Chapter 34 Cannon Fodder Ex-Boyfriend 34 One More Time

[Wait, is this protagonist crazy?! Didn't we agree not to make any choices and not to bother each other afterwards?! Why is he suddenly acting like a lunatic?! We were sunbathing, and suddenly we're in a dark room?! Is this still our little world?!]

In Li Qingran's mind, 888 once again transformed into an urgent request.

Perhaps because it frequently entered the dark room, it looked around the room where Li Qingran was locked up, and for a moment, it had the illusion that the main system had finally gone mad and thrown it and its host into the dark room together.

"Why are there so many mosaics to remove!" 888 complained on behalf of the main system.

It was sending tiny lightning bolts through Li Qingran's mind in a panic, while Li Qingran, who was actually being captured, remained remarkably calm.

He didn't seem surprised at all by this.

Indeed, that was the case. After all, from the day he chose no one, Li Qingran was prepared for one of the main characters to eventually come looking for him.

It's easy to imagine that the way the other person came to him might not be very normal.

After all, those main characters are not normal people.

Li Qingran reached out and fiddled with the silver handcuffs on her wrist, then looked up and surveyed the room.

The room was large, but simply furnished with only a bed, a sofa, and a small table next to the sofa with a decorative lamp on it. There were no other items in the room.

It's very clean.

Especially with the iron bed beneath him, the cleanliness made it look even more like a film set.

Li Qingran blinked twice, then looked up at the only window in the room, which was located at the very top of the wall.

Through the glass, he saw the sunlight shining brightly outside the window, but only a few rays of golden light fell into the room.

Dust particles floated in the golden light, and every breath created a suffocating sense of oppression.

It's so quiet...

Li Qingran sat on the large black bed, glanced up at the door that hadn't made a sound since he woke up, and tugged at the handcuffs on his wrists.

The next second, the chain connected to the handcuffs collided with the iron post at the head of the bed, making a rattling sound mixed with several clanging sounds. However, even so, Su Jingyi still did not open the door and come in.

Is the plan to lock him up until he starts going crazy like himself before coming in?

Li Qingran braced herself on the large bed with her hands behind her, her gray eyes fixed on the heavy door that resembled the one in the Jiang family manor, wondering whether Su Jingyi didn't want to come in or was afraid to come in.

He even had the leisure to make a bet with 888, betting on when Su Jingyi would show up.

888 guessed that it was dinnertime, and they couldn't let its host go hungry! Even an imprisoned Alpha has human rights!

888 thought that if Su Jingyi didn't show up by dinner time, he would apply to the main system to leave the world directly!

"If they won't even let us eat, then we definitely can't stay in this world anymore!" 888 said indignantly.

However, it was still a little curious about when Su Jingyi would come in and face him, based on Li Qingran's guess.

Li Qingran swung her legs, looked up at the equally simple chandelier on the ceiling, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke softly:

[In about five minutes.]

"Five minutes?!" 888 asked doubtfully. "Really? He can appear that quickly?"

"How about we bet on something?" Li Qingran raised an eyebrow.

If he comes in five minutes later, after this world ends, please apply for one more quest item for me.

888: [...What if he comes over around dinner time?]

"After this world ends, I'll give you half of my points," Li Qingran said readily.

【…Okay!】After thinking for a moment, 888 gritted his teeth and agreed to Li Qingran's bet.

After all, applying for mission items is quite troublesome, but with some effort, 888 can still manage it.

But points are different.

Since it is only an auxiliary system, it mostly plays a guiding and supervisory role in missions. The mission storyline is basically completed by the host alone. Therefore, after the mission is completed, the system usually shares the score with the host for the points gained in the mission world.

System One, Host Nine.

This means that if 888 wins against Li Qingran in this bet, it can directly save at least four mission worlds!

What a huge temptation this is for a lazy system!

I couldn't resist, I simply couldn't resist—I gambled!

"Okay, then it's settled." Li Qingran said, leaning back on the large bed. The soft blanket immediately enveloped him. The blanket must have been freshly sun-dried, carrying a scent of sunshine. It felt warm and cozy against his face, making him want to hug the blanket and fall asleep immediately.

[Host, aren't you being a little too comfortable...] 888 said unbalancedly.

They even made a bet!

He was so nervous that the little lightning bolts were falling down, while its host was so relaxed, looking like he was about to take a nap.

Can you please take this a little more seriously?!

Five minutes!

[If the protagonist doesn't come in within five minutes, you, host, might die—]

Squeak—

Before 888 could even utter the word "lose," the door that it thought would take some time to open was suddenly pushed open.

