"...So that is what happened," Pei Ying said to Ye Ziyi and Tan Momo, who were sitting in front of her.
Today, she had returned to campus with her luggage. Upon learning of her arrival, her two good friends from last night immediately rushed over to her dorm.
Ye Ziyi still had lingering fears. "Thank goodness for Huo Junze, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. Yingying, you really need to thank him properly."
Tan Momo thought back to the drinking party last night. From start to finish, the man had not hidden his affection for Pei Ying at all.
Anyone who wasn't blind could tell he was interested in Pei Ying.
It was true that she and Xiang Cheng were high school classmates, but they had absolutely no relationship to speak of. Thinking back on it now, the reason Xiang Cheng came over to greet her was very likely because he had been instructed to do so.
"Yingying, is he pursuing you? Has he confessed his feelings yet?" Ye Ziyi couldn't help but gossip.
Pei Ying pursed her lips.
Tan Momo immediately laughed, "Looking at your expression, I am guessing he laid his cards on the table. I think you could give dating him a try. He is good-looking, and since he hangs out with Xiang Cheng, his family background is probably very good. It is almost impossible for him to be a cheapskate. Dating isn't marriage, so there is no harm in giving it a shot! If you end up not liking him, the worst that happens is you break up."
Pei Ying continued to purse her lips, staying silent.
She was very grateful that Huo Junze had saved her last night, but dating required mutual affection. How could she make such a casual decision?
She wanted to find a gentler guy who was also from City A. That way, once their relationship was stable and they naturally stepped into marriage, it wouldn't be far to visit either of their families.
But as for someone like Huo Junze...
Pei Ying recalled the first glance she got of him when she entered Fuxiang last night. The young man, hidden in the dim light, was like a wolf in the dark night—fierce and domineering.
Expecting him to be gentle would be like expecting a wolf not to eat meat.
There was another thing she hadn't been completely honest about with Yezi and the others. Last night, he wasn't just going the same way; he had been following her car the entire time.
After the gathering ended, he didn't go home, but actually followed her car.
Pei Ying felt a bit creeped out, and felt even more that this guy Huo Junze was a bit wicked.
But on the other hand, it was an indisputable fact that he had saved her. She had looked up his car online this morning. With the extent of the damage from last night, if he didn't go through insurance, the repairs would cost at least six figures.
If she asked her family for the money to pay for the repairs, she could probably get it, but some things couldn't be solved with money. For instance, a debt of gratitude, or the wound on his hand that required ten stitches.
She had an inexplicable intuition that if she agreed to date him, it would be extremely difficult to break up with him in the future.
Pei Ying let out a long sigh. "Let's just wait and see."
Just as she said this, her phone rang. It was a WeChat notification sound.
[H]: Arrived at school yet?
He had sent a message right when she was heading out. She had told him she was setting off for school and had a lot of luggage, making her too busy to chat for the moment.
Pei Ying replied, telling him she had arrived at school.
[H]: (Voice message 13s)
Pei Ying originally wanted to convert it to text, but she didn't press down properly the first time, accidentally clicking play instead.
A deep male voice instantly sounded out, "I just got a call from the police station..."
Pei Ying, who had wanted to quickly exit the audio, paused.
"The police went to the hospital again this morning and took full statements from that group. Upon investigation, nine out of ten of those guys have criminal records, and one of them is even wanted for murder. They committed crimes in another province and fled, passing through multiple provinces before finally escaping to City S. The situation is a bit complicated, so the police asked us to go over there again this afternoon."
Generally speaking, victims only gave their statements once. But in special circumstances, such as when there was a breakthrough in the case, they would need to return to the police station.
Ye Ziyi gasped, drawing in a breath of cold air. "Yingying, you ran into a murderer."
Pei Ying was also terrified. "I didn't expect it either..."
[H]: (Voice message 4s)
Since it was about the statements, Pei Ying didn't convert it to text.
He said, "At 1:30 PM, I will wait for you at your school's east gate."
