Chapter 59 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 7 Cream Falling on My Body
"At the airport, didn't we agree to come and see what Mr. Gu's white moonlight looks like and how similar it is to us?"
A soft male voice suddenly came from beside him, with a hint of laughter, which made Xu Luo shiver involuntarily.
"What's wrong? Did you sleep too long and get confused? Are you cold?"
Li Qingran's voice continued, but compared to her previous teasing, there was now a hint of concern in it.
Xu Luo raised his hand to stop the other person from leaning closer to check on his condition. To prevent Li Qingran from discovering his current predicament, and also to be able to grasp the current situation more quickly, Xu Luo thought it over and decided to go along with Li Qingran's words. He pretended to yawn, then deliberately lowered his voice and said:
"I'm a little dazed. Wait here for me for a bit. I'm going to the bathroom to wash my face and clear my head. I'll come back to you in a bit, so don't move! I'll be right back!"
As he spoke, Xu Luo looked around and then quickly walked towards a corner of the airport following the signs above his head.
[This protagonist, the one receiving the mission, doesn't seem very bright.] 888 muttered to himself as he watched Xu Luo's departing figure.
Upon hearing this, Li Qingran lowered her head and chuckled, her eyes sparkling, but her voice remained gentle. "Perhaps I slept too soundly on the way here, which is why I haven't fully woken up yet."
Is that really the case? 888 was skeptical.
Honestly, on the way here, 888 thought Xu Luo was just pretending to be asleep so that he could rest his head on Li Qingran's shoulder and get closer to her.
But now that Li Qingran has said this, it really does believe that the other person really did fall asleep in the car. As for the uncontrollable upward turn of the corners of his mouth and the eyeballs moving around under his eyelids, it's just that he was dreaming.
Li Qingran didn't say anything more, but only looked up at the big screen at the arrival gate. There were still ten minutes before Jiang Ming's flight arrived at the airport. She wondered if Xu Luo could negotiate with his system in these ten minutes.
Li Qingran thought leisurely.
But in reality, the dialogue between Xu Luo and the Xiao Liu Zi system that he imagined was still too gentle.
In reality, Xu Luo, who had already locked himself in the last stall of the restroom, summoned Xiao Liu Zi again. Without any intention of arguing or wasting words, he immediately said,
"Tell me, what happened?"
His voice sounded quite calm, but upon closer listening, one could sense that he was suppressing something.
It could be anger.
It could be something else.
Little Six was hesitant to speak, but it dared not let Xu Luo urge it any further. So, after a two-second silence, it braced itself against its host's oppressive mood and forced a smile:
[Host Number One said he wanted to bring the cannon fodder from next door to see what the protagonist's white moonlight looks like, so we're at the airport now.]
Xu Luo: "Hmm, why did he bring that cannon fodder from next door to see his white moonlight?"
[Um... Host Number One said he didn't mean anything by it, he just wanted the cannon fodder to see just how much he resembled his white moonlight, and also to see if the protagonist would come to pick him up at the airport. If the protagonist did come, he'd show the cannon fodder how the protagonist fawned over his white moonlight, so the cannon fodder could compare that to how the protagonist treated him, thus extinguishing any fantasies about the protagonist and eliminating any possibility of falling for him.]
Xu Luo: "..."
Although he could sense that Number One was very interested in Li Qingran, and this interest even affected his feelings and opinions about Li Qingran, he never expected that Number One would go to such lengths for someone who was likely to only be encountered in this world, and who was also a cannon fodder character who had virtually no connection to the plot.
[He only considered that you might see Jiang Ming, and maybe Gu Qingyan, but did he ever think that you might also be seen by them?!]
Xu Luo's voice grew colder, and his speech quickened with impatience.
[It's good that Jiang Ming found out, since he doesn't know you guys yet. But what if Gu Qingyan found out? Have you thought about how that would affect the plot?]
Those two stand-ins, with neither money nor power, how did they get the news that Jiang Ming was returning to China today?!
Wouldn't this behavior, which is completely inconsistent with their strength, arouse Gu Qingyan's suspicion?
