Chapter 38: He Luo Takes the Fall (New Book Seeks Monthly Votes and Support)

In the cramped, aging house, a disheveled man lay motionless on a peeling sofa, the dim light trembling overhead. Within the entire room, aside from the flickering short videos playing on Liu Quan’s battered phone, everything else seemed frozen in place.

Jiang Qi’s sorrowful voice, echoing through the rainy night, sounded even bleaker, more desolate.

“Beautiful bubbles,
Though they flare for a moment,
All your promises,
Are fragile as glass,
Love itself is a bubble,
If you can see through it,
Why feel sorrow…”

Liu Quan’s body was tense, his expression shifting. He sat up, trembling all over. In the video, Jiang Qi was surrounded by colored bubbles, like a princess from the heavens, drifting in a sea of foam, ethereal and enchanting.

You would have liked this scene... Liu Quan’s lips moved, but all that emerged was a deep sigh.

Dreamlike bubbles wrapped around their princess. Every girl harbors a princess dream; within it, there is a pink castle, bubbles and dandelions blown by the wind, and an omnipotent prince who can fulfill every wish.

Liu Quan stared at the breathtaking video, his heart dull and shadowed.

He was not the princess’s prince, only her knight.

The video continued, the song faded into silence.

“The most beautiful flower
Withers after it blooms,
The brightest star
Falls after it flashes,
Love itself is a bubble,
If you can see through it...”

Liu Quan’s eyes were vacant, his spirit scattered, the melancholy filling the entire room.

“Love is a bubble. However beautiful it once was, it will disappear eventually,” Liu Quan murmured, dazed. “Even if I can see through it, I’d still plunge headlong, fall for you again.”

Love, though fleeting, is but a moment’s firework. Yet it was beautiful, dazzling—that is enough.

At this moment, Liu Quan’s thoughts grew tangled; memories surged forth.

He remembered running with his girlfriend through the rain, just to taste the fried noodles where they first met.

He remembered her sneaking out of the dormitory late at night, racing to a distant hospital outside the campus, just to buy him medicine for a fever.

He remembered their promise to watch cherry blossoms fall together, to see white gulls roam the sea, to witness the sunrise and sunset side by side.

…

All these moments were so beautiful, yet they existed only in memory.

Liu Quan could not help but weep; he’d held back when she said goodbye, but now, as memories churned and the past beauty pierced his heart, he could not restrain himself.

“Why feel sorrow,
What’s there to mourn,
Why feel sorrow,
What’s there to mourn…”

Liu Quan was sobbing uncontrollably. The phone slipped onto the sofa as he covered his face with his hands. Though he was alone in the house, Liu Quan did not want the world to see him in tears.

Her breakup had come abruptly, but Liu Quan had long expected it; his heart was, in truth, prepared.

He could not give her the life she wanted, Liu Quan understood. When it was time to let go, he should let go.

But… five years of love cannot be abandoned so easily.

Why feel sorrow.
What’s there to mourn.

These two lines hammered at Liu Quan’s mind, interrogating him, tormenting him.

“It’s all my fault, it’s because I’m incapable, I can’t give you the life you desire.” Liu Quan’s composure collapsed as he whispered behind his hands.

The phone screen, pressed beneath him, lost its glow. The speaker was muffled by the wrinkled sofa leather, and the video’s volume dropped sharply.

Yet Jiang Qi’s empathetic high notes surged, restoring what was lost beneath the speaker’s obstruction.

“It’s all bubbles,
A moment’s firework.”

Liu Quan had stopped crying. He picked up his phone again, just in time to see Jiang Qi leap, shattering all the bubbles.

The world plunged into darkness.

“Is this the pain after love?” Liu Quan stared at the black screen, as if grasping love’s true meaning.

The beautiful, dreamlike bubble of love shattered, revealing the cold, dark reality.

But why did the music vanish as well… Liu Quan waited quietly, but after a long while, the phone locked itself, the music never resumed.

What was happening?

Confused, Liu Quan unlocked the phone, tapped it, then looked at the dark screen.

Then—

Liu Quan’s eyes widened, disbelief filling his face.

The video had ended.

Just… gone.

Stunned, not understanding what had happened, Liu Quan stood there, frozen.

Ten seconds passed.

Finally realizing, Liu Quan clicked into the comments; surely the ingenious netizens would know what had happened.

