Fell Deeply In Love With My Ex-Husband's Fiancé - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Friends with Benefits – Sixteen electronic screens flickered simultaneously, the original…

There was no expression on Lance’s face. Not only was the expected anger absent, but there wasn’t even the passive-aggressive, affected smile.

His breathing was also very shallow. If Lu Feiran wasn’t looking at a living person standing in front of him, he would have thought he was alone in the room.

Fine, I’ll pick it up and put it on the table.

Lu Feiran smoothed his hair as he walked inward, his gaze fixed on the floor, bending down to search for the ring.

He turned on his phone’s flashlight and lay flat on the floor, peering under the bed, exposing a strip of red, irritated skin on his lower back—it was extremely noticeable.

The area under the bed was spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust, and no ring.

Where did it go?

Lu Feiran rubbed his eyes, unconvinced, checking under the bed over and over. How could it not be there? It clearly rolled in this direction.

“If you don’t want to wear it, then don’t look for it.”

Lance crouched beside Lu Feiran, holding his shoulder to help him up. His voice remained cool, as if the lost item were nothing more than an ordinary trinket.

His seemingly indifferent attitude, however, only irritated Lu Feiran, who was now determined to find it.

“Look again. It rolled this way just now.” With that, Lu Feiran moved towards the curtains.

He searched back and forth twice, still finding nothing.

For some reason, a tremendous sense of loss and regret rose in his heart. He crouched by the curtains, pouting, staring blankly at the empty floor. A thought spiraled in his mind.

Damn it. He really couldn’t help but be deeply emotional. He couldn’t even bear to lose a ring he’d only worn for a short time.

Lance watched his figure, which looked like a little mushroom in the corner. His eyebrows moved slightly: “Something that can be easily thrown away isn’t worth searching for like this. Stop looking. If it’s lost, it’s lost.”

He was still not angry, without even a hint of displeasure. The flat statement was like a soft goodnight in the deep of night, almost gentle.

Lu Feiran’s hand, gripping the curtain, paused. He scoffed, his tendons showing blue under the taut skin of his hand.

“Are you regretting it? Regretting how carelessly you treated it?” Lance asked.

Lu Feiran glanced at him sideways and stood up: “Who’s regretting anything?”

“No? I said there’s no need to look for it, that if it’s lost, it’s fine. But you look more anxious than I do.” Lance exposed Lu Feiran’s hidden feelings. “If that’s the case, why did you take it off?”

Lance was shirtless. Being so close, the scene from an hour ago surfaced uncontrollably.

Slap! Lu Feiran clapped his hand onto Lance’s chest, leaving a clear handprint: “Keep your distance.”

The spot on his chest where he’d been hit was warm. Lance covered it with his hand: “You want me to be honest with you; I’m just speaking my mind. Likewise, I hope you can be honest with yourself and face what you truly feel.”

His face held an unprecedented honesty, even a childish innocence. Lu Feiran stared at Lance for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

When he smiled, his dark hair seemed to tremble. His smile brushed against his thick eyelashes, his eyes curving like crescent moons, his bright black pupils disappearing completely. The smile washed away the faint worry that had just appeared. He lifted his chin, scrutinizing Lance from head to toe.

Lance stood under his scrutiny, his body temperature gradually dropping. From Lu Feiran’s angle, there was no visible flaw, but the muscles in his back were tense.

In truth, the moment he saw Lu Feiran receive a message from Jin Zhan, Lance had been consumed by jealousy, but he was holding back.

He had cornered himself, obsessively jealous of a person who was ultimately irrelevant. He was watching himself go from being the unique sole choice to merely a selectable option, and a secondary one at that.

Lance suppressed all his emotions because if he let a single crack open, he wouldn’t be able to stop the flood.

And Lu Feiran didn’t like that.

“It wasn’t anything important, so I’m not looking for it anymore.” The warmth in Lu Feiran’s eyes dropped. “Also, you should have some self-awareness about being ‘friends with benefits.’ Don’t cross the line, and don’t analyze me.”

Lance’s words had hit a nerve.

It was true; he felt a little regretful, but so what? Lance was the one who begged him to wear the thing, and now that it was lost, he was the one more anxious? Ridiculous.

But Lu Feiran couldn’t understand why Lance, who just recently acted like he would eat him alive if he didn’t wear the ring, was now so nonchalant.

He was annoyed.

It was the first time Lance had heard the term “friends with benefits.” It was a fresh term, but it succinctly summarized their current relationship.

Compared to their previous state of being like strangers, “friends with benefits” was already a remarkable step, at least providing a reason for intimacy.

But Lance didn’t want to be friends with benefits. He didn’t want a banknote slipped into his waistband before being kicked out of the car, nor did he want to be told at midnight that Lu Feiran didn’t want to stay over and was leaving to see another man.