The Alpha, lying on the bed, immediately opened his eyes, and where his gaze fell, a thin and frail figure was standing in the doorway.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly, but inside the room it was cool and shady. Su Jingyi stood at the boundary between light and darkness, looking at him with her amber eyes, her face showing both joy and struggle.

Perhaps it was because he had been unfamiliar with Li Qingran for too long, or perhaps it was because he didn't know how to face the Alpha in the room under these circumstances, so he could only stand hesitantly at the door.

He looked a little nervous.

On the contrary, Li Qingran, who was locked on the bed, seemed more relaxed. Under Su Jingyi's gaze, he sat up with the quilt in his arms. His black hair was flying wildly due to static electricity, which made his hair look very fluffy, and his whole temperament became softer and gentler.

Su Jingyi watched as the alpha, whose wrists were shackled, smiled at him, then parted his thin lips and said calmly:

"Long time no see, Jingyi."

He still called him Jingyi, just like every time he saw him before, and even the expression on his face didn't change much.

Su Jingyi's eyes instantly reddened.

In Li Qingran's mind, 888 was almost crying too, [No, how did he get in so quickly?!]

They hadn't come in during the two hours Li Qingran was unconscious, and there hadn't been a sound outside after Li Qingran woke up, acting as if they never intended to come in.

As soon as it finished making a bet with Li Qingran, Omega pushed the door open and walked in.

Forget five minutes, 888 glanced at the timer and realized that not even a minute had passed.

If it weren't for the fact that mission takers aren't forbidden from revealing anything about the system, 888 would have suspected that Li Qingran and Su Jingyi had conspired beforehand to trick him.

Seeing the points for the four worlds that were about to be in her hands vanish, 888 was on the verge of tears. In addition, she still had to work hard to apply for the mission items for Li Qingran in the next world.

Disaster.

It's really too difficult.

888, who lost the bet, couldn't hold back and went offline to isolate themselves.

Meanwhile, Li Qingran looked at the Omega standing silently by the door and found it somewhat amusing. "Are you planning to stand there and cosplay as a statue?"

His expression was pitiful; anyone who didn't know better would think that Li Qingran had bullied or imprisoned him.

Li Qingran glanced down at the shackles on her wrists and couldn't help but smile.

However, seeing his calm demeanor, the Omega was even more at a loss for words.

The more normal Li Qingran acted, the less he knew how to face her.

Before opening the door, Su Jingyi mentally rehearsed Li Qingran's possible reactions several times.

If the Alpha questions loudly, he will explain softly, first calming the other person down, and then telling the Alpha why he did it.

If the Alpha pretends not to see him, then he will accept his fate, since it was a decision he made on his own without consulting the Alpha beforehand, and it was his fault.

But to his utter surprise, after opening the door, Alpha greeted him with a smile, using the same tone he used when they were still happily dating, before all the messy people and things got out of the way.

He looked very calm, with a gentle expression and indifferent gaze, as if he had not been drugged and locked in this small dark room without a word, and that they had just met by chance on the roadside. So Alpha greeted him with great surprise.

It's friendly, and it's normal.

But that's not the case.

Su Jingyi gripped the doorknob tightly, her teeth unconsciously biting her lower lip. She wanted to say something, but her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and she couldn't utter a sound.

"What's wrong?"

Finally, Li Qingran spoke again: "It's not that we haven't seen each other for so long, and you feel I've become a stranger and don't want to talk to me anymore, is it?"

"How is that possible!"

Amidst the Alpha's soft sigh and the sudden dimming of his expression, Su Jingyi immediately panicked, "How could I not have anything to say to my brother? I just... I just..."

As Su Jingyi spoke, his voice began to falter again.

But there was not a trace of impatience on Li Qingran's face. In fact, a hint of interest flashed in Alpha's beautiful gray eyes.

In the dimly lit room, the Alpha bent his right knee and rested his elbow on it, his body slightly tilted, his fingers loosely supporting his chin. He looked at the Omega at the door with his eyes narrowed, so flustered that even his limbs were starting to move uncontrollably.

The whole scene looked bizarre. He was clearly the one who was locked up, yet at this moment, he was still the one in control between the two people in the room.

The silver chains snaked across the bed as the Alpha raised his arm slightly.

Li Qingran held her hand up, her long, slender, white fingers gently hooking upwards twice. Amidst the clanging of chains, the Alpha's gentle voice rang out once more.

"come over."

