Chapter 35

Before he could speak, Xu Qing'an's mother suddenly asked him in surprise, "Lu Cheng, what happened to your face?"

Your eldest son hit me.

That was what he thought.

But of course, Lu Cheng couldn't tell the truth. Xu Qing'an answered for him first. "Didn't he just get back from a mission? A few bumps and bruises are normal when you're fighting enemies on the battlefield."

As he spoke, Xu Qing'an linked arms with Lu Cheng and said worriedly, "Lu Cheng, Dad just received a message from Soulmate System headquarters. They want him to go over there."

He didn't notice the change in Lu Cheng's expression when he heard the words "soulmate system" and went on, "People online have been talking about it nonstop lately. They're all saying my brother is one of the highly compatible couple."

"The person he was matched with is so awful. What if the rumors are true?"

Lu Cheng's mind was full of images of Xu Qingran and Shen Tingyu together yesterday.

He instinctively objected, "Impossible. How could Qingran have a highly compatible soul with someone like that?!"

Although he and Xu Qingran had ended their romantic relationship, and he might have said some rather hurtful things to him during that time, Xu Qingran was special to him after all.

They had known each other since childhood. Even if their romantic love had worn away, their years of friendship still mattered, and he had long regarded him as family.

So he wouldn't object to Xu Qingran being with anyone else, but Shen Tingyu was the one person he couldn't accept! They had once sat together on such good terms, saying countless bad things about Shen Tingyu. How could he turn around and become partners with someone like that?

Lu Cheng's slightly agitated tone left the Xu Family members staring at him.

But on second thought, since the person in question was scum like Boss Chen, it was understandable that Lu Cheng, as Xu Qingran's childhood friend, would be angry on his behalf.

The sound of heavy objects hitting the floor broke the silence in the living room.

Handbag after handbag was thrown down from upstairs. Only after all the bags had reached the ground floor did their owner appear, slowly coming down the stairs with a large suitcase and a small one.

The moment Lu Cheng saw Xu Qingran, his expression gradually turned to shock, with even a hint of guilt.

Seeing that Xu Qingran looked ready to stir up trouble again, Father Xu asked angrily, "You little brat, what are you up to now? Running away from home?!"

Xu Qingran set the heavy suitcases down before answering unhurriedly, "Isn't this what you told me to do? I'm getting ready to get married."

"My fiancé invited me to stay with him, so starting today, I won't be living with the Xu Family anymore."

Xu Qing'an covered his mouth in shock. "So the vehicle parked outside belongs to your fiancé..."

The private miniature flying ship was a limited-edition imperial model, and its owner had to be either rich or influential, so he had taken a few extra looks at it on his way in. Given Boss Chen's wealth, it was only natural for him to have a few limited-edition vehicles.

For a moment, Father Xu didn't know whether to be angry that Xu Qingran had made arrangements for himself without a word, or that he had known all along that his match was trash like Chen Shengfei and was still rushing to live with him.

Xu Qingran hooked all the handbags onto the handles of his suitcases and was pulling all his belongings toward the door when someone suddenly stepped in his way.

Lu Cheng demanded with a dark expression, "Even if it was an imperial notice, isn't it a bit hasty to move in with him when you don't know his character or temperament at all?"

Xu Qingran thought of Shen Tianyi's face, which could hardly stir up any trouble, and replied, "That's why I'm going to build a relationship with him in advance."

Getting along with the target's little nephew might also serve as another backup route for winning him over.

Seeing him about to leave again, Lu Cheng instinctively grabbed his wrist hard. "Living under the same roof, aren't you afraid things will get out of hand and he'll have his way with you before you've even confirmed your relationship?!"

Xu Qingran met his gaze for a few seconds, then suddenly raised an eyebrow. "You mean, like you and Xu Qing'an?"

Dead silence.

The living room fell completely quiet in an instant. Even Father Xu and his stepmother said nothing.

Only Xu Qingran's thoughts continued to turn, and he added, "Besides, even if something did happen, shouldn't he be the one worried about me giving in to my animal urges?"

"The way he is, he couldn't do it at all."

He's five, Xu Qingran thought. Who knows if he's even been weaned? What could he possibly do to me?

But to Lu Cheng, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck above his head.

Xu Qingran even knows whether Shen Tingyu can do it?!

Xu Qingran had no idea that he and Lu Cheng were thinking on entirely different wavelengths. He lowered his gaze to the hand still gripping his wrist tightly and reminded him coolly, "Aren't you going to let go?"

"Was the punch I gave you the other day not hard enough?"

After asking, Xu Qingran made a point of looking at Xu Qing'an's expression.

Sure enough, the pride he had worn at first, like a peacock displaying its tail, had vanished from his face. He even instinctively looked over at Lu Cheng.

When Xu Qingran saw the flash of panic in his eyes, his eyes curved slightly.

Do you see? The man you went to such lengths to snatch isn't as devoted to you as you imagined.

How could more than ten years of friendship and 99% compatibility be erased by a fleeting appetite for novelty and pleasure, and a sense of responsibility?

Still, a scumbag like Lu Cheng deserved never to have the person he truly loved.

Xu Qingran stopped admiring the expressions of the Xu Family members in the room and walked out of the house with his luggage.

The driver, who had been waiting outside for some time, immediately got out to help load his belongings. As they were loading them, Xu Qingran suddenly noticed splashes of blue-black paint by the roadside, near a sewer entrance.

They looked quite similar to the reddish-brown stains he had seen before leaving South District 13.

He asked the driver, "Are these all right?"

The driver knew what he meant. After closing the cargo hatch, he said with little concern, "It's from Class IV Devils. They're far less dangerous than Class I, so it should be fine."

"Still, I didn't expect them to start spreading to Red City too. That's not a good sign. Who knows when this plague of Devils will finally end?"