Chapter 167 : Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Hearing Lin Changqing's words, Yu Ruolan smiled shyly and let go of her clasped hands. She seemed to think it was nothing to be surprised about.
Yuan Lan teased with a smile, "You should be thankful she didn't show everything just now."
"Yes, I should indeed be thankful." Lin Changqing imagined the scene and said to Yu Ruolan with lingering fear, "Thank you, Little Yu, for sparing my dog life. If you had twisted your arms like that while crawling on the ground just now, it would have taken half my life."
For some reason, Bai Xuechao suddenly remembered what he saw on the phone screen—Lin Changqing running while throwing his phone around like he was flipping a wok, and he couldn't help but let out a "pfft."
Lin Changqing tilted his head in confusion, looking at Bai Xuechao: "What are you laughing at? Was what I just said funny?"
"No," Bai Xuechao said. "I just suddenly thought of something funny."
Lin Changqing was a bit suspicious, but still said, "Oh."
But before the sound of his voice had faded, he heard Yuan Lan also "pfft" with laughter. Everyone else looked over, and he was still laughing.
Lin Changqing seemed to realize they were laughing at him: "Hello? What are you laughing at now?"
Yuan Lan was much more unrestrained. He used his puppet threads to pull the phone over and said with a grin, "I'm planning to invite everyone in the Apocalypse Society to watch the comedy movie I filmed the day after tomorrow~"
"Oh, a comedy mo... movie my ass!" Lin Changqing charged at Yuan Lan, looking furious. "You're treating me like a clown, aren't you?"
Bai Xuechao was standing right next to Yuan Lan and even stepped aside when he saw what was happening.
Lin Changqing threw a punch directly, but Yuan Lan raised his hand to block it to the side, his eyes still curved in a smile. Lin Changqing seemed to get angry at his smiling face, and with a grim look, he threw a whip kick at Yuan Lan. He missed, and instead, Yuan Lan grabbed his leg, and the two of them started fighting back and forth like that.
At first, Yu Ruolan was a little worried and wanted to step forward to break up the fight, but Bai Xuechao stopped her.
"It's nothing, they're just playing around," Bai Xuechao said calmly. "I'm not lying to you."
From Lin Changqing's first punch, you could tell he wasn't using much force.
So, the two of them watched Yuan Lan and Lin Changqing fight together.
Bai Xuechao continued to secretly sway Yu Ruolan: "What do you think, does it look lively?"
Yu Ruolan hesitantly looked at the two fighting, then at herself and Bai Xuechao: "Uh, it's... lively, I guess."
Just that the direction of the liveliness is a bit off.
Bai Xuechao said, "This is a lively scene that you participated in."
Hearing this, Yu Ruolan was stunned for a moment. Her violet-like eyes widened slightly, reflecting the calm side profile of the white-haired boy.
Those red eyes, more brilliant and beautiful than rubies, turned over. The boy's expression was still calm, as if what he had just said was a very ordinary sentence, not understanding why she had suddenly fallen silent.
His voice was like a cool, clear spring: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Yu Ruolan lowered her head, hooking one foot, seeming a little at a loss. Her voice was so soft it was almost a mumble, "But this kind of lively scene is very, very rare, almost non-existent. It might be hard to have it again in the future..."
She was a person with no presence. The liveliness belonged to others; she could only be a bystander.
"As long as you're willing to join, it will happen," Bai Xuechao said. "Just like this time."
Yu Ruolan looked up, her eyes brightened for a moment, but then dimmed again: "But my presence..."
"Speaking of which, I have a question." When Yu Ruolan looked over, Bai Xuechao asked in a very serious tone, "Have you ever thought of using your special ability to seek guidance on how to eliminate this permanent side effect of yours?"
Generally speaking, permanent side effects can be alleviated or cured.
Ji Chuanze's special ability had a permanent side effect on his eyes, and he had even gone blind once, but Jiang Yunyi found someone to cure him.
Although Yu Ruolan had said herself that her permanent side effect was irreversible, in reality, Yu Ruolan had never tried, right?
What if it was reversible?
Yu Ruolan was truly stunned by the question: "Eh?"
