Chapter 3: The Secret from Eight Years Ago

The surrounding air instantly fell dead silent. Shen Yuhang’s eyes went wide as saucers, looking as horrified as if he’d just been told the earth was about to explode. “Say what?!”

He pointed a trembling finger at Huo Ci, then back at me, looking like his blood pressure was about to shoot through the roof. “Zhao Niyi, have you lost your mind? Do you even know what kind of guy he is?”

Instinctively, I turned to look at Huo Ci. His dark hair was slightly tousled, and his face was so drop-dead gorgeous it practically lit up the whole area. Even standing in a chaotic, crowded hospital corridor, he looked like he was posing for a high-fashion magazine spread.

I gave it a few seconds of serious thought before throwing the question back at him. “What kind of guy is he?”

Yuhang choked on his words. Huo Ci stilled too, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly as his face paled just a fraction. It was as if he was terrified I might say something awful about who he was.

Seeing that anxious look on his face, my heart softened. I immediately spoke up to reassure him. “Top-tier material, obviously! Gorgeous, tall, great personality… At any rate, he’s a hell of a lot better than someone who publicly dumped his fiancée yesterday.”

“…”

The corner of Huo Ci’s mouth twitched upward, clearly fighting back a smirk. Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilted my chin up and stared straight at my ex-fiancé. “Besides, my guy is none of your damn business.”

That single line almost caused Yuhang to pass out from rage. He yanked his arm back violently, pulling out his IV needle and sending a bead of blood welling up on the back of his hand.

A nurse shouted from down the hall, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing with that IV?!”

But Yuhang didn’t hear a word. He glared at me with bloodshot, aggrieved eyes, looking as furious as he was hurt. For all the world, he looked like he was the heartbroken party, not me.

“Zhao Niyi!” he practically yelled, his voice choking up. “What the hell is wrong with you? When did you become like this? You… you never would have treated me like this before.”

Looking at him, I found it almost laughable. Yesterday, he stood in front of everyone and declared he only saw me as a sister. Today, he was acting like I had betrayed him after centuries of devotion.

In the end, I simply countered calmly, “Shen Yuhang, you’ve got it wrong. I haven’t changed. I just don’t like you anymore.”

The entire hospital corridor dropped into silence. Even Huo Ci stood there, slightly stunned. As for Yuhang… he looked as if a lightning bolt had just shattered inside his skull.

—

Stepping out of the hospital entrance, the bright midday sun forced me to squint. Only then did I realize with a jolt that I was still holding onto Huo Ci’s hand.

Embarrassed, I hastily let go. Huo Ci stared at his empty hand with a strange, lingering expression, looking for all the world like a big golden retriever that had just had its favorite chew toy taken away.

He remained quiet for a few seconds before murmuring softly, sounding faintly wronged, “I’m not an escort…”

I nearly choked on my own spit. I had no idea why he was so hyper-fixated on the whole “boy toy” and “top-tier product” labels I’d tossed out earlier.

“Back there… thanks for playing along,” I rushed to change the subject.

But as I glanced down, my eyes fell on the stack of STI screening results in my hand, and a wave of guilt instantly choked my throat.

“I didn’t get tested because I doubted you. It’s just…”

Trailing off, I felt completely helpless on how to explain. After all, the very first thing I did after waking up this morning was dash off to the hospital to get tested for every infectious disease under the sun. Putting myself in his shoes… yeah, that had to hurt a guy’s pride.

The more I thought about it, the guiltier I felt. I lowered my head and muttered softly, “I’m sorry.”

Huo Ci looked at me for a long moment, then unexpectedly let out a soft laugh. His smile was gentle and warm, the kind that naturally made you lower all your defenses. “You did the right thing. Your personal safety should always come first, especially when you didn’t even know who I was.”

I looked up at him. Bathed in the brilliant golden sunlight, his crisp white tee made him look impossibly clean and striking. Even standing amidst the bustling crowd at the hospital gates, he stood out like a male lead straight out of a romance drama, so handsome it felt almost surreal.

I stared at him for a quiet beat, then shook my head slowly. “No. I do know you.”

Huo Ci froze, his smile stiffening. Taking a deep breath to summon every ounce of courage, I continued, “Even if you don’t remember, I do. Eight years ago, back in Qinghe Town… I never forgot.”

Turbulence flared sharply in his dark eyes. Looking straight into those deep, endless irises, all the questions and buried heartache I’d held onto for years finally broke free.

“Huo Ci. Back then… why did you suddenly vanish? Why didn’t you come find me?”

Huo Ci stared at me, his intense gaze so scorching I felt like I’d burst into flames if I held his eye for another second.

His lips parted, forcing out the words as if every syllable were a struggle. “Niyi… the man I am now… I’m not who I used to be.”

I looked at him, secretly thinking: Well, yeah, no kidding. Back then you were dirt poor and drop-dead handsome; now you’re rich and ten times hotter. It’s practically unfair.

“Back then, I was taken back to the Huo family—”

Before he could finish explaining the past, I whipped out my phone and gently tapped the back of his hand. “Can we add each other on WeChat first?”

“…” Huo Ci paused, the emotional momentum he’d built up instantly cut short by my blatant interruption. But he didn’t look annoyed at all; instead, he pulled out his phone without hesitation. “Sure.”

A minute later, the friend request went through. Looking at his brand-new name in my contact list, I took a quiet, deep breath. A golden opportunity like this couldn’t be wasted! So, without skipping a beat, I wired him a massive chunk of money right then and there.

Huo Ci stared at the transfer notification on his screen, visibly bewildered.

Plucking up my courage, I looked him dead in the eye. “Huo Ci… can I sign an exclusivity contract with you?”

“…”

The air around us turned eerily silent. Panicking that I’d hurt his pride, I blurted out an explanation. “I mean… I just don’t like the idea of you modeling every day and having other people ogle you. If you’re going through a tough time financially, I can help.”

The more I talked, the more brilliant my idea sounded. I’d be helping an old friend and scoring a top-tier fake boyfriend to rub in my trash ex’s face. A total win-win!

I held up one finger with total confidence. “My demands aren’t high. Once a week is fine. Besides, we… click pretty well together.”

I nodded firmly to give myself extra credibility. Huo Ci looked at me, his expression growing more inscrutable by the second. He stayed quiet for so long that my confidence began to crumble. Was once a week still asking too much?

Nervously, I held up a second finger and weakly renegotiated: “How about… once every two weeks?”

That finally got a reaction out of him. He nodded slowly, then raised three fingers right in front of my face.

I blinked, thoroughly confused. “Does that mean yes? Or… once every three weeks?”

Huo Ci didn’t answer immediately. He looked down at me, then abruptly took a long step forward, completely erasing the space between us.

Before I could even think to step back, his deep, intoxicating voice vibrated right beside my ear: “Three.”

I blinked dumbly. “Huh?”

The corner of his mouth curved up in a devastatingly handsome smirk. “If it’s seeing you, at least three times a week.”

“…”

My brain instantly short-circuited into total white noise. Meanwhile, Huo Ci looked down at my ears, which had turned as red as ripe cherries, and finally let out a soft, fond chuckle he could no longer hold back.