Chapter 87: I Really Love You
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“That is the Gu family’s property, but did you underestimate the relationship between the Xu and Gu families? With just one phone call from me, they will change the number of your safe to another one,” Xu Zhongshuang smiled faintly.
A thought flashed through An Lan’s mind.
Perhaps it wasn’t just about the relationship between the Xu and Gu families, but did the name “Yunshuang Fund” indicate that Gu Yunli’s trust in Xu Zhongshuang exceeded their imagination?
When Gu Yunli mentioned the key figure of this fund back then, he denied the guess that “Xu Zhongshuang had a problem.”
“You replaced the number on my safe, hung your safe with my number, and put in things you wanted the other party to see?” Xu Xingran asked.
“Yes. A list that’s half true and half false,” Xu Zhongshuang replied.
“Father, what exactly are you and Uncle Gu up to?” Xu Xingran asked in a cold tone.
The atmosphere at the scene became a bit tense. Xu Xingran wanted his father to be completely honest with him, but it was evident that there were things Xu Zhongshuang didn’t want to disclose. The father and son confronted each other, and it might end up in a cold war.
An Lan gently tugged at Xu Xingran. “Xingran, the time will come when Uncle Xu will tell you what you want to know.”
“Aren’t you afraid he might be a member of ‘Eden’ too?” Xu Xingran asked coldly.
“No, he’s not,” An Lan replied.
“How do you know?” Xu Zhongshuang looked at An Lan with interest.
“Because Uncle Gu’s trust in you is absolute. Even in matters related to the Gu family’s properties, they follow your instructions without any reservations. When Uncle Gu talked about the predecessor of ‘Eden’ and mentioned you as one of the founders, he directly denied any connection between you and ‘Eden’ in front of us. Doesn’t Uncle Gu worry that Gu Liyu might have trusted the wrong person?” An Lan explained.
Xu Zhongshuang smiled and gave Xu Xingran a glance. “You see, An Lan is more clear-headed than you.”
“How do you plan to get Xiao Chen back?” Xu Xingran asked.
“Both Gu Yunli and I have something that ‘Eden’ needs. Did you notice that the last time ‘Eden’ took you away, they didn’t ask you for such things? What does that imply?” Xu Zhongshuang asked.
Xu Xingran squinted his eyes, “It means… ‘Eden’ knows you won’t reveal secrets to me.”
“Exactly, because not knowing these secrets is what keeps you alive.”
“Understanding your way of doing things, this person must be someone familiar with you,” Xu Xingran said.
“Yes. Xingran, some confrontations are not suitable for you. It’s not that you’re not smart enough or courageous enough, but you don’t understand your opponent well enough,” Xu Zhongshuang said.
“Father, sometimes I don’t understand my opponent precisely because you treat me like a child and refuse to tell me anything. In front of my opponent, I’m like a blank sheet of paper, so I’m bound to lose. You think your opponent should be dealt with by you. But have you ever thought that soon, I will encounter the same opponent, yet I will still be a blank sheet of paper? Dad, do you want this blank sheet of paper to be pierced?” Xu Xingran said.
Xu Zhongshuang fell silent.
After a while, he extended his hand to Xu Xingran. “Okay, this time I’ll treat you as an adult, and we’ll solve this problem together. After all, if ‘Eden’ doesn’t fall, they will crush you sooner or later.”
Xu Xingran shook hands with Xu Zhongshuang. “Agreed. Father, although you don’t watch many movies, you should know that parents concealing secrets from their children often become the child’s death warrant, right?”
Xu Zhongshuang laughed, “I’ve received your warning.”
“Good, I can go to sleep now. If there’s any news from Captain Hong, don’t forget to let me know.”
As Xu Xingran was about to turn around, Xu Zhongshuang suddenly said, “And if the thing hanging around An Lan’s neck works, remember to tell me.”
Xu Xingran was stunned for a moment. He didn’t expect Xu Zhongshuang to notice the USB drive hanging around An Lan’s neck with just a glance. He understood his son very well.