She had never thought about it, let alone tried it.
Bai Xuechao knew the answer from her reaction and continued to ask, "If a problem has no answer or solution, what will your special ability do?"
"There will definitely be an answer, but it might not be the kind of answer you want." Yu Ruolan scratched her head in embarrassment and said hesitantly, "For example... it might advise you to die."
Bai Xuechao: "..."
This special ability is quite hardcore, huh.
He was now a little curious about what kind of problem would make Yu Ruolan's special ability advise someone to die.
Yu Ruolan put her hand down and saw that her fingertips were stained black. She exclaimed, "Ah, the color is coming off."
She had sweated a little just now, so the hair color spray was fading.
"I say..." Lin Changqing was so angry at his current state that he laughed. "Are you guys just going to stand there and watch? Can anyone save me? I was ambushed by the boss, I didn't lose."
Bai Xuechao and Yu Ruolan had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't been watching the fight. They didn't expect the battle to suddenly conclude.
They followed the sound and saw Lin Changqing, like prey caught in a spider's web, entangled by puppet threads with only his head sticking out. Yuan Lan was sitting on a few puppet threads. Seeing them look over, he even smiled and waved a greeting, then raised his phone to take a selfie with Lin Changqing in this state.
While taking the photo, Yuan Lan, facing Lin Changqing's devastated gaze, said with a smile, "It's not a sneak attack. I just remember all your fighting moves, so it's very simple to plan ahead."
Bai Xuechao almost laughed out loud.
It was the Apocalypse Society's blessing to have such a leader.
Although the old man from their Dark Organization wasn't great either, at least the old man was old and probably didn't have many years left to live. Moreover, the old man wouldn't be so bored as to prank them. Except for certain times, his life was quite comfortable.
If they didn't like the old man, they could probably just wait a few years for it to be over. But if the people of the Apocalypse Society couldn't stand Yuan Lan, they had no choice but to endure. Who else could take him down?
Sure enough, Lin Changqing chose to endure his ridiculous boss, ever so flexible: "Let me down, please, boss."
"Wait until I take two more pictures," Yuan Lan said.
Lin Changqing forced a smile: "Do you need me to cooperate?"
Yuan Lan said, "Your current expression is fine."
Lin Changqing: "..."
Fine, I'll keep fake smiling.
Yuan Lan did indeed only take two more pictures before letting Lin Changqing down, and the four of them gathered together again.
Bai Xuechao brought up the old topic again: "So, will we be watching the movie together the day after tomorrow?"
The movie, of course, was the one starring Lin Changqing.
Lin Changqing's eyes widened, and he pointed at him: "You little brat, you were waiting for me here, weren't you? I haven't treated you badly."
"But not that well either," Bai Xuechao retorted.
Hearing their conversation, Yu Ruolan couldn't help but smile.
At this moment, Yuan Lan spread his hands and said hypocritically, "Then you have to ask the person involved. If he agrees, we'll share it with everyone. It's better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone, right?"
"Of course—" Just as Lin Changqing started to speak, Bai Xuechao also spoke at the same time.
Bai Xuechao guilt-tripped him: "Little Yu rarely shows a different side of herself. Don't you want to let everyone in the Apocalypse Society see it and get to know her better?"
Anyway, guilt-tripping wouldn't work on him; he had no morals (not really), but Lin Changqing should be different.
Lin Changqing was conflicted: "Ah, this..."
He looked at Yu Ruolan in her blood-stained white dress.
After meeting his gaze, Yu Ruolan quickly lowered her head as if she had been electrocuted and said softly, "You don't have to consider me..."
Some people were like two different people with and without their faces covered.
In the same dress, the Yu Ruolan from just now could scare him into cardiac arrest, perform for the sake of scaring him, and let out an extremely terrifying laugh; while the current Yu Ruolan had returned to her usual timid state, afraid of causing trouble for others.
Four out of the six executives in the Apocalypse Society were afraid of ghosts, and even one of the two candidates was afraid of ghosts. If he could show everyone Yu Ruolan's ghost-impersonating highlight...
"Tsk, fine, I agree." Lin Changqing regretted it as soon as he said it.
