From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 656: Five Men, One Memory Leak, and a Boyfriend Problem

Clyde ended the call only after confirming, one by one, that every loose end had been tied up.

The Lobart family had been dealt with. Noas was sitting in a police station cell, stripped of the arrogance he’d worn like a second skin just yesterday. Clyde had also arranged for people to quietly follow the other four men. Not close enough to alert them, not far enough to lose them. A silent net, monitoring every little move.

He stood in the dim hospital corridor, phone still in his hand, the screen dark. His reflection in the glass panel opposite him looked unfamiliar: shoulders stiff, jaw tight, eyes shadowed.

Silas had remembered. Clyde was certain of it the moment he found the man standing in a daze in front of him. The way Silas had looked at him last night, like someone staring at a ghost, the way he had asked about Micah... It was the look of someone who had finally put together a puzzle he’d been solving across lifetimes. It was the voice of someone who knew he had lost something precious.

Clyde didn’t like it. No, he was even mad at himself for destroying the system that quickly, letting the seal on their memories break.

And if Silas had remembered... it was only a matter of time before the other three did too. His thumb pressed unconsciously against the edge of his phone. What would they do?

Would they come running to Micah the moment their memories settled? Would they look at him with those complicated eyes...regret, longing, obsession and try to squeeze back into his life like nothing had happened? Like the past, the pain, the blood, the betrayals hadn’t existed?

Clyde’s chest felt heavy. Truthfully... selfishly... he didn’t want Micah to know. What if they played their cards well and made Micah forgive them? To tolerate them in his life?

Clyde could not bear it. He wished he could crush them, erasing their pitiful existence from Micah’s life and world, but he knew he couldn’t. Not because of the lack of power, no, it was because he didn’t know what the consequences would be. Who could guarantee the world would not reset again like before if those four men were crushed?

And aside from those four, another problem was Darcy.

If Micah found out... Clyde shut his eyes briefly. He could already picture it. Micah’s expression would go blank first. Then the slow crumble. The guilt would come like a tidal wave...irrational, misplaced, but crushing all the same. He would blame himself. For his suffering. For the tragedies of the past life. For things he had never truly controlled.

The heartbreak. The trauma. The memories he had tried so hard to bury. It would be like tearing open a wound that had never healed properly, only scabbed over. Ripping it wide until it bled again.

That was why Clyde had spoken to Darcy in such a low, almost pleading voice earlier.

Don’t let Micah realise you’ve remembered.

Not now. Especially not now, when Zhou Ruyan’s condition was unstable. When Micah was already walking around with red-rimmed eyes and a forced calm that fooled no one who truly knew him.

If, on top of this, he learned that Darcy remembered everything, that Darcy knew Micah had been the reason for his suffering across lifetimes...

Micah would break. Not crack. Break.

Clyde exhaled slowly and slipped his phone into his coat pocket. The fabric rustled against his fingers. He rolled his shoulders once and turned to head back.

"Little Uncle!" The voice came from behind, bright but cautious.

Clyde paused and looked over his shoulder.

Emile was hurrying toward him, bags hanging from both hands, hair slightly messy like he had rushed. Behind him were Dean and Jacklin, each carrying things as well. The three of them looked oddly out of place in the sterile hospital hallway, too young, too lively, too colourful.

"You came," Clyde said, his voice softer than before. He stepped toward them and held out a hand. "Give me the one for Micah. You can pass the rest to his family."

Emile quickly shifted the weight and handed over a neatly packed bag. His fingers brushed Clyde’s for a second; he hesitated, lips parting. "Is it... Serious?"

Clyde met his eyes.

Emile’s usual joking expression was gone, replaced by worry he tried to hide behind a crooked half-smile.

Clyde gave a small nod. "Yeah." His voice dropped. "Stay with him. He needs the distraction."

Emile’s eyebrow twitched. In his uncle’s eyes, he knew exactly what role he played, court jester, mood lifter, the walking comedy show. Someone to pull Micah out of his head with noise and nonsense.

For a second, something flickered in his eyes. But he swallowed whatever comment had risen to his tongue and just bobbed his head. "Got it."

He fell into step beside Clyde.

Behind them, Jacklin leaned slightly toward Dean. "Uncle doesn’t seem alright..." she whispered, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

Dean slid his phone into his pocket; he had just sent Aria a message saying they’d arrived. His brows were faintly furrowed. "Would you be?" he murmured back. "He just met Micah’s entire family, from the youngest to the eldest. And in this kind of situation."

Jacklin pressed her lips together, gaze drifting to Clyde’s back. "Mmm... I don’t think that’s it..." she said quietly. "He seems... down. Not just stressed. Do you think it’s because of last night’s incident?"

Dean scratched the side of his cheek. "Maybe. They did fight. But I thought Uncle and Micah made up." His voice dropped even more. "They shared a room last night."

Jacklin tilted her head, eyes thoughtful.

They walked the rest of the way in soft footsteps, the sound of their shoes muted against the hospital floor.

When they reached the waiting area outside Zhou Ruyan’s room, the atmosphere shifted immediately. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The two aunts and their families had already stepped out and were seated around the space, talking quietly. Their voices were low, but there was a warmth in the way they spoke, soft laughter breaking through every now and then as they shared sweet memories of Zhou Ruyan.

But the moment they spotted them, an awkward hush fell over the room.