You sighed in disappointment. "I wouldn't even be as mad as this if you were just being honest with what you wanted."

"What I want...?"

This time, he was looking at you fiercely, dropping all the pretense he had earlier.

"Will you even give me what I want?"

"That's why negotiation exist, isn't it?" You were looking at him as if he was a fool. "You give me what I want and I will give you what you want."

He snickered. His sudden change of mood is probably because he felt insulted when you mocked him earlier, you assumed.

"What do you want then?"

You glanced at the door before turning your attention back to the transfer student. "I know what this world is actually is and I know who you truly are. What I'm asking from you is simple; I want you to give Chen Miao's freedom back. Choose another protagonist or stop the developers from influencing this world, I don't care, I just need Chen Miao to be free."

『damn, i know that this might be scripted but it so cool that the npc looks like she has her own free will』

『that devotion of wanting to save your beloved. oh god when will you give me a gf like that』

『lmao when god finally granted you a gf who stalked and murdered you, don't come crying to him okay』

『why are you guys so hang up on that? she's changing okay. in this timeline, she hasn't cross any line yet and she looks way more gentler than the previous seasons』

『she's changing because of ah miao♡』

『upstairs, i bet you haven't gone to kai's channel at all or seen the first season of this show yet right?』

『no, this is my first time and i'm not interested in your idol』

『i see. then i won't spoiled you :)』

When you told him your request, you had expected three answers from him; the first one was that he accepted, the second he refused, and the third he pretended to accept and trick you, but you didn't expect that he would laugh.

His laughter was as if mocking you and the way he looked at you was as if you were a foolish being; it almost like he pitied you.

But why?

"You're so pathetic it's laughable honestly," he leaned down, close enough to whisper. "You know what, that's what I want too. I want Chen Miao to be 'free' so that she could be happy, but he, in his confuse state, chose to be chained down here with you."

She? You frowned and deliberately let him taunt you for information.

"You think Chen Miao is pitiful? You think his situation is more miserable than yours? Then you think too highly of yourself," he chuckled. "The one who needed to be saved here isn't Chen Miao but you. Chen Miao was never trapped in here to begin with, he just chose to be here because of you."

『huh? huh?? what is this plot twist?』

『lmao it was never a plot twist to begin with, if you watch season 1, it mentioned there that miao was also an actor but too many seasons passed that i wouldnt be suprised people would forget that』

『wth so these guys are playing with this female npc's feelings?? that's horrible』

『i was actually rooting for miao x (y/n) but you're telling me that this relationship is based on deceit??』

『this mean that kai doesn't truly have feelings for her right? told you』

『omg can you guys stop with your kai and focus on the story instead?! seriously, i'm starting to view kai and his fanbase as lunatic. the former played with a girl's heart and the latter disregarded the girl's feelings. you guys are like two peas in a pod』

『lololol stop acting like a saint mary, we all know that npc doesn't actually have feelings. they were coded』

『how do you know that? are you the one who coded them? no right. so shut up』

You were confused and suprised; so Chen Miao doesn't belong to this world? But that's so absurd. He was always there starting from the first lifetime that it doesn't make any sense for him to be an outsider.

"Lies." You couldn't believe it. You couldn't accept it. Kai must have been deceiving you.

"That's fine. You can think of what I said as a lie if that will make you feel better, I don't mind. I'm just telling you this because I find you pitiful," he smiled.

At that moment, the door to the rooftop that hasn't been shut properly creaked open. The two of you turned to that direction and found Chen Miao standing there. Judging by his confuse expression, you knew that he must have thought that no one found out that he was eavesdropping, so he pretended to be confused as to why you and Kai are here together, and since he doesn't have that panic expression on his face, he must not have heard how Kai revealed his secret.

It makes sense, honestly. Starting on the night you lost your memory, you had begin to realize how good of an actor Chen Miao is and now it makes sense.

ーhe's literally an actor too.

Your heart shattered at that conclusion and you refused to believe the truth. So does that mean he never love you? That your wretched love was forever unrequited?

Why?

In their eyes, were you not even a person with feelings and future?

Were you created just to be played around, toyed as pleased by these trash?

"Do you still want him to be free?" Like a devil, the transfer student continued to taunt you. "Why not kill him and start all over again? Kidnap him, tied him up, tame him, make it so that you're the only one he can see. Isn't it okay to revert back to how you were before?"

"What are you doing here with him, (Y/n)?" The protagonist suddenly chimed in when he saw that Kai was whispering something to you, yet he could not hear it.

He walked towards you when you didn't respond, anxious by the look on your face.

