Chapter 25

What Ji Linyu said meant he wanted nothing from her; he only hoped her eyes would heal, and until then, he would stay by her side.
Zhu Xinyue found it hard to believe, could such a person truly exist in this world?
At the very least, aside from her mother in her original world, she had never met another person who would be unconditionally good to her.
Perhaps she was forcing herself not to believe.
As long as she didn’t believe from the start, then even if he ended up breaking his promise, she wouldn’t be too disappointed, and she wouldn’t get hurt.
People always talk a good game, but in the end, it’s always the one who trusts first that gets hurt.
The incident on the set of Peach Blossom Spring caused a huge reaction from the public.
Apart from finding a doctor for Zhu Xinyue, Ji Linyu was busy handling the public relations aftermath of the accident, as this was also a project invested in by the Jin Huan Group.
After Zhu Xinyue lost her sight, she was transferred to several hospitals before finally returning to a hospital in Tianze City. Liang Yuyu specially flew to Tianze City to visit her and brought her the latest updates on the accident investigation.
"This wasn’t an accident, it was intentional," Liang Yuyu said, sitting by Zhu Xinyue’s hospital bed. His agent was in the living room, handing a business card to Ji Linyu.
Zhu Xinyue was the biggest victim of the accident. Aside from her, everyone else managed to evacuate the fire zone in time. At most, they were hit by chains and suffered minor injuries, or were scalded by the flames, which could be treated by rinsing with cold water or applying burn ointment. None of their injuries were serious.
"Who did it?" Zhu Xinyue had vaguely suspected it was intentional because the accident in the novel was different from this one, but the targets were the same, Ji Qingyuan, Jiang Rui, and Liang Yuyu. If these three hadn’t dodged in time, they would have been the most likely to get injured, especially in a fire accident like this. A slight misstep could easily lead to disfigurement.
For an actor, that could very well mean the end of their career.
"..." Liang Yuyu hesitated, unsure how to say it.
If it weren’t for the behind-the-scenes camera that happened to be running and captured everything, even Liang Yuyu wouldn’t have imagined someone could be so ruthless.
Liang Yuyu was still shaken by the close call.
In the video, when the chandelier fell, Liang Yuyu wasn’t in the center of the action, but he was the closest to Ji Qingyuan and Jiang Rui at the time. His first instinct when faced with danger was self-preservation, to distance himself from the source of danger. It was his survival instinct.
In contrast, Ji Qingyuan’s first reaction was to protect the actors around him.
Besides Ji Qingyuan, there was also Zhu Xinyue, a minor character who was originally in a safe area but charged forward without hesitation to protect Ji Qingyuan and Jiang Rui and help them evacuate.
Without comparison, there would be no sense of injury. Thankfully, neither Ji Qingyuan nor Jiang Rui were seriously hurt. Otherwise, Liang Yuyu’s instinct-driven act of fleeing to save himself would undoubtedly have been condemned.
Even though self-preservation is human nature.
"Teacher Liang, I’m already blind. Don’t I have the right to know?" Zhu Xinyue laughed self-deprecatingly.
Liang Yuyu took a deep breath and said, "It was Jiang Rui’s sasaeng fan. He got hold of a prop team work pass and deliberately installed a timing device while setting up the scene. He thought... Jiang Rui and I were involved. After turning from a fan into an anti, he wanted to ruin Jiang Rui."
After Zhu Xinyue finished filming her final scene and changed clothes, she came out and saw Jiang Rui and Liang Yuyu hugging. The system suddenly came online and told her that the accident would happen that day. At the time, Zhu Xinyue had a vague suspicion that the incident might be related to them, and sure enough, it was.
"I'm sorry." Liang Yuyu felt guilty. Although this matter had little to do with him, he was still deeply apologetic. Tracing it back to the root, it was because he hadn’t handled his relationship with Jiang Rui properly.
