If I Can’t Get the Male Lead, I’ll Just Be a Salted Fish Chapter 20

Was it just his imagination, or why did he always feel that the look in Xie Lanzhi’s eyes was a bit complex and subtle? To sum it up in one phrase: those eyes have seen through too much.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for several seconds. In the end, it was Xie Lanzhi who looked away first. “Why did you come here.”

Qin Shu had spent the whole trip over suffering from the dread that his CP was about to collapse, and hadn’t even come up with a decent excuse. He decided to dump the problem on Xie Lanzhi instead. “Guess.”

Xie Lanzhi smiled faintly. “For someone?”

That was a reasonable guess. As Xu Ning’s suitor, it made sense that if Xu Ning was here, he’d come chasing after him like a dog wagging its tail.

“Yes, yes, exactly!” Qin Shu said. “Wherever Ning Ning is, I am too. Today is another day of liking him!”

Xie Lanzhi turned and walked away. “As long as you’re happy.”

Qin Shu followed, “Senior, where is Ning Ning right now? You’re not with him?”

Xie Lanzhi’s car was parked right opposite Qin Shu’s sports car: a classic black sedan, low-key yet obviously expensive even without looking at the badge. By comparison, Qin Shu’s “Little Red” looked even more flashy and gaudy.

Xie Lanzhi took a DSLR from the back seat. He hadn’t used it in some time, so he removed the lens cap and flipped the switch to test if it was working properly.

Getting no answer, Qin Shu called again: “Senior?”

Xie Lanzhi fiddled with the focus casually, as if he hadn’t heard him. Qin Shu muttered to himself inwardly—he had the nerve to accuse him of being hot and cold. Who was being hot and cold now?

Qin Shu’s head suddenly intruded into the frame, and the camera auto-focused on his face.

Xie Lanzhi froze for a split second. Qin Shu’s skin was whiter than many girls’, and from the little sprint just now, his cheeks carried a light flush. His lips looked a bit dry, and at his temple there was a tiny mole—so faint and small it was nearly impossible to notice, unless one was very, very close. Closer even than when Qin Shu had sat in the passenger seat two days ago and leaned toward him as he taught him to drive.

Qin Shu waved in front of the lens. “Xie Lanzhi, can you hear me?”

Xie Lanzhi pressed the shutter without changing expression. “I’m not deaf. Xu Ning should be with the others.”

“Oh. Then can you take me to him?”

“Can’t.” His tone was cold.

Qin Shu: “???”

They returned to the group. As soon as Xie Lanzhi appeared, the club president pulled him aside. This outing had about a dozen people. Besides Xie Lanzhi, Xu Ning, and Wang Youyu, Qin Shu didn’t know anyone else.

Xu Ning was quite surprised to see him. Before he could ask, Qin Shu explained on his own: “I heard from Squid—Wang Youyu—that you guys were having this retreat. I was bored anyway, so I came to join in the fun.”

Xu Ning smiled. “Why didn’t you say so earlier—did Chu Cheng come too?” As he spoke, he glanced behind Qin Shu.

!!!

Ning Ning actually took the initiative to ask about Chu Cheng! What kind of cosmic-level, black-hole-density sweet love was this—he was shipping so hard his head could fall off. At this moment, he was the happiest headless knight alive!

“No,” Qin Shu said excitedly, “just me. Ning Ning, do you want Chu Cheng to come?”

Wang Youyu cut in: “Good thing he didn’t. Our dinner and rooms are all calculated per person—just you showing up is already extra enough.”

“Rooms?” Qin Shu was shocked. “You guys are staying overnight?”

Xu Ning said, “Mm. Do you want to stay and lodge with us?”

Qin Shu clutched his heart. Lodging together—overnight! Such a perfect opportunity, but his little baby wasn’t here. And with Xie Lanzhi and Wang Youyu both around, how could he possibly leave Ning Ning here alone?

“Sure,” Qin Shu agreed readily. “I love overnight stays the most!”

“As for dinner, that’s fine, one or two more people makes no difference. The problem is the rooms…” Xu Ning said, “I’ll ask the president, see if there’s a spare bed.”

Qin Shu watched his back, unable to suppress the auntie-smile tugging at his lips.

Wang Youyu adjusted his glasses. “Didn’t think you’d actually come.”

Qin Shu said matter-of-factly, “How could I miss this kind of occasion.” And he wasn’t fighting alone—he was carrying his little baby’s will on his shoulders.

Wang Youyu said casually, “Because I’m here too?”

Qin Shu turned his head. “No, you’re no threat to me.”

Wang Youyu choked a little, apparently feeling offended. “Don’t tell me you still think Xie Lanzhi and Xu Ning would ever get together? Xie Lanzhi doesn’t like men.”

Qin Shu pointed ahead. “Taste it. Savor it carefully.”

There were three people up ahead. One was a girl with outward-flipped, ashy-blonde short hair—probably the president of the Photography Club. The remaining two were Xie Lanzhi and Xu Ning.

Both of their looks were top-tier. Once they appeared in the same frame, it was like they gave each other a buff—not only did they not lower each other’s attractiveness, but the whole picture became more harmonious, flawless from every angle, impossible to look away from.

Xie Lanzhi was wearing a V-neck sweater in blue and light gray, which just so happened to be the exact two colors of Xu Ning’s pants. The styles even looked fifty or sixty percent alike—enough that you could easily mistake it for couple’s wear.

The longer Wang Youyu looked, the stranger it felt. He furrowed his brows. “Did they do that on purpose?”

Qin Shu shook his head, tone resentful. “I think not. It’s just that some mysterious force in the dark compelled them to dress this way.” It was also that same mysterious force that had allowed Xie Lanzhi to instantly find Chu Cheng’s campus card—the one Chu Cheng himself had searched a whole year for in vain.

