Making Three Heartless Woman Go Crazy for Me - Chapter 41

Qi Lanshi turned and fled.

Damn it, this isn’t a missing person notice—it’s a bounty! Luan Hua has truly gone mad. All I wanted was a breakup, and this woman wants me dead!

Terrified of being caught if she didn’t run fast enough, Qi Lanshi sprinted without daring to look back.

She hadn’t run at full speed in ages. Her real-world limp had long deprived her of the ability to walk or run normally. This chase and escape brought back a long-lost sense of freedom.

The wind roared in her ears, mingling with the clamor of shouts. Her distinctive face drew stares from passersby—some surprised, some confused, and others who recognized her and joined the pursuit, swelling the chasing crowd. She could clearly see the feverish greed burning in their eyes.

Qi Lanshi had no time to think about what she would do upon re-entering the game. She was utterly exasperated, mentally cursing Luan Hua with furious intensity.

At this rate, someone’s bound to catch me. I might even get kidnapped…

As she spoke the thought, realization struck her. Her eyes darted around before she abruptly veered into a narrow alleyway. Before her pursuers could catch up, she nimbly scaled walls and climbed trees, vaulting over three or four barriers in quick succession to exploit the terrain and shake off her pursuers.

Leaning against the tree trunk, she gasped for breath. After her frantic sprint, her head buzzed like a hive, and it took a while for the golden stars dancing before her eyes to fade.

“I almost forgot,” she muttered. “In these CEO novels, kidnapping is an indispensable plot point. How can a female lead be considered a true White Flower Protagonist if she hasn’t been kidnapped six, seven, or even eight times?”

She turned to the System. “Why did you skip such a classic trope, especially when your plot development is already as cancerous as it is?”

Because we live in a society governed by law, where everyone must abide by the rules, the System explained. Perhaps you’re familiar with the core values?

Qi Lanshi gave an “OK” gesture, signaling her understanding.

Logical, perfectly logical. For the first time, she felt like this idiotic Game was actually being managed by someone, finally showing some semblance of order.

“But no matter,” she said, settling against the tree. “If I want a plot point, I’ll make it happen. I just need to find the right Target to help me advance the story.”

A hint of regret crept into her voice. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dealt with White Moonlight so quickly. If I’d pressured her, this kidnapping plot could have landed right on her head.”

It was too late now. Bai Jiao had already been sent abroad. To escape Luan Hua’s control, she had even thrown away her phone, leaving her with no way to contact anyone, let alone Bai Jiao.

“How long have I been running?” Qi Lanshi, without her phone, could only estimate based on the game’s timer. “Twenty minutes! Twenty minutes! I’ve never run this long, not even during PE exams in school. Luan Hua has been searching for me relentlessly, so how hasn’t she found me yet?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she sensed something was wrong. She looked up and realized that in the brief span of a few sentences, she had been completely surrounded.

These men were different from the crowd that had gawked at the money tree earlier. They were clearly well-trained, tall and muscular, yet moved with such lightness that their footsteps were silent, completely evading Qi Lanshi’s notice.

And it was certain: these weren’t Luan Hua’s people.

Qi Lanshi remained remarkably calm. She stood up, brushed the dust off her pants, and asked, “Before you take me away, could you at least tell me who wants to see me?”

The leader of the group put his hand to his ear, listened for a moment, then pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and handed it to Qi Lanshi.

A gentle yet authoritative female voice came through the phone. “Miss Qi, it’s me.”

“Oh, it’s you, Madam Luan! You should have said so sooner. With all this commotion, I thought I was being kidnapped. You scared me half to death!”

Madam Luan chuckled. “It’s all my good-for-nothing daughter’s fault. She’s let some irrelevant people harass you. Let my men take you away first, at least to ensure your temporary safety.”

When Qi Lanshi didn’t reply, she added slowly, “If you don’t want to come with me, that’s fine. Luan Hua will be here himself in about two minutes.”

“How could I refuse an invitation personally extended by you, Madam Luan?” Qi Lanshi smiled. “I just never imagined that someone like me—just a woman—would warrant such a grand spectacle from you upper-class types. It’s truly… flattering beyond words.”

She hung up and glanced at the circle of bodyguards surrounding her. “Let’s go. If we delay any longer, you’ll end up in a direct confrontation with Luan Hua’s men.”

