Chapter 66 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 14 They're Going to Snatch Him Away

Li Qingran was stunned.

He truly hadn't expected that even at this point, Xu Luo would still be in this failed world, and would still persevere in finding herself...

It seems that today's mission will not be possible.

Li Qingran pursed her lips, then, under Xu Luo's gaze, she slightly tugged at the corner of her lips, not responding to Xu Luo's familiar greeting, but only asking a question indifferently.

Why did you come here?

I want to see you.

Xu Luo bit his lip, seemingly unaccustomed to Li Qingran's cold attitude towards him, but what could he do? It was all because that incompetent and troublesome person had suddenly gone mad and tried to force himself on him with props—

Although Xu Luo did not witness the scene firsthand, he could still sense from Xiao Liuzi's recounting how panicked and desperate Li Qingran must have felt.

After all, anyone who, after finishing a phone call, is kissed by a neighbor who is usually polite and doesn't do anything inappropriate, and then, after being hugged and whispered a lot of inexplicable sweet nothings, suddenly feels hot and confused as their clothes are pulled open and they are moved around, would likely experience some degree of psychological trauma.

Although he didn't do those things, ultimately it was his body that did the stupid things. Now, Number One probably realizes how outrageous his behavior was and has simply hidden in the depths of his consciousness and won't come out.

According to Xiao Liuzi, the protagonist's attack was too forceful, directly damaging Number One's mental strength. However, in Xu Luo's opinion, Number One was filled with regret and fear. He dared not come out to face Li Qingran after being treated that way, afraid of seeing the disgusted look and resistant actions on the other side. So he pretended to be dead and stopped clamoring to take control of his body.

This is indeed a good thing for Xu Luo, provided that Number One didn't leave him with such a huge mess...

Xu Luo couldn't explain to Li Qingran how many points he spent or how many items he used to appear before her. This was partly due to the Bureau's restrictions on mission takers, and partly because no matter how much time, effort, or resources he spent, it had nothing to do with Li Qingran; it was entirely his own fault.

If Number One hadn't acted irrationally, Li Qingran would still be living peacefully next door to him. Why would he need to waste three or four days searching for Li Qingran when there's only one week left?

Xu Luo grew angrier the more he thought about it, but Number One was hiding in the depths of his consciousness and wouldn't come out. Moreover, the mission world didn't have the equipment or conditions to allow him to separate Number One from his body and beat him up. So no matter how angry Xu Luo was, he could only endure it for now and teach this good-for-nothing guy a lesson when he returned to the Administration Bureau.

Now, the most urgent task is to get Li Qingran to let go of her resentment towards him, forgive him, and be willing to accept him again.

His time is really running out!

Thinking this, Xu Luo paused, and under Li Qingran's indifferent gaze, said softly:

"Ran... Mr. Li, are you... free right now? Can we talk?"

Are you sure you just want to talk to me?

Li Qingran leaned back against the door, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked at Xu Luo.

Across from him, Xu Luo looked extremely cautious, afraid that a single word might trigger Li Qingran's temper and cause her to turn away without giving him any chance to explain.

This scene made 888 click her tongue twice.

Anyone who comes here would find it strange!

When did the protagonist need to treat a cannon fodder character with such caution?

888 even felt that the protagonist at this moment was even more humble than the one facing the protagonist in the original work.

But who can we blame for this?

Xu Luo bit her lip harder, her teeth digging deep into her flesh, making her lips even more swollen and red. When she spoke again, her voice was even more hoarse.

"Yes, Mr. Li, I'm sure... Don't worry, I definitely won't do anything stupid like before. If you're still worried, we can just stand at the door and talk, okay?"

The young man looked extremely humble, and his eyes were full of pleading as he looked at Li Qingran.

Li Qingran didn't intend to continue refusing him. After all, he had already followed him all this way. If he didn't agree, Xu Luo might appear next to his bedside using props.

Rather than driving someone to the brink of despair, Li Qingran preferred to listen to their explanation when they seemed relatively normal.

