This really was a case of searching everywhere and suddenly finding what she had been looking for right in front of her.
The moment Bai Sichan heard his voice, she almost jumped up.
“Mr… Mr. He?”
Her voice trembled with excitement.
“Are you calling because you want to collect the money?”
“…”
Her soft, sweet voice came through the phone, but what she said left He Shenglian speechless.
So, in her eyes, he really had become nothing more than some kind of paid companion.
And apparently, one who cared deeply about money.
She hadn’t called him for so many days. She must have completely forgotten about him.
He Shenglian naturally couldn’t say anything so bitter.
He looked at the countless lights outside the glass window and simply asked, “Sichan, are you free tomorrow? Would you like to have dinner with me?”
The moment Bai Sichan thought about finally getting her jade pendant back and being free from all this worry, she became extremely happy.
“Yes, I am.”
He Shenglian’s voice was gentle.
“How about seven tomorrow evening? I’ll wait for you at the entrance of your university. Is that okay?”
Bai Sichan thought about it. There was no problem, so she readily agreed.
“Then it’s settled. Good night.”
“Good night.”
As soon as she hung up, Bai Sichan immediately shared the news with Zhu Xinghao.
Zhu Xinghao had almost fallen asleep, but she instantly became wide awake. She declared that no matter what happened, she would secretly follow Bai Sichan tomorrow to make sure the man didn’t have any bad intentions.
Bai Sichan was still a little uncertain.
“He doesn’t seem like a bad person, right?”
“But what if he is?” Zhu Xinghao analyzed the situation for her. “Think about it. What if he’s actually a human trafficker? He registers a marriage with you first, then uses dinner as an excuse to get you into his car. When you struggle and scream for help, people come over and see the marriage certificate. Oh, you’re married! Then they’ll think it’s just a husband and wife having an argument. How are the police supposed to deal with that? He could take you to some remote mountain village and force you to work there. You’d be completely at his mercy.”
Bai Sichan was frightened by her description.
“That seems a little too extreme, doesn’t it?”
“Why would it be?” Zhu Xinghao patiently lectured her. “You’ve been protected too well and don’t understand the dark side of the world. Think about it. He’s not that old, so where did he get all that money?”
Bai Sichan hesitated for a moment.
“Maybe because… he works really hard?”
“…Then he must have a very strong work ethic.”
When the conversation turned in that direction, the two girls fell silent.
Zhu Xinghao lowered her voice.
“So, how was your first experience?”
Bai Sichan answered just as quietly.
“I forgot.”
“What a waste.”
Bai Sichan felt extremely embarrassed about having forgotten it.
Zhu Xinghao said, “But it looks like all those things in novels are fake. You know, where the female lead can’t even get out of bed the next day and is too weak to walk properly.”
Bai Sichan said seriously, “I think if someone ends up like that, it’s not romance. It’s abuse.”
Zhu Xinghao, who had read countless novels, casually replied, “Novels are always exaggerating things. They have all kinds of ridiculous descriptions—impossibly exaggerated figures, spending the whole night together several times, and men who are basically described as human machines that never get tired.”
Bai Sichan was amused by her vivid description.
The next day, Bai Sichan said goodbye to Bai Siyu and returned to school early.
She had no classes that morning, so Zhu Xinghao dragged her to Golden Street to go shopping.
The pedestrian street next to A University was nicknamed Golden Street. Wanda Mall was to the east, while Huiju was to the west.
As a typical shopaholic, Zhu Xinghao knew almost every store there by heart.
She excitedly dragged Bai Sichan into one of her favorite clothing stores and carefully picked out an entire outfit for her.
Patting Bai Sichan on the shoulder, she said seriously,
“Stop dressing so innocent. The more innocent and obedient you look, the easier it is for bad people to target you. I learned something from Zhihu a few days ago. Girls should dress a little tougher when they’re outside. You need to look like someone nobody would dare mess with.”
As she spoke, she solemnly handed Bai Sichan a temporary tattoo.
“Your face looks way too innocent. You need a little outside help.”
“…Okay.”
As soon as class ended, Bai Sichan was dragged back to the dorm for Zhu Xinghao’s carefully supervised “tough-girl makeover.”
Because of that, she arrived at the school gate half an hour late.
