ICTEUWMN Chapter 4

[[While Gu Bai was working as a pianist at the club, he gradually noticed a rather peculiar customer.

It seemed that every time it was his turn to play the piano, this person would show up wearing sunglasses, with brilliant blonde hair that was eye-catching.

What’s more, whenever this person appeared, his performance pay for that session would increase significantly.

This helped Gu Bai ease a considerable amount of work pressure.

However, there was perhaps another reason why this person left such an impression on Gu Bai.

Once, while performing, Gu Bai accidentally pressed the wrong key, and while no one else noticed, this person looked up, aware of the slip.

Though Gu Bai felt a bit apologetic, he was also inexplicably happy: this customer seemed to truly listen to his music each time.

Perhaps, in the words of the ancient Blue Star, this was “a soul mate”?

After numerous encounters, Gu Bai even began to look forward to Caesar’s presence.

Gu Bai even felt that the man had perhaps become an important friend and confidant.

Until one day, as New Year’s approached, after his performance ended and he stepped outside, Gu Bai suddenly saw that it was snowing heavily.

As he trudged through the snow, heading to the cheapest ground transport station to catch a bus, a car abruptly pulled up in front of him.

The car was entirely black, with sleek lines that made it clear at a glance that it was very expensive.

Gu Bai glanced around in confusion and noticed that the other people at the station were all staring at him in surprise.

“Wait, this isn’t my car…”

Gu Bai quickly tried to explain, but in the next second, a voice came from inside.

“Get in.”

Through the car window, Gu Bai saw that familiar blonde hair and his eyes widened for a moment.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Caesar.”

!

However, before Gu Bai could fully react, a contract was unceremoniously thrust in front of him by the man.

“A marriage contract…? The compensation is one million, for me?”

“What, is one million too little? Don’t you need the money?”

Seeing Gu Bai’s shock, the man adjusted his sunglasses and cast a questioning look.

It was as if he couldn’t comprehend why Gu Bai hadn’t agreed immediately.]]

Sitting in front of his light brain, the reader Kane, who moments ago was still immersed in the anticipation of the young couple who were about to meet and fall in love, but then he saw this sudden cool, handsome, domineering and amazing twist, and he almost fainted.

Wait, what on earth is this guy doing?

It’s the interstellar era, how could such an absurd contract still exist?

Fortunately, to Kane’s great relief, on the next page, the protagonist Gu Bai resolutely refused Caesar’s proposal!

[[“If you called me over just to say this, then I’m sorry, but I have no intention of agreeing.”

For the first time, a hint of undisguised disappointment showed in Gu Bai’s usually clear eyes.

It was as if he’d only just realized that this so-called soulmate was actually someone like this.

After rejecting Caesar’s absurd proposal, Gu Bai got off and took the bus home.

This left Caesar, who had rarely ever been refused in his life, standing there alone!

Watching the young man’s departing figure, Caesar removed his sunglasses, feeling an unprecedented mix of disbelief, incomprehension, grievance and frustration.

How could he refuse him!?]]

However, when he saw the protagonist’s impotent rage, Kane, as a reader, felt extremely satisfied.

‘As expected of the protagonist I admire.’

‘He would never bow to money.’

‘That yellow haired guy had to learn that money and good looks weren’t everything!’

However, just when Kane was feeling proud, the plot took yet another dramatic twist with extreme coincidence.

[[That very night, as Gu Bai, feeling downhearted and believing he’d probably lost a friend forever, received an urgent notification from the hospital.

His mother’s genetic disease had suddenly mutated, and the cost of the new medication was exactly one million!

Confronted with this news, Gu Bai stared at the payment notice in silence.]]

By this point, Kane was equally silenced by the plot’s relentless twists and turns.

After all, how could this disease appear at such a “perfect” moment?

Was the plot doomed to stall without this illness?

Could it be the author did this on purpose!? [Shaking author.gif]

In fact, if you asked the author, Yu Mian, the answer would be…

Ahem, that’s the idea behind this “tragic sunny” protagonist in the chasing wife to the crematorium trope. In fact, even if his mother didn’t fall ill, his mother would still have eventually faced some accident or he’d be faced with a debt repayment on behalf of his father.