So, under Xu Luo's expectant gaze, Li Qingran slowly nodded, then turned and opened the door that had just been closed, turning to Xu Luo and saying:

"Let's go inside and talk."

Standing for a long time is quite tiring.

"good."

At this point, Xu Luo couldn't possibly refuse and spoil the mood, so he naturally did whatever Li Qingran asked him to do.

The two entered Gu Qingyan's house one after the other, and then sat down on the single sofas on either side of the coffee table.

Xu Luo took a sip of the hot tea that Li Qingran had just handed him, then looked up at Li Qingran and said:

"Although it may be a bit late, I still need to apologize to you. What happened before was a moment of madness on my part, and I'm really sorry."

Li Qingran hummed in agreement, and then, under Xu Luo's increasingly tense gaze, suddenly chuckled and said:

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

"I--"

"At least, it's not your fault right now, is it?"

Before Xu Luo could finish speaking, Li Qingran interrupted him.

Upon hearing this, the latter was stunned and stood there, unable to process the meaning of Li Qingran's words for a moment.

Xu Luo blinked. "Mr. Li, do you...do you know something?"

"I guess so." Li Qingran tilted her head.

"After all, while a person's personality can be changeable, it shouldn't be so changeable as to be extremely opposite, and..."

Li Qingran paused, looked up and met Xu Luo's gaze, who was looking completely bewildered, before continuing:

“The other Xu Luo also came out to me about this.”

"I didn't have time to think about it at the time. After I came here, I calmed down and thought about it carefully. You and him are indeed different."

Xu Luo's Adam's apple bobbed, a question mark seemed to appear above his head, and his gaze towards Li Qingran became even more confused, as if he were bewildered by the boy's words.

"What's different?"

"That's right... he wouldn't appear in front of me like you are now."

Regardless of whether he was angry with the other party or completely loathed them because of it, the other Xu Luo didn't even have the courage to accept the outcome and just slept in the depths of his consciousness. Isn't that also a cowardly act?

"So don't worry, I'm not that unreasonable. I won't pin someone else's mistakes on an innocent person."

This also indirectly shows that there is absolutely no possibility between Li Qingran and him.

Even though Li Qingran said she wouldn't take out her anger on him for what Number One did, Number One was still a part of him. If Li Qingran stayed with him, she would inevitably face the problems that Number One would cause from time to time.

Putting aside the fact that Li Qingran doesn't have feelings for him yet, even if she did, they would most likely disappear into that problem that may never be solved.

Besides, he couldn't possibly actually detach Number One from his body...

Li Qingran seemed oblivious to Xu Luo's unusual behavior, and her voice remained gentle.

"Don't worry, I really don't blame you for this. Although I haven't had much contact with you, I can now barely tell you apart from... the other Mr. Xu. So you don't need to apologize for him or feel ashamed. I didn't blame you in the first place."

But what you blame is always a part of my body.

As Xu Luo's mind raced, his gaze followed Li Qingran's words and gradually lowered, his eyes trembling, mirroring the wavering in his heart.

After a long pause, Xu Luo finally raised his eyes and looked at Li Qingran again, as if he had made up his mind and said:

"So...can you accept the pursuit of Xu Luo, who is sitting across from you right now?"

Li Qingran seemed to be stunned for a moment, not quite hearing Xu Luo's words.

"What did you say?"

“I said,” Xu Luo pursed her lips and repeated what she had just said.

"Would you accept me pursuing you?"

"Mr. Li, I like you! I like you a lot!"

"Actually, Number One's feelings for you are no less than mine, it's just that he's not very bright and his methods were too extreme. But I can assure you, he will never do that again. That day he was just—"

"She was just too eager to be with me."

Before Xu Luo could finish speaking, Li Qingran interrupted him, saying:

"That's what you meant, right?"

