Chapter 49: Fortune and Misfortune
Amid her shock, Xu Ruming quickly figured it out. It was all for Xu Qingsui.
For Xu Qingsui’s sake, Lu Jingyu was already willing to disregard his own principles.
Xu Ruming silently clenched her fists, her sharp nails digging into her skin. Even as a damp, sticky sensation spread across her palm, she didn’t let go.
’Why?!’
’What was so great about Xu Qingsui? How could she make a man like Lu Jingyu abandon his principles for her sake?’
Anger and resentment built in her chest, making her want to scream.
But she’d been burned too many times. She knew acting out would only lead to her own humiliation, so she forced herself to swallow her anger.
"Captain Lu, I was just voicing my opinion earlier. But since no one else has an issue, I’ll go along with it."
Lu Jingyu ignored her. Seeing this, the others didn’t dare to voice any more complaints.
The wait was agonizing, especially with time running out. Every minute felt like an eternity.
Just as everyone was getting antsy, tiny figures finally appeared at the mouth of the ant tunnel.
Seeing the ants crawl out, the group’s collective anxiety finally began to ease.
Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu exchanged a glance, and both continued to watch the ants.
Normally, ants would carry food back to their nest.
But these ants only circled the chocolate a few times before forming a single file line and heading deeper into the passage.
Xu Qingsui’s eyes lit up, and she quickly gestured for Lu Jingyu to follow.
Lu Jingyu nodded, motioned for his team members, and they all followed.
At this point, Xu Ruming was completely speechless and could only trail resentfully behind them.
They had already wasted hours in the maze. But this time, after following the ants for a little over ten minutes, they came to a fork in the road.
In their haste not to lose the ants, everyone had broken the formation they’d arranged earlier.
Xu Qingsui was at the very front of the group, following the ants closely.
But when she reached the fork, she suddenly stopped.
"Why’d you stop?" Lu Jingyu asked as he caught up.
Xu Qingsui gave a wry smile. "The moment I got here, the ants vanished as if by magic. It looks like they could only lead us to the fork in the road."
Lu Jingyu glanced at the diverging paths before them. Indeed, there was no trace of the ants on the ground.
"It’s okay. The fact that they led us to this fork is a huge breakthrough. Otherwise, we might have been wandering around until our time was up."
Knowing Lu Jingyu was trying to comfort her, Xu Qingsui managed a small smile, then sighed. "Now we’re on our own again. There are so many paths. How do we choose?"
"Let’s look for clues first. If we can’t find any, we’ll have to do it the hard way: test them one by one."
Xu Qingsui nodded helplessly. Lu Jingyu then explained the situation to the others.
He then split everyone into groups, assigning each to investigate a different path.
This time, everyone was mobilized, Shen Ling’an and Xu Ruming included.
As Xu Ruming searched, she muttered, "I don’t believe for a second the ants just ’disappeared.’ I bet she lost them and is just making excuses."
She didn’t bother to lower her voice, drawing several glances.
"Stop it. Let’s just focus on finding a clue!"
Xu Ruming glared at Shen Ling’an. He was lecturing her again.
Seeing that Xu Ruming was about to lose her temper, Shen Ling’an said in a low voice, "Because of what happened earlier, the others already have a poor opinion of us."
"If you keep saying things like that, they won’t blame Xu Qingsui. They’ll just think we’re incompetent gossips."
"Don’t forget, we have more important things at stake. A moment of impatience can ruin a great plan. Remember our objective."
Although she was still unhappy, her woman’s intuition told her that Shen Ling’an was developing inappropriate feelings for Xu Qingsui.
But Shen Ling’an’s mention of their "grand plan" did resonate with her.
Lu Jingyu had absolutely no fondness for her now. Her hopes might truly rest on that one thing.
Recognizing the reality of her situation, Xu Ruming took a few deep breaths and once again suppressed her resentment.
Still, once she’d calmed down, she shot a look at Shen Ling’an.
"I’ll control myself. But let me remind you, you’d better not get any ideas. After everything you did to her, she’ll never forgive you."
Shen Ling’an’s eyes flickered, and for a moment, he said nothing.
Xu Ruming’s expression instantly changed, and she said sweetly, "Brother Ling’an, let’s hurry up and find some clues! We can’t let them look down on us anymore."
With a smile as bright as a flower, Xu Ruming seemed like a completely different person from moments ago.
Shen Ling’an nodded, finally resuming his inspection of the path.
But in that instant, something shifted in his heart.
After a long search, disappointed expressions appeared on everyone’s faces.
All the passages were encased by high walls, with no other objects, living or otherwise, in sight. Except for their different orientations, the forks looked like they had been copied and pasted.
After wasting so much time, no one had found a single clue.
"Captain, there are eight forks in total. What do we do now?"
The team members were out of ideas and could only look to Lu Jingyu.
No matter the time or place, Lu Jingyu was always their rock.
Lu Jingyu’s brow was furrowed, and he could only sigh. "Then we’ll have to do it the hard way and test them one by one."
Everyone looked at each other, and in the end, could only nod in resignation.
"So which path should we try first?"
Lu Jingyu didn’t answer. He looked at Xu Qingsui.
He didn’t know why, but ever since Xu Qingsui had joined them, he’d lost some of his former decisiveness.
Before making any decision, he found himself wanting to hear Xu Qingsui’s opinion first.
Xu Qingsui smiled. "It’s a one-in-eight chance. Who here is usually the luckiest? Maybe they can point the way for us!"
Lu Jingyu glanced around the group. "You guys pick someone. If you think you’re particularly lucky, feel free to nominate yourself."
If this were just for fun, everyone would be boasting about their good fortune.
But this wasn’t just about picking a path; it could also mean walking into danger. No one dared to volunteer.
Seeing no one step forward, Lu Jingyu looked at Xu Qingsui again.
He still trusted Xu Qingsui.
After Shen Ling’an’s warning, Xu Ruming had kept quiet.
But seeing Lu Jingyu’s gaze fall on Xu Qingsui once more, she grew displeased and stepped forward again.
Shen Ling’an, who was right beside her, noticed her movement instantly and tried to stop her, but he was a step too late.
"I think I’m pretty lucky. Even though I had the misfortune of being switched at birth, my real parents still found me in the end. So, let me be the one!"