Chapter 23
Lisa hung up the phone while crying.
Tang Hui stared at the blacked-out phone screen, let out a heavy sigh, and felt cold sweat break out on his forehead.
Although Lisa cried a lot just now, it's foreseeable that for a long time to come, this girl will definitely do all sorts of crazy things to protest Tang Hui's "heartlessness," and will at least be missing for a few days...
But Tang Hui still doesn't regret his decisiveness and the lie he told. At least for now, it seems that it has temporarily stopped Lisa from moving in.
He couldn't let Lisa move in with him; doing so would only make Lisa sink deeper and deeper, ultimately leading to endless troubles.
I just hope that Lisa can come to her senses after her outburst and go home soon.
Tang Hui pressed his temples hard, took deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down. Only after he had completely calmed down did he realize that the car had already been parked on the side of the road.
When they arrived at the entrance of his residential complex, Shen Bining parked the car and waited for him to finish his call. Now, she was resting her chin on her hand, looking at him with a playful expression, the corners of her mouth clearly showing that she was suppressing a laugh.
"Laugh if you want to, don't hold it in and hurt yourself," Tang Hui said with a wry smile.
"Ha..." As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Bining laughed so hard she almost fell over. Tang Hui shook his head with a helpless smile, and a hint of doting affection appeared in his eyes as he looked at Shen Bining, a feeling he himself was unaware of.
Shen Bining was quite tactful; after laughing a few times, she immediately stopped. She blinked her big, round eyes and asked playfully, "A suitor?" She then pointed to her phone, which had already gone black.
Tang Hui nodded silently. The actual situation was far more complicated than the simple three words "pursuer," but he didn't know how to explain it to Shen Bining.
Shen Bining stroked her chin, transforming into a master detective, and said thoughtfully, "If I'm not mistaken, the girlfriend you just mentioned is also a lie. You're actually single, but you have to lie to reject this suitor. Attorney Tang, this kind of lie is easily exposed. Aren't you afraid it will make things even more ugly?"
Tang Hui smiled bitterly and helplessly, "I know it's not good to lie like this, but I really have no other choice. She insists on moving into my house, and I can't let her move in. In desperation, I had no choice but to come up with this excuse to fool her for a while, at least I can't let her move in."
After hearing Tang Hui's explanation, Shen Bining was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth, and she exclaimed in her heart, "Oh my god."
Are people these days so open-minded that they want to move into each other's homes while still pursuing each other?
Shen Bining felt a little embarrassed, as if she had inadvertently spied on someone's privacy. Her lips twitched, and she cautiously suggested, "Why don't you just firmly reject that suitor? He wants to move into your house before you're even together. I think this person..."
After saying that, Shen Bining gestured above her head, making her meaning very clear—she thought the other person was not mentally sound.
After all, what normal or decent girl would move into someone's house before they're even boyfriend and girlfriend? She thought she was helping Tang Hui with this suggestion, since Tang Hui didn't seem like a soft-hearted person.
She had no doubt that this man could be cold-blooded and ruthless enough when faced with someone he didn't like relentlessly pursuing him.
To everyone's surprise, Tang Hui, who seemed cold and ruthless, shook his head. Shen Bining almost bit her tongue as he shook his head. She looked at Tang Hui in shock, not understanding why he rejected her suggestion.
He refused to hurt his suitor, preferring to fabricate a non-existent "girlfriend" rather than directly reject her. Could it be...?
Could it be that Tang Hui only saw that girl named Lisa as a bed partner, not a girlfriend? Was he not refusing because he was after her body, and lying that he had a girlfriend because he didn't want to be entangled with her and take responsibility?
Shen Bining thought of the casual sexuality of the open-minded white people she encountered while studying in the United States, and then she thought of how Tang Hui had gone to live in the United States at a very young age. It could be said that he received his important early education in Western countries, so it was perfectly normal for him to be assimilated by those white people.
Various associations uncontrollably entered her mind, and Shen Bining almost subconsciously regarded Tang Hui as the kind of man with a promiscuous private life. Even the way she looked at Tang Hui unconsciously carried a sense of disdain.
Tang Hui was lost in his own thoughts and did not notice the change in Shen Bining's gaze towards him, nor did he know what the woman beside him had imagined in such a short time.
After a moment's thought, he finally made up his mind.
He decided to do something, and the first condition for doing so was to tell Shen Bining the truth.
“I can’t accept Lisa, so I made up a girlfriend to deceive her. But I can’t just reject Lisa directly because she’s my cousin.” Tang Hui pondered, his voice trembling with helplessness.
"Hiss." Tang Hui's explanation almost made Shen Bining bite her tongue. She stared at Tang Hui in shock, her eyes wide open, making Tang Hui worry that her eyeballs might pop out of their sockets at any moment.
Shen Bining raised her arm, trembling, and pointed at Tang Hui. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She had a thousand words she wanted to say, but no sound came out.
"God, please strike me dead with lightning!" Shen Bining silently screamed in her heart. "Do all kids raised abroad play this dangerously? My cousins can even..."
