LGSG Chapter 40

Chapter 41: Lingering Doubts, A Little Main Plot Advancement

“Brother?” Xie Qiao hesitantly spoke, wanting to ask about the cane.

But before she could voice her doubts, Xia Ran had already emerged from the kitchen.

Xie Qiao then saw the previously expressionless Xie He instantly plaster on a gentle, fake smile.

“Mr. Xie?” Xia Ran’s voice was surprised.

He hurried over to Xie He’s side.

Xie He lowered his gaze: “Nothing to do, just wandered over here. Not on purpose.”

This sentence was slightly vague and roundabout, sounding almost like a disclaimer.

Therefore, Xie Qiao and Shen Hua, who had come out with Xia Ran, looked slightly solemn, unsure of what was going on between these two, but they clearly sensed something was off.

Xia Ran: “Ah, I see!

Of all the people present, the black-haired youth was the only one who looked relieved.

Xia Ran unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since he had acknowledged his own feelings and clearly understood that there would be no good outcome between them, Xia Ran had intended to distance himself from Mr. Xie.

Not to break off all contact and sever ties completely.

It was just that Xia Ran suddenly realized that the interactions between him and Mr. Xie had been far too ambiguous in many ways.

Xia Ran was used to thinking the best of people, and didn’t think Xie He was deliberately indulging him.

He only assumed they had lost their sense of proportion.

He still believed that now that he had such thoughts, if he didn’t pay attention to his words and actions, it would be disrespectful to both himself and Mr. Xie.

Therefore, Xia Ran felt that he should be more careful in the future.

Moreover, if a crush could be stopped by reason, it couldn’t be classified as an emotion at all.

Xia Ran was also afraid that one day, he would become emotionally impulsive and do something disrespectful to Mr. Xie.

But things never went as planned.

Mr. Xie seemed to become more clingy every day.

On one hand, he said that Xia Ran’s room in the Bamboo Pavilion was still under repair, but on the other hand, he used a not-too-forceful attitude to have Xia Ran temporarily stay with him.

Xia Ran found it a little strange. But since he had already stayed there the first night, moving out later would seem too pretentious and a little disrespectful to Mr. Xie’s face.

Besides, he also held a bit of a fluke psychological. After all, he slept peacefully and shouldn’t really affect Xie He in any way.

The other clingy behaviors manifested in every aspect of life.

But Mr. Xie’s eloquence was hundreds of Shen Huas better than Xia Ran’s.

Every time he found an excuse that Xia Ran couldn’t react to in time, and only realized afterward that not only had he failed to distance himself, but they had become even closer.

After all, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn’t act like this.

For example, right now, Mr. Xie’s casually stated, obvious excuse, while Xie Qiao and Shen Hua were bewildered, they also instantly understood that this distancing wording was just a dodge from the Sui Yuan Ju’s owner. They just couldn’t figure out why these two were going to such lengths to use this excuse.

Laughing to death, hadn’t there been enough moments of being as close as glue?

Wasn’t he just here to pick someone up?

For a moment, Xie Qiao and Shen Hua both had a subtle feeling of being part of their play.

This excuse was of course to reassure the once again uneasy Xia Ran.

Someone as smart as Xie He had long noticed the secret thoughts and actions of a certain person. He was just waiting for the right moment, not wanting to expose it for the time being. But that didn’t mean Xie He liked playing the game of cat and mouse. The reason he didn’t expose the understanding between them was because he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to escape from the copy alive in the end, and he didn’t want to be an irresponsible lover before that. But Xie He couldn’t tolerate Xia Ran’s way of distancing them.

Xia Ran tried to hide, so he took the initiative to look for him, again and again.

Like the survival rules in the jungle.

The herbivores on the food chain were always firmly locked on by their natural enemies, unable to escape.

Xie He not only wanted to stick to Xia Ran, preventing the black-haired youth from being so straightforward that he fooled himself, but he also had to occasionally find excuses to reassure Xia Ran.

To tell him, no, you didn’t overstep, we’re not being ambiguous, we’re just doing things that normal friends would do.

So when Xia Ran heard that Xie He had just come out for a stroll and was just going back with him, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although reason told him that this was unlikely.

Although Mr. Xie could now walk around as usual, and even travel far to the neighboring Fenghuang Village, Xie He’s nature seemed to dislike external things. He wasn’t addicted to sensory stimulation, so unless Xia Ran mentioned it, Xie He rarely actively went out for a walk. Moreover, let alone it being such a coincidence that he could just happen to be waiting for Xia Ran to return.

But Xia Ran actually just needed a superficial reassurance from Xie He.

“Then let’s go back.” Xia Ran walked to Xie He’s side and waved to Shen Hua, “Shen Hua, see you tomorrow!”

Shen Hua inexplicably felt that although these two had only said a few words in total, he was a very good judge of atmosphere, so he suspected he had been fed a mouthful of dog food.

If it had been a few days ago, Shen Hua would have shaken Xia Ran’s shoulders, wanting the big shot to wake up.

“Look at you two, it doesn’t look like you’re not together, the way he looks at you is definitely impure!”

But now Shen Hua had realized.

Hehe. A copy boss, a player boss, what was it to him to get involved?

