Chapter 20: The Rival Always Wants to Taste Him Again [20]

Chapter 20: The Rival Always Wants to Taste Him Again "20"

Shi Mo watched Lin Ran's eager explanation and asked 447 with a smile:

[Little Seven, did you see that?]

447 sat on his shoulder and nodded: [I saw it—a man frantically feeding you empty promises!]

[So fake. He talks a big game, but he won't give you anything real.]

[This Lin Ran, whether it's toward you or the original host, whether it's love or guilt, the only person he truly loves is himself.]

447 sighed: [No wonder he ended up betraying the original host and saying all that self-righteous crap.]

Shi Mo smirked, quite satisfied with 447's answer.

However, when his gaze landed on Lin Ran, who was still trying to defend himself, the humor in his eyes dimmed a bit. He held up a hand to stop Lin Ran:

"Alright, that's enough. You don't need to say anything else."

"Lin Ran, I'm very interested in the cooperation you mentioned earlier, and I'm willing to continue working with you. But if you bring this up again, don't blame me for what happens."

The moment he said that, Lin Ran—who'd just been pouring his heart out—went quiet.

Even though the three families looked equal on the surface, Ye Qi was the protagonist after all. Ever since Ye Qi took over, the Ye family had been growing fast.

Lin Ran was a False Protagonist who'd just been reborn not long ago. Even with half the protagonist's plot armor, he still couldn't match Ye Qi yet.

If he really wanted to take down the Ye family, he couldn't afford to lose their partnership.

Lin Ran bit his tongue, took a deep breath, and swallowed his feelings.

"Sorry, A Mo... I get it..."

As he spoke, confusion crept into Lin Ran's eyes as he looked at Shi Mo.

He didn't get it. Why was the guy who'd loved him so much in his past life treating him like this now?

In the novels he'd read, the reborn protagonist ditches the scumbag and runs into the arms of the true love who'd quietly protected him for years. Wouldn't that guy be moved and respond right away?

Shi Mo was just like that—he hadn't reacted with excitement, and Lin Ran didn't hold it against him.

But why did he keep turning him down over and over, even throwing shade at him?

Or was it that, deep down, Shi Mo's feelings for him just couldn't beat out profit?

Lin Ran replayed Shi Mo's words in his head, and the more he thought, the more he believed it. A flicker of scorn passed through his eyes.

He closed his eyes, his nose stinging.

No. If that were true, he never would've gone against Ye Qi for him in his past life!

Maybe Shi Mo just hadn't figured out his feelings yet. Maybe he'd only realize them later.

He remembered at Old Master Ye's birthday party in his past life, when he confessed and proposed to Ye Qi, everyone laughed at him—except Shi Mo, who stood up for him.

Maybe that was the moment Shi Mo finally realized he loved him!

Lin Ran opened his eyes again, his look turning determined, but he still smiled at Shi Mo.

"A Mo, I'll show you."

It didn't matter that Shi Mo hadn't realized his feelings yet. In the past life, Shi Mo had done so much for him—this time, it was his turn to chase him!

447: [Oh man, Xiao Momo, looks like this mad dog is about to latch onto you for good.]

Shi Mo: [Tsk, don't say that. He's just a brainless fool—don't lump him in with my little mad dog.]

His little mad dog was Ye Qi, and no one else.

447: [Alright, so what's the plan?]

Watching Lin Ran walk away, Shi Mo smirked, his eyes curving into crescents.

[We watch the drama, of course.]

[Ye Qi's little tricks aren't enough yet. Wait until he's on top of the world, then send him crashing down—all at once, and take back all the protagonist's luck.]

447's eyes lit up, its voice full of excitement: [Want me to stir the pot a bit?]

Shi Mo didn't answer, and 447 took that as a yes. It immediately got ready to hype Lin Ran up online!

"A Mo, be honest with me—what are you really thinking?"

Father Shi cleared his throat, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What's the deal with this Lin Ran? He was always running after Ye Qi before, and now suddenly he's flipped and says he likes you."

Father Shi couldn't help but sigh: "And he's laying it on so thick. If you weren't my son, I'd really think there was something between you two."

Shi Mo turned to him and smiled: "Just think of it as him losing his mind."

Father Shi nodded thoughtfully, then asked seriously: "The Lin family's been making big moves lately. Got anything to do with you?"

Shi Mo: "A bit."

Father Shi frowned: "You know what you're doing?"

Shi Mo: "Yeah."

Father Shi let out a scoffing laugh: "I'm getting old. The Shi family will eventually be yours. As long as you know what you're doing, that's all I need."

Shi Mo raised an eyebrow: "You're not afraid I'll run the Shi family into the ground?"

Father Shi said casually: "If it's gone, it's gone. When I die and go down there, the ancestors will be cursing you, not me."

"Anyway, I've already saved up enough retirement money for your mom and me. Just don't get yourself locked up, and we're good."

Shi Mo: "..."

"Alright, since you put it that way, I'll go keep making trouble then."

Shi Mo chuckled softly and turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, Father Shi came up behind him and patted his shoulder.

"Since you're already back, don't rush off. Stay for a meal. After we eat, I'll drive you to your overtime shift."

Shi Mo turned his head to look at his father: "If I remember correctly, I'm just a figurehead, and I've already done everything I needed to do. I don't even need to show up this month."

His father sighed with complete self-righteousness: "What can I say? I just can't stand seeing you this idle. Besides, you've already graduated—I can't very well send you back to school."

"Of course, if you wanted, I could sign you up for some hobby class or whatever."

Shi Mo: "...No thanks."

"Also, when you rejected Lin Ran, you only said you didn't like him, but you never said you don't like men."

His father paused as he spoke, his eyes narrowing with curiosity as he looked at him,

"So, A Mo, do you like guys or girls?"

"If you like guys, then I'll go have a talk with Mu Jin and clear things up—no point in stringing along such a nice girl."

Shi Mo let out a light chuckle: "You're pretty chill about this."

His father shrugged it off: "As long as you're happy, even being with a man is fine. It's not like I'm the one who'll end the family name—when I kick the bucket, the ancestors will be cursing you, not me."

Shi Mo raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod in agreement: "Fine, I like men."

Even though his father had prepared himself, he still sighed when he heard him say it out loud.

Then he stared off into space, deep in thought, and said:

"Okay, okay, got it."

With that, his father patted his shoulder again and walked away.

Shi Mo watched his retreating figure, his eyelid twitching as a bad feeling crept up on him.

But on second thought, his dad wouldn't go so far as to scheme against him, and even if he did plan something, he'd figure out a way to handle it when the time came.

Still, he stuck around for lunch and then followed his dad to the office—after all, he needed to give Ye Qi enough time to do his thing.

Quite a few people were working overtime that weekend, mostly for the double pay and the free afternoon snacks.

Even though Shi Mo didn't really manage things, he did care a lot about the food.

447 worked fast.

Lin Ran had already set up his account a while back, trying to build his "perfect image."

Even after getting beaten up, he didn't let up during his hospital stay—instead, he scored a wave of sympathy.

With the Lin family throwing money at buying traffic, and now 447 working behind the scenes as a push, in just a few short hours, Lin Ran's videos had blown up.

Walking through the company now, Shi Mo could hear people talking about it.

But he didn't really care—after all, this was just one part of the plan.

More than that, he was curious about why he was running into Ye Qi here.

Ye Qi: "What a coincidence."