Chapter 70. The white sweater was a dinner tailor-made for him. ...

Jiang Mingyu didn't manage to jump off that building.

At the last moment, all the police rushed up and stopped the two of them, especially Xing Lan.

The crowd gathered downstairs was dispersed by the police in an orderly manner, and the community gradually returned to its former tranquility.

Xing Lan neither listened to the police and tried to persuade him earnestly, nor did she listen to Jiang Mingyu and agree to his conditions.

However, in the end, he had successfully completed the task assigned to him by the police. At the same time, it made the hearts of the police officers rise and fall like a roller coaster, and they almost had heart attacks.

Jiang Mingyu was terrified by his sudden outburst. As the police helped him slunk down the rooftop, his legs were still trembling uncontrollably. He probably would never dare to stand at such a height again in his life.

Xing Lan looked at Jiang Mingyu, who was ashen-faced, and suddenly raised her hand. Before anyone could react, she slapped him hard across the face. After the slap, her expression remained unchanged, still extremely cold.

The sound of the slap was crisp and loud. Jiang Mingyu's face was still pale, and he was still dazed from the slap.

The police officer next to him belatedly came to stop him: "Hey, Mr. Xing, what are you doing..."

Xing Lan put her hand back into her trench coat pocket, glanced at Jiang Mingyu quietly, and spoke with an indescribable indifference.

That's the end of it.

After Xing Lan finished speaking, she turned and left without looking back. The hem of her beige dress fluttered in the wind.

Jiang Mingyu raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, then lowered his head helplessly, neither speaking nor trying to stop him.

He was truly speechless. Even if Jiang Mingyu had always been thick-skinned, he had to admit that he had made a complete fool of himself today, scaring his own mother into fainting three times.

He knew that it was truly over between him and Xing Lan.

-

Xing Lan got back into the car and drove as fast as she could, obeying traffic rules and pushing the car to its maximum speed, but she still couldn't make it to Li Baidong's rehearsal.

He placed a bouquet of flowers in the back seat, intending to give them to Li Baidong naturally after the performance. However, after being cooped up in the car for so long, the once fresh flowers had gradually wilted and were no longer presentable.

When Xing Lan arrived back at Ningda University, she saw Li Baidong walking out of the school auditorium.

He didn't walk with the other students in the club; he walked alone, head slightly lowered, slowly along the path shaded by trees. His tall figure mostly fell into the gray shadows, with only a sliver of golden sunset light on his shoulders.

Even without being able to see his facial expression, Xing Lan could keenly sense from his unusually heavy gait that he was not happy.

Xing Lan's heart sank. Without hesitation, she quickly ran towards him and reached his side.

"sorry……"

Xing Lan looked at him, hesitating to speak, "I'm late."

Li Baidong stopped in his tracks, subtly raised his eyes, and met his gaze.

Xing Lan broke her promise. She clearly agreed that day, but she didn't come to see his rehearsal today.

I was so late, and I even smelled that odor on me again.

That kind of unpleasant, pungent, and irritating men's cologne smell.

His expression changed slightly. He remained silent for a while, then mumbled a "hmm" without saying anything.

He didn't smile at Xing Lan with his eyes crinkled like before, nor did he go over to hold his hand affectionately, or warm his hand and place it against his face ingratiatingly. He just brushed past him indifferently, his hands always casually tucked into the pockets of his black hoodie.

Xing Lan's pupils trembled slightly, and he was genuinely a little flustered. He had never seen Li Baidong so unhappy before, and there was an indescribable sense of death about him.

Fortunately, Li Baidong retained some rationality, and none of them went home in a huff.

He found Xing Lan's car parked at the school gate, skillfully opened the door and got in, then lowered his head and remained silent. His long bangs hung down, almost obscuring his eyes.

Xing Lan also got into the car, but didn't drive off immediately.

He turned his head and cautiously looked at Li Baidong sitting in the passenger seat, wanting to explain, "I'm late because..."

Li Baidong interrupted him, staring intently at him, his voice tinged with coldness that made Xing Lan feel very unfamiliar: "No need to say anything, I just saw the video."

In this society, messages in group chats spread much faster than police announcements.

