Chapter 68 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 16 Things are getting even more complicated...
When Gu Qingyan entered the living room, Li Qingran was still watching a variety show on TV, as if nothing had happened.
The marks left by his fingernails on his palms grew deeper and deeper. Gu Qingyan took a deep breath, trying to calm his increasingly agitated and volatile emotions. Then, he loosened the increasingly suffocating tie around his neck, walked over and sat down next to Li Qingran, gently touching her trembling lips, and said with a smile:
How are you feeling today? Did anything fun happen at home?
"well enough."
Li Qingran tilted her head and said, "I just sunbathed, watched some variety shows, and played with two kittens that accidentally got lost. Speaking of which, the security system here is so-so; even kittens can run into the elevator."
His voice was very calm, as if he were talking about two innocent kittens.
"..."
Gu Qingyan felt that the smile on his lips was about to burst. His tongue, which had been bitten raw by his teeth, was oozing blood, some of which spread to his throat. It felt as if a wad of bloody, incredibly damp cotton had been stuffed inside, stuck there, unable to go up or down, making him feel so uncomfortable that he wanted to go crazy.
Especially seeing the two teacups still untidy on the coffee table, and the half-finished cup of black tea, Gu Qingyan really wanted to flip the table and completely shatter the facade of peace between the two of them.
But in the end, he held back.
Whether he was afraid that Li Qingran would leave if he exposed the truth, or for some other reason, he didn't steer the conversation towards the two cups of tea, but simply followed Li Qingran's words:
"I'll talk to the property management later and ask them to strengthen security management."
"But just in case, maybe we should stay home as much as possible lately? Those kittens are cute, but their origins are unknown. What if they're carrying some germs and we infect them—"
"President Gu."
Li Qingran suddenly called out to Gu Qingyan, who turned his head in confusion. He saw the boy who had been staring at the TV staring at him, his beautiful peach blossom eyes so clear that Gu Qingyan could easily see the knowing smile in them.
Do you think there really are kittens that can ride elevators?
Putting aside whether they can even reach the elevator buttons, can they even read the numbers on them?
Gu Qingyan's body stiffened, his eyes somewhat dazed, as if he hadn't reacted to Li Qingran's question, or as if he simply wanted to escape.
After a moment, he moved his lips and said, "So you mean you went downstairs today?"
"No,"
Li Qingran practically plastered the answer on Gu Qingyan's face.
"They came to me on their own."
Gu Qingyan stared into Li Qingran's eyes, "So what did they come to you for?"
"Well... we didn't actually talk much." Li Qingran said very sincerely, "They came separately, so we didn't have much time to talk to each of them."
"..." Gu Qingyan twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he wanted to smile, but couldn't manage to.
"That's a real shame. How about we bring them together next time?"
"No need for that."
Li Qingran waved her hand and said seriously, "I don't have much energy, and I can't handle so many things in one day."
"One is fine, but two or three is a bit too many."
Gu Qingyan: "..."
Although he and Li Qingran were only discussing the other two uninvited cats, he wondered if it was just his imagination, but Li Qingran included him in the list of people she needed to deal with when she spoke.
Gu Qingyan's heart grew heavier.
Li Qingran then turned her gaze to the crowd laughing heartily on the television screen.
Gu Qingyan sat quietly beside him, watching him.
Watching him laugh out loud at the occasional funny little gesture of someone on TV, and then frown slightly at some unfair game, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down when he's thirsty, and his tongue occasionally darting out to lick his dry lips...
He's actually a very easy person to guess. Gu Qingyan thought.
But why is it that someone who is so easy to read has done so many things that are incomprehensible to him?
Gu Qingyan blinked and noticed some moisture on Li Qingran's lips. The teacup he'd been holding, which had just been filled, was now half empty. His Adam's apple bobbed as Gu Qingyan's gaze unconsciously drifted to another cup of tea, half-finished and now completely cold…
Why?
A question suddenly popped into Gu Qingyan's mind.
Why hasn't the boy explained the origin of these two cups of tea to him since he came back? Not only that, he didn't even try to hide the tea. He just placed the two identical teacups in front of him casually, as if on purpose, waiting for him to expose him.
What benefit would he gain from doing this?
Gu Qingyan didn't understand.
But there's more to it than just that he doesn't understand.
With a slight twitch of his fingertips, Gu Qingyan suddenly reached out and picked up the remote control to turn off the TV.
The laughter from the speakers stopped abruptly. Li Qingran blinked in confusion and turned to look at Gu Qingyan with a bewildered look in her eyes.
"So, do you want those two kittens?" Gu Qingyan suddenly asked, his dark eyes fixed on Li Qingran's face, as if he didn't want to miss any change in his expression.
Li Qingran raised an eyebrow, her eyes still curved in a smile.
"What do you mean? You want to adopt those two kittens?"
"I don't."
As Gu Qingyan spoke, he moved closer to Li Qingran, closing the distance between them. Looking into the boy's smiling eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
"I wanted to ask you if you have any intention of adopting them."
Or rather, is there any intention to choose them and leave with them...?
Li Qingran actually thought about it seriously for a few seconds, "No, raising a cat is a bit unrealistic for me right now, and I'm not someone who particularly likes pets."
Gu Qingyan's previously tense heart gradually relaxed.
