Chapter 69 Cannon Fodder Substitute Lover 17 You should have seen enough, right...?
The atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Xu Luo's gaze slid from Li Qingran, then turned back to Jiang Ming, who was coming downstairs. Her eyes curved slightly, but there was no hint of a smile in them.
"I wondered who was knocking on the door just now. You know, exes have a lot of power. When you're drunk, your first choice isn't even your own house."
Jiang Ming stepped over the last step and slowly walked to Xu Luo's side, a smile also playing on his lips.
"Speaking of which, I was able to get in because the security guard recognized me, so he made a special exception for me. I just wonder if Mr. Xu is also well-known to the security guards here, just like me?"
Two people who look almost identical are standing face to face, smiling. If someone unaware of the situation saw them, they might think they were looking in a mirror.
Li Qingran's gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Ming and Xu Luo, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Gu Qingyan felt a headache coming on when he saw these two people.
"If you two want to argue, can't you go outside?!"
This is his home, okay?!
No wonder Li Qingran didn't want to live here.
Anyone who gets called twice in one day would probably start to doubt the security system of this neighborhood.
Gu Qingyan rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and then turned to the other side. After he spoke, they each snorted coldly, and he said in a deep voice to Jiang Ming and Xu Luo, who had taken a step away from each other:
"Why are you two in my house?"
When he said the last two words, Gu Qingyan deliberately emphasized them, as if to remind the two people opposite him whose territory they were standing on.
As a result, the two people opposite did not change their expressions at all upon hearing this, as if they had not heard Gu Qingyan's words at all, or perhaps they had heard them but did not care.
So what if it's Gu Qingyan's home?
As long as Li Qingran isn't Gu Qingyan's, that's fine.
Jiang Ming ignored Gu Qingyan's questioning, only raising his eyes to look at Li Qingran sitting next to him. His smile became genuine, and even his voice softened.
"Qingran, thank you for taking such good care of me earlier. As for the question you asked before I fainted, I'll explain it to you privately sometime, okay?"
Li Qingran blinked, and his lips moved slightly, but before he could speak, Xu Luo, standing next to Jiang Ming, spoke first:
"Alone? Why would he want to meet with you alone?"
Xu Luo turned his head, looked Jiang Ming up and down, who stood beside him with a straight back and an air of righteousness, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"Mr. Jiang, you don't actually think that nobody knows why you came back to China this time, do you?"
A man whose family in China had gone bankrupt, had no ties to China, and had settled abroad long before leaving, suddenly returned to China without warning, simply because he missed his group of cronies.
Does Jiang Ming even believe what he's saying?
Jiang Ming clenched his fists behind his back, and his gaze toward Xu Luo turned dangerous.
"What do you mean."
"What you mean is what I mean."
Xu Luo's smile widened even more after noticing the tension on Jiang Ming's body.
"Let me say it again, Mr. Jiang, even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your father who is already in the ICU abroad. After all, time waits for no one."
Jiang Ming: "...How did you find out about this?!"
He knew very well that he hadn't told anyone why he had returned to China. His father was staying in a private hospital abroad with excellent confidentiality, so it wouldn't be easy for them to find out about his hospitalization. Besides, judging from Gu Qingyan's surprised look, he knew that if even he, the undisputed heir of the Gu family, didn't know this, where did Xu Luo, a mere substitute lover with no power or influence, get this information from?!
Jiang Ming's gaze towards Xu Luo grew even colder.
"Who are you?!"
“I am Xu Luo. Mr. Jiang investigated my background thoroughly after returning to China—oh! No, wait!”
Xu Luo blinked innocently, a hint of mockery in her smile.
"You've thoroughly investigated all of Gu Qingyan's doubles, so isn't asking this question a bit redundant?"
"So how did you, a stand-in, know about this?!"
"I'll find out if I want to know. There's no need for Mr. Jiang to worry about that. Of course, I'm not bringing this up to threaten you, but rather to kindly tell you that the completion rate of your plan is now much higher than before!"
