Chapter 28: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (End)

Many years later…

The prison gates slowly closed. An old man, looking to be in his sixties, stared blankly around him. It wasn’t until his legs and feet grew sore that he finally took a step and left the place where he had lived for ten years.

By now, Li Chengyu had long since lost his former high-spirited, handsome look. No one would ever connect the hunched old man before them with the singer who was once wildly popular.

At first, his parents came to visit him. Later, his mother died of illness, leaving only his father. After that, his father stopped coming too. He heard his father had started a new family.

His originally fair face was now full of wrinkles. Apart from numbness, faint traces of resentment were still visible.

He came from a poor background, yet his parents were willing to spend a fortune for him to study vocal music and piano.

He just simply pursued Luo Xue, and she gave him her whole heart.

With just a crook of his finger, Zhou Ling protected him and cleared his path.

Why did it turn out like this?

Before he was released, the prison guard also told him that he could only use the bank card provided by the prison. After getting a job, aside from basic living expenses, the rest of his wages would be used to pay off his debts.

The streets were even more bustling than he remembered, crowded and lively. Suddenly, a familiar voice reached his ears. He looked around but found nothing. Looking up sharply, he saw Zhou Ling’s face prominently displayed on the LED screen above him.

Compared to his aged appearance, Zhou Ling looked exactly the same as she did ten years ago. Still so beautiful, time had left no trace on her face, only adding a sense of steady maturity and calm.

The display was broadcasting an interview with Zhou Ling. The screams of her fans nearby made Li Chengyu feel dazed, as if he were back on his own stage.

“The beautiful sister finally came out! I almost thought she’d retire after getting married!” A little fan in pink clothes spoke with a blissful look: “Looking at her face, I can eat three extra bowls of rice per meal.”

“After all, she’s someone who has to inherit billions in family assets if she doesn’t work hard,” said a fan in white clothes with a laugh.

“She got married?” Li Chengyu asked, staring blankly.

The one in pink happily shared news about her idol: “Yes, my brother-in-law is a really good person too. He was Sister Zhou Ling’s university classmate. He liked her when they were studying, but felt too inferior to get close. Later, he heard Sister Zhou Ling needed an agent, so he gave up a high-paying job to become one.”

Li Chengyu sneered: “And you actually believe it’s love? He clearly just fell for Zhou Ling’s money.”

“It is not! Everyone knows my brother-in-law signed a prenuptial agreement,” the pink-clad fan retorted angrily, turning her head away from Li Chengyu.

On the screen, the host began asking questions: “This is your first interview after marriage. I want to gossip a bit—why did you choose your current husband?”

Zhou Ling was radiating happiness as she generously shared her feelings: “Because no matter what I do, he always finds a way to praise me.”

“Can you give an example?” the host asked good-naturedly.

“Once, at a ceremony, I used the wrong shade of lipstick. He said…” Zhou Ling’s smile widened. She had to cover her cheeks with her hand, feeling embarrassed from laughing so much. “‘He said I was already beautiful enough and didn’t need lipstick to adorn myself. But next time, he would meticulously prepare everything I needed.'”

The little fan exclaimed: “So sweet!”

Li Chengyu pressed his lips together, silent. Was he not good to Zhou Ling? Didn’t he often care about her too? Wasn’t scolding her meant to help her improve?

“Speaking of which, the sweetest couple in the entertainment circle…” A male fan standing nearby suddenly spoke up. Two other fans chimed in unison: “We know, we know, Tang Qi and Luo Xue… You talk about them eight hundred times a day.”

“Tang Qi and Luo Xue?” Li Chengyu was about to leave but stopped upon hearing this.

“You don’t know them? They’ve been married for years now. Did you just run out from the mountains?” The girl in pink raised an eyebrow in disapproval. But soon, her attention shifted to someone else’s conversation.

“Well, let me tell you something different,” the male fan lowered his voice. “My cousin works in sales at a luxury brand store. One time, Luo Xue and Tang Qi went to her store.”

“Wow, that’s awesome!” the others exclaimed.

“My cousin knew I liked them, so she quickly went over to help. She told me Luo Xue tried on several dresses and asked Tang Qi, ‘Do I look good?’ Guess how Tang Qi answered?”

The others looked at each other. “Just said ‘yes,’ right?”

Having piqued their curiosity, the male fan slowly revealed the answer: “Tang Qi wasn’t as perfunctory as you lot. She said to Luo Xue, ‘Walk around and turn so I can see.’ Then she looked her up and down carefully before finally saying, ‘My Luoluo really looks good in anything.’ She even matched bags and jewelry for every single outfit.”

“So attentive!” the others cried out.

“That’s not even the best part. The best was… after Luo Xue chose her things, when it came time to pay, someone handed the bill to Tang Qi. But Tang Qi didn’t reach out to take it. She glanced helplessly at the shop assistant and said…” At this point, the male fan coughed, imitating Tang Qi’s tone: “Miss Shop Assistant, I’m married.”

The others looked bewildered: “What does that mean?”

“My cousin didn’t know either. Then Luo Xue laughed and said, ‘Let me, let me. She has no money.'” The male fan took a deep breath, clenching his fist. “The wife controls the purse strings after marriage. It’s so sweet I feel faint. When I get married, I’ll have my wife manage the money too.”

“That’s too sweet! An A-list celebrity in the entertainment circle doesn’t have a single cent in her pocket,” the girl in pink murmured.

