FT DR Chapter 22: Savage Confession

Chapter 22: Savage Confession

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

“Four hundred and forty-four hours ago,(18 days)  I met someone. Since the moment I saw him, I knew he was someone worth cherishing for a lifetime.” In the holographic video, the Gabriel Grand Theater was shrouded in darkness, with only a solitary spotlight shining down from above the stage, casting a circular halo on the ground.

The light poured down like a river of stars, with Jin Xuan standing in the center of the circle, his clear voice echoing in the theater, “I hope to share my life with him, to share every bit of starlight in my life. If he is unwilling, I would rather let this starlight perish for him.”

He wore a long robe made of white strips of cloth, his long hair flowing freely, and held a scepter symbolizing freedom and democracy in his hand, like a wandering minstrel.

“He is not here today, and he is unwilling to accept my love, but I am willing to change for him, to give up everything for him! I want to show him with practical actions that from today onwards, my worldview will always be on the same plane as his!” He looked towards the closest empty seat to him, his expression stubborn yet devout. “I want him to know that I love him, more than art, more than my own life!”

In the darkness, gasps of disbelief emanated from the audience. Jin Xuan, however, remained oblivious to it all, bowing slightly towards the audience, calmly announcing, “Thank you all for attending my farewell performance. After today, there will be no more King, I am permanently retiring from the art scene.”

After a brief silence, desperate screams echoed from the audience seats, followed by the earth-shattering cries of fans. Jin Xuan took a step back, walked out of the spotlight, and disappeared into the darkness.

As the video ended, Wu Chenghe watched the image on the holographic screen fade away, and he felt himself entering a state of petrification. He never dreamed that in just one weekend, his life would reach new heights, and he would ascend to the throne of “national enemy.”

Oh dear God, you really are the ultimate quitter!

Wu Chenghe groaned in agony, his hand on his forehead, shrinking into his seat by the classroom window, silently diluting his own presence— the girl in the front row replayed the segment of Jin Xuan’s farewell stage performance for the fifth time since he entered the classroom. From the moment he entered until now, she had played it four times, and it seemed like she was going to continue. If she knew that the “beloved” Jin Xuan spoke of was him…

Heh.

At this moment, Wu Chenghe wished he had the invisibility function like Little Lightbulb!

Sensing his call, his magical quantum beast appeared miraculously and wriggled twice on his desk, slowly transforming into a transparent bubble.

Half a second later, a candle appeared at the head of the bubble.

It even learned how to light a candle… Wu Chenghe was speechless and choked with emotion, picking up the solidified QQ conversation bubble and placing it on his ear, covering it with his hair, and sending a message through consciousness: Please be quiet, thank you!

Little Lightbulb wriggled a bit, kindly stopping its harm to its master.

“Ah!” The girl in the front row finished watching the fifth replay, suddenly letting out a hysterical scream. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it! I can’t believe King has abandoned us!”

Wu Chenghe was startled by her scream. The girl suddenly stood up and exclaimed loudly, “This must be a conspiracy by some black-hearted person against King. The official website clearly announced his performance schedule for the second half of the year. How could he possibly retire from the art scene!”

“Yeah!” A boy echoed, “What true love, what lifelong care for someone, it’s all fake! King is so perfect, no one in the universe can match him!”

Wu Chenghe silently covered his face, wishing he could bury his head in the desk. He felt Little Lightbulb wriggling on his ear again and quickly sent a message through consciousness: Please stop!

“Hmm!” 

“This must be a conspiracy.” A chubby boy also stood up, saying, “King is the President’s brother, and the President has always been at odds with the Voyager Army. Gabriel Military Harbor is Commander Hannibal’s territory. Can’t you guys guess? King must have been assassinated by someone from the Commander’s side. The performer the other night was probably his substitute, a bioengineered person!”

“Yes!” A little boy banged on the desk excitedly, “On the first day of school, we beat up Marlow’s fans. Marlow is the commander’s son. Maybe it was him who let his dad design the assassination of King out of revenge!”

The father and son were implicated one after another, leaving Wu Chenghe marveling at the kids’ imagination. In just a short time, they had concocted a spy thriller drama. Indeed, there are fans for every type of idol.

“This is outrageous!” Tears of grief and indignation streamed down the girl’s face. “The Voyager Army belongs to the Federation, we are all one with the Federation, why would they kill King? This is clearly a split in the country!”

“King has always advocated for freedom and peace. It must be because his reputation is too high that he has aroused the Voyager Army’s jealousy.” The little boy said solemnly, “The Gabriel Military Harbor is so vast, it can no longer accommodate a peaceful desk. For King, for the unity of the Federation, we should organize a protest!”

Wu Chenghe never expected such a dramatic turn of events. Descendants of the Voyager Army have always lacked a sense of belonging to the Federation, a problem even the President has been unable to solve. Yet today, this thorny issue was effortlessly resolved by Jin Xuan!

Truly, focusing on unity for eighty years, only to be defeated by King.

Throughout the entire morning, chaos reigned at the school. Once the suggestion for a protest was made, it immediately garnered a large response from the students, with many young teachers volunteering as well. At two o’clock in the afternoon, the activity representatives formally submitted the application to the school authorities. Wu Chenghe, due to his special status, was excluded from the activity area, so he wasn’t very specific about the details. However, even with this limited knowledge, he was quite anxious. Students were the most straightforward and passionate, and if by chance there were instigators behind the scenes, who knows what kind of trouble could arise.

