Walking the Path of a Workaholic in Cliché Novels (QT) Chapter 37

In order to protect the privacy of the guests, the program team prepared a room without surveillance. Now An Yinong was sitting in it. He pressed the call button: “Is this Tao Ran?”

     “Mr. Ke, it’s me.” A stranger’s voice came from the other end, this voice was full of fear and confusion.

     “Who are you? Where is Tao Ran?” An Yinong stood up.

     The person on the other end quickly explained: “Please don’t get me wrong, I am Tao Ran’s manager.”

     “What’s wrong with Tao Ran?”

     “That’s why I’m looking for you…” He hesitated for a few seconds and lowered his voice, “Mr. Ke, can you give some advice to Tao Ran? He… he’s not in a good mood right now.”

     An Yinong immediately remembered the several slender scars on Tao Ran’s wrists, which were the marks left by cutting.

     “What happened?”

     “I can’t say more about this matter, but please talk to Tao Ran.” The agent came to the ward with his mobile phone. There was only one bed in the room, and Tao Ran had a needle inserted into his arm. His face was as white as paper, and his eyes were hollow, making people suspect that he was just a body.

     “You shouldn’t look for him.” Tao Ran looked at his manager, “He’s working, don’t cause him any trouble.”

     “You’re already like this, so don’t worry about it.” The manager’s eyes turned red as he handed the phone to Tao Ran.

     He didn’t know since when Tao Ran had fewer and fewer friends around him, and his only relative was like that. After thinking about it, the manager found that An Yinong was the only ‘friend’ he could find. Maybe this friend could inspire him with a little desire to live.

     Tao Ran looked at the words ‘on call’, his face turned pale, he didn’t dare to answer, but wanted to. Finally, he answered the phone: “Yinong…”

     “Did you hurt yourself?” This was the first thing An Yinong said after waiting there for a long time.

     Tao Ran’s breathing stopped, and his heart was pounding. He was afraid of hearing voices accusing him of not cherishing life, and he was also afraid of hearing careless comfort.

     But the man just asked: “Does it hurt?… If I say anything stupid, it must be very painful.”

     Suddenly feeling this kind of care without purpose, the things that made him feel painful seemed to have an outlet to vent, but Tao Ran suppressed this impulse: “I’m sorry.” He keeps dying and keeps causing trouble to the people around him. It was normal for people like him to have no friends.

     “It is said that the pain we feel is a signal from the body – danger, leave, save me. Your body has not given up on you yet.”

     “I’m sorry.” Tao Ran covered his face with his arms, his body trembling slightly.

     An Yinong lowered his eyelids as he listened to the suppressed cries over there: “You can tell me all the unhappy and painful things. How uncomfortable it is to carry it alone. Have you forgotten, we are friends.”

     “Don’t get close to me, you will become unlucky.” Tao Ran’s voice was very low, “I don’t know why, but I always bring misfortune to the people around me. My mother died when I was born. My aunt who loves me the most on my birthday went to get cake, there was a car accident…”

     “Nonsense, you helped me before and saved that little girl.” An Yinong guided him, “Have you forgotten that we made an appointment to go see her together?”

     Tao Ran was silent, and An Yinong did not rush him. He talked about their past in the “I’m Really a Star” show, which evoked An Yinong’s memory and recalled the content of the plot. In the plot, Tao Ran also attempted suicide. That time it was because…

     “System, please check. Did Tao Ran’s father, a gambler, be lured to Aocheng by Zhao Ze’s people and lose fifteen million in gambling?”

     The system asked in surprise: “Why do you think so?”

     “…plot.”

     In the plot, Tao Ran’s father owed fifteen million in gambling debts, and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. With unpaid gambling debts, a disease with little hope of cure, and a hopeless future… Tao Ran committed suicide. Later, when he was rescued, Zhao Ze appeared like a hero and lent him fifteen million.

     Because of this fifteen million, Tao Ran, who had been rejecting Zhao Ze, had to accept Zhao Ze’s existence. Therefore, An Yinong suspected that this was a trap aimed at Tao Ran, just like it was aimed at the original owner, and the person who caused it was Zhao Ze.

     To love someone, you have to cut off all social relationships with them, including family ties and friendships, and only socialize within the scope of your permission. This was the ‘love’ of Zhao Ze and those powerful people. They take everything from their prey and give him a little tenderness when they break down.

     If the selected prey showed a little bit of mental weakness, they would seize the opportunity to invade their life and achieve the purpose of psychological control. Those who longed to be controlled by others would probably be very happy, especially Zhao Ze himself, who was considered rich, handsome, and the easiest person to impress. But neither Tao Ran nor An Yinong was the kind of character who lacked personality.

     “When are we going to see that little girl?” An Yinong continued to talk to Tao Ran, his voice was very gentle, like the evening breeze blowing on his face.

     “I heard from Brother Guo (the person in charge of the I’m Really a Star) that the parents were a little confused and didn’t know what they were doing now. The little girl doesn’t have any other relatives. What if they treat her badly?”

     Tao Ran was attracted by the topic and thought about this matter.

