Chapter 67 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 15 Waiting for Each of Them

Xu Luo looked at Li Qingran, who seemed to be taken aback as well. The doorbell in the entryway was still ringing. Xu Luo looked at the notification on his phone, pursed his lips, and finally spoke as if in resignation:

"Can I go to the restroom?"

This scene looks so familiar.

Could the person outside still be Gu Qingyan?

As Xu Luo followed Li Qingran's directions toward the restroom, his mind wandered aimlessly.

He can only guess now.

After all, the red warning that filled the entire phone screen didn't seem like a joke from the main system...

If he cannot give headquarters a reasonable explanation, he might really be stripped of his mission officer status.

His mission this time was a complete failure.

Xu Luo gave a self-deprecating smile. The white frosted glass door opened and then closed again, plunging the entire living room back into silence. The room was empty except for two cups of half-finished black tea.

Li Qingran didn't care what Xu Luo was doing in the bathroom. He glanced down at the caller ID on his phone, his eyes flickered slightly, and then, as if he could no longer stand the noisy doorbell, he got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

The corridor was dimly lit, and his cell phone kept ringing from the person standing at the door. The abrupt stop of the doorbell sounded somewhat abrupt, but it broke the surrounding silence perfectly.

Li Qingran blinked and smelled a strong aroma of alcohol in the air filled with the fragrance of ebony and sandalwood.

It has to be said that sometimes, fate is truly a wondrous thing.

He carefully dressed himself up according to 888's advice and planned various routes to pretend to bump into Jiang Ming, but when he went out, Xu Luo blocked him at the elevator door and he couldn't get out.

Now that he had given up on meeting Jiang Ming, she appeared before him looking so beautiful and radiant.

Li Qingran's fingers twitched, and her gaze moved from Jiang Ming's slightly red eyes to his tightly clenched lips.

"Mr. Jiang?...Are you here to see President Gu?"

Li Qingran admitted that there was a certain element of intent in her asking that question.

But there was nothing he could do. After all, this was Gu Qingyan's home, and he and Jiang Ming hadn't had any other contact besides that time at the airport. He couldn't just assume that the other person was there to see him right away.

Jiang Ming was stunned for a few seconds by Li Qingran's question. He blinked, looked at the boy who came to open the door for him, and instead of answering the question, he murmured something under his breath.

"So you really were here..."

"What?" Li Qingran didn't hear clearly.

Jiang Ming didn't repeat himself. He simply looked Li Qingran up and down, then smiled at her.

"You still remember me."

"Of course." Li Qingran's eyes crinkled at his words.

"Mr. Jiang gave me so many gifts back then, how could I possibly forget you—".

"Then why didn't you reply to my messages later?"

Before Li Qingran could finish speaking, Jiang Ming cut to the chase and asked a question that had been troubling him for some time.

"Since you haven't forgotten me, why don't you reply to my messages? And why keep avoiding me..."

He finally found Li Qingran's residence, but when he went to look for him, he received no response. The chat interface on his phone was also like that; when he pulled it up, it was all a one-man show by Li Qingran.

Sometimes, Jiang Ming felt like he was possessed. He could still like someone who didn't reciprocate his feelings for so long, even to the point that he was drinking with her and immediately left the party after hearing about her, just to see her.

Even if this news is something that even the person who brought it up wasn't certain about...

Jiang Ming bit his lip, his eyes growing redder as he gazed at Li Qingran.

"I thought..."

His voice was choked with emotion.

"We are friends..."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran pursed his lips. He lowered his eyes and looked at Jiang Ming. The voice-activated lights above the corridor cast a white glow, as if a soft white veil had been placed over his face.

Jiang Ming waited for a while but didn't get a reply. When he subconsciously looked up, before he could even lift the white veil in front of him, he was met with a pair of deep black eyes.

Li Qingran tilted her head, her hand still on the doorknob, and said softly:

"Mr. Jiang, do you really not know why I haven't been replying to your messages?"

Li Qingran blinked, her dark eyes seeming to penetrate Jiang Ming's very soul through his eyes.

"If you were able to find this place and know that I was here, you must also know about my relationship with President Gu, right?"

Jiang Ming moved his lips, but could not utter a word.

Whether it was because Li Qingran's words were too impactful to him, or because the effects of the alcohol that had just been dispelled by the cold wind were returning, Jiang Ming felt the figures in front of him gradually blurring. In a dizzying moment, he could no longer maintain his standing posture, his legs went weak, and he was about to fall in front of the boy.

The next second, he found himself in a warm embrace...

Is it Li Qingran?

It must be Li Qingran!

Only he could treat someone so gently when he harbored resentment towards them.

This was the last thought that surfaced in Jiang Ming's mind before he lost consciousness.

However, unlike his emotional reaction, 888, looking at the person who had fainted in Li Qingran's arms, had only one question in his mind at this moment:

Is this villain trying to scam someone?

