Chapter 3

◎“Have we met somewhere before?”◎

The sun went down, and the sky became overcast, looking like it was going to rain.

People hurrying to and fro on the street quickened their pace.

Cheng Jiamo looked at the sky that had suddenly turned gloomy, but she was secretly delighted.

She liked the rain and looked forward to it, eagerly awaiting its arrival, or rather, waiting for He Qingzhao to come out.

However, she waited and waited, for more than half an hour, until the autumn wind turned cold, but the rain was slow to fall, and He Qingzhao still did not come out.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and the streetlights gradually came on, as did the neon lights outside the clubhouse, but He Qingzhao still hadn't come out.

Only then did she dare to be certain that He Qingzhao wouldn't come out, or rather, that he had already left from a place she didn't know about.

His statement, "Wait for me outside," was most likely just to help her out of a difficult situation, and he didn't actually intend for her to wait for him at the door.

In fact, that is indeed the case.

After finishing his business with Qi Yingjie and the others, He Qingzhao took the elevator directly to the underground parking garage and drove out through the garage door.

As the car drove onto the main road, it encountered a red light. He inadvertently turned his head and saw Cheng Jiamo standing outside the clubhouse. He was startled. Could this girl really be waiting for him?

He told her to go outside and wait for him in order to help her out of a difficult situation.

He thought the girl would understand what he meant, but it seems she didn't, or rather, she was pretending not to understand.

The light turned green, and he was about to step on the gas and leave when her eyes, glistening with tears, flashed through his mind. They were dreamy and tender, tinged with a touch of melancholy, like the misty rain of March in Jiangnan, drifting gently into his heart and shrouding it in a layer of fog.

He turned on his turn signal and drove back to the clubhouse entrance.

When Cheng Jiamo learned that He Qingzhao had left, a feeling of inexplicable loss welled up inside her.

She quickly dismissed the feeling, turned around, and prepared to return to the club.

Zhu Yue's matter hasn't been resolved yet; she still needs to go find Qi Yingjie.

Suddenly a deep voice sounded from behind: "Little friend."

Cheng Jiamo turned her head sharply and saw He Qingzhao leaning casually against a silver car, one hand in his pocket.

Her previously misty eyes suddenly lit up, as bright and dazzling as the city on the night of the Lantern Festival.

"Mr. He." Suppressing her excitement, she ran over quickly.

Because she had run so fast, when she reached He Qingzhao, she was slightly out of breath, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red, which made her already charming and beautiful eyes have a seductive charm. However, her eyes were very clean, like a clear spring.

He Qingzhao's deep eyes fell on her, his voice even deeper than before: "Why haven't you left yet?"

After catching her breath, Cheng Jiamo pursed her lips and said softly, "I want to tell you that I don't blame you for meddling; I'm just worried about you."

"Oh? You're worried about me?"

He Qingzhao seemed to have heard a joke, his lips twitching up and down, and he chuckled softly.

"Yes, I was worried about you." Cheng Jiamo nodded heavily.

Eager to explain, she unconsciously took two steps forward, getting closer to He Qingzhao, almost touching him.

A delicate fragrance wafted into his nose, and He Qingzhao subconsciously held his breath, his body tensing up involuntarily, but his face remained calm, dignified, and elegant.

Cheng Jiamo was too busy explaining to think too much about it.

“I know Mr. He is of extraordinary status and very capable, and he is not afraid of Qi Yingjie. But as the old saying goes, it is better to offend a gentleman than a petty person.”

“I don’t know yet whether Qi Yingjie is a villain or not, but he is definitely not a gentleman, and he is very rich. You don’t need to offend them to stand up for me, and I don’t want you to make enemies because of me. You are a businessman, and you should value harmony in business. That will be in your best interest.”

He Qingzhao didn't speak, but narrowed his eyes slightly, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Cheng Jiamo knew that her words could easily lead He Qingzhao to misunderstand and think that she had ulterior motives.

