Chapter 1: CH 1

Chapter 1: The Impostor And The One Who Got Replaced.

He was surrounded by pure white, in a small room.

Guan Xi, who stayed up late, died all of a sudden. When he woke up after his death, he found himself in this small white room.

As soon as he woke up, a guy who called himself an ‘Antagonist Self-Saving System’, gave him a book with the title ‘Plot’. After Guan Xi understands the plot, he will be sent to the world in the book with the role of the Antagonist.

As for Guan Xi’s task, he was to rewrite the life of this Antagonist to become a good and promising young man.

Guan Xi, who had a lot of experience in reading web novels, soon became aware of his current situation.

After transmigrating, he should get ready to take over the Antagonist’s place in the novel, and complete the tasks given by the System.

Guan Xi was quite excited about it. Even though, like in many other transmigration novels, if the mission were to fail, he would be wiped out from existence, he felt that he was given a life for free. That fact alone made him feel like he had already won. Besides, after completing each stage of the mission, he’ll be given points that can be exchanged in the System Store for Golden Fingers.

Guan Xi has read the book to the end, and after the initial apprehension had passed, he began to think about what he’ll do next. However, after reading the last chapter, his expression suddenly stagnated.

After skimming through the last chapter, Guan Xi’s voice trembled in the empty room: “System, did you say that my identity will be this ‘Bian Yi’?”

The cold mechanical voice sounded somewhat impatient: “Is there a problem?”

Right when Guan Xi was about to open his mouth to speak, the System added the next sentence without any emotion in its voice: “If you don’t want to, you can go back to wherever you came from.”

Guan Xi quickly shut up. No one wanted to become a corpse after getting the opportunity of a second life.

It’s just…..

As he stared at the content of the last chapter, his excitement and thrill disappeared once he witnessed the speed those words cooled down, until finally, they fell into a creepy level.

The plot the System gave Guan Xi, wasn’t the whole content of the novel. Instead, it was about the final plot about the Antagonist, Bian Yi, whom he was about to replace. This plot was also the final ending for Bian Yi.

Bian Yi and Kou Li, the Protagonist, were a couple of husbands. When the Protagonist’s business declined, Bian Yi abandoned and betrayed him, but after the Protagonist rose again, he came back with a shy face. Of course, the vengeful Protagonist didn’t forgive him, and eventually imprisoned Bian Yi on an isolated island.

The environment of that island wasn’t bad, and there was even a spacious villa on it. Apart from the internet, there was no shortage of daily necessities thanks to the villa, but Bian Yi didn’t know how to cook. His cooking abilities were quite bad, but if he didn’t eat those disgusting recipes, he would starve; but if he ate it, he could even die of food poisoning.

There were boats on the island, but he didn’t know how to sail nor did he know how to swim. The forest had a fertile land, filled with edible plants and animals, but he didn’t know how to farm nor hunt. Besides, he was afraid to step into the forest alone. The island was also equipped with solar and wind power, but when the power supply was insufficient, he wouldn’t use the tools to repair it. Even when there were abandoned signal towers, and damaged signal devices…. he couldn’t do anything about it.

That island was obviously filled with opportunities to survive, but for Bian Yi, it was a dead end.

That island was Kou Li’s prison for Bian Yi. His incompetence and cowardice would let him die slowly in fear, loneliness and despair; no one will ever know about it.

Guan Xi is gay, and he had also read countless of Danmei books. Scum gongs, such as Kou Li, used to be the main characteristic of MLs in these kinds of novels. He even got aroused, from time to time, as he read them. However, reading a novel wasn’t the same as having actual human contact.

In particular, he discovered, to his horror, that Bian Yi wouldn’t ‘do it’ at all. If he followed this bad ending, he might end up exactly the same as Bian Yi.

After thinking about it, the creepy and negative conditions were stacked one after the other. At that moment, the System began the teleportation countdown.

AD

After a few seconds of dizziness, Guan Xi opened his eyes. When he looked around, he found that he was inside a car, alone.

Inside a new body, the first thing Guan Xi did was to find a mirror to see what he looked like.

After a single glance, he froze.

Because he was as beautiful as a flower in full bloom.