He didn't tell her what time the appointment with the police station was, nor did he ask her how she was getting there. Instead, he just directly stated he was coming to pick her up. He did things his own way; clearly, he wasn't someone who was good at following arrangements.
Pei Ying lowered her eyes and selected a sticker of a rabbit making an OK gesture to send over.
"Momo, did Xiang Cheng and the others mention last night what year Huo Junze and Chen Quan are in?" Ye Ziyi suddenly asked.
Tan Momo shook her head. "No, I only know they are national defense students."
Ye Ziyi rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Yingying, I suggest you ask Huo Junze what year he is in. Their National Defense Technology is a military academy, and military academies seem to be very strictly managed. They probably confiscate phones during training, and there seem to be rules about going in and out on weekends. Dating a guy like that means you might only see him on weekends and during winter and summer vacations, which is really tough. If he is a freshman, you will have to endure it for over three more years; if he is a senior, that is a bit better, as he will be freed in half a year."
Towards the end, Ye Ziyi said seriously, "So, student Pei Ying, I am telling you now that what Momo said isn't entirely right. You can't just casually agree to him."
Pei Ying: "..." There wasn't even a shadow of a relationship yet.
*
1:30 PM, East Gate of S University.
Today was the last day of winter vacation. Most students were returning to campus from home, while a small number who had arrived early were leaving campus to buy daily necessities. People were coming and going at the school gate, and cars were parked all along the road, including quite a few luxury cars.
Pei Ying arrived at the east gate right on time. Just as she walked out, a call came in.
"Southeast direction, gray car, license plate 666."
Pei Ying looked over in that direction and saw a grayish-black Maserati crouching like a panther on the side of the street, its body gleaming like new in the sunlight. From its exterior to its arrogant license plate, everything about it drew the gazes of men and women who liked cars.
But Pei Ying couldn't help frowning as she looked at it. His car was too conspicuous.
[Yingyue]: Can you drive the car to the next street?
As a result, the man called again. "Can't find the car? Then stand there and don't move, I will come over to get you."
"I can find it, you don't need to come over," Pei Ying hurriedly refused.
"Alright, then come over," he said.
Pei Ying had no choice but to walk over quickly. As she got closer, she saw Huo Tingshan sitting in the driver's seat; he was most likely alone in the car.
When riding in someone else's car, if you sat in the back seat, it was like treating the driver as a chauffeur, which wasn't very polite.
So Pei Ying opened the passenger side door.
As she pulled the door open, she noticed quite a few people on the street looking at her. Pei Ying sped up, swooshing into the car, and then quickly shut the door. "Let's go, we are heading to the police station."
Huo Tingshan watched her swift, thief-like movements, yet deliberately didn't start driving immediately. "Am I so unpresentable that you can't be seen with me?"
Pei Ying was stunned by his directness and subconsciously shook her head.
Only then did he laugh and say, "Then next time I come to find you, I will park the car right at the school gate again."
Early spring in City S was slightly chilly. Perhaps to avoid rubbing his wound, or perhaps because he just ran hot, he was only wearing a short-sleeved black T-shirt right now. His left arm, which had stitches and was wrapped in a circle of white gauze, was casually exposed.
Pei Ying realized belatedly that she had been tricked by him, but looking at his left arm wrapped in white gauze, she merely pursed her red lips in displeasure and didn't say anything.
Silently picking up her phone, Pei Ying fiddled with it for a moment.
The phone mounted as a GPS vibrated. Huo Tingshan was driving, so he didn't take it down to look at it right away. It wasn't until he was waiting for a green light that he finally had a moment to reach for it.
She transferred a sum of money to him, noting it as medical expenses.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Huo Tingshan turned his head.
Pei Ying met his gaze. "Exactly what it says. I'm already incredibly sorry for getting you hurt; it makes no sense for you to pay your own medical bills."
With a tap of his long finger, Huo Tingshan smoothly rejected the transfer. "Don't bother. We can't settle this clearly."