Zhu Xinyue leaned back against the pillow behind her but accidentally bumped her head against the wall, producing a dull thud.
Liang Yuyu quickly stood up to check her head. "Are you okay?"
He had risen so abruptly that the chair beneath him tipped over with a loud crash, startling the blind Zhu Xinyue, who nearly jumped off the bed.
Hearing the commotion, Ji Linyu outside immediately entered the room, frowning as he stared at Liang Yuyu. "What happened?"
Just as Liang Yuyu was about to explain, Zhu Xinyue, thinking Ji Linyu was speaking to her, said, "I accidentally bumped my head."
Realizing his tone with Liang Yuyu had been too harsh, Ji Linyu pursed his lips and walked over to Zhu Xinyue, taking Liang Yuyu’s place.
For some reason, as soon as Ji Linyu approached, Liang Yuyu instinctively stepped aside, positioning himself at the foot of the bed. He watched as Ji Brother Linyuntly massaged Zhu Xinyue’s head with his palm and softly asked if it hurt.
Are they... dating?
"It doesn’t hurt. I just bumped it," Zhu Xinyue said, pulling Ji Linyu’s hand away. When Liang Yuyu had touched her head earlier, she had instinctively flinched. But with Ji Linyu, though she couldn’t be sure who it was, she recognized his familiar scent and guessed it was him.
Zhu Xinyue held Ji Linyu’s fingertips, as if measuring his hand, squeezing and then releasing, confirming it was him.
"Is Teacher Liang still here?"
Ji Linyu glanced at Liang Yuyu at the foot of the bed.
"Yes, I am," Liang Yuyu replied immediately.
Hearing his voice from the foot of the bed, Zhu Xinyue confirmed his presence and said to Ji Linyu, "I still have some things I’d like to say to Teacher Liang. Could you and the others step out for a moment? If there are others in the room, that is."
Ji Linyu wouldn’t refuse her request, though he found Liang Yuyu’s presence somewhat irritating.
He left the room with Liang Yuyu’s agent.
After the door closed, it made a soft click.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Liang Yuyu picked up the chair and sat beside her again.
In the novel, Liang Yuyu’s life took a turn for the worse starting from this incident.
Zhu Xinyue didn’t want him to feel guilty. Her blindness had nothing to do with anyone else, it was the system.
She was grateful for Liang Yuyu’s guidance over the past few days. He had helped her a lot, and if she ever had the chance to act again, what he taught her would be very useful.
"Although I can’t see with my eyes now, it feels like I can see things more clearly than before," Zhu Xinyue said with a faint smile, as if she had let go of something.
"I never really knew what I wanted before. I just followed the standards set by society, defining a measure of success for myself. For example, I thought I needed to earn a lot of money so I could do the things I truly wanted to do.
"So I thought, as long as I could become rich, I’d be willing to do anything." Zhu Xinyue curled her lips into a mocking smile.
Liang Yuyu quietly watched the blind girl before him, as if meeting her for the first time.
In the entertainment industry, most people were exactly as she described.
After all, it’s a world of fame and fortune, how many enter the entertainment industry without wanting to make money?
"But after I became wealthy, I lost so much, and only then did I realize that what I truly wanted was something I already had when I was poor."
Liang Yuyu was taken aback. As he looked into her vacant eyes, a heavy weight seemed to press down on his heart.
Zhu Xinyue clasped her hands together, as if silently praying or making a wish: "I want a healthy body, or even one that’s not perfectly healthy, my original body was just fine. I want my family and friends by my side, safe and sound. It’s okay if they don’t love me too much, that way, they won’t be too sad if they lose me someday.
I want a stable job that can support me. If the pay isn’t high, I hope to have more free time for myself, so I can go home on weekends to have soup, meet up with friends to watch movies, visit comic conventions, attend concerts, and even travel during my annual leave."
This was the life she had lived before she crossed over.
But she could never go back.
