Chapter 26 [VIP]

The descent time of a crowded elevator should not exceed thirty seconds.

The specially admitted students in the elevator felt that those thirty seconds were longer than three hours.

Under the bright overhead lights, they watched as Xie Chenbi and Wei Zhiyan remained silent, allowing Tan Quelu to hold their hands, while Zhong Wan, like a sleeping husband, seemed completely unaware, even wearing a happy smile on her lips.

The small space was eerily quiet, like a chicken's nest.

After a brief moment of surprise, the system began to chuckle: [Host, so F2F3 isn't that difficult after all! You're right, happiness is most reassuring when it's just something you imagine!]

Tan Quelu chuckled and let go of her hand the moment the elevator doors opened, pretending to be swept away by the crowd.

The special admissions students also thought he had really held the wrong hand, and immediately blocked the F3's view, crowding them so they didn't have time to look for Elm Green.

—Zhong Wan has such a bad temper, if she finds out that Tan Quelu has picked up the wrong person, wouldn't she beat Tan Quelu up?

They disliked these Celestial Dragons and naturally didn't want to see Elk Green, who was also a special recruit, suffer injustice.

The elevator doors opened, and a chaotic crowd brushed past each other.

Zhong Wan frowned, his good mood almost ruined by this group of rude and penniless scoundrels. He took a few steps out of the elevator, grabbed Que Lu's wrist, and asked with concern, "Que Lu, were you jostled just now?"

"No." Tan Quelu gently shook their clasped hands, her smile sweet and innocent: "I'm holding your hand, how could I get squeezed?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhiyan, who had just stepped out of the elevator, paused almost imperceptibly.

But he quickly smiled, as if nothing had happened, and raised an eyebrow at Zhong Wan, saying, "Yes, Wan, with you protecting Little Green Sparrow, what is there to worry about?"

Xie Chenbi glanced at Tan Quelu with his deep, dark eyes, then coldly looked away.

Ha, what are you pretending for?

She was just using this as an excuse to get close to him. He had seen through this little trick long ago.

Zhong Wan's ears burned slightly as she looked at Tan Quelu, who was publicly uttering sweet nothings, with doting eyes.

Honestly, even though Xie Chenbi and Wei Zhiyan were still there, Tan Quelu couldn't help but whisper sweet nothings to herself.

He knew Tan Quelu liked him, but he didn't expect her to like him this much, that she couldn't even control herself at such a short distance.

Zhong Wan couldn't suppress the smile on her face, so she held his hand tightly and whispered a promise with a smile: "Don't worry, I will always hold your hand, forever."

Tan Quelu smiled slightly, blinked, and remained silent.

The four of them set off in this eerie atmosphere. Zhong Wan returned to the manor to retrieve her luxury car and sat alone with Tan Quelu.

Wei Zhiyan and Xie Chenbi, for some unknown reason, also returned to the manor.

One person bought a brand new red Ferrari.

The other is a black G-Class with a fully-equipped interior.

The roar of engines echoed throughout St. Weston as cars pulled out of the school gates one after another. Every car on the road kept a safe distance of at least 800 meters from them, as if afraid of even the slightest bump.

The system glanced at the three flashy, ostentatious luxury cars and scoffed: "[It can't compare to the NPC boss's church; that's truly authentic!]"

—When it comes to domineering CEOs, it only admires Uncle Wei Guan, whose CEOs often command eight or nine figures!

Tan Quelu chuckled: "So you don't want an ATM?"

[I want it! Host, slaughter them!!]

Tan Quelu once again treated F3 as a victim of a scam.

They took turns driving to the shopping malls owned by various companies. Of course, the F3 members also had a competitive spirit, but apart from projects involving real money, there was nothing that could make them secretly compare themselves.

But when it comes to the existence of this green tea, Peacock Green, everything changes.

Even though he wasn't angry, he was still aroused by a bit of anger.

In a shopping mall under the Golden Dome Group, Tan Quelu looked at Zhong Wan with a smile, her eyes filled with admiration and sadness: "Wan, these jewels are too expensive... I'd better not take them. They all say I don't deserve them."

In the CBD under the Tashan Group, Tan Quelu deliberately avoided looking at Xie Chenbi, her tone stubborn and cold with deep inferiority: "Young Master Xie, thank you, but I don't wear watches. I don't belong to this circle."

At the Eden Group's flagship store, Tan Quelu chuckled behind Zhong Wan, her bright eyes defiantly challenging Wei Zhiyan: "Wei, I never said you had to pay. You volunteered, and I, Zhong Wan, can vouch for that!"