Pei Ying choked slightly at his words but persisted, "As for the repair costs for your car, could you tell me..."
"Pei Ying," he interrupted expressionlessly.
Pei Ying froze instantly.
Names were meant to be called, and countless people had called hers in the past. Yet, strangely enough, at this very moment, Pei Ying felt as if an immobilization spell had been cast on her.
If she had to describe it, it felt like a cat being lifted by the scruff of its neck.
For some reason, she felt he shouldn't call her that often. Every time he called her name so formally, it was either to announce something important or to deliver bad news.
Coming back to her senses, Pei Ying only felt baffled by her own thoughts. What the hell, why would she get such a weird feeling?
"What is it?" Pei Ying looked back at him fearlessly, her eyes wide.
Huo Tingshan chuckled inwardly; this timid rabbit was actually growing a spine. "The accounts between you and me cannot be settled."
Pei Ying retorted, "Why can't they? I'll take responsibility for your car repair costs and last night's medical bills."
"Are you also going to take responsibility for my injured flesh?" Huo Tingshan's lips curled into a smirk.
"Yes!" Pei Ying agreed without hesitation.
At first, she didn't find anything wrong with his words. It wasn't until she saw his meaningful smile that she suddenly realized the underlying implication.
"Huo Junze, I didn't mean it like that..." She tried to correct herself, but just then, the light turned green, and the traffic began to move again.
The young man in the driver's seat looked straight ahead, driving attentively, clearly not intending to continue the conversation about his flesh.
Pei Ying's delicate brows furrowed tighter. She thought to herself that this couldn't go on. If certain things weren't made clear, the lingering ambiguity would only cause more trouble. Once they got out of the police station, she needed to have a proper talk with him.
Pledging one's life in return for being saved was a thing of the feudal era. That kind of stuff wasn't popular in their modern society.
Lost in thought, Pei Ying didn't notice the man beside her glancing at her. Seeing her solemn expression, as if she were making some sort of decision, he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
For the short remainder of the drive, neither of them spoke.
They arrived at the police station, and Huo Tingshan found a parking spot on a nearby street. After parking, however, he didn't immediately unlock the car doors.
"Huo Junze?" Pei Ying tried the door handle to no avail.
The young man's slender fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel twice. "Do you know why, even though we spent over two hours giving statements yesterday, they called us back in less than twelve hours later?"
Pei Ying paused, slightly taken aback. She really hadn't thought about it.
Cooperating with an investigation meant showing up when the police asked. Let alone coming in one more time, she would come in two, three, or four more times if needed.
Huo Tingshan explained, "Last night, the first batch to give statements was you, me, and the designated driver. That group of suspects was the second batch. Generally speaking, after taking all statements, they will review the whole incident again to see if there are any suspicious points or logical inconsistencies."
Following his train of thought, Pei Ying nodded in agreement.
There was a faint, almost imperceptible smile in Huo Tingshan's voice. "According to what I told the officers last night, we are a couple. A boyfriend who angered his girlfriend was left behind, the girlfriend took a car home alone, ran into danger halfway, and was finally saved."
Yesterday, they had gone straight from the hospital to the police station. It was only after arriving at the station that Pei Ying's delayed fear kicked in.
At the hospital, she had been too busy rushing to get Huo Tingshan registered, and later, all her attention was on his bloody hand. She had no time to overthink. Her nerves were wound tight like a clockwork spring, continuously providing her with energy.
But once everything was handled and the dust had settled, Pei Ying slowly processed what had happened. She terrified herself by imagining all the what-ifs. When she got out of the car near the police station, her legs were so weak she stumbled, still in a state of shock and completely dazed.
Because of that, Huo Tingshan was the one who initially spoke with the officers, and he directly stated that they were a couple.
By the time Pei Ying recovered, the narrative was already set. She felt it inappropriate to dispute such a minor detail that had no real bearing on the case.
