Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

After experiencing the nuclear-level blow that led Gu Liufang and Zixuan to their "death together" on a precipice in their first life, countless viewers waited in front of their screens with high hopes, fantasizing that their second life would surely be a sweet ending after all the suffering.

However, when the camera cut to the streets and taverns of Chang'an, the millions of viewers in front of the screen were shocked to realize that they had underestimated the extent of Lin Yuan's perversion!

……

The taverns in Chang'an were noisy and filled with smoke and flames.

Dressed in purple, Zi Xuan sat alone at the table, frequently raising her cup to drink, surrounded by a group of dissolute young men with ulterior motives. She feigned a wanton laugh, but her eyes were filled with an unyielding loneliness and desolation.

Just then, Lin Yeping, dressed in a plain Taoist robe with a cold and stern expression, pushed open the door and entered. He did not reprimand her, but walked forward with a sullen face, coldly snatched the wine cup that someone else had handed to Zixuan, and drank it all in one gulp.

Zi Xuan raised her reddened eyes to look at him, her expression a mix of defiance and provocation: "If you want me to behave, it's simple: marry me. If you're willing to marry me, I'll be devoted to you from now on and never associate with anyone else again."

Lin Yeping was speechless for a moment, but he did not back down in the slightest.

In the days that followed, from dawn till dusk, this renowned Taoist priest would stand guard in the tavern, shielding her from every glass of strong liquor.

That night, the tavern was completely silent when Lin Yeping suddenly stood up, his voice booming like a great bell, reverberating throughout the room:

"Zixuan! I want to marry you! I want to announce to the whole world that I want to marry Zixuan! Heaven and earth are my witness!"

Upon seeing this, the comments section on the screen exploded with a frenzy:

[Ahhh! He's renounced his vows! A Taoist priest renounced his vows for love—that's so domineering!]

[That's a real man! I don't care about sectarian rules or worldly views, I'm going to marry you!]

[This is so sweet! That old scoundrel has finally become a decent human being! He died for love in his first life, and returned to secular life in his second. I'll enjoy this sweetness first!]

The scene shifts to a brightly lit red candle in the bridal chamber.

Lin Yeping gently lifted the red veil, his eyes filled with barely suppressed tenderness and a touch of shyness: "My wife."

Zi Xuan smiled gently, her eyes sparkling: "My husband. It takes ten years of cultivation to share a boat ride, and a hundred years to share a pillow. Let us cherish the rest of our lives together."

Seeing the two sleeping in each other's arms, the audience's hearts were just beginning to settle down, and many even started jokingly commenting "The End" in the live chat.

……

However, Lin Yuan never needed any build-up when he struck; he only needed one fatal blow.

Late at night, Lin Ye lay flat beside Zi Xuan, the moonlight outside the window like water.

Zixuan gently turned over in her sleep, a single tear welling up from the corner of her eye. Her lips parted slightly, and she subconsciously murmured a name buried deep within her soul:

"...Liu Fang..."

Upon hearing those two words, Lin Yeping's body instantly stiffened!

The entire online comment section froze for half a second, then exploded in a massive, overwhelming manner!

[Holy crap! Holy crap! The landmine exploded!!]

[Sister Zixuan! That was your lover from your past life! But he has no memory of him in this life!]

[Help! The ultimate level of a chaotic situation: I'm jealous of myself?!]

【We're doomed! Lin Yeping is so upright and pure-hearted; he simply can't tolerate his wife having feelings for someone else! You old scoundrel, you scoundrel, what were you waiting for?!】

The plot takes a sharp turn for the worse.

Suspicion spread like a poisonous vine in Lin Yeping's heart. He repeatedly asked who Liu Fang was, but Zi Xuan remained unable to speak.

She knew the truth, but dared not tell him that Gu Liufang was his past life. She feared that if she revealed the story of their hundred-year reincarnation, Lin Yeping would see her love as nothing more than an obsession with someone else.

The tenderness of the past was replaced by endless arguments and silence. Heartbroken, Zixuan left for Nanzhao, where a rebellion broke out. To protect her people, Zixuan was arrested and taken to the execution ground!

Just as the decapitating blade was about to fall, a rapid, thunderous sound of hooves came from afar!

Lin Yeping, traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, rode alone to the execution ground of Nanzhao!

The rebels unleashed their weapons, and Lin Yeping disregarded everything to shield Zixuan, with countless spears and blades piercing his body.

Blood stained Lin Yeping's clothes. Zixuan held him as he collapsed, crying desperately, "Yeping! Why did you come!"

Blood kept gushing from Lin Yeping's mouth, his eyes unfocused, yet he still stubbornly asked the question that had tormented him for most of his life:

"Zixuan... tell me, in your heart... is there still someone else?"

Zi Xuan's tears flowed like a burst dam, as she roared out the truth that had been buried for two hundred years:

"Yeping, it's you! Liufang, it's you too! It's always been you! From beginning to end, the only person I've ever loved is you!"

However, this statement came too late.

Lin Yeping's eyes gradually lost focus, filled with an unresolved, immense regret and pain, and he slowly closed them. He died without ever knowing that the "Liu Fang" he had so bitterly envied his entire life was none other than himself!

