairs, frozen by his appearance. Then he heard his young master’s outrageous declaration.

He turned to look at him in disbelief.

He knew his young master had been playing the devoted fool at school.

But he had never imagined it had reached this level.

Yet after glancing again at the boy on the staircase, he no longer found it absurd at all.

If it was this person, then everything seemed only natural.

He Tianwu stared into Wen Ruyu’s beautiful eyes, a trace of obsession lacing his voice as he spoke, word by word.

“If you don’t like me, why did you accept my gifts?”

“If you don’t like me, why did you keep stringing me along?”

This time He Tianwu sounded far more confident, his tone full of certainty.

“I don’t believe you don’t have even the slightest feelings for me.”

If this person truly felt nothing for him, then why, even when he went mad and burned himself alive, did he drag him along?

If that was not dying for love, what was it?

Wen Ruyu fell into genuine silence.

He was telling the truth. Neither he nor the original host had ever felt anything for He Tianwu.

He met He Tianwu’s gaze without the slightest evasion, his voice cool and merciless as he repeated it once more.

“I really don’t like you.”

He Tianwu’s expression darkened again. Shadows gathered over his face as he spoke, a thread of hostility seeping into his tone.

“If you don’t like me, then who do you like? Fu Qingfeng?”

“You think he truly likes you?”

Before Wen Ruyu could answer, He Tianwu let out a cold laugh and ruthlessly shattered all of Wen Ruyu’s illusions.

“He’s just stringing you along.”

If the original host had heard that, he would have broken down immediately, and very likely would have started arguing with He Tianwu.

But Wen Ruyu had not forgotten his current situation.

He was still on He Tianwu’s territory.

He had to get out of this place intact without breaking character.

He could not completely provoke him.

Wen Ruyu’s delicate face remained expressionless. He returned He Tianwu’s own words to him, exactly as they were.

“I don’t believe it.”

He Tianwu: “...?”

The only thing that can defeat magic is usually magic.

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He Tianwu shattered instantly.

Having lived through a previous life, he knew all too clearly how deeply this person had liked Fu Qingfeng.

He strode forward and grabbed Wen Ruyu’s wrist, his tone and expression vicious.

“What do you like about him?”

His grip was not rough, yet it carried an inescapable force. The cold touch at his wrist made Wen Ruyu instinctively stiffen.

He had not expected He Tianwu to suddenly make a move. The oppressive dominance made his scalp tingle. He began to struggle instinctively, his cool voice tinged with impatience.

“He Tianwu!”

“Let go of me!”

He Tianwu lowered his gaze to Wen Ruyu’s reddened eyes from the struggle. Emotions from both past and present tangled together, radiating from him like something barely restrained.

“If I let you go, you’ll run back to Fu Qingfeng, won’t you?”

Wen Ruyu immediately sensed something wrong with He Tianwu’s state. If he answered “yes,” it might very well push him into madness.

But the original host’s obsession truly had been centered entirely on Fu Qingfeng.

He could not answer “no” either.

Wen Ruyu pressed his lips together and ultimately said nothing.

But silence was the clearest answer of all.

Watching his silence, He Tianwu felt as if a hand had seized his heart, squeezing until it hurt.

It hurt even more than in his previous life.

Even more than being burned alive.

“Wen Ruyu.”

He tightened his grip slightly and pulled him closer, inescapable. Their distance shrank until their breaths tangled. Obsession churned thickly in his eyes.

“What exactly do I lack compared to Fu Qingfeng?”

“I can give you everything you want. I can give you money. I can give you power.”

“As long as you stay by my side, I can give you anything.”

Wen Ruyu remained unmoved. His voice grew even colder.

“What nonsense are you talking about.”

“I said I don’t like you. I won’t stay here. Kidnapping is illegal. You’d better think carefully about the consequences.”

“Consequences?” He Tianwu let out a low laugh, suppressed and tinged with something sick.

“When I do things, I never consider consequences.”

“And besides—” His gaze locked onto Wen Ruyu.

“For you, I’ll accept any consequence.”

Only their voices echoed in the stairwell. The others stood at the entrance, not daring to breathe.

No one had expected that the same young master who had said coldly just days ago, “Starve him for three days,” would now speak to Wen Ruyu in a tone almost humble.

The change was faster than flipping a page.

If Wen Ruyu had known that Zhao Hu and the others’ actions had stemmed from He Tianwu’s orders, he likely would not have spoken to him at all.

But Wen Ruyu did not know.

He was unsettled by He Tianwu’s stare and yanked his wrist back.

“You’re unreasonable.”

He Tianwu did not release him. He stared at Wen Ruyu’s exquisite yet heartless face, something eerily calm and mad suppressed in his eyes.

“I’ll ask you one last time.”

“Wen Ruyu… do you have even the slightest bit of feeling for me?”

The question made Wen Ruyu’s heart tremble.

Looking at the clearly unstable man, unease rose within him.

He was afraid that if he rejected him outright, he would snap.

In the end, he chose silence.

To He Tianwu, that silence was a wordless rejection.

