Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian died in front of Lan Wangji, who, unable to bear so much pain in his heart and without a trace of regret for all the harm he had caused, decided to end his own life as well. After all, destined Alpha and Omega could not remain apart... The End.
No
No
No!
Xue Cheng stared at his phone, trying to scroll down the web pages with his thumb, but it was impossible—this was simply the end.
The anger on his face was obvious. He had waited so long for each update and even paid to have the whole novel; he never expected to find such a tragic ending.
It was simply absurd!
How do they expect readers to be happy with this kind of story? Why make the villain suffer and give him this ending?
Xue Cheng put away his phone and decided to go home. He was leaving a university class and knew his brother and his nephew Xichen were waiting for him for lunch.
And apparently, he wouldn’t even make it to dinner, because while he was lost in these thoughts, he didn’t notice a car coming from the other side and ended up in an accident.
The last thing he saw was people crowding around, trying to help him, but all efforts were in vain.
That was the last thing he thought before closing his eyes forever.
Or not?
"Qiren"
"Qiren... Wake up"
"Prince, please"
"Uncle..."
Young Xue was somewhat disoriented—what were those sounds and who was calling him?
He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the strange room he was in. Why not a hospital? This is absurd!
"Uncle, you’re awake!" exclaimed a small voice. When he turned to look, it was a boy who looked exactly like his nephew Xichen.
It seemed like a bad joke.
Xue Cheng blinked several times, trying to process what he was seeing. The room was small, with wooden walls and a window where the morning sunlight streamed in. Everything looked like it was from an ancient era, very different from the modern city where he had lived before.
The boy, who looked at him with bright, hopeful eyes, quickly approached and took his hand.
"Uncle, are you okay? I thought you wouldn’t wake up."
Xue Cheng frowned, confused. Why was he calling him "uncle"? And why did this child look so much like his nephew Xichen—or was his brother playing a prank on him?
Suddenly, a flood of memories from the novel began to invade his mind: Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, the tragedies, the pain, the abrupt ending that had made him so angry...
He jumped up and ran to find a mirror, and what he saw left him stunned.
It was the same face he always saw in the mornings when he got up to wash his face, his usual reflection. But the only difference was his long hair.
He looked again at the boy, who couldn’t have been more than five years old and looked a lot like his nephew. But this one was also wearing white robes and had a headband with cloud symbols.
Ah, great, he thought sarcastically, is this Gusu Lan?
"Where am I?" he asked in a hoarse voice, trying to process everything.
"You’re in the Lan family residence, uncle. They found you unconscious in the forest and brought you here. Everyone is worried about you," replied Lan Xichen.
"And you? What’s your name?..."
"Uncle, are you joking? I’m your nephew, Lan Xichen," the little boy replied enthusiastically, giving him a bright smile.
Xue Cheng felt a lump in his throat. Was it possible? That boy said his name was Xichen? He remembered that Xichen was the cousin of the villain in the novel he read, and not only that, he also said Lan?
Had he died in his world and been reborn inside the novel he hated so much for its ending?
"This... this can’t be real," he murmured.
But the reality was undeniable. His body hurt, his clothes were different, and the reflection in the mirror couldn’t be fake.
"Uncle, are you okay?" the boy insisted, worried.
Now that he realized it, if the little one was his nephew...
How was it that, out of all the characters, he ended up in Lan Qiren’s body?
This is absurd, inconceivable, terrible, and disastrous!
As if things weren’t bad enough, it seemed he was in the body of the villain’s mother, and not only that, but his death was near.
After all, the character of Lan Qiren had taken out all his anger and frustration on Lan Wangji; while the child only sought a little affection from his mother, all he received were looks of contempt and disgust.
A big reason why Lan Wangji also became the villain!
Xue Cheng, now Lan Qiren, took a deep breath and decided that if he was trapped in this world, he wasn’t going to accept the tragic fate the novel had given his favorite characters, and especially himself.
He had the chance to change the story, to prevent Wei Wuxian from dying and Lan Wangji from suffering so much.