[You old bastard! I'll fuck your grandpa! You have no heart!]

He believed he was a substitute until his death! He never knew Liu Fang was himself! Lin Yuan, are you even human?!

[Being jealous of yourself, taking the cruelest blow, and ultimately killing yourself?! What kind of insane plot is this?!]

[Don't use Lin Yeping's sword! He renounced his vows to marry her, and was pierced by a thousand bullets to save her, only to end up in the underworld with a misunderstanding that he'd been cuckolded?! You old bastard, I'll fight you to the death!!]

After unlocking his memories of three lifetimes, Xu Changqing finally learned everything about his past. He knew about Gu Liufang's promise at Nanshan, Lin Yeping's tragic death at the execution ground, and Zixuan's two hundred years of lonely waiting.

The more he understood, the clearer he became. He bore the responsibility of Mount Shu and the great path of all living beings, and ultimately could not give Zixuan a lifetime of companionship.

The inn was eerily quiet. Xu Changqing lowered his eyes, his voice restrained, hoarse, and devoid of any warmth: "I think I've prepared your luggage and horses. If you're feeling unwell, you can wait until you've fully recovered before you set off."

Zi Xuan stared blankly at him, the last glimmer of warmth in her eyes extinguished completely. Her voice trembled, filled with disbelief, humility, and despair: "Do you really want me to leave?"

Xu Changqing's Adam's apple bobbed, and all his unspoken words were finally condensed into two cold words: "I'm sorry."

A simple "I'm sorry" may seem insignificant, but it crushed Zixuan's two-hundred-year-old obsession.

Her eyes were red and swollen, her voice choked with sobs, each word dripping with anguish: "I've waited two hundred years... and all I get in return is this one 'I'm sorry'?"

Xu Changqing remained silent, not daring to look up at her tearful eyes.

Zi Xuan slowly closed her eyes, all her love, expectations, forbearance, and grievances shattering completely. She exhausted all her tenderness and softly uttered her last words: "Okay, I'm going."

There was no entanglement, no crying or fuss. Two hundred years of deep affection ultimately resulted in a dignified yet utterly defeated farewell.

As soon as this episode aired, the entire internet's bullet comments and comment sections exploded on the spot, with viewers feeling their hearts bleed from being stabbed by "Ye Ping's tragic death at the execution ground" and "three lifetimes of tragic love".

"You old bastard, are you out of your mind?!"

"Two hundred years! They waited for you for two hundred years! And you just send them away with a simple 'sorry'? Xu Changqing, you have no heart!"

"I just finished eating sweet tofu pudding, and then they shoved a ton of arsenic into my mouth! Lin Yuan, you're not sleeping tonight! Open the door and get your package!"

Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin are filled with daggers.

Especially when the intro to "This Life, No Change" started playing, it immediately became a national air raid siren, and netizens couldn't help but want to send Lin Yuan razor blades.

Tianxing Entertainment's backend data exploded, with seven out of the top ten trending topics containing the terms "Lin Yuan" and "Chinese Paladin 3".

In the comments section, countless book fans and drama fans mingled together:

"Brothers, I get it! That old bastard didn't stop being tormented after falling in love; he just learned to use the sweetest candy to wrap the most poisonous medicine!"

"Where's Gu Zhiwan? Sister-in-law, you have to do something about him! He's wreaking havoc online!"

"Please, please give me a happy ending! I'd trade my roommate being single for ten years for Zixuan and Changqing to be together!"

……

At this moment, in the living room.

The projected TV screen still showed the lonely figure of Zixuan turning away.

Gu Zhiwan on the sofa had already cried her eyes out, her eyes red like a rabbit's. She was holding a large bear puppet in her arms and wiping her face with tissues. There was already a small mountain of crumpled wet tissues on the coffee table.

Lin Yuan sat down next to her, expertly handed her two more tissues, and casually poured out the cold water on the coffee table, replacing it with a cup of hot honey water.

Gu Zhiwan took the tissue, blew her nose hard, turned her head and stared at him intently, the murderous intent in her eyes almost materializing.

"Lin Yuan".

"Hmm." Lin Yuan remained expressionless and blew on his water glass.

"What were you thinking when you wrote this passage?"

Gu Zhiwan's voice was thick with emotion as she pointed at Xu Changqing on the screen, choking back tears, "Lin Yeping believed until his death that Zixuan had someone else in her heart! Xu Changqing's last words were just 'I'm sorry'! How is your brain working like this?"

Lin Yuan took a sip of water, his tone calm: "This is the inevitable result of dramatic conflict. Lin Yeping is an ordinary mortal; his love is possessive and suspicious. Xu Changqing is a Taoist practitioner; his love is restraint and fulfillment. The same soul, with different attitudes towards life, is destined to produce this tragedy."

"I don't want to hear your analysis of screenwriting theory!" Gu Zhiwan grabbed a cushion and punched him, angrily shouting, "I'm just asking you, aren't you upset?"

"It's awful." Lin Yuan nodded seriously and said earnestly, "When I was writing this, I drank three cups of coffee in one night, my heart was racing, and I felt terrible."