He Shenglian was already waiting outside.
He was still wearing a white shirt and black trousers, looking so neat and clean that he seemed as if he had just finished attending an important business meeting.
Every strand of his hair seemed to give off the aura of a successful businessman.
Compared with the young university students around him who had not yet entered society, he stood out far too much.
Quite a few people kept turning their heads to look at him.
Bai Sichan recognized him immediately.
This was exactly the type Zhu Xinghao had described as the ultimate dangerous combination—someone who looked restrained on the outside but was supposedly completely different in private.
Considering his line of work…
Bai Sichan really believed that description suited him.
She hurried over and apologized for being late.
“I’m sorry. I made you wait so long.”
He Shenglian carefully looked at her.
The young woman had obviously dressed up.
She was wearing a bright red dress and a pair of small high heels, completely different from the obedient, innocent image she had shown him before.
If she had previously been a delicate cream-yellow rose, she was now a beautiful red rose in full bloom.
He Shenglian suddenly remembered something his friend Xu Ting had once told him:
“When a girl carefully dresses up for a date, it means you’re important to her.”
That small realization put He Shenglian in an exceptionally good mood.
“It’s fine.”
He asked, “Do you prefer Chinese food or Western food?”
“Chinese food.”
“I guessed right.” He smiled. “Looks like the tables at Heyuelou won’t be waiting in vain tonight.”
Bai Sichan smiled slightly and silently memorized the name of the restaurant he had mentioned.
Because she had ignored him for so long, He Shenglian no longer wanted to continue this little role-playing game.
He had come today intending to tell her the truth.
He no longer planned to hide his identity.
He drove over himself, but Bai Sichan knew nothing about cars. She only thought the car looked nice.
Then she remembered that this was probably bought with the money he had worked so hard to earn, and she immediately felt even more sympathetic toward him.
She got into the car, obediently fastened her seat belt, and lowered her head to send Zhu Xinghao a message.
[He said we’re going to Heyuelou for dinner.]
Zhu Xinghao immediately sent three messages.
[!]
[Heyuelou?!]
[The average cost is over 700 yuan per person! Are you sure he’s taking you out to dinner and not planning to eat you? Oh my goodness, my living expenses…!]
Even through the screen, Bai Sichan could imagine Zhu Xinghao’s expression.
She was probably frantically typing on her phone with a look of despair.
Zhu Xinghao kept her promise and decided to secretly protect Bai Sichan.
Of course, just in case, she also dragged along the quiet and serious Li Shiqing.
Her reason was simple: two weak girls wouldn’t have enough fighting power, while Li Shiqing was trustworthy and wouldn’t go around telling people their business.
Bai Sichan replied:
[Hugs. I’ll reimburse you when we get back.]
Heyuelou wasn’t far away.
As soon as they got out of the car, a waiter hurried over to greet them.
“Good evening, Mr. He. Miss Bai.”
He Shenglian casually handed him the car keys and let him drive the car to the private parking area.
He had reserved a private dining room on the second floor.
From the window, they could see small boats slowly drifting along the river, surrounded by bright lights.
After the tea was served, He Shenglian finally noticed the little decoration on Bai Sichan’s wrist.
A beautiful red spider lily bloomed on her wrist, crossed by a black skull-shaped blade.
This was something Zhu Xinghao had carefully chosen.
She said it made Bai Sichan look like a bold and fearless big sister—confident, wild, and difficult to mess with.
Bai Sichan noticed He Shenglian looking at it.
She deliberately turned her wrist so that the tattoo would be even more obvious.
See? Tough enough now, right?
But He Shenglian showed no surprise at all.
Instead, he praised it.
“Very beautiful.”
From his tone, he didn’t seem to be pretending.
He genuinely seemed to think the design was beautiful.
The tough-girl makeover had completely failed.
Bai Sichan hadn’t come here for the food.
After eating only a few bites, she immediately got to the point.
“Mr. He.”
She looked at him expectantly.
“I brought the money. Can you give my jade back to me?”
He Shenglian put down his chopsticks and wiped his lips with a tissue.
He calmly said, “I’m sorry. I left in a hurry today and forgot to bring it.”
Bai Sichan was stunned.
He Shenglian smiled pleasantly.
“How about I bring it to you tomorrow?”
