Chapter 49: Because of You, I’ve Lost Myself in Madness

The information shown for YL listed the gender as male, along with an ID number, a bank card number, and a real name so rustic it seemed to have fallen straight out of the countryside. Gong Lu’s expression was one of utter disappointment.

His gaze darkened.

It wasn’t her...

What Gong Lu didn’t know was that Ye Luo, wary of anyone tracking her through the forum, had tampered with all the registration and binding information long ago. Not only did the forum’s official administrators remain oblivious to the falsified data, but even if someone took it to a bank or relevant departments to investigate, they would find no trace of her whatsoever.

Gong Lu glanced once more at the data on the computer screen, as if suppressing some emotion that threatened to surface, and closed his eyes.

He didn’t open them again for a long while.

When he did, his eyes were as calm as still water.

He shut the computer down and, after a moment’s hesitation, took out his wallet and opened it.

Inside was a synthesized photo.

No scenery in the background, only a teenage girl.

She was striking in appearance, with blunt bangs, long hair draped over her shoulders, dressed in a black shirt and black jeans, expressionless. Though she was only a figure in a photograph, one could still sense her coldness, as if she herself possessed not a shred of warmth.

Gong Lu closed his eyes again, pushing down the pain that welled up from deep within. Only then did he raise his hand to gently touch the girl’s face in the photo.

In the end, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

He murmured softly, “Luo Luo, because of you, I’ve been bewitched, do you know that...”

His voice was so quiet, and the study door closed, that Ye Luo, downstairs in the dining room, didn’t hear him.

After finishing her meal, Ye Luo left the dining room, climbed the stairs, and headed back to her room.

Passing by the study, she happened to meet Gong Lu just as he was coming out.

The man who had just changed faces now wore that seductive, devilish look again. As soon as he saw her, he crossed his arms and lazily leaned against the wall, as though he had no bones at all.

He chuckled lightly, “I heard you spent two hundred thousand at school to keep a man.”

Ye Luo had intended to ignore him and walk straight past, but at his words, she froze instantly.

Her previously calm eyes turned icy, staring at him sharply.

Gong Lu let out another soft laugh, “I also heard you’re fond of that man.”

In the next moment, he laughed even more lightly, “So quick to turn your affections?”

Before she could respond, he straightened up, raised a hand, and patted her shoulder, a smile filled with deeper meaning. “He’s not easy to keep.”

With that, he lowered his head and chuckled to himself, striding away with his long legs.

Clearly, from beginning to end, he never expected her to say a word to him. He simply wanted to tell her everything he wished to say.

Yet...

What did he mean, her ancestor is hard to keep?

Ye Luo turned back, her eyes narrowed coldly as she watched Gong Lu descend the stairs step by step before finally withdrawing her gaze.

Never mind, this man was hardly normal.

Any ordinary person seeing her spend two hundred thousand on someone would surely ask about the source of the money, but this man didn’t even ask a single question.

...

When Ye Luo opened her computer again and logged into the translation forum, she found that Song Linfeng had messaged her again, sending numerous texts, all of which she ignored without even opening.

She had already firmly refused him, and if he wished to pester her further, that was his business—she would not indulge him.

She simply took on another translation order to earn money.

The housing prices in S City were exorbitant; she still didn’t have enough for a house, and would need a few more days of work before she could even contemplate buying a place and moving out.

...

The next morning, after breakfast, as Ye Luo was about to head to school, she saw Gong Lu coming down from upstairs. After a brief hesitation, she finally asked, “Why did you say yesterday that he’s hard to keep?”

Other matters she could ignore, but this concerned her ancestor.