After the Paranoid Female Lead Lost Her Memory, She Insisted on Pursuing This Cannon Fodder - Chapter 43

Shen Yuan, in her amnesiac state, continued her relentless rant:

“She thought of this even while locking me in my room? This is imprisonment! I knew she was a psycho all along!”

“To resort to such tactics to stop me from pursuing Zhaoyue… Heh, no wonder she’s still single!”

“It’s bad enough she’s single herself, but to actively sabotage my pursuit of happiness? She’s practically trying to ruin my chances at love!”

Zhang Wei: “……”

Shen Yuan kept referring to “her,” and it took Zhang Wei a while to process what she was saying.

“Um… Xiao Yuan…” Zhang Wei finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She pointed at Shen Yuan, then at… Shen Yuan again, cautiously seeking clarification. “Although… the ‘her’ you’re talking about… isn’t that you?”

“…Yes, it’s me. But… that version of me isn’t the same as the me now.”

Zhang Wei: ?

“Sigh, let me explain it this way. The Shen Yuan before the amnesia—let’s call her Shen Yuan A—is different from me.”

“I am Shen Yuan SSR! Though I don’t remember the car accident, I do remember everything Shen Yuan A did during that time.”

Zhang Wei: ?

Shouldn’t it be Shen Yuan B?

Shen Yuan continued:

“Shen Yuan A, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t remember anything from when I was in control of her body. That’s why her memories since the amnesia are all fragmented and disjointed.”

After explaining, Shen Yuan smirked mischievously and wrapped her arm around Zhang Wei’s shoulder.

“So, whatever mischief we get up to now, I won’t remember any of it once my memories return!”

Zhang Wei: ???

Zhang Wei hugged herself fearfully. “W-what are you going to do?!”

“Oh, what are you thinking about?!” Shen Yuan rolled her eyes impatiently, then quickly adopted a pitiful expression, gently shaking Zhang Wei’s arm.

“I just wanted to say, Weiwei, you’re my best friend, right?”

Zhang Wei nodded cautiously. “…Y-yes, I am.”

“Then you have to help me!” Shen Yuan’s eyes sparkled. “Quick, give me your phone! I need to contact Zhaoyue! She must be missing me terribly, probably worried sick right now!”

The moment Zhang Wei heard “Lin Zhaoyue,” her alarm bells went off. She instinctively clutched her phone in her pocket and shook her head vehemently.

“No, no! Absolutely not! You… uh, the you from before, she made me promise a thousand times never to let you contact Lin Zhaoyue! I gave her my word!”

“The me from before?” Shen Yuan curled her lip, her tone dripping with disdain. “What did she even know? Throwing away someone as wonderful as Lin Zhaoyue and cheating on her? Utterly incomprehensible!”

Zhang Wei: “……”

Zhang Wei tried to explain, but remembering the doctor’s instructions, she decided to give up.

Shen Yuan leaned closer to Zhang Wei, attempting to appeal to her emotions:

“Weiwei, think about it! We’re best friends! I’m still me, so why won’t you listen to me?”

Zhang Wei was stumped by this circular, nonsensical argument. She glanced at Shen Yuan, who now looked so confident and even a bit spoiled.

Then she remembered the Shen Yuan from earlier, her eyes cold and resolute as she said, “Watch me. Don’t let me go find her.” Zhang Wei felt her head spinning.

She tugged at her hair in frustration, muttering under her breath:

“Well… we were best friends before and after the amnesia.”

Or rather, we’re still the same person after all.

Though neither version seemed eager to acknowledge that the other was also her.

Shen Yuan narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then her face lit up with sudden realization:

“That settles it! Since we’re best friends, you should listen to me even more! Because this is the true essence of Shen Yuan!”

“Es…sence?” Zhang Wei looked utterly bewildered.

“Exactly!” Shen Yuan leaned closer, lowering her voice:

“Think about it—how could someone’s personality change so drastically after amnesia? Unless… the amnesia actually stripped away her facade, revealing her true self!”

She pointed to herself, her tone utterly convinced:

“So, I—this lively, cheerful, passionate, and outspoken me—am the real Shen Yuan!”

Zhang Wei stared at her, speechless.

She felt like there was something wrong with this logic, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Seeing Zhang Wei wavering, Shen Yuan pressed her advantage:

“The old me must have been forced to suppress her true nature because of her terrible upbringing. She had to disguise herself as that gloomy, miserable version to protect herself!”

