The Protagonist is Always Intimidating Me - Chapter 45

From the very beginning, there was no good start, so in the end, there would be no good end.

No matter how many years had passed, Lan Cheng would often recall his mother’s words.

His childhood memories were murky and bleak, mixed with endless suffering—there was no light, nothing at all. This shaped his cautious nature, something that could neither be corrected nor straightened out.

Yu Lou was the finest brothel in Lanxi Hall, with vibrant red lanterns hanging at its entrance every night. Inside, women with exquisite faces would sway their enchanting figures, reaching out their snowy-white hands to entertain a steady flow of guests, spending the fleeting days of their youth.

His mother, however, was the lowest-ranked woman in Yu Lou, serving countless patrons, never even knowing who fathered him. A kind-hearted patron had given him the name Xiao Chengzi, and he lived in squalor with his mother at Yu Lou.

As a child, he was often cradled in his mother’s arms. Her voice was soft, and she knew a lot. Lan Cheng would quietly listen as she described the beauty of the outside world and shared legendary stories from each hall. She would always end with a hopeful note, saying, “Just hold on a little longer, Xiao Chengzi. Your father will come to take us away soon.”

Father?

Little Lan Cheng looked at his mother with innocent eyes, and she always appeared mysterious. He believed in his mother, and so he, too, began to wait for his father’s arrival.

Eventually, the man his mother had been talking about appeared. Dressed in elegant clothes and arriving in a grand sedan, Lan Cheng saw his mother running to him like a child. But in an instant, everything changed.

He wasn’t there to take them away.

He had come to marry the Huakui of Yu Lou.

Was it his mother’s delusion, or his own? As the crowd dispersed and onlookers left after the farce had concluded, his mother sat dazedly on the ground, muttering the same sentence over and over.

That night, in her despair, his mother leapt from a great height, blood spilling across the ground.

At that moment, Lan Cheng was still holding a bun given to him by the kitchen lady, wanting to share it with his mother.

But he found only her corpse in the parlor.

For a long time, he often dreamed of his mother, under a sky painted in thick, bloody red, heavy with the stench of blood. He would struggle to wake from these dreams, only to be met by a pair of blue eyes filled with undisguised concern. In those moments of dazed wakefulness, he would recall his mother’s last words before she died.

—“Without a good beginning, how can there be a good end?”

His mother and father—one a woman from a brothel, the other a man who rose through exams to become a high-ranking official—were separated by an insurmountable gap. Sweet words whispered in bed could never truly bridge that chasm.

Perhaps the most valuable treasure in his mother’s life was Xiao Chengzi, so as a child, he sold himself to Yu Lou, using the meager earnings to hurriedly bury her. Upon returning to Yu Lou, Yu Niang, who had always been close to his mother, sighed and said, “What was the point of it all?”

As a child, he didn’t understand, only facing it with red-rimmed eyes. Later, he understood, but could only still face it with tearful eyes.

No one could have predicted that by some twist of fate, he would end up as Lan Wei’s disciple. As they spent time together day after day, Lan Cheng discovered that Lan Wei, who enjoyed worldwide fame, was more of a rogue. He acted as he pleased, driven by his whims, so more often than not, Lan Cheng became less a disciple and more a caretaker, constantly cleaning up after Lan Wei.

Lan Wei didn’t want to go somewhere? Lan Cheng would go in his place. Lan Wei hated someone? Lan Cheng negotiated with them on his behalf. Lan Wei disliked certain tasks? Lan Cheng would do them for him.

But… I’m sorry…

Lan Cheng used the last of his Sheng energy to drive the sharp weapon through his own chest, pinning himself firmly to the ground.

Blood poured from his chest as Lan Cheng closed his eyes, feeling his body grow colder. Images flashed in his mind—his mother’s smile, the corpse in the parlor…

He was naturally humble, but for this person, he was willing to summon every ounce of courage he had.

In his memories, each year during the Qixi Festival, he would secretly light a lantern for Lan Wei to pray for blessings. But later, when Lan Wei confined him by his side, the two fell into a cold war and missed the chance to light the lantern.

That night, with Lan Wei asleep, Lan Cheng watched him for a long time. Finally, he leaned down and kissed him. As he rose, his mouth was filled with the bitterness of his own tears, a taste that seeped deep into his heart.

That was his first kiss, and he was his only love.

But he did not want a tragic end, so he had refused any beginning. What he hadn’t expected was that a mission not long after would be the final chapter of his life.

He never expected…

He never expected…? And if he had expected it, would it change anything?

He struggled to open his eyes, though darkness had already overtaken his vision, with only a faint glimmer of blood-red light on the horizon. Even if he’d foreseen this, what could he have done? He would still be distressed by a single furrow in his brow, hopelessly lost, with only a tragic ending awaiting him…

In the end, Lan Cheng thought back to his first meeting with Lan Wei.

At that time, he spent all his days doing odd jobs in Yu Lou, handling all the filthiest chores. Just three months remained until his fifteenth birthday when he would have no choice but to take customers himself…

In a daze, he was lost in thought, when suddenly, news arrived that his so-called father had been killed, opening up a new life for him.

The weather was nice that day, bright and warm with sunlight. He had just finished tidying up the parlor and was resting at the door when he noticed a man approaching from a distance. This man exuded an aura of untamed, almost devilish charm, with strikingly handsome features and a faintly roguish smile. Strands of deep blue hair framed his forehead, drifting across his brow. Beneath his sharp brows, a pair of eyes, deep as the sea, seemed to captivate the soul, brimming with a unique and masculine confidence.

Half of Lan Wei’s face was bathed in soft sunlight. Seeing the boy squatting at the door, he disregarded the boy’s dirtiness and approached him with a roguish grin, “Hey, your father’s dead. As compensation, I should give you money, but I spent it all on drinks. So, what do you say? Want to be my disciple?”

His heart skipped a beat, and only after a long pause did he hoarsely respond, “Yes.”

“So why are you still sitting there dumbfounded?” The man raised an eyebrow, “I’m Lan Wei. From now on, you’re my disciple. Anyone who bullies you, just tell me, and I’ll beat them to a pulp!”

“……”

“Huh? Isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to be thrilled that I’ll be looking out for you? Why no reaction? Ah, you’re such a fool. Why am I already regretting taking you as my disciple?”

“……”

Lan Cheng sat there, and after a moment, as if finally realizing, he got up and dusted off his clothes, even though there was no dirt on them.

But he still felt dirty.

From his bloodline down to his bones.

Lan Cheng unconsciously bit his lower lip, and just then, Lan Wei reached out to wipe his lips, his brows knitting together.

“Why are you biting yourself till you bleed? My disciple isn’t some idiot, right?”

The slight pain from the wiping reminded Lan Cheng he had bitten his lip. It felt like a dream as he blankly stared at his reflection in Lan Wei’s eyes.

“……”

“Hey, hey… Why are you crying?”

“I…” Lan Cheng quickly wiped away his tears. “I’m just too happy… to become your disciple.”

Truly.

Becoming your disciple, being able to serve you forever… That is my greatest fortune.

That day, Lan Wei seemed like a god, barging into Lan Cheng’s narrow, dark world and dragging him into the light, with a smile on his face.

He really was…

So lucky…

So let everything end here.

Lan Cheng seemed to have had a beautiful dream, his lips curled into a faint smile as he lay in a pool of blood, and everything in his mind fell silent.

…Master… Wei…

—Actually, if it were you, perhaps I could have believed in a good ending.