What if Gu Qingyan mistakes them for spies sent by the enemy? What if he suspects they have ulterior motives?
Should they continue their mission?
Xu Luo bombarded Xiao Liuzi with questions, leaving him speechless.
[But...maybe the first host didn't think that far ahead—]
[He didn't think that far ahead, so couldn't you have thought about it from one more perspective?!]
Before Xiao Liu could defend himself and Number One, Xu Luo interrupted him directly:
Every time he makes a suggestion, you initially object superficially, but then you're persuaded by his sweet talk and end up doing things that don't fit the plot or your character.
While our main character department isn't obligated to strictly adhere to character settings, at the very least, we can't stray too far from those established personas, right? Yesterday it was already difficult to revive the plot, and today instead of finding our targets, we're dragging cannon fodder along to watch the show. Do you think we have a lot of points and that failing once in a while isn't a big deal?!
[No, host... it's just that we haven't had any storylines lately...]
Why can't you just stay home obediently?
Xu Luo took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was not only cold but also tinged with weariness.
Why insist on provoking people who have absolutely nothing to do with the mission...?
Xu Luo's voice was very soft, as if she were posing a question to Xiao Liu Zi, or perhaps it was just a murmur of self-questioning and self-analysis.
What's the point of liking each other if we can only exist in this one world...?
There is only one world.
Couldn't he think about what he would do after this world, when he was used to living with two people?
Do people who have already been abandoned once want to experience the feeling of being abandoned again?
Xu Luo reached out and pinched her temples, feeling as if her head was about to explode from the pain.
He took a few deep breaths before managing to speak:
What does he plan to do after showing Li Qingran Jiang Ming's story?
Xiao Liuzi paused for a moment before cautiously speaking amidst Xu Luo's deathly silence:
[A new amusement park has opened in the suburbs, and there's a music parade tonight. Host Number One said he wants to go with the cannon fodder to join the fun.]
Just joining in the fun?
Xu Luo looked down and searched his pockets, and sure enough, he found two amusement park tickets in his right pocket.
The ticket stubs are adorable; perhaps to cater to a certain big IP, one ticket has rabbit ears stuck on it, while the other has fox ears.
The ticket stubs were clearly from a couple, even the serial numbers were 520 and 521, and I still told him I was just going to join in the fun.
Who would believe that!
Her fingernail left a noticeable mark on the paper ticket stub. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. After a long while, Xu Luo spoke again:
"What's so great about going there..."
What host did you say?
"It's nothing." Xu Luo put the ticket back into his pocket, then got up and pushed open the door to the cubicle.
Let's go back.
"Huh?" Xiao Liuzi didn't immediately understand Xu Luo's words.
Aren't you going to find cannon fodder anymore? And the amusement park...aren't you going?
Of course I need to find Li Qingran, but...
Xu Luo paused for a moment before continuing, "Let's skip the amusement park."
That's a place for children and happy couples.
He was neither a child nor the person he wanted to go with, nor a happy couple. Of course, they couldn't be a happy couple, otherwise, something really bad would happen later.
He's just cannon fodder, someone who will disappear once this world ends. Why waste so much time on him? With that energy, he should study his target and figure out how to salvage the mess he's made.
Now that his beloved has returned, and he and the main character haven't had any significant interactions that could improve their relationship, this is definitely not good news for the mission.
So, Xu Luo, focus on the task at hand.
Stop thinking about things that don't concern you.
Let's stop hoping for anything more.
The ticket stub in his pocket was crumpled into a ball of waste paper. He bit his lower lip lightly, walked out of the cubicle, first washed his face with cold water to clear his head and relieve the pain, and then got up to go out and meet Li Qingran.
As he looked up, he mentally organized what he would say when he saw Li Qingran later.
The water droplets that hadn't been wiped away rolled down his forehead to the corners of his eyes as he moved, and then, in the moment when the young man inadvertently looked up, they rolled down his eyelids like a tear. Combined with his red eyelids, it made Xu Luo feel as if he were seeing that little boy standing alone in the same place again, fearful, confused and helpless.