Huo Tingshan continued, "The designated driver also gave a statement. He knows we only added each other on WeChat last night. The statements were taken separately, and at the time, I didn't know if he would explain everything in minute detail. But looking at it now, he most likely did."
Pei Ying instantly understood some of the concerns he hadn't voiced.
Their relationship was a point of suspicion.
It wasn't a major issue, since neither of them was the perpetrator. But it wasn't exactly minor either—if someone decided to dwell on it, it could become a problem.
Lying in a place like that showed a problematic attitude. If the police dug into why they lied, they would definitely uncover the fact that he had trailed her car. A squeaky-clean national defense student could easily end up in hot water over this.
Pei Ying wasn't inflexible. He had saved her, and she certainly couldn't let him get into a string of trouble because of it. She immediately started making up a story: "Don't worry. If they ask, I'll say we used to date, but we deleted each other's contacts over some issues. I changed my phone number, and we completely lost touch. Running into each other at the bar yesterday was an accident, but one thing led to another, and fueled by alcohol, we cleared up our past misunderstandings."
Finally, she punched her right fist into her left palm and summarized, "In short, it's a story of a rekindled romance."
Huo Tingshan couldn't stop his muffled laughter.
A rekindled romance?
How come he had never noticed she was so good at making up stories?
Actually, that wasn't true. When they first met, she had spun a tale about a reclusive best friend to trick him, and at first, he had genuinely fallen for it.
After laughing, Huo Tingshan shook his head. "You won't be able to pull it off."
His words were full of absolute certainty. He didn't say the method wouldn't work; he said she couldn't pull it off.
Pei Ying wrinkled her nose, unhappy with his assessment. "I've already made up the story. All I have to do is recite it. Why wouldn't I be able to pull it off?"
Huo Tingshan offered his explanation. "Because right now, you lack life experience. You're simple, honest, and easily spooked."
Pei Ying didn't say anything, but her eyes showed her defiance.
Huo Tingshan smiled like a big bad wolf. "Alright, since you don't believe me, pretend I'm the police officer. Tell me the story you just made up. If you can't pull it off, then you have to listen to me from now on. Dare to try?"
Pei Ying sharply caught a whiff of danger.
Listen to him? What did he want to do?
Even though warning bells were blaring loudly in her head, Pei Ying could only agree. His confident tone had messed with her head, leaving her feeling unsure of herself.
She needed a practice run.
"Fine. But if I succeed, you have to tell me how much it will cost to fix your car from last night without going through insurance, and you have to accept the medical expenses," Pei Ying laid out her conditions.
This time, Huo Tingshan agreed readily.
"Then I'll start now." Pei Ying unbuckled her seatbelt so it wouldn't restrict her performance.
They were still in the car, their seats facing forward. To look at each other, they had to turn their heads. Based on this alone, Pei Ying felt there was no need for him to make this bet with her.
It was so casual inside the car—how could she possibly fail?
"Click." He also unfastened his seatbelt.
This sound seemed to be a prelude to a beginning. Pei Ying cleared her throat, looked up at him, and opened her mouth to tell her story. She had planned everything perfectly, but the moment she met his gaze, all the words got stuck in her throat.
He looked at her, his dark eyes as sharp as a falcon's, like a dagger with a glint of light at its tip. At this moment, she felt like a shackled prisoner on an interrogation stand. The invisible tip of the blade pointed straight at her eye, hovering just above it, as if the moment she dared to tell a single lie, the blade would drop.
The scenery outside the car window faded away, and the clamor seemed to disappear. Pei Ying's mind went blank, and her palms started to sweat slightly.
Huo Tingshan smiled. He was no longer expressionless, and the heavy, oppressive aura surrounding him dissipated. Half-joking and half-serious, he intimidated her, "I didn't lie to you. If the police officers interrogate you for real, do you think you can handle it?"
Pei Ying was speechless.
She had never been interrogated as a suspect and didn't know what "for real" entailed, but she had indeed been shocked by his gaze and presence just now, unable to recall a single word of her fabricated lie.