Just as he thought, “friends with benefits” meant a backup option, but he demanded to be the only one, forever, walking down the aisle hand-in-hand wearing a ring.

The shell Lance had built to conceal his emotions cracked slightly. His lower face tightened, the lines around his lips becoming sharp. He looked at Lu Feiran’s cold, arrogant face, staring intensely for a moment, then chose to turn his gaze away.

Lu Feiran cocked his head. For a moment, he thought Lance wanted to do something, but nothing happened.

Lance today was unusually restrained, even making him confused.

“It’s too obvious, Ranran. No need to analyze, one look is enough to tell,” Lance said softly. “If you want us to be ‘friends with benefits,’ that’s fine too. I will agree to all your demands. Stay tonight, don’t leave.”

Not likely, Lu Feiran thought.

He took a deep breath and added: “Friends with benefits, do you know what that means? It means keeping the relationship strictly to the bedroom. After it’s over, there’s no need to stay the night, and there’s no right to question the other person’s whereabouts or private affairs.”

The skin on Lance’s forehead, covered by his hair, twitched slightly. He suppressed the urge to scoff, lightly stretched his neck and shoulders, and then clenched his right hand forcefully, the muscles tensing, then relaxing.

He gave a slight smile, feigning a look of regret, as if he had misunderstood something critically important: “Is that so? It seems I misunderstood before. I thought ‘friends with benefits’ also required some necessary comfort.”

“…What?”

“Then in your eyes, a ‘friend with benefits’ probably wouldn’t carry you for three hours, and you wouldn’t cry while lying on their back, right?” Lance said. “Ranran, the things you expect me to do seem to exceed the scope of ‘friends with benefits.'”

Lu Feiran stared, as if choked. His eyes widened, big and round with astonishment, his dark pupils set like jewels in his handsome eye sockets, the highlight of his face.

In their arguments, Lu Feiran always found himself at a disadvantage, unsure how to retort.

Lu Feiran tilted his head back and asked, “What are you trying to say?”

Though he knew he was in the wrong, he stubbornly jutted his neck out to question the other person, using the three-pronged attack of coldness, annoyance, or impatience to force surrender.

This time, Lance genuinely smiled. He truly had no defense against Lu Feiran and dared not use any aggressive tactics.

He sat back on the edge of the bed, his height immediately dropping. Lu Feiran was able to slowly lower his head, resting his stiff neck for a moment.

Lance took Lu Feiran’s hand, intending for him to sit down and rest with him on the bed.

But Lu Feiran treated the bed, where they had just indulged in pleasure, like a flood or a beast. Now that he was dressed, he refused to sit down again.

Lance didn’t force him. He gently held Lu Feiran’s hand, his thumb stroking his smooth skin a few times. He looked up, adopting a humble, submissive posture, ready to be ordered around:

“I know you only extract emotional value from me. Even as ‘friends with benefits,’ I’m the most special one, and I’m happy about that. But Ranran, you know I can’t be satisfied with the ‘friends with benefits’ status…”

Lu Feiran’s heart tightened, and he heard Lance continue: “But what can I do? To you, I am a person without a defined status right now, so of course, you dictate everything. You’re tired today. Stay until tomorrow, and I’ll drive you, okay?”

His voice was exhausted, as if he had tried every means and failed, finally conceding, begging bitterly, lowering his stance as much as possible.

After speaking, he lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Lu Feiran’s abdomen, rubbing against it.

In that instant, Lu Feiran felt a momentary pang of sadness deep down, but it quickly hardened.

He knew Lance too well. He was certainly feigning this look—pitiful, innocent, and harmless—to make him lower his guard again. Impossible!

Friends with benefits are just that. He had to keep his position clear.

“Good that you know. I’m leaving now.”

Lu Feiran smiled, playfully tousling Lance’s hair, and gently patted his face, telling him to wait obediently for his next call.

He turned and left without giving Lance time for a dramatic performance.

As soon as he left the bedroom, Lu Feiran fled, moving his legs at top speed, rushing downstairs and getting into his car.

He gasped for breath, waiting in the car for several minutes, confirming that Lance wouldn’t come down, before relaxing his tense muscles and pinching his throbbing temples.

What did all that mean? Why the sudden change of heart? Is he feigning innocence again? Most likely, yes.

Having grown accustomed to clashing with Lance, Lu Feiran wasn’t used to this demeanor.

After all, the last time at the Deville mansion, Lance deliberately made himself feverish and threatened that he would be with Lu Feiran even in death.

How could he be so willing to be “friends with benefits” this time? He didn’t care about the lost ring, wasn’t upset about being a backup, and obediently stayed put when told to wait, not even coming out to see him off?

