ABSML Chapter 25: Continuing the Conclusion

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..........

It was just a case of hives, yet when I reached the foot of the mountain, a helicopter was already waiting there.

..........

Chen Zhan had just finished typing that line when he received a message from Lin Chiang:

"I hope you can shape characters in a more positive light without distorting the facts."

Due to an allergy-induced news incident, the topic had trended for an entire month. Even through a text message, Chen Zhan could imagine how much the other person wanted to banish him to another planet.

Since the trending topic had significantly boosted sales of protective charms, and he believed in repaying favors, Chen Zhan deleted the line he had just written and replied:

"What are your specific requirements?"

His phone vibrated almost instantly—Lin Chiang must have been typing furiously.

"A positive image, no shocking plot twists at the end, NO shocking plot twists at the end!"

As if worried he wouldn’t understand, Lin Chiang even added pinyin annotations.

"Okay," Chen Zhan replied.

Setting his phone aside, he saw that time was getting late and quickly revised his draft— 

       ..........

 

Mist enveloped the towering buildings.

The rain fell like needles, stinging slightly upon impact.

A bodyguard held a black umbrella over him. The man beneath it stood as straight as a bamboo stalk, his gaze deep and unreadable.

A few days ago, I had seen him buying a diamond ring with my own eyes. I knew exactly what that meant.

Now, I desperately needed to buy some time.

I decided to steal the ring and sabotage his proposal.

After learning that the hotel would be privately booked the day after tomorrow, I risked my life climbing through a fourth-floor window and sneaked into his room.

That man was expected to return from dinner around nine o’clock. It was already 8:30—time was running out.

I searched everywhere but found nothing. Then I recalled that he had worn a suit today, and it was neatly pressed. That meant he wasn’t carrying anything bulky. Since the proposal was set to take place at the hotel, the most logical place for the ring was still this room.

I steadied myself and prepared to search again, but just then, I heard footsteps at the door.

My heart clenched. I quickly hid under the bed.

With a soft beep, the door unlocked.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

Crap.

Given how cautious he was, he must have sensed something was off.

I had to strike first.

Before he could call for his bodyguards, I lunged out, prepared to fight to the death.

Mimicking TV fight scenes, I grabbed his arm and tried to throw him down.

But fate had never been on my side against him. Within minutes, the tables had turned.

My wrist was nearly dislocated. I clenched my teeth, staring him down. At that moment, our eyes met…

      ...........

After hitting save, Chen Zhan glanced at the time in the bottom corner of the screen. "Not too late, luckily." He grabbed his jacket and turned to Yin Ronglan. "Let's go."

While Chen Zhan was writing, Yin Ronglan had been watching quietly from the side. Now, seeing him ready to leave, he asked, "Weren't you going to finish writing first?"

Chen Zhan nodded. "I already did."

That was exactly where he intended to stop.

Yin Ronglan was silent for a moment before saying, "Ending on a cliffhanger like that will get you complaints."

Chen Zhan shrugged. "Probably not."

Saying that, he reopened his computer, reviewed the draft once more, and clicked publish.

After officially wrapping up work, he smiled. "Most people are taking a nap at this time, so not many will be reading."

Yin Ronglan gave him a deep look before standing up and walking out alongside him.

The restaurant was spacious, but its elegance didn’t feel cold. The cream-colored tablecloths and the small vases of flowers on each table made the atmosphere warm and inviting.

Yin Ronglan had chosen a place with great taste. Chen Zhan glanced around and gave an honest assessment. "Nice place."

As the waiter handed over the menu, Yin Ronglan opened it and slid it across the table. "What do you want to eat?"

Sweeping a glance over the menu, he noticed the prices were significantly higher than those of a regular restaurant.

In the end, Chen Zhan chose pasta.

Yin Ronglan noticed that his gaze lingered on the lobster for an extra second and proactively asked, “Do you want to order some shrimp?”

Chen Zhan shook his head. “Let’s switch dishes. You don’t eat shrimp, do you?”

Yin Ronglan was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t expected Chen Zhan to remember his offhand remark on set.

Seeing that Yin Ronglan remained silent for a while, Chen Zhan made a decision and ordered a plate of green beans instead.

The high prices were justified—the food took a little longer to arrive, but it was beautifully presented and rich in aroma and flavor.

Yin Ronglan originally wanted to order a bottle of red wine, but the cheapest one cost over a thousand yuan. To avoid arousing Chen Zhan’s suspicion, he abandoned the idea.

Sunlight cast over half of his body. Chen Zhan slightly shifted to the side and, after swallowing a bite of food, slowly spoke: “I originally planned to bring up the topic of a will.” He looked up at the person across from him. “But then I changed my mind.”

Given the previous misunderstanding, saying more would only lead to more mistakes.

Yin Ronglan shook his head. “I don’t blame you for overthinking.”

The timing of his appearances had been rather coincidental. When the elderly man fell ill, he happened to be abroad on a business trip, and after returning, he reached out more frequently than usual. It was natural for others to become suspicious.

The two exchanged a smile, both relieved that they had not let a rift form between them.

Just as they were enjoying their conversation, a phone call came in.

Seeing that it was Lin Chiang calling, Chen Zhan hesitated for a moment before answering. “What’s up?”

