Chapter 244
Chapter 244
The haziness soon surged back into Shi Chen’s mind.
Gritting his teeth, he stabbed himself with the glass again.
The pain granted him a moment of clarity, but it did not last long. Once it faded, his head felt even more muddled.
He was not merely sleepy. His consciousness itself was beginning to disintegrate.
At this rate, he would certainly die.
His only option now was to find companions.
Shi Chen naturally chose Jian Fan. He began searching the crowd for him, but that was no easy task.
The twelve Players were scattered throughout the ball, each undergoing their own experiences. As they searched for clues, time continued passing.
One hour later–
Qin Nan and Jian Fan had still failed to find Mu Xin’s group. Seeing that their time was almost up, they prepared to return to the place where everyone had separated.
That was their agreed meeting point.
Mu Xin’s group had the same idea.
They soon ran into each other.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where did you go?” Qin Nan approached Mu Xin as soon as he saw her.
“We’ve been searching for you too and never saw you anywhere,” Mu Xin replied.
This…
Qin Nan and Mu Xin stared at each other.
The moment Qin Weiyi heard Qin Nan say he had searched for them, he realized something. But Qin Nan was speaking with Mu Xin, so Qin Weiyi’s gaze soon settled on Jian Fan, who lagged one step behind.
Jian Fan looked up and met his eyes.
“The Prince of the Flower World is searching for Mu Xin,” Jian Fan said.
Understanding dawned on Qin Weiyi.
So Qin Nan and Jian Fan had also discovered clues concerning Mu Xin and the Flower Prince. Their warning was late, however. Mu Xin had already encountered his people.
Hearing Jian Fan, Mu Xin’s face crumpled immediately. “I already know. Not only do I know, I was nearly captured.” She briefly recounted her experience to Qin Nan and Jian Fan.
After listening, Qin Nan gave her a sympathetic look. “Barring any surprises, the Flower Prince should arrive soon. And those wings of yours…” Qin Nan pointed at them. “They’re a token of love.”
Mu Xin: “???”
“What?” Mu Xin was shocked and bewildered.
Lu Jing froze as well. “So Mu Xin accepted the Prince’s token of love and then ran from the wedding?” His logic turned, and he concluded, “Isn’t that marriage fraud?”
Mu Xin: “…”
Mu Xin did not want to speak. Mu Xin refused to speak.
Qin Nan felt sorry for her and wanted to offer comfort, but before he could, Yellow Hair’s voice arrived.
“What marriage fraud?” Yellow Hair and Lin Junruo had returned too.
Qin Nan briefly explained the situation again.
Yellow Hair clicked his tongue, then turned toward Lin Junruo. “I think you were right again.”
“Right about what?” Qin Nan asked, confused.
Lin Junruo had only been theorizing, but Mu Xin’s experience now seemed to prove something. If her guess was correct, they truly had entered derivative works. And how those stories might unfold–
Her gaze settled meaningfully on Qin Nan and Jian Fan, then shifted to Lu Jing and Qin Weiyi with even greater significance.
Yellow Hair followed her gaze across all four men, an indescribable expression crossing his face.
The four men under their scrutiny: “???”
What was happening?
“Why are you staring? What exactly did you discover?” Qin Nan asked.
Yellow Hair cleared his throat. “Lin Junruo thinks we’ve entered a derivative work based on fairy tales. Ask her about the details.”
Qin Nan considered this and found it reasonable.
Thumbelina had run from her wedding. How could that be anything except a derivative story?
Now he looked forward to hearing what else Lin Junruo had discovered. Qin Weiyi and Jian Fan also turned toward her.
Under everyone’s gaze, Lin Junruo grew embarrassed. “I was only guessing wildly.”
“Tell us,” Jian Fan said.
With Jian Fan asking, Lin Junruo could hardly refuse.
“The stories come from two different authors, so logically, they shouldn’t merge. But in a derivative work, bringing together characters with no original connection becomes perfectly reasonable. In the derivative works I’ve read–though this may only reflect my reading habits and shouldn’t be treated as definitive–you often see crossover ships. Or canonical couples can have their plots heavily rewritten, like Mu Xin’s situation,” Lin Junruo explained cautiously.
Mu Xin understood.
“Thumbelina and the Prince barely have a plot in the original. They fall in love and marry. A derivative work can add new conflict to their relationship. So…” Mu Xin wailed, “What situation am I in now?”
Lin Junruo thought. “A runaway wife secretly carrying his child?”
Mu Xin: “????”
She pointed at her stomach. “Does it look like that?”
“Then perhaps you really committed marriage fraud,” Lin Junruo replied.
Mu Xin: “…”
Fine. The runaway pregnant wife sounded safer after all.
“What about crossover ships?” Qin Nan asked.
Lin Junruo became somewhat embarrassed by that subject.
“Is there a problem?” Qin Nan asked blankly when he saw her strange expression.
Mu Xin immediately understood Lin Junruo’s gaze. She looked from Qin Nan to Jian Fan and laughed. “For example, Snow White and his wicked stepmother, the Evil Queen. That’s a pretty compelling ship.”
Qin Nan and Jian Fan: “???”
What was compelling about it?
Lin Junruo added, “The Emperor obsessed with new clothes and the beautiful Sea Princess also make a compelling pair.”
Lu Jing and Qin Weiyi: “???”
Compelling how?
Were they cracking sunflower seeds? Grinding their teeth?
Qin Nan had encountered bizarre ships before, though usually involving television characters. Now that he himself was implicated, he had only one thought.
What utter nonsense. Were their brains filled with Yellow River water polluted by silt?
Seeing the four men’s strange expressions, Lin Junruo cleared her throat. “I’m only talking nonsense. The point is–derivative works can contain every imaginable bizarre plot.”
Hearing this, Jian Fan suddenly relaxed. “Our plot should be normal.”
Everyone looked at him.