Chapter 164
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At seven o’clock in the evening, Donglai Restaurant in Rongcheng.
Lou Yan got out of the car, with two tall men standing on either side of him.
Since Fu Xuezhou was there, Lou Yan only brought Li Sanxin along. But for some reason, Li Sanxin and Fu Xuezhou seemed incompatible, as if they were naturally at odds with each other. They hadn’t said a word to each other since they met, and the atmosphere between them was strange and tense.
Lou Yan glanced sideways at Fu Xuezhou on his left and then at Li Sanxin on his right, feeling puzzled.
Clearly, in the previous few lifetimes, Li Sanxin had admired Fu Xuezhou very much. He used to praise Fu Xuezhou in Lou Yan’s ear from time to time, getting excited every time Fu Xuezhou killed a big anomaly or dealt with powerful cultists. How come they seemed to dislike each other this lifetime?
Lou Yan was dressed in casual white attire today, and Li Sanxin seemed to have deliberately worn a white coat as well, making Fu Xuezhou, who was dressed in all black with a hood, seem somewhat excluded from the two.
As soon as they got out of the car, Li Sanxin reached out and put his arm around Lou Yan’s shoulder, smiling ambiguously to assert his dominance, “Yanzi, what are we eating tonight? Why did you suddenly think of inviting me here for dinner?”
Fu Xuezhou turned to look at them, his gaze fixed on Li Sanxin’s hand around Lou Yan’s shoulder.
Li Sanxin deliberately expressed his intimacy with Lou Yan in his words, “Donglai Restaurant, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? We even had a drink with the boss here. The boiled pork slices here are authentic. Do you remember?”
Lou Yan remembered the carefree and uninhibited days back then and smiled, “I remember. You really liked it.”
Suddenly, Fu Xuezhou said, “Let’s go.”
After speaking, he went straight into the restaurant.
Li Sanxin looked at his back and chuckled coldly a few times, then followed him upstairs with his arm still around Lou Yan.
Lou Yan, feeling uncomfortable, shrugged off his hand, wanting to put an end to the unnecessary intimacy. He said speechlessly, “Do you have to walk with your arm around me?”
Li Sanxin replied, “You don’t understand.”
Lou Yan: “…”
Li Sanxin was about to explain his thoughts to him, but as soon as they entered, they almost bumped into Fu Xuezhou, who was standing still in front of them. Li Sanxin stopped in time, glancing displeasedly at Fu Xuezhou’s back. Just as he was about to provoke a few words, Fu Xuezhou turned around and looked at Lou Yan, asking coldly, “Where’s the room?”
With his eyebrows and eyes covered by the hood, half of his face was shrouded in shadow, making it impossible to see his expression, but it always felt dangerous.
Lou Yan pulled Li Sanxin’s hand down, leading the way forward, “Follow me.”
Li Sanxin, dissatisfied, glanced at Fu Xuezhou, then quickly followed, “Yanzi, wait for me.”
Fu Xuezhou paused, looked at their backs for a few seconds, then followed suit.
The private room was in the most secluded place on the second floor. Lou Yan pushed open the door of the room and saw two people already sitting at the table. One was Cui Ansheng, and the other was Cui Ansheng’s foolish younger brother, Cui Xiaobao. There was a bowl of fruit in front of Cui Xiaobao, and he was eating yogurt with a spoon, making a mess around his mouth.
Seeing them arrive, Cui Xiaobao looked up dazedly, and Cui Ansheng immediately showed a warm smile, quickly stood up from his seat, and came to greet them at the door, “Chief Lou, you’re finally here!”
He quickly greeted Lou Yan and Li Sanxin, then eagerly turned to look at Fu Xuezhou. It was as if he had forgotten about the argument he had with Fu Xuezhou on the phone last time. With eager eyes and a hint of apology in his expression, he rubbed his hands and, still wearing a warm smile, affectionately called out, “Ah Zhou…”
The moment Fu Xuezhou saw Cui Ansheng, he stopped in his tracks and his aura turned even colder. He turned around, ready to leave.
Cui Ansheng’s eyes dimmed, unable to maintain his smile anymore. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, calling out anxiously, “Ah Zhou!”
Seeing that Fu Xuezhou didn’t listen to him and continued to walk outside, Cui Ansheng turned back and looked at Lou Yan pleadingly.
Lou Yan, who had been watching the scene from the side, finally spoke up, “Fu Xuezhou.”
Fu Xuezhou stopped in his tracks.
Lou Yan quickly walked to his side, grabbed his wrist, and patiently said, “Since we’re here, let’s have a meal before leaving.”