Maybe it was their interest.

Shen Hua sourly clicked his tongue.

He watched the two of them leave with the eyes of a loving father.

Then he turned his head and met a pair of dark eyes.

It was Xie Qiao.

Shen Hua: “…”

Shen Hua was startled and immediately stood at attention.

Crap. He had forgotten about this young mistress.

The couple’s atmosphere just now was too strong, as if the whole world was left with only them.

It was soyang that Shen Hua almost forgot that this wasn’t a dating game.

Now, facing Xie Qiao, Shen Hua completely remembered everything.

Wuwu. He should have shamelessly left with Xia Ran.

Shen Hua really didn’t know much about Xie Qiao.

He had only met her twice.

The first time, Xie Qiao chased after him to kill him.

The second time, Xie Qiao appeared as Xie He’s younger sister.

No matter how he looked at it, this little girl was not to be trifled with.

Having Shen Hua and her in the same space made Shen Hua afraid that he wouldn’t even know how he died.

“Miss Xie…” Shen Hua, in his quick wit, thought, he didn’t even know the copy BOSS’s name yet, only knew that everyone called him Mr. Xie. He wouldn’t dare to call such a little BOSS by her name, so he took a detour, “Miss Qiao, what are you here for? Are you looking for the head chef?”

Xie Qiao didn’t look like she was looking for Xie He.

If she had important matters, she probably would have left with him just now.

Now she was just staring straight at Shen Hua.

Shen Hua: QAQ.

Wouldn’t humans be like bread in their eyes?!

Xie Qiao: “I’m hungry.”

Shen Hua almost knelt down to her.

Fortunately, reason still existed, and he vaguely deduced that this young mistress probably just meant it literally.

Shen Hua: “What do you want to eat? I can make anything.”

Xie Qiao: “You can do everything?”

Shen Hua nodded frantically.

Thank goodness for his sad working experience back then.

Xie Qiao said: “Did you and my sister-in-law… cough cough, have you two been practicing making desserts for my brother’s birthday gift recently?”

Shen Hua: “…”

He was originally shocked at how this young mistress knew everything.

But then he thought, when human players gather together to gossip about these NPCs, the NPCs might also be having small meetings.

Thinking about it this way, his fear of Xie Qiao lessened a bit.

Without Xie Qiao needing to hint further, Shen Hua turned around and went into the kitchen, packing a full handmade bag of handmade desserts and handing it to Xie Qiao.

He smiled: “I heated it up in the oven.”

Xie Qiao: “Thank you.”

She wasn’t very good at dealing with overly enthusiastic guys like Shen Hua.

The black-haired, straight-haired girl visibly looked a bit more nervous.

The ghostly expression became a bit more lively, actually having some semblance of a living person.

Xie Youdao and Xie He were both good-looking, and Bai Muqi had risen to power through her beauty.

Xie Qiao was naturally not bad-looking either.

It’s just that she was still young and hadn’t even fully grown before she died.

Her face still had a childishness to it.

But because she was always gloomy, few people noticed Xie Qiao’s features.

Shen Hua was also an overly soft-hearted person.

Fu Qu had reminded him many times that ghost NPCs were fundamentally different from humans.

Sympathy would only kill him.

But watching Xie Qiao finish a piece of cookie and lick the crumbs off her fingers with lingering taste.

This kind of vivid posture was clearly something that only a real living person would have.

Shen Hua remembered his younger siblings back home.

Shen Hua’s family conditions were actually okay.

He was the eldest, with a younger brother and a younger sister.

His parents were ordinary white-collar workers, so from the age of sixteen, Shen Hua had started various part-time jobs to help his parents relieve pressure and earn his own living expenses.

Shen Hua had a good relationship with his parents and siblings.

He looked at Xie Qiao and felt a little uncomfortable.

Shen Hua only went home for the New Year and other holidays after he started working.

He hadn’t seen his sister in a long time.

Video projections were, after all, fake, and there were always small details that he didn’t notice.

Had she grown taller, gained weight, had her favorite clothing style changed?

He didn’t know any of these things, and when he opened his eyes, he had already entered the copy.

Looking around blankly.

Life and death were unknown.

Shen Hua stared at Xie Qiao, even temporarily forgetting his fear.

He still remembered what Fu Qu had said, some NPCs were assimilated into the copy after they died in reality.

So Xie Qiao had died so young?

Even younger than his sister.

Sui Yuan Ju… had a living air everywhere.

Fu Qu Qu said that Shen Hua’s first time encountering such a copy was both lucky and unlucky.

Lucky because it was simple, because the replica was filled with lonely ghosts who hadn’t been reincarnated from reality, unlike the NPCs created by the replica who had a natural hostility towards humans. Their attitude towards humans was relatively neutral and softened, so it Was easy to survive.

But unfortunately, this would make Shen Hua naturally have a fluke, slack psychological about the copy.

In the future, he would be more likely to die.

Shen Hua had jumped up and punched Fu Qu back then, saying that Fu Qu was cursing him.

Now, however, he felt a bit of an indescribable feeling.

He thought, what kind of suffering had the head chef, Xie Qiao, including that Mr. Xie, encountered in Sui Yuan Ju to have fallen from reality into the copy?