Chapter 60 The Hesitant Male Lead

Jiang Chongming hesitated, as if he wanted to speak but held himself back.

He didn’t know whether he should stop Li Tingting from shifting her affections—preventing her from dragging more innocent people into this—or simply let everything unfold so he could escape unscathed himself.

It was a difficult choice.

When Jiang Chongming walked out of the hospital, Wei Puyu immediately noticed something was off about his expression. She hurried over nervously, yet didn’t dare get too close.

She wasn’t sure whether he had been “controlled” again.

“Sis… brother-in-law?”

Wei Kaihao spoke up for her, testing the waters.

“It’s me.”

Only then did Wei Puyu let out a sigh of relief. With reddened eyes, she said, “Since it’s really you, why didn’t you say anything? You almost scared me to death just now…”

Just as Jiang Chongming was about to speak, Ruan Yaoyao’s voice rang out in his mind:

【“Mr. Jiang’s Crematorium Chase After His Wife”?】

【Wait… isn’t his wife Wei Puyu? How did it become Li Tingting?】

Jiang Chongming: “……”

I’d like to know too.

Everyone else: “……”

We’d like to know as well.

Ruan Yaoyao quickly scrolled down and read:

【She runs, he chases, and neither can escape. He’s been poisoned by her, hopelessly sick… Jiang Chongming, don’t think that just because you’ve gained my heart you can do whatever you want. I don’t want you anymore…】

【He’s so kind, so warm—he can accept everything about me. I want to be with him.】

【Xiangyu, will you accept me?】

【A new character unlocked?!】

Ruan Yaoyao glanced at Wei Kaihao.

【Congratulations—you can finally get rid of your supporting male role. Time to celebrate!】

Really?!

Wei Kaihao was overjoyed and almost exposed himself. He quickly pretended to be talking to his sister: “Sis, about this…”

Ruan Yaoyao didn’t pay much attention, assuming it was just comforting words. She was far more interested in this newly appeared character—and what would happen next.

Since this was Jiang Chongming’s “plotline,” most of it revolved around him—how he once again “hurt” Li Tingting’s feelings, and how he “watched helplessly” as she grew close to another man.

【Oh, right—the man’s name was Wu Xiangyu.】

Jiang Chongming: “……”

As expected.

Was Li Tingting really that powerful? Infecting everyone she met?

But that didn’t make sense—she met so many people every day, yet not everyone got “infected” or “controlled.”

Perhaps there was some hidden rule they didn’t understand.

“Is it possible she only ‘controls’ people she’s interested in?” Xu Chengyan suggested during a private discussion, away from Ruan Yaoyao.

Whether it was him or Jiang Chongming, both were clearly people Li Tingting had taken an interest in.

Wei Kaihao frowned. “But I’m not someone she’s interested in!”

Xu Chengyan replied, “True—but you’re my closest friend. You have a strong influence on me. Just like my mom said, you’re the supporting male lead. When her target shifted to your brother-in-law, didn’t a new supporting role appear?”

Wei Kaihao silently offered Wu Xiangyu a second of sympathy.

But when he thought about what Wu Xiangyu had done to his brother-in-law—getting him publicly criticized—he felt the guy deserved it.

As for whether Wu Xiangyu had been influenced by Li Tingting… he didn’t care.

“So, should we warn him or not?”

Wei Kaihao shook his head. “How? Do you think he’d believe us? Back then, even I didn’t believe Chengyan—and we’re so close.”

That was true. None of them were familiar with Wu Xiangyu. If even Wei Kaihao hadn’t believed Xu Chengyan, why would Wu Xiangyu believe them?

“Didn’t you say you broke free from control because you met Aunt Xu? Maybe we could…”

“How would we arrange that? Aunt Xu doesn’t even know him.”

“By chance.”

“…Run into him.”

—

“Take me shopping for clothes?” Ruan Yaoyao wasn’t interested. She waved her hand. “No thanks, I’m not lacking clothes.”

Yun Jinxian and Yu Xiangqiao exchanged a glance. Their mission today was to get Ruan Yaoyao out of the house so she could “coincidentally” meet Wu Xiangyu. How could they give up now?

No outing, no encounter.

“Mom, even if you don’t need anything, Lingxuan does! She’s so adorable—don’t you want to personally pick out some pretty clothes for your granddaughter?” Yu Xiangqiao coaxed.

That worked instantly.

Xu Lingxuan was Ruan Yaoyao’s precious granddaughter—of course she wanted to! She immediately stood up and asked where they were going.

Before long, the three women—mother-in-law and daughters-in-law—were pushing a stroller through a mall, happily browsing.

—

Meanwhile, Wu Xiangyu stared at Jiang Chongming expressionlessly, thinking the man had lost his mind.

He had assumed Jiang Chongming had something important to discuss—but upon arriving, he found himself in… a baby store?

Wasn’t this entire floor like this?

What was the meaning of this?

And so he asked directly.

Jiang Chongming replied calmly, “Is that strange? My wife and I are planning to have a child, so of course I came to take a look. As a father, I can’t be clueless about what my child will need.”

Wu Xiangyu sneered. “You’re quite the actor. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you’re a devoted husband and father.”

“I do love her very much.”

“Hypocrite! If you really loved her, would you have gotten involved with Tingting?”

Jiang Chongming turned to him and said, “My relationship with Li Tingting isn’t what you think.”

“Oh, it’s very clear. She’s a naïve girl just entering society, wanting a sincere relationship—and you? Using your status to deceive her. People like you are disgusting.”

Jiang Chongming let him rant without arguing. He glanced at his phone, confirming Yun Jinxian’s location.

They were about to arrive.

No matter what, he had to stall long enough for Wu Xiangyu to run into Ruan Yaoyao.

“That dress just now was pretty, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“I thought so too. When Lingxuan grows up, she’ll look beautiful wearing something like that.”

…

As they chatted and walked, smiles on their faces, Ruan Yaoyao suddenly spotted something unusual.

Before she even clearly saw the people, she noticed two glowing labels floating in midair among the shelves:

One read “Cold and Aloof Male Lead,” the other “Devoted Supporting Male.”

【Huh?】

【New gossip?!】

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Ever since gaining this ability, not just anyone would trigger labels—so far, only her family and those connected to them.

Now suddenly seeing unrelated people… how could she not be excited?

But her excitement quickly faded.

【Oh… it’s them.】

She recognized Jiang Chongming, and had at least heard of Wu Xiangyu. She had thought they were “new characters.”

【What a letdown!】

Still, since she hadn’t seen Wu Xiangyu before, she took a few extra looks.

【Well, at least this supporting male is new—I haven’t checked him out yet.】

【Let me see…】

Yu Xiangqiao and Yun Jinxian perked up immediately, pretending to browse clothes while carefully listening to Ruan Yaoyao’s inner thoughts.

Jiang Chongming also split his attention—listening while keeping an eye on Wu Xiangyu’s reaction.

The moment anything seemed off, he would pull Wu Xiangyu away.

【Oh? So he’s actually a pretty impressive journalist—won quite a lot of awards!】

【Wait… he even won the Pulitzer Prize?! Seriously?!】

【And the World Press Photo Award… the Hasselblad International Photography Award…】

【He’s won so many international awards?!】

【Are supporting male leads held to such high standards now? Compared to him, Wei Kaihao only has his “rich second-generation” status—nothing else stands out at all.】