After giving me a good beating, she saw that I’d stopped talking.

Ji Ruoyan twisted my right arm behind my back and asked, “Can we talk like normal people now?”

I took a frustrated breath, trying to get more oxygen into my bloodstream, and forcibly tamped down my resentment. “Why’d you take my money?” I asked.

After all the fighting and fooling around earlier, I did understand her situation. I’d heard about it from my dad, after all, and I’d promised him I’d save a woman who was troubled by her so-called childhood engagement to me.

But you just took my 2.2 million yuan! Come on, that card had ten thousand yuan deposited into it every year since I was one. It’d slowly grown to 2.2 million with interest, and you just cleared the whole thing out in one go…

I felt as furious as if someone had smashed my little piggy bank.

“Because I wanted to buy something.” Ji Ruoyan, dressed in a long skirt, tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at me. Ever since I complained in our first year of high school that she never had anything nice to say to me, she’d always treated me with that sweet smile before beating the crap out of me without a shred of mercy.

I instinctively took a step back, afraid she’d strike again. I’d promised my dad I’d be generous and let this woman have her way.

“Y-you could pay for what you want yourself. Why use my living expenses? Those…” After being beaten so badly that I was still traumatized, I struggled to swallow and said, “Those are eighteen years’ worth of savings!”

“I want to use your money! I’m buying this for you, after all. It’s my second gift to you, so hurry up and thank me.” She looked at me as if to say, I did it, so what are you gonna do about it?

You’ve gotta be kidding me. You used all my living expenses to force a gift on me, and now you want me to thank you? All the old grudges and this new one surged up at once. If I could hold back now, I wouldn’t be a man. I was about to let her have it.

After all, her first birthday gift to me hadn’t been anything good, either.

I can’t hit you, but I can still yell at you, right?!

“What kind of international j—” Before I could finish my international joke, she grabbed the hand I’d pointed at her with. The hand holding mine was soft and delicate, as white and flawless as jade, with barely a pore in sight.

For the many people who were crazy about her, getting Ji Ruoyan to hold their hand like this would probably make their whole life worthwhile.

But after having my hand grabbed countless times, I knew that in a second, this delicate little hand could bend my fingers, twist my wrist, and lock my joints. It was a formidable weapon in a fight.

She tugged the hand I’d reached out with, and, just as expected, took me down with a joint lock.

I ended up kneeling on the floor again.

Fury at having my wallet emptied, plus years of pent-up resentment, got the better of me. Forget acting like a gentleman—I rolled across the floor in a clumsy tumble. Sure enough, afraid she’d really hurt me, Ji Ruoyan let go of my fingers. I’d figured out ages ago that she had limits when it came to hitting me. If I was really willing to take us both down, she’d back off. She was probably afraid she’d get in trouble, too.

“You’ve gone too far!” Once I’d finished rolling, I lunged straight at her and wrapped my arms around her.

We tumbled onto the sofa, and we were both a little stunned. I was stunned with fear. According to my plan, she’d have me on the floor in five seconds, and I’d be on my knees begging for mercy. I wasn’t even expecting to get the money back right away.

I’d just have to figure out how to get by for the rest of the year. Luckily, the property fees and utility bills for the house were paid directly from my parents’ accounts, so I wasn’t quite at risk of becoming homeless.

It was only a couple million, anyway. I could get by without it. If things got bad, I’d ask my dad for money. You talked me into agreeing to this, so you’re responsible for me! Give me another two million!

As for why Ji Ruoyan was stunned, I had no idea.

I’d known Ji Ruoyan for years, but this was the first time I’d ever been this close to her. I could feel her warm, solid presence in my arms, and smell her fragrance. Heaven knows, she’d bloodied my nose so many times before that even when she was lying in my arms, I couldn’t smell a thing.

But now I could smell the faint fragrance coming from Ji Ruoyan, and see her staring blankly at me. For a moment, I found myself reluctant to let go.

For one thing, I understood even better just how fragile her heart was beneath that prickly exterior she showed me. You could even say it was so fragile that it couldn’t take another blow.

And as a celebrity, Ji Ruoyan was a very beautiful woman. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been voted the second most beautiful girl at our school based on nothing but a photo on her exam admission ticket.

Besides, I was an eighteen-year-old guy, almost a man. With my blood running hot, of course I didn’t want to let go.

As the seconds ticked by, it seemed like we could both hear each other’s breathing and heartbeat.

After about ten minutes, Ji Ruoyan struggled in my arms. “Aren’t you going to let go?” she murmured. Awkwardly, I released her.

I obediently lowered my head and stood off to the side, waiting for my final judgment. I just hoped I’d be left in one piece. Don’t beat me to death, or there’ll be no one to stand up for you at your coming-of-age ceremony!