When it can't win an argument with its host, it starts pretending to faint? This villain is a bit cunning!

[Won't he try to extort money from us when he wakes up?]

That's perfect!

Li Qingran calmly said, "Isn't this exactly the opportunity we need now to get entangled with the villains?"

Otherwise, how else can I win him over?

888 then realized, "Oh right! Our mission now is no longer to be cannon fodder!"

Forgive it for being so dedicated to its mission that it couldn't help but worry and feel anxious whenever something deviated from the plot, fearing that the main system would attribute the plot chaos to it and Li Qingran.

So what should we do now? Move him inside and take care of him?

What should we do if Gu Qingyan comes back?

【Well…】 Li Qingran’s question stumped 888.

That's right!

This is the home of the main character, the seme.

As a result, because of Li Qingran, not only is there a new protagonist who stays in the bathroom and doesn't know what he's doing, but now there's also a villainous white moonlight who suddenly lost consciousness.

With Gu Qingyan's return, things are going to get quite lively.

But if we don't move our "white moonlight" in to take care of her, where else can we go? Send her to the hospital? But what if she becomes completely disillusioned with her host after waking up, making her impossible to win over...?

888 got caught up in a dilemma. Just when it couldn't think of a way to take care of its white moonlight without making the situation more chaotic, it was about to ask Li Qingran for help when it saw its host, who had just been arguing with it, carry the person into the house and even put them directly into its bedroom.

888: [...]

[Host...] 888 said quietly: [Won't you be afraid the protagonist will come back to dominate you?]

Wouldn't it be even more complicated to put someone in the bedroom?

Li Qingran ignored 888 and fed Jiang Ming the hangover medicine she had just taken out of the medicine box. Seeing that his breathing was no longer as rapid as before, she got up and walked outside.

The two cups of tea were still on the coffee table in the living room. Li Qingran ignored them and walked straight past them toward the tightly closed bathroom door.

Her long, slender, fair fingers tapped lightly twice on the surface. Before anyone inside could respond, Li Qingran spoke directly:

"Mr. Xu, are you alright? You've been inside for a long time. Did something happen? Do you need any help?"

There was a few seconds of silence before Xu Luo's voice rang out. It sounded hesitant, as if he was suppressing some kind of pain.

"No...no need, I, I'm almost better..."

Li Qingran thought for a moment and said, "Then call me if you need anything. I'll be right outside."

"……good."

Li Qingran didn't say anything more. Her gaze lingered for a second in the shadow behind the frosted glass before she looked away without any hesitation.

He returned to the living room, drank his cup of tea in one gulp, and then sat quietly on the sofa to wait.

No one knew whether he was waiting for Xu Luo in the bathroom, Jiang Ming upstairs in the bedroom (who might or might not be awake yet), or Gu Qingyan who might come back to open the door at any moment.

Even 888 was somewhat confused by his series of actions.

[Host, what are you doing?]

Why is it a little hard to understand?

If Li Qingran carrying Jiang Ming back to the bedroom to take care of him meant he was preparing to abandon the main character's storyline and focus on winning over the villain's white moonlight, then why did he only give him one hangover cure and then ignore him completely, leaving him in the room without any intention of going upstairs to check on him again?

If he didn't intend to use this to win over the villain, then why did he bring the person back into the house and into his own bedroom?

888 can't figure it out.

What I can't understand is why Li Qingran would still care about the protagonist in the middle of all this? Didn't she think he was dangerous? Didn't she want to stay away? Then what was the point of all those questions she asked earlier?

888 felt like Li Qingran was about to burn out his CPU.

Looking at Li Qingran, who was leisurely lying on the sofa at this moment, watching TV and searching for variety shows, it couldn't help but ask:

[Host, what exactly are you planning right now?]

Li Qingran didn't even look up. "What plan? I haven't planned anything."

Why did you bring the villain in just now?

Are we supposed to just leave him at the door if we don't bring him in?

[So what was the reason you were concerned about the protagonist just now?]

[I'm afraid he'll die inside.]

888: [...Do you even believe what you're saying?]

Li Qingran shrugged, her completely calm expression silently conveying—since I've said it, how could you not believe me?

[...]

888 is out of ideas.

Judging from this, its host is not going to tell it what it's really planning.

888 sighed helplessly, and could only ask one last question while Li Qingran was idly swinging her toes.

[So, host, who are you waiting for right now?]

Waiting for Jiang Ming? Xu Luo, or...

"Beep beep—"

Before 888 could present all the options to Li Qingran, an unlocking sound suddenly came from the entrance hall.

The door was then opened.

Li Qingran's lips also curled up for a moment.

"Of course we'll wait..."

Each and every one of them.

If one person cannot completely ruin the plot.

Then just bring a few more...

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Author's Note: Pear: A chaotic scene is about to unfold!