"For your father's health, I advise you to put aside these messy thoughts and focus on your original plan. That would be a better outcome for everyone. Don't you agree?"
Xu Luochong smiled at Jiang Ming.
The latter stared at Xu Luo, his emotions shifting several times in just a few seconds.
Vigilance, doubt, hesitation, entanglement...
Just as Xu Luo said, his purpose in returning to China this time was indeed not pure, but that was all before he met Li Qingran. Now, he no longer wants to use the method of seducing his ex-lover to save his father's life.
The money he earned that way was indeed easy and effortless, but it wasn't what he wanted anymore.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Mr. Xu, but my father's condition has stabilized, and I've already resolved the financial issues. I won't trouble you with any further advice, and besides..."
Jiang Ming glanced at Xu Luo, and said with a smirk:
"Given what Mr. Xu has done before, I really don't dare to adopt your suggestions."
"What do you mean?!" Xu Luo immediately bristled upon hearing this.
Jiang Ming simply smiled and returned the words he had said to him earlier.
"What you think I mean is what I mean. Actually, I admire you quite a bit. You have a really strong mentality. If it were me, I would never be able to do something like hurting someone and then shamelessly asking for forgiveness."
"you!"
"What did I do? Did I hurt your fragile ego?"
Jiang Ming looked surprised. "I'm sorry, I thought you didn't have such a thing."
"Jiang Ming!" At this moment, Xu Luo was truly enraged by Jiang Ming's words. He was so furious that he almost wanted to laugh. He turned his head and sneered at Jiang Ming, saying:
"What's wrong with asking for forgiveness? I'm responsible for my actions. If I do something wrong, I come here to apologize. What's the problem? Unlike some people who want more than what they have, not only are they planning to get back together with their ex-lovers, but they also want to be with their ex-lovers' lovers now. If you ask me, Mr. Jiang, are you unaware of your deep feelings for President Gu? Otherwise, why would you be so willing to have relationships with the people around him?"
The smile in Jiang Ming's eyes faded. "Mr. Xu, you need to provide evidence before you speak."
"Of course, you need to provide evidence when speaking to people, but when it comes to—"
"alright!"
Before Xu Luo could utter anything more sarcastic, Gu Qingyan frowned and interrupted him.
"Are you two ever going to stop?! You're still arguing here? Do I need to remind you again? This is my home, and neither of you are welcome here. Get out before I call security!"
He didn't want to hear about Jiang Ming's previous plans, nor did he want to know Xu Luo's mental journey after doing something wrong. He just wanted the two of them to disappear as soon as possible so that he could calm down and properly discuss his next place of residence with Li Qingran.
However, it is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away.
Although Gu Qingyan did not voluntarily invite the gods, the two deities in the living room clearly did not want to leave.
Upon hearing Gu Qingyan's words, Jiang Ming simply scoffed.
"Gu Qingyan, you've become a judge here?! What qualifications do you have?! These stand-ins are all your doing, pretending to be deeply in love and disgusting people. Now you think anyone will believe your unreliable affection?!"
Jiang Ming gave Gu Qingyan a mocking look.
"Here, you are the last person who has the right to say the word 'like'!"
Xu Luo nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you've made so many stand-ins, acting like you can't forget your ex, and now you say you like Qingran. Who knows how much of your feelings for her are mixed in with your ex?!"
"You two outsiders don't need to worry about these things. I will use time to prove to Qingran my feelings for him. As for you, get out of here before I get angry!" Gu Qingyan said with a dark face.
If he were an employee of his company, seeing his boss's dark expression, he would probably be trembling with fear and starting to reflect on where he went wrong at work that day.
However, Jiang Ming and Xu Luo were not employees of the Gu family, so they were not afraid of Gu Qingyan's cold face. On the contrary, they seemed to become more and more courageous.
"Oh, oh, oh, we two outsiders don't need to worry about this. Do you think you're an insider? Did Qingran agree to be with you?"
Xu Luo said sarcastically, "If I heard correctly, Qingran was just about to leave, and she's alone. She doesn't intend to keep bothering you any longer~"
"I'll still call you President Gu. How dare you call yourself 'my wife' if that's the case?"
