Chapter 9
◎He bit her lip◎
Just as Cheng Jiamo was about to say it was convenient, she looked up and saw Ding Qiaoqiao, who was sleeping on the opposite bed, looking at her with a gossipy smile.
She felt inexplicably guilty, coughed lightly, and said into the phone, "Wait a moment."
She didn't want to get out of bed; it was a cold autumn night, and she didn't want to go through the trouble of getting up. But now she had no choice but to go out.
She casually threw on a coat, took her phone, went to the stairwell, and said softly, "Please go ahead and say it."
However, she did not hear He Qingzhao speak, but only heard a very soft sound of a lighter's grinding wheel igniting.
It's obvious without asking that He Qingzhao was the one smoking; someone like him wouldn't be lighting cigarettes for others.
Then she heard a deep, long breath. Even though she couldn't see it, she could imagine that it was the sound of He Qingzhao exhaling smoke.
After a while, she heard He Qingzhao speak in a hoarse voice: "Don't overthink it, just get some sleep."
Cheng Jiamo responded softly, "No, I wasn't thinking anything."
He Qingzhao swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "Are there many classes tomorrow?"
Cheng Jiamo subconsciously straightened her back, just like when the teacher called on her to answer a question in class, and obediently replied, "Not many, only two classes in the morning, one is Chinese Literature History and the other is Second Language Acquisition Theory. There are no classes in the afternoon."
He Qingzhao smiled and said, "Relax."
He should have kept quiet, because after he spoke, Cheng Jiamo became even more nervous, her nerve endings taut, but she still responded in accordance with his words: "Okay, sure."
He Qingzhao lowered his voice and soothed her gently, "Don't feel pressured."
Cheng Jiamo obediently replied, "Okay."
He Qingzhao chuckled in a low voice: "If you feel uncomfortable because you helped me, it will make me feel guilty."
"No, Mr. He, please don't feel guilty." Cheng Jiamo said in a flustered tone, "Mr. He, you must not feel guilty. I'm not uncomfortable at all, I'm very comfortable and happy to help you."
He Qingzhao saved her life and helped her resolve Zhu Yue's matter. What's wrong with her helping him out? It's just pretending to be his girlfriend to fend off unwanted suitors.
She can do it!
With the conviction to repay the life-saving grace, Cheng Jiamo instantly felt that she was doing something very sacred and righteous!
She stopped feeling awkward and felt much more relaxed.
“Mr. He, you saved me and helped me. Now that you are in trouble, it is an honor for me to do my part to help you. I am very happy.” She emphasized again, “I don’t feel uncomfortable at all, really.”
Her tone was so solemn, as if she were taking an oath to join the Party, and He Qingzhao laughed helplessly.
"That's good. Goodnight."
Cheng Jiamo pursed her lips and replied softly, "Good night, Mr. He."
"Still calling me Mr. He?" He Qingzhao raised the last syllable of his voice, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
Cheng Jiamo became nervous again, switched hands to hold the phone, and wiped the sweat from her right hand, which had been holding the phone, on her trouser leg.
"Then, how should I address you?" She started to get flustered again.
He Qingzhao turned the question back on her: "What do you think is an appropriate way to address your boyfriend?"
The word "boyfriend" carried an inexplicable air of ambiguity when he uttered it, especially in the quiet of the night, making it hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
Cheng Jiamo's breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded wildly, as if it were about to leap out of her chest.
She pursed her lips and tried to breathe evenly.
Even so, her breathing became rapid, though she herself was unaware of it, because she was in a state of high tension.
He Qingzhao heard very soft, gentle breathing, which reached his ears through the phone. In the quiet night, it inevitably carried a hint of eroticism, as if someone had just experienced an intense lovemaking session.
His throat tightened, and he gripped his phone tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
After Cheng Jiamo asked her question, she waited for a while but didn't hear He Qingzhao speak. She thought he had hung up, so she moved her phone away and looked at it. It was still on a call.