He had the chance to change the story, to prevent Wei Wuxian from dying and Lan Wangji from suffering so much... "Your Majesty, your brother has regained consciousness," a servant approached Emperor Lan, who was finishing his paperwork for the day.
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"Su Majestad, su hermano ha recuperado la conciencia", un sirviente se acercó al Emperador Lan, que estaba terminando su papeleo del día.
The great emperor Qing Heng-Jun stopped reviewing the documents upon hearing that his brother was awake.
"Poor thing," thought the Alpha, his younger brother had loved an Alpha who, in the end, betrayed him mercilessly.
He found him unconscious in the forest, and it broke his heart to see him like that. He would go see him, as he didn’t want his brother to keep suffering.
"Any other news?" Qing Heng-Jun thought he would receive a report about his brother causing some commotion over his heartbreak. But they told him nothing of the sort.
On the contrary, they said that Prince Lan Qiren was calm and that the young crown prince had been with him since he woke up.
Which seemed a bit strange to the emperor.
"I’ll go see my brother. Prepare everything necessary for tea in the garden and some sweets."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Qing Heng-Jun felt that something strange was happening to his brother. Had being unconscious affected him?
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician wishes to speak with you about the prince."
The emperor stopped wondering why his brother wasn’t causing a commotion and agreed to see the doctor.
He didn’t expect to get angry at what he would hear.
He’d better go talk to his brother to have him explain everything.
He’d better go talk to his brother to have him explain everything.
××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
"Uncle, uncle, uncle!" sang a cheerful Lan Xichen as he sat next to his uncle, who smiled at him.
Lan Qiren gave a smile to the young crown prince and kept listening to whatever the little three-year-old had to say. He had recently checked the boy’s age to get a sense of the novel’s timeline.
At this point, he was supposed to already be pregnant with Lan Wangji.
Lan Qiren looked at his still-flat belly and placed a hand on it.
If his assumptions were correct, he should be about a month and a half pregnant.
Everything that could go wrong was getting worse. He had thought up a plan, thinking he could still get away from everyone and live peacefully without having a child involved.
It seems he’ll have to come up with something else to survive everything that’s coming.
And the main thing is to have little Lan and not treat him badly; after all, the original Lan Qiren did just that. But with him, it would be different.
He could love his child, right?
A servant approached Qiren and told him that his brother, the emperor, was waiting for him in the garden for tea. He accepted and set off immediately, but not before telling little Xichen that he’d be back soon so the child wouldn’t follow him.
As he walked, he couldn’t help but look around; everything was surprising and majestic. The structure of each room and the design were charming, and not only that, but the period clothing was also beautiful.
Suddenly, the majestic figure of Qing Heng-Jun appeared at the edge of the path, accompanied by a servant carrying a tray with a teapot and sweets.
"Brother," Qing Heng-Jun greeted with a firm but worried voice. "I’m glad to see you awake."
Lan Qiren gave an awkward bow and a tired smile. Seeing the Alpha’s features in front of him, he couldn’t help but notice the similarity to his brother from his previous life.
"Thank you for coming, brother. Your presence is a relief at this time."
It was no surprise to anyone that Lan Qiren didn’t respect protocol and called the emperor "brother"; after all, Qing Heng-Jun always allowed and indulged his younger brother.
Qing Heng-Jun set the tray on a small nearby table and poured tea with precise movements.
"I’ve heard you’ve been calm, which is strange coming from you," he commented, raising an eyebrow. "What’s changed?"
> he thought. He had to say something to avoid future conflicts, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Brother, would you believe me if I told you that I don’t remember much?"
Qing Heng-Jun almost spat out the tea he was drinking, his eyes widening in surprise. Qiren just kept his gaze down, avoiding his brother’s eyes—after all, he wasn’t really lying, was he?
He wasn’t the real Qiren.
"Call the royal physician," the emperor shouted, and in an instant, all the servants rushed to obey the order.
<<This is going to be complicated,>> thought Lan Qiren, still trying to make sense of everything.