Gu Qingyan: "...He doesn't call you Mr. Xu anymore?"
“But I never said I was Qingran’s wife,” Xu Luo shrugged.
Seeing his shameless behavior, Gu Qingyan was so angry that he couldn't speak anymore.
The two people arguing seemed to have changed from Jiang Ming and Xu Luo to Gu Qingyan and Xu Luo.
However, unlike Gu Qingyan, who had been focused on the argument between Jiang Ming and Xu Luo, Jiang Ming, who had fallen silent at this moment, ignored the fighting chicken next to him and the confident man colliding with it. Instead, he focused his attention on Li Qingran, who had been quiet since they appeared.
Even though he was the center of their argument, the boy's expression remained unchanged for a long time. He just watched them quietly with a calm gaze, as if he were looking at three complete strangers.
He seemed like a bored spectator in the audience, showing no interest whatsoever in the three beasts tearing at each other below the stage.
It doesn't matter who lives or dies.
The three of them were so focused on fighting that they forgot that the one who truly held their lives in the hands of the person sitting in the audience...
Jiang Ming's hands clenched unconsciously, and his breathing suddenly became rapid. Perhaps he was stung by Li Qingran's cold attitude, or perhaps he sensed some kind of danger. Jiang Ming stopped interfering with Gu Qingyan and Xu Luo's quarrel, and instead walked straight to Li Qingran's side. He stiffly forced a cautious smile at the boy who looked up at him, and then said softly:
"So Qingran, what are your thoughts now?"
"..."
"..."
The two people who were arguing nearby suddenly stopped.
It was after Jiang Ming's words that they suddenly realized the misconception they had just had.
They were only thinking about arguing with their competitors, and all they wanted was to defeat them so that Li Qingran could belong to them alone. They forgot that Li Qingran was not an object; he was a person with his own thoughts and the right to choose.
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
After a difficult struggle, the three beasts that had been tearing each other apart finally came to their senses and looked nervously at the boy lying on the sofa in class.
Under the watchful eyes of the three people, the latter did not show any signs of hesitation or panic.
Li Qingran merely raised an eyebrow slightly and asked a question casually.
"Are you done arguing?"
"It's over! It's over!" Xu Luo was the first to react, laughing as he replied:
"Ranran, is there something you want to say?"
Ultimately, the choice rests with Li Qingran.
There's no point in them arguing here. Even if one of them wins the argument, what's the point if Li Qingran doesn't choose him?
Having understood this, the three of them looked at Li Qingran expectantly, as if waiting for him to deliver his final verdict.
Even 888, seeing the tense situation in the living room, became curious about Li Qingran's choice.
[Host, who are you going to choose?] Gossip888 was just missing a handful of melon seeds in his hand.
After all, this three-choice scenario would be an exciting plot point in a TV series.
However, at this moment, under the watchful eyes of everyone, as if holding the power of life and death over the emotions of the three people in front of her, Li Qingran merely blinked slightly at the gazes coming from all directions.
"What I want to say..."
His gaze slowly swept over the three people in front of him, as if the spotlight of the show was searching for the ultimate winner of the competition.
Everyone present felt their hearts clench. Just when they thought Li Qingran's gaze would eventually fall on one of them, the boy's eyes slowly moved upwards and landed on the crystal chandelier that shone with dazzling light.
"All I want to say is..."
Li Qingran stared at the crystal chandelier and slowly spoke.
"You've seen enough, haven't you?"
My dearest, Master System...
-----------------------
Author's Note: Pear: Now that you've had your fill of watching the show, let me go back right away! [heart emoji]
Don't forget to send this red envelope, little ones!
P.S.: One more thing is that this story should end after completing this world. As for the story after Pear transfers departments, I plan to start a sequel. After all, a new department is a new beginning. Also, while writing this story, I realized that I don't have enough knowledge of the "heartthrob" genre. So, I want to study more, take some time to reflect, and then bring you a story that I'm more satisfied with, and that you all will love! [Heart][Heart][Heart]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com