What kind of nonsense is this?
Tang Hui knew from Shen Bining's expression that she had misunderstood. His handsome face turned red instantly, whether from anger or embarrassment, he didn't know. He quickly explained the whole story and stopped Shen Bining's imagination in time.
“She’s not my biological cousin. I mean, she’s just my cousin in name only. We’re not related by blood at all. After my parents’ accident, my aunt raised me. Later, my aunt married my current husband, Franck, an American, and our family moved to the United States. My aunt’s husband treats my aunt and me very well. He treats me like his own son. He had a previous marriage and has a daughter, who is my cousin Lisa.”
After Tang Hui's explanation, Shen Bining finally understood. She put away her shocked expression and asked curiously, "You and this little cousin grew up together since childhood, and then she developed feelings for you that went beyond sibling affection. You didn't accept these feelings, but because of your childhood friendship and your uncle's kindness in raising you, you couldn't say anything harsh to reject Miss Lisa, so you could only make up such a clumsy lie about having a girlfriend to deal with her."
“My uncle has done me a great favor, and I can’t hurt his only daughter. Besides, Lisa is a good girl, just a bit too stubborn and willful when it comes to relationships. No matter what, I’m her cousin, and I can’t do anything to hurt her. Pretending to have a girlfriend was a plan that Ziyi and Qi Wang helped me come up with,” Tang Hui said with a wry smile.
Shen Bining shook her head, speaking in a knowledgeable tone, "Excuse my bluntness, but the method you three straight men came up with is terrible, and zero people will believe it. Do you think we girls are stupid, believing everything men say? We only believe what we want to believe. If the guy I like tells me he has a girlfriend and I should give up, the first thing I'll do is confirm if it's true. Just because a man says he has a girlfriend doesn't mean we'll actually believe that such a girl exists."
"So, your lie probably won't fool your little cousin, Attorney Tang. You'll need to think of another way." Shen Bining winked playfully, her voice laced with laughter, which sounded almost gloating.
Tang Hui raised an eyebrow and asked in return, "Does Dr. Shen have any good suggestions?" Since she was so knowledgeable, perhaps she could offer some useful ideas.
Shen Bining thought for a moment and said bluntly, "Make your non-existent girlfriend exist. Whether you really start dating one right away or find a girl to act out the scene, you have to let your little cousin actually see her so she will believe it."
Just like Song Ziyi and Qi Wang's suggestion, Tang Hui looked at Shen Bining with some difficulty and said, "But I can't find a girl to act with me."
"Ha." Shen Bining couldn't help but laugh out loud, teasingly saying, "Attorney Tang, do you want to listen to what you're saying? No girl would want to pretend to be your girlfriend? Whether girls are after your career or your looks, they'd flock to you, okay?"
Tang Hui paused for a moment, then suddenly blurted out, "So, would you be willing to take this job?"
"Ouch." Shen Bining bit her tongue again. She realized that when chatting with Tang Hui, she had to be prepared to be shocked by his amazing words and bite her tongue at any time.
Is this how all lawyers are, or is Tang Hui exceptionally gifted?
"Attorney Tang, you, you're not kidding me, are you?" Shen Bining composed herself and asked with a forced smile. She had instantly lost her interest in watching the show and even felt a sense of absurdity, as if she had stumbled upon a melon on her own head.
Tang Hui didn't waste any words and directly stated his request. "I'm serious. First, I don't know many single girls, and I don't have the extra time to find a girl to help me with my act. Second, I think you're a good person. If you help me with this, I'll consider it a favor, and we'll become friends. Third, only a girl as good as you can completely put an end to my cousin's feelings."
After they finished speaking, both of them fell silent. Shen Bining was so shocked by Tang Hui's request that she didn't know how to react; while Tang Hui was racking his brains trying to figure out what kind of exchange he could offer to persuade Shen Bining.
Suddenly, Tang Hui seemed to remember something, and he hurriedly added, "Dr. Shen, don't worry, it's just an act in front of my cousin. It will never become real. I certainly won't take advantage of you, and you can completely trust me about your personal safety. Um, Qi Wang and Chen Nian can vouch for my character. I'll try my best to accommodate your schedule. Once my cousin is gone, our agreement will be considered expired, and I will never bother you afterward. I'll cover any expenses incurred during the fake couple period. If you need any legal assistance in the future, feel free to contact me, and I will do my best to help."
Shen Bining only came to her senses at this moment. She stared blankly at Tang Hui, who was hurriedly explaining, and subconsciously said, "I definitely trust your character, otherwise Chen Nian and Qi Wang wouldn't be good friends with you. I would also like to be your friend, and helping a friend with a small favor is not impossible. However... Tang Lu, you should know very well what I want in return from you..."
Tang Hui gave a bitter smile and slowly closed his eyes. How could he not know what kind of exchange conditions Shen Bining would propose? After a long pause, he said, word by word, "As long as you can help me deceive my cousin, I will go with you to see Zhou Nianhua."
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