[Qi Qi the Most Beautiful]: “What happened? Can someone tell me what Qi Qi went through, how did it turn out like this?”
[Jiang Qi’s Little Wife]: “This seems to be Qi Qi’s debut album’s title track—why was it released now? The key is, if you’re releasing it, release the whole thing! Damn, I’m losing it.”
[Jiang Qi’s Number One Fanboy]: “I think I spotted a certain scoundrel’s shadow.”
[Shameless Scoundrel He Luoluo]: “I came from that scoundrel He Luoluo’s page, and after watching, suddenly the scoundrel doesn’t seem so bad.”
[He Luoluo’s Biggest Anti-fan]: “There must be some shady deal between He Luoluo and Jiang Qi.”
[4678649]: “I seriously suspect this is their official announcement.”
[Qi Qi the Most Beautiful]: “What the heck is called a surprise, what the heck is called a gift—this is the surprise, this is the gift.”
[Train-Ripper]: “Is this still the Jiang Qi I know? This is definitely He Luoluo possessed.”
[Little Goblin]: “Jiang Qi, please, He Luoluo is no longer human, please act like a decent person, don’t learn from the scoundrel.”
[High Towers]: “Goddess, your persona has collapsed.”
[Bridges and Streams]: “My own composure has collapsed too.”
[Only Smokes Huazi]: “Mom asked why I cried kneeling on the keyboard; I could only say the bubbles were too beautiful, I cried watching.”
[I Am a Good Person]: “I’ll be sleepless tonight, this is truly a disaster.”

Liu Quan was dumbfounded; so it really was over, not a phone issue.

Damn.

Isn’t this just messing with people’s minds?

Though you’re a goddess, I still have to say: Are you crazy?

Liu Quan no longer cared about his sorrow; after all this, his emotions were completely scrambled.

Yes…

Liu Quan suddenly thought, “It’s all that scoundrel He Luoluo’s fault.”

He opened He Luoluo’s social media page.

Then, Liu Quan was stunned again.

[Qi Qi the Most Beautiful]: “Shameless scoundrel, give me back my goddess.”
[Jiang Qi’s Number One Fanboy]: “Scoundrel, fess up! What did you do to my goddess wife, why has she changed like this?”
[Jiang Qi Is My Wife]: “He Luoluo, please act like a decent person. Isn’t wrecking your own fans enough, you have to ruin ours too? You’re seriously sick.”
[Chicken Rice]: “Scoundrel, the hatred for ruining the goddess will never be forgiven.”
[46754649]: “Can someone tell me, why does Jiang Qi know He Luoluo?”

Seeing so many attacks on He Luoluo, his fans weren’t having it.

Where did you all come from, why are you so furious?

[Kabuda]: “What did the scoundrel do again to provoke such outrage?”
[Conscientious Citizen]: “It’s normal, actually; I’d be surprised if no one cursed him.”
[Helpful Citizen]: “Seems Jiang Qi released a truncated version of her new song and angered her fans, so they’re venting here.”
[Confused]: “Jiang Qi released a shortened ‘Bubble’—what’s that got to do with the scoundrel?”
[Helpful Citizen]: “The scoundrel sang ‘Dissolve Sorrow’, Jiang Qi sang ‘Bubble’, both written by the same lyricist-composer. So Jiang Qi’s fans assume there's a shady deal, and that the scoundrel taught Jiang Qi to release truncated songs.”
[He Luoluo’s Biggest Anti-fan]: “Why not blame the lyricist-composer?”
[Helpful Citizen]: “Are you stupid? Someone who wrote ‘Dissolve Sorrow’ and ‘Bubble’ must have suffered immensely—how could such a person be so malicious?”
[Good Citizen]: “Exactly! Teacher Gabai has endured so much, persevered, and written such outstanding songs. Their heart must be full of light and hope, surely they’re lovable and bright inside.”

He Luoluo, eating in the cafeteria with his best friend, was dumbstruck.

These netizens must be out of their minds—do they need such wild speculation?

When did I become a notorious villain… He Luoluo was full of question marks.

These ideas were all my best friend’s, why am I the one taking the blame?

What did I do to deserve this?

“Just get used to it,” Li He calmly comforted his buddy.

He Luoluo: ???

What do you mean, get used to it?

Whoever wants to get used to this can, just don’t drag me into it.

“I really am a good person.” He Luoluo was close to tears.

I truly am a good person.

Netizens, open your eyes—I’m a good person.

Li He placed a chicken drumstick onto his friend’s tray, and said peaceably, “Eat more drumsticks, it helps you run faster.”

He Luoluo: ????

So, I’ll need to run from fans in the future!

Listen to yourself—is that even human speech?

He Luoluo was about to lose his mind.

——

(Published first, revised later)