What popped into Guan Xi’s head at that moment, was an old-fashioned mobile game he played before his sudden death. In this game, the beauty of the first villain was described like the beauty of flowers in full bloom. Compared with virtual animation, the impact of a real person was obviously much greater.

“So good-looking, no wonder Kou Li had the courage to imprison him alone on an isolated island, am I right?” Guan Xi touched his face in a trance as he ‘tsk-ed’ a few times. His skin was in such a good condition that it was too good to be true.

He smiled at the mirror, feeling as if he were instantly exposed to a sea of poppies. He even felt that he could smell an intoxicating fragrance, and if he took one more sniff, he wouldn’t be able to free himself.

This was simply a great lethal weapon!

If it weren’t because this new life’s time and place weren’t quite right, Guan Xi would like to be happy with his own face.

After exploring his neck, collarbone, waist and abdomen, Guan Xi couldn’t help but think: ‘This body is a real treasure.’ But he immediately thought that this was his body now, so he finally stopped pondering over these things and began to analyze the current situation.

He was sent to the moment the original body had just abandoned his husband and son. After Bian Yi left home, he went to the shopping mall to vent his anger using Kou Li’s card.

Ah yes, in this world, same-sex marriage is common. At present, Bian Yi and Kou Li still had a legal relationship as husband and husband, but Kou Li didn’t know that the original Bian Yi was gone, never to come back.

Bian Yi had just run away, and Kou Li didn’t know that he had abandoned him yet….

So, as long as Guan Xi goes back, everything should be alright, right? As long as Bian Yi doesn’t abandon his husband and son, the bad ending of getting locked up on an isolated island shouldn’t appear, right?

The more he thought about it, Guan Xi noticed a pile of shopping bags in the back seat. When he stretched out his hand to grab two bags, his eyes lit up once he saw what was inside.

Half an hour later, Guan Xi went to Kou Li’s house, with Bian Yi’s face, and knocked on the door.

Nor long after, the door opened from the inside.

The man at the other side of the door, after seeing Guan Xi, had a storm brewing in the depths of his eyes. However, that reaction was hidden behind his pair of glasses, as if it had never appeared.

His voice was hoarse and cold: “Are you back?”

! ! !

It was like being hit head-on, so Guan Xi was shocked for several seconds.

‘Could it be said that this man is worthy of being the Protagonist gong? This face, these legs, this voice. He’s the supreme epitome of a gay man!’

‘In particular with that pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, such a good aesthetic taste. It’s not that difficult to imagine what it’ll be like being pressed under his body with such a pair of glaring eyes.’

‘Was the original Bian Yi blind?! How were you willing to abandon such an excellent specimen? No wonder you could only become cannon fodder.’

Originally, Guan Xi intended to let the Gong Protagonist and the Shou Protagonist to be with each other, because he didn’t want to end up on the isolated island plot. However, after seeing the gong, he changed his mind.

An available husband who’s handsome, elegant and extremely rich, it was more than what Guan Xi has ever dreamt of. Only a moron would give up such a good husband to a Shou Protagonist!

Seeing that Kou Li was frowning, Guan Xi came back to reality and hurried to raise the bags in his hands towards Kou Li. With a crooked smile, he said: “What is it? You know how hard is it to raise a kid, right? Don’t be angry, I bought you a gift.”

Kou Li’s eyes moved from the man’s face to the bag in his hand. His fingers curled up and loosened. Until finally, he took the gift, turned sideways and let Guan Xi enter through the door.

…

Bian Yi looked fixedly at the only source of light in the room. It was a huge screen showing the picture of a man that looked exactly like him, standing at the door of his house. Right after, that man was brought into the house by his husband, Kou Li.

‘What’s this?’

‘And what is this place?’

Bian Yi clutched the paper bag in his hand, which was the delivery he had received in his car ten minutes ago.

Yes, he was sure that he was in his car ten minutes ago.

The picture on the screen continued, and Bian Yi pursed his lips. As he ignored the contents of the screen, he observed the surroundings through the light.

It was a single room, the furnishings weren’t simple, but they could also be described as humble. There was a single bed, a table, a toilet and a shower. In addition to this, the walls weren’t decorated, and there wasn’t even a single air vent.