After all, the essence of a push-and-pull “marriage-before-love” tragedy often lies in the protagonist’s fierce subjective resistance, met with one objective coincidence after another.

The plot ultimately brings the two characters into an intense, unbreakable game of cat and mouse, keeping readers thrilled and urging them to turn each page with excitement! = =+

So, if his mother hadn’t gotten this illness, how would the plot have progressed?

Thus, Gu Bai was eventually forced to find Caesar again and chose to sign the contract.

After this flashback ended, the scene officially shifted to the wedding hall.

Now, looking back to the start of this story, it truly was a “contract marriage” in every sense.

They would play the role of each other’s spouse, with an end date.

[[Gu Bai silently reminded himself of all this, then looked up at the handsome blonde man in front of him who was also dressed in formal attire.

Caesar sneered coldly, while Gu Bai lowered his beautiful eyes, gripping the hem of his clothes.

The atmosphere seemed to be a complete reversal from that scene in the car days earlier, where he had refused the marriage contract.]]

Watching this scene, Kane subconsciously clutched his chest and took a deep breath. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was on the verge of a myocardial infarction from reading a novel.

At this moment, there was only one glaring red thought left in Kane’s mind—

Divorce!

These two must explain things properly and then get a divorce!

How could there be such an outrageous, ridiculous misunderstanding?

So Kane started flipping pages wildly, but his handsome face soon became confused and shocked as the plot raced along.

It turned out that from Caesar’s perspective, the entire story was, in fact, completely different!

[[In truth, Caesar’s proposal for a contract marriage wasn’t a whim.

The man had been suffering from mental disorder for a long time and had discovered that listening to Gu Bai’s piano playing brought him a rare sense of calm!

And Gu Bai’s temperament was rare, and Caesar—who normally hated companionship—did not dislike him.

Occasionally, when their eyes met and Gu Bai shyly looked away, Caesar couldn’t help but smile to himself.

What’s more, noticing that this little pianist seemed to need money, Caesar would discreetly pay the club a hefty tip each time, and have the supervisor pay it along with Gu Bai’s pay.

Every time he saw Gu Bai happily accepting his wages backstage, Caesar felt an inexplicable satisfaction.

He even unconsciously collected every sheet music Gu Bai had ever performed, kept all the recordings in his home, and had gradually memorized each one.

But having never been in love before, Caesar didn’t know how to explain these unnecessary acts to himself.

So, with New Year’s around the corner and faced with his family’s relentless matchmaking and urges to get married, the only person he could think of was this little pianist, Gu Bai.

Lacking any experience in romance, Caesar’s final solution was this absurd marriage contract.

Unexpectedly, he seemed to have ruined everything.

Caesar, who had suffered the first setback in his life, was confused and frustrated and couldn’t sleep all night.

But to his astonishment, the very next day, Gu Bai, who had firmly rejected him the day before, came to his office and agreed to the arrangement after all!

At that moment, the moody Caesar thought that the person he was interested in was actually someone vain and calculating, playing hard-to-get!

Not only did his vague good impression vanish in an instant, but it even plummeted to rock bottom.]]

Kane, who was reading this from his light brain, suddenly cracked.

‘No, hold on…’

‘This bastard really doesn’t realize he’s in love?’

‘Why not just confess already and explain all those little things you did for him? Is it really that hard?!’

‘How did things turn out like this!?’

Just as Kane was on the brink of an existential crisis, and anxiously clicked to the next page in hopes of seeing the misunderstanding cleared up…

[Dear reader, you’ve reached the latest chapter! Please be patient for the next update.]

Kane: …?

Damn it!!!

Kane was devastated to find that no matter what he tried, he couldn’t open a new chapter!

Because he’d actually read through all of it!

The entire tens of thousands of words—he’d finished all of it?

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, night had fallen, and the brilliantly lit skyline of the interstellar city’s CBD was particularly charming.

How long had he been reading…?

Kane was dazed for a moment, he felt as though he’d encountered a thief of time.

And as this book’s popularity continued to soar, the same scene repeated itself across countless light brains tonight.