Chapter 29 [29]
Tricky
Young people these days really don't understand social etiquette.
This is Lu Mingxiao's biggest takeaway from his interactions with Li Heng.
He was acting as Li Heng's spokesperson, not because he wanted Li Heng to coax him.
I just hope that I can abide by my role as a spokesperson, talk less and do more, and keep my distance from him and Luo Qingyue.
But that brat wouldn't have it. He liked to squeeze into any opening, like a piece of chewing gum that you couldn't shake off. He made his feelings for Luo Qingyue very clear on his face.
If Li Heng has a unilateral idea, it wouldn't be difficult to build a wall between him and Luo Qingyue.
However, when he discovered that Luo Qingyue was responding to Li Heng, everything suddenly became tricky.
That evening, Lu Mingxiao escorted Luo Qingyue home.
As soon as the young girl sat in the passenger seat, Lu Mingxiao heard her question: "I heard you bullied someone today?"
Lu Mingxiao immediately realized: "Li Heng told you?"
Luo Qingyue gave an affirmative answer, and he took the initiative to explain to her: "That brat is so clueless, saying that he is your long-lost boyfriend."
"And then you taught him a lesson?"
"Um."
Lu Mingxiao started the car and drove onto the city avenue.
Based on his understanding of Luo Qingyue, he would definitely praise him for teaching Li Heng a good lesson and be grateful to him when faced with Li Heng's false statements.
A slight smile curved his lips, but then he heard Luo Qingyue's accusation: "Li Heng is just stating the facts. If you ever want to bully him again, ask me first if I agree."
Lu Mingxiao turned the steering wheel and drove the car to the side of the road.
He slammed on the brakes, and Luo Qingyue was almost thrown out.
Before they could recover from their shock, Lu Mingxiao's indifferent voice came: "Say it again."
Luo Qingyue remained calm and composed, saying, "I'm telling you, Li Heng is my long-lost boyfriend, and I want to have a passionate and intense romance with him!"
Lu Mingxiao remained silent.
Silence, accompanied by a deathly stillness, filled the cramped carriage.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of the car engine ripped through the dark sky.
A red Ferrari pulled up in front of his car right behind him. Lu Mingxiao recognized it; it belonged to Li Heng.
What a coincidence. Glancing at the phone in Luo Qingyue's hand, he knew exactly what was going on.
"Li Heng came to pick me up."
Luo Qingyue unbuckled her seatbelt, her voice light and cheerful, just like a little girl immersed in love.
She turned to Lu Mingxiao and thanked him, saying, "I won't take your ride for nothing. I'll transfer the money to you when we get home. I have a record of how many times I've taken your ride. Lu Mingxiao, now that I have a girlfriend, let's meet again someday. That's all."
After speaking, Luo Qingyue opened the door and got out of the car without looking back.
Before Lu Mingxiao could process all of this, the red Ferrari drove away and disappeared into the night in an instant.
Luo Qingyue got into his car, but was picked up by Li Heng midway.
Everything happened so fast that Lu Mingxiao was still a little dazed when he got home.
He did his usual pre-bedtime workout, but as he stepped onto the treadmill, he felt restless.
Lu Mingxiao felt as if something was blocking his chest. After running for three to five minutes, he was exhausted.
He lay down on the gym mat, pinched the bridge of his nose, and his phone rang. It was a message from Luo Qingyue.
【Crescent Moon】: I've ridden in your car seventeen times. I checked the one-way fare on a ride-hailing app, so I'll charge you twenty.
Luo Qingyue initiated the transfer: 340 yuan, not a penny more, not a penny less.
When people are speechless, they often find themselves laughing in exasperation: she really thought he was just a driver.
Qian Lumingxiao naturally wouldn't accept it. He held up his phone and pressed the screen to ask her.
[Lu Mingxiao]: What do you see in Li Heng?
The message "The other party is typing" quickly appeared at the top of the screen.
【Crescent Moon】: Handsome and rich, he cherishes me and grants my every wish.
【Crescent Moon】: I have an innate admiration for race car drivers. They have many fans, which satisfies my vanity.
"I have just as many fans as he does." That was Lu Mingxiao's first reaction.
His disdainful laughter was undisguised, but he quickly calmed down.
[Lu Mingxiao]: Does your brother know?
【Crescent Moon】: Since you love tattling so much, why don't you go ahead and do it?
【Crescent Moon】: Even if my brother breaks Li Heng's leg, even if he becomes lame, I will still love him wholeheartedly.
She was determined to stage a drama of mutual love and elopement with Li Heng.
