Three Men

Su Ran packed up overnight and headed to a hotel. For a moment, his mind was a mess, overwhelmed by a world that seemed too topsy-turvy to grasp at once.

He wanted some solitude, but Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen wouldn’t have it their way. Even when he chose the sanctuary of a hotel, they followed, not out of distrust but care, taking rooms on either side of his.

Sitting back against the hotel bed, Su Ran felt lost, and at that moment, System 555 had shrunk down. Su Ran, with a stern face, called it forth, “What’s going on?”

“The plot direction we took was definitely correct, the completion of the scenario is quite impressive, and there wasn’t any deviation…” 555 muttered.

“We didn’t deviate, but what about them? Look at the situation now,” Su Ran grew angrier the more he thought about it. Even though he had sensed something was off, the system forcefully suppressed his doubts, “What do we do about this mess?”

“Ran Ran… as long as we’re fine, that’s what matters. We did a pretty good job, and besides, do they really mean that…?” 555 speculated doubtfully.

“I…” Su Ran was on the verge of tears, “What do we do? I’ve realized the system is dumb.”

555 looked pitiful, having been scolded; it wasn’t completely oblivious to the oddities—there was a slight sense of it…

But one of its functions is to instill a strong sense of belief in its host, to not falter… If Su Ran started to doubt, they’d mess up their own rhythm, and then Su Ran might not be able to proceed. In truth, it was rather clever…

Thinking this, Su Ran pulled out his phone, “Now, I need to make a final check.”

With that, he unblocked Lu Jin’s number from the blacklist—he had long felt that something was off with Lu Jin. No sooner had he done this than his phone rang within five minutes.

Clearly, someone had been testing when his number would be unblocked.

He answered the call, and Lu Jin’s voice came through urgently and filled with grievances, “Why did you only just take my call? I’ve been going crazy waiting.”

At that moment, Lu Jin was in his study, the lighting dim and his desk cluttered with a computer. He was supposed to be working, but nothing could hold his attention except for his phone, waiting for the chance to reach Su Ran.

Given Su Ran’s temperament, Lu Jin was really scared, having been worn down by previous dismissals over something as trivial as showing off a perfume, so this time he was extremely cautious, restraining his impulse to rush to Jiang Yi’s house, always seeking permission for a meeting. But to his dismay, Su Ran had blocked him.

“Why did you block me? What exactly do you mean by that!” Lu Jin said, initially wanting to keep his temper in check, but once the call connected, he couldn’t hold back.

He now suspected that Su Ran was tired of him, hence the cold treatment!

Wasn’t it agreed that if things didn’t work out with Jiang Yi, he would choose him? Now, with Jiang Yi’s photos with his secretary all over, how could he still be with him?

So he was seriously doubting that Su Ran had just gotten tired of him and didn’t want to keep the promises made before!

Hearing this almost plaintive tone that seemed to seep through the phone, Su Ran’s hair stood on end. He had always trusted the system, thus lending these inexplicable emotions a vene of legitimacy. Now, hearing Lu Jin’s tone, wasn’t this just the tone of a girlfriend overcome with emotions?

Su Ran composed himself and asked directly, “Do you like me?”

Lu Jin on the other end paused, his anger seeming to subside a bit, “Of course, why would you ask such nonsense?”

Su Ran, “!”

It was true! Even before he responded, Su Ran felt the scenario was far-fetched, perhaps not as he had imagined. But hearing him confirm it left Su Ran somewhat in disbelief.

“Why aren’t you saying anything now? Don’t you like me too?” Lu Jin asked, his voice lowering, becoming anxious not to miss Su Ran’s response.

Su Ran was at a loss for where this “don’t you like me too” was coming from. He was not only shocked that Lu Jin liked him but also that Lu Jin thought he liked him back, so he asked, “Why would you think that?”

Lu Jin started to panic, “That day you came to my house soaking wet… then that night at the resort, you confessed to me…”

Su Ran was completely baffled, how could this be… none of those scenarios were like this at all…

After a long silence, Lu Jin seemed panicked, “Are you listening?”

“I am… I’m listening…” Su Ran seemed to have found his bearings, “But I need to explain something to you… it’s not at all what you think…”

Su Ran recounted the events from his perspective, and by then, Lu Jin was thoroughly frozen, his mind reeling.

So that’s how it was…

He couldn’t accept it!

