Chapter 299: Is My Existence Also a Part of Your Play?
This was a classic trope in certain formulaic stories. The male or female lead does something completely shameless to indirectly show the other’s bottomless devotion to them.
In this fanfiction author’s eyes, Julian Spencer’s despicable methods weren’t seen as particularly vile. To the victor go the spoils—it’s always been that way.
And Summer Vance’s choice was proof of her feelings for Julian Spencer. It also indirectly validated her worth as the main love interest. Only by doing this could she be worthy of him.
This just goes to show that the author was cut from the same cloth as Julian Spencer, with a deep-seated contempt and disdain for female characters.
’What a pitiful and infuriating love-struck fool. You see him as your lover, but he just sees you as a pet and a backup plan.’
That’s right, the story didn’t end there!
After getting his hands on the finished super-effective cancer drug, using it to take over his family’s company ahead of schedule, and leading the Spencer Family to new heights—all with the female lead’s unwavering support by his side—Julian Spencer felt he was on top of the world again. So he turned right around and went back to his Player Queen Lover.
Caspian Rhodes, Aurora Donovan: "!!!" ’No, seriously, is there something wrong with him?!’
’As ridiculous as it is, I have to admit, Julian Spencer might be the only character in this book who wasn’t written out of character. After all, this is something he would actually do!’
Caspian Rhodes, Aurora Donovan: "..." ’Ah... True!’
After that, the plot descended into all sorts of melodrama. Julian Spencer’s relationship with his Player Queen Lover was heating up, while he was constantly having huge fights with the emotionally collapsing female lead. And from time to time, he’d drag the long-buried Aurora Donovan out to desecrate his memory.
One would curse the other for being ungrateful, saying that if she hadn’t endured her guilty conscience to give him Dr. Donovan’s research, his company never would have gotten to where it was today. The other would immediately seize on that as leverage, accusing her of having an affair with Dr. Donovan. If she could split her heart in two, why couldn’t he love two people at the same time?
Caspian Rhodes: "..." ’That logic is just... something else.’
Aurora Donovan: "..." ’I can’t even rest in peace. Fucking hell. Was my existence just part of your twisted games?’
After witnessing the ultimate melodramatic love triangle—she loves him, who loves another, but he loves her too—Arabella Donovan’s patience wore thin, and she skipped right to the end.
Through the male lead’s tireless efforts, the female lead and the Lover let go of their past grievances, made peace, and worked together to help the male lead make his company bigger and stronger. The male lead achieved his fantasy from the original novel: a girl on each arm, enjoying the bliss of having two partners. The three of them lived happily ever after together.
The three of them: "..."
’If I didn’t know that every single one of them dies shortly after this, this ending would honestly make me cough up blood from pure rage!’
A vein bulged on Aurora Donovan’s forehead, and his eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
Wouldn’t you be? Anyone who found out that the life they’d worked so hard to build was reduced to being a shit-flavored seasoning for someone else’s love story would be fuming.
At that moment, Aurora Donovan truly wished he could just kill Julian Spencer right then and there. The mere thought of breathing the same air as him was suffocating, to say nothing of having to work with him every day after this. It was genuinely hard to restrain himself from punching him a few times.
Caspian Rhodes’s expression was also complicated. All he could say was that of all the gossip he’d ever enjoyed, this was the hardest to swallow.
Arabella Donovan’s face was grim, but her mind was flooded with an endless stream of curses.
’Damn you, you pervy loser! Give me back my clear-headed, self-restrained, kind, and independent female lead! And give me back the villainess Player Queen Lover who only cared about benefits, not feelings! You took two such charismatic characters from the original novel and wrote them so OOC they became these monstrosities! If they knew you’d given them a plot like this in a parallel world, they’d probably shatter the void and crawl over just to strangle you!’
Of course, the one who had it worst was still her brother. Dying once wasn’t enough; he had to die a second time, and each death was more tragic and frustrating than the last.
’No, I have to save my brother. But before that, I need to meet the female lead, the one who was written the most out of character.’
If she’s like the female lead from the original novel, then there’s still hope. After all, with her original personality, she’d probably want Julian Spencer to vanish from the face of the earth more than anyone.
But if she’s the love-struck fool from the fanfiction who keeps banging her head against a wall for love, then I can only wish her and the male lead the best in being stuck with each other forever.
’And then there’s my brother’s mentor, that Elder Lyons...’
Hearing Arabella Donovan suddenly mention his mentor, Aurora Donovan’s heart skipped a beat. He had a gut feeling that his sister bringing up his mentor right now was not a good sign. He held his breath, waiting for the rest, but... there was no rest.
Aurora Donovan: "..." ’Seriously? We were just getting to the important part, why drop the ball now? Just tell me what happened to my professor!’
But Arabella had already composed herself. Seeing Julian Spencer staring at her brother with gleaming eyes, looking like he was about to approach and schmooze at any moment, she decisively turned to Aurora Donovan and asked in a low voice, "Brother, can we go eat now? I’m hungry."
Aurora Donovan saw through her little trick at a glance. He also knew it wasn’t wise to linger. If they stayed any longer, he might really lose control and attack those two.
"Sorry, my sister is hungry, so I need to take her to eat first. We can talk about whatever it is later. We’ll all be working in the same place from now on, so there will be plenty of opportunities."
When Julian Spencer heard Aurora Donovan was going to eat, his first instinct was to follow them. But the words were on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly remembered this was their first meeting. Being overly enthusiastic might come off as offensive, so he had to bite back his desire and say, "You’re right. There will be plenty of opportunities later."
The four of them parted ways. Caspian Rhodes also seized the opportunity to politely decline the university leaders’ invitation to take him to lunch, and quickly made his way to the school gate to "run into" the siblings.
"Mr. Rhodes, it really is you. What are you doing here?"
The moment Arabella Donovan saw him, her eyes lit up slightly, and just as he’d expected, she took the initiative to greet him.
Caspian Rhodes put on a timely look of surprise. "Serena, and Mr. Donovan, what are you two doing here? I studied at Brynn University for a while, so strictly speaking, this is one of my alma maters. I came today to discuss an investment. I’m planning to donate a batch of lab equipment to the Brynn Research Institute. I just finalized the details with a few of the university leaders, and it should all be delivered in about a week."
"Mr. Rhodes, you studied at Brynn University too? My brother is also doing his advanced studies here at Brynn, and he’s in the Brynn Research Institute. He specifically brought me here today to show me around where he works."
Caspian Rhodes met Arabella Donovan’s sparkling gaze and smiled along with her. "What a coincidence. But since your brother works at the research institute, maybe he’ll be able to use the lab equipment I’m donating soon."
"Heh, what a coincidence, indeed." Aurora Donovan crossed his arms, not believing a word of Caspian Rhodes’s story.
’How could it be such a coincidence? He could have discussed this collaboration any other time, but he just had to pick the day they were visiting the campus? Only his naive little sister would fall for such a flimsy story.’
’Hah. Men!’