Chapter 55 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 3 Xu Luo is hiding there
Gu Qingyan tightened his grip on Li Qingran's fingers. His palms were a little hot, and his fingertips trembled slightly under Li Qingran's gaze.
Li Qingran didn't quite understand why Gu Qingyan seemed a little angry.
What was he angry about? Was he angry at Li Qingran, or... himself?
Li Qingran blinked, said nothing, and obediently leaned back on the sofa as Gu Qingyan moved, tilting her head slightly to reveal her neck adorned with a silver necklace, and the collarbone that held the necklace faintly visible.
Gu Qingyan didn't say anything either. He just stared quietly at the boy beneath him, his gaze seeming to be probing or scrutinizing.
"clavicle……"
After a long pause, he murmured something under his breath.
"No wonder……"
No wonder.
Li Qingran was a little curious, but unfortunately, after Gu Qingyan finished saying those three words, he let go of Li Qingran, sat down on the sofa next to him, and didn't look at him again, nor did he finish the second half of his sentence.
He didn't seem to intend to look at the similarities between himself and Jiang Ming. Li Qingran straightened up, rubbed her wrist which Gu Qingyan had gripped so hard, and straightened her clothes as well.
Gu Qingyan, who was standing next to him, had already started drinking his black tea. The wispy mist blurred his expression, making it difficult to discern his thoughts at that moment.
【How come he's actually drinking?! Isn't he going to go find the main character?!】 In Li Qingran's mind, 888 once again transformed into a screaming chicken.
God knows how scared it was when Gu Qingyan grabbed Li Qingran's wrist and threw him onto the sofa! It thought it was going to be thrown into the dark room again!
Fortunately, the protagonist in this world sticks to his character. When he pins Li Qingran down on the sofa, he's only wondering what makes her resemble his "white moonlight," and doesn't have any other thoughts that would trigger a blacklist.
But this doesn't mean that 888 has completely let down its guard against him, after all, the bad examples from the previous two worlds are still stored on its hard drive and haven't been deleted.
888 would occasionally review those videos, and although it didn't learn much, it did understand one thing: it should never get too involved with the main characters of the world in storylines outside of the timeline.
For example, Jiang Siran before, and Chu Yu later, both had too many entanglements with Li Qingran in unexpected storylines that did not belong to the original world, which led to the plot becoming increasingly chaotic and eventually even to the point where the world line completely collapsed and could only be reassembled.
If Li Qingran hadn't paid attention to Jiang Siran in the alley and hadn't helped Chu Yu who had fallen in front of him, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Of course, it wasn't blaming Li Qingran for having this thought, since its host's method of completing the mission was perfectly fine. It was just that these main characters lacked self-control and were always attracted by people outside the plot.
Looking at this world now, let's leave aside the protagonist who has been given a new soul. Although he seems to be very interested in his host, the mission is still there.
Although 888 doesn't quite understand the main characters' thoughts, it can still get a general idea of what the mission takers are thinking. The primary goal of this group will always be the mission. Except for mission takers like its host who have to give up due to the lack of cooperation from the main characters, 888 wouldn't say 100%, but at least 90% of the others would give up everything else that is not important for the mission.
After all, the completion rate of the mission is related to the points, and the points are related to the things they are trying their best to find and exchange.
Basically, no one would give up their long-held beliefs and efforts just because of a fleeting infatuation or some other encounter that only exists in a certain world.
Judging from Xu Luo's actions after hearing Gu Qingyan's voice, he is most likely one of the 90% who wouldn't abandon the mission just to be with Li Qingran.
Therefore, the only key target for this mission is the main character.
888 believes that as long as there are no mistakes on his end, they have a good chance of completing the mission and leaving get off work on time!
[As long as the main character doesn't have a relapse, our mission this time will definitely be easy and smooth!]
only……
888 watched as Gu Qingyan, sitting next to Li Qingran, first took a sip of tea, then picked up a pastry that Li Qingran had just placed on her plate and took a bite. She tried to resist, but ultimately couldn't.
Why hasn't he left yet?! He should be leaving by now!
Wasn't it said that, apart from the protagonist Xu Luo, Gu Qingyan would never spend more than fifteen minutes with any of his other lovers?
Almost half an hour has passed now. Is he really going to try all the pastries in this box?!
Li Qingran blinked but didn't say anything.
He didn't know if Gu Qingyan really intended to linger until he had tasted every pastry before leaving; he only knew that the one hiding in the bathroom might be getting impatient.
Li Qingran looked up at the clock in the middle of the wall opposite the sofa; the thickest hand was about to reach its highest point.
It's almost midnight.
If a stand-in doesn't answer the phone first, and then doesn't contact their sugar daddy until midnight, they'll probably lose favor with him.
Li Qingran lowered her eyes and took a sip of red tea. Just as she was pondering whether to go to the restroom, she heard Gu Qingyan beside her speak calmly:
How long have you been here?
Upon hearing this, Li Qingran turned to look at Gu Qingyan, who remained in the act of sipping tea, not looking at him, as if his previous question had been merely a simple inquiry.