Was it all just his own delusion from start to finish? How ridiculous…

That night at the resort villa, during the stormy rain, he had pulled Su Ran into his arms, feeling so real, his heart pounding whenever he recalled it, thinking they had committed to each other that night. But it wasn’t as he thought.

That night he had said, “You chose me a long time ago, didn’t you,” lost in the storm without a response, he took it as consent.

Su Ran called out for a while, but there was no sound on the other end, feeling a bit heartbroken, “Are you okay?”

After a while, he heard Lu Jin’s calm voice, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

And the next second, the call was disconnected.

Su Ran, “…”

That seemed a bit harsh.

After hanging up, Su Ran laid down in bed, now certain that apart from him, everyone had deviated from the script.

Su Ran spoke to 555, “What now? Are you still going to argue?”

555 looked pitifully sorry, “Lord Ran Ran, I was wrong.”

Su Ran sighed, “At least I completed my part flawlessly, otherwise it would’ve been a waste of effort.”

“There were no issues, and our completion rate can definitely rank within the top ninety-eight percent!” 555 said.

“Alright.” Since things had turned out this way, Su Ran was no longer interested in quibbling.

By then, it was deep into the night, and the surroundings were utterly quiet. Su Ran was just about to rest when his phone abruptly rang.

He thought it was Lu Jin calling, perhaps for some consolation, but when he picked up the phone, it turned out to be Jiang Yi.

Su Ran frowned slightly, then answered the call, silent, while the other end was also unusually quiet.

Just when Su Ran thought there might be a problem, Jiang Yi finally spoke, his voice strained and hoarse, “Su Ran…”

Su Ran waited for him to continue, then heard Jiang Yi say, “Is there really no possibility for us?”

“There’s no possibility,” Su Ran replied decisively, giving his final notice, “If there’s nothing else, I won’t take any more calls from you. After tomorrow, you won’t see me again.”

There seemed to be a choked sob on the other end, as if unable to make a sound.

Su Ran hung up the phone, and immediately after, he received a text message from Jiang Yi. Looking at the content, Su Ran smiled slightly, then lay down on the bed and gradually fell asleep.

A dreamless night passed, and the next day he woke up early, quickly packed up, and prepared to leave.

He was facing the climax of his storyline; last night’s text from Jiang Yi had made his stance clear, not to cling, but since it was truly over, they needed to meet one last time.

As Su Ran stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him, the doors of the two adjacent rooms opened as if they had heard him, making Su Ran suspect they had installed listening devices.

At that moment, Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen were fully dressed, even carefully groomed. Su Ran glanced at them, unsure how to face them.

“Good morning…” Su Ran greeted.

“Morning, Ran Ran,” He Zhiwen replied, displaying his gentlest and most scholarly smile, then said, “I’ve prepared breakfast downstairs, let’s go eat together.”

“Brother Ran Ran, are you having breakfast? Then I’ll join you,” Ye Qiao said, his face all smiles, not shy about accepting a free breakfast.

Su Ran felt caught in the middle, saying, “I had some cookies, not hungry, I have some errands to run.”

Hearing this, Ye Qiao immediately grabbed his wrist, “I’ll accompany Brother Ran Ran on his errands.”

He Zhiwen gave him a look, saying nonchalantly, “I happen to be free today, I’ll go with you.”

With his head down, Su Ran walked forward, with the two following him, and he had no choice but to say, “I’m going to Jiang Yi’s place to clear things up.”

Hearing this, Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen’s expressions changed, and the two exchanged looks, then seemed to reach some sort of understanding, “Brother Ran Ran, if you’re going to Jiang Yi’s place, I must accompany you. I saw Jiang Yi’s unstable state yesterday, and if there’s any conflict today, I can help.”

“I’ll also come with you, if it’s a negotiation, I’m good in this area,” He Zhiwen said.

With their enthusiastic suggestions, Su Ran agreed, as he was naturally bad at rejecting others, and it seemed like a good option for him.

Now that everyone had deviated, and even if the plot was flawless, people were still unpredictable, so it was safer to go together.

The hotel wasn’t far from their community, just about a ten-minute walk. They got on the elevator, and Su Ran felt nervous, the storyline was about to end.

When the elevator doors opened, Su Ran was shocked to see Lu Jin there?

His eyes dark with exhaustion and bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept for nights.

As soon as Lu Jin saw Su Ran, his eyes immediately reddened, but when he saw Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen behind Su Ran, he seemed to forcefully suppress his emotions.