“Brother…” Su Jingyi’s eyes reddened even more. He subconsciously took a step into the room, his body leaning forward involuntarily, as if he couldn’t wait to throw himself into Li Qingran’s arms.

Just like when they were dating.

However, after more than half a year, Su Jingyi finally had some time alone with Li Qingran. But before he could even touch Li Qingran's outstretched left hand, a series of cracking sounds suddenly came from outside the room and into the living room, accompanied by a haughty and spoiled voice.

"Why waste so much breath on them? Just tie them all up and throw them in the kitchen!"

Su Jingyi's body stiffened for a moment. He subconsciously looked up at Li Qingran, only to be met with an innocent blink from her.

"What's wrong? Has someone come?"

As he spoke, he leaned towards the door, seemingly curious about the noise coming from the living room.

Su Jingyi quickly grabbed him, "No, it's nothing! It's probably just a neighbor or something. Brother, you should rest for a bit. I'll come back to find you after I've finished dealing with things outside."

As Su Jingyi spoke, she pulled out a huge snack box from under the bed. "Brother, if you're hungry, have some snacks to tide you over. I'll cook you something delicious later tonight."

[Wow, this service is quite thoughtful, knowing that you need snacks to enjoy while watching a movie.] 888 suddenly chimed in.

Li Qingran watched Su Jingyi leave in a hurry, locking the door several times before turning her gaze to the snack box beside the bed.

What, are you done having a breakdown?

"That's right, a bet's a bet, I've already written the application report for the props!" 888 said proudly.

It's just a small lost bet, he can take it!

Having confirmed it lost the bet, 888 was too lazy to dwell on how Li Qingran had accurately predicted when Su Jingyi would push the door open and come in. Because compared to that, it was more interested in watching the drama unfold.

888, never one to shy away from a good spectacle, asked: "Host, guess who's in the living room right now?"

Li Qingran fiddled with the shackles on her wrists, not even raising her head upon hearing this.

What, you want to bet with me again?

[I can't gamble on this. I have a God's-eye view; I can see outside and already know who's there.]

"Really? Then 888 is truly a very upright system." Li Qingran gave 888 a thumbs up, then, as the little system started dropping little lightning bolts, she pondered for a few seconds before continuing:

They should all be here.

888, who was initially shy about its host praising it, was so shocked upon hearing this that even its little lightning bolt stopped flashing.

[Not the host! How did you know that?!]

Is its host really just an NPC in a game? How can it predict things so accurately every time? Could it be that the game Li Qingran stayed in before had some kind of mystical influence?!

888 was very surprised.

Li Qingran, however, felt that the matter itself was not difficult to guess. "Is it really that hard to know?"

Li Qingran shook the shackles on her wrists. "Do you think that from the day we left Nancheng, only Su Jingyi thought of having someone monitor me?"

None of those people showed any intention of giving up. Even Jiang Siran, who left early, gave him a ring at the end and asked him to keep it for him temporarily.

Doesn't this "temporarily" mean they'll meet again?

Li Qingran lay back down on the bed, turned to her side, hugged the blanket and rubbed herself a couple of times, then closed her eyes and remained still.

888 was a little confused. [Host, are you... getting ready to sleep?]

Li Qingran hummed in agreement.

888 was even more confused. [Really? Just then, all four people outside arrived. Host, are you getting ready to sleep?]

Since I can't see it anyway, there's no point in just waiting. I might as well take this time to catch up on some sleep.

The main problem is that the drug Su Jingyi used was too effective, causing him to be somewhat mentally unclear.

After finishing her sentence, Li Qingran buried her head in the quilt, looking like a lazy bum who was oblivious to everything around her and only wanted to sleep.

888 tried to pull him up but failed, so it could only focus on the scene in the living room, thinking of telling Li Qingran about it when he woke up, so that its host could have a preliminary judgment on the behavior of these people.

At this moment, in the living room, the four people each occupied one of the four directions: east, west, south, and north.

Su Jingyi looked at the three uninvited guests, a dark glint flashing in his eyes, and his expression immediately turned cold.

"What are you doing here? You're trespassing! Do you believe I'll call the police right now?!"

"Go ahead and report it." Jiang Siran leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said nonchalantly, "It'll be good to have the police come and see if someone is illegally detaining an innocent passerby. I don't know much about foreign laws, but compared to trespassing, the former should be punished more severely, right?"

Gu Shiyu added, "In that case, we wouldn't be seen as bad people trespassing, but as righteous people who come to save the victim when they see someone trying to commit an act of misconduct."