The paper bag in his hand was squeezed out of shape, and Bian Yi clenched his teeth hard enough to tense the expression on his face.

He was kidnapped.

Of course, the contents of that screen were designed to provoke him. Since those images were meant to irritate him, the person behind the scenes was most likely hiding somewhere, in order to admire his broken expression through the hidden monitors in this room.

Of course, he wouldn’t do what that person wanted.

“Who are you? What’s your purpose?” Bian Yi took a quiet breath. His voice wasn’t trembling at all, even though his heart was panicking like never before.

Bian Yi waited calmly for about five minutes, but he didn’t get any response.

His heart sank once again, but the kidnapper neither showed up nor communicated with him. This situation wasn’t optimistic at all.

For the next hour, Bian Yi moved around the dark room, observing every single corner and carefully probing every single wall. The more he explored, the colder he felt.

There wasn’t a single gap in the entire room. It was like a cage made out of four extremely smooth steel plates. The most strange thing was that there was not a single air vent, but he didn’t feel any discomfort breathing.

After an hour passed, the kidnappers still didn’t make any sound. The only sound in the room came from the screen.

Inevitably, Bian Yi would, more or less, focus mainly on the screen.

At this moment, Bian Yi didn’t know… what his husband, Kou Li, was feeling.

After all, that impostor had shown something completely different from his usual behaviour. His habits, way of speaking and the way he looked at people can’t be replaced. It doesn’t matter if the imposter had his face, as long as his husband isn’t blind and thinking with his toes, he would notice. Besides, his husband, Kou Li, was an extremely clever man.

If that impostor was allowed to enter the house, then Kou Li had probably guessed that something had happened to him. Otherwise, how would that impostor dare stand in front of their house so openly? And say such shameless words?

He didn’t know how long it took, but finally, there was a noise coming from the room. The table seemed to have an unique design, since the center of the table sank and food was brought up.

Bian Yi glanced at the dish and his eyelashes trembled slightly. It was the same dish shown on the screen, yam and pork ribs. As he turned sideways, he could catch a glimpse of the impostor boasting about the fragrance of the dish. After finishing the dish, he boasted about his husband’s cooking skills, praising him right afterwards.

Bian Yi likes to eat yams, and Kou Li would cook it for him every now and then. This dish should’ve been eaten by him, if he were at home at the moment.

At this point, the calmness that Bian Yi was maintaining on the surface, finally cracked. As he stared at the food on the table, his hands trembled in anger.

He wanted to ask the person behind the scenes what he was trying to do. But in the end, he didn’t make any sound.

Bian Yi took a deep breath and walked towards the table in silence. There wasn’t any chair at the table, so he ate his food standing. There was only one dish. He didn’t choose it, and he wasn’t able to choose what to eat either.

At that moment, he had an ominous feeling that this captivity may be long-term.

No matter what he will face next, he needs to keep his strength.

From that day on, food and water were delivered regularly in the dark room every day. The bathing time was also specific; in addition to this, the screen would also be turned off from time to time. When the screen was turned off, Bian Yi would be submerged into complete darkness, making him feel uneasy. His fear and loneliness were also magnified infinitely.

The screen would open and close depending on the sleeping time of the impostor named Guan Xi.

When he falls asleep, there will be no light; and when he wakes up, Bian Yi would witness his former husband being intimate with someone who was clearly not himself. That alone was another endless nightmare.

One day, two days, three days….

Bian Yi watched how Guan Xi got close to his husband and son.

One week, two weeks, three weeks…..

Guan Xi began to get close to his parents and relatives.

One month, two months, three months…..

Guan Xi entered the entertainment industry and began to interfere with his career.

Day by day, step by step, this man was gradually occupying his life.

While he, on the other hand, was trapped in this place, where he couldn’t do anything else other than watch.

Bian Yi wasn’t willing. It’s impossible for him to be willing, alright?!

He tried to escape every single day, but no matter how hard he tried, there wasn’t even the slightest flaw here. Feeling sick and injured, he thought that as long as he slept, everything would be alright. As a result, Bian Yi often doubted whether all of this was even real.

He knew that if he continued like this, he would go crazy sooner or later.

But he wasn’t crazy yet, and won’t give up.

