For example, at the beginning of the Original Plot, when the original host was brought back to the Su family, he was deeply grateful to Lu Manzhen and Su Shiyuan. He thought Lu Manzhen had finally come back for him, and she'd done so at his father's funeral. Having lost his family and feeling he had no one to rely on, the original host was deeply moved.
But as soon as he returned to the Su family, he immediately discovered that Lu Manzhen and Su Shiyuan had brought him back so he could donate bone marrow to Su Zhuo.
The Original Plot said the original host had discovered it by accident. But he was a helpless newcomer to the Su family, a burden with no one to rely on. How could he have stumbled upon something so crucial when everyone else had kept their mouths shut? The Original Plot never explained.
Instead, it went into great detail about how, after learning the truth, the original host was so shocked that he lost control of his emotions, had a huge fight with his biological mother, smashed Lu Manzhen and Su Shiyuan's wedding photo and the family portrait of Su Zhuo with his biological parents, then ran away from home after Lu Manzhen slapped him.
As for how he wandered outside for seven days and nights after leaving the Su family, only for Su Shiyuan to find him and bring him back, whereupon he agreed to donate bone marrow, the story glossed over all of it.
By contrast, it dwelled on how Su Zhuo's condition worsened after learning about this plot, how painfully upset he was, and how dissatisfied his family and friends were with the original host after seeing Su Zhuo suffer so much.
It also highlighted Su Zhuo's kindness after he woke up: the first thing he did was reassure everyone that he was fine and tell them not to blame the original host, since he was hurting too.
It was as if Su Zhuo were a perfect foil, there to show just how kind and magnanimous he was—and how jealous and twisted the original host was.
A lot of what followed unfolded in much the same way. No matter how hard the original host studied and worked, no matter how hard he tried to please those around him, he could never earn their approval. As long as Su Zhuo was there, he was the only one anyone thought of first. And the story's ultimate trajectory would always end with Su Zhuo reaping the rewards—even if he did nothing. The original host had no way to beat him, because no one would ever choose him. This relentless cycle drove the original host to become more and more extreme.
Meanwhile, Su Zhuo and the Su family indulged and tolerated the original host without limit, out of gratitude for him saving Su Zhuo's life. In the eyes of Su Zhuo's admirers, that indulgence became proof that the original host was insatiable. They hated him even more.
And as the story's characters and similar events pushed him forward, step by step, the original host eventually turned completely evil. He wanted to seize everything Su Zhuo had by any means necessary and take his place once and for all.
Naturally, his schemes were exposed in the end. The characters representing justice relentlessly took revenge on him, and he died a miserable death.
Since Su Zhuo was the male lead of the book, the entire story unfolded from his perspective. So when Huo Jiu first watched the plot play out, he hadn't noticed anything wrong.
It wasn't until he'd personally experienced countless Reloads that Huo Jiu realized the characters in the Original Plot seemed to harbor far too much malice toward the original host.
Their very existence, along with the way the plot unfolded, seemed designed to keep provoking the original host until he lost his reason and struck back.
But why would the Original Plot do that? Could this relentless pressure affect Huo Jiu's thinking and the way he acted?
Huo Jiu couldn't figure out the first question yet, but the second made him tense up and grow wary.
He did feel more irritable lately. But he'd assumed it was because of Fifth Mausoleum's influence. What if his state of mind had nothing to do with Fifth Mausoleum, and he'd actually been subtly manipulated by the plot...
Huo Jiu furrowed his brow, then glanced at Su Shiyuan without drawing attention to it. "Which temple or Taoist temple in the city is said to be the most effective?"
"???"
Su Shiyuan stared at Huo Jiu in bewilderment, completely unable to follow his train of thought.
Huo Jiu rubbed his chin and mused, "I heard copying Buddhist scriptures can calm you down. Is that true?"
Su Shiyuan knitted his brows. He thought Huo Jiu was mocking the Su family for its false piety and hypocritical compassion, and his expression darkened.
But Huo Jiu couldn't be bothered with Su Shiyuan. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he needed to cultivate his mind and character. So he pulled out his phone and searched online for ways to do just that.
Copying scriptures? Practicing calligraphy? Yoga?
Huo Jiu blinked, then decided to withdraw the money he'd won in the lottery and spend every day at home counting cash!
Sure enough, his mind immediately settled.
Chapter 25: Sowing Discord [Triple Update]
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Lu Manzhen stared at Huo Jiu, who had covered the bed with cash and was counting it while listening intently to an online lecture. She was so angry her chest hurt. "Are you trying to show off all this money in front of me?"
"You think that because you won tens of millions in the lottery, you can look down on the Su family—or even your own mother?" Lu Manzhen took a deep breath. "Don't you think you're acting like some ridiculous nouveau riche?"
"What's wrong with being nouveau riche? If you go back twenty or thirty years, wasn't Su Shiyuan one too?"
"You can respect the man you used to be married to when he was nouveau riche, but you can't stand your son being one now. You hold yourself to a double standard like that and don't even stop to wonder if maybe you're the one with a problem. And you still have the nerve to come here and laugh at me. Don't you think your own brain is the ridiculous thing?"
Huo Jiu tossed the money in his hand onto the bed and stretched, looking pleased with himself. "Besides, I'm counting my money behind closed doors. I'm not doing it in front of you. If you can't stand the sight, close your eyes. Or leave the room. You're the one who can't keep your temper and came charging over here to make a scene. I haven't even complained about how ugly it is to see you turn around and blame me!"
Lu Manzhen clutched her chest. "Get this straight: this is the Su family's home. I'm the mistress of this house. The room you're staying in is mine, too. And you want to kick me out? Do you really think this is your home?"
"I'd love to leave!" Huo Jiu grabbed a handful of cash from the bed and fanned himself with it, smiling. "It's not like I don't have money. Wouldn't staying at a hotel be better? You really think this shabby Su family house is some blessed place where you can live forever?"
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