On the way upstairs, An Lan whispered, “It’s a good thing your dad is not our opponent. Otherwise, with his understanding of you, every move would be calculated, and we’d have no way out.”
Xu Xingran opened a guest room. It was spacious, with simple furnishings—bed, desk, and wardrobe. “If you find it uncomfortable or lacking in vitality, you can come sleep with me.”
An Lan gave him a push. “Are you planning to have a battle of pheromones with Gu Liyu when you see him?”
Xu Xingran chuckled. “Our Xu family mansion has a long history. If the ancestors of the Xu family come looking for you, the little handsome guy, for a chat…”
“I don’t believe your nonsense.” An Lan replied coolly. Just as he was about to close the door, Xu Xingran grabbed him.
“You called me ‘Xingran’ just now. Can you keep calling me that?” Xu Xingran asked.
Before, An Lan always called him “Class Monitor” or “Xu Xingran,” creating a somewhat distant address.
“Got it, Xingran. Guian* please.” An Lan shook his hand.
* what emperor says for people to be dismissed; gui = kneel
Xu Xingran laughed. “Alright, I’ll Guian.”
After saying that, Xu Xingran left.
Closing the door, An Lan walked around the room, opened the wardrobe, and found that the clothes he left at Gu Liyu’s house had been brought over.
“It seems that Uncle Xu’s relationship with Uncle Gu is extraordinary. The Xu family can even come and take my luggage over.”
With no one around, An Lan missed Gu Liyu even more.
It felt like when Gu Liyu had him by his side, it was like being in warm water, making An Lan accustomed to having him around. Suddenly, when Gu Liyu wasn’t there, An Lan felt very lonely.
Gu Liyu should still be undergoing investigation by the Alpha Management Committee. An Lan took out his phone and tried to see if Gu Liyu could chat with him.
An Lan sent a system-provided smiley face.
To his surprise, Gu Liyu immediately replied: [You look really good when you smile.]
An Lan was stunned for a moment, his face hadn’t even blushed yet, and he immediately understood: [Where did you get this auto-reply from?]
Gu Liyu: [I imagined millions of things you might say to me.]
Replying so quickly undoubtedly indicated the use of an auto-reply.
An Lan had heard that some people had specially created a set of auto-replies to “deal with” their girlfriends, but he didn’t expect Gu Liyu to use it.
It was a bit funny, and he felt that he couldn’t talk to him. Well, playing a chat game with his WeChat avatar would do.
Let’s see how far this set of questions and answers would go before it starts to “answer off the point.”
An Lan: [Gu Liyu, you big fool, using the system to fool me, what’s going on?]
Gu Liyu: [This is not fooling, but indulging your willfulness.]
An Lan chuckled: [Without you, I can’t sleep. What should I do?]
Gu Liyu: [Open the window.]
An Lan was shocked. Could it be that Gu Liyu had really escaped? This was a big deal. What if he was initially supposed to be released after a week, but now it turned into a year?
He quickly opened the window. Apart from the guards from the Xu family, An Lan didn’t see anyone else.
Could it be that Gu Liyu had tricked him?
An Lan replied: [The window is open. Where are you?]
Gu Liyu: [Ventilating while sleeping is good for health.]
An Lan: …
Suddenly, he felt the urge to rush to the other person and give him a beating!
An Lan: [I’m not chatting anymore. Going to sleep.]
Gu Liyu: [Okay, cover yourself with the blanket, I’ll sleep with you.]
An Lan: [Sleep until you have a stroke.]
Gu Liyu: [Are you angry?]
An Lan: [Yes. No more chatting, going to sleep.]
Gu Liyu: [Then I’ll say one honest thing.]
An Lan had lost interest in Gu Liyu’s automatic response system. As long as he ignored it, it shouldn’t send messages.
However, unexpectedly, another message came through, and it was a three-second voice message.
An Lan was stunned. Could it be that Gu Liyu could really use a phone?
He pressed the phone to his ear and heard Gu Liyu’s voice. It sounded like he was speaking directly into the phone’s microphone, a bit deep and magnetic.