The system watched as the F3 members either lowered their eyes and shook their heads with affection, or swiped their cards indifferently, or raised their eyebrows and smiled as they paid the bill.

Countless pieces of haute couture jewelry, watches, bags, and accessory sets were loaded into shopping bags and respectfully stuffed into the trunks of luxury cars by shop assistants.

It couldn't help but passionately voice its own line: 【Give my host the entire universe no explanation needed!】

Tan Quelu: "Hehe."

The store staff had to deliver the items to St. Weston separately because they bought too many.

Zhong Wan glanced at the ice cream truck not far away and asked Que Lu in a low voice, "Que Lu, do you want some?"

Tan Quelu nodded with a smile.

Young Master Zhong immediately remembered his taste and personally went to the long queue to line up for him.

Under the bright sunshine, he actually took out the bright red parasol that Tan Quelu had given him from the passenger seat, carefully opened it, and looked at the boy with a hint of pride: "Quelu, I have always cherished this umbrella, and today is the first time I have used it."

"How is it? Does it look good?"

blonde hair, black clothes, red umbrella.

【Baby, tell me, isn't it cunning?】

Tan Quelu smiled and nodded, "Looks good. I knew Awan was the most handsome."

Zhong Wan was instantly satisfied and happily went to queue up.

Tan Quelu turned his head.

He saw Xie Chenbi and Wei Zhiyan standing beside the car. Both were tall and slender with striking features, each holding a handmade umbrella given to them by Tan Quelu, and they were both silently watching him.

"......"

Yellowish-brown and leopard-print purple.

Tan Quelu blinked, seemingly pleasantly surprised: "I thought you guys had already thrown away the umbrella—great, thank you, I never thought you'd use it!"

Wei Zhiyan didn't know what he was thinking either.

Seeing Zhong Wan wagging her tail like a golden retriever, holding the umbrella and showing off, a subtle displeasure immediately welled up inside him. Before he could react, he took the umbrella from the passenger seat and opened it.

What are you doing?

Do you want to get the same "Zhiyan is the most handsome" from him as Zhong Wan?

Damn, did this world drug him?

From that dinner party onwards, everything subtly and imperceptibly began to feel off. He actually held his brother's boyfriend's hand, and found it easy to hold, wanting to continue.

If you want to hold hands, hold hands with love, hold hands for a lifetime.

Wei Zhiyan suddenly sensed a sense of danger.

It's like seeing a demon disguised as Guanyin in broad daylight.

With a click.

The boy suddenly put away his umbrella, looked up, and casually tossed it into Tan Quelu's arms, his handsome face showing no sign of distress.

He explained with a smile, "I suddenly remembered something else—the umbrella is very pretty, but I don't need it, so I returned it to Little Green Sparrow."

"I'll go first, Chenbi. Please tell Awan for me that you're grateful."

Wei Zhiyan didn't look at Tan Quelu again.

He waved to Xie Chenbi, lazily got back into the car, stepped on the gas, and left without looking back.

The system responded inexplicably: [Why did F3 leave? We haven't had enough of him yet!]

Tan Chuolu didn't care, and lowered his head to put away the umbrella: [Let it fatten up a bit, then I'll take advantage of it next time.]

【All right. 】

Amidst the bustling crowds on the street, Xie Chenbi, holding a parasol, gazed at Tan Quelu with his dark eyes.

The other person seemed to sense something, stiffened almost imperceptibly, and unconsciously tightened their grip on the umbrella handle.

Oh.

He knew it.

Xie Chenbi stared at Tan Quelu slowly, like a sinister viper. After a while, Tan Quelu suddenly raised her eyes and said in a deliberately indifferent tone, "President, you don't actually like the umbrella I made, do you?"

"If you don't like it, give it back to me. I won't give it to you again."

Xie Chenbi didn't answer, recalling the Weibo post he made early this morning.

User tqlhpl: [I hate all the glamour. No amount of money or gifts can compare to the happiness I feel when I look at you... What would you think of me?]

User tqlhpl: [Or are you saying you've never even thought of me?]

I heard that yesterday, Zhong knelt down and slapped Tan Quelu, shocking the entire forum. During their relationship, he bought countless things and spent a lot of money on Tan Quelu.

Seeing Tan Quelu's beaming smile, Xie Chenbi assumed he would feel vain and happy.

But unexpectedly, he still couldn't forget himself.