"Lin Yuan! Are you happy with this prank?!" Gu Zhiwan was amused by his antics, tears still glistening in her eyes. She couldn't help but reach out and pinch his waist.

Lin Yuan took her hand and pulled her into his arms with a slight pull, resting his chin on the top of her head and gently patting her back.

"Alright, stop crying." Lin Yuan's voice softened a bit, tinged with amusement and helplessness. "I wrote the script, and I directed the play. If everyone just has a happy ending, who will remember this play in a few years?"

"But you can't stab the audience like that. Everyone's cursing you online, calling you a heartless, ungrateful old bastard." Gu Zhiwan leaned against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, her emotions slowly calming down, and she was still muttering to herself.

Lin Yuan's lips curled into a smile, his eyes carrying a hint of nonchalant arrogance: "The harsher the insults, the more deeply they're involved. With all this traffic and discussion, Tianxing's finance department is probably laughing in their sleep right now."

"You're such a cold-blooded business machine." Gu Zhiwan snorted and buried her face in his chest, nuzzling against him.

"Lin Yuan, I have a feeling that once the whole series is over, you might really be wanted by the entire internet."

"So be it," Lin Yuan said, lowering his head and gently kissing her forehead. His voice was deep and tender. "Anyway, I have you as my accomplice, so I'll have someone to accompany me on my escape."

That night, the comment sections of Huo Jianhua and Tang Yan's Weibo accounts were completely flooded with comments, a massive and intense frenzy.

Under Huo Jianhua's promotional post from a month ago, more than 300,000 comments flooded in within just one hour. Fans and drama enthusiasts were heartbroken, while jokes and memes flew everywhere.

"Lin Yeping! You big idiot! Open your eyes and see! Liu Fang is you!"

"I've seen people duel with their love rivals, but I've never seen someone torture themselves to death because they're jealous of their past life! Dude, didn't you feel cheated when you were riddled with bullets?!"

"In the third life, it got even worse. You chased away Zixuan, who had waited for you for two hundred years, with just a 'sorry'? Bai Tofu, have you lost your conscience?!"

Under Tang Yan's Weibo post, the entire internet expressed their sympathy for "Sister Zixuan":

"Sister! Two hundred years! You waited for him for two hundred years, and all you got was a polite 'I'm sorry.' Can't we just get rid of this 'white tofu'?!"

"Please, please slap Xu Changqing awake! His mind is filled with thoughts of the people of Shu Mountain; he doesn't deserve you at all!"

Echoing the online uproar was the frenzied chatter in the WeChat groups of the actors from "Chinese Paladin 3".

As soon as the series finished airing, Hu Ge was the first to jump out and directly tagged Huo Jianhua and Tang Yan in the group chat, casually sending out a funny meme of "Lin Yeping being jealous".

Hu Ge: "@Wallace Huo, please do an interview. What's it like to be jealous of yourself all the way to the underworld?"

Yang Mi quickly chimed in: "Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! My mom was watching and scolding me last night, saying that this 'white tofu' (a nickname for a woman) is out of his mind, cheating on himself, a true pioneer in the world of cuckoldry!"

Liu Shishi also posted a facepalm emoji: "Honestly, when I saw the third incarnation of Changqing say 'I'm sorry,' I almost crushed the apple in my hand in front of the TV."

Tang Yan posted a wronged emoji in the group chat: "Don't even mention it. I still get a bit of psychological trauma when I think back to filming that scene at the Nanzhao execution ground. Back then, Brother Hua asked me with a tragic expression if I was harboring feelings for someone else. I was crying my eyes out in the scene, but off-screen, I was constantly screaming in my heart: 'It's you! You big idiot!'"

Wallace Huo finally appeared, maintaining his "veteran cadre" style of rigor and composure: "For the sake of the plot, Lin Yeping had no memories of his past life at that time, so the emotional logic is reasonable."

Hu Ge: "Come on, Hua Ge! Stop with your old-fashioned talk! Tonight, the whole internet is after you and that old scoundrel, hurry up and send out a red envelope to quell the unrest!"

Lam Chi-chung chimed in, "Brother Wah, why don't you stop looking at your phone for the next couple of days? I'm afraid the razor blades I send you could fill an entire weapons shop."

At this point, Lin Yuan, the "culprit" behind everything, was surrounded and attacked by everyone. Hu Ge directly tagged Lin Yuan: "@LinYuan, you dog director, come out and take your beating! Look at what you've done to the masses! If you don't send out a big red envelope tonight to quell public anger, this isn't over!"

Lin Yuan replied calmly: "Is it heartbreaking? This is called the tragic tension of art. Four months, one hundred and twenty-two days, everyone worked hard to create this drama, isn't the effect pretty good?"

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yuan casually sent out the largest possible lucky draw red envelope in the group chat.

Instantly, the tone of the "condemnation rally" in the group changed dramatically. Everyone who had grabbed the items quickly sent out "Thank you, boss" and "Director Lin is so generous" emojis. The crew group, which had just been tearing each other apart, instantly returned to a cheerful atmosphere.