Bai Sichan nodded.
“Sorry to trouble you, Mr. He.”
He smiled.
“It’s no trouble.”
Bai Sichan took a small spoonful of almond pudding. After thinking for a moment, she said,
“Actually, Mr. He, you don’t have to make a special trip tomorrow—”
He Shenglian folded his hands on the table and quietly looked at her, patiently waiting for her to continue.
Bai Sichan didn’t dare to meet his eyes.
“Tomorrow, let’s go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get the divorce done. You can bring my jade with you then.”
As she spoke, she took the money from her bag and gently pushed it toward He Shenglian.
“This is the money from that night.”
He Shenglian put down his chopsticks and glanced at it.
The young woman’s delicate fingers pushed a stack of pink banknotes toward him, as if she was desperately trying to make it clear that there was nothing between them anymore.
There was clearly more than one thousand yuan.
His smile slowly disappeared.
“You gave me too much.”
“The extra is for the hotel room,” Bai Sichan explained. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand the rules of your line of work, but I do know that I should have paid for the room.”
So she really was treating him as someone she could simply pay off and send away.
The more she explained, the darker He Shenglian’s expression became.
Bai Sichan was confused.
Had she said something wrong?
He Shenglian’s gaze was deep, but his voice remained calm.
“Miss Bai is certainly generous.”
Generous enough to make him angry.
She was being so polite that it felt as if their relationship had truly been nothing more than a transaction.
He Shenglian had originally planned to reveal his true identity to this young woman.
But now, he suddenly didn’t want to anymore.
He said, “Forget about the divorce. I don’t want to become divorced.”
Bai Sichan was caught completely off guard.
“Ah?”
She stared at him blankly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t want a divorce.”
He Shenglian smiled calmly.
“Coincidentally, my family has been pressuring me to get married, so I need Miss Bai’s help as well.”
He didn’t touch the money Bai Sichan had placed on the table.
Instead, he took out a bank card from his pocket.
As he did, his fingers brushed against her jade pendant.
The jade no longer held any warmth from her body.
He Shenglian calmly placed the card on top of the money and pushed it toward Bai Sichan.
“There is one hundred thousand yuan on this card.”
Bai Sichan stared at him.
He Shenglian said,
“Be my wife for two months and help me deal with my family. This money will be your payment.”
Bai Sichan was completely stunned.
“This is your hard-earned money from selling your—”
Under He Shenglian’s gaze, she swallowed the last word.
Bai Sichan forced herself to continue.
“Mr. He, please take the money back. I can’t accept it. Then it’s settled. Just two months. After two months, we’ll get divorced.”
“Mm.”
Bai Sichan had completely lost her appetite and couldn’t eat anymore.
He Shenglian drove her back to the university.
Since cars couldn’t enter the campus, he said goodbye to her outside the school gate.
Not long after Bai Sichan got out of the car, Zhu Xinghao and Li Shiqing arrived in a taxi.
Under the streetlight, Zhu Xinghao looked extremely annoyed.
After saying goodbye to Li Shiqing, Bai Sichan asked her,
“What happened?”
“It’s that stubborn idiot!” Zhu Xinghao complained. “He’s so rigid. I already told him you were treating us to dinner, but he insisted on splitting the bill.”
She opened her hand and showed Bai Sichan the four hundred yuan she was holding.
Li Shiqing’s family was not well-off.
He used his weekends to work as a tutor and also participated in the university’s work-study program.
Bai Sichan said softly,
“He’s always been a very principled person.”
“Principled? He’s just an old-fashioned block of wood.”
The two girls returned to the dorm.
Their roommate, Tang Jiang, was sitting there holding a bucket of popcorn while watching a video.
Zhu Xinghao curiously leaned over.
“What are you watching?”
Without even turning her head, Tang Jiang handed her some popcorn.
“My new husband.”
Zhu Xinghao grabbed two pieces and popped them into her mouth.
She didn’t care much.
“Which little—”
“Sichan, Sichan, Sichan!”
Bai Sichan had just pulled down the side zipper of her dress.
“What?”
Zhu Xinghao pointed at the computer screen in complete shock.
The man on the screen had handsome features and was calmly answering an interviewer’s questions.
Her voice trembled.
“That’s your husband!”