Chapter 4

I knew.

He’d done all of this for me.

He was afraid that I’d become the fake heiress, get thrown out, and have to live in misery.

All those bags…

So many of them…

He’d traded his injuries for every one.

I grabbed Gu Jingshen by the sleeve.

“This is enough. Really, it’s enough. I’m not that hard to keep. I can live on plain food, and it’s fine if I don’t have any handbags.”

“Don’t go back there again, okay?”

Gu Jingshen shook his head.

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? You’re going to get beaten to death.”

I glared at him angrily.

“I don’t want the bags. I’ll sell them and pay you back. Take the money and live well on your own. I don’t need you to support me.”

Gu Jingshen stared at me.

Then he suddenly reached out and pulled me into his arms.

“I want to support you.”

His low voice sounded beside my ear.

My heart pounded hard in my chest.

My face flushed. I pushed him away.

“Who said you could hug me?”

“He’s about to die.”

I hadn’t heard him clearly.

“What?”

Gu Jingshen looked at me, his head tilted slightly. A faint, sinister smile played in his eyes.

“It’s nothing. He’s about to die.”

The comments said:

【He’s completely insane. He really is the villainous second male lead.】

What did they mean, villainous second male lead?

Those damn comments. Were they trying to get Gu Jingshen sent to prison?

“What are you planning to do? We can’t do anything illegal, okay?”

“I suddenly don’t like designer bags anymore. I only like cartoon bags—puppies, kittens, little chicks. There are tons of those on Pinduoduo.”

“Don’t go back there.”

I was afraid Gu Jingshen would set foot on a path with no return and really go home to kill his father.

I gripped his arm tightly.

“Okay?”

Gu Jingshen looked at me for a long time.

Then he reached out and stroked my hair.

“Okay.”

But I couldn’t see the comments floating above my head:

【Sigh. It would be so nice if these two got together. Too bad the actual male lead is about to return to the country.】

【No one can resist the perfect male lead. Besides, he’s the female lead’s childhood friend, and he fell in love with her at first sight when they were kids. He’s coming home for her this time, ready to pursue her relentlessly by any means necessary. How could a villainous second male lead who never fights for anything compete with him?】

【Such a shame. The villainous second male lead has taken all those beatings for nothing, and he still won’t be able to keep his wife.】

8

Gu Jingshen promised me he wouldn’t go back.

But I never saw him during the day.

When I finally did run into him, I immediately pounced on him and tried to pull off his shirt.

“Did you go back and get beaten again? Let me see.”

Gu Jingshen didn’t refuse. He obediently let me check.

Only when I reached for his pants did he catch my wrist. The tips of his ears turned red.

“Not there.”

Only then did I remember.

Ha-ha. Right. His father wasn’t that perverted.

Gu Jingshen rested his head against my shoulder.

He really did look tired lately, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Out of kindness, I didn’t push him away.

“You can lean on me for ten minutes. That’s all.”

“Mm.”

I didn’t know why, but whenever he leaned on me, all the unease and worry in my heart vanished.

I no longer seemed afraid that in a few days the truth about my being the fake heiress would come out and I’d be thrown out of the house.

9

After I forcibly dragged Gu Jingshen to the hospital to have his injuries checked, we stepped outside.

A cold wind blew.

I hunched my shoulders, and Gu Jingshen had already taken off his coat to put it around me.

Suddenly, comments appeared:

【Here he comes, here he comes. The male lead is finally back.】

At the same time, someone behind me called out excitedly,

“Niannian!”

Before I could turn around, someone wrapped his arms around me.

Gu Jingshen’s coat fell to the ground.

A blond head buried itself in my neck, rubbing back and forth with enthusiasm.

For a moment, I thought I was hugging a giant golden retriever.

“Niannian, I missed you so much.”

The man lifted his head. His charming, peach-blossom eyes sparkled.

I instinctively pushed him away.

“Hey, where did this blond guy come from?”

I was doomed.

The male lead was blond?

I hated blond guys!

He looked so aggrieved that his eyes reddened at once.

“It’s Jiang Ye! It’s me, Jiang Ye.”

Only then did I remember.

