After Mistakenly Binding The Matchmaker System

Chapter 162

“This is someone I met upstairs,” Li Shu knew that Gu Lin didn’t want to reveal his true identity. “I encountered an infected person, and thanks to this gentleman’s help, I was able to escape.”

“Thank you for saving Xiao Shu.” Lin Xuan didn’t doubt Li Shu’s words. A battle had just taken place, and both Li Shu and the stranger had signs of battle on their bodies, which aligned with the excuse Li Shu had provided.

The two looked at each other and quickly averted their eyes.

Lin Xuan subconsciously didn’t want Li Shu to have too much contact with this person. He extended his hand, saying, “I’m Lin Xuan. You saved Xiao Shu. If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me.”

After a brief pause, Gu Lin extended his hand to shake Lin Xuan’s, his voice cold, “That won’t be necessary.”

Gu Lin sensed the hostility from this man. He didn’t know where it stemmed from, nor did he care. Seeing that Li Shu had reunited with his group and was now safe, he immediately left.

He still hadn’t resolved his own issues, so it wasn’t suitable for him to get too involved with others. As for the young man, Gu Lin thought of the man who seemed hostile towards him; he believed someone would protect him well enough.

Right now, he would only bring disaster to others.

After Gu Lin left, Lin Xuan gathered the team to prepare for their return. It was getting dark, and staying outside after dark was several times more dangerous than during the day. They had to return before nightfall.

Tan Chu had been having a rough time lately. He had already upset people by interfering in Li Shu and Lin Xuan’s relationship. After finally earning a bit of goodwill, Li Shu’s actions had wiped it all away in an instant. He wanted to make some moves to remedy the situation, but Li Shu wasn’t giving him any opportunity.

It seemed that after that coma, this person had become much more difficult to deal with. In the past, he was full of weaknesses to exploit, but now, he was so vigilant, leaving no openings. Tan Chu found himself unable to do anything.

People like Tan Chu would never admit their own mistakes. They would only blame others for their failures. In the original plot, the original owner had been too naive and unguarded, allowing Tan Chu to succeed. Li Shu, however, had seen too much of human nature and had no illusions about it.

On the way back, Lin Xuan moved closer to Li Shu, wanting to say something, but Li Shu seemed uninterested and kept refusing to give him any chance to speak privately. Lin Xuan held back his words the entire journey, and by the time they reached the apartment, he still hadn’t found an opportunity to speak with Li Shu alone.

Did Li Shu not notice that he was hesitant to speak? Of course not; he was doing it on purpose. The original owner had suffered so much because of this man. While Li Shu didn’t intend to repay all of it, doing nothing wasn’t an option.

He planned to ignore Lin Xuan for a while. If Lin Xuan couldn’t resist temptation during this time and got involved with Tan Chu again, then he couldn’t blame Li Shu for being ruthless.

Some people just can’t stand being left alone for too long. Li Shu had just been thinking about that little white lotus, and upon returning, the first person he saw was Tan Chu.

Tan Chu had clearly been waiting for some time. When he saw them return, his eyes lit up, and he quickly got up to greet them. “You’re back!”

Li Shu subtly shifted to the side, and sure enough, the little white lotus immediately latched onto Lin Xuan. Noticing the injuries on Lin Xuan’s body, Tan Chu exclaimed, “Oh my god, Brother Lin Xuan, you’re hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” Lin Xuan said in a low voice, glancing subtly in Li Shu’s direction. Seeing that Li Shu had no reaction, his heart sank. “Let’s go inside.”

“Yes, let’s go in. Brother Lin Xuan, you need to treat those injuries quickly, or they could get infected,” Tan Chu said as he reached out to support Lin Xuan’s arm.

Lin Xuan dodged and was the first to step inside.

Everyone who had been with them saw this exchange. Out of respect for Lin Xuan, who was one of the parties involved, they didn’t say anything, but their eyes clearly showed their ridicule for Tan Chu.

Their impression of Li Shu was much better than of Tan Chu. After all, when you compare someone who constantly pretends to be weak and tries to steal other people’s partners to someone who’s willing to lower himself and take risks with everyone else, the choice of whom to side with is obvious, isn’t it?

The stares were piercing, and under such scrutiny, Tan Chu gritted his teeth to prevent himself from losing his composure. It was always like this, every time. These people always looked down on him. Why? He and Li Shu were both ordinary people, so why was he always inferior to Li Shu?

Tan Chu was extremely unwilling to accept this. He secretly noted today’s humiliation. Once he won Lin Xuan’s favor, would he still have to worry about these people looking down on him? By then, it would be him standing tall. He wanted to see how Li Shu could still maintain that superior attitude without Lin Xuan.

He was waiting for the day when he could trample Li Shu under his feet. He would definitely repay the humiliation he suffered today a hundredfold.

Li Shu didn’t need to look to know what the little white lotus was thinking. He glanced at him briefly before following the others inside. Without exception, no one interacted with Tan Chu. They weren’t fools; they could see with their own eyes what kind of person someone was, and they didn’t need to rely on others to judge.

The supplies were managed collectively. Initially, this task fell to the original owner, but as the team grew, and since the original owner wasn’t skilled in this area, these responsibilities were handed over to a more capable girl. The girl’s name was Zhou Hua. She had short hair and wore black-framed glasses. She respected the original owner very much.