After that, he leaned closer to Fu Xuezhou’s ear and whispered, “Cui Xiaobao is still here. Even if you have a conflict with Cui Ansheng, don’t let Cui Xiaobao know. You take care of Cui Xiaobao, don’t you?”
Fu Xuezhou turned his head to look at Lou Yan, his pitch-black eyes seeming even darker in the shadow. He glanced down at Lou Yan’s hand holding his wrist.
Lou Yan waited for a moment, seeing no sign of refusal from Fu Xuezhou, so he tentatively led Fu Xuezhou towards the private room. Fu Xuezhou obediently followed behind him. As they passed by Cui Ansheng, Fu Xuezhou didn’t look at him, and his expression remained unchanged. But as they passed by Li Sanxin, Fu Xuezhou cast a sidelong glance at him.
Although this glance was plain and unremarkable, and Fu Xuezhou quickly withdrew it, Li Sanxin still felt a strong provocation. Was Fu Xuezhou showing off that he could be led back by Lou Yan?!
“F*ck…”
Li Sanxin gritted his teeth, feeling annoyed. This Fu Xuezhou was really annoying.
Fu Xuezhou sat down at the farthest distance from Cui Ansheng, conveniently seating himself directly across from Cui Xiaobao. After pulling down his hood, his silver hair cascaded down, revealing his handsome face under the light. Cui Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise, jumping up from his chair excitedly and pointing at Fu Xuezhou, “Ah Zhou, you’re here!”
Cui Ansheng lightly tapped Cui Xiaobao’s head and jokingly scolded, “Xiaobao, why are you calling Ah Zhou?”
“Brother Ah Zhou,” Cui Xiaobao honestly replied, his eyes shining as he looked at Fu Xuezhou, “Brother Ah Zhou, I haven’t seen you in a long time. I miss you a lot. I’ve been drawing recently, but you haven’t come to check on me…”
Fu Xuezhou asked, “How’s your drawing?”
Cui Xiaobao straightened his chest, somewhat proud, “Brother said I draw very well!”
Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, he covered his laughing mouth with his hand and mumbled, “Brother said I’ll be able to draw as amazingly as you in the future.”
Fu Xuezhou neither said “You can’t” nor mocked the foolish dreams of a child. He simply said, “Not bad. Keep it up.”
Those simple words seemed to hold a hidden power, instantly making Cui Xiaobao excited, his face turning red. He put down the tablecloth, stood up straight, and nodded as if he had received an important task, saying seriously, “Yes, I’ll work hard!”
Cui Ansheng watched their interaction with a smile, refraining from interrupting. Only when the food arrived did he stand up and cautiously offer Fu Xuezhou a piece of sweet potato, saying, “Ah Zhou, have some of this.”
Fu Xuezhou raised his hand to stop the dish, saying coldly, “No need.”
Cui Ansheng awkwardly placed the dish back in his own bowl, casting uncertain glances at Fu Xuezhou, but Fu Xuezhou seemed oblivious, not even touching the chopsticks throughout.
Lou Yan and Li Sanxin exchanged a glance, tacitly becoming silent background figures for the meal.
The dinner was eaten in silence and discomfort. Cui Ansheng, usually the life of the party, fell quiet after Fu Xuezhou’s rejection, seeming somewhat distracted.
It wasn’t until Cui Xiaobao finished eating and started restlessly talking to Cui Ansheng that the room regained some noise: “Brother, I want to go out and play~”
The restaurant had an entertainment area, but with the current Anomaly Resurgences happening, Cui Ansheng was hesitant to let his brother leave his side.
Seeing this, Lou Yan intervened, saying, “Rongcheng is very safe. I can guarantee there’s no danger within at least two hundred meters nearby. Mr. Cui, you can rest assured. I happen to need to use the restroom, so I can take your brother to the entertainment area.”
Cui Ansheng breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Lou Yan, “Thank you, Chief Lou.”
Lou Yan wanted to wipe his hands with a wet tissue, but he had run out. He was about to reach out to Li Sanxin when Fu Xuezhou tossed his own unopened wet tissue in front of Lou Yan.
The packaging of the wet tissue, adorned with a pair of big red double peach hearts, boldly jumped into Lou Yan’s sight.
Alongside was a line of rustic advertising: “Love you, use Red Heart wet tissues~”
Lou Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Slowly, a smile curled up at the corners of his mouth as he reached for the wet tissue and wiped his hands clean. Then, he stood up and said to the impatient Cui Xiaobao, “Let’s go.”
As they left, Lou Yan raised his hand and lightly patted Fu Xuezhou’s shoulder.
Fu Xuezhou glanced at his shoulder, his lips curling up slightly.