Li Baidong had just finished rehearsing and picked up his phone, intending to send a message to Xing Lan to ask why he hadn't come today. Unexpectedly, he immediately saw a video being frantically forwarded in the alumni group, saying that a rich second-generation senior from a few years ago wanted to jump off a building because he couldn't have another senior he loved.

He clicked on the video and saw Xing Lan and Jiang Mingyu standing together on the rooftop, very close to each other. The next second, Xing Lan grabbed Jiang Mingyu's wrist.

The person filming the video had a good phone; it was like a telescope, capturing the two people clearly from such a distance. However, the audio wasn't so good. Even at maximum volume, it was impossible to hear what they were saying; you could only barely make out their lip movements.

As for why Jiang Mingyu jumped off the building and why Xing Lan appeared by his side at this time, with Li Baidong's intelligence, he could not only guess the general reason, but also guess what Jiang Mingyu would probably say to Xing Lan at this time.

Although Li Baidong and Jiang Mingyu had only met a few times, Li Baidong grew up watching all sorts of melodramatic idol dramas with his grandmother, so as a rival in love, she could easily see through his despicable tricks.

It's obvious that the other party is threatening to jump off a building to force Xing Lan to get back together with him.

The key lies in Xing Lan's answer.

Did Xing Lan fall for his words and agree to his shameless demands?

Li Baidong knew that Xing Lan, despite his cold demeanor, was actually soft-hearted. In that situation, he might have been forced to make some promises he shouldn't have in order to appease Jiang Mingyu and prevent him from doing anything rash.

For example, she agreed to break up with Li Baidong and then reconciled with Jiang Mingyu.

Li Baidong knew perfectly well that Xing Lan's relationship with Jiang Mingyu, even if short-lived, was a decision he made independently, without being forced or interfered with. The reason he was able to be with Xing Lan now was because he took advantage of Xing Lan's drunkenness, lied to him, and even invoked his ancestors to force him to take responsibility.

After spending so much time together, Xing Lan might have really fallen for him, but he had no confidence in how deep or heavy that feeling was, how much of it stemmed from his sense of responsibility, and how much was genuine love.

Compared to Li Baidong, who often expresses his love passionately, Xing Lan's love is always deeply hidden. She never speaks of it verbally and rarely admits it openly. This leaves people uncertain and only able to feel heartbroken in secret.

In the dimly lit car, Li Baidong lowered his head, his feelings a complex mix.

He remained silent on the surface, but he had already made up his mind that if Xing Lan brought up breaking up with him later, he would never agree.

He would try every possible way to cling to him relentlessly.

From today onwards, he will not sleep every night and will keep an eye on Xing Lan 24 hours a day, not giving Xing Lan any chance to see others.

However, he was worried that he couldn't last more than a few days. After all, people always need to sleep. Even if he could compress the time to three or four hours, what if Jiang Mingyu took advantage of those three or four hours while he was sleeping and secretly appeared like an endless mole in a game console to trick Xing Lan away?

Or he could buy a pair of handcuffs and lock his hands together with Xing Lan's. As for the key, he could just burn it. He could also buy a pinhole camera and secretly install it in the house, not only in the bedroom but also in the bathroom, and install several of them... But Xing Lan is very observant, so it would be easy for him to find out... But wouldn't he easily find out about the handcuffs?

Xing Lan had no idea what Li Baidong had been thinking about all this time. He looked at him worriedly and reached out to touch his slightly cold face.

Li Baidong had removed most of his stage makeup, but not completely. Some shimmering glitter remained on the corners of his eyes, making him look sparkly and beautiful.

Xing Lan felt regretful because Jiang Mingyu suddenly went crazy and didn't watch Li Baidong's meticulously prepared rehearsal.

Although he had never seen Li Baidong on stage, he knew without a doubt that he must be very spirited, shining like a star, and loved by everyone.

Xing Lan pursed his lips, pondering how he should make it up to Li Baidong.

Suddenly, he thought of something that Li Baidong would probably like.

Xing Lan made up her mind and didn't say anything more to Li Baidong. She started the car and drove back to the apartment.

-

It was quite late when I got home.

Xing Lan personally cooked some simple fried rice for Li Baidong and herself.