"Then what should we do?" Pei Ying asked in a low voice.
Huo Tingshan said slowly, "The most convincing lies are half-truths. Our chance encounter at Fuxiang is true, and our relationship is true. Only the part about us rekindling an old flame is fake. Since I'm not asking you to lie completely, you shouldn't be so panicked."
Pei Ying suddenly realized that after talking in circles and taking such a huge detour, this man still just wanted to be her boyfriend. She immediately felt a bit annoyed at being teased. "Huo Junze!"
"Are you really not going to give it a try with me?" His smile carried a hint of helplessness.
Pei Ying looked away.
"Alright, then we won't date for real," Huo Tingshan changed his tune.
Pei Ying: "?"
Could people even fake a relationship? What was the difference between being a fake couple and lying?
"A lie told to a certain group of people is a lie, but when presented to everyone else except a specific few, it can sometimes be an agreement. Aside from thinking we are a great match, there's another reason I want to date you: my family has started arranging blind dates for me." Huo Tingshan applied what he just learned, mimicking her story-telling skills, and shamelessly threw the blame right onto his parents.
Hearing him mention blind dates, Pei Ying didn't doubt him at all.
She knew that upon reaching a certain social status, many wealthy people chose arranged marriages to prevent the loss of family assets. She had heard Momo mention later that Xiang Cheng's family was incredibly rich, and last night Xiang Cheng was obviously sucking up to Huo Junze. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that his parents would make their son go on blind dates with girls from the same circle.
Huo Tingshan continued to spout nonsense, "Actually, I've already met one girl. She's also from your S University, surnamed Zhao. I have absolutely no feelings for her, but she's spoiled by her family and incredibly annoying. I won't ask you to pay for the car repairs, medical bills, or my superficial wounds. Just do me a small favor and pretend to be my girlfriend so she'll back off."
He remembered she had once said that she and her first love got together during their freshman year.
She was a freshman this year, and the second semester was about to begin. The fact that she was still single meant that under normal circumstances, she would start dating her first love by the end of this semester at the latest.
The National Defense Technology University was a military academy. He could only come out on weekends at most and couldn't keep an eye on her every day. He could only set up a scarecrow beside her.
"What year are you in?" Pei Ying had no idea about the complex schemes winding through his mind like a mountain city.
If he was a freshman or sophomore, he could completely hide in the school. Military academies had strict management, and ordinary people couldn't get in. If he stayed inside and didn't come out, could the girl climb over the wall to find him?
Huo Tingshan: "Senior. I'll be done in half a year, so I can't hide from her in school for much longer. Our meeting and getting to know each other was quite dramatic, so it's perfectly normal for me to fall in love with you at first sight."
Love at first sight. These words made Pei Ying's heart skip a beat.
Was his previous claim of wanting to date her because of love at first sight? But how could someone as arrogant and self-centered as him fall in love at first sight?
"It's almost time for our appointment with the police officer. What do you think of my proposal?" Huo Tingshan raised his hand and glanced at his wristwatch.
Time was tight, and Pei Ying's mind was in a mess.
On the one hand, she thought it was fine. Debts of gratitude were always the hardest to repay, not to mention he had over a dozen stitches in his arm. It was just pretending to be his girlfriend, not dating him for real. Besides, he was in a military academy, so they wouldn't see each other much normally. It was equivalent to her just holding an empty title. Once Miss Zhao lost interest in him, they could break up peacefully.
Given his wealthy background, he must have come into contact with plenty of pretty girls. Half a year would be enough for him to cool down towards her.
On the other hand, Pei Ying felt something was slightly off, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
"Click." He opened the car door and got out.
The young man walked around the front of the car, opened the passenger door, and reached out to grasp her hand, leading her out of the vehicle.
Pei Ying snapped back to reality and tried to pull her hand back, but his large hand gripped hers tightly like a pair of pliers. The heat from his palm transferred over continuously, overly warm.
"We're heading into the police station now, so please cooperate with me, girlfriend."