“About the money, the other party insisted on paying the full amount in cash, and I didn’t have enough of my own. When my next payment comes in, I’ll pay you back right away.” To my surprise, Ji Ruoyan didn’t fly into a rage and beat me to death. Instead, she straightened her clothes, sat down elegantly on the living-room sofa, and calmly explained things to me.

I looked at her suspiciously. Was she going to make me all grateful first, then suddenly turn around and beat me up? I’d seen that kind of thing happen on TV plenty of times!

“Here’s fifty thousand. I’ve lived with you for this long, so I know how much you spend. This is enough to last you a year. But don’t worry. I’ll pay back all 2.23 million, every last yuan.” Ji Ruoyan took a stack of cash out of her handbag and set it neatly on the coffee table.

I still didn’t dare reach out with my grubby hands. Who knew if there was a mousetrap hidden under the money? Besides, I’d just seen a trace of guilt in her eyes. As far as I was concerned, that was impossible. She shouldn’t have feelings like that for me, right?

Suspicion filled my eyes. This was definitely not part of the plan. Ji Ruoyan had no reason to actually fall for me, did she?

Ji Ruoyan saw the suspicion in my eyes but didn’t say anything. She picked up her handbag and walked to the front door.

For some reason, I—who usually couldn’t care less when she left, or was secretly relieved when she did—actually walked her to the door. “Then… see you?” My voice carried an unfamiliar hint of emotion. It was the first time I’d ever said goodbye to her.

“Goodbye. The things I bought will arrive tomorrow morning. And… was it because of the money that you acted that way today?” Ji Ruoyan glanced at Chu Turan, said her brief goodbye, then asked him a question.

But she didn’t wait for Chu Turan to answer. She walked straight out the door.

Ji Ruoyan’s question really kept me up half the night. But what kept me awake even more was that ten-minute hug. For the first time, I realized that the unruly girl from back then seemed to have grown up.

I lay tossing and turning, remembering how soft and fragrant she’d felt in my arms. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be thinking. Come to think of it, she was supposed to come take photos with me today. Why didn’t she show up?

Heh. I hugged a woman, and then that woman gave me fifty thousand. What does that make me?

Wait, no. I gave a woman over two million, then hugged her, and then she gave me fifty thousand? Hold on, why does this sound like… a virginity rebate?!

Holy crap!

All sorts of thoughts collided in my head. For the first time, even a carefree guy like me felt a little troubled.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that I finally managed to fall asleep. During the night, Zhou Fang even called to ask how I was feeling. I just told her I was fine and not to worry. Teacher Zhou really was so responsible.

“Master, it’s time to get up.”

I woke up to the maid’s morning call, got out of bed, and took the hot towel someone held out to me. I wiped my face, then casually said, “Thanks.”

As I was wiping my face, I suddenly jolted. I was still half-asleep. Since when did I have a maid in my house?

I opened my eyes. Liu Su, dressed in a maid outfit, was standing right in front of me.

“Holy crap!” I yelled. My already slightly elevated blood pressure in the morning was now skyrocketing.

“My name’s Liu Su, not ‘that whatever,’ Master. Let me help you wash up first.” Liu Su calmly undid my pajamas, leaving my upper body bare.

Completely unprepared, I could only stare like a wooden chicken as I faced this emergency. In the few seconds I spent frozen, Liu Su had already taken off everything on my upper body.

I instinctively grabbed her hands and shuddered all over. The sleepiness left over from tossing and turning all night vanished in an instant. Now I understood how Wu Song could drink so much and still beat a tiger—the guy must’ve been scared out of his mind.

“Y-you! What are you doing? No, wait, who are you? No, why are you in my house?” That jolt had me wide awake, but it also left me tongue-tied. I’d been talking for ages and still couldn’t get the right words out. I wasn’t usually a chatterbox, but I didn’t normally stutter, either.

Seeing how confused I looked, Liu Su remembered what that woman had told her.

“Well, Miss Liu, your father’s confirmed that he received the money, so you should start honoring the contract tomorrow, right? Here are the keys to his house.” The woman sitting in the business van held a contract in her hand.

Liu Su’s fingerprint was on the contract.

“Yes, I will.” Liu Su agreed and took a key.

“Oh, right. He likes to play games where he pretends he doesn’t know what’s going on. To make a good impression on him and help us fulfill our contract, I hope you’ll play along, too.” After watching her sign the contract, the woman gave a strange smile and added this.

Looking at the sheer surprise on Chu Turan’s face, Liu Su thought to herself, He’s really good at pretending.

Then she quietly pulled her hand out of Chu Turan’s grasp.

She placed both hands against her chest, slowly stepped back a few paces, and took a deep breath.