ーyou looked so heartbroken. What had that man told you?

"Kai, you told me that Chen Miao chose to be here because of me. Does that mean that his feelings for me are genuine?" You asked softly upon seeing the protagonist made his way towards you.

The transfer student opened his mouth and judging by the way it took him a while to talk, he must have chosen his answer carefully. "Yes."

You smiled. You don't know if his answer was honest and you had no way to know the truth. You also don't know what Kai wanted from you when he told you to "kill chen miao," and revert back to your old self, but one thing you knew, you're not going to do that.

If Chen Miao truly doesn't belong to this world. Can't he just leave whenever he want? You're just an NPC, a man-made creation while his status is in the same level as your creator, so even if you were to tie him up, who's to say that he can't leave?

"Ah Miao." You called out his name, causing the said man to stop dead in his track. "I don't know what to believe. I also don't know what should I do, but I figured out something while thinking of ways to free you from the influence of this world."

You saw the two men looked at you, the first one is in anxiety while the other is in curiosityーjust like what you wanted.

"I don't know if this will work but if time went back again by itself, then we'll just start all over again, no big deal." You assured him.

Chen Miao took a step closer. "What are youー?"

In an instant, you resolutely jumped over the railing, but before you could take your own life, the transfer student quickly reached out to stop you.

His hand which was holding yours was sweaty, and you could see how he had that suprised look on his face, as if he can't believe he help you. You assumed that it must be out of reflex. At that moment, you saw how Chen Miao was running towards you, and before he could reach to help, you give the actors an apologetic look before pulling Kai down together with you.

Both you and Kai were falling down, and in your position, you could see the traumatize look that the protagonist had on his face.

It's irony. The reason why you decided to protect and approach him was because you witnessed his figure jumping down from this building, and now, the role has been reserved.

Is it necessary for you to do this? No. But you have been thinking of doing this ever since you went out of Chen Miao's storage room. Originally, this will be your last option if you can't find any way to free Chen Miao, but after hearing what Kai told you, you changed your mind.

You wanted him to feel what you feel.

Bringing Kai together with you wasn't your intention, but you had to if you don't want your attempt to be unsuccessful. Anyway, he's not like you. He doesn't belong to this world. Surely he is still going to be alive once this is over.

As for you? It doesn't matter. You have already prepared to face the consequence. The worst thing that could happen to you is death, but even that sounds like a blessing to you now.

Who would want to live inside this fictitious world? Especially when your sole reason for being alive in the first place, is actually a real person?

However, before your body could reach the ground, you can feel yourself starting to regret this, especially when that person's question started to replay in your mind.

"Everyone in the class is kind so they don't judge, each of us knew that people have their own comfort zones, but it's nice to see that you've changed."

"Isn't there anything you want to be once you're older?"

"After all, we're in the same year and class, I do want all of us to graduate peacefully."

You don't have much ambition to begin with butー

ーit would have been nice to graduate together.

In another world, the situation in the studio is pure chaos. The staffs were at a loss, some just stood there dumbfounded while the others ran around not knowing what to do. The whole place was ringing with a beeping sound as the blue LED light that surrounded the incubator turned red.

"Help! Something is wrong with the incubator! Quickly find the maintenance personnel!"

"Damn it, where's the boss when we need her?! You! Go find and tell her that there is a problem in the virtual reality system!"

"Hey, don't open the incubator without permission! Can you handle the repercussion if something happened to him?!"

"Supress the news! Don't let the audiences find out!"

Amidst that chaos, a random staff finally brought alone with her the boss of the studio. The woman listened attentively to the staff who's trying to convey what was happening to her.

"That incubator... is it...?" She asked, glancing at the people surrounding the red incubator.

Although she seemed unbother, the quivering of her tone is enough to tell people that she too was afraid.

"It's the actor, Kai."

However, once she heard the answer, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. The staff kept quiet, wondering how can she be relieved when there are thousands or maybe millions of fans belonging to Kai ready to destroy this studio if they ever found out what happened to their beloved actor.

"What about him?"

"His incubator is fine but he still hasn't woke up." The staff answered honestly. "Boss, what to do? Everyone is in a state of anxiety here. I don't want to go to jail."

"You won't," the woman said firmly. "Didn't his agency already signed the contract? Anyway, even if he never woke up. Nothing will happen to us."

"Butー"

"It's fine." This time, the woman started to get irritated. "I know his family and I know they won't hold this against us. Don't freak out, okay?"

In the end, the poor staff can only shut her mouth and glanced at the unconscious man in the incubator.

Her boss sure is ruthless.