He Zhilan couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer resignation. Indeed, the world is full of all kinds of people, and most of them are selfish!
"Senior Liao, I do not love Ding Long, I even despise Ding Long. His stuff was passed to me by my roommate without my knowledge. I had already returned it to him several days ago. I, He Zhilan, may be poor, but I would never stoop to scamming. Senior Liao, one’s dignity is self-given. What more do you want from me? To return Ding Long to you? Who is Ding Long to me? How can I return him to you? How can I return a man who has nothing to do with me? Senior Liao, you may not care about your reputation, but I do. Please stop associating me with Ding Long!"
He Zhilan gave ample face to Liao Qinghong. Seeing that the onlookers were still skeptical, and even berating her for playing the victim, He Zhilan’s anger surged within her.
He Zhilan sighed deeply and began to speak out of frustration, "Senior Liao, I already..."
"Liao Qinghong, He Zhilan is my girlfriend, and naturally has nothing to do with Ding Long. If Ding Long wanted to break up with you, that’s between you two. Please don’t drag my girlfriend into it!" Zhou Hongjin unexpectedly interrupted He Zhilan’s words before she could say them.
"Liao Qinghong, Ding Long and I are friends. You can’t not believe what I say, right? I’ve already notified Ding Long. If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself."
Zhou Hongjin is a postgraduate in international relations at Capital University, and quite a few folks in the school know him. Therefore, when Zhou Hongjin spoke, everyone was stunned, including Jiang Biyun and Chen Xiting.
Comparing the words of Liao Qinghong and Zhou Hongjin, more people were obviously willing to believe Zhou Hongjin.
He Zhilan was stunned for a moment. Her words, "I’m already married, my husband is a soldier," were stuck in her mouth. Her rationality finally returned. Fortunately, Zhou Hongjin had interrupted her in time; otherwise, if she had really blurted out her marital status in the heat of the moment, who knows how Liao Qinghong would have criticized her for being indecent and seducing other men after marriage.
This was certainly not a good time for her married status to be known.
However, even knowing that Zhou Hongjin lied about her being his girlfriend for her sake, He Zhilan was still reluctant to accept this favor. Because, once she admitted it, the fact that she was Zhou Hongjin’s girlfriend would become known to everyone at the school.
And He Zhilan remembered, He Teng might come to the capital military academy for further study before long. What would He Teng think of her having such a "boyfriend" at university? Would her explanation be of any use?
At his words, Liao Qinghong was half-skeptical and looked at He Zhilan, questioning whether it was true.
Zhou Hongjin looked at He Zhilan. He didn’t mean to take advantage of the situation, just wanted to help He Zhilan and convince Liao Qinghong as soon as possible. He Zhilan would understand his intentions, right? She would forgive him for this, right?
"No." He Zhilan shook her head directly, "Senior Zhou, thank you for your help. I know that you did this for the sake of me and Senior Liao, but I’m sorry, I can’t lie or cause trouble for you."