Even if he were to marry Zhong Wan, whose family background was superior to his own, even if the cold and arrogant Zhong Wan was willing to lower her head and treat him gently.

Tan Quelu still loves Xie Chenbi.

He did nothing to him, it was just a routine charity photo three years ago, yet he hopelessly regarded him as his salvation, got into St. Weston for him, and even got together with Zhong Wan just to be closer to him.

What an insecure and timid love.

Xie Chenbi lowered his eyes and said coldly and harshly, "I don't like it."

"This umbrella is ugly."

"I only used you because I felt sorry for you."

"You don't actually think you're doing a great job, do you?"

With each word he spoke, the boy in front of him gripped the umbrella handle tighter.

In the end, his face was deathly pale, his beautiful long eyelashes trembled, his chest heaved, and he seemed about to collapse.

They look so pitiful.

I really want to make him feel even more sorry for me.

Xie Chenbi felt the sadistic impulses in his blood were surging.

He hadn't felt this way in a long time. Ever since he witnessed his father's last illegitimate son being crippled in a car accident and dying in the operating room, he had never been able to reach that level of excitement again.

But now.

Looking at Tan Quelu's pale face with red eyes, and thinking of his hatred for money and power, yet his gritted teeth and forced resistance to stay by Zhong Wan's side, Xie Chenbi couldn't help but want to kill him.

Ideally, it would be in that fleeting, joyful moment when his wish is fulfilled.

Then, in an instant, it turns gray and withers.

That feeling must be absolutely wonderful.

Xie Chenbi's pupils contracted excitedly in the shadows, then quickly returned to normal.

He suppressed his sadistic urges as a hunter and suddenly spoke again, his tone calm: "Sorry, I was just joking."

"...A joke?" Que Lu was taken aback, staring at him blankly.

Under the sunlight, the boy's slender shoulders seemed to have stopped trembling.

Xie Chenbi hummed in agreement, took two steps forward, and shielded Que Lü from the shadows. His voice was deep: "You're Awan's boyfriend, so I also consider you a friend."

"Would you find this offensive?"

The system hissed: [Host, F2 seems to be in heat for you!]

When asked about the color of the green peacock, he remained concise: "Purely despicable."

"......Won't."

Xie Chenbi saw the boy lower his eyes, seemingly unable to meet his gaze, and could only force himself to say, "You are Zhong Wan's friend, I... of course I won't be angry."

"That's good."

Tan Que's pale, porcelain-white ears turned slightly red. Suddenly, she raised her hand and handed the umbrella she hadn't properly closed to Xie Chenbi, saying softly, "President, could you help me close this umbrella?"

It's always like this.

The first few times it was water, this time it's an umbrella—a little trick that's obviously obvious. Is he really that kind?

Who does Tan Chulü actually consider her boyfriend?

Xie Chenbi stared at the peacock green for a long while before taking it with one hand: "I heard you and Awan had a fight yesterday."

Tan Quelu held the umbrella for him, and upon hearing this, she hummed in agreement, seemingly not wanting to mention these things: "Some minor conflicts."

"Is that so?" Xie Chenbi said, "He hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so it's understandable that he's in a bad mood."

Green Sparrow was bewildered: "Are you feeling unwell?"

"You still don't know?" Xie Chenbi glanced at him as expected, realizing that Tan Quelu's attention was entirely on him, so he didn't care about Zhong Wan at all.

After all, the person he truly loved was him.

Xie Chenbi said calmly, "He said his neck had been hurting for the past few days, like someone had choked him, but the examination found nothing wrong."

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Tan Quelu frowned, her expression worried. "Why didn't he tell me? Is he afraid I'd worry?"

The words fell.

Before Xie Chenbi could answer, someone suddenly patted Que Lu on the shoulder from behind.

He turned around, and the blond boy, holding a colorful ice cream, looked at him with a smile: "Que Lu, what are you doing standing here? Where's Zhi Yan?"

Tan Quelu frowned even more, grabbed Zhong Wan's arm, and said in a cold voice, "Why didn't you tell me when your neck hurt the other day? Zhong Wan, am I still your boyfriend?"

Zhong Wan paused, glanced at Xie Chenbi, and quickly begged for forgiveness: "No, I've been too busy these past few days and haven't had time to tell you. I'm sorry, Que Lu, I was wrong."

Tan Quelu snorted coldly, took the ice cream, and shoved it into Xie Chenbi's hand.

