The Downtrodden Villain In A Redemption Romance Novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Shocked

Following the guidance of the system, they passed through several alleys that became increasingly narrow and dimly lit.The word “Dang” and various repair signs began to appear on the surrounding shop signs.Finally, in front of a dilapidated small building with dim light bulbs and a signboard that read Ping An Hotel, the system prompted arrival.

A fat lady was leaning at the door of the hotel, eating melon seeds. Her eyelids were drooped, and her cloudy gaze swept over them, especially Lu Qingrang, who could not hide his cold and handsome appearance despite his shabby clothes. He paused for a moment with a trace of scrutiny.

Xu Wen took a deep breath, let go of Lu Qingrang’s wrist, stepped forward, and tried to make his smile look natural: “Boss, get a room, the cheapest one will do.”

The aunt spat out the melon seed peels and looked them up and down. Her eyes stayed on Lu Qingrang for two more seconds, who was embarrassed but could not hide his handsome temperament: “Single room, 120 a night, deposit 200. Identity card.”

Xu Wen’s heart tightened, but his face remained calm: “Sister, we were in a hurry when we came out, and we forgot to bring our documents. Can you please be accommodating? We can also pay a little more deposit.” He took out most of the little cash he had left, counted four hundred and handed it over.

The aunt looked at the money and then at them, as if she was used to seeing such unidentified people. Finally, she slowly took the money and took out an old key with a wooden sign from the drawer: “Third floor, 306. Hot water from 8 to 10 p.m. If anything is damaged, compensation will be paid according to the price.”

“Thank you, sister!” Xu Wen took the key, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled Lu Qingjing into the hotel quickly.

The stairs were narrow and steep, and smelled of a mixture of musty and disinfectant.The room was even more primitive, with only a squeaky wooden bed, a bedside table with peeling paint, and an old TV covered with snowflakes.The bathroom is so small that it’s difficult to turn around.

But at least, it’s safe for now.

Xu Wen locked the door, checked the window that looked unstable, and then slumped down beside the bed tiredly and let out a long breath.

Lu Qingrang stood quietly in the center of the room, watching Xu Wen’s series of actions, and suddenly spoke softly: “You seem… very skilled in handling this kind of thing.”

Xu Wen’s heart skipped a beat.【System!Was he suspicious?How should I reply?】

[Lu Qingrang’s observation is sharp and his questions are logical.】

“? Tongzi, do I need you to tell me this?!” Xu Wen complained crazily in his heart. This hindsight system failed again at a critical moment.

He sighed heavily, raised his head, pretended to be relaxed, and tried to cover up his guilty conscience with a joke: “No way, isn’t it like this in movies? On the run, first find a gangster… well, first find a place where you don’t need an ID card to stay.”

He deliberately used the word fugitive, with a bit of self-deprecation, and then quickly changed the topic and his tone became pragmatic, “Our problem now is that we don’t have much cash, so we have to find a way to get some money, and we have to get an anonymous phone card.

He looked at Lu Qingrang, only to find that the other person’s eyes were falling on the old mobile phone that he had brought out in a hurry and belonged to Lu Qingrang.The screen of the mobile phone is covered with spiderweb-like cracks and is always turned off.

“This mobile phone…” Xu Wen asked tentatively.

“The power is out.Moreover, it may have been monitored.”Lu Qingrang’s voice was calm, as if he was telling a fact that had nothing to do with him, “Nangong Chen will not let go of any clues that can lead to me.”

Xu Wen was stunned. He had not expected this, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.”What should we do?”

Lu Qingrang walked over, picked up the old mobile phone, and unconsciously rubbed the cold and broken screen with his fingertips, a complex and indistinguishable emotion flashed in his eyes.

“I am of no use now except as a burden.He paused and lowered his voice, “No one will care about me.””

Xu Wen was stung by these words and felt inexplicably blocked.

He retorted almost subconsciously: “Don’t think so!Maybe… maybe someone still cares about you.”

He calmed down, met Lu Qingrang’s eyes that seemed to be able to see everything, and tried to make his tone more sincere: “I thought at that time, this phone must be very important to you.Maybe it’s intuition, maybe it’s my feeling…With your ability, it’s impossible to leave nothing behind.It turns out that I brought the right thing, didn’t it?”