"Is it that you don't want to, or that you're afraid to?" he heard himself asking.
"Are you really just focused on the mission, or are you worried that one of those two tickets won't be delivered?"
"After all, in the beginning, the other party wasn't even willing to come out and accompany you to the airport..."
Xu Luo's lips moved, but no sound came out.
In the clean mirror, he seemed to be facing himself, or perhaps Number One forced into a deep sleep, or maybe a little boy from a long time ago, buried deep in his mind...
There was only one mouth on it, but Xu Luo seemed to hear three voices.
They were all asking him.
If that's really what you think, why come out in the first place?
In previous missions, someone might not appear even once in a world. Why did they appear twice in just two days after arriving in this world?
Why did you ask for that cup of tea?
Why……
Why……
One question after another made Xu Luo's breathing become much more rapid.
[Host, host? Host?!]
The sudden system notification in his ear brought Xu Luo back to his senses.
He subconsciously glanced down at the time and realized that about fifteen minutes had passed since he told Li Qingran that he was going to the restroom to clear his head.
But his consciousness was still hazy, even more so than when he had just woken up.
What's wrong with him? Is he wrong? His main task right now is to win over Gu Qingyan!
So why did he hesitate just now, and even experience hallucinations that he hadn't had for a very long time because of that hesitation?
Xu Luo raised his head again and looked at himself in the mirror, looking at the solemn-faced young man, and went through the events of the past two days in his mind.
Then he became even more depressed.
Because he discovered that, not to mention Number One, even he himself had made many inexplicable and completely inconsistent behaviors and reactions when facing Li Qingran.
What was he thinking at that time?
Xu Luo didn't know, and didn't understand.
All he knew was that he probably couldn't continue to have contact with Li Qingran, otherwise, something bad would definitely happen.
The problem didn't even lie with Number One, who was constantly causing him trouble; it lay with him himself...
This can't go on, Xu Luo! If we continue this way, forget about the mission; he might even get himself killed.
Xu Luo washed her face again, water droplets rolling down her cheeks to her chin and then dripping down, some onto the ground and some onto her body, wetting the fabric and creating a dark, damp stain on her light-colored clothes.
In fact, as more and more water droplets fell, the dampness became more and more obvious and severe.
For a fleeting moment, the sweat seeped through his clothes and into Xu Luo's skin, mixing with his blood and making him feel damp all over. In the bustling airport crowd, looking at the empty sign below, he resembled a stray, soaked puppy, bewildered, helpless, and panicked...
Where...where are they?!
Xu Luo frantically pulled out his phone, only to realize just as he was about to make a call that he hadn't added Li Qingran's number.
"..."
So what should we do now?
Where did Li Qingran go?!
Xu Luo rushed to the arrival gate and found that Jiang Ming's flight had landed five minutes earlier, during the time he had gone into the restroom.
So, after seeing Jiang Ming, did he get impatient and go home alone early? Or was he discovered by Gu Qingyan, who came to pick him up at the airport, and taken back to be disciplined?!
So what should he do now? Keep waiting? Or go home?
Xu Luo stood still, people coming and going around him, but he suddenly couldn't find an anchor point that made him feel that he still existed in this world.
He could hear the exclamations of surprise from the person he was waiting for every now and then, but none of those voices were for him.
【Host... what do we do now?】 Xiao Liu asked him cautiously in his mind.
Xu Luo blinked, looked up, glanced once more at the large screen where Jiang Ming's flight number was no longer displayed, then took a deep breath, turned and left the airport.
Are we no longer waiting for cannon fodder?
Do you know where he is?
Why don't we ask at the front desk?
Are you trying to make him die even faster in front of Gu Qingyan?
And would someone who rarely leaves their home really allow their name to appear on a loudspeaker in a crowded airport?
Wouldn't that be a death sentence?
Perhaps he really couldn't wait and went back early.
Xu Luo bit her lip; there were already some traces of blood on it.
But he couldn't smell the blood, nor did he feel any pain.
He was just thinking that Li Qingran might have really gone back, so all he had to do now was go back and find her.
All he needs to do now is go back.
You can find him by simply going back the way you came...