Luo Hanzhou realized that he would handle it himself; after all, he was an outsider, and there was no need for him to interfere or overstep his bounds.
Lu Mingxiao quickly calmed himself down and got back on the treadmill. From now on, his relationship with Luo Qingyue would simply be that of superior and subordinate.
——
The Dongchuan Ring Road is a renowned self-driving destination in China, bordered by mountains on one side and the sea on the other.
Wednesday was a sunny day, with the azure sea shimmering in the sunlight. In the height of summer, the mountains were shaded by lush trees, and wildflowers bloomed profusely along the roadsides.
Some sections of the road were closed due to the filming of the promotional video.
When Lu Mingxiao arrived, filming had not yet started; Li Heng was communicating with the on-site director about filming details.
Lu Mingxiao found a spot to sit under the sunshade, with Xiao Xie beside him, pouring him a glass of lemonade.
Suddenly, Luo Qingyue's slender figure came into Lu Mingxiao's view.
She was wearing a light pink striped shirt with white jeans and a name tag around her neck. She jogged toward Li Heng.
Luo Qingyue handed Li Heng a water glass.
Luo Qingyue handed Li Heng a towel to wipe his sweat.
Luo Qingyue held Li Heng's backpack tightly in her arms.
...
The blood in my body rushed backward, straight to the top of my head.
Lu Mingxiao picked up the lemon water on the table and took two sips.
The bitter taste washed over the inside of his mouth, his brows furrowed, and all the muscles in his body tensed instantly.
Luo Qingyue looked at Li Heng, and he looked at Luo Qingyue.
Lu Mingxiao couldn't understand how the little girl who had expressed her admiration for him, enjoyed chatting with him, and was inseparable from him on Love Island, could suddenly throw herself into someone else's arms.
He admitted that he was a little jealous.
So he began to review everything that had happened since he met Luo Qingyue.
The first time I took a girl home, the first time I cooked for her, the first time I held her in my arms, the first time I liked a post on her social media.
Without exception, it was always her, and only her. Special, unique, and favored by him.
Is it simply because she is Luo Hanzhou's sister?
Her joys and sorrows, her expressions and movements, captivated every nerve in his body.
The answer was obvious, and an indescribable emotion surged through my blood.
After filming wrapped, Lu Mingxiao reviewed the footage in the presence of the on-site director.
When he went to search again, Luo Qingyue and Li Heng had already disappeared without a trace.
——
A red Ferrari sped along the coastal highway.
Li Heng was a race car driver, and he stepped on the gas pedal without restraint, making the car very fast. Luo Qingyue, sitting in the passenger seat, felt dizzy.
She leaned against the car door and reminded him, and Li Heng slowed down, saying, "Getting into my car means you'll be followed by countless paparazzi. You're quite brave, aren't you afraid at all?"
Luo Qingyue had already come up with a plan: "If this becomes a trending topic tomorrow, I'll release a press release telling everyone that I'm your long-lost father."
Li Heng sneered, "You really have no bottom line."
Luo Qingyue wasn't going to let him off the hook either: "You bossed me around on set, so we're even."
"If I don't do this, will Lu Mingxiao believe that we've really talked?"
Li Heng said matter-of-factly, "Don't you even think about who I was doing this for? I almost got pinned against the glass and beaten to death by him."
Luo Qingyue: "Thank you, you've worked hard. What would you like to eat later? It's on me."
Li Heng: "Give me one of each of the signature dishes from the most luxurious restaurant in Dongchuan."
Luo Qingyue chose "Yunshi", the restaurant she often ordered takeout from at Mingyue.
I contacted the account manager on WeChat to book a private room, gave the address to Li Heng, and arrived an hour later.
Inside the private room, Luo Qingyue and Li Heng sat facing each other.
After ordering, Li Heng opened a bottle of champagne and poured it into the wine glasses in front of them.
Raising his glass high, Li Heng said, "Cheers to the formation of our great alliance!"
Luo Qingyue raised her glass to clink with his, and Li Heng said, "How about we name our alliance 'Lu Mingxiao, you can't escape our Five Finger Mountain Squad'?"
Luo Qingyue curled her lips: "Who came up with such a long team name? Why not just call it 'Playing Along'? That would be more fitting."
Putting on an act was the primary task for her and Li Heng in forming a strategic alliance.
Their alliance stemmed from that dinner on Saturday.
Because Lu Mingxiao switched places with her and stood between her and Li Heng, Li Heng sent her a WeChat message.
[Li Heng]: You glanced at Lu Mingxiao thirteen times in the last half hour.
[Li Heng]: Admit it, you like him, you like him to the point of being heartbroken and unable to extricate yourself.
