TCWSITD – Chapter 76.2 (Extra Chapter 4)

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE

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Chapter 76.2 (Extra Chapter 4) – He Gu’s Extra 4

He Gu opened the door, and the light in the corridor fell on his rigid figure, half in brightness, half in darkness.

For the first time, he realized he was trapped in a vicious cycle: the more he tried to prove himself, the more he drained his own strength; and the more drained he became, the more desperate he was to prove himself. It was an unsolvable paradox.

Lin Jiang had stepped into his world, only to be devoured in the end.

The door closed, completely severing the connection between the two of them. He knew that from now on, there would never be another Lin Jiang with the courage to step into his world.

He Gu set aside his pride and arrogance, sitting outside Lin Jiang’s door, suddenly breaking down into uncontrollable sobs, his voice hoarse and desperate.

A friend noticed the bandage on his forehead and joked, “Who would’ve thought Lin Jiang, who always seems so gentle, could be so fierce.”

Seeing He Gu’s grim expression, the friend sighed. “I’m not saying it’s all his fault. He gave you countless chances, and you never took one. If anyone’s to blame here, it’s you.”

“If you still want to leave any good memories between you, let him go. You’ve held him captive for four years—you do realize what that means for a pro player, right?”

Has it really been four years?

Only then did He Gu realize.

He had been abroad for two years, and back in the country for three years. Lin Jiang had been bound by KUG’s contract for four years. How many peak years does a professional player even have?

Three months had passed since the incident. He Gu came to KUG, hoping to take the first step toward reconciliation.

But the moment he entered the training room, he was immediately overwhelmed by Alike’s enthusiasm. He cast an uneasy glance at Lin Jiang, only to hear the coach announce that tomorrow would decide the final round of the Bubble Tournament.

Watching Lin Jiang’s back, knowing he wouldn’t turn around, He Gu could only say, “Good luck in tomorrow’s match.”

Alike thought he was talking to him. “Ge, I won’t lose this time! KUG will definitely make it to Worlds!”

He Gu regretted his words instantly. The recent media frenzy had been intense. With Alike’s popularity soaring, Lin Jiang wouldn’t even get to play.

He returned to his office and asked his assistant to secure him a front-row ticket.

That night, he thought about many things. He intended to return the contract to Lin Jiang, and since his hand injury had stabilized, he decided to tell him the news after the match.

The next day, he canceled all his appointments and went to the venue specifically to pick him up, only to see Lin Jiang covered in blood, being carried onto an ambulance by the paramedics.

What on earth had happened?

What had gone wrong?

Rushing to the hospital, he listened as the manager recounted the incident, his mind buzzing. “A water cup filled with lead?”

“Yes. Because it was just a water cup, all the safety checks were missed. We’ve already called the police and arrested him. He claimed… he’s a fan of Alike. Lin Jiang took his spot, and he wanted revenge for Alike…”

But that spot… it should have been Lin Jiang’s.

It was He Gu who had acted stubbornly, insisting on testing the waters.

Something in his mind snapped. At first, he sounded eerily calm. He appeared calm at first, voice steady but sharp: “File charges. Immediately. I don’t want compensation—I want him behind bars.”

Then the emergency room light flickered off.

The light outside the emergency room suddenly went out. The doctor stepped out and slowly shook his head. “The intracranial bleeding has been dealt with, but the patient’s will to survive is very weak. He’s in a vegetative, brain-dead state. We don’t know when or if he’ll wake up.”

He Gu refused to believe it. “He’ll wake up. He has to.”

He hasn’t even played yet. He hasn’t finished competing. There are still so many things waiting for him to do. He hasn’t even heard my apology—how could he possibly not wake up?

Everyone was devastated. Zeng Yuan couldn’t accept it, turning to He Gu in agony. “It was you who killed him. It was you who killed him!”

Seeing that He Gu was still so calm, he finally snapped. He rushed forward and grabbed He Gu by the collar. “Are you satisfied now? You signed him for five years, drove him into depression and killed him. Are you happy now?!”

“You’ve lost your mind!”

“Let go! What does this have to do with Young Master He?”