What about him?
Xu Luo couldn't remember; the midday sun was so strong that it turned his head into a paste.
In the midst of this chaos, he heard himself seem to ask a question.
"Did he mention the amusement park to him?"
"How would I know? But it's probably not true. After all these years, people have already let go of what they needed to let go of."
Twenty minutes earlier at the airport, a man in a black trench coat, pulling his luggage in one hand and holding a freshly unwrapped cream bread in the other, smiled at the person on the other end of the phone:
"So what? You want me to be moved by his act of raising a substitute?"
"If he truly loves me, shouldn't he drop everything to find me? Isn't it ridiculous to look for my shadow amidst a bunch of stand-ins? Would you look for the shadow of real money amidst a dagger?"
"...I'm not looking for a partner simply because I haven't met anyone I like, not because I'm hung up on him, okay? If I do meet someone I like, do you believe me—um!"
The cream bread in his hand exploded like fireworks due to the sudden impact, his hand unconsciously tightening. White cream sprayed out with the force of the impact, some landing on himself and some on the people he bumped into.
The earphones hanging on my ears then fell off with a "thud," like the sound of a hammer striking my fate.
"Sorry, are you alright?"
A gentle, warm voice rang in his ear, filled with deep concern.
Jiang Ming subconsciously looked up, and the next second he was met with a pair of light-colored but very beautiful eyes.
The boy looked very tall, wearing a light blue denim suit with a white undershirt underneath. His black hair fell to the corner of his mouth as he bent over, making his thin lips appear even redder. Then, he saw the boy half-squat down and pick up the earphone that had just fallen off for him.
The small, white earphone rolled down his slender fingers and landed in his palm, whereupon the boy handed it to him.
"Your headphones."
At that moment, an ancient advertisement suddenly and absurdly appeared in Jiang Ming's mind.
It's like being sick.
“…Thank you.” Jiang Ming managed to find his voice after a long silence and answered stiffly.
The call hadn't ended yet; the earpiece that had been passed from the boy's hand to Jiang Ming's palm was still emitting loud noise, which Jiang Ming couldn't hear clearly and didn't care about.
Because at this moment, all he could see in his eyes was the white cream on the boy's face and collar.
That was from the bread in his hand that accidentally splashed onto it.
He should be held responsible for this.
He must take responsibility.
The stubborn voice seemed to melt like cream under the hot summer sun, sticking firmly to his mind, making it impossible for him to think about anything else.
What party, what ex-lover, Jiang Ming couldn't remember any of it. At this moment, all he could see in his eyes was that pale blue, those specks of white, and that translucent brown...
"I'll compensate you," he suddenly said.
The boy opposite him hummed in confusion, seemingly not understanding Jiang Ming's slight...
"What compensation?"
"Just... cream." Jiang Ming pointed to his collar.
"I did it."
The boy then realized what was happening and laughed, "It's okay, I'll just wipe it off when I get back."
"No." Faced with the victim's magnanimity, Jiang Ming was somewhat displeased.
"Compensation is mandatory."
As he spoke, he haphazardly stuffed the still-loud earphones into his pocket, then reached out and grabbed the boy who was trying to leave, saying earnestly:
"I bumped into you by accident, and I need to make it up to you. How about I buy you a coffee first? There's a restroom over there, and I can help you clean up."
"Can--"
"This is something I have to do, otherwise I will feel guilty."
"..."
"...What exactly is he saying?"
"It seems like he needs to pay for something. Could it be that Jiang Ming hit some troublesome person who's holding him and won't let him leave?"
"Holy crap! No way!"
"That's why I said I'd go to the airport to pick him up! But he wouldn't let me, and now look what happened. Okay, let's not prepare here anymore, let's go to the airport to rescue him!"
"Gu Qingyan—"
As the man stood up, he casually patted a man who had been sitting silently in the corner since entering the private room, and said in a tone that was half-joking and half-serious:
Are you going?
"……go."
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Author's Note: Pear: Is the next chapter going to be another complete mess? [Question mark]
A certain author, pretending to be honest: Guess what? [shy][shy]
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