Just when he felt at his wit’s end, another explosive piece of news dropped from the sky—after the second period in the afternoon.

As students were preparing various banners and slogans, gathering in front of the teaching building, someone rumored to have been eliminated by Hannibal suddenly appeared at the school gate in full gear!

It was precisely four o’clock in the afternoon when Wu Chenghe, carrying his backpack, had just walked out of the teaching building and heard incredulous screams from the gathering crowd, followed by the students’ disjointed exclamations:

“King! Oh my god, it’s King! Alive!”

“Is it really him? Not that impersonating bio-human?”

“King’s glory is unmatched. Who could impersonate him? Those are just your fantasies, okay?”

“Oh my god, he must have heard about our parade and come to see us at school.”

“King is truly with us, sob sob sob sob…”

Wu Chenghe’s scalp tingled. His first thought was whether this guy had come to the school to find him. His second thought was whether he should call an ambulance for himself first. Marlow had so many fans and ended up being tortured, and he, being alone, would definitely be trampled into dust by King’s fans!

Just as his leg muscles were cramping, Wu Chenghe saw Jin Xuan walking into the school gate under the protection of the school guards. Seeing him clearly, Wu Chenghe’s jaw almost dropped in shock—was this still the unruly punk? Where were his rebellious T-shirts? His torn jeans? His worn-out sandals? His iconic four ear piercings?

This youth, dressed in a white shirt, black trousers, a dark blue work jacket, with neatly tied hair, was he really Jin Xuan?

Yes, that’s right. Jin Xuan’s appearance today was so normal that it was scary. He was wearing the standard uniform of an assistant teacher at the school, and he even wore a tie. The bullets in his ears were also removed, replaced by simple black earrings.

“King!” A bold girl was the first to react, taking a quick step up the stairs and standing in front of Jin Xuan. “Is it really you, King? I’m a reporter for the school newspaper. Can I ask you a few simple questions?”

Jin Xuan glanced at the girl, his expression distant and cold, but his steps stopped.

King rarely spoke except during performances, so his silence was a sort of consent. The girl didn’t expect her idol to be so approachable. She was so excited that her voice trembled, “King, in your performance two nights ago, you said you were going to quit the entertainment industry. Is that true?”

Jin Xuan, “Yes.”

“You said it was for someone. Who is that person? Can you tell us?”

Wu Chenghe was blocked by the crowd about five meters away from the bulletin board and couldn’t move. When he heard her question, he froze in place, fearing that Jin Xuan might blurt out his name in a moment of madness.

Fortunately, Jin Xuan didn’t play tricks this time. After a moment of silence, he said, “Sorry, no.”

Wu Chenghe breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the little Light Bulb on the back of his ear also relax a bit. Indeed, even with powerful stealth capabilities, it was still under immense pressure when facing a male god (with mental problems).

“Why?” the girl persisted.

Jin Xuan furrowed his brows slightly, his icy gaze skewing her, “Because I’m still in unrequited love.”

Never had anyone said such a miserable thing with such nobility and elegance, as if unrequited love was something particularly worthy of pride. Wu Chenghe felt hopeless about Jin Xuan’s thick-skinned behavior, but his fans clearly didn’t think so. Although their idol didn’t show any signs of defeat when saying this, they had already started to feel sorry for him—unrequited love was so heartbreaking! Who dared to make King suffer so much?

“Why did you come to our school and even wear the assistant teacher’s uniform?” The girl noticed her idol’s displeasure and quickly changed the subject. “Are you going to teach at our school?”

“Yes.” Jin Xuan was absolutely sparing with his words in front of outsiders, even reluctant to use more than one syllable.

“As far as I know, you’re doing a Ph.D. at Aston University. Why did you come to our school?”

“Short-term academic exchange.”

“Is it for the person you mentioned?” Women’s intuition was always exceptionally sensitive, and the girl quickly brought the topic back around. “Is he also at our school?”

Jin Xuan hesitated for a moment, remaining silent. The girl felt she had stumbled upon an exclusive piece of news and became excited, her eyes lighting up. She pursued, “Is he a student or a teacher here?”

Jin Xuan’s phoenix eyes dangerously narrowed, evidently touching a nerve, but he neither reproached nor answered, simply ignoring her question and walking straight to the office building, not even offering a “no comment.”

Watching Jin Xuan’s bewitching figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, the fans immediately erupted into a heated debate. Some speculated on who the lucky bastard might be, others asked if the parade would continue, and still others inquired about which class King would substitute for so they could transfer as soon as possible.

With no imminent danger of exposure, Wu Chenghe breathed a sigh of relief, blending into the crowd and walking out of the school gate. On the way to the parking lot, he suddenly realized a serious problem: Could this guy have really stayed for him?

If that were the case, exposure was definitely a matter of time!

Feeling the despair of his master, the little Light Bulb on his ear gently flickered. Although Wu Chenghe couldn’t see it, he guessed it was giving him some reassurance.

So he replied with a thought: Don’t mention it, it’s what I should do.

[Clang!]