Being taken away by Luan Hua’s mother was far better than being captured by some random thugs. Luan Hua, the domineering CEO, had barely acted normally throughout the entire game, and now even his parents were suppressing his supposed “aura of power.”

She couldn’t help but complain, “This is just too pathetic! Who writes a protagonist’s story like this? What kind of protagonist ends up in such a state?”

We’re already working on revisions overnight, the System sighed, its frustration palpable. But you’re already playing Luan Hua’s route. Any improvements will only apply to the next story arc.

“That’s a real shame,” Qi Lanshi said coldly.

She had no intention of playing this brain-dead game any further. What did she care about improvements in the next arc? It was like realizing you need milk after your child has already died.

The bodyguards escorted Qi Lanshi to the car, and after a two-hour drive, they finally reached their destination. She glanced around at the unfamiliar scenery, clearly a newly unlocked map area.

Pushing open the car door, she nodded at the detached villa in the distance.

Well, at least the accommodations are decent. They didn’t lock me up in some dark, cramped room.

Her emotions remained calm, and her mood was surprisingly good. She even managed to mentally tease the System: Thank goodness this place was prepared by Madam Luan. If it were Luan Hua, she’d probably have started with the “dark room play” already.

Not that I wouldn’t enjoy that, but there’d be too much unstreamable content. I doubt your game could handle it.

As she spoke, she sounded slightly regretful. “I thought we’d get a dorm room humiliation scene, but it looks like that’s not happening.”

After all, this Target’s route was already counting down to its end.

They gave Qi Lanshi a brand-new phone, along with new ID photos and a plane ticket. The phone had only one contact, and half an hour later, Qi Lanshi received a call from Madam Luan.

“If you had accepted my money and left earlier, you wouldn’t be suffering so much now,” Madam Luan said, her words sounding sympathetic, but her tone lacked any genuine compassion.

Qi Lanshi couldn’t stand this tone of someone who acted as if they had everything under control. She retorted, “I’ve been missing for half a month. How can you possibly judge whether I’m suffering or not?”

“Compared to me, who’s truly suffering here? You must know the answer to that, Madam Luan.”

Madam Luan fell silent.

Over the past two weeks, she had witnessed firsthand how her once-proud daughter had descended into madness.

Among all the children of her peers, Luan Hua had always been the most outstanding. She was calm, independent, clear-headed, ruthless, and possessed a keen business sense.

Madam Luan had long known about her daughter’s sexual orientation. She had once worried about it, but after observing Luan Hua’s attitude toward Bai Jiao, she had put her concerns to rest.

Luan Hua liked women—so what? She could control her emotions and knew what she had to do. When the time came, she would provide the Luan Family with a new heir.

But all of that had been shattered.

Shattered by a woman they had never taken seriously, a woman they had dismissed as insignificant.

Compared to Qi Lanshi, the former Bai Jiao now seemed utterly insignificant.

Only now did the Luan Family realize that Luan Hua wasn’t being rational or controlling her emotions; she simply hadn’t loved Bai Jiao enough.

“Why are you silent, Madam Luan?” Qi Lanshi retorted. “Could it be I’ve struck a nerve? There’s no need to be so defensive—I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Qi Lanshi’s infuriatingly smug tone shattered Madam Luan’s composure. She gritted her teeth, her calm facade crumbling.

She couldn’t accept Luan Hua’s infatuation driving her to madness, nor could she tolerate this woman who had driven her daughter mad showing Luan Hua no affection whatsoever.

“You’ve never loved Luan Hua, have you?”

Hearing this, Qi Lanshi glanced at the caller ID in surprise, almost mistaking it for Luan Hua herself.

“No, never. I’ve always been forced by Luan Hua. Not only have I never loved her, I hate her. Everything I’ve done has been to get revenge.”

Qi Lanshi heard Madam Luan’s breathing suddenly deepen and chuckled. “Recording this? You should play it for Luan Hua and see if she believes you.”

Madam Luan clenched her fingers, fury surging through her. For a moment, she wanted to hang up and retaliate against Qi Lanshi, making her pay for her actions.

“But there’s no need to get so angry, Madam Luan. The feelings were fake, but I’m tired of playing this game. I don’t want to waste any more time with Luan Hua. The breakup is real.” Qi Lanshi, fearing Madam Luan might faint from anger, added slowly, “You even booked my plane ticket, didn’t you? That’s your way of telling me to get lost and disappear forever, right? I understand.”

