They all want to control me!

Chapter 56 Another Shura Field

Lin Ran was drenched in sweat at this moment.

It's like secretly bringing your mistress home for sex, then calling your wife during the process, trying to suppress your physical pleasure and speaking to her in a normal tone.

I can picture it now.

I realized I'd been watching too many movies.

"Yes... there is someone."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran decided not to hide it.

The two have reached a certain level of understanding and can guess each other's thoughts. For example, Jiang Qiaoqiao can guess that there is another person at home by looking at his eyes. So rather than having the lie exposed, it is better to be honest now.

"Who?" The lame girl sat up straight.

It's past midnight, who would be at Lin Ran's house?

Tao Zhiyao?

Impossible. Lin Ran is too shrewd to risk smashing Tao Zhiyao into mincemeat by bringing her home.

"I've told you about this person before, you know him."

Lin Ran looked towards the kitchen, where Su Lingle was washing peaches in preparation for eating. She was wrapped in a blanket, her caramel-colored hair cascading down her back, looking carefree and nonchalant, like a mischievous little devil.

Tao Zhiyao is much more obedient; she does whatever I tell her to do, unlike Jiang Qiaoqiao and Su Lingle, who are rebellious at heart and want to do the things they're told not to do.

"Come here, Jiang Qiaoqiao... the girl who sang the music video with me, she wants to see you."

"Looking at me?" Su Lingle took a bite of peach and mumbled, "I really admire you. A girl was staying at your house in the middle of the night, and you actually talked to another girl. What's this Jiang Qiaoqiao's identity? Shouldn't she just be someone you sang music videos with? A girlfriend? A mistress? You said you had feelings for another girl named Tao Zhiyao, but I didn't expect you to cheat on her."

"Screw you! The more you try to hide it at a time like this, the more guilty you seem. Come here now, stop eating."

Lin Ran laughed and cursed.

What kind of talk is that?

My buddy is a true gentleman; he's the kind of good young man who would readily help an elderly woman who has fallen to the ground.

"Coming, coming," he said, speaking in a tone befitting a servant girl.

Su Lingle, with a peach in her mouth and her hands behind her back, hopped over to sit next to Lin Ran, leaning her shoulder against his, tilting her head so their faces were almost touching, and looking at the girl on the phone screen.

"Hi, I'm Su Lingle, Lin Ran's childhood sweetheart from three years ago. You must be Jiang Qiaoqiao. You're very pretty and sing quite well. With some training, you might become a singer even better than me."

"..."

Quiet.

A long silence followed.

Jiang Qiaoqiao was completely stunned.

She had heard Lin Ran mention Su Lingle, who was her childhood sweetheart who moved to another city three years ago and stood Lin Ran up back then.

She remembers it clearly at the time; she didn't think Su Lingle was a threat, so how did she end up at Lin Ran's house in the blink of an eye?

He was still wrapped in Lin Ran's blanket late at night!

What is their relationship?

"You...and her, why are you together so late at night?"

"Su Lingle ran away from home, her phone was stolen at the high-speed rail station, and she was penniless. My mother let her stay with me temporarily."

I'll arrange an apartment for you.

Jiang Qiaoqiao made a decisive decision, wanting to nip the threat in the bud.

If someone were to take control of Lin Ran's body in the future, it would be easy for the scheme to be exposed if there were another person in the house, and it would also be unpleasant for her to watch.

Before Lin Ran could speak, Su Lingle suddenly snatched the phone, twisted her neck, leaned back on the sofa, crossed her legs, and gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Uncle Jiang Donghai's daughter?"

"……yes."

Jiang Qiaoqiao frowned. How did she know her father's name?

Su Lingle turned to look at Lin Ran:

"Remember when I told you that on the day we arranged to have a farewell dinner, I had guests at home, and I had to accompany their daughter, so I couldn't go? The guest's surname was Sun, his wife's surname was Jiang, and his brother-in-law's name was Jiang Donghai."

For a moment, Lin Ran and Jiang Qiaoqiao were both stunned.

A complex web of relationships suddenly unfolds.

No one expected there to be such a connection.

Does that mean that three years ago, the three of them already had a karmic entanglement?

Jiang Qiaoqiao was thinking on a deeper level.

In other words, her aunt's visit that day delayed Su Lingle's appointment, which almost led to a complete break between her and Lin Ran during their three years of high school.

Although she knew the responsibility wasn't hers, Jiang Qiaoqiao suddenly lost her confidence when facing Su Lingle.

She placed her phone face down on the bed and pulled at her own mouth.

Yes... Jiang Qiaoqiao felt happy that her aunt had delayed their relationship. She didn't want Lin Ran and Su Lingle to know her dark thoughts; she only wanted Lin Ran to see the good side.

At the same time, I was very distressed.

Only narrow-minded people have such dark thoughts and are incapable of achieving great things.

Jiang Qiaoqiao pinched her cheek hard until it hurt, which cleared her mind a bit. She shook her head, letting all those dirty thoughts go to hell—if you're going to win, win fair and square! I, Jiang Qiaoqiao, am not afraid of anyone!

I picked up my phone again.

"Why did the screen suddenly go black just now... Hmm? Why is your face a little red? Did you slap yourself? It's okay, it's not your fault, it's also my fault. I was such an idiot that I oversimplified things. I didn't expect that some fool would wait for me for nine whole hours—an idiot and a fool, they're quite a match."

Su Lingle gave a self-deprecating laugh.

If I had replied with a message back then and explained why I hadn't kept the appointment, things wouldn't be like this now.

But life has no "what ifs," and there's no going back to the past. What's done is done, and it can't be changed.

Su Lingle looked at Lin Ran, grabbed his wrist, pressed it against her cheek, and said:

"Fool, I'm sorry. This apology is three years late. If you're still upset, just hit me."

"..."

Lin Ran raised his hand.

Su Lingle subconsciously frowned and closed her eyes. She had been afraid of pain since she was a child. When she was fifteen, she would cry and scream when she went to the hospital for injections. But now she was willing to let others give her injections.

The slap never came.

She cautiously opened her eyes and saw that Lin Ran had simply taken back his phone, got up, and was walking around talking to Jiang Qiaoqiao:

"It was a tragic fate... Let's get back to the main topic, the MV promotion."

"Huh? Why are we suddenly talking about music videos?"

"Are all three of us going to dwell on the past? My life principle has always been to live in the present and look forward. Especially you, Qiaozi, what does your aunt's visit have to do with you? Why are you slapping yourself?"

"I didn't slap you!" Jiang Qiaoqiao would of course not say that, in order to clear her mind and not think about dark and dirty thoughts.

How shameful!

She wanted to maintain her image in Lin Ran's eyes and didn't want to tarnish her reputation.

"It's fine if you didn't slap yourself. Now quickly slap yourself a few times to wake up and think about the publicity plan."

"You're so annoying! I have to stay awake and work so late at night! I'm hanging up!"

Lin Ran put away her phone and glanced back at Su Lingle, who was kneeling blankly on the sofa:

"It's getting late, you should get some rest too. You can sleep on the floor or the sofa, it's not that cold yet at the end of September. If you don't mind the trouble, you can tidy up the storage room next door and sleep there. I'm going to sleep now, knock if you need anything, goodnight."

His figure disappeared into the bedroom, and the door closed.

Only one person remained in the small living room.

Su Lingle lowered her head, her caramel-colored hair falling to her chest, her eyes vacant.

She thought of Lin Ran and Jiang Qiaoqiao chatting and joking like old friends.

I wish that idiot had slapped me...

I wouldn't feel this bad now.

I should have been the one in that role.