He Gu laughed. Of course it had something to do with him. How could it not? Lin Jiang was pushed to this point, little by little, by him…

As he stood up, dizziness overwhelmed him. He missed a step and tumbled down the stairs, waking up later in a hospital bed.

Lin Jiang’s family had all arrived. Watching his siblings collapse in tears by the bedside, seeing the regret and anguish in his parents’ eyes, every word felt like a knife carving into him.

Ten days passed in a haze of unconsciousness. Only then did the storm of online outrage calm, replaced by prayers and well-wishes for Lin Jiang’s recovery.

Lin Jiang’s past competitions resurfaced. Seeing his glorious achievements, everyone suddenly realized the industry had lost a genius.

A month into his coma, those involved were arrested, tried, and sentenced. Even the countless fans of Alike, who had thrived on online schemes against Lin Jiang, were exposed. The public finally saw the toxicity of these networks and used their collective voice to hold them accountable.

Alike, found guilty of poor oversight, incitement, manipulation of fans, and spreading false narratives, was officially reprimanded. KUG terminated his contract and imposed a full competitive ban.

After two months in a coma, the world finally became peaceful for him. He Gu, as always, came to the hospital room to peel apples for him and bring him good news.

“Do you know? Right now, everyone is praying for you. Everyone hopes you wake up.”

“Lin Jiang, I don’t want anything else. I have no demands. I just want you to wake up, to live a healthy, happy life. Even if it’s not by my side…”

That sunny afternoon, the monitors suddenly went silent. Time seemed to stop.

The half-peeled apple fell to the floor. He Gu’s eyes went wide, terror crashing over him like an unstoppable tide.

Lin Jiang had left this world without warning.

And He Gu felt as though a vast part of his own life had been ripped away with him.

When his family went through what he left behind, they uncovered a heap of unmarked pills. It was only after deciphering his scattered, messy notes that they finally understood how far his depression had progressed.

He Gu stayed in the apartment, torturing himself by reading every one of Lin Jiang’s notes. His gaze lingered on one page. “I once asked him what would happen if I became depressed. He laughed it off, saying people like that were rare. Rare or not, I still became one of them. It keeps getting worse. Sometimes it feels like I’ve fallen into a bottomless abyss, and there’s no strength left to climb out…”

Clutching the notes by the window, He Gu broke down in uncontrollable sobs.

In that moment, everything made sense. That gnawing unease had always had a source—when someone is swallowed by despair and looks into the abyss, it isn’t curiosity at all, but a genuine pull downward.

On the day of Lin Jiang’s funeral, many people from their circle attended. He Gu went as well.

He overheard Lin Jiang’s mother ask Zeng Yuan, “Do you know who A’Jiang liked before? He once mentioned someone. A remarkable, kind person, though flawed in many ways. He believed they could spend a lifetime together. Do you know who it was? I’d like to meet him. I want to know what kind of person A’Jiang liked.”

He Gu turned around sharply, his pupils trembling.

He stared at the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, his eyes dry and burning with a sharp ache.

So that was it.

Lin Jiang had loved him that much.

But he refused to accept it, inflicting endless torment with his words and actions, and yet still asking why things couldn’t be like they once were…

Zeng Yuan looked somewhat troubled, glancing at him.

He Gu trembled as he knelt at his grave, his soul having already died with him, yet his body still lived—living in such a pitiful, miserable state.

“Auntie, you wouldn’t want to meet him. Because he was a terrible person…”

After leaving the funeral, everything became lifeless.

The family he had once wanted so desperately to escape no longer mattered. The projects, the deadlines—they no longer mattered. It turned out that once Lin Jiang was gone, nothing mattered anymore.

Contrary to what those around him imagined, he didn’t drown himself in alcohol, nor did he wallow in despair. Every day, he went to work like a normal person, returned home, and kept everything meticulously arranged. Nothing seemed out of place.

His mother even praised him. My son has grown up. I don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’ve grown up.”

A friend advised him, “You don’t seem okay. This looks a lot like depression. Maybe you should see a therapist?”

He replied, “Depression isn’t that common.”