***
Lou Yan escorted Cui Xiaobao to his destination and went to the restroom alone.
He smoked a cigarette in the smoking area, carefully washed his hands again, and waited for the smell of smoke to dissipate before calmly returning to the private room.
Lou Yan’s footsteps were light, almost soundless on the carpet outside the corridor. At the same time, he intentionally held his breath.
Like a large cat, he lowered his presence to the extreme, moving gracefully and silently to the door of the private room.
From inside, Lou Yan heard Cui Ansheng’s voice, and everything proceeded according to plan.
Cui Ansheng asked with curiosity, “Ah Zhou, I can see that you and Chief Lou have a very close relationship now. Have you two confirmed your romantic relationship?”
Li Sanxin put down his bowl and immediately smirked, “Heh, Mr. Cui, don’t talk nonsense. Our Lou Yan is still single for now. There’s nothing between them. Even if the ghost marriage contract is over, they’re still strangers to each other.”
Cui Ansheng persuaded with a smile, “Brother Sanxin, you’re mistaken. As they say, the affection between husband and wife grows with time. Even if there’s no romantic relationship now, they’ve had a close relationship before. How could they be considered strangers? I think Chief Lou and Ah Zhou are very compatible. Even if they’re not in a romantic relationship now, they could develop one in the future!”
Li Sanxin chuckled sarcastically, trying to distance Fu Xuezhou and Lou Yan: “Mr. Cui, you’re joking. Let alone a romantic relationship, I don’t see any extra affection between Lou Yan and Mr. Fu. Let’s not talk about whether Lou Yan has feelings for Mr. Fu. You know Mr. Fu, right? Look at him. Does he look like he likes our Yanzi?”
Cui Ansheng kept speaking up for Fu Xuezhou, “Why wouldn’t it count? Ah Zhou’s behavior is already obvious. I can see that Ah Zhou clearly likes Chief Lou.”
Li Sanxin and Cui Ansheng continued to talk, each inadvertently hitting Fu Xuezhou’s sore points.
Fu Xuezhou’s already suppressed and uneasy mood worsened with each word.
The disgruntled and frustrated emotions surged within him, and the remarks alternated between Li Sanxin’s “Lou Yan doesn’t have feelings for Mr. Fu” and Cui Ansheng’s “Ah Zhou clearly likes Chief Lou.” It was as if two manifestations of Fu Xuezhou’s thoughts were pulling him apart, ripping away the veil he tried to conceal, forcing him to face the fundamental problem.
Especially Li Sanxin’s words were like stabs to his heart.
Lou Yan treats him as a stranger.
After the ghost marriage contract ends, they’ll have no connection.
Lou Yan doesn’t like him.
If Lou Yan doesn’t even like him, why should he like Lou Yan?
Fu Xuezhou’s breathing slowed, and a hint of chilling coldness appeared in his brows and eyes.
Li Sanxin intentionally remarked, “Oh really? But I don’t see Mr. Fu showing any liking towards Yanzi?”
Cui Ansheng quickly gave Fu Xuezhou a meaningful glance and urged in a low voice, “Ah Zhou, you should speak up. Tell Brother Sanxin that you like Chief Lou.”
Coming from Cui Ansheng, such words were like pouring a bucket of ice-cold water on top of an iceberg. Fu Xuezhou was instantly reminded of many unpleasant memories by Cui Ansheng’s voice. The words, seemingly understanding Fu Xuezhou exceptionally well and deducing his mood based on this, sounded particularly ridiculous and ludicrous coming from the traitor Cui Ansheng’s mouth. They turned into sharp knives that could kill both him and others.
Fu Xuezhou’s thin lips tightened, and he turned to look at Cui Ansheng, his eyes extremely cold and indifferent as he said, word by word, “I don’t like him.”
Cui Ansheng exclaimed in shock, “How is that possible? You clearly—”
“I don’t like Lou Yan.” Fu Xuezhou interrupted Cui Ansheng’s words, his tone calm and rational, yet carrying an unknown emotion. He repeated with a calm and composed demeanor, “Don’t arbitrarily deduce my thoughts based on yours, Cui Ansheng.”
With a loud “bang,” the door was pushed open.
Fu Xuezhou instinctively turned his head and saw Lou Yan standing outside the door, not knowing how long he had been listening. His pupils dilated.
Lou Yan’s face was expressionless, and he glanced at Fu Xuezhou with a mocking smile in his eyes.
Fu Xuezhou’s chest tightened, an emotion he had never experienced before surged through his body, causing his hand, placed under the table, to tightly clench into a fist. He remained frozen in place.
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