Listening to them chatter endlessly, Li Chengyu couldn’t tell if what he felt was disdain or anger. But he knew that now, he didn’t even have the capital for revenge.

In the end, he found a job washing cars. Sure enough, half of his monthly wages was deducted.

He didn’t believe Tang Qi and Luo Xue could really stay together until old age. He didn’t believe Zhou Ling’s husband truly wanted nothing. These people would taste bitter fruit sooner or later.

When that time came, they would know he was still the best.

Clutching this thought, Li Chengyu struggled to survive. Because of his criminal record, he could only find manual labor jobs, barely scraping by each month on a meager income.

He lived like this for many years. Tang Qi and Luo Xue no longer appeared online, yet every time reporters captured them, it caused a huge sensation.

Their relationship remained wonderful, hailed as a myth of love.

Zhou Ling had two adorable children and lived sweetly with her husband until the very end.

Neither of these two people met the ending Li Chengyu had envisioned. Slowly, he gave up that thought. But what he never expected was that over a decade later, he would run into an acquaintance.

He met Yang Yirui. She had gotten married. The burdens of life meant she was long gone from being the young lady of a wealthy family. She had become the owner of a butcher stall, without her past soft voice or beauty. She was left with only a loud, rough voice and a body heavy with flesh.

Yang Yirui still recognized Li Chengyu. Embarrassed, he asked: “How are you doing now?”

“The man in my family is a lost cause. The whole household depends on me selling pork to scrape by!” Yang Yirui nudged her child, telling the kid to go play somewhere else.

Looking at Li Chengyu’s unkempt, sloppy appearance, Yang Yirui’s conscience was rarely touched with kindness: “Let me cut a piece of meat for you to take home.”

“…Okay.” In the past, Li Chengyu wouldn’t have accepted meat from others. But now, he held the meat Yang Yirui cut for him, careful and cautious, afraid of dropping it.

“There’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask you. Why were you so hostile towards Luo Xue back then?” Li Chengyu’s lips trembled a few times, but he finally asked.

Yang Yirui was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. Yet the laughter was tinged with sarcasm and bleakness: “Who knows? Why was I hostile towards her?”

“Probably because my dad always brought up my mom’s past marriages. Every time they argued, I used to think, why doesn’t she just disappear!” Yang Yirui calmly cut meat for a customer.

She had resented Luo Xue, been jealous of Zhou Ling. But all of that was in the past now. The other parties had lived to become figures she could never hope to catch up to.

Li Chengyu wanted to say something, but ultimately did not. He simply left the market, carrying the meat.

…

The year Luo Xue turned fifty, Zhou Ling passed away from illness. That day, countless fans traveled from all over the world to attend. Zhou Ling’s husband wept so bitterly he fainted several times.

The children were still young, and Zhou Ling’s husband was in his prime. Everyone assumed he would seize the Zhou family assets. Yet he followed the agreement, giving the inheritance to their two children, and remained alone, guarding their original home.

When Luo Xue was eighty, she fell gravely ill. After she recovered, Tang Qi took her traveling everywhere. The two of them traveled to every corner of the world. At every place they visited, Tang Qi would take a photograph.

Two silver-haired old ladies smiled cheerfully at the camera.

Tang Qi posted the photos online, gaining a massive number of new followers. They were jokingly called “The Most Beautiful Women” and “The Most Beautiful Love.” Countless people waited on her social media accounts for updates.

The year Luo Xue turned ninety, they ended their journey and returned home.

The cats and dogs at home were no longer the same ones from before. The System would live to a dozen or so years, then swap identities and return home again. It had been a black cat, turned into a husky, and finally became a talking parrot, keeping Tang Qi and Luo Xue company every day.

When Luo Xue turned a hundred, her health weakened day by day. Even though Tang Qi tried every method possible, she couldn’t stop Luo Xue’s life force from slowly fading away.

In her final moments, Luo Xue held Tang Qi’s hand and asked calmly: “Little Seven, I’ve never asked you in this lifetime. Now I want to ask…”

Tang Qi’s face was full of wrinkles, but in Luo Xue’s eyes, she was still so beautiful, always exactly the image that made her heart flutter.

“Forget it… Actually, I don’t necessarily need an answer,” Luo Xue breathed with difficulty. In this lifetime, Tang Qi had never let her suffer the slightest grievance, never made her feel the smallest difficulty. Whether it was love or not, perhaps it didn’t matter so much.

Tang Qi held her hand tightly, unable to form proper words: “Luoluo, don’t go…”

“Let’s agree to meet in the next life, okay?” Luo Xue pointed to her own heart. “In the next life, I’ll make a mark right here on my heart. When you see it, you’ll know it’s me.”

Tang Qi knew Luo Xue’s life had reached its end. Back when she was eighty, Tang Qi had exchanged points for a Life Extension Pill for her. This pill could only be consumed once.

After that, even a Great Immortal couldn’t save her.

The night Luo Xue left, the System reverted to its original form. Tang Qi sat in the spot where Luo Xue often sat and took out a cigarette, lighting it.

As dawn broke, the floor at Tang Qi’s feet was littered with cigarette butts. The room was filled with smoke. The System spoke with a tearful voice: “Host, I don’t want to stay here anymore. Let’s go!”

“Yeah.”

The myth of this love story reached its end. The day after Luo Xue passed away, Tang Qi was found to have departed this life within her home. Zhou Ling’s children handled their final arrangements. As per Tang Qi’s request, they were buried together.