After the Strategy Mission Was Exposed, the Childhood Friend Became a Sinister Male Ghost - Chapter 9

Di Yu arrived outside Ling Luo’s hotel room just as a housekeeper was stepping out. He glanced inside and asked, “Has the person staying in this room left?”

The housekeeper, startled by the sight of a man so handsome he seemed almost divine, blinked and replied, “She checked out early this morning.”

Di Yu’s eyes darkened. He turned and walked away.

Lin Zhouci caught sight of the suite where Ling Luo had been staying and then looked back at Di Yu. He wondered why the man was looking for Ling Luo and if there was a connection between them. Having climbed his way up from the bottom, Lin Zhouci had not yet made friends within the elite circles of the capital, nor did he understand the internal dynamics of high society.

Di Yu headed straight for his private jet to return to the capital. The Conversion System was fuming with rage. 【You were right in front of the Male Lead! Why did you not humiliate him?】

Di Yu pinched the black snake’s vital point. “Shut up, or I will throw you out.”

Terrified by his murderous aura, the System fell silent.

Di Yu went to the hospital. He pushed open the door to find a woman napping, slumped over the side of the hospital bed. Even in her sleep, her brow was instinctively furrowed, and she exuded a sense of unease. She looked utterly fragile.

A flash of pity crossed Di Yu’s eyes. He walked over quietly, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. Feeling the warmth, Ling Luo stirred. She blinked her eyes open and saw someone standing beside her, leaning down to look at her.

Once she realized it was Di Yu, she woke up instantly. “You!”

“You were not replying to my messages. I guessed you were at the hospital, so I came here,” Di Yu said softly.

“Oh,” Ling Luo sat up straight, rubbing her eyes while pulling off the jacket. She let out a yawn. “Let us talk outside.”

Di Yu followed her into the stairwell. Ling Luo handed the jacket back to him and sighed. “My mother might not last another year.”

Di Yu pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as he offered patient comfort. “I will find the best medical resources to help treat her.”

“I went to a temple to have my fortune told,” Ling Luo said, her head forced against his chest so she could not move. “It said you are bad luck for me. Therefore, let us separate for a while. If my mother’s condition improves, I will get back together with you.”

She could smell the crisp, cerebral scent of cedarwood on him. His powerful heartbeat thrummed against her ear, making her feel numb. Ling Luo felt his hand tighten around her waist, pulling her even closer.

“Di Yu!”

“I do not believe in ghosts or gods, and I certainly do not believe in fate,” Di Yu said, lifting her chin to look her in the eye. “Luo Luo, why are you so desperate to push me away? What is the real reason?”

Ling Luo’s lashes fluttered before she rolled her eyes and snapped, “The reason is you!”

The ambiguous atmosphere between them vanished instantly.

“My reason? Tell me, and I will change.”

“You sneaked into my house yesterday! I am furious. I was so busy studying that I forgot to settle the score with you!” Ling Luo tried to push him away. She pushed three times without success, then began to hammer her fists against his chest in frustration.

“Do not think that just because my family has fallen on hard times, you can use your power to take advantage of me. I know who gave you my door code, and I know you have been monitoring me. You know exactly where I go at all times! Am I just a doll for you to toy with? Am I not allowed to have my own freedom? If I marry you, I am afraid I will lose the freedom to even step out of the house! Di Yu, our status is not equal. Being with you will only make me your accessory, but I do not want to be an accessory!”

Di Yu’s breath hitched for a moment. Ignoring the pang of bitterness in his heart, he held her even tighter.

“Thank you for telling me these problems exist. I will change. I will not repeat the things you dislike from now on. As for being an accessory, you are an independent person. I will not forcibly control or suppress you. I respect you.”

“Empty promises,” Ling Luo said, looking entirely unconvinced.

Di Yu’s voice grew colder. “Then, Luo Luo, should you not explain why you were not home yesterday?”

Ling Luo shot back, “Why did you go to my house? You did so without my permission. Di Yu, you are disobedient. My loathing for you has reached a new height.”

The word “loathing” pierced Di Yu’s heart. He stood in a daze for a second, and the arm around her waist loosened. Ling Luo seized the opportunity to push him away.

“From now on, we have no relationship whatsoever. Do not come pestering me.” She left the stairwell immediately.

Finding his arms empty, Di Yu snapped back to reality. The Conversion System was exasperated. 【You do not act like a Villain at all! You are indecisive and hesitant! Faced with a woman like this, you should apply pressure. Otherwise, she will walk all over you in the future!】

Di Yu’s dark eyes were deep and filled with a biting chill. He squeezed the black snake’s neck with immense force. The System’s fear was bone-deep. It struggled and pleaded, “Please, I beg you, let me go.”

Di Yu let go, and the black snake vanished instantly, not daring to show itself again. The System grumbled internally that he was an incompetent man.

Ling Luo left the hospital, patted her chest, and let out a long sigh of relief. She felt quite smug. “I finally got rid of Di Yu for good!”

【Congratulations!】 The System cheered for her. Ling Luo curled her lips in a confident smile.

Ling Luo stopped pretending and blocked Di Yu’s contact information once again. No longer having to fake studying for exams to fool him made her feel much less stressed.

Lin Zhouci returned to the capital. Ling Luo arrived at the office early to handle her tasks. When Lin Zhouci walked past her desk, she glanced at the space above his head and saw the number forty. She was sixty points away from the goal and needed to work harder.

Lin Zhouci had recently befriended a young master from a wealthy family in the capital who was interested in investing in Xincheng Technology. This young master was Zhou Wangxing, the youngest son of the Zhou family. He was a socialite who spent his days doing nothing and was dismissed by his family as incompetent. Wanting to prove himself, he saw Lin Zhouci as a high-potential investment. To him, the investment was just a month’s worth of pocket money, and he did not mind if he lost it.

When Ling Luo saw Zhou Wangxing’s name, she remembered she had beaten him up once, but that was a very long time ago. Three-year-old children have short memories, so he did not remember it at all. Before the Ling family vanished from the scene, the children of the capital’s elite used to play together.

This was the Male Lead’s protagonist halo at work, meeting a benefactor on his career path. A month later, Zhou Wangxing received dividends from Xincheng that were five times higher than expected. He immediately invited Lin Zhouci to an art exhibition organized by his social circle.

Lin Zhouci valued every opportunity to climb the social ladder and brought Ling Luo along as his assistant.

The exhibition featured works by the children of wealthy families. The entry requirements were high, and the attendees were all influential figures. In the capital’s elite circles, these people were seen as gods by commoners. Befriending just one could provide enough resources to change a person’s life.

Zhou Wangxing walked up to Lin Zhouci with one hand in his pocket and a rogue-like smirk on his face. His gaze swept over Ling Luo and paused.

“You look a bit familiar,” Zhou Wangxing said in a flirtatious tone.