Lu Qingrang looked at him deeply, his eyes sharp and focused, as if he wanted to penetrate all his disguises and reach into the depths of his soul.

Xu Wen was so nervous that his palms were sweating, and he could almost hear his own heart beating like a drum. Just when he was about to be unable to withstand the silent pressure, Lu Qingrang took the lead to look away, said “hmm” softly, and did not ask any more questions.

He put the old mobile phone back on the bedside table and picked up Xu Wen’s smartphone, which was also almost out of battery: “The top priority is to solve communications and funds.I know there may be a place nearby that will take care of calling cards, but it would require a little start-up capital.”

His eyes fell on Xu Wen’s empty pockets.

Xu Wen smiled bitterly: “Money… what we lack most now is money.”He rummaged through his whole body, including the corners of his backpack, and finally found only a crumpled fifty-odd yuan in change.

Xu Wen felt really desperate.

At this moment, Lu Qingrang’s eyes fell on his left wrist.There he wore a watch that was simple in style but of excellent quality.He was silent for a moment and began to untie the watch strap.

“What are you doing?Xu Wen asked in surprise.

“This watch is a custom-made watch, there is no public sales record, and the logo was rubbed off by me.There was no emotion in Lu Qingrang’s tone, “The material is platinum and special ceramics. Even if it is dismantled and sold for parts, it is still worth some money.”That should be enough for us to cope with for a few days.”

Xu Wen was stunned.When he saw Lu Qingrang smoothly taking off the watch that had obviously been with him for a long time and probably held some important memories, he felt as if he had been hit hard by something, feeling sour and bitter.

This is not just a watch, this may be the last and only connection between Lu Qingrang and his glorious identity in the past.

“No!”Xu Wen almost blurted out, “This is you…” He wanted to say, “This may have special meaning to you,” but he swallowed the words when he reached his lips.

Lu Qingrang raised his eyes to look at him, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, outlining a self-deprecating arc that was almost invisible: “Compared to living, it is not worth mentioning.”

He paused, his eyes fell on Xu Wen’s face, and he whispered in his heart, the voice was so soft that only he could hear it, “There is nothing more important to me now than staying by your side.”

[Redemption Value Update: The system prompt sounds at the right time.

“…then, okay.”

Xu Wen took a deep breath and took the watch that still had Lu Qingrang’s body temperature on it. It felt heavy, “I’m going to find a pawn shop or a second-hand store to get rid of it.You wait for me here, lock the door and don’t let anyone knock on it.”

He stood up, preparing to face the complexity and danger of the dark alley alone.

“Xu Wen.”Lu Qingrang called him from behind.

Xu Wen turned around.

Lu Qingrang looked at him, his eyes clear and calm as never before: “Be careful.If…if you don’t come back within half an hour, I’ll go out and look for you.”

Xu Wen’s heart skipped a beat, not because of emotion, but because of strong worry.He immediately shook his head and said with unquestionable determination: “Don’t!You must not come out to find me!Just stay here, lock the door, and don’t open it if anyone calls!”

He looked at Lu Qingrang’s still pale face and thin figure, and couldn’t imagine what would happen if he stepped into the chaos outside.“This place is so messy, you’re doing me the biggest favor by staying in the room.When I come back, I will come back safely!”

He took a deep breath, trying to lighten the atmosphere, and patted his pocket, as if to cheer himself up, or to comfort Lu Qingrang: “Don’t worry, I’m just going to change some money, it’ll be quick!When I come back, we will have start-up capital, and then…then we can live a good life!”

He almost muttered “get ten million” again, quickly stopped the car, waved his hand guiltily, said no more, held the carrying watch, turned around and merged into the murky lights and shadows of the dark alley.

Lu Qingrang stood in the quiet and simple room, listening to the footsteps with urgent instructions outside the door getting farther and farther, and slowly clenched his palms.

Xu Wen’s overly determined stop did not make him feel underestimated, but instead made him feel the heavy concern more clearly.

He walked to the window and stared at the chaotic alley downstairs through the dirty glass until the familiar figure disappeared around the corner, silently counting the time in his heart.