Li Shu didn’t plan to stay with this team for long. He wouldn’t take back the responsibilities he had already delegated. On the contrary, he intended to gradually relinquish all his authority.

Although the original owner was one of the team’s founders, his authority wasn’t significant. He had given up much of it along the way. The original owner had just started college and was pampered by his family from a young age, so he wasn’t good at managing these matters, let alone understanding people’s hearts.

After handing over the supplies, Li Shu planned to return to his room, but at his door, he met Lin Xuan, who had been waiting for a long time.

Lowering the cigarette he was halfway through, Lin Xuan straightened up. “Xiao Shu, we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about between us,” Li Shu replied coldly.

“Xiao Shu, there’s a misunderstanding between us. I think you should listen to me. Don’t be so stubborn. Let’s move past what happened that day, okay?” Lin Xuan assumed that Li Shu was angry because of that day and thought Li Shu blamed him for not taking his side.

Thinking about what happened that day, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. In front of everyone, it was indeed Li Shu who made the first move. It was LibShu who wanted to push Tan Chu down. What could he do? He couldn’t just blindly blame Tan Chu without considering the situation. It had been days now, and Li Shu still refused to talk to him. He was also angry.

“There’s nothing to discuss about that day. You believe what you believe. If you think Tan Chu was wronged, feel free to comfort him. But if you expect me to apologize to him, that’s impossible.”

Li Shu hadn’t forgotten that in the original plot, after narrowly escaping the infected, the original owner returned only to find his boyfriend comforting another man. The first words he heard were demands for him to apologize to the man who had interfered in their relationship. He obviously hadn’t done anything wrong but everyone blamed him.

If it wasn’t for Li Shu’s tough attitude, his situation wouldn’t have been any better than the original owner’s. He, a bystander, felt it was chilling, let alone the original owner who was directly involved.

“Li Shu!” Seeing that Li Shu showed no remorse, Lin Xuan’s tone became stern. “That incident is in the past. No one is asking you to apologize to Xiao Chu. Do you expect Xiao Chu to apologize to you?”

“I don’t need that,” Li Shu sidestepped him, intending to enter the room.

“Xiao Shu,” Lin Xuan softened his tone, remembering why he had come to find Li Shu. “Let’s not talk about that day. You’ve been mad at me for days. Isn’t it time to let it go?”

Li Shu paused in the act of taking out his key, then turned to face Lin Xuan, meeting his eyes directly. “Lin Xuan, don’t you think you’re ridiculous? I’m supposed to be your boyfriend. But think about what’s happened in the past few days. Was there even one instance where you stood by my side? Oh, you might say you’re responsible for the team and can’t let personal feelings affect your decisions. Fine, I won’t comment on that. But I’m your boyfriend. When it comes to choosing between what I said and what Tan Chu said, who did you believe? Tan Chu. You’d rather trust an outsider than me. So tell me, what’s left for us to talk about?”

“Xiao Shu…”

“Don’t call me that. It makes me sick. Xiao Shu, Xiao Chu—how similar they sound,” Li Shu interrupted coldly. “I’ve been thinking these past few days, and it all seems so pointless. Since you wanted to talk, let’s get everything out in the open. Lin Xuan, from today on, we’re done. Let’s break up.”

“I don’t agree!” Lin Xuan never imagined that Li Shu would say those words. The word “breakup” exploded in his mind like a thunderclap and he couldn’t understand why Li Shu would say such a thing. Hadn’t they promised never to utter those words?

“Xiao Shu, I know I hurt you. I’ll change. I promise I won’t look at anyone else. I’ll leave Tan Chu behind in the next city. Xiao Shu, I don’t agree…”

“I’m not asking for your permission, Lin Xuan. You know me. I’m not someone who tolerates things easily. You know deep down that there’s no going back for us.”

Li Shu was speaking on behalf of the original owner. The first time the original owner discovered that Lin Xuan and Tan Chu were involved with each other, he had asked for a breakup but couldn’t go through with it due to the circumstances. His feelings for Lin Xuan had already dissipated with every hurtful incident.

Lin Xuan stood there for a long time, so long that darkness enveloped him. When he finally came to his senses, he blinked in confusion, feeling as if a piece of his heart had gone missing.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, he seemed to have truly lost Xiao Shu.

Now that the main protagonist had been found and the original owner’s emotional entanglements were resolved, Li Shu could leave after dealing with Tan Chu. The original owner wanted to reunite with his family, so he had to stay with the team, but Li Shu didn’t have that concern. It happened that the male protagonist’s base was also in the capital. He could just go there and wait.

Lin Xuan didn’t mention their breakup to anyone, holding onto a sliver of hope that he could salvage the relationship. Li Shu didn’t care. The original owner hadn’t formed many close connections, and since he planned to leave, Li Shu gradually reduced his presence in the group.

After stocking up on supplies, the team set off for the next destination. Along the way, Li Shu truly experienced what the apocalypse was like.

Before reaching the next city, they encountered a wave of infected. The number of infected was far greater than any they had faced before. They were densely packed together it made people’s scalps tingle with fear.

Many people were trapped by the infected in this area, and among them, Li Shu spotted the male protagonist with his sharp eyes.

He stood out from the crowd, his presence commanding and imposing.