"Teacher Liang, the noise from the outside world can be overwhelming and sometimes clouds your judgment." Zhu Xinyue unclasped her hands, her expression calm. "If you ever feel that those voices are affecting you, try closing your eyes, covering your ears, and asking yourself what you truly want."
Liang Yuyu was deeply moved.
He hadn’t expected a young woman he’d only known for a short time to be able to see into his heart.
No actor doesn’t want success or adoration. Fame and fortune were things he desired, but so was the joy of acting.
Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he knew times had changed. Audiences had endless choices now, and even the best wine fears being hidden in a deep alley, promotion and hype were necessary to boost visibility. With higher visibility came more script options.
But he also cherished his reputation. He didn’t want people to label him as a "hype-driven actor" or say his acting had declined in mediocre productions. Even more, he didn’t want his fans fighting battles for him, tirelessly generating data and climbing charts like fans of other celebrities, turning their affection for him into something impure.
He simply wanted to act well and let the audience see him. If they enjoyed the drama and liked his character, that would be more than enough.
Lately, while filming with Ji Qingyuan, Liang Yuyu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. It was hard for him to maintain a normal attitude toward this junior who had skyrocketed to fame within just a year or two of debut.
He had heard many voices comparing him to Ji Qingyuan.
Even though he knew he wasn't inferior to Ji Qingyuan, Ji Qingyuan was just too popular, popular enough to make anyone envious.
But now, after meeting Zhu Xinyue, Liang Yuyu understood that he simply wanted to act well and earn the audience's appreciation.
"Thank you, Xinyue." He sincerely hoped she could also attain everything she desired and that her eyes would recover quickly.
After Liang Yuyu left, it was just mealtime.
Ji Linyu helped Zhu Xinyue sit up, placed her slippers at her feet, waited for her to put them on, and once she was steady, he let her hold onto his arm as he guided her out of the room to the small lounge for dinner.
Zhu Xinyue caught the aroma of the food, and her stomach rumbled softly.
Lately, she had been eating mostly porridge because she could manage it on her own, but having a full meal was much more troublesome.
Ji Linyu held her wrist, guiding her left hand to touch the sofa first, saying, "This is the sofa. Sit here."
Then he had her right hand touch the coffee table, "This is the coffee table. It's a bit close, so be careful not to bump your knees."
When she turned around, Ji Linyu noticed the smile on Zhu Xinyue's face and thought it looked rather lovely. He asked, "What are you smiling about?"
During this period, Zhu Xinyue's daily care had mostly been handled by a nurse. But today, both Liang Yuyu and Ji Qingyuan had said they wanted to visit her, arriving on flights in the morning and evening, respectively. As public figures, with the buzz around the "Peach Blossom Spring" incident still lingering, they wanted to minimize attention. Fewer people noticing them meant fewer distractions, so they had given the nurse the day off.
Zhu Xinyue's VIP room had no one else, just Ji Linyu inside, while his bodyguards stood guard outside to keep unwanted visitors away.
This was Ji Linyu's first time caring for Zhu Xinyue in such a detailed manner. Earlier, when he had her hold his arm, it was the same method the nurse used to guide her while walking. He also considered that she wasn't familiar with the new room's layout, letting her touch the actual objects to confirm their positions.
It seemed as if he had specifically learned how to care for someone who was blind.
Zhu Xinyue smiled, her eyes crinkling, and pointed a finger at herself, mimicking Ji Linyu's tone, "This is Zhu Xinyue, Zhu Xinyue with not-so-great eyesight."
Then she pointed in the direction where Ji Linyu had spoken, saying, "This is Ji Linyu, the considerate Ji Linyu."
Ji Linyu looked at where her finger was pointing, at the empty space beside him.
Without a word, he took a step and moved to the spot she was indicating.
Her fingertip landed right over his heart.
Ji Linyu repeated her earlier phrasing, a smile in his eyes:
"This is Ji Linyu, Zhu Xinyue's exclusive caregiver, Ji Linyu."