This damn kindness and compassion of his!!
Forget it, even if he didn't agree today, Yuan Lan might suddenly play it someday if he was in the mood. At least if he agreed proactively, he could be mentally prepared.
"Okay, then I'll tell Mortar—" Yuan Lan said, directly clicking send, obviously having typed out the message in advance.
Lin Changqing immediately realized that this pit was just waiting for him to jump into!
"Alright, Mortar will send you all a group message later. The sintering in my lab is done, so I'll take Little Xuechao back first." Yuan Lan put his arm on Bai Xuechao's shoulder and, before leaving, said warmly to Yu Ruolan, "Go back and change your clothes and take a shower now. Your hairline has turned black."
Yu Ruolan touched her hairline in surprise. Sure enough, her hand was covered in color. She nodded repeatedly, "Mhm, mhm."
"Let's go." Yuan Lan reached out to pick up Bai Xuechao.
Bai Xuechao's mind was filled with the image of Yuan Lan and Lin Changqing hugging, and then he thought about himself. He quickly grabbed his wrist: "Wait, can we change the position?"
Yuan Lan was frank and puzzled: "What's wrong? Isn't it more comfortable to be held?"
"I think being carried on the back is more comfortable," Bai Xuechao said.
"Alright." Yuan Lan cooperatively turned around, but this time he didn't squat down. "You can jump on yourself."
There wasn't much of a height difference between the two of them, so wasn't this easy?
Bai Xuechao wrapped his arms around Yuan Lan's neck and jumped up, his upper body resting on Yuan Lan's back, his legs wrapped around the other's waist. Yuan Lan's arms hooked under the back of his knees to secure him.
Xiao 6 let out a "hiss." Needless to say, it was shipping them again.
Bai Xuechao suddenly regretted it.
He thought to himself, if he had known earlier, he would have let Yuan Lan carry him on his shoulder.
If Xiao 6 knew what Bai Xuechao was thinking, it would definitely say: Give up, as long as my CP has contact, it's a huge candy. Being within five meters of each other is called being in the same frame!
Yuan Lan left with a "bye-bye" and carried Bai Xuechao on his back upstairs to jump out of the window.
This time, when they jumped into the laboratory, the temperature inside was only slightly higher than outside, not as hot as before. It seemed that the sintering had been completed for a while.
"Can I stay and watch?" Bai Xuechao asked directly.
As he spoke, he moved his leg. Understanding his intention, Yuan Lan let go of his hands, allowing him to get down from his back.
"Actually, that's fine." Yuan Lan turned around, his golden eyes looking at Bai Xuechao. "Anyway, you'll have to know after tomorrow."
So Bai Xuechao stayed.
Yuan Lan used tools for the post-sintering treatment. Bai Xuechao was bored waiting, so he looked around.
He stood in front of a table full of documents and asked Yuan Lan, "Can I look at the documents on this table?"
Yuan Lan, with his back to him, was processing the post-sintering product. Without turning his head, he said, "You can. You can look at all the materials that are out in the open in this lab."
Materials out in the open, meaning there were also locked ones, right?
Bai Xuechao was just bored and wanted to look at something. Coincidentally, he had always wanted to see Yuan Lan's materials, so he asked directly. After all, the room was only so big, and he couldn't look secretly; he could only be open about it.
He thought that since Yuan Lan had agreed so readily, it meant these materials weren't important.
But when he looked, it wasn't what he had thought.
"I have a question I've been wanting to ask you." Bai Xuechao flipped through Yuan Lan's materials. "Most of your experiment records are handwritten. Do you have electronic copies?"
Yuan Lan still had his back to him: "No."
Bai Xuechao said, "What if all your materials were destroyed? What would you do?"
"All the materials in the laboratory are in my head. If these handwritten paper copies are destroyed, I can still reproduce them with some time, but it would be very troublesome." Yuan Lan sighed, and then his tone changed, "Why would you ask such a question?"
He turned his head to look at Bai Xuechao, the corners of his lips curved up, and his golden pupils seemed to glint with a faint light: "Do you want to try? You can, let's see if you can do it."