“If you can keep Luan Hua away, I guarantee I’ll vanish completely.”

Madam Luan sneered. “You’d better!”

With that, she hung up the phone in a rage.

Qi Lanshi shrugged nonchalantly. “Look at that temper! Turns out even the upper crust can crack easily. Makes them no different from us bottom-tier trash.”

She glanced at her plane ticket. The flight was scheduled to depart in three hours.

So, Mr. and Madam Luan working together could only stall Luan Hua for half an hour at most. That explains the tight schedule.

A double knock sounded, and the door swung open. A bodyguard entered, politely gesturing for her to leave.

Qi Lanshi hadn’t even warmed her seat in the secluded villa before being forced to move again. Reluctant, she countered, “The flight’s in three hours. If it’s really that urgent, why not just take me to the airport?”

“That’s impossible. Young CEO Luan’s men are stationed outside the airport. He’s already tracked you here, so you must relocate immediately.”

Qi Lanshi fell silent, a growing sense of unease settling in.

Her premonition proved accurate. She and Luan Hua were locked in a cat-and-mouse game. The bodyguard led her through a series of evasive maneuvers, switching vehicles seven or eight times, each stop lasting no more than ten minutes.

She reasonably suspected that if it weren’t for shift changes and bathroom breaks, they wouldn’t even have stopped for those ten minutes.

Qi Lanshi, who was normally immune to motion sickness, began feeling nauseous from all the jostling. She glanced at the time and weakly protested, “Guys, if we don’t head to the airport soon, I’ll miss my flight.”

“Don’t worry,” the sunglasses-clad bodyguard said coolly. “We’re heading to the airport now, but you’ll need to disguise yourself first.”

Qi Lanshi: “?”

She sensed something was off again.

Three minutes later, she was forcibly stuffed into a garbage truck.

To make the disguise convincing and fool any onlookers, the truck was genuinely filled with trash.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

OMG, I’m dying of laughter!

Lanlan’s deadpan expression? I could watch that forever!

Lanlan must be regretting running for half a month only to end up following the CEO’s mom’s orders, LOL!

Qi Lanshi’s mood perfectly matched the Livestream’s comments.

“This game is truly insane,” she thought. “From the developers to the System, the Targets, and even the NPCs—it’s impossible to find a single normal person!”

She knew the livestream’s entertainment value was at its peak. She opened her mouth to interact with the Bullet Comments, but the stench of garbage hit her nostrils, and she gagged.

The Livestream erupted in even more laughter.

When they finally reached the security checkpoint, Qi Lanshi crawled out of the garbage truck and flipped a vicious middle finger at the air.

“You shitty game! Just wait until you go bankrupt! Anyone who still plays you is a dog!”

The System didn’t dare make a sound, terrified that if it showed its face, it would be dragged out and berated.

“System, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you feeling guilty? I know you’re online! You’re good at screwing over players, so why don’t you speak up now?”

Left with no choice, the System reluctantly spoke up:  It wasn’t me who screwed you over. I didn’t know things would turn out this way either. Besides, this part of the plot wasn’t mandatory. You agreed to cooperate, didn’t you?

That was true, but Qi Lanshi was still furious.

Who could possibly be happy after being mixed in with non-recyclable garbage?

She was about to unleash another tirade on the System when a shout came from behind her:

“Qi Lanshi!”

Her body stiffened.

Damn it, this is so awkward! She had just crawled out of a trash can, her body reeking and her face filthy. She couldn’t even imagine what she looked like right now.

Why did Luan Hua have to catch up with her at this moment?

“Qi Lanshi!” Luan Hua’s voice was hoarse, trembling with suppressed sobs. Each word she uttered shook with desperation. “Don’t leave.”

“I’m begging you, don’t go.”

In the bustling airport, amidst the surging crowds, the lover she had been searching for for half a month stood with her back to her, paused for only a moment, then strode forward without hesitation.

Qi Lanshi didn’t look back once.

Why couldn’t Luan Hua keep Lanlan from leaving, even after catching up with her?

Because armed police officers blocked her path, making it impossible to break through.

Starting to work hard on writing updates for midnight.