After I Found Out My Boyfriend Was Pretending to Be Poor - Chapter 6

The next morning, Huo Yanchuan had dark circles under both eyes and couldn’t look at me. Yet he kept sneaking glances.

After washing up, I sleepily wrapped my arms around the man beside me and slipped a hand under his shirt to feel his abs.

He went rigid.

“Ranran…” Zhou Xinglan said excitedly beside my ear.

I woke up at once, let go, and hurriedly stepped back.

“Sorry. I’m so used to hugging you, I forgot you’re not my husband anymore.”

Then I went over to Huo Yanchuan, who was trying to make a quick escape, slipped my arms around his neck, and rose on tiptoe to give him a kiss before work.

His pupils contracted sharply. The hand he’d been about to push me away with quietly curled into a fist.

Red-faced, he walked off with his arms and legs awkwardly moving in sync.

Ignoring the desolate stare behind me, I happily enjoyed the breakfast Zhou Xinglan had prepared.

As he poured my milk, he seized every chance to sow discord.

“Huo Yanchuan left you at home without even making breakfast. Clearly, he doesn’t care about you at all. Ranran, don’t let his sweet talk fool you. A man like that is only worth a bit of fun. Who knows what he gets up to behind your back?”

I cut him off.

“I won’t let you talk about him like that. Yan’s a good guy. He’s never said a bad word about you.”

Then I ran back to my room in a huff, deliberately leaving my phone on the dining table.

On the screen was a post I’d just made.

[My boyfriend fell out with his family over me. I broke up with him because I didn’t want to make things difficult for him, but I still can’t forget him. What should I do?]

Zhou Xinglan had barely returned my phone before he flooded the comments from an alternate account, urging me to get back together with my ex.

I just kept being sad.

[If only I had a better job, a higher salary, and more savings. Maybe then I could gradually catch up with him.]

That very afternoon, I received an interview invitation from one of the top companies in my industry. The salary they offered was ten times my current pay.

It worked better than making a wish.

The next moment, Zhou Xinglan’s eager messages popped up.

[Your boyfriend would surely be happy to grow with you. If you can’t forget him, why not give him another chance?]

[Wouldn’t it be a shame for two people who love each other to miss out on each other?]

I replied as if torn.

[But I lied to him too. I’m not pregnant at all. I only used that trick because I wanted to keep him. If he finds out, he’ll definitely blame me, won’t he?]

[His best friend says he’ll help me, but we’re talking about a baby. How is he going to help?]

[Got to go. His best friend has asked me to a hotel. He says he’ll comfort me properly later.]

Once I’d sent that message, I went offline.

The very next moment, Zhou Xinglan rushed over and knocked on my door to check whether I was still in my room.

I looked at him innocently. “What’s wrong?”

He was nearly frantic, but he couldn’t ask me outright. All he could do was find new ways to bad-mouth Huo Yanchuan.

“Huo Yanchuan’s only nice to you because he wants to play with your feelings. You have no idea how many nasty things he’s said about you behind your back. Don’t fall for it!”

“He’s single himself, so he can’t stand anyone else having a wife. A man that consumed by jealousy is the most dangerous kind!”

I slammed the door in his face.

Outside, Zhou Xinglan sobbed uncontrollably and cursed Huo Yanchuan at the top of his lungs. When it became clear he couldn’t persuade me, he suddenly rushed off.

Soon, I heard a supercar engine downstairs.

Not long afterward, a mutual friend’s WeChat Moments told me Zhou Xinglan had punched Huo Yanchuan straight into the hospital.

And they called that brotherhood?

That evening, I came home from shopping with my best friend to find Zhou Xinglan waiting on my bed, all dressed up like a gift.

In disbelief, I switched the light off and back on.

He was wearing a lace blindfold and calling me “Master” in a soft voice.

I swallowed despite myself. This was how he’d seduced me in the first place.

Tsk. What a tease.

When I didn’t respond, he came over and nuzzled his face into my palm.

I fought to stay in character.

“No. What if Yan finds out? I’m with him now. I can’t betray him.”

Zhou Xinglan wanted nothing except to win me back as the other man.

“Then we’ll do it in secret,” he said eagerly. “He doesn’t have to know.”

Seeing me hesitate, he cupped my face and kissed me.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “He won’t be coming back tonight. He won’t know a thing.”

He kissed me like he’d been thirsty for a long time, unwilling to let go. I enjoyed it in silence.

Click.

The living-room light went off and came back on.

Huo Yanchuan limped in, his face dark. He gave Zhou Xinglan a smile that never reached his eyes.

“Look at you, making yourself so cheap. Is this the only pathetic trick you have to get her attention?”

Zhou Xinglan ripped off the lace blindfold and sneered.

“You only got her by being the other man. What right do you have to criticize me?”