Then he opened the car door, grabbed Zhong, and forcefully ordered, "Right now, come with me to the hospital for another check-up!"

"Bird's Nest Green..."

Tan Quelu squinted.

Zhong Wan immediately shuddered, fearing that he would slap her again in public. She quickly coughed twice and looked at Xie Chenbi: "I'm sorry, Chenbi, Que Lu was too worried about me."

"We'll be going now. I'll treat you to dinner next time."

That's what they say.

But beneath his seemingly helpless eyes gleamed joy, and a happy expression unconsciously appeared on his usually arrogant face. Like a dog being gently patted on the head by its owner, he grinned so wide his eyes disappeared, which was quite embarrassing.

Xie Chenbi stood there with an umbrella in his left hand and an ice cream cone in his right, his face grim, watching the luxury car speed away.

After a while.

The black-haired boy stared at the ice cream, then suddenly gave a cold laugh—

They're playing hard to get again.

Tan Quelu must have pretended to be worried about Zhong Wan and took the opportunity to shove the ice cream into his hand because she didn't want to accept anything from Zhong Wan in front of him.

He disliked Zhong Wan's gift.

He loves himself.

Only myself.

......

Tan Quelu sat in the passenger seat of the sports car, his expression unchanged.

Would the world collapse if Zhong Wan were killed?

The system was startled: [No good, host! We can't rewind now. The F3 group are important male supporting characters in this book. As a cannon fodder white lotus, you can't kill them off!]

The difference between the F3 members and the protagonist is that when the protagonist dies, the world can be rewound. But last time, when we talked about how Green killed F2 and the protagonist, the last chance to rewind had already been used up.

It's now a pure one-life playthrough mode.

The system cautiously inquired: "Host, did F1 anger you? Why did you suddenly want to kill him?"

Tan Quelu was too lazy to argue: "Check my file status, and see if there are any problems with the Seagull Welfare Home."

A few seconds later.

A panicked electronic voice blared: [Host, someone accessed your St. Weston file, medical reports, and all photos and data from the Seagull Welfare Home over the past eighteen years yesterday!]

Tan Quelu remained expressionless as he glanced at the blond boy in the driver's seat.

Even the most incompetent system remembered what F2 had just said. It gasped, on the verge of tears: [Host, could it be that Zhong Wan is recovering memories from the second timeline?!]

That's a good question.

Are you the system and I am the system?

Tan Chuanlu is used to the system's inefficiency. Apart from intruding on electronic devices and occasionally providing emotional value, this system is practically useless.

Its greatest use is that it can convert everything in this world into cash at its original price and transfer it into Tan Que Lu Yuan's account in the world.

Based on this point, it's reasonable to say that the system's shocking intelligence can be tolerated.

He lowered his eyes: [What would trigger a character's memories of past playthroughs?]

"I...I don't know either." The system was sweating profusely, frantically checking the world: "I was just born, and you are my first host. I've never encountered this situation before."

【Then go check it out.】

The luxury car slowly drove into the underground parking garage.

Tan Quelu remained calm and composed. As the nurse led the two into the private hospital elevator, she even had time to cross her arms and coldly look at Zhong Wan: "Zhong Wan, you're really something."

"Will I only have the honor of knowing about Young Master Zhong's condition after you die in agony at the Zhong family and have a grand funeral?"

The nurse in the elevator was startled by Tan Quelu's words.

She was a long-term employee at the Zhong family's private hospital. A few days ago, she saw the young master come for a medical check-up. No problems were found at the time, but the young master looked particularly gloomy and even kicked several instruments, breaking them to pieces.

The nurse was afraid that Tan Quelu would also be kicked and crippled by the young master.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the blond boy froze, then reached out and bent down to take Elm Green's hand: "I'm sorry... Elm Green, I'm fine, aren't I?"

Nothing's wrong? He dares to say nothing's wrong even after a secret investigation?

Tan Quelu thought he was asking for a slap again.

He slapped Zhong Wan across the face.

The elevator doors opened.

Tan Quelu left first, but Zhong Wan caught up with him. He turned around, his eyes red and glistening with tears: "Your apology is so cheap, and your affection is so cheap too."

"I don't deserve to know anything about you. From beginning to end, all you've ever given me is money and gifts! Zhong Wan, what am I to you?"

Talk about peacock green without holding back at all.

Zhong Wan was slapped so hard her face was bruised and swollen, and she saw stars. She still had to grab him and coax him in a low voice, constantly admitting her mistakes and apologizing. She hugged Que Lu and said, "Baby, I really won't do it again next time."

