Ji Ran was jolted awake by the shrill ringing of his phone.
He squinted as he fumbled for it, struggling to open his eyes for a look. The name flashing on the screen woke him instantly.
It was HR from Pingchuan Technology. He had passed the final interview just yesterday and received an offer that made the entire computer science department envious.
Was there another step in the process?
He answered the call, but the voice on the other end sounded a little weary and apologetic.
"Mr. Ji, I'm terribly sorry. The company officially began bankruptcy liquidation proceedings today, and trading in its stock has been suspended on an emergency basis. Your offer... can no longer be honored."
"Bankrupt?"
Ji Ran's head buzzed, and he shot up in bed.
Pingchuan Technology...
Bankrupt...
Wasn't this the plot of that novel he'd read three times, Young Master Gu's Tormented White Moonlight? Was he having a nightmare?
Zhao Pingchuan, the novel's exceptionally gifted major villain, who had been reduced to a stepping stone for the protagonist gong by the author's design, was the founder of Pingchuan Technology.
A wave of dizziness washed over Ji Ran. The memories in his mind were suddenly reset, and the tangled, overlapping logic fell into place. Only then did he realize he wasn't dreaming. He had transmigrated into the book.
He had become an ordinary senior computer science student with the same name, a character with no part in the story.
And this point in time happened to be the darkest moment of Zhao Pingchuan's life: his company had suddenly entered bankruptcy liquidation, billions in market value had vanished overnight, and Zhao Pingchuan had gone from chairman of a publicly listed company to a penniless wreck.
More devastating still, his younger sister, Zhao Xiaoran, who had grown up relying on him just as he relied on her and was his only remaining family, died in an "accidental" car crash on the day the company went bankrupt.
All hope had crumbled overnight. The legendary figure who had built himself up from nothing and dominated the business world in the book had become an outcast everyone avoided.
Why did he remember a villain's story so clearly?
Because Ji Ran liked Zhao Pingchuan too much.
He liked him enough to have read this melodramatic novel of tormented love three times.
As he read, he couldn't help feeling indignant on the villain's behalf-
Zhao Pingchuan had maxed-out talent and fought his way up from the bottom, building a business empire of his own through sheer individual effort. He should have been heaven's favored son, looking down on the world, but the plot demanded otherwise. The author had forced his death into the story solely to set off the halo of the protagonist gong, Gu Xingye.
His struggles, his endurance, and his defiance had all become an insignificant backdrop.
Meanwhile, the protagonist gong and shou wallowed in their own misery every day, caring nothing for whether others lived or died and concerning themselves only with their little romance.
Since he had transmigrated into this world, he had to do something.
At that moment, Ji Ran had only one thought: he had to find Zhao Pingchuan. He couldn't let Zhao Pingchuan repeat the fate he had suffered in the book. He wanted to treat him well and give him all his tenderness.
Even if the whole world gave up on Zhao Pingchuan, he wouldn't.
Ji Ran called back and asked HR where Zhao Pingchuan was. After being told that they didn't know where their boss was either, Ji Ran asked everyone connected to Pingchuan Technology he could reach. He ran to the company building and stopped every person who came out to ask, as though something irreparable would happen if he was even a second too late.
At last, in a shabby little tavern a few streets from the company, he found that familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
Unfamiliar because they had never met.
Familiar because Ji Ran had imagined what he looked like hundreds and thousands of times through those cold words on a page.
That indistinct figure now stood before his eyes in the flesh.
There were quite a few people in the bar, but Ji Ran knew which one was Zhao Pingchuan without even needing to check.
Zhao Pingchuan wore a white shirt that looked expensive from its fabric, but was now rumpled.
His hair was disheveled, his chin covered in stubble. A row of empty bottles stood before him, and his eyes were as vacant as a pool of stagnant water. Nothing remained of the sharp, commanding strategist from the book.
A desolation that warned strangers to keep away surrounded him, as though the whole world had nothing to do with him.
Ji Ran's heart clenched, and his eyes instantly reddened.
Zhao Pingchuan shouldn't be like this.
He took a deep breath and walked up to Zhao Pingchuan, step by step. He spoke softly, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "Mr. Zhao, I'm Ji Ran, a programmer who was supposed to start at Pingchuan Technology."
Heh, what Pingchuan Technology?
Zhao Pingchuan slowly raised his eyes, his clouded gaze settling on Ji Ran. There was no surprise, no anger, not even a ripple of emotion, as though he were looking at an insignificant stranger. After a long silence, he rasped, "What is it?"
"I... I want to take you away."
Ji Ran summoned his courage and looked at him firmly. "You can't stay here like this forever. Come home with me. I rent a place outside school. It's not big, but it'll give you shelter. I can support you until you get better."
He knew Zhao Pingchuan was homeless now. He had sold his house, his car, and every asset he could sell to pay his employees' wages in full before entering bankruptcy liquidation.
That was also why Ji Ran had still received a call from HR after the company went bankrupt.
Zhao Pingchuan finally showed some expression. As though he had heard a joke, he gave a bitter, mocking smile.
"Support me? I'm a burden now. I have nothing. You haven't even graduated yet. What makes you think you can support me?"
His voice was quiet, filled with a despairing calm. The exhaustion that seeped from his very bones made Ji Ran's heart ache so badly he could hardly breathe.
He thought of the book's description of this man once standing in a conference room on the top floor of a publicly listed company, confidently announcing the launch of a new product. Now he had fallen to such a state, and Ji Ran's heart ached all the more.
"Because I want to treat you well."
Ji Ran didn't back down. He crouched in front of him and gazed at him intently.
"I know you're hurting. I know about Miss Xiaoran and the company. But you can't give up on yourself. You're so capable; you can definitely get back on your feet."
"Even if you can't, I'll stay by your side. You can just live as an ordinary person from now on, all right?"
Zhao Pingchuan stared at him for a long time. It was impossible to tell whether he was considering how believable Ji Ran's words were or simply staring into space.
In the end, he neither agreed nor refused.
He passed out drunk.
That day, Ji Ran went to enormous lengths to get the dead-drunk Zhao Pingchuan back to the little apartment he rented.
The apartment was small, with one bedroom and a living room, but it was clean and tidy.
It had no balcony, but it got decent light. Sunlight streamed through the window, bringing a touch of warmth.
Ji Ran helped Zhao Pingchuan onto the bed and wiped his face and hands.
Once he was done, he searched on his phone and finally chose to make a hangover soup with the apples and honey he already had in the fridge, feeding it to Zhao Pingchuan a little at a time.
Zhao Pingchuan kept his eyes closed the whole time, his brow tightly furrowed. Every now and then, he murmured "Xiaoran," his voice broken and aggrieved.
Ji Ran's heart ached terribly. He set the bowl on the bedside table and took Zhao Pingchuan's hand, as if comforting him, and as if encouraging himself. "Everything will get better."