Another night passed, and Guan Xi fell asleep, depriving Bian Yi of all light.

His eyes were open, but no matter how wide they were, he still wasn’t able to see anything other than pure darkness.

After a while, or maybe it was a long time, those eyes that were often praised for being brighter than the starlight, finally closed. Perhaps he was sleepy, perhaps he was just tired, and perhaps he was aware that it was meaningless to dry his eyes open, so he simply stopped such action.

The next day, Bian Yi woke up.

His brain still felt a bit confused, not yet completely awake, so as he subconsciously looked around, he raised the corner of his mouth self-mockingly. Then, he murmured to himself: “It was just a dream, what ‘Revenge System’?”

When he woke up, he was still in the same hellhole.

It has been sixteen years, exactly sixteen years. During that period of time, he had escaped twice. But if you summed the time he was freed those two times, it wouldn’t have been more than 5 minutes in total.

After so many years of struggling, he had long understood that the special features of this place couldn’t be explained with common sense, and that the way to escape didn’t have anything to do with destroying this place at all.

Therefore, what the ‘Revenge System’ said to him, that he will help Bian Yi to escape this place, was probably another fragment of his imagination.

Bian Yi smiled for a while, but he couldn’t laugh anymore.

Sure enough, he was going crazy. Or perhaps, he was already mad.

“Rui-ge, y-you know, Kou Li forbid me to see you…” Guan Xi’s voice came from the screen, soft and tender. Those words were clearly a rejection, but they were said with such a mellow tone of voice. The way he shrank his head, incited other people to want to bully him more.

Although he has seen it for so many years, Bian Yi still felt some kind of discomfort in his stomach once he saw Guan Xi, usurping his own appearance, hooking up with other men.

Bian Yi reached out and rubbed his stomach. When he looked up, he saw a cup of water and food on the table. After getting up from the bed, he took two sips of cold water. Once the ice water slid down his throat, waking him up completely, he froze in place.

Bian Yi suddenly tilted his head to look at the screen. Without daring to blink, he saw that Xu Rui was at least ten years younger, and he didn’t even have that ugly long scar on his forehead.

At that instant, the cup fell to the ground, splashing water and scattering glass fragments everywhere, some of which were stuck in the back of Bian Yi’s foot. However, he was unaware of that since he was staring at the screen, as if he had been locked in place for the first time.

He quickly summarized the information on the screen.

The huge advertisement on the building behind Xu Rui. The cafe they were about to enter. The style of the cell phones, the pedestrians on the road, and so on. Every single thing looked exactly the same as they did a decade ago.

“Am I dreaming again?” Bian Yi grabbed his hair, trying to wake himself up with pain. But in the middle of this special room, the speed of wound healing reduced Bian Yi’s pain perception by a lot.

As he dropped his eyes, he saw the broken glass pieces on the ground.

Just when Bian Yi was about to lift his foot and step on those fragments, the screen suddenly turned into a storm of snowflakes, like a bad signal.

This kind of situation has never happened before, stunning Bian Yi for a moment. Right the next instant, a voice rang inside his head.

This voice was quite nice, so nice that it sounded like an illusion: “Hello Host, I am the ‘Revenge System’. The shield function has been activated. I ask the Host to escape this space as soon as possible.”

AD

Bian Yi stood frozen in place for a few more seconds. After withdrawing his feet, he walked towards the screen that was showing a bad signal. He walked faster and faster, until finally, he bumped into the screen with almost all of his strength.

Thankfully, his head didn’t break. After managing to pass through the screen successfully, he fell hard on the ground.

It was warm.

The hands that were touching the ground were trembling. Bian Yi felt the burning sensation and slight pain of his palms being abraded by the concrete. It was the afterheat of the summer evening. He was even able to smell the scent of barbecue floating nearby.

He listened, looked around and smelled. Suddenly, a strong sense of unreality enveloped him.

Bian Yi then asked the System: “Did I get out? Did I really escape? Is this more than a decade ago? Did I go back in time, 10 years in the past?”

He waited quietly, for a second or two, as if waiting was an abnormal torment.

On the third second, the System finally replied: “Yes, this is the first year after you were replaced. Now, you should go home.”