Su Ran was surprised, “What are you doing here?”

Lu Jin stepped forward, grabbed Su Ran’s wrist, and pulled him aside, “I wanted to see you.”

The space by the door wasn’t large, with Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen just a couple of steps away, watching with fluctuating emotions.

He Zhiwen was seeing Lu Jin for the first time, surprised to find yet another rival in love, and it was Lu Jin, often featured in business magazines.

He hadn’t expected, the reputedly cold and ruthless President Lu, to look so pitiful.

Su Ran felt awkward, he pointed at Jiang Yi’s door, then said, “I need to go and talk to Jiang Yi now.”

Lu Jin glanced at Ye Qiao and He Zhiwen behind him, a trace of resentment flickering in his eyes, then said to Su Ran, “Then I’ll come with you.”

Su Ran, “…”

Not wanting to waste time, he agreed, the more the merrier.

Su Ran knocked on Jiang Yi’s door, and after a while, the door opened. The moment Jiang Yi saw Su Ran, his gaze fixed on his face, but when he saw the three men standing behind Su Ran, his face turned green.

Su Ran was also surprised; a person’s face really could turn green.

In that moment, Jiang Yi felt a warm sensation at his nose, as if about to bleed, but fortunately, it didn’t.

“Su Ran, what is this?” Jiang Yi asked, somewhat helplessly.

“They wanted to come and see,” Su Ran replied.

Jiang Yi, “…”

Feeling too aggrieved to speak.

He glanced at Lu Jin and couldn’t help but scoff, “Figures you’d be here.”

Lu Jin stood his ground, “Is it strange? I thought I made myself very clear.”

Jiang Yi recalled the perfume bottle, every meal that had to include Su Ran, him inviting Su Ran over to his place, all the little details.

The more he thought about them, the more it seemed he was proving himself a fool. Looking at the scene before him, he felt like spitting blood.

Eventually, Jiang Yi let them into the house, where they sat at the largest dining table, Jiang Yi alone on one side, Su Ran and the others on the other.

Jiang Yi kept feeling a surge of emotion every time he looked across.

“The purpose of today’s meeting is, since there was a beginning to all this, there should also be an end,” Jiang Yi said.

At this, Ye Qiao sneered, “Quite the sense of ceremony.”

This sarcastic remark made Jiang Yi choke up; he couldn’t face this ending, but if he didn’t, he might never see Su Ran again…

“It must be hard realizing you won’t see Ran Ran again,” He Zhiwen said.

Jiang Yi, “…”

Su Ran looked at Jiang Yi’s expression, as if he had guessed right.

Jiang Yi placed a grant agreement on the table, continuing, “I’ll transfer two million to your account as compensation.”

Hearing this, Su Ran was surprised; two million was not a small sum for either of them, and moreover… did Jiang Yi really have two million?

“I don’t want it… there’s nothing to compensate for, it was mutual consent,” Su Ran said, fearing that taking the money would lead to future entanglements.

Hearing Su Ran’s resolute refusal, Jiang Yi’s eyes immediately reddened, “You don’t even want my money…”

Before he could finish, Lu Jin seemed to suddenly remember something, “Yan Ze said you borrowed eight hundred thousand from him, was it for this? Borrowing money to compensate?”

As soon as he said this, Ye Qiao couldn’t hold back a chuckle, and at that moment, Jiang Yi completely lost it, sweeping the contract off the table, “Go! All of you, get out! I don’t want to see any of you again!”

Su Ran hadn’t expected it to end like this; he thought the climax scene would be more formal, but it ended abruptly.

But it was all completed, and 555 was already setting off fireworks in celebration.

However, once they left Jiang Yi’s house, the atmosphere became tense and awkward again with the three men following him.

Su Ran returned to the hotel, and as he entered his room, he said, “Thank you for accompanying me today, I need some time alone, so I’m going to rest now.”

The men expressed their understanding considerately, and Su Ran closed the door, immediately sighing in relief.

He didn’t leave the hotel all day, and during this time, the others kept bringing food to his room, taking care of meals.

At around 2 AM, when everyone else had gone to bed, Su Ran quietly packed up his luggage, checking out like a thief in the night.

The next morning, everyone got up early, and they all went to Su Ran’s door, gathering there, then saw the cleaning staff clearing out Su Ran’s room.

They were instantly dumbfounded, starting to call Su Ran, but no one answered…

Su Ran had actually run away!