Female lead’s Delusion of Starting Over

Chapter 110: Lu Li: What a Waste of Time

As Zhang Ziqin struggled, a rustling conversation could be heard outside the door. Zhang Ziqin’s face paled; she knew her captors were coming. The thought of being touched by those people filled her with an unspeakable sense of disgust.

“No matter what, they can’t be allowed to succeed. Everything I am belongs to Lu Li.”

Escape was no longer possible. Zhang Ziqin pondered how she could free herself.

Suddenly, the dark door swung open, letting in moonlight. Through the light, Zhang Ziqin saw a familiar silhouette, one etched in her heart. Before she could call out, the dim room was flooded with bright light.

Accustomed to the darkness, Zhang Ziqin couldn’t immediately adjust to the harsh brightness and instinctively shut her eyes.

But her heart leapt with joy. She knew who that silhouette was – only he could be there for her. Lu Li had come to save her. The unspeakable happiness made her try to open her eyes, cursing herself for being dazzled by mere light.

Finally, she opened her eyes and saw the figure she had longed for.

One moment, she contemplated ending her life for him; the next, he appeared like a deity, making her want to cry.

“Lu Li…” She called out with a hoarse voice.

“It seems you have something to say. Go ahead!” Pulling over a dust-covered chair, Lu Li was willing to give a dying person a chance to speak, even if she couldn’t change anything.

Dying was inevitable. Lu Li didn’t recommend wasting time.

Facing the man she had once lost, then lost again, the man she loved most, Zhang Ziqin knew this might be her last chance.

His arrival meant he still cared, but it didn’t mean he still loved her.

Hesitating for a moment, with tender eyes fixed on Lu Li, Zhang Ziqin began to reveal her biggest secret: “I once had a very strange dream.”

She seemed lost in memories, gazing at the man before her: “In that dream, nothing between us had changed. But at that banquet you didn’t attend, I did… something unforgivable, humiliating you in front of everyone. From that moment, our relationship changed!”

Lu Li frowned, a complicated feeling rising inside him, but he didn’t interrupt Zhang Ziqin, listening intently.

“In the dream, I collaborated with Ye Chen, making you angry. But dream-me thought it was a normal transaction, assuming you would understand and forgive me, oblivious to the growing distance between us.”

At this moment, Zhang Ziqin felt as if she was reliving her past life’s agony.

Tears blurred her vision – tears of regret and despair.

“So much happened, and dream-me remained so presumptuous, completely destroying any chance between us…” She trembled violently; this life was not the first time she had been abandoned by Lu Li.

In her previous life, Lu Li had already despaired of her, while she naively believed he would never leave her. How pitiful and tragic.

Was it a past life or just a story?

Lu Li continued listening to Zhang Ziqin’s tale, surprised that wasting a bit of time could net such a big fish.

He couldn’t guess what Zhang Ziqin was thinking. Was this a deathbed lament? Acceptable.

“Ye Chen killed me?” Lu Li asked, noting a discrepancy with the story.

“Yes, that bastard. Be careful of him, please.”

“And then?” His curiosity piqued.

He thought he was killed by You Meng, according to the story.

In the story, he was supposed to be taken out by You Meng, not Ye Chen. At his death, he believed he was backstabbed, always assuming his killer was You Meng as per the storyline. But hearing something different from Zhang Ziqin was unexpected.

Seeing Lu Li’s indifferent face, Zhang Ziqin felt a wave of bitterness, continuing her story: “After… you died, I investigated and found that Ye Chen had killed you. I spared no effort in seeking revenge for you. Many joined me – me, Cao Yingying, You Meng, and many others. After we killed Ye Chen, I wanted to see you but didn’t dare. From beginning to end, I was the one who wronged you. I didn’t know what to say or how to face you.”

Unable to leave as cleanly as You Meng, Zhang Ziqin didn’t know how to present herself to Lu Li. In her previous life, even at her wits’ end, a small handgun lay under her desk, ready to end her life at any moment. Without Lu Li, nothing mattered.

But every time she raised the gun, she couldn’t pull the trigger. Zhang Ziqin wasn’t afraid of death; she just didn’t know how to face Lu Li.

Tears streamed down her face, making the already beautiful Zhang Ziqin, with her pearlescent tears, irresistibly endearing. The once cold and proud woman was now showing such vulnerability.

A sardonic satisfaction flashed through Lu Li’s heart.

He was sure; the Zhang Ziqin before him was a reborn individual. He could tell, even though she hadn’t outright said it.

Having observed the world in his past life, Lu Li had learned quite a bit.

Excellent. This made his revenge all the more perfect.

As for Zhang Ziqin’s claims of loving him and seeking revenge on his behalf, did that conflict with her direct role in his death?

No.

Lu Li was already dead then. He refused to acknowledge such a disgusting ‘favor’.

“So, because of this… dream, you changed? Witnessing my death made you regretful?” Lu Li stood up, whispered in Zhang Ziqin’s ear, his breath causing her to shudder.

“You’ve made me even more disgusted! Look at yourself. When you had everything, you didn’t cherish it. Now that you’ve lost it… heh, what’s it to you?”

Was being tsundere really that cute?

With a cold laugh, he looked at the woman before him, whom he had once loved at all costs. What did he get in return? Humiliation… No, love on one side, humiliation on the other.

Beautiful! Truly splendid.

“…”

Pain flickered in Zhang Ziqin’s eyes as she bit her lip and lowered her head. She accepted everything as her just deserts.

“Once, I thought destroying your beloved business would cause you unbearable pain. I was wrong. It turns out I am now the most important thing in your heart!”

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted all that time.”