But she's not good at speaking in riddles or polite conversation; she either blurts out her true feelings or keeps quiet.

After she finished speaking, she took two steps back, bowed to He Qingzhao, and said, "Thank you, Mr. He, thank you for helping me time and time again."

He Qingzhao noticed the word "repeatedly" and raised an eyebrow: "Have we met somewhere before?"

Cheng Jiamo's heart skipped a beat, thinking he remembered, and she nodded excitedly: "Yes, yes, three years ago..."

He Qingzhao's phone rang. He raised his hand and said politely, "Sorry."

Cheng Jiamo shut her mouth awkwardly and nodded at him with a smile.

She watched as He Qingzhao walked to the side to answer the phone. She didn't know what the person on the other end of the line said to him, but she saw him slightly curl his lips and smile with a clear and open expression.

Cheng Jiamo stared at him blankly, a line of poetry flashing through her mind.

She stands tall and graceful, her smile as warm as the moon in one's arms.

She thought to herself, "How can there be such a handsome man in the world? He's ten or a hundred times more handsome than the actors and celebrities on TV."

His refined and elegant demeanor is something that actors and stars can never learn, no matter how hard they try.

He Qingzhao didn't say much before hanging up the phone and looking at Cheng Jiamo.

"Let's go, I'll see you off."

Cheng Jiamo was distracted by what she was seeing. When she came to her senses, she hurriedly waved her hand and said, "No, no need, don't bother me. I can go back by myself."

He Qingzhao smiled faintly at her: "Be careful on your way back."

He was a gentleman, very refined, without a trace of arrogance, and every word and action was impeccable.

But Cheng Jiamo felt that he was so perfect that he was almost unreal, lacking any human warmth.

Beneath that gentlemanly and refined exterior lies a serene stillness, like the cold moon, or the snow that never melts on a high mountain.

Nevertheless, Cheng Jiamo remained mesmerized.

She watched He Qingzhao's departing figure, which resembled a snow-covered green mountain, towering and precipitous.

After watching He Qingzhao walk away, she looked away, took a few deep breaths, and turned to walk back into the club.

Qi Yingjie was surprised that Cheng Jiamo would come back.

"Did you leave something behind?"

Cheng Jiamo said directly, "Mr. Qi, I have something I'd like to say to you privately."

There weren't many people left in the private room to begin with; only Qi Yingjie, Shen Zechuan, and Lu Junyan remained.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zechuan and Lu Junyan both stood up and walked out.

Qi Yingjie gestured with his chin toward Cheng Jiamo: "Speak."

Cheng Jiamo looked at him with clear eyes: "About my friend..."

Qi Yingjie interrupted with a smile: "Aren't you very familiar with He Qingzhao? Why don't you go find him?"

He Qingzhao is going back to Xiyuan today, a garden located on the outskirts of Beijing, where his grandparents live.

These younger generations, whenever they are in northern Beijing, have to go back once a month.

Every time he goes back, he has to wear an 18-bead multi-gem bracelet, otherwise his grandmother will scold him for a long time.

He usually doesn't wear it. Those things are so flashy, it's not appropriate for a grown man to wear them and swing them around like that.

He would only wear it when he returned to Xiyuan.

Before entering the club, he took off the bracelet and casually put it into his pocket.

After getting into the car, he was about to take it out and put it on when he reached for it, only to find that neither of his pockets were there.

He assumed he had left it at the clubhouse, and that he could have easily found it by making a phone call. But for some reason, he got out of the car and went back to the clubhouse.

As he approached the door of the private room, he saw that it was ajar. Just as he was about to push it open, he heard a soft, gentle voice from inside, with a distinct southern accent.

"I am not familiar with Mr. He."

He Qingzhao's raised hand froze, paused in mid-air for a moment, and then closed his fingers and put it down.

Cheng Jiamo said, "He doesn't know me at all."

Qi Yingjie clearly didn't believe it: "Really? He'd help you if you didn't even know him?"