Li Qingran licked her lips, then said softly:
"It's been more than half a month."
Half a month... that's not a long time, so why doesn't he have any impression of the boy at all?
Gu Qingyan tightened his grip on the teacup handle. After a brief moment of confusion, he attributed the incident to the fact that he had only focused on the similarities between the boy and Jiang Ming, and had forgotten to observe the boy's appearance and physique.
But that doesn't make sense!
His purpose in keeping a male sugar daddy was simply because he had something in common with Jiang Ming. He only needed to focus on that similarity; what the man actually looked like or what his physique was like was not within his consideration.
Yes.
He only needs to focus on the similarities between the other person and Jiang Ming.
He likes Jiang Ming, and he will only like Jiang Ming!
Gu Qingyan lowered her eyelashes, her fingers gripping the teacup handle closer and closer until, in the end, all the blood in her fingertips had completely faded, leaving only a pale, bluish-gray color.
He looked at the teacup, at the red tea inside, and at his reflection on the water's surface...
The tea sloshed, and the reflection on it rippled. In a daze, Gu Qingyan seemed to be back in the summer of his childhood, squatting by the pond, staring intently at the reflection in the water.
Whenever this happened, Jiang Ming would sneak up behind him while he was lost in thought, then suddenly pounce on his back, laughing loudly at the success of his prank, while pinching his earlobe and whispering in his ear—
"Mr. Gu, would you like some more tea?"
"Ding-dong—"
As the pebble fell into the water, the voice in my ears was no longer that slightly hoarse, youthful male voice, and the air that should have smelled of fishy water had turned into a faint minty scent.
Gu Qingyan subconsciously looked up and found that Li Qingran had been standing in front of him at some point, holding a transparent teapot in her hand, her eyelashes slightly lowered, just quietly looking at him.
Gu Qingyan blinked unconsciously. He didn't know if it was because the light above his head was too bright or for some other reason, but he couldn't see Li Qingran's face clearly. He could only see the silver necklace around his neck, which flowed from left to right and then from right to left with his movements. Under the light, it looked like a galaxy filled with stars.
"Mr. Gu?" The boy, who had not received a response, seemed a little confused. He bent down even lower, and his already loose collar slid down with his movement, causing the silver necklace to fall into the air... If he went down a little further, Gu Qingyan would be able to see the similarities between him and Jiang Ming.
Just a little lower...
Gu Qingyan gripped his teacup tightly. At this moment, he seemed petrified, frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the boy bending down, getting closer and closer...
His collarbone was about to be revealed, but at that moment, unlike the open and honest Li Qingran, Gu Qingyan became the one who avoided the topic.
"No."
Gu Qingyan looked away, his gaze shifting from Li Qingran's face to the hand holding the teapot, but skipping over the area where the necklace was attached.
"I don't want to drink anymore." Gu Qingyan paused for a few seconds, then added.
"Oh, okay." Li Qingran didn't say much after hearing this. She simply put down the teapot and sat quietly a little further away from Gu Qingyan, once again serving as a beautiful ornament.
This was originally Gu Qingyan's requirement for these stand-ins.
Previously, Gu Qingyan would only like to see such an obedient stand-in, but for some reason, looking at the quiet Li Qingran, Gu Qingyan always felt a little uncomfortable.
The boy who covered his collarbone really didn't resemble Jiang Ming at all. Jiang Ming liked lively atmospheres, but Li Qingran remained silent during the time he was inside.
This silence does not mean that the other person is only immersed in their own world.
The boys would talk to him, but they would only say polite things, the kind of pleasantries you exchange when greeting guests.
It's very thoughtful, but also very distant.
For some reason, Gu Qingyan felt inexplicably stifled.
"you……"
He couldn't help but open his mouth, wanting to say something, but his mind went blank after he uttered just one word, "you".
"What's wrong, Mr. Gu?" Li Qingran seemed to be programmed to look up only after hearing the sound. He looked at Gu Qingyan with a serious expression, his eyebrows slightly curved.
"Would you like some tea? Pastries? Or... would you like to see the similarities between me and Mr. Jiang?"
He calmly placed himself in the position of an exhibit without a single complaint, but Gu Qingyan was somewhat angry.
"I don't want to drink tea, nor do I want to eat pastries, and I especially don't want to—"
Gu Qingyan abruptly stood up from the sofa, his gaze sweeping across the living room before settling on Li Qingran.
"Where are the restrooms?!"
He needs to wash his face with cold water to calm down.
This request is actually not excessive.
Even if it's just a physiological need, it's perfectly normal. Under normal circumstances, Li Qingran would definitely point out the direction to the restroom directly, or even lead the other person there.
But not now.
Because there was another person hiding in the restroom at that moment.
Li Qingran was unusually flustered. However, just as he was thinking about how to stop Gu Qingyan from going over, a cold voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"No need to say anything, I saw it myself."
With that, Gu Qingyan strode toward the restroom, where Xu Luo was.
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Author's Note: Xu Luo: Danger!
It still hurts today, even worse than yesterday. I'm taking another day off. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll definitely try my best to work Saturday night. [crying][crying][crying]
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