Yet he did not grow angry. Instead, his lips slowly curved upward, carrying a near pathological determination.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Even if you don’t like me—”

Before he could finish, a sharp ringtone suddenly pierced through the stairwell, breaking the deadlock.

It was the butler’s phone.

Meeting He Tianwu’s murderous gaze, the butler’s heart trembled. He instinctively wanted to decline the call.

But after seeing the caller ID, his hand paused. He answered.

A polite male voice came from the other end.

“Hello, is this the He family’s butler? This is Secretary Han from the Chu Group.”

“I heard Young Master He invited Student Wen to be a guest?”

Without waiting for a reply, the man continued unhurriedly.

“It’s not the weekend. If a university student skips class without reason, participation points may be deducted. It could affect final grades.”

“Young Master Chu, as Student Wen’s classmate, is very concerned about his studies. He hopes that if Young Master He invites someone as a guest, he will pay attention to such matters.”

“Young Master Chu said he hopes to see Student Wen in class tomorrow. Please pass that along.”

Each sentence was polite, as if it were nothing more than a friendly reminder.

But the butler understood the implication.

If the Chu family’s eldest son did not see Wen Ruyu tomorrow, the Chu family would make a move against the He family.

And he did not doubt the authenticity of that threat.

Unlike the He family, which had many heirs, the Chu family had always had only one. From the moment Chu Junheng was born, the Chu family had belonged to him.

His will was the Chu family’s will.

The He family had risen from the underworld. Though they had cleaned up their image in recent years, many unsavory dealings remained. If they confronted the Chu family head on, they would stand no chance.

After weighing the stakes, the butler hurried to He Tianwu’s side and relayed the message in a low voice.

He Tianwu’s gaze darkened completely.

But just as the butler had expected, if things truly escalated, the He family would have no chance of winning.

He Tianwu’s face was grim, darkness nearly spilling from his black eyes.

In the end, he slowly released Wen Ruyu’s wrist.

Wen Ruyu immediately stepped back several paces, putting distance between them. When he saw that He Tianwu did not stop him, he turned and quickly headed outside.

The others instinctively moved to block him.

He Tianwu’s hoarse voice echoed in the stairwell.

“Let him go.”

Wen Ruyu did not pause. He did not look back.

He could feel He Tianwu’s gaze on him, but his steps never faltered.

He Tianwu watched until the figure completely disappeared from sight. Only then did he slowly ascend the stairs.

The butler followed.

As they walked, He Tianwu cast a glance at the few men still downstairs. Once he was fully out of their hearing range, he spoke softly, his tone vicious.

“Deal with them.”

He was grateful they had disobeyed him and had not touched Wen Ruyu.

But they knew the orders he had once given.

Only the dead keep secrets.

“Yes.”

The hillside villa was rather remote. Wen Ruyu had no cash on him, and his phone had been taken earlier. Standing by the roadside, he felt momentarily at a loss.

How was he supposed to get back?

Before he could think of a solution, a car slowly stopped in front of him.

The driver was the butler.

He rolled down the window, his tone polite.

“Mr. Wen, this area is rather remote. There may not be many cars passing by. Allow me to drive you back.”

Wen Ruyu pressed his lips together and finally got in.

The butler glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his voice softening.

“I apologize, Mr. Wen. Our young master did not intend to kidnap you. He is simply somewhat lacking in affection.”

“The He family has many children. Chairman He has been romantic outside, and the madam passed away early. The young master’s situation was not easy. That is how this temperament developed.”

“If there was any offense, please forgive us.”

After speaking, the butler picked up a phone from the passenger seat and handed it back.

“This is your phone.”

Wen Ruyu took it without a word.

The butler seemed to sense he did not wish to talk further. After returning the phone, he remained silent, occasionally glancing at him in the mirror.

Wen Ruyu lowered his head and stared at the screen quietly.

He had been kidnapped for three whole days.

Yet aside from a friend request from Chu Junheng, there were no other messages.

No messages from Fu Qingfeng.

No messages from the original host’s “fish.”

It was strange.

According to the original host’s memories, even if they were neglected, those people would message daily. They would not be this quiet.

It was as if the memories were false.

Wen Ruyu’s brows drew together slightly. He asked inwardly.

“System, were the original host’s memories fake?”

System 099 replied instantly, its tone falsely cheerful.

“No, dear customer. We do not engage in misleading operations. What you were given is definitely authentic.”

The memories were real.

Yet everything unfolding differed from them.

Wen Ruyu recalled Chu Junheng’s abnormal behavior. He recalled the look in He Tianwu’s eyes. His grip on the phone tightened.

“Do they… have memories?”

“In a way.”

“In a way” was as good as an admission.

Wen Ruyu’s heart skipped.

Those people had been burned to death by the original host.

If they retained their memories, they would certainly harbor intense resentment toward him.

They might seek revenge.

Even if they did not, they might vent their anger on Fu Qingfeng.

Which meant Fu Qingfeng might die even earlier than the dungeon setting had originally dictated.

And Wen Ruyu had not even met him yet.

His fingertips trembled slightly as he found Fu Qingfeng’s number and dialed immediately.

The call went unanswered.

Chapter 51

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