Chapter 4
Edward Quan ·
“Song Kehan, please send a photo of your vehicle registration here. The school needs it for its records.”
The group fell silent.
Everyone was waiting.
Five minutes passed.
Song Kehan still hadn't answered.
Another ten minutes went by.
Then she finally sent a message.
“Sorry, Professor. I just remembered—the car is in the shop for maintenance.”
“I probably won't be able to help after all. I'm really sorry.”
People in the group began to question her.
“It's in the shop? Right now?”
“Does she even have a car?”
“She was making it up. A Mercedes G500, really?”
Zhou Jia sent a message.
“Kehan, did you get confused?”
“Does your family really have that car?”
Song Kehan didn't reply.
She disappeared from the chat.
I looked at the messages and slowly typed:
“Song Kehan, that Mercedes G500 you mentioned—could it be my car?”
“Have you seen it before?”
Only then did Song Kehan reappear.
“Lu Wanning, what are you implying?”
“I just got the model mixed up. The car my family has is a BMW X5, not a Mercedes.”
“Why are you making snide comments?”
She was being careful with her words.
On one hand, she admitted she'd named the wrong model.
On the other, she implied I was picking on her.
She was trying to cast herself as the victim.
But the people in the group weren't stupid.
“Mixed them up? A G500 and an X5 are totally different. How could you confuse them?”
“And Wanning asked whether you'd seen her car. Why didn't you answer that?”
“Are you feeling guilty?”
Song Kehan started making excuses.
“What would I be guilty about?”
“I just got it mixed up. What's the problem?”
“Besides, so what if Lu Wanning has a car? She's not the only person who does.”
Our academic adviser spoke up.
“All right, that's enough.”
“Song Kehan, if your family's car is in the shop, we'll let it go.”
“Lu Wanning, would you be willing to lend us your car?”
I replied, “Of course, Professor.”
Then I messaged the adviser privately.
“Professor, I lost my car key a while ago.”
“I found it afterward, but I'm not sure whether someone might have made a spare.”
“For safety's sake, could you check whether anyone has used my car without permission recently?”
“The parking lot should have surveillance cameras.”
The adviser understood immediately.
“Got it. I'll check.”
“If that happened, the school will deal with it seriously.”
I put my phone down and leaned back in my chair, letting out a long breath.
In my previous life, after Song Kehan was caught driving my car, she claimed I'd given her permission.
She said we were such good friends that she could use it whenever she wanted.
Then she accused me of turning my back on her and breaking our friendship.
Back then, there was no proof. Everything turned into a muddle of accusations and denials.
A lot of people really believed her.
They thought I was petty, that I'd fallen out with my roommate over a car.
This time, I would let the evidence speak.
That evening, Zhou Jia called me.
“Wanning, tell me honestly—did Kehan sneak out in your car?”
Her voice was heavy.
I could tell she'd already figured most of it out.
“Zhou Jia, that's not something you should ask me.”
“You should ask Song Kehan.”
“Ask whether she's been taking a luxury car to nightclubs and pretending to be rich.”
“Ask whether the money she borrowed from you really went to her family.”
“Ask whether she sees you as a sister—or as an ATM.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
Then Zhou Jia spoke, her voice choked with tears.
“I looked through her Moments today.”
“She posted a location from a nightclub. In the background was a Mercedes G.”
“The license plate was the same as the one on your registration.”
“There were photos of her in the driver's seat, cuddling up to a man.”
“The caption said, ‘When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest.’”
“Wanning, was she taking me for a fool?”
I didn't answer.
Some things she had to figure out for herself.
“And the money…”
Zhou Jia went on.
“The seven thousand yuan she borrowed from me, saying her family needed it urgently…”
“Yesterday I saw her shopping history. She'd bought a watch worth more than twenty thousand.”
“She told me someone gave it to her.”
“I believed her.”
“Now that I think about it, how would she have so many people giving her gifts?”
“It was all fake. Every bit of it.”
Zhou Jia swore into the phone.
That usually gentle, easygoing girl had finally realized she'd been deceived.
“Wanning, did you know all along?”
“Is that why you refused to live with her?”
“Is that why you invited me to dinner—to warn me?”
I sighed.
“Zhou Jia, some people won't believe you until they've fallen into the trap themselves.”
“I could warn you, but the choice was yours.”
The call ended.
I looked out at the dark night beyond my window.
A storm was coming.