The nurses around were dumbfounded, thinking that the guard dog raised by the Zhong family had finally come to life and transformed into the young master's face.

Otherwise, why would the young master act like a dog?

Tan Quelu looked at Zhong Wan, her voice choked with emotion: "Do you really know you were wrong?"

"I really, really know I was wrong."

"Then you promise to tell me if you feel unwell next time, and don't hide it from me."

"..." Zhong Wan hugged Tan Quelu tightly, and after a long while, her usually cold and fierce eyes suddenly turned red silently.

The blond boy glanced sideways, then lowered his head sharply, refusing to let anyone see anything amiss.

But his mind drifted back to all those years when, whenever he was sick or in pain, Zhong Niangui would look at him with cold disdain, exasperated: "This good-for-nothing! He can even get sick during the New Year, how am I supposed to make Dad remember him!"

His mother hugged him tightly, her heart aching, but gripped his hand tightly, sobbing as she muttered, "Why are you so useless? Why did you have to get sick at this time? Xiao Wan, what have I done to wrong you? I might as well just die, sob sob..."

Grandpa and Uncle glanced at him indifferently and nodded: "Alright, take him back, don't let him carry away his illness."

So many years.

He finally found someone who truly cared about him.

A person who would get anxious, angry, cry, and scold him because of his illness.

Tan Quelu was so angry that he slapped him. The harder he slapped him, the more it proved that he was worried about him.

Zhong Wan was overjoyed. He felt he was head over heels in love with Tan Quelu, so much so that he would be willing to die for her.

My heart was pounding violently inside my chest.

Bang bang.

Bang bang.

Bang bang.

The boy's pupils suddenly contracted, and a familiar, sharp pain shot through his neck—the more violently his heart pounded, the more intense the pain became.

But he no longer had time to care about these things.

Zhong Wan tightened his arms, sickly holding the green peacock tightly in his embrace, as if embracing the only salvation in his life. His voice was hoarse as he repeated, word by word, "I promise, next time I feel unwell, I'll tell you, I won't hide it from you."

"Tan Quelu, I love you."

The boy's voice revealed a chilling obsession.

The words fell.

The neck pain suddenly intensified several times over.

The nurses who were watching were stunned for a moment. A few seconds later, they rushed forward in a panic and quickly called out, "Young Master, Young Master—someone come here! The Young Master has suddenly fainted!"

at the same time.

After searching for ages, the system finally found something and excitedly rolled over: [Found it! Host, the F3s will awaken their memories for two reasons—approaching death, and experiencing frequent peaks of positive emotions!]

Positive emotions fluctuate frequently to their peak.

Tan Quelu lowered her eyes and looked at the F1 player who had fainted at her feet.

The system suddenly realized: [Host, F1 has fallen in love with you!]

like?

Before Zhong Wan fainted, she was still holding Tan Quelu tightly. At this moment, she subconsciously exerted force with both hands, tightly gripping Quelu's loose trouser legs, which even the nurses could not pry open.

Tan Quelu remained silent.

A moment later, amidst the nurses' puzzled or stunned gazes, the boy raised his leg and kicked Zhong Wan's hands away.

He took a few steps back, as if startled, then quickly turned around, pressed the elevator button, and left the Zhong family's private hospital without looking back.

[Host, where are you going...?]

[He ran away. He wanted to stop F1's positive trend so he wouldn't regain his memories.]

【Huh? Oh, oh…】

The driver stared blankly as the boy in the back seat covered his face, his lips were deathly pale, and tears streamed down his face as if they were free.

After a long while, he took out his phone, seemingly making a call to someone, and said in a choked voice, "Where are you? Are you still in the same place?"

A moment later.

A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class suddenly appeared.

The G-Wagon stopped, and a tall, dark-haired boy stood at the intersection with a furrowed brow.

Upon seeing this, Tan Quelu, who was in the taxi, immediately opened the door and got out.

His face was pale, he was choking with sobs and helpless, as if he was completely lost. He subconsciously reached out to Xie Chenbi and leaned tightly against the boy's broad, cold shoulder.

"President, Awan, Awan suddenly fainted! I'm so scared, boohoo..."

Warm tears soaked through the gray shirt.

Xie Chenbi raised his hand, and after a long while, gently placed it on the boy's slender nape as if to soothe him.

The skin under the palms is warm.

Tan Quelu looked up and sobbed helplessly.

What is there to love?

That's disgusting.

A note from the author: