Chapter 3: No Escape

Xie Yun slowly raised his head, his dark gaze locking onto mine with a terrifying depth. “Sweetheart… what did you just say?”

I patted his shoulder like a self-proclaimed relationship guru. “If you’re in love, don’t play mute. If you like her, say it. If there’s a misunderstanding, clear it up. This whole tragic ‘if you loved me, you’d just know’ trope is totally outdated. Girls nowadays don’t fall for that crap.”

Xie Yun went silent for a few long seconds. For a moment, I actually thought he’d reached enlightenment.

Except the next second, he dragged me into his arms, squeezing me so tight I nearly stopped breathing.

“Fine. I love you,” he murmured. “She’s not my fiancée. She was engaged to my older brother. After he passed away, that contract was dumped onto my shoulders. I rejected it. There is nothing between us.”

Before I could even digest this massive lore drop, the comment feed erupted in total chaos:

Holy shit, Mai Tu hasn’t even left yet! She heard the whole thing through the door!

I knew it! The male lead is still hung up on the fact that Mai Tu was engaged to his brother!

Ooh, toxic forced-love arc coming up!

Fast-forward to the scene where he makes Mai Tu cry, I live for the drama!

Me: “…?”

Wait. So from the very beginning… I was just a glorified relationship prop for the main couple?!

This world was definitely broken. But whatever—the most urgent item on my agenda was my upcoming appointment.

After lunch, Xie Yun headed back to the office, while I seized the chance to make my grand escape. Before I could slip away, he yanked me back by the wrist, cupped my chin, and kissed me so deeply I nearly forgot I was a fugitive on the run.

When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine, his voice dropping to a low rumble. “Sweetheart. You said if you’re in love, you have to say it out loud. What about you?”

I offered a completely half-hearted nod. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Sure my ass. I wasn’t in love; I was just trying to keep my head attached to my shoulders.

I had to push him away three times before he finally let go, allowing me to look up into his eyes.

Xie Yun had striking eyes. Most people had dark brown irises, but his were pure, bottomless obsidian—the kind of black that felt like looking into an abyss if you stared too long. But right now, something else simmered beneath the surface: a faint, surprisingly clear trace of sadness.

He reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear with rare tenderness. Then his hand fell away, his lashes drooping slightly. “See you later.”

I almost softened up and got touched for a second, but luckily my self-preservation instincts kicked in just in time. Thank God he didn’t pull a psycho move and lock me in the house, or I would’ve missed my appointment and had to reschedule the whole thing.

I flashed him my brightest, most innocent smile. “Yep! See you later!” (See you never, buddy, your main girl is about to go online!)

—

The moment I arrived at the clinic, those damned ghost comments began flashing wildly across my vision again.

Wait, what? Side-chick is really trying to get herself written out of the story this early?

Honestly, good riddance. If she had the kid, she’d just use it to cling to the male lead and annoy everyone.

To be fair, the male lead has insane self-restraint. Waiting until eight months to finally take her out? The man has principles.

Me: “…” What kind of fucked-up principles involve running down a mother and child with a truck?!

Since I’d arrived early, the doctor was still wrapped up with another patient, forcing me to sit in the waiting room. Having nothing better to do, I started scrolling through the floating comments like I was reading a live drama thread.

I genuinely don’t get what this side-chick is thinking. She doesn’t even love the male lead, she’s just obsessed with money, yet she still wanted to have his baby.

Right? The male lead has already given her so much cash, but it’s never enough. She wants the kid so she can claim a piece of the estate.

Reading that, I let out a soft “oh” as enlightenment struck. Honestly… they kind of have a point!

Since the actual heroine had already made her entrance, I was bound to become collateral damage in their grand love story anyway. If I was doomed to get written off… squeezing out a little extra cash before vanishing wasn’t so unreasonable, right?

No sooner thought than done. I whipped out my phone and fired off a rapid series of texts to Xie Yun:

I can tell you’re still head over heels for your fiancée.

You don’t want me ruining things between you two, right?

How about sending over a little ‘severance pay’ to smooth things over?

Otherwise… I might just stick to you like a parasite for the rest of your life.

Message sent, I sat back obediently, waiting for that sweet, sweet bank notification chime.

And waited. And waited.

Nothing. Xie Yun was either tied up in a meeting, or playing dead. Disappointed, I shoved my phone back into my purse.

After another ten minutes, I stood up to use the restroom. I leaned over the sink to wash my hands, mentally calculating which low-profile city I should move to under a fake name, when a large hand suddenly clamped hard over my mouth and nose from behind!

My eyes snapped wide open in horror.

Reflected in the mirror was the towering, unmistakable figure of Xie Yun.

He locked me in a suffocating iron grip, pinning me so firmly I couldn’t move an inch. His eyes in the reflection were dangerously dark, pitch-black with sheer madness.

His other hand drifted down, coming to rest gently over my stomach. His voice was soft, sending a bone-chilling shiver down my spine.

“Baby… I gave you a chance. Why are you still hiding things from me?”

Blood ran cold in my veins. I’m dead. I am so dead.

Xie Yun tilted his head down, softly stroking my lower belly like he was handling a precious piece of porcelain. “You don’t want our baby?”

“N-no…” I squeaked out, my voice trembling violently.

“Bad girl.” His hand slid lower down my thigh, his voice remaining terrifyingly gentle, coaxing like a lullaby while every single word made my hair stand on end. “Maybe I should break your legs… lock you away in my room… then you’d be good and have my baby, wouldn’t you?”

I nearly dropped to my knees on the spot.

Holy shit, this lunatic would actually do it!