Chapter 162: Don't leave your subjects waiting

Xi Zirui comes to in the blank limbo space with a start.

What the fuck was that?

He's so stunned by what happened that he doesn't have the time to register the usual pang of grief caused by being separated from Han Yu yet again. 

He could almost laugh. In the end, neither he nor Su Xueyi got what they wanted.

It's only when his shock recedes that he thinks about how Han Yu must have felt. Watching Xi Zirui die like that on stage must have been awful.

Once again he was left behind, to either continue a lonely existence or put a premature end to it.

The guilt overwhelms Xi Zirui. Taking precedence over his misery and confusion.

When Ni Ni's tentative voice sounds in the empty space, the only thing he feels is hollow. "Congratulations on liquidating your debt, Host. Experience balance is once again 0."

Well, if it wasn't the stupid debt maybe he and Han Yu could have left the show, and find a way to establish themselves as anonymous people.

They would have to contend with the original's real money debts, but who knows?

"Would Host like to know what happened to everyone else?"

For once, Xi Zirui does, actually. He doesn't have the faintest idea what kind of mental break led Shen Yun to kill Su Xueyi on stage, but he might as well know.

---

As expected, chaos descends as soon as Shen Yun attacks Su Xueyi. Han Yu tries to rush to Xi Zirui's side but is immediately stopped by security, who restrain Shen Yun while everyone waits for the police to arrive.

The broadcast is immediately cut short, but the damage is already done. Millions of people have seen Shen Yun kill Su Xueyi live, and the repercussions are devastating.

It's a long time before the 'TV murder' stops being the only issue everyone can talk about. Not long after, the real reasons behind Shen Yun's vicious attack come to light.

[Rip <3 Su Xueyi and Xi Zirui <3, shared a post: Now it's official, it seems police have found definite evidence that Shen Yun was suffering some kind of psychotic break. According to reports he had a private blog where he detailed dreams where Su Xueyi killed him, or had someone kill him while he watched. This entire situation is really sad if you ask me.]

[Gone but not forgotten T-T, replied: It seems his delusions ran much deeper than that. Apparently some trainees heard him mutter something about "keep your end of the bargain". The exact same words he said to Su Xueyi when he killed him! Creepy stuff]

[Mystery Machine: If you want more information about the case, and want to know how everything went down, watch the newest video on my bilibili channel where I detail all the gruesome events that led to the events which happened on the day of NNI's final.]

[To the point @Mystery Machine: you said 'events' twice.]

[Beautiful Rui-er you will be missed: I just don't understand how Rui-er died too? Initially everyone thought Shen Yun attacked him as well, but it turns out that wasn't the case]

[To the point: The doctors suspect it was a sudden heart attack from the shock. It's the only thing that makes sense.]

[Crying forever: Poor Han Yu must be devastated.]

[Crying forever and beyond the next reincarnation: You idiot, obviously it's Jin Ranyu who is suffering the most!]

[To the point: ...people are dead, can you guys stop?]

With NNI never airing a final episode, and being cancelled indefinitely, many questions remain unanswered. 

The public never got to hear any explanation for the vote fraud, or to see any conclusion to the topic breaking love triangle of Jin Ranyu, Xi Zirui and Han Yu.

Time passes and people move on, but some can't leave well enough alone.

[Internet Sleuth posts a photoset: Look at these photos and tell me they don't look like Jin Ranyu and Cao Fei from that NNI show!]

[Ying: Omg, it really looks like them. Where have they been since the show ended?]

[Internet Sleuth: According to the sister who posted these photos in a forum, they're living in a small city in the South, working regular jobs, and sharing an apartment. The sister didn't specify if they were in a relationship or not, but from the photos it looks likely]

[Ying: Poor Ranyu, it must be tough to move on from Zirui's death, but I'm glad he's trying. Fighting!]

[Dog Balls: Honestly, you people don't quit.]

In other corners of the internet some people make private posts to let only a few trusted friends and acquaintances know about some sad news.

[Li Siqi: I'm really sad to announce Han Yu's passing. He didn't leave anything behind to let us know what he was feeling, but I'll never stop blaming myself for getting him the job in that cursed show. He will be forever remembered by his friends and family, and I hope his next life is kinder than this one, and that if we have the chance to meet again that I'll have the privilege of being his friend once more.]

---

Xi Zirui wakes up in the Transmigrator 4000's chair feeling his head buzzing with all the information Ni Ni showed him.

He's not surprised that Han Yu didn't decide to stick around, although he's sure it must have cost him anyway -- unlike Xi Zirui he remembers an entire full life in each world. It doesn't escape Xi Zirui's notice that meeting him ruins it for Han Yu when Xi Zirui eventually leaves.

Fate either hates or loves them -- Xi Zirui still hasn't figured out which.

The Shopkeeper gives him a searching look from above, her arms perched on the back of his chair. "Ready to unload your frustrations on me?"

Xi Zirui ignores her. "Su Xueyi has memories from our original lives as gods. He said something about the two of us being stuck together, and when I asked him where. He said it was someplace or something I loved as a child?"

The Shopkeeper shrugs. "Like I said before, I don't know any of you." The glare Xi Zirui shoots her doesn't phase her in the least. "You'll have to either remember yourself, or hope that one of the others remembers and tells you."

"Can't you go back and ask someone?" Xi Zirui asks with a long suffering sigh.

"I'm sorry to tell you but if I could go back I would have washed my hands off all of you long ago." 

"Then what good will it do if I figure out how we ended up in this situation?"

She taps a manicured fingernail against the chair's smooth pleather. "I have some resources, but they're single-use, so we better make them count."

She smiles at Xi Zirui, but it looks like a threat.

He's done of talking in circles around her, and just tells her to go ahead with it.

The last thing he hears is her muttering under her breath, "You're not going to like this one."

---

Xi Zirui wakes up in stages. The first thing he notices if the sheer size of the bed he's laying in. Bigger than any he has ever slept in.

The second is the massive silk canopy above his head, gold, black and purple and embroidered in as many soaring dragons as can realistically fit into the fabric.

It doesn't take him long to conclude he's in the past.

And he must be someone really important.

He has a terrible feeling about just how important.

"Ni Ni is sorry to say that Host is right. He is Emperor Xi, of the Xin dynasty, 21 years old and crowned Emperor just a few months ago."

Great, because being an Imperial concubine wasn't bad enough.

Before Ni Ni can elaborate any further one of the servants standing inside his room with their backs to the door notices that Xi Zirui is awake.

"The Emperor! The Emperor is awake!" the man says, falling to his knees in deep prostration.

The other servant follows suit, and before Xi Zirui can wonder if in this world the sight of the Emperor raising from bed really merits such fanfare, a few more people burst into the room.

They're led by a terribly familiar figure -- a few years older than when Xi Zirui last saw him, but no less handsome.

Su Xueyi smiles when he sees Xi Zirui sitting up in bed, and Xi Zirui wonders who he is that he can just walk into the Emperor's rooms without as much as a by your leave.

"This Minister is overjoyed to see that his Majesty is finally awake."

Xi Zirui merely nods in acknowledgement.

"His Majesty will be pleased to know that we have managed to find and apprehend the despicable criminal who tried to poison his Majesty," Su Xueyi says, his voice ringing with righteous indignation. "He's already in the holding cells, awaiting his Majesty's judgement."

Xi Zirui's fingers tighten on the thin silk sheets. 

Does he even want to know who the prisoner is?

Ni Ni chimes. "Answering Host: No."