There was a pause of several seconds before Lin Chiang spoke coldly: “I really underestimated you.”

Chen Zhan assumed it was about the article and took a calm sip of water. “I stuck to the agreement—there was no ending.”

Lin Chiang’s voice was icy, clear as falling jade: “Do you even know what people online are saying?”

“I haven’t looked.” Chen Zhan replied calmly. “But I’d guess that about 80% of them are complaining that the author’s cliffhanger is too cruel.” He paused for a moment. “As one of the only two people who know how the story ends, you should feel privileged.”

On the other end of the call, Lin Chiang stared at himself trending on social media. Though initially frustrated, his gaze gradually changed.

Seeing the overwhelming number of readers desperately begging for updates—even the former haters who once cursed the author were now humbly pleading—he realized he was, in a way, at the top of the food chain.

Forgetting the late nights he had once spent secretly tipping the author for extra chapters, he logged into his account and replied under a comment attempting to bribe the author with gifts:

     [Hah, naive.]

After hitting send, he felt incredibly satisfied, as if the clouds had parted and the sky was clear.

He was practically the king of life.

After hanging up, Chen Zhan noticed Yin Ronglan giving him a complicated look. Thinking there was tomato sauce on his face, he casually wiped it with his hand.

When the gaze didn’t shift away, Chen Zhan couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you staring at me?”

Yin Ronglan resumed eating and casually mentioned, “I’ve been helping train a dog lately.”

Chen Zhan nodded to show he understood.

Yin Ronglan continued, “Your approach just now was almost identical to my training methods.”

Relaxed yet calculated, giving rewards at just the right time.

Chen Zhan sprinkled some black pepper on his pasta and replied without changing his expression, “Don’t talk nonsense. Just focus on eating.”

“…”

To maintain politeness, Chen Zhan refrained from checking his phone during the meal. After parting ways with Yin Ronglan, he upheld his frugal habits by taking the bus and only then began browsing Weibo.

The hashtag #ConfessionRecordCliffhanger had dropped to around 40th place, as expected, and was mostly filled with people urging for updates.

The most common sentiment? Begging the author to “be human.”

The bus swayed gently as it moved along. Chen Zhan leaned his head against the window and gradually dozed off, waking up just as he arrived at his stop.

Every time he had a full meal, an inexplicable drowsiness would wash over him. Just as another wave of sleep threatened to take over, he took a quick shower and regained some energy.

Lounging on his newly purchased sofa, he scrolled through Weibo in a relaxed manner. But as he reached the 10th trending topic, his expression momentarily froze.

#ContinueTheEndingInOneSentence

Clicking into it, he saw a post from a popular blogger:

Excerpt from Confession: I gritted my teeth and stared at him fiercely. The moment our eyes met…

The comments were a chaotic mix of interpretations, like a parade of bizarre creatures:

【King of Street Dogs: Love at first sight.】

【tgi: I think I love you.】

【Maria’s Hair: I just want to sing… ‘If only you could follow your heart and be brave for love just once… If only we had each other!’】

【World’s Detective: Thanks to the comment above, I now hate that song. It’s cursed!】

【tgi: @World’s Detective They have true love, what’s it to you?】

The comment section quickly derailed into debates about homophobia, closeted individuals, and more.

When Chen Zhan first started writing, he had deliberately injected humor to avoid excessive public backlash. He had assumed some of his ideas were already absurd enough, but it seemed the internet had taken things to another level.

Somehow, people were shipping him and Lin Chiang.

Was this the legendary "will eat any CP" phenomenon?

Daytime absurdities required double the nighttime effort to make up for.

As the year-end approached, work became increasingly hectic. To have lunch with Chen Zhan, Yin Ronglan had postponed quite a bit of work.

His subordinates' bonuses kept increasing, but their work schedules had practically turned into a nocturnal existence.

Tonight was no exception.

While organizing files, one subordinate carefully glanced at his boss’s fingers… They were as fair as jade, delicate and flawless.

The small wounds from before had disappeared. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, but recalling their conversation from a few days ago still made him shudder.

“Sir, your hands have so many tiny blood marks!”

“Needle pricks. It’s nothing.”

“How did you get pricked?”

“Sewing.”

“…”

The memory was cut short. The subordinate felt a nerve in his brain being pulled tight.

His formidable boss, feared in the business world, had actually been reduced to doing needlework.

Haphazardly submitting the sorted materials, Yin Ronglan seemed to notice his absent-mindedness and said, “Take a ten-minute break before we continue.”

The gentle voice felt as if it could wash away all exhaustion.

The subordinate's lips twitched—so many people had been deceived by this facade of gentleness.

While the subordinate was lost in thought, Yin Ronglan picked up his phone.

He never had the habit of browsing Weibo before, but ever since meeting Chen Zhan, he had started paying attention to it. As expected, Chen Zhan was once again trending.

The topic of Chen Zhan and Lin Chiang had been heavily discussed due to a humorous incident, but the faint smile in Yin Ronglan's eyes disappeared entirely when he saw a particular comment:

【Dark River Disciple: "No fight, no friendship. Who knows, they might become good brothers one day."】

The phone was tossed aside with a loud thud… Startled, the subordinate flinched.

Yin Ronglan seemed oblivious, narrowing his eyes slightly. There was no way he would allow a friendship between the three of them to develop.

_____

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