It was Jiang Ye, my childhood friend who’d gone abroad to study.

He was my male lead?!

No way.

I hated those guys who studied abroad and came back, too.

“Wait, didn’t you say you’d study abroad for four years? It’s been seven. Where were you studying all that time?”

Jiang Ye looked even more wounded.

“Germany.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense.”

I patted his head.

“I’m glad you made it back alive.”

Jiang Ye seemed to love having his head patted. He closed his eyes and rubbed against my hand contentedly.

Then he took my hand and pulled me along.

“Niannian, come on. I’ll buy you dinner.”

Only then did I remember that we’d left Gu Jingshen behind.

I was about to turn around and introduce them, but Jiang Ye forced my head back toward him.

“Niannian, you’re only allowed to look at one man, and that’s me.”

Look at what?

What a weirdo.

I stepped on his foot.

Then I dragged him back to introduce him to Gu Jingshen.

Gu Jingshen was still standing behind us. His coat hung forlornly from one hand.

There was a little dust on it, but for some reason he didn’t brush it off.

“This is Jiang Ye, my friend.”

Jiang Ye chimed in with a grin, “Your future boyfriend.”

I slapped him.

“And this is Gu Jingshen. I used to sponsor him as a student.”

“Oh, hello.”

Jiang Ye barely acknowledged him. He pushed me forward by the back and urged me along.

“Come on, come on. I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

After we’d walked a little way, he suddenly stopped.

“Niannian, I feel like someone’s stepping on my heel.”

We both turned around.

Gu Jingshen was following behind us, his face calm as if nothing had happened.

When he noticed us looking back, he glanced over innocently, as though asking what was wrong.

“It’s your imagination,” I reassured him.

Gu Jingshen wouldn’t do something so childish.

Jiang Ye clenched his teeth, then smiled.

“If Niannian says so, then that’s what it is. Let’s go.”

We were almost at the restaurant when Jiang Ye suddenly yelped.

He nearly fell over, but caught my arm just in time.

Then he realized he was hopping along in only his left sock. His shoe had fallen off some distance behind us.

Embarrassed, Jiang Ye hopped back to put it on.

Everyone passing by had seen him. A few girls even covered their mouths and giggled.

Gu Jingshen came over and took my arm.

“Your childhood friend sure is clumsy on his feet.”

10

After my childhood friend came back, Gu Jingshen suddenly became very clingy.

Before, when I lay on the sofa in his rented room and played on my phone, he usually worked at the dining table.

Over the past two days, he’d moved his computer over and sat right beside me.

He’d type for a while, then suddenly stop and rub his head against me.

I was so startled I shoved him away.

“Hey, buddy. If your head really itches, go wash your hair.”

It was so strange.

Most of the time, Gu Jingshen had no expression at all. And yet here he was, rubbing against me with a perfectly straight face.

Good heavens. I had goosebumps all over.

I really couldn’t figure out what he was doing.

Then the comments suddenly appeared:

【I’m dying. The villainous second male lead is copying the male lead. He thinks the female lead likes clingy guys.】

【The female lead really doesn’t get it. He’s rubbing against her like a cat, and she still thinks they’re just sitting together at the same table.】

【Villainous second male lead: I want to be clingy. Female lead: I think he’s trying to provoke me.】

Oh, so he wanted to cling to me.

That was good.

I’d thought something was wrong with his head.

Go ahead. Cling all you want.

For some reason, the more he rubbed against me, the stranger I felt.

Like a cat who acted aloof, but was afraid its owner would ignore it, so it copied other cats and tried to be affectionate.

Thinking that, I stroked Gu Jingshen’s head.

“Don’t worry. You’re loyal and devoted. You even went back to get beaten so you could buy me bags and keep me. I’m keeping you as my friend for good. I’ll never cut ties with you.”

“Brothers for life.”

Gu Jingshen’s head had been rubbing against me. Now it snapped up.

He glared at me as if he resented me with all his heart.

Then he picked up his laptop and went back to the dining table.

Me: “?”

I was being sincere.

Why was he angry again?

While I was still puzzled, Jiang Ye called.

“Niannian, where are you? Want me to pick you up and take you out?”