"You, a champion of justice?!"

Su Jingyi almost burst out laughing. "Gu Shiyu, can you stop trying to make yourself look good? If you're so righteous, then there are no despicable people in this world!"

"So what? At least I won't do something as bad as unilaterally breaking the contract and secretly taking people away."

Gu Shiyu twitched the corner of her mouth, her cold eyes fixed on the Omega in front of her. "I remember we agreed that we would respect his choice, that he could watch from afar, but that he absolutely could not come up and disturb him."

"so what?"

Faced with Gu Shiyu's accusations, Su Jingyi showed no remorse whatsoever, "So what if we made an appointment?"

"If I hadn't lacked the authority at the time, I wouldn't have signed any non-interference agreement with you. Besides, what are you pretending for? You were all quick to break contracts before, and now you're talking to me about the spirit of contracts? Isn't that ridiculous?!"

Su Jingyi snorted coldly, then, as if remembering something, a sweet smile appeared on her face.

"Besides, my brother isn't even angry with me, so what right do you have to criticize me... While I'm in a good mood right now, get out of my house right now, or don't blame me for being rude to you!"

"Everyone has about the same number of people, so you don't need to threaten us with this."

Qi Ziyan frowned and said, "Explain yourself clearly, what do you mean by 'my brother himself isn't angry with you'?"

“That’s my brother!” Su Jingyi immediately glared fiercely at Qi Ziyan.

"..." Qi Ziyan rolled his eyes.

He really wanted to retort to Su Jingyi, but to prevent the Omega from going crazy and affecting his chance to see Li Qingran, Qi Ziyan moved his lips but ultimately didn't say, "You two have nothing to do with each other anymore, and it's not certain who his brother will be in the end!"

The other two Alphas also had no intention of further provoking Su Jingyi.

Gu Shiyu rubbed his temples and simply said, "Anyway, you know we can't leave easily, so why don't we let Qingran come out and we can sit down and have a proper discussion?"

"What are we discussing?" Su Jingyi sneered. "If he still doesn't choose anyone in the end, will you be satisfied?!"

In his opinion, there's nothing to discuss; all that matters is for these damned people to disappear!

After all, in Su Jingyi's view, Li Qingran was not at all averse to him when they were alone, and was very willing to be close to him. However, as long as there were a few other people around, the Alpha would show an indifferent attitude, just quietly watching them argue, and finally, when things reached a stalemate, he would say, "I don't like anyone."

It's impossible for him not to like him!

He was just tired of arguing with others.

This was the conclusion Su Jingyi had reached after thinking about it for more than half a year.

so--

"Can you all get out?! My boyfriend is in this room. Can you all stop shamelessly coming here to be the other woman?!"

"You two broke up a long time ago, okay?! Qingran doesn't like you at all. You're the only one who thinks you two are still in a relationship!"

Qi Ziyan couldn't help but say, "Besides, although your marriage with Gu Shiyu has fallen through, hasn't Uncle Su already introduced you to a new marriage prospect? So just give up on the idea of ​​being with Qingran!"

As Qi Ziyan spoke, he suddenly laughed, seemingly thinking of something. "If you really don't trust the other two Alphas, then why not leave Qingran to me? We've been good friends for so many years, and you know my personality. I'll definitely treat Qingran even better than you treat him."

“We’ve been close since we were little, always thinking of each other and sharing everything. Now that you have a boyfriend, what’s wrong with you sharing him with me?”

"Qi Ziyan, are you crazy?!" Su Jingyi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Is there anyone here who isn't crazy?" Jiang Siran chimed in from the side.

"However, I don't agree with your idea that Su Jingyi should give Qingran to you. After all, he is a living, breathing person, not an object that you can give away to each other."

"Besides..." Alpha gently stroked his left index finger, where a light gray gem shimmered in the sunlight.

"Haven't you seen it yet? Qingran has absolutely no romantic feelings for either of you Omegas. He prefers to have a more intimate relationship with me, an Alpha, rather than with Omegas."

"AO is no longer popular, AA is the way to go!"

"That……"

Gu Shiyu couldn't help but interrupt Jiang Siran as soon as he finished speaking.

"I am also an Alpha."

so……

The four of them simultaneously turned their gazes back to the tightly closed door, their burning eyes seemingly trying to pierce through the door and land on the Alpha locked inside.

So, Li Qingran, if you had to do it all over again, who would you choose?

-----------------------

Author's Note: The bet is now closed! The next chapter will reveal Pear's final choice! [Heart emoji]