She pursed her lips and asked in a sweet voice, "Mr. He, are you still listening?"
He Qingzhao sat in his study, his hand holding a cigarette resting on a flat sheet of Xuan paper. Suddenly, his wrist dipped, burning a hole in the slightly yellowed paper. A wisp of smoke slowly rose from his long, slender, pale fingers.
He tossed his cigarette butt into the crystal ashtray, reached for the purple brush on the brush holder, lightly dipped it in paint, and with swift strokes, depicted a jasmine flower battered by a storm on the rice paper.
The flower branches are curved, and the delicate petals hang trembling on the branches, seemingly about to fall but not quite, inspiring imagination.
He tapped the pen on the blank space, grinding it lightly, and said in a low voice, "Answer my previous question."
Cheng Jiamo felt her heart beating beyond the normal range. If this continued, she might have to go to the hospital due to arrhythmia.
"I...I don't know."
He Qingzhao put down his pen, lit another cigarette, held it between two fingers, took a deep drag with his eyes narrowed, and said with a roguish smile as he exhaled smoke, "What does my darling want to call me?"
-
Cheng Jiamo pretended to be calm as she returned to her dormitory, but as soon as she climbed into bed, she immediately pulled the curtains shut, completely blocking the view of the bed.
She covered her head with the blanket and buried herself in it, breathing heavily.
Aaaaaah!!!
She's going crazy, she's absolutely going crazy!
Ding!
Phone message notification sound.
She picked up the phone with trembling hands, glanced at it, and immediately put it down again.
My face felt like it was burning up. Not only my face, but my body and my heart were burning. Every part of my body was burning, and a strange heat surged through my body.
She lay down, turned to face the wall, and pressed her damp palms against the cold surface, as if that could soothe the unfamiliar and unbearable restlessness.
After a moment, she turned around quietly, picked up her phone like a thief, unlocked it with her fingerprint, and opened the messages.
HE: [Don't be nervous, get some sleep.]
Cheng Jiamo calmed down a bit and sat up to reply to the message.
Mr. He, could you please stop calling me that in the future?
She's just pretending to be his girlfriend, not his real girlfriend, so calling her "baby" is completely inappropriate!
Even if it's a real girlfriend, and you've only just started dating, why would you call her "baby" right away? It's just way too cheesy!
HE: [Don't call me Mr. He anymore.]
Jingyu: [Okay.]
HE: [@京遇, why did you choose the nickname "京遇"?]
Cheng Jiamo chose to ignore him and not reply.
Anyway, she told him not to call her "baby," but he didn't respond directly, so she pretended not to notice.
HE: [Do you want to meet me in northern Beijing?]
His question was direct and frank, which made Cheng Jiamo flustered.
The heat that had just subsided rose again, her face burning once more. She felt both ashamed and embarrassed, wishing she could carry a train and escape to another planet overnight.
HE: [Do you have a photo of yourself when you were sixteen? Send me one.]
Faced with his sudden and bizarre request, Cheng Jiamo was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, so startled that she almost jumped out of bed!
Jingyu: [No!]
How could she possibly show him a picture of herself when she was sixteen? She'd rather be killed!
HE: [It's okay, I'll have the housekeeper at Tae-kyung's place check the surveillance footage from three years ago.]
Jingyu: [Cat with a question mark face.jpg]
She really wanted to ask, "Are you alright?" Why did they have to look at her photos from when she was sixteen, and even wanted to access the surveillance footage?
HE: [If I remember correctly, you stayed at my place for more than half a month three years ago.]
Cheng Jiamo's perfect impression of this handsome and refined savior is gradually crumbling.
Jingyu: [Please don't check the security footage, please!]
Three years ago, she had thick bangs, wore a brightly colored long dress, and black flip-flops. She looked awful and was so unattractive that she didn't even want to look back at her embarrassing past, let alone show it to He Qingzhao.
Since He Qingzhao has already forgotten what she looked like back then, then let him forget it. She doesn't want him to remember it at all.