Cheng Jiamo smiled and said, "Because he is very kind."

"What?" Qi Yingjie thought he had misheard and asked incredulously, "You said He Qingzhao is very kind?"

Cheng Jiamo's eyes were firm, but her tone remained gentle: "Yes, Mr. He is very kind, upright, has a chivalrous heart, and is of noble character."

With a "poof" sound—

"Hahahahahaha..."

Qi Yingjie laughed uncontrollably, slapping his thigh with laughter.

"This is a truly bizarre form of murder for money; are you trying to make me laugh to death?"

Cheng Jiamo didn't laugh. Instead, she said seriously, "What you see as a joke is, to me, Mr. He is very good, very good. He is the best person in the world."

He saved her and sent her back to China. Isn't that a great favor?

If she hadn't returned to China, she doesn't even dare to imagine what her life would be like now.

It's often said that domestic violence either happens zero times or countless times, and the same goes for moral depravity.

Yu Shijie forced her to become a rented wife, saying that once she had the first time, she would have countless more.

Later on, for money, he might even openly force her to sell her body, treating her like a cash cow.

So she was truly grateful to He Qingzhao, even if he wasn't genuinely kind and it was just a momentary act of kindness.

In the end, he saved her, helped her, and prevented her from falling into the abyss.

The thought of He Qingzhao softened her gaze, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

Qi Yingjie was stung, so he retorted sarcastically, "Since he's so good, upright, kind, and of noble character, why don't you go ask him for help? Why are you coming to me?"

Cheng Jiamo replied, "That's precisely why I don't look for him."

"Oh? Why is that?" Qi Yingjie asked, looking very curious.

Cheng Jiamo said, "One shouldn't be too greedy. He has already helped me unconditionally once. I can't rely on him for the rest of my life just because he is a good person."

The already soft voice, heard through a door, sounded even softer to He Qingzhao's ears, gentle and tender, like a feather falling into his heart.

Especially that soft, delicate "forever," it was like a small hammer gently striking his heart.

Qi Yingjie chuckled: "Even if you don't want to contact him, you can still ask me for help in his name. I still have to give Young Master He face."

Cheng Jiamo said, "Yes, I could use Mr. He's influence to come to you. But I don't want to do that. I don't want to take advantage of him because he is really a good person."

"He is really good." These words, though spoken softly, felt as heavy as a thousand pounds pressing down on He Qingzhao's heart.

This was the first time he had ever heard someone say that he was a good person, and that they kept emphasizing that he was a good person, to the point that he himself began to believe it.

Qi Yingjie saw that she seemed like one of those die-hard fans obsessed with male celebrities, and found it laughable. Knowing that there was no point in saying anything more, he stopped wasting his breath on her.

He crossed his legs, tapped them with his hands, and said in a slow, deliberate tone, "If you come to me, I won't help you unconditionally. After all, I'm not a saint of high moral character, just a businessman who values ​​profit over righteousness."

Cheng Jiamo ignored his sarcastic remarks and said sincerely, "I know, that's why I came to find you."

Qi Yingjie beckoned to her: "Then come sit down and let's talk."

Just as Cheng Jiamo was about to sit down, the door was pushed open.

He Qingzhao walked into the house with a gentle smile: "I left something behind."

Qi Yingjie hurriedly stood up: "Oh, Mr. He, you really are something. If you left something behind, you could have just called and told me. Why did you have to come all this way in person?" He then asked, "What did you leave behind, Mr. He? I'll help you find it."

As he spoke, he turned on the main light in the private room.

He Qingzhao walked straight to the single sofa on the right-hand side of the entrance, picked up the 18-bead multi-gemstone bracelet that had been left behind, waved it, and said, "It was a gift from the old lady, so I had to come and pick it up in person."

Qi Yingjie apologized repeatedly: "It's my fault, it's all my negligence. I didn't check properly before you left."