Xu Luo hesitated for a moment upon hearing this. He sensed that Li Qingran's tone seemed a little off when he said this, even though the boy had been smiling gently at him the whole time. He really didn't have much time left, and the combination of his good looks and his own anxiety made Xu Luo's mind go blank for a moment. He could only nod blankly and say:

"……yes."

"So you also agree with this way of liking someone, right, Mr. Xu?"

"I don't--"

"You don't need to rush to deny it, because that's exactly the message you just conveyed to me."

Li Qingran picked up her teacup, took a sip of the tea, and then spoke.

"He just likes me too much, so before doing such outrageous things, he didn't care about my feelings as the person involved, nor did he treat me as an independent person. He could just drug and manipulate me at will. Is this how you treat the people you truly like?"

"..."

Xu Luo was speechless.

Li Qingran had no intention of continuing to waste words with him.

"I can definitely tell the two of you apart."

Li Qingran smiled at Xu Luo and said:

"But sometimes, you are still very similar."

"It's so similar that I have the illusion of facing another Mr. Xu."

Mr. Xu, who doesn't even know how to spell the word "respect," is truly uninteresting...

"...No, that's not it!"

Xu Luo realized something was wrong and immediately tried to explain:

"I'm not trying to excuse him, I'm just saying he didn't actually mean you any harm—"

“Extreme feelings are a burden for both parties, Mr. Xu. I understand what you mean, but I’m sorry, I don’t want to accept it.”

As Li Qingran spoke, she put down her teacup, then looked up, smiled at the stunned Xu Luo, and said:

"Mr. Xu, we've finished our conversation and our tea."

They met because of a cup of tea, and now, they've ended it all because of a cup of tea.

Li Qingran didn't really want to get too entangled with the main characters, let alone the main character in front of him who was a mission taker similar to him, and had a tool that could be used on him at any time.

This kind of person is too dangerous for Li Qingran. Besides, if he continues to get entangled with the main characters, it won't make the plot any more chaotic, so why should he waste his time on him?

Xu Luo stared intently at Li Qingran, watching him lower his eyes and no longer look at her. She felt her heart grow colder and colder as the other man's gaze left her.

"good."

After a long pause, Xu Luo finally spoke in a hoarse voice:

"You don't have to accept me, but... can you accept your life just going on in the same monotonous cycle?"

Li Qingran's fingertips paused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

What I mean is...

[Warning! Warning! The mission participant intends to expose headquarters. Please assist the system to stop them immediately. Warning! Mission participant, please cease your actions immediately. Otherwise, headquarters will punish you according to the severity of the plot leak. In serious cases, your mission participant status will be revoked, and you will be sent back to your original world.]

Two voices rang in Li Qingran's ears at the same time, making it difficult for him to hear what Xu Luo was saying or what he was arguing with the system about.

The other party seems to want to have a complete showdown with him, but what good would that do him?

Revealing one's identity just to awaken a cannon fodder character in a small world? Isn't that a bit too high a price to pay?

[Actually, it's not just about awakening you, the host.] 888 said: [Although I don't know if it's true, host, I heard from the senior system that some mission takers from the Administration Bureau seem to be able to bring characters from small worlds back with them...]

It didn't believe the rumor at first, but now, looking at the protagonist's appearance... it seems quite possible!

This is truly eye-opening!

Now it's not just systems competing for hosts, even mission takers are starting to snatch people up, is that it?

888 immediately became alert.

However, it's unclear whether Xu Luo's main system was genuinely afraid that he would blurt out anything in order to take Li Qingran away, or whether the Heavenly Dao rules of this small world finally couldn't stand seeing their protagonist acting so mad.

Just as Xu Luo frowned, about to continue speaking—

"Ding-dong!"

"Ding-dong!"

"Ding-dong!"

Suddenly, a very urgent doorbell rang at the door, as if the person outside would break down the door the next second if Li Qingran didn't open it now.

At the same time, just as Xu Luo and Li Qingran both looked towards the door, their phones rang simultaneously...

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Author's Note: I don't know what to say today. Wishing all the little ones happiness and joy! [heart emojis]