However, at that moment, Li Qingran suddenly smiled and then spoke calmly to Gu Qingyan:
"But Mr. Gu, you should know that the cat I mentioned before wasn't a real cat, right?"
"..."
Gu Qingyan froze, his heart clenching again before he could fully relax, and the corners of his upturned lips stiffened, making his smile look somewhat comical.
"……What's the meaning."
After a long while, he managed to utter a hoarse sound.
"It means,"
Li Qingran placed his right hand on Gu Qingyan's shoulder, and before the latter could even feel the warmth of his palm, he slowly pushed him away from himself.
"Didn't you already know that the cats I was talking about were Xu Luo and Jiang Ming?"
Gu Qingyan moved his lips, but his throat was even more unable to produce a sound.
But it doesn't matter, because Li Qingran didn't give him a chance to speak.
"There's a security camera in the living room, isn't there? Oh, no, I should say there are cameras everywhere in this house,"
Li Qingran smiled at Gu Qingyan, her beautiful face making the smile on her lips even more radiant, even more dazzling than the lights overhead.
“Bedroom, walk-in closet, and even… bathroom.”
"Everything in this house is under your surveillance. You should know exactly what I did just now and who I welcomed in, shouldn't you?"
"..."
Gu Qingyan looked at Li Qingran. His eyes were still curved, but there was no smile in them. His eyes flickered, making it hard for Gu Qingyan to tell whether the emotion was mockery or something else that plunged him into a cold abyss.
Regardless of the cause, it made Gu Qingyan's body even stiffer. For a moment, Gu Qingyan even had the illusion that his brain could no longer function.
He didn't know how to explain to Li Qingran, nor how to defend himself. His mind was blank, and he couldn't even ask her, "Then why did you let them both in, and even let one of them lie on your bed?!" He could only stammer out a dry question.
When did you find out?
“From the very first day we moved here.”
Li Qingran said softly:
“Mr. Gu, I am very grateful that you took me in without hesitation when I was in trouble, but that should not, and cannot, be a reason for me to tolerate your surveillance of me in various ways.”
"..."
Gu Qingyan moved his lips, but felt as if a wad of cotton with a fishy smell was stuffed in his throat, making him want to vomit, but he couldn't vomit anything.
Li Qingran continued, "However, I am still very grateful for your care during this time."
Gu Qingyan bit her tongue, barely managing to squeeze out a sentence.
"You mean...you're leaving?"
And Xu Luo?
It's Jiang Ming again?!
Gu Qingyan clenched his fingers. He really wanted to maintain a calm and composed attitude in front of Li Qingran, but the next second, he saw Li Qingran nod at him and say, "Yes."
"I can't stay here and bother you forever," he heard Li Qingran say.
"So I'd better go out and find a place to stay on my own."
The darkness in Gu Qingyan's eyes deepened. "But I don't think your staying here is a disturbance. I've said it before, I like you and I want to be with you forever!"
As he spoke, he suddenly became agitated for some reason.
"Is it because Xu Luo came to see you that you feel unsafe here?! Or is it because Jiang Ming came that you feel I still have feelings for him?! I can solve any of these problems!"
If it's not safe here, they'll move to a place with better security.
As for why Jiang Ming found this place, it was entirely because Gu Qingyan had lived here since before she came of age. So much so that when people at the dinner party mentioned Gu Qingyan's residence, this apartment was the first place that came to Jiang Ming's mind.
But this does not mean that Gu Qingyan and Jiang Ming are still in contact.
In fact, from the moment Gu Qingyan realized that she had fallen in love with Li Qingran, she cleared away everything around her that was related to Jiang Ming.
So even he himself didn't know how Jiang Ming got on the elevator after he cleared the other person's fingerprints.
"I've really cut ties with them completely. I installed the security cameras because I was worried something might happen to you if you were home alone. I really didn't mean to spy on you, Qingran. Please believe me and give me another chance, okay?"
Li Qingran hesitated, "But..."
"But what?!" Gu Qingyan felt utterly hopeless.
He wanted to say that he could remove all the surveillance cameras—no! They would just move to a place without surveillance cameras and wouldn't let Xu Luo and Jiang Ming find another house to live in, as long as Li Qingran didn't leave him.
However, before he could even move his lips to make a sound, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"But you didn't ask Ranran if she wanted to move with you!"
Gu Qingyan turned around abruptly, and before he could see the figure behind him clearly, he heard a mocking laugh coming from upstairs.
"I installed surveillance cameras just because I was worried that Qingran might be in danger if she was home alone. Gu Qingyan, years have passed, and your excuses are still so lame!"
"Do you really believe it yourself? You didn't have the slightest intention of spying when you installed those cameras? If not, how do you explain the bathroom camera? You can't be worried that Qingran might slip in there, can you?"
Gu Qingyan: "..."
Li Qingran leaned back and let herself sink into the sofa.
Within his sight, the man sitting next to him was speechless for a moment after being confronted.
Behind him, the two men standing one above the other exchanged a glance after fighting together, then immediately snorted and looked away.
Their intense gazes darted around, finally settling on the handsome young man in the living room who hadn't uttered a sound since they arrived...
That's his!
A voice simultaneously resounded in the minds of the three people.
Things seem to be getting even more chaotic.
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Author's Note: Let's fight! Let's fight! [Heart emoji][Heart emoji][Heart emoji]
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