Luo Qingyue truly didn't expect that anyone would be so bored as to count this.
She never expected that her little secret, which she had kept hidden from Lu Mingxiao for so long, would be so easily seen through by Li Heng, an outsider.
At this moment, her relationship with Lu Mingxiao is stuck in an in-between stage.
They were closer than ordinary friends, but that was all; they seemed intimate, yet there was a distance she could clearly sense.
Lu Mingxiao takes care of her and protects her because she is his friend's sister, but she wants much more than that.
I took my friend's younger sister home, cooked for her, held her in my arms, and liked her posts on social media.
In Lu Mingxiao's view, these things seemed to be taken for granted, but in Luo Qingyue's interpretation, he had clearly crossed the line of basic social distance and was simply flirting without wanting to take responsibility.
"Who would do that?" Luo Qingyue thought, becoming increasingly upset, and opened a can of beer.
Just as she picked it up to drink, Lu Mingxiao took the beer away and forcibly replaced it with orange juice: "Children shouldn't drink alcohol."
You're the child, your whole family are children!
She glanced sideways at Lu Mingxiao, her rebellious streak kicking in. She went home, drank two cans of beer, and remained drunk until dawn.
According to Luo Qingyue's plan, she would confess her feelings to Lu Mingxiao as soon as the probationary period was over.
However, she knew very well that the relationship could not continue, and that a forced confession would only result in rejection. Just then, Li Heng sent her a message.
[Li Heng]: If you want to capture a man's heart, you must first try to distance yourself from him.
[Li Heng]: Make him feel anxious and fearful, so that he knows you don't have to live without him.
[Li Heng]: Work with me to give Lu Mingxiao a little push. Someone as handsome as me is not a loss for you if I play your boyfriend.
Li Heng said that if a man falls in love with a woman, he will have a strong possessive desire for her.
Lu Mingxiao has been at the top of the pyramid for many years, and even more so.
Luo Qingyue once thought that Luo Hanzhou was a gambler.
Having genes similar to Luo Hanzhou deep down, she also wanted to take a gamble.
If I win the gamble, I'll confess; if I lose, I'll give up. I don't want to waste my energy on the same thing again.
Shamefully, she was tempted, and Luo Qingyue's fingers flew across the keyboard.
【Crescent Moon】: Why did you help me?
[Li Heng]: There are still many people in line behind you. If you hang yourself on one tree, all those people will have to live out their lives alone. I am thinking of them. This is called boundless love.
Inside the private room, dishes were served one by one.
After the waiter left, Li Heng picked up his phone, sat down next to Luo Qingyue, and took a selfie with the front camera.
“Send the photos to Lu Mingxiao, locate the restaurant, and see if he will come over. This is a great opportunity.”
Luo Qingyue politely declined: "Lu Mingxiao always works overtime at the company at night. He has a lot of things to do. Don't bother him at this time."
Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's not send the location. He can look at the photos whenever he wants."
Okay.
Li Heng straightened his arm and adjusted the angle.
Luo Qingyue cooperated and made a peace sign with him.
Simply posting photos isn't enough; I need to say a few more words.
Li Heng started drafting in front of Luo Qingyue.
"Hey, how did I send it to you? Sorry, it was a slip of the hand."
"The deadline has passed, and we can't retract it, so let's share our joy with you."
"This time next year, Luo Qingyue and I will be having our wedding in the Maldives. You must come then, and we will reserve the main table for you."
Luo Qingyue listened, resting her chin on her hand, utterly speechless.
"There's a limit to spreading rumors. What if Yi Mingxiao really thinks I want to marry you?"
Li Heng shrugged: "If he's your true love, he'll come and steal you away from the wedding. If he doesn't, I'll just pick up the scraps."
Luo Qingyue couldn't help but curse: "Pick up your head my foot, you lunatic."
Li Heng chuckled twice, opened WeChat, and tapped on Lu Mingxiao's chat box.
As soon as the photo was sent, Li Heng exclaimed "Holy crap!" Luo Qingyue was confused until he handed her the phone.
At the top of the screen, a system notification appears: The message has been sent, but was rejected by the recipient.
Li Heng gritted his teeth: "Blocking the spokesperson, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world? From now on, Lu Mingxiao and I will never live under the same sky!"
The harsher his insults, the more satisfying Luo Qingyue felt.
She refilled Li Heng's glass, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Although you've had a tough time, I have to say, well done."
[Author's Note]
Xiao: I've been set up! [crying][crying][crying]
Moon: Well done! [Let me see][Let me see][Let me see]
Li Heng: I sat at the head table at their wedding! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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