[I really love you, good night.]
In that instant, An Lan’s eyes reddened. He turned to the side, pressed the phone to his ear, and listened to that message over and over.
Until An Lan’s phone vibrated slightly. Opening it, he found it was a message from Xu Xingran.
Xu Xingran: [Little An Lan, do you know that your bedroom is separated from mine by just one wall?]
An Lan was stunned for a moment. Could it be that Xu Xingran heard him listening to Gu Liyu’s voice message?
An Lan: [I’m sorry, I’m going to sleep now.]
This was indeed super awkward.
Although he said he was going to sleep, An Lan couldn’t actually fall asleep. Too much had happened that day, and he checked his phone to find several messages from Qiao Chuluo. Opening them, he saw the news about the disappearance of Song Kelan after the charity interview. This was undoubtedly a shocking headline for the city.
Without checking Song Kelan’s profile, An Lan wouldn’t have known that she was one of the top ten outstanding women in the city, a renowned philanthropist. Besides dedicating herself to omega rights, she had also sponsored many students. Her assistance was not limited to omegas; any child in need who wanted to study could receive her help.
Therefore, her disappearance caused widespread discussion, especially among many students she had sponsored who had now entered the media industry.
“The disappearance of philanthropist Song Kelan” had already become the headline on social platforms and was still escalating.
An Lan couldn’t help but browse various news articles. The more he read, the stranger he felt. In a situation where a well-known figure like Song Kelan disappeared, the news should be as restricted as much as possible. Otherwise, what if the situation got worse and the kidnappers demanded a ransom? This would be the normal line of thinking for the police.
But now there was no sign of restraining the spread of information.
At around four or five in the morning, another hot search quickly rose to the top—the philanthropist Song Kelan was suspected to be kidnapped by “Eden.”
The entire internet was discussing what “Eden” was.
From a hot search, it turned into a trending search.
Previously, “Eden” was just a secretive organization known to the police and rumored by the public, but it had never been discussed on such a large scale. The effects of red apple, slivery* apple, golden apple, and various drug properties were brought up for discussion. There were talks about controlling the entire society by manipulating the upper-class alphas, the customized omega plan, the high-quality alpha development plan, and so on. Almost every hot topic was dominated by these discussions.
* don’t know if spelling mistake from author
An Lan finally understood that Song Kelan was most likely not missing but used her “disappearance” to create news, declaring war on “Eden.” Moreover, they intended to use the power of public opinion to make those alpha families who were in covert dealings with “Eden” quickly sever ties. The discussions were getting louder and louder. In just one night, even if the news on social media calmed down, the discussions in the real world didn’t stop. Many parents were advising their children to come home early after school, fearing that they might be abducted by “Eden” for experiments.
In the early morning of the next day, An Lan got up with dark circles under his eyes.
As soon as he opened the door and saw Xu Xingran, the two of them looked at each other knowingly. It seemed that Xu Xingran had also spent the night on his phone.
They went downstairs for breakfast, and Xu Zhongshuang was also sitting there, glancing at the two of them before chuckling lightly.
“Dad, this plate is a bit big,” Xu Xingran said.
“As adults, we either don’t play or play big,” Xu Zhongshuang looked at An Lan. “An Lan, in the morning, we’re used to having porridge and snacks. If you don’t like it, just say so, and Uncle will have someone make what you like.”
“I like porridge and snacks,” An Lan opened his mouth, wanting to ask the question but held back.
“I promised not to hide anything from you. If you have any questions, just ask,” Xu Zhongshuang said, looking at An Lan.
“Uncle, then I’ll ask. Did Uncle Gu, Aunt Song, and you plan this ‘kidnapping’ together, including Uncle Gu breaking free from the control of the Alpha Management Committee?”
“Yes,” Xu Zhongshuang answered straightforwardly.
“You brought ‘Eden’ into the public eye, making it widely known. Besides forcing the families connected to ‘Eden’ to distance themselves quickly, it was also to make ‘Eden’ panic. Normally, their influence should have already infiltrated the media industry, allowing them to control the situation. But with Aunt Song’s years of operation, her control over the media is not to be underestimated. In this battle, ‘Eden’ lost,” Xu Xingran said.
