Chapter 77: The Unmet Fiancé
Seeing Xu Qingsui had completely misunderstood, Lu Jingyu’s recently relaxed heart instantly tensed up again.
"No, don’t misunderstand. And regardless of who the fiancée is, it was all done without my consent. I won’t accept it."
"Oh..." Xu Qingsui drew out the sound, secretly delighted.
For some reason, watching Lu Jingyu looking so eager to explain himself made her very happy.
On second thought, Xu Qingsui remembered that she seemed to have a fiancé herself.
It was a marriage arrangement the Xu Family made with the Imperial City Lu Family in exchange for potions.
But initially, the one promised was Xu Ruming.
However, she later heard that the Lu Family’s eldest young master had been engaged several times before.
But due to issues with his frenzied state, he had already torn apart several of his fiancées.
Seeing this, Xu Ruming was naturally unwilling to leap into a pit of fire. Coincidentally, she had already gotten involved with Shen Ling’an, so she arranged for a direct swap of fiancés.
Without getting her consent, they switched their two fiancés.
And just like that, the eldest young master of the Lu Family, the one who had accidentally torn several fiancées to shreds, became her fiancé.
Speaking of which, that man also had the surname Lu.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
The moment the thought surfaced, Xu Qingsui shook her head and dismissed it.
’Things are never that coincidental.’
Besides, the system had matched her with her contract partner randomly.
Even in the Apocalypse, there were millions of people. How could she possibly have been matched with *that* man?
Lu Jingyu had been watching Xu Qingsui the whole time. When he suddenly saw her both smiling and shaking her head, he assumed she was letting her imagination run wild and couldn’t help but grow anxious.
"What’s wrong? Everything I just told you is true."
Xu Qingsui smiled and shook her head. "I’m fine. I just suddenly remembered that I have a fiancé, too!"
Lu Jingyu’s eyes widened. This time, it was his turn to feel a sour knot in his stomach.
"A fiancé? Is it Shen Ling’an? Isn’t he with Xu Ruming now?"
Xu Qingsui shook her head. "Not him. Xu Ruming originally had a fiancé too, but she heard he could no longer control himself and had killed his previous fiancées during a frenzied state. So she swapped fiancés with me, pushing her fiancé onto me."
Lu Jingyu stared blankly for a moment. "So, what are your thoughts on this fiancé?"
"We’ve never even met and don’t know each other. I was originally planning to meet him first and then decide, but then I met you and joined the Heiyu Alliance, so the matter was put on hold."
"Because in my opinion, how can you let others decide matters of the heart? In any case, you’ve already left the Xu Family. There’s no need for you to take responsibility for their affairs."
"You can stay here without worry. Even if that fiancé of yours comes looking for you, I’m here. I won’t let them force you into any decisions."
Xu Qingsui nodded. Her previous desire to seek out that fiancé was mainly because she was weak and alone. Having a backer was ultimately better than shouldering everything by herself.
Now that she had joined the Heiyu Alliance, the problem of a backer was solved. Whether or not she went to the Lu Family wasn’t so important anymore.
Not wanting to think about these things anymore, Xu Qingsui suddenly remembered the key issue and quickly asked, "Didn’t you say you wanted me to go back with you? So you could figure out a way to get the potions. Are we still leaving?"
"There’s no need. When Xie Qingling joined the Alliance, she provided a box of potions. I’ve already sent it to the medical office."
Xu Qingsui eyed Lu Jingyu skeptically. "That Guide Xie... she came here for you, didn’t she? Are you sure she doesn’t have any designs on you? She even brought potions to join the Alliance."
Lu Jingyu had his suspicions about some things, but he didn’t care and didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
Now that Xu Qingsui had brought it up, he just shook his head awkwardly.
Seeing Lu Jingyu was unwilling to talk about it, Xu Qingsui didn’t press him. Her expression turned serious as she brought up another matter.
"You didn’t know she was going to join the Heiyu Alliance, but you knew she had arrived in Zone 9 a while ago, didn’t you?"
Lu Jingyu flinched slightly, looking at Xu Qingsui in astonishment.
"The last time I was absorbing the elixir, she was outside, wasn’t she? She wants to harm me."
Lu Jingyu was completely shocked that Xu Qingsui knew about this.
But he didn’t question how she knew, nor did he hide the truth.
"That’s right. But I won’t let her hurt you."
"She’s very hostile towards me. It seems she’s up to no good. Since we’ll be living under the same roof from now on, I’ll have to be extra careful."
Lu Jingyu had originally thought Xu Qingsui would blame him for this, thinking he was the one who had brought this danger upon her.
He never expected her to simply confirm the facts and then silently accept the situation.
Xu Qingsui’s reactions always surprised him.
Xu Qingsui ignored him and turned to pick up the elixir Xie Qingling had left behind.
Opening the box containing the elixir, an exotic fragrance immediately wafted out. She could sense that this elixir was on par with the one Lu Jingyu had given her last time.
Looking at the elixir in Xu Qingsui’s hand, Lu Jingyu was also a little surprised.
But he still said, "She even took out a treasure-grade elixir. It makes me wonder what she’s really after."
"This elixir has the same effect as the one I gave you last time. You should take it."
Xu Qingsui shook her head, reluctantly closing the brocade box. "Better not. Accepting gifts makes you indebted, and she’s already up to no good. For her to suddenly show me goodwill for no reason... who knows what kind of scheme is behind it?"
"No matter how good the elixir is, if I let my guard down for a moment and end up selling myself out, the loss would far outweigh the gain."
In this world, many people found it hard to control themselves when faced with medical supplies, let alone a far more precious elixir.
Xu Qingsui’s reaction surprised Lu Jingyu once again.
But it was precisely because of this that he felt Xu Qingsui was different from everyone else.
"Just take the elixir. I’ve already inspected it; there’s nothing wrong with it."
"As for Xie Qingling, I’ll handle the matter of this elixir. You don’t need to feel like you owe her anything."
Xu Qingsui shook the brocade box in her hand. "Then does this mean I’ll owe you another favor?"
Lu Jingyu shook his head and blurted out, "There’s no need for that between us."
Xu Qingsui was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to reply.
Lu Jingyu also felt the atmosphere had become somewhat ambiguous.
The two stood in a deadlock for a moment before Lu Jingyu found an excuse and fled the scene.
After seeing Lu Jingyu off and closing the door, Xu Qingsui leaned against it, her heart pounding wildly.
Still clutching the elixir, she silently placed the brocade box against her chest.
This contract partner of hers was truly becoming someone she couldn’t pull herself away from.
After leaving those words behind, Xie Qingling finally felt a little better.
But when she followed the team members to her arranged quarters, her expression immediately darkened again.
’Elder Qi? He can’t even arrange a simple thing like this properly!’
’As expected of people from some backwater place. Utterly unrefined.’