[TCFO] Arc 2 — Chapter 104

Kick off the Campus’ Cinderella (64)

Zhou Min sat on the sofa in the living room, gazing at the misty rain outside the estate and listening to the patter of raindrops. She sighed a thousand times in her heart and called again, "When can I leave?"

It would have rolled its eyes countless times if there were a physical representation of annoyance. "250, since you woke up, you have asked me the same question at least 30 times daily for the past month. Aren't you tired?"

"I am tired! But when can I leave..." Zhou Min was on the verge of tears. Ever since she inexplicably woke up in the laboratory, she had been kept captive by Liu Haoyu. He treated her like a captive...

There were no restrictions on going out or freedom, but wherever she went, he followed. He even waited outside when she went to the bathroom. It was as if they were conjoined twins. Wherever she went, he had to be able to see her.

Although he was cautious, if the way he looked at her could materialise, she would have been devoured to the bone. If she took one second to find herself, Liu Haoyu would become agitated and restless, and his temper would become increasingly unstable. Those around him had complained more than once in front of her, asking her not to be angry with Liu Haoyu anymore and to forgive him.

But Zhou Min was no longer angry. In these more than ten years in the laboratory, she couldn't move, but she could hear Liu Haoyu's voice every day. She listened to his painful and suppressed calls, repeated impatient declarations of love, and restrained weeping like a beast that had lost its mate after every failed experiment, filled with despair and loneliness. Her soul hovered in the air but couldn't escape.

In these more than ten years, Liu Haoyu had driven himself to the brink of madness, torturing himself and people like Su Xiaoxiao to the point of wishing for death, only to wake up day after day in formalin, with nothing but despair for life.

While tormenting Su Xiaoxiao, Liu Haoyu was also tormenting himself. After tormenting Su Xiaoxiao, he would sit in front of his own bed and carve her name into his chest, blood gushing out. His eyes were filled with a mad frenzy as he held his bloodied body, perhaps never to wake up again, murmuring to himself.

Once again, Zhou Min approached Liu Haoyu out of curiosity. His expression seemed unclear, but his arms embracing Zhou Min were as solid as a fortress, unshakable. "Xiao Min, I've been obedient. I'm in pain, physical pain, and even more pain in my heart... Will you forgive me like this? But why won't you wake up? Is it still not enough? Not enough..."

Zhou Min couldn't believe it as she looked at this insane man. For the first time, she realised he was cruel to others because he was even more cruel to himself. Being so close, she could clearly see that there wasn't a single patch of good skin on his body. Every inch was marked with the character "Min," stroke by stroke, deeply engraved, leaving such profound and twisted scars that sent shivers down one's spine.

It was not until Liu Haoyu, due to excessive blood loss, collapsed on the bed in the laboratory while holding Zhou Min's body that a group of professors and doctors, as if it were a common occurrence, placed Liu Haoyu beside Zhou Min and began the routine process of stopping the bleeding. Although this treatment was somewhat inconvenient, even when Liu Haoyu went from fainting to receiving treatment, his hands never let go of Zhou Min. However, these people in white protective suits never thought of moving Liu Haoyu away from Zhou Min's side.

Because they simply couldn't pry Liu Haoyu's hands away from Zhou Min's body. They had tried it the first time, but...

So, over time, they gave up. After all, it happened every day. The person who used to make them look up to him now evoked a trace of pity for this man. They realised that this once unrivalled, cunning man was becoming increasingly decadent, his gaze growing dimmer and his despair deepening day by day. He was even more cruel to himself with each passing day, from self-harm once a week to self-harm no less than ten times a day recently.

They had been watching for over a decade and were well aware that Liu Haoyu's life was constantly held in the hands of this woman who refused to wake up. Although her wounds had long healed and her vital signs had recovered, she simply did not wake up, as if she had no intention to.

It was something they all understood. How could Liu Haoyu, such an intelligent person, not comprehend it? Perhaps he knew when the woman's life was no longer in danger, and that's why his eyes carried a hint of tension and unease. The events that followed confirmed their speculations, and Liu Haoyu began to alternate between moments of clarity and moments of madness. His heart seemed to become increasingly extreme, and he had become apathetic before, not caring about anything. But now, while he still disregarded worldly power and wealth, he had become extremely radical and perverse.

How much pain he felt, he would make the world cry with him...

They were not surprised at all. If this woman died in the laboratory one day, Liu Haoyu would seek revenge upon the world. The world had never treated him well since childhood, and it was because of the United Nations and Mr Liu, along with the alliance of Xiao Ran, that Su Xiaoxiao was able to harm Zhou Min. Liu Haoyu would never show mercy to those who harmed Zhou Min because he didn't even spare himself. How could he spare those people?

"Jiang Min, where are you?" An anxious voice of Liu Haoyu came from the master bedroom, causing Zhou Min's body to stiffen. Without waiting for Zhou Min to respond, the butler by her side quickly replied, "Master, Madam is in the living room!"

Just as the butler's voice faded, they heard a series of urgent footsteps coming from the staircase. Zhou Min turned around and saw Liu Haoyu, still the same elegant and noble person with the same brows and eyes. However, his eyes revealed clear signs of fear and unease. Zhou Min had just stood up when Liu Haoyu quickly approached and embraced her.

There was a hint of early winter chill on his body, but the warmth of his embrace was intense. His heartbeat was restless and rapid. In fact, when she woke up in the laboratory, she was informed that the time of her mission's completion coincided with the moment of the death of each of her clients in their past lives.

During these past years, she had drifted in the empty air of the laboratory, witnessing Liu Haoyu's madness and obsession with Jiang Min. It moved her. They loved each other but repeatedly missed their chance at the right time, but in the wrong circumstances, they constantly missed each other. And Zhou Min discovered during these years of drifting that while Liu Haoyu researched how to awaken her, he also had a crazed obsession with the relativity of time as if he wanted to study the feasibility of time travel.

Just as she was about to try to understand it further, she was pulled into Jiang Min's body, and when she woke up again, she was in Liu Haoyu's embrace.

"Liu Haoyu, I won't leave!" Zhou Min repeated this sentence daily because she understood what Liu Haoyu's unease meant. Moreover, although her mission was already completed, she knew that if she died or left, the trajectory of this world would be completely derailed by the male protagonist, even leading to significant changes.