Wang Youyu fell into thought.

Qin Shu’s heart was chilled by the sight, so chilled he wanted to look away entirely. Just as he was about to avert his eyes, he suddenly caught the expression of the club president out of the corner of his gaze. The president girl was staring at the two handsome guys with an expression of blissful intoxication, her smile not the giddy grin of fangirling, but the benevolent glow of someone already high on shipping.

That look—so familiar.

A moment later, Xu Ning came back. “I asked the president. The original plan was two people per RV. We’ve got thirteen people in total, so there’s exactly one extra bed.”

Two per room!!! D*mn, his baby not coming was a billion-dollar loss! Since that’s how it was, he’d just have to guard his daughter-in-law for the night!

“Can I share a room with you, Ning Ning?” Qin Shu asked expectantly.

Right at that moment, Xie Lanzhi happened to walk by. Hearing those words, his footsteps stopped, and he swept Qin Shu a glance with that same faintly complicated look.

Xu Ning was surprised. “You don’t want to room with Xie Lanzhi?”

“Huh? No, I don’t! Not at all!” Qin Shu blurted. “Ning Ning, how could you even think that?”

Xu Ning said gently, “I thought you two got along quite well.”

“However well, it’s still not as good as what I have with you.”

Xie Lanzhi: “……” Heh.

Xu Ning didn’t give an immediate answer. “Let’s see what the president arranges tonight.”

The whole afternoon, the club members were busy finding scenery and taking photos. They weren’t only taking landscapes, but portraits too. The girls were all dressed beautifully. One freshman girl had even specially changed into a medieval European corset gown with a huge skirt—it paired perfectly with the windmill at the homestay, and the boys crowded around to photograph her nonstop, even Xu Ning and Xie Lanzhi included.

After snapping one shot, Xu Ning was satisfied with the lighting and composition. He showed it to Xie Lanzhi beside him. “What do you think of this one?”

Xie Lanzhi tilted his head to look. “Not bad.”

Because of that slight head-turn, the two of them looked a little intimate. Qin Shu felt sour to the bone, so he shamelessly squeezed in. “I want to see too!”

Xie Lanzhi didn’t linger a second longer—he decisively walked off. Qin Shu felt slightly relieved, but then had the faint sense of being watched. He looked up, and his eyes met—the president girl’s.

She quickly looked elsewhere, but Qin Shu still caught the faint trace of wistfulness on her face.

Qin Shu began paying closer attention to her, secretly observing for quite a while. He realized she seemed especially focused on Xu Ning and Xie Lanzhi, her gaze always following them, occasionally even sneak-photographing them with her camera.

Suspicious. Very suspicious.

Finally, he caught her alone when she went to buy water. He struck. Smiling, he said, “Senior, I noticed you’ve been taking quite a lot of photos of Xu Ning and Xie Lanzhi. I don’t mean anything by it—I just want to ask, do they know you’re doing that?”

The president girl froze. “You noticed? I… I don’t mean any harm.”

“You’re keeping the photos just for your own enjoyment?”

She shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand even if I said. Anyway, I won’t spread the photos. I’ll just look at them myself. Please don’t tell them, okay? I’ll delete them later.”

Qin Shu hesitated, then tested: “Don’t tell me… you’re shipping them as a CP?”

The president girl’s pupils practically split in shock. “Holy cr*p—don’t tell me you’re one of us too?”

“……” Sh*t. He’d actually run into a living, breathing Lan Ning shipper? Enemy forces detected—prepare for battle!

“I—I don’t believe it!” the president girl burst out. “Let’s check with a secret code—when they’re in the same frame, that’s sugar?”

Qin Shu deadpan: “Eye contact means going to bed.”

President girl: “They haven’t slept together?”

Qin Shu: “I haven’t even got legs.”

President girl: “One line of interaction!!!”

Qin Shu: “Children and grandchildren everywhere—wait no, I’m not an mpreg shipper…”

“Ahhhh!” The president girl turned into a screaming chicken, clutching Qin Shu’s hand, tears streaming down her face (?). “I started shipping them back in freshman year! I know it’s not good to ship real-person CPs, so I’ve always just kept it to myself. Two years—two whole years—and I finally met a fellow comrade! I declare, from today on you are my blood sister!!!”

Qin Shu stayed unnervingly calm. “That won’t be necessary.”

But she wasn’t listening in the slightest. “Sister, listen—today they interacted at least three times! Xu Ning even showed a photo he took to Xie Lanzhi! Ah, my tears are worthless—today is destined to be a day I cry for breathtaking love!”

Qin Shu was suffocating. He snapped, “Only three times, that’s nothing! Xu Ning goes to the gym with Chu Cheng three times a week, Xie Lanzhi buys me duck neck and duck collarbone three times a week. Shipping ‘Lan Ning’ has no future. You’d be better off with ‘ChengNing’ or ‘LanShu’—wake up already, d*mmit!”

The president girl stared blankly for a long time. “You… what do you mean? You’re not a ‘Lan Ning’ shipper?”

Qin Shu admitted freely: “I’d rather ship sh*t than ship ‘Lan Ning.’”

The president girl’s face flushed red instantly—probably with rage. She looked down at the hands she was holding with Qin Shu. “F*ck, I’m contaminated!!!” She immediately opened her newly-bought bottle of water and scrubbed her hands clean with gusto.

Qin Shu: “……” Ruthless—women are the most ruthless.

The club president girl curved her lips into a cold smile and said something ambiguous: “Tonight’s lodging arrangements are up to me, you know.”

An arrow struck Qin Shu right in the chest; he was gravely wounded, practically coughing up blood: “You…!”