“Yes. They lost the first round, and afterward, they will become more and more panicked. Not only will they expose their own issues, but they will also be eager to contact me,” Xu Zhongshuang said with a smile as he opened a snack and put it into his mouth.
At the same time, Xu Zhongshuang’s phone on the table rang—it was Captain Hong calling.
“Captain Hong, any new developments?”
“Old Xu, you probably can’t guess who the person is that went to the safe to get something!”
Xu Zhongshuang smiled, “Although I don’t know who he is, I can guess his surname.”
Upon hearing this, both Xu Xingran and An Lan looked up at Xu Zhongshuang.
“Oh? Why don’t you tell us his surname then?”
“Xiao,” Xu Zhongshuang said and asked, “Is he old or young?”
“Young, Xiao Nan. At the moment, it seems that Xiao Nan’s father probably doesn’t know about his son’s close connection with ‘Eden.'”
“Then let’s continue to wait and see. Let’s see whom Xiao Nan contacts with the list we gave him.”
After saying that, Xu Zhongshuang hung up the phone and continued to eat his breakfast.
Although Xu Zhongshuang’s plan was simple, the fact that it was implemented in such a short time, such as swapping the safe that Xu Xingran had rented, preparing a fake list, Xu Xingran could only think of three steps, but Xu Zhongshuang could think of seven or even ten steps ahead.
An Lan didn’t know what Xu Zhongshuang’s next plan was, but he knew that this time, whether it was Xu Zhongshuang, Gu Yunli, or Song Kelan, they had all made up their minds to deal with “Eden.”
When An Lan and Xu Xingran left, Xu Zhongshuang smiled and said, “Kids, study hard and make progress every day.”
Xu Xingran took a step, suddenly turned back, and said, “Dad, you’re not secretly meeting with the people from ‘Eden,’ are you?”
“No.”
“That’s good. In case something happens to you, I wouldn’t even know where to collect your body.”
“Don’t talk so ominously early in the morning.”
Xu Xingran and An Lan got into the car and went to school together.
Looking at the driver’s straight posture, An Lan had no doubt that he was not just a driver.
At school, An Lan had just sat down when Qiao Chuluo in the front row couldn’t wait to gossip with him.
“Did you see it? Did you see it? Gu Liyu’s mom is in trouble! She’s been kidnapped by ‘Eden’! That ‘Eden’ can not only turn betas into omegas, but there are also other operations! For example, allowing injured alphas to recover through drugs, and even gaining more powerful strength than before, becoming a high-quality alpha is also possible! D*mn, if their drugs succeed, can they break through barriers and optimize all alphas?”
An Lan directly tapped his head with a pen.
“You can optimize alphas, but doesn’t optimizing alphas come with a cost?” An Lan asked without a good tone as he took out his books.
Qiao Chuluo looked at Xiao Chen’s seat in the front, then at Gu Liyu’s seat, both empty. He then looked at Xu Xingran and secretly sent a message to An Lan: [Today, it’s said that you came to class in the class monitor’s car. Did you have an affair?]
An Lan: [If I used a bicycle to take you home, would you be my affair?]
Qiao Chuluo immediately replied: [I’m sorry, please spare me, lord.]
At this time, everyone’s phones made a “ding-ding” sound simultaneously, showing new messages on social platforms. Whether they were copying homework or having breakfast, everyone took out their phones involuntarily.
It turned out that the Han family had made headlines, and their transactions with “Eden” were exposed.
The once flourishing Han family suddenly became the target of online condemnation. Even the important personnel list that the Han family helped “Eden” arrange to enter the business world was posted online. Although someone quickly claimed that the list was false and it was deleted, many netizens had already taken screenshots, including Qiao Chuluo.
The author has something to say:
Gu Yunli and Xu Zhongshuang, they are very pure.
Song Kelan: When I was reading, I shipped them as a couple, but unfortunately, I personally broke them up, hehehe
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