He Qingzhao took off his wristwatch, slowly put on the bracelet, lifted his eyelids, and looked at Cheng Jiamo with a detached expression: "Didn't I tell you to wait in the car?"

Cheng Jiamo: "..."

He was completely stunned.

Qi Yingjie: "..."

What's going on here?

He Qingzhao said, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Cheng Jiamo snapped out of her daze and stammered, "Mr. He, I..."

He Qingzhao narrowed his eyes: "Come here."

Under his powerful aura, Cheng Jiamo couldn't bring herself to refuse and could only obediently follow him out.

After leaving the club, Cheng Jiamo explained in a low voice, "Mr. He, thank you for helping me, but I came to find Qi Yingjie voluntarily."

He Qingzhao said coldly, "Don't look for him again."

Cheng Jiamo paused for a moment, looking at He Qingzhao with a surprised expression.

"But...but I still need him for something..."

He Qingzhao turned to look at her: "Looking for me."

As soon as he said it, he was stunned and shocked by his own absurdity.

Is he possessed by a ghost today?

Cheng Jiamo lowered her head: "Mr. He, you have already helped me once. I still owe you a debt of gratitude, and I can't owe you another one. If you help me again, I will never be able to repay it in this lifetime."

"So you think you can repay Qi Yingjie?"

After asking the question, He Qingzhao frowned.

He felt like he'd been drinking fake alcohol today, acting ridiculously absurdly.

But since it's already absurd, let's just go all the way with the absurdity.

So he reached out, grabbed Cheng Jiamo's arm, and forcefully pulled her away.

Cheng Jiamo stumbled along with him, both shocked and delighted.

After getting into the car, He Qingzhao asked her, "Where have you seen me before?"

Cheng Jiamo met his deep, dark eyes, and the words she was about to say suddenly stopped her.

Since he doesn't remember, let's just pretend we never met.

She didn't want him to recall her most embarrassing and awkward moment.

“Mr. He, you have never met me. I have only seen you from a distance in a crowd.”

He Qingzhao curled one corner of his mouth and smiled coldly. He had seen too many of these low-level tricks of playing hard to get.

Cheng Jiamo looked at his slightly mocking smile, her face burning with embarrassment. She belatedly realized that her actions were inappropriate.

Given He Qingzhao's status, he could find out what he wanted to know even if she didn't tell him.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She lowered her head and whispered, "Three years ago in Thailand, I was being chased by bad guys. You helped me and even bought me a plane ticket to send me back to my country."

He Qingzhao slammed on the brakes and stopped in the temporary lane.

He turned to look at Cheng Jiamo: "Are you that little girl from Taijing?"

The scene from three years ago in the rain flashed through my mind like an old movie.

He couldn't actually remember what Cheng Jiamo looked like anymore, but looking into the girl's clear and bright eyes, which seemed to be shrouded in the misty rain of March in Jiangnan, that scene overlapped with what was before him.

In the heavy rain, a pair of eyes, dark and bright yet sorrowful, looked at him with a delicate helplessness, as if the rain of March in Jiangnan had been poured into his heart.

He was never a good person, nor did he possess any heroic spirit of rescuing prostitutes. Yet, on that day, at that moment, he inexplicably felt compassion, unrelated to romance.

That was probably the only time in his more than twenty years that he did a good deed without expecting anything in return.

"So it was you." He chuckled softly.

Cheng Jiamo's eyes welled up with tears.

"Yes." Her voice choked with emotion. "You told me that as long as I got into Peking University, I would have the chance to meet you again."

After saying that, she lowered her head in shame: "I'm stupid, I didn't get into Peking University, but I wanted to meet you again, so I came to Beijing."

He Qingzhao's voice trailed off, and he suddenly didn't know what to say. He looked at her for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

[Author's Note]

Babies, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.

--

Little Jasmine now says: Mr. He is so kind, such a good person.

Not long after, He Qingzhao became truly wicked, utterly wicked. [Veteran Dog]