Truly bizarre.

Lu Feiran shook his head, deciding to stop thinking about it. When alone, one should never try to figure out another man’s thoughts, or else… disaster would strike.

…

Meanwhile, the look of near-begging on Lance’s face vanished the moment Lu Feiran turned away, like light disappearing into a black hole, leaving only emptiness.

He slowly rose from the bed and knelt on the floor, bending down to begin a meticulous, inch-by-inch search for the ring Lu Feiran had dropped.

Prostrate on the ground, he truly had a humble demeanor.

The ring was found, lying in the gap behind the nightstand. Neither Lance nor Lu Feiran had expected the small circle of a ring to roll so far.

But no matter how far it rolled, Lance was confident he would find it and return it to where it belonged.

Lance picked up the ring, carefully wiped it clean, and placed it on his own pinky finger.

Lance meticulously adjusted the angle, then made a fist, pressing it directly against his chin, gently imprinting Lu Feiran’s ring onto his lips. He then walked towards the locked art studio and opened the door.

The studio had been utterly transformed. Art supplies only occupied a quarter of the space. Fortunately, the room was large enough that even with a small section, it still felt peaceful.

A large canvas by the wall was completely covered in cloth, concealing the painting’s content.

Lance walked towards a wall covered in black velvet fabric. He gave a command to the smart home system, and the black curtain slowly drew back, revealing an entire wall embedded with ultra-high-definition electronic screens.

With Lance’s subsequent commands, the screens turned on in succession.

In the rectangular windows were the gate of Lu Yuanyuan, Lu Feiran’s exclusive parking spot in Tuowei’s underground garage, the private elevator, Lu Feiran’s office, and Lu Feiran’s schedule…

A red dot lit up on a map in the bottom right corner that was usually blank. Lance’s eyes followed the red dot’s movement as he stood silently.

Watching the red dot leave his apartment, stop on a certain street for twenty minutes, and then drive smoothly towards Lu Yuanyuan.

Lance shifted his gaze to the top left. At the gate of Lu Yuanyuan, the black Mercedes slowed down. After its license plate was recognized, the ornate metal gate opened for it.

The image clearly showed the car’s front seats: besides Lu Feiran in the driver’s seat, the passenger seat was completely empty.

Lance’s fingers twitched. The invisible layer of ice covering his face melted halfway. He tilted his head slightly to the right. In the video feed on the right, the living room lights turned on.

Lu Feiran walked into the living room, sat on the sofa for a while, then picked up a violin nearby, playing leisurely.

Unfortunately, the feed had no sound.

A flash of regret crossed Lance’s eyes. He sat on the chair in the center of the studio, staring intently at the screens, his naked torso and expressionless face making him resemble an emotionless statue.

Fortunately, Lu Feiran didn’t go to see Jin Zhan and obediently returned home alone.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t mind submitting a little more new evidence.

The footage captured through a floor-to-ceiling window wasn’t as clear as the others, indicating that the camera was not nearby, perhaps even at some distance.

Watching the lights in the video extinguish, Lance’s unacceptable thoughts began to swell.

Ranran must be showering now. After showering, he will return to the bedroom to sleep.

And he could only secretly watch through these surveillance feeds. The house was designed with his preferences fully considered, yet to this day, Lance had no right to step inside.

He didn’t even have a reasonable excuse to get close.

As Lance lowered his head to look at Lu Feiran’s ring on his pinky finger, the sixteen electronic screens simultaneously flickered twice. The original feeds disappeared, replaced by a composite image of Lu Feiran’s smiling face.

It was his WeChat profile picture—the one Zhou Zihua took.

Beneath the night sky, Lu Feiran smiled easily and gently, like an elf who had accidentally wandered into the human world.

Lance walked forward, gently placing his palm on Lu Feiran’s lips, his eyes shadowed.

I’m sorry, Ranran. You don’t like me monitoring you, so I’ll do it secretly. You won’t find out.

But you can’t stop me from seeing you… I will go insane…

Lance stared greedily at the photo, caressing it with the same tender intimacy as if stroking his lover’s cheek.

How stingy, Ranran. You won’t even grant me one normal smile…

He has to secretly save a photo, and it has to be one taken by someone else.

Lu Feiran responds well to gentleness, not force. He’s such an emotional person, so kind-hearted. He wasn’t stingy with tenderness and forgiveness toward Jin Zhan and Frank. Why was it impossible with him?

Under Lu Feiran’s rhythm, Lance realized he was gradually becoming a dog waiting to be petted. He willingly submitted to this ebb and flow, but… it was too slow.

He couldn’t wait forever. He was better at taking the initiative.

Next time, he would use his own methods.