Whether they called him superficial or a cradle snatcher was immaterial; once the girl had agreed, he had promptly brought her back to his own bed as quickly as possible.
Huo Jiayuan saw her father going upstairs to coax her mother, so she went out to get some fresh air.
Stepping out of the compound, she randomly boarded a bus. She was already twenty-one, she thought, and couldn’t keep dragging out her situation with Du Shujian.
Lost in her thoughts, she spotted a familiar figure across the street.
Watching the bus about to close its doors and leave, she hurriedly called out, "Driver, wait a moment."
The ticket collector muttered discontentedly, "What were you doing earlier?"
However, the driver still stopped the bus. Huo Jiayuan crossed the street, chasing after that figure. There was no mistaking it; that was definitely Du Shujian.
As she was about to catch up with him, she saw Du Shujian enter a four-story building ahead.
Throughout their time together, she’d never heard him mention any relatives living in this area.
She was wondering whether to wait there or leave, when she heard someone exclaim joyfully, "Shujian, why are you so late? I’ve been waiting for ages."
"Got held up with something. Don’t pout; you could hang oil bottles off that lip."
"No way, you’re so annoying."
Hearing this, a terrible feeling washed over Huo Jiayuan.
She looked up. The female voice had to be coming from someone on the second floor.
While she was still stunned, she heard Du Shujian’s voice come through, "If you’ve packed up, let’s go."
The cheerful female voice rang out again, "Alright, I’ll lock the door."
The sound of a door closing was followed by footsteps descending the stairs. She wanted to turn and leave, but her feet felt rooted to the spot. She knew she shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but perhaps this was for the best—a chance to make a clean break.
It wasn’t long before she saw two people emerging from the building. As they exited the stairwell, the girl reached out to loop her arm through Du Shujian’s.
Although Du Shujian brushed her hand away immediately, the girl took his arm again. "Hey," she said, "since you agreed to act this out with me, we can’t let anyone see through the charade; we agreed on this beforehand, so you can’t back out now."
Even though Du Shujian seemed unhappy, he didn’t refuse her this time. But as soon as he looked up and saw Huo Jiayuan standing not far away, he panicked.
Prying the girl’s hand away, he ran towards Huo Jiayuan. "Jia Yuan," he pleaded, "listen to my explanation."
Huo Jiayuan remembered what her fourth elder brother had once said: If a man truly cares for you, he will never do anything to hurt the person he loves.
Du Shujian’s father had supposedly split from the woman he loved because Du Shujian’s mother had schemed against them. But if he hadn’t given her the opportunity, how could she possibly have succeeded?
And now, here was Du Shujian, being so intimate with another girl right where she couldn’t see.
She dreaded him saying things like, ’I had no choice,’ or ’This is all a misunderstanding.’ Suddenly, her own persistence felt utterly foolish. The source of this content ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
Suppressing the questions on the tip of her tongue, she forced a smile. "What a coincidence," she said. "I didn’t expect to run into you here."
Du Shujian knew Huo Jiayuan all too well. He knew she was angry. "Jia Yuan," he began, "let me introduce you..."
But before he could finish, the girl stepped forward. "Hello," she said, "I’m Lin Nana. Shujian and I grew up together."
Huo Jiayuan could tell the girl was doing it on purpose. Still, this was for the best. It was as if fate itself was handing her a reason to end things. She didn’t extend her hand, merely nodding at Lin Nana. "Hello. I’m Huo Jiayuan, Du Shujian’s classmate."
That single sentence of introduction clearly drew a line between herself and Du Shujian.