After Getting Involved In A Love Triangle With My Mortal Enemy From A Past Life, All I Want To Do Is Lie Down And Relax - Chapter 24

Sang Luo and An Yushu were not the first to return, but Huo Xun and Bai Chen were the last. Looking at their displeased expressions, it was obvious to everyone that they were not in high spirits. When the final rankings were announced, Huo Xun and Bai Chen were honored with a tie for last place.

As for why they tied, it all started after they closed their stall. When counting the money, they found they had earned 77 yuan, which could not be split evenly. If someone had just taken a step back, the issue would have been resolved. However, Bai Chen decided to clash with Huo Xun, demanding that Huo Xun be the one to yield. The result was predictable; Huo Xun hated being forced into anything, so he absolutely refused to budge.

The two began bickering right in front of the livestream. Bai Chen mocked Huo Xun for being petty despite his billions, while Huo Xun shot back that Bai Chen was dreaming if he thought he could just take his hard-earned money. Neither would yield.

Neither of them was a childish person, yet they both strangely refused to give in over this one matter. No one knew if they were truly fighting over a single yuan or something else entirely. It was likely they had been annoyed with each other for a long time and used this as an excuse to hit each other’s sore spots.

Inevitably, the conversation turned to Sang Luo. Bai Chen, ever the smiling tiger, said cuttingly, “Can you not see that Sang Luo has no interest in talking to you?”

Huo Xun let out a cold laugh, his dark eyes deepening like an abyss. “And he wants to talk to you?”

The standoff was so childish it was almost laughable. Perhaps due to the sweltering heat, the two calmed down significantly after venting. Bai Chen offered a graceful out. “The show’s effect was pretty good, right? Two major Movie Kings fighting over fifty cents, surely that will trend. You do not mind me leeching off your popularity, do you?”

Huo Xun caught the cue and replied unhurriedly, “I do not mind. I doubt the fans mind our dark history having one more entry.”

The two shook hands and made peace. As for the extra yuan, they reached a consensus and gave it to a donation box on the street. At the very least, the other guests remained unaware of this bizarre farce for now.

“Today’s tasks are over. Good work, everyone,” the host said, pushing a cart into the room. “Boxed lunches! Who wants one?”

“I do!” Chen Jing was the first to raise his hand. “I am starving after working. Give me one.”

“Sixty-five yuan a portion. It will fill you up,” the host said with a sweet smile, seemingly unfazed by the price.

Chen Jing looked at the dishes inside and turned red with anger. “Why don’t you just rob us!”

The lunch was not terrible, one meat dish, one vegetable, and a decent portion, but for the guests, it was incredibly meager, and the price was exorbitant.

“You can choose not to take it and cook for yourselves,” the host added. She understood the production team’s cunning; this was simply to drain the guests’ funds. Standing firmly with the crew, she continued, “It is actually quite good to not have to cook.”

Since food delivery was forbidden, they had to cook for themselves. Doing it for a day or two was fine, but over time, everyone got lazy. The production team got their way; almost everyone bought a portion except for Sang Luo. He was not hungry, and the portion looked too large to finish without wasting food.

An Yushu, however, thought Sang Luo was worried about the cost. He hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and scooped half of his own lunch onto it for Sang Luo. “Eat. I cannot finish mine anyway.”

To everyone’s surprise, Sang Luo did not refuse. “I will give you half the money later.”

“It is fine. My treat,” An Yushu said, happily eating his rice.

An indescribable atmosphere developed between the two, which sharp-eyed observers quickly noticed. Since Sang Luo had rejected An Yushu just yesterday, could they truly be this comfortable with each other already?

This traced back to late the previous night. After rejecting An Yushu, the atmosphere had been icy. However, when Sang Luo went downstairs to get water, he found An Yushu crying. Sang Luo knew the reason and could only offer some stiff, awkward comfort. An Yushu was amused by Sang Luo’s wooden attempt at being supportive and stopped crying.

An Yushu then shared his past. He was the only son of the Chairman of the An Group, but due to his stepmother, his life was difficult. His father had promised not to have children with the stepmother, but she had been found pregnant the previous month. At that moment, An Yushu felt his world collapse. Because of poor health as a child, he was always stuck at home. His mother had divorced his father early on, leaving him introverted and cowardly.

An Yushu was in a terrible mood, which was why he had joined this dating show. Initially, he had no presence, but when Sang Luo used his own clothes to cover him during the script performance to prevent him from being exposed, he realized Sang Luo was a very warm person.

The youth was stunned to hear someone describe him as warm. Looking back at his childhood in his previous life, he was most often called a little beast, and no one had ever cared for him. In this moment, he thought of his little imperial brother again and felt a touch of pity for An Yushu. He knew An Yushu’s feelings were more about reliance than romance. He explained this clearly to An Yushu and agreed to see him as a younger brother, which resolved the issue.

Since the cameras were off at night, no one else knew about this. It became their shared little secret. However, everyone else assumed Sang Luo liked An Yushu.

At this moment, Huo Xun felt as if his world was tearing apart. The usually restrained man’s eyes turned red. He lowered his head and pinched his arm hard to hide his reaction. Only Huo Xun knew that his heart felt like it was being shredded, bleeding incessantly. He did not know what to do. Divorce Sang Luo? He did not want that. He would not divorce Sang Luo, nor would he allow him to leave.

Looking at the youth’s exquisite face, Huo Xun felt him drifting further and further away. He would not allow it, but then what? Would he make Sang Luo hate him even more? A deep sense of helplessness filled his heart. Huo Xun’s dark eyes grew slightly misty, bottomless with grief.

Beside him, Bai Chen could feel Huo Xun’s subtle emotions and was inwardly shocked. He had not expected Huo Xun to take this so seriously. He could see that Sang Luo and An Yushu were not in a romantic relationship because there was no romantic tension in their eyes. Observing people’s expressions had been his survival tool in his previous life.

Regardless of how complex the others’ thoughts were, they did not affect Sang Luo. After everyone dispersed, he glanced at the shell-shocked Huo Xun, merely frowned, and went upstairs. Back in his room, someone called him. He picked up.

“It is Shi Fu. You are being cyberbullied.”

Sang Luo thought for a second. “What happened?”

Shi Fu was as blunt as ever. “Because you terminated your contract with your previous company, you are being attacked on the trending topics. Many people are telling you to get out of the entertainment industry.” He continued, “I know you are not that kind of person. Let your current company handle it. I will help you too.”

Sang Luo could not help but think of Huo Xun. Does he know?

[THE END]