“According to Freud’s theories, emotional detachment, repression, and avoidance are all psychological defense mechanisms! Many children who are lively in their youth grow increasingly numb as they age, due to the influence of their family environment. Suppressing emotional expression and reducing expectations of others are our survival strategies.”

Zhang Wei listened, blinking in confusion.

Could there… could there be some truth to this? After all, Shen Yuan’s family environment had indeed been quite oppressive.

Seeing Zhang Wei’s reaction, Shen Yuan chuckled inwardly, quickly composing herself. She gripped Zhang Wei’s shoulders, coaxing gently:

“That’s why, Weiwei, you need to help me. Helping me means helping her—helping Shen Yuan.”

“We can’t let her suffer any longer! We need to seize this opportunity to expose her to sunlight and love—like Zhaoyue’s love.”

“We must free her from suppressing her true nature and help her embrace her radiant, vibrant self. Only then can we resolve the amnesia issue and allow our two sets of memories and personalities to merge!”

Her words were sincere and impassioned, her logic airtight, and her eyes shone with the selfless glow of “I’m doing this all for her own good.”

If Zhang Wei ignored the obvious ulterior motives behind those words…

She was getting dizzy from this twisted logic.

Suppression… innate nature… fusion… for her own good…

It almost sounded… like it made sense?

But…

Two images of Shen Yuan flashed uncontrollably through Zhang Wei’s mind:

One was Shen Yuan A, with her gloomy gaze, deep-seated resentment, and suppressed hatred. The other was Shen Yuan SSR, her eyes sparkling, love-struck, and willing to do anything for physical affection.

These two personalities… fused together?

A dark, brooding type + a love-obsessed airhead = ?

Alarm bells immediately rang in Zhang Wei’s head, and a terrifying phrase involuntarily popped into her mind:

A “white lotus” who’s actually a black-hearted, obsessive psycho?!

Oh my god!

Zhang Wei shuddered violently.

The image was too horrifying to even contemplate!

And… both love and hatred were directed at the same person.

Hmm…

This…

I’m sorry, Lin Zhaoyue, Zhang Wei thought to herself.

“Just bear with it for Xiao Yuan’s sake,” Zhang Wei sighed, her remaining rationality succumbing to her mischievous desire for drama and a strange, inexplicable agreement with her friend’s twisted logic.

“Fine, fine, you win,” Zhang Wei relented, pulling Shen Yuan’s old phone from her pocket and handing it over. “Here, take it.”

Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up, her hand darting out to snatch the phone as if afraid Zhang Wei might change her mind.

“What’s the password? What’s the password?”

Zhang Wei’s lips twitched as she rattled off an absurdly simple sequence of numbers.

After all, telling this Shen Yuan wouldn’t reveal anything to the previous one, she reasoned.

“Thanks, Weiwei!”

Shen Yuan immediately punched in the password, the screen unlocking with a satisfying click.

Clutching the phone gleefully, she instinctively tapped the green chat app icon, her eagerness so palpable it seemed she was about to spam Lin Zhaoyue with ten thousand “Wife, cuddle me!” messages.

“Alright, you’ve got your phone,” Zhang Wei said, leaning back in her chair. As she mentally planned their next move, she casually asked, “So, what’s the plan now? Are you just going to storm back to Lin Zhaoyue’s place?”

She paused, her tone turning serious.

“Xiao Yuan, though I’m worried about you being alone, I have to go on a business trip in a few days and won’t be able to look after you for three or four days. If you really go back to the Lin Family… that’s still Lin Zhaoyue’s territory. You know her temper—what if she…?”

Zhang Wei didn’t finish the sentence, but her meaning was clear: she feared Shen Yuan would be hurt again if she returned.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yuan, who had been studying her phone with her head down, changing the contact name from “Crazy Woman” back to “Dearest Fiancée,” looked up at Zhang Wei with a puzzled expression.

“No, I wouldn’t leave you alone here while you’re on a business trip.”

“Huh?” Zhang Wei froze. “You’re not going back? Then what…?”

Shen Yuan smiled shyly and pointed out the car window.

The taxi was driving along the coastal highway. In the distance, the azure sea sparkled under the sunlight, and the beach, palm trees, and brightly colored resort hotels flashed by.

“Look at this beautiful ocean view. Such a perfect setting for a date.”

Zhang Wei was stunned by her sudden shift in thought.

“A date? With whom?”

“With Zhaoyue, of course! I can call her right now and ask her out! Right here, in this romantic place—she’ll definitely love it!”

As Shen Yuan spoke, she already reached for her phone, ready to make the call.

Zhang Wei: “…Wait a minute!”

There’s no way Lin Zhaoyue would agree to that!