Chapter 177: I’ve Got Her
Chapter 177: Chapter 177: I’ve Got Her
When he arrived at the plaza, Lu Jingyu ran into Liang Xiaoxiao, who had also rushed over after hearing the news.
They had no time for words. Both of them followed the reinforcement team down into the hole.
The members of the reinforcement team were initially hesitant, worried that Lu Jingyu and his group would interfere with their rescue operation.
But when they learned they were the Survival Team from Zone 9, and that Lu Jingyu was the captain, they happily brought them along.
They followed a team member who was coming out from inside, rushing all the way here.
While still on their way, they had sensed the aura of someone going berserk.
Everyone present, aside from Lu Jingyu’s group, knew how dangerous Shen Yan was when he went berserk, and they immediately picked up the pace.
Lu Jingyu, however, was worried about Xu Qingsui and charged ahead at the very front of the group.
But he never expected that when he saw Xu Qingsui, there would be a man lying in her arms.
’Although he knew Xu Qingsui was soothing the person in her arms, his selfish heart acted up, and he secretly hoped that from now on, Xu Qingsui would only ever soothe him.’
’He’d had to do a lot of mental work to calm himself, but who would have thought Xu Qingsui’s words and actions right now would stir up his restless heart all over again.’
But even so, he refused to believe that Xu Qingsui and Shen Yan were together.
Some things, he had to hear from Xu Qingsui’s own lips for them to count.
A thought sparked, and Lu Jingyu subtly pulled Shen Yan out of Xu Qingsui’s arms, supporting him himself.
But the moment he thought that this man was very likely his love rival, he felt a sense of disgust and didn’t want to touch him.
He immediately looked at the people beside him, preparing to push Shen Yan off on someone else.
But just as he was about to do it, Shen Yan opened his eyes.
He shot Lu Jingyu a sideways glance, a look of disgust flashing in his eyes, and pushed Lu Jingyu away first.
When Liang Xiaoxiao had appeared, her voice had carried from a mile away before she even arrived.
First, there was her shout just now, and then she was trying to wrestle him away from Xu Qingsui. He had woken up long ago.
Before he could speak, Xu Qingsui snatched him back and immediately let Liang Xiaoxiao have it.
Seeing this, he was in a great mood. He continued to sniff the pleasant scent on Xu Qingsui, preparing to go back to "sleep" for a while and enjoy it.
Who knew an unexpected interruption would come in the form of Lu Jingyu, who yanked him out of Xu Qingsui’s arms.
Now that he could no longer smell that wonderful scent, there was naturally no reason for him to keep up the act.
Seeing that Shen Yan was awake, Lu Jingyu’s brows furrowed slightly. ’He had a pretty good idea of what Shen Yan was doing; after all, he’d done similar things himself.’
Shen Yan ignored Lu Jingyu and walked directly to Xu Qingsui’s side, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her.
"Why are so many people here? Liang Xiaoxiao, weren’t you supposed to go home? Why are you here?"
Some things couldn’t be said outright, so Shen Yan could only pretend like he had just woken up.
"Shen Yan, I heard you were in trouble down here, so I rushed over. I was going to soothe you, and I even brought this..."
As she spoke, Liang Xiaoxiao took out the elixir that was specially developed for Shen Yan.
Seeing how thoroughly prepared Liang Xiaoxiao was, Shen Yan couldn’t help but feel his heart soften.
But Xu Qingsui had already chewed him out and made him realize he had no other feelings for Liang Xiaoxiao, so he didn’t want to give her any more hope.
Right then and there, in front of Liang Xiaoxiao, he suddenly wrapped an arm around Xu Qingsui’s shoulders and said to her, "I appreciate the thought, but you don’t need to worry about me anymore. I have Qing Sui, and she’ll soothe me."
The intimate gesture and the ambiguous way he addressed her were enough to let anyone’s imagination run wild.
The most infuriating part was that after Shen Yan finished speaking, he glanced—whether intentionally or not—at Lu Jingyu, which Lu Jingyu took as a provocation.
And what he found even harder to accept was that Xu Qingsui didn’t push Shen Yan away.
’Could it be? Are they really together?’
An indescribable feeling washed over Lu Jingyu, and he felt a desperate urge to ask Xu Qingsui for an answer.
But Liang Xiaoxiao felt even worse. Shen Yan’s words were like a thorn stabbing viciously into her heart.
The sharp pain in her heart made her body sway, but there was no one beside her to lean on.
With things having reached this point, an awkward atmosphere filled the air.
Finally, it was Chu Tian who stepped forward to break the awkward silence and divert everyone’s attention.
"Boss, the situation is resolved, and the scene is cleaned up. We should get topside quickly! If the people up there don’t know what’s going on, they’ll worry about us. It’ll get too crowded if they send more people down."
Looking at Liang Xiaoxiao’s state, Shen Yan forced himself to hold back from comforting her.
Now that Chu Tian had given him an out, he took it immediately.
"Let’s head up! The residents of the safe zone have been on edge these past few days. Let’s go up and report the situation to put everyone at ease."
Chu Tian nodded and immediately arranged for the team to head back.
But as the team members started heading back the way they came, Liang Xiaoxiao was still lost in her heartbreak, unable to pull herself out of it.
Shen Yan pretended not to see and prepared to leave with Xu Qingsui.
"Let’s go up first and talk later!" Xu Qingsui called out to Lu Jingyu, only then noticing a few familiar faces beside him.
’They must have come with him as an advance party,’ she thought. But one face in particular made her pause; she never would have expected to see her here.
Seeing that Xu Qingsui still acknowledged him, Lu Jingyu’s heart eased a little.
He immediately took the initiative to walk to Xu Qingsui’s side, and they headed back the way they came together.
This, however, created a strange picture.
Shen Yan and Lu Jingyu flanked Xu Qingsui on her left and right. The sight of the three of them walking together made everyone else exchange uncertain glances.
Everyone who saw it had the faint feeling that an even more spectacular drama was about to unfold.
As the captain, Chu Tian was responsible for bringing up the rear. After the team members who had come down, as well as Lu Jingyu’s group, had all left, only Chu Tian and Liang Xiaoxiao remained in the cavern.
Looking at Liang Xiaoxiao, who was still standing frozen in place, Chu Tian couldn’t help but feel a surge of pity.
Although Liang Xiaoxiao wasn’t an official member of the lab, she had been around them constantly, living at the lab because she and Shen Yan were childhood friends.
And because Liang Xiaoxiao had always considered herself Shen Yan’s fiancée, she was always very friendly to the lab members and anyone close to Shen Yan.
He himself had been the recipient of Liang Xiaoxiao’s kindness and concern many times.
So, seeing her in this state, he found it unbearable to watch.
He gently tried to get her attention. "Miss Liang," he said softly, "I advise you to let it go. You can’t force love, after all. If you keep insisting, you’ll only be hurting yourself."
"You’re a wonderful person, you come from a good family, and you’re beautiful. You’ll definitely be able to find a partner who’s right for you."
Hearing Chu Tian’s words, Liang Xiaoxiao slowly came back to her senses, but her gaze was still vacant as she stared blankly at him.
"If I’m as wonderful as you say, then why won’t he choose me?"