Then, on what seemed like an entirely ordinary day, under a bright, sunny afternoon, he stood at the window of Lin Jiang’s apartment, perfectly composed. And then, suddenly, a thought struck him, and he stepped forward…

White light exploded in his mind. He opened his eyes to see the all-too-familiar ceiling. As usual, he got up, ate, and went to work.

But when his gaze fell on the calendar, he froze.

16 March 2024

A storm of memories erupted in his mind—Lin Jiang leaving KUG, Lin Jiang winning the championship, Lin Jiang and Shen Ju announcing their relationship, the wishing fountain and that coin he had picked-up…

He Gu finally realized something. Grabbing his clothes, he rushed to the plaza, exchanged a handful of money at a shop, and threw coin after coin into the wishing fountain, begging to return to the past.

But no miracle happened.

He threw coins from morning until midnight. At his feet lay countless scattered coins, but not a single one could send him back.

He Gu seemed to understand: he hadn’t returned to the past. He had merely relived events already experienced. In that timeline, he would lose all memories of this one. Even if he went back, he couldn’t change what had happened there.

All he could do was skim through the scenes, watching himself hurt Lin Jiang over and over.

So Lin Jiang had already lived through this once, hadn’t he? He had carried memories from a previous life?

That must have been why he made different choices. Why he could say, so calmly, “I tried. We really aren’t right for each other.”

He Gu had only ever trusted what his own eyes could see. That was why he doubted, why he resisted, why he refused to accept it—until he retraced the same path through the past himself. Only then did he finally understand why Lin Jiang had left so decisively.

Lin Jiang had wanted to pull him out of hell, while he had tried to drag Lin Jiang into it.

Only by leaving him could Lin Jiang return to his peak, free from the shadows of the past.

So this time, he would let him go—gracefully, without clinging.

He Gu secretly went to see Lin Jiang. Hiding in the pavilion beneath the apartment, he watched as Shen Ju walked close, shoulder brushing against Lin Jiang’s.

“You really want to buy those two cups back? I don’t actually mind that much.”

Lin Jiang laughed, warm yet resigned. “Weren’t you hinting at me every day, saying even water doesn’t taste good anymore?”

“I wasn’t! Lin Jiang… you make me sound so petty…”

“You are petty. Just because some netizens said a few words, you had to have those cups.”

“It’s because fans ship us randomly. If I buy the cups back, I want to take pictures and post online.” He finished speaking and watched Lin Jiang’s expression carefully, cautiously: “You won’t get angry, right?”

“Post whatever you want. I get annoyed by online shippers too.”

“Really?” Shen Ju planted a quick kiss on his cheek, grinning brilliantly. “I knew you were on my side all along…”

The weather that day was very good, sunny, just like the day Lin Jiang passed away.

The difference was that Lin Jiang was happy now, completely unlike his previous life.

He Gu felt as if something had been wiped over his eyes, blurring his vision. He tilted his head toward the sky, letting tears fall freely.

Yes… all he had to do was let go.

As long as he let go, Lin Jiang would naturally reclaim the life that belonged to him.

He Gu never told anyone about the matters of their previous life. He climbed the podium, whispered an apology to Lin Jiang, and gave them both the final dignity they deserved.

He had finally understood. He and Lin Jiang hadn’t met the right person at the wrong time.

They had met the wrong person at the right time.

There was never any regret from beginning to end.

And so, from this moment onward…

They would each pursue their passions in their own worlds, loving what they loved.

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strawberrypoptl: He Gu’s Extras completed! How do you feel reading He Gu’s POV on their previous life? Wanna hear your thoughtssss~

Here’s the full timeline of LJ’s previous life based on LJ’s age for anyone who’s interested:

18 y.o – Starting Position; Mid Carry; LJ won his first World Championship
19 y.o – Starting Position; Mid Carry; LJ won second first World Championship
20 y.o – Starting Position: Mid Utility; end of 3yr contract
21 y.o – start of LJ’s 5yr contract; Alike joined KUG
22 y.o – He Gu returned after 2yrs abroad
23 y.o – LJ asked to leave KUG
24 y.o – LJ’s injury; He Gu stopped all LJ’s matches
25 y.o – events in Chapter 1

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