This was the second time Li Baidong had eaten Xing Lan's fried rice. His skills had improved a lot compared to before. The rice was fragrant and soft, and it was no longer undercooked. However, Li Baidong didn't quite enjoy it. For some reason, he felt a little nostalgic for the terrible fried rice he had eaten here for the first time.

After finishing her meal, Xing Lan went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Li Baidong sat alone at the dining table, somewhat absent-minded.

They've already finished their last supper, so why hasn't Xing Lan broken up with him yet? Is she afraid of hurting him and finding it hard to bring it up?

Amidst Li Baidong's many doubts, the sound of water in the bathroom gradually subsided.

After a while, a loud "thump" suddenly came from the direction of the bedroom. Li Baidong thought that Xing Lan had accidentally fallen, so he quickly got up from his chair and ran over.

He rushed to the bedroom, only to find Xing Lan lying perfectly fine on the clean white bed, having changed out of the clothes she wore during the day and now only wearing the white sweater he had bought for her on Valentine's Day.

Li Baidong was taken aback, his Adam's apple bobbing as he stared at him, his voice becoming hoarse involuntarily: "Why...why are you suddenly wearing this?"

"..."

"Didn't you want me to wear it before?" Xing Lan's ears were bright red, but she tried her best to keep her voice calm.

He looked away, not daring to look at Li Baidong at all, and tried to cover his fair thighs with the blanket as if trying to hide his true feelings.

Li Baidong realized what was happening.

What was that? This is the dinner that was tailor-made for him.

He turned his head, exhaled softly, and slowly walked towards Xing Lan with his eyes half-closed.

When Xing Lan saw him coming, she hooked her fingers under his chin and kissed him very proactively.

Li Baidong placed his hand on Xing Lan's leg, appearing calm on the surface, but in reality, veins were throbbing on his forehead.

He looked down at him, his expression inscrutable, and said in a low voice, "After you're done wearing it, are you planning to break up with me?"

"...Break up?" Xing Lan looked at him strangely, not understanding what he was talking about. "Why do you want to break up?"

"That guy surnamed Jiang came down from the rooftop, wasn't it because you agreed to be with him?" Li Baidong said, enunciating each word clearly. "If you want to be with him, you have to break up with me, right? Although I don't care, I don't want you to be with him besides me..."

Xing Lan interrupted him, her expression changing: "What are you talking about? When did I agree to be with him? Did you agree for me?"

"..."

Li Baidong was silent for a moment, then said, "I saw you holding his hand."

Xing Lan paused: "I even slapped him! How come you didn't see that?"

"So that's what made you angry earlier." Xing Lan belatedly realized, "How could I possibly agree to be with him? Aren't I already with you?" He doesn't have any bad habit of two-timing.

Li Baidong's eyes were wet, but his body was stiff.

He hugged Xing Lan, looking dejected and anxious, and said, "I'm afraid he'll use this to threaten you, I'm afraid you want to break up with me."

"How could that be?" Xing Lan looked at him, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. "I'm not stupid."

"I was stupid." Li Baidong lowered his head and snuggled into Xing Lan's arms, his eyes downcast, and said pitifully, "I thought my brother would abandon me."

Xing Lan looked at his dejected puppy-like appearance and found it kind of silly and cute. She reached out and touched his hair: "What are you thinking? I won't abandon you."

"Really?" Li Baidong's black pupils brightened again.

"Really?" Xing Lan smiled, then suddenly wanted to tease him, so she leaned over and kissed his eye, saying in a serious tone, "Because you're my little dog."

"I will not abandon small animals. It's immoral."

Li Baidong couldn't resist Xing Lan's teasing, especially since she was wearing such alluring clothes and saying such seductive things.

He quickly and hastily climbed into bed, his hands wandering all over his back.

Xing Lan grabbed his fidgeting wrist, looked up at him and asked, "Was today's rehearsal going well?"

Li Baidong pouted and shook his head.

"Without you here, I have no mood to perform at all." When I stood on the stage, I turned into a statue waiting for my wife.

“It’s my fault.” Xing Lan suddenly lowered her eyes, turned her face slightly, and licked his fingertip with her tongue. Her beautiful eyes stared straight at him, her tone and gaze so gentle, yet carrying an indescribable allure. “I will definitely come when you have your official performance.”