     “Would things be better if we could visit more often? After all, we rescued the child, right?” An Yinong added that he was adding ‘responsibility’ to Tao Ran. He didn’t know what could change someone wanting to die, but whatever it was, he wanted to give it a try.

     His mood seemed to be sensed by Tao Ran over there. After a long silence, Tao Ran finally told his situation: “Yinong, I am sick. Even if I am cured, I may not be able to continue working and become a disabled person.”

     “What did the doctor say?”

     “The doctor said that unless there is a miracle, this will be the case from now on.”

     An Yinong thought for a moment and raised his head: “You know, the doctor told me the same thing a year ago. He said it was unlikely that my throat would be cured. Even if it was cured, I would not be able to sing in the future unless There are miracles.”

     Tao Ran was slightly startled.

     “Look,” he said, “isn’t the miracle right here?”

     Tao Ran stood there stunned, neither of them spoke, and the air became quiet.

     “Host.” The system appeared again.

     “Tell me.” An Yinong said calmly, “Is it him?”

     “It’s him.”

     An Yinong closed his eyes, and for a moment he even felt nauseated.

     “Host? You…”

     An Yinong raised his hand to silence it.

     He thought about those people who intended to control his life, drug him, use human nature to set traps, hurt the people around him, destroy his career, alienate his relatives and friends… Even if An Yinong was strong enough, there were times when he became discouraged, but what about Tao Ran? He was not such a strong person.

     “I now suspect that in the plot, the reason why there is no news about Tao Ran after going abroad is not because he finally let go, but because he disappeared.”

     An Yinong calmly analyzed the possibilities: “Tao Ran’s misfortune has many reasons, but Zhao Ze is definitely the cause of his misfortune. If the cause exists, the nightmare will always exist. If a person is determined not to live, no one can stop him.”

     “No way? Are you saying that Tao Ran died after going abroad? Didn’t you say that the first phase of the operation was successful? Isn’t the original plot a mindless and sweet love drama about love and love?”

     “A brainless and sweet romance drama?” An Yinong looked at the system, “Do you believe it?” The system felt creeped out.

     “Sorry. I’ve calmed down now and won’t do stupid things again.” Tao Ran’s voice appeared again.

     An Yinong knew that these were just his words of comfort. If he was really just impulsive, he would not think of committing suicide again and again. As long as the core of Tao Ran’s despair wasn’t eliminated, he will never be able to escape this predicament.

     “Can the system really find no evidence that Zhao Ze drugged the original owner?”

     The system checked: “Now his regret value has reached seventy-six, and the halo of the protagonist has faded. However, there are people around him to remove traces. They are very cautious, and a year has passed, so they can’t find any evidence that can convict him. Zhao Ze’s family is a typical marriage between officials and businessmen, and ordinary people cannot afford to offend him.”

     “When the regret value reaches 100, will his protagonist halo disappear?” An Yinong suddenly asked.

     The system was startled: “You want to do this?”

     An Yinong felt something was wrong keenly: “You don’t seem to want his regret value to reach 100.”

     “Host…” The system hesitated and hesitated, “If his regret value reaches 100, our mission will be over. The pursuit of perfection does not necessarily guarantee happiness.”

     “Sorry, because of some ‘rules’, I can’t say too much. But I implore the host to think about it carefully. We must have other ways.”

     The system had secrets, but An Yinong was more concerned about Zhao Ze now: “I can’t find the evidence for too long, but what about the evidence that led Tao Ran’s father to gamble heavily with loan sharks?”

     “It has been through the hands of three or four people, but it is of no use even if it is found. It is impossible to convict him legally.”

     “Ha,” An Yinong laughed, “So this is how the protagonist is treated. He is powerful and lawless. It’s really amazing.”

     An Yinong was smiling, but murderous intent was brewing in his eyes. This was the first time the system had seen a host who hated scumbags so much. In the past, even if they didn’t like the scumbags, they would still soften their attitude towards the scumbags who fanatically pursued them. It’s just the opposite for the host. The more fanatical he was, the more disgusted he was.

     “Congratulations on your entry into “Singer-Songwriter”. It suits you very well.” When Tao Ran said this, his pale face flushed with excitement, as if he saw An Yinong spreading his wings and flying high.

     “If you like it, how about you come and see?” Even though the anger in his heart was boiling, he still restrained himself when facing Tao Ran. He only treated Tao Ran with a calm attitude and would not deliberately be cautious.

     “Invite me?”

     “Yes,” An Yinong tilted his head and tried to make his voice more relaxed, “On the third day, the work will be accepted. I will go to the studio that day, and there will be a lot of people sitting there. I hope A-ran can come over and cheer me on?”

     “……okay.”

     Tao Ran put down his phone and looked at his agent: “I’m hungry, is there anything to eat?”

     The agent’s eyes widened and he almost cried with joy: “Yes! There is everything! What do you want to eat? I’ll buy it now.”

     Over there, An Yinong walked back in silence.

     Beiyou met on the road and said happily: “The arranger teacher said your music is very good. I look forward to hearing the complete work.”

     But An Yinong just forced a smile and did not answer. He returned to the songwriting room and looked at the song he had written on the table. After a long time, he picked it up and tore it up.

     “I want to change the song.”