Writing You a Poem

Some things could fool others, but never yourself.

"Admit it, Zhao Xin. You were never some pathetic simp. A simp could never become student council president at Imperial Capital University."

"Shut up."

"I was never your second personality. I was you all along. Why did you make yourself look so pathetic in front of Lan Meng? Because you're afraid that if you showed her your true self, she might actually fall for you."

"I said shut up!"

"Face reality. Only someone as outstanding as Wu Wei is worthy of you."

"Get out!"

Zhao Xin panted heavily, his face flushed as he teetered on the verge of collapse.

It was happening again.

That person had come out again.

He stubbornly insisted that the soul wasn't him, that it was his second personality, perhaps even a demon.

But "he" always told him it was just him.

As time went by, even he started to believe it.

Zhao Xin was close to going mad.

And when he finally did, he would unleash every beast inside him.

For now, he straightened his appearance.

He was going to pursue Lan Meng.

Even thinking about her made him feel sick now.

That person was right. Lan Meng was beautiful, but she had never been his type.

But it didn't matter. Lan Meng liked Wu Wei, after all.

Whatever Wu Wei liked, Zhao Xin would oppose—and take for himself.

"But Wu Wei doesn't like her."

"Get lost."

Zhao Xin didn't need his second personality to remind him of that.

Sometimes, people simply deluded themselves.

And he had no idea that everything he was doing now had gone exactly as Zhao Liang expected.

Even his second personality was the result of Zhao Liang's influence over him, starting when he was a child.

"What fun is there in making two children fight each other? In the end, Little Fish and Hua Wuque became close brothers anyway."

"I'm not a fool like Yao Yue. The best revenge against Wu Tian and Lin Shen is to utterly destroy their son. Even if it means sacrificing my own."

Zhao Liang's heart was as hard as iron. His resolve was now unshakable.

He had made far too many preparations for this day.

He had even taught himself hypnosis.

Zhao Xin's second personality was something Zhao Liang had hypnotized into existence.

"Just wait. Once the flowers bloom, they'll bear fruit in the end. Hahahahaha!"

In the pitch-black night, his laughter sounded terrifying.

But no one could hear it.

Wu Wei certainly couldn't.

Back in the bedroom he knew so well, Wu Wei thought for a moment, then opened his phone and messaged Lan Meng:

Are you there?

Lan Meng replied almost immediately: Miss me?

Wu Wei: You're imagining things. I wanted to ask you about Zhao Xin.

Lan Meng didn't reply. She sent him a video call instead.

Wu Wei answered and saw that Lan Meng was dressed in a very revealing outfit, seemingly letting a glimpse of her cleavage show.

Very impressive.

Wu Wei estimated she was about a 34C.

"Do you like what you see?" Lan Meng asked, giving him a coquettish wink.

Wu Wei answered honestly. "You're beautiful."

"Excited?"

Wu Wei checked, then replied truthfully, "Not yet."

"Are you impotent?"

"Maybe you're just not attractive enough...?"

Wu Wei nearly failed to finish his sentence.

He saw Lan Meng lean forward slightly.

At that moment, he really did get excited.

The facts proved that he was still a perfectly healthy, normal man.

Lan Meng smiled, then swept her hair back and stopped teasing him.

"What made you ask about Zhao Xin?"

"Something happened in my family, and he got caught up in it. I wanted to hear what you think of him," Wu Wei answered honestly.

He hadn't interacted much with Zhao Xin. The few times they'd met, Zhao Xin had struck him as incredibly lame.

But reason told him that Imperial Capital University was one of the top institutions for young people in the Qin Kingdom, if not the entire world. Ninety-five percent of its students were elite.

To stand out among them and become student council president, Zhao Xin couldn't be as lame as Wu Wei had imagined. He had to be exceptionally intelligent and socially adept.

Lan Meng carefully sifted through everything she knew about Zhao Xin, then shared her opinion. "The Zhao Xin everyone else knows is practically perfect."

"Perfect?"

"That's right. He comes from a poor background but is neither servile nor arrogant. He knows how to advance and retreat, is well-read, knows how to interact with people, and gets a scholarship every year. Apart from his looks, it's hard to find any fault with him," Lan Meng said objectively.

Wu Wei raised an eyebrow and continued, "What's your own take?"

"Honestly? He's so lame. He fawns over me without any self-respect or subtlety. A lot of the time, I feel like there's something wrong with his head."

"That's quite a contrast."

"I find it hard to believe too, but that's really how it is." Lan Meng spread her hands.

After thinking for a moment, she added, "Wu Wei, I have a hunch. Want to hear it?"

"What hunch?"

"Zhao Xin doesn't like me."

"He doesn't like you?"

Wu Wei thought of the times he'd seen Zhao Xin with Lan Meng and found it hard to believe.

If he didn't like her, why was he such a simp?

"It's a woman's intuition. Personally, I think the Zhao Xin other people know is closer to the real Zhao Xin. Even if he's never pursued a woman before, he's read plenty of books. There's no way he'd act this lame. I think he's doing it on purpose."

"On purpose?" Wu Wei furrowed his brow.

No matter how smart he was, he couldn't work out the whole story with so little to go on.

But Lan Meng seemed serious, and Wu Wei didn't think she was lying to him.

After a moment, he asked her, "As far as you remember, what happened to Zhao Xin later on?"

Lan Meng looked puzzled. "I can't remember. In my later memories, he's not there at all."

Wu Wei thought it over.

It seemed that investigating Zhao Xin wasn't reliable.

Then he would look into Zhao Liang instead.

Unless he was someone as powerful as his mother, Wu Wei could usually find out what he needed to know about anyone.

Wu Wei was about to end the video call when Lan Meng stopped him.

"You got what you wanted and now you're running off? Wu Wei, you really are a scumbag," Lan Meng said scornfully.

Wu Wei: "..."

"Wu Wei, are you sure there's nothing wrong with you? A gorgeous fairy like me is right here, and you're not interested. You'd rather take care of things yourself."

Wu Wei noticed the tissue beside his computer and blushed.

"This is a misunderstanding."

"I believe you, Wu Wei. I wrote you a poem. I'll send it right over. It represents what I feel for you, so you have to read it."

With that, Lan Meng ended the call.

A second later, Wu Wei received a poem:

Alone in my room, my hand's my wife; I'd never tell a soul of this.

My laptop shows a Japanese girl; a neat roll of tissues sits beside it.

Up and down, I'm in the zone; fast then slow, my gaze grows hazy.

Drop by drop, it lands on the floor; my children turn to mud.

Afterward, I realize it's pointless; I resolve to never take my hand as wife again.

Yet another late night comes; I lay the tissues out once more.

Yesterday's resolve is long forgotten; a shut-in's wasteful habits harm his health.

I'm not even married, yet my kidneys are weak. Tell me, isn't that a shame?