HE: [Call me by my name, or check the security footage; choose one.]
This short line of text is filled with the unassailable power and domineering attitude of someone in a superior position.
Cheng Jiamo had no choice but to choose the former.
She didn't want He Qingzhao to check the surveillance footage to see her "punk" look when she was sixteen.
Jingyu: [He Qingzhao, don't check the surveillance footage.]
HE: [So good.]
Cheng Jiamo sighed, feeling an overwhelming sense of powerlessness born of extreme shame.
HE: Goodnight, my love.
Jing Yu: [……]
Cheng Jiamo was speechless. Why was she calling her that again? Didn't she tell me not to call her that?
Jingyu: [Goodnight Cat.jpg]
She was too lazy to think about it anymore. Whatever, she'd just treat it as part of the plot for the role.
After saying goodnight to each other, Cheng Jiamo turned off her phone screen and lay in bed tossing and turning for a long time before finally falling asleep.
hot.
It's hot and stuffy.
On a humid and sultry afternoon, a man in a white suit stood under a banana tree, exuding a cool and refined air.
"Momo, come here." The man beckoned to her.
Cheng Jiamo ran over, lifting her long green dress, and greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Mr. He."
The man looked at her with a dark gaze, then suddenly pulled her into his arms, pinched her chin with two fingers, lowered his head close to her face, and said in a hoarse and deep voice, "Why are you still calling me Mr. He?"
Cheng Jiamo quickly corrected herself: "He...He Qing..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man forcefully kissed her lips and bit them.
She felt a sharp pain on her lip and pushed the man away abruptly.
Cheng Jiamo opened her eyes and took deep breaths.
She subconsciously touched her lips, feeling ashamed of her dream.
Good heavens, how could she have such a shameful dream?
Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was He Qingzhao calling.
She received his call as soon as she woke up, and the fact that she woke up from that dream caused her heart rate to drop again.
"Hello." She answered the phone, trying to keep her voice calm.
He Qingzhao asked, "Are you up?"
Cheng Jiamo's face flushed as she recalled the scene in her dream, and her voice trembled slightly: "I just... I just woke up."
He Qingzhao could tell from her trembling voice, even without seeing her face, that she was blushing and shy.
He asked in a gentle tone, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Cheng Jiamo was already feeling guilty, and his question made her even more guilty.
"Mmm," she replied hesitantly.
What kind of nightmare?
Hearing his curious tone, Cheng Jiamo stammered, "It was just some random dream, I can't remember it."
He Qingzhao already knew the answer in his heart, and smiled knowingly: "I had someone send you breakfast and snacks."
Cheng Jiamo asked in surprise, "Why are you bringing breakfast?"
Her school has a cafeteria, and the cafeteria has food.
He Qingzhao smiled and said, "I apologize for my frivolous behavior in my dream."
Cheng Jiamo: "..."
She strongly suspected that He Qingzhao could read minds!
This man is terrifying; he even knows what she was dreaming about.
He Qingzhao seemed to see her startled and timid appearance, and his laughter became even more cheerful: "Just kidding, get up and go get breakfast outside the dormitory building."
After hanging up the phone, a confident smile appeared on his lips.
The girl was so innocent that he felt no sense of conquest whatsoever.
-
He Qingzhao was sitting in the restaurant having an elegant breakfast when He Zongxun and He Jingyang arrived.
The two entered the garden gate and quickly walked towards the main building of the villa.
Upon arriving at the main building of the villa, He Jingyang stopped, tugged at He Zongxun's arm, and whispered, "Second Brother, we came to see our eldest brother so early in the morning, making it seem like we're interrogating him. What if we anger him?"
He Zongxun patted He Jingyang on the shoulder: "Don't worry, your older brother is the most pretentious person. Even if he gets angry, he won't lower himself to fight with you. His noble and refined demeanor has become an extension of himself and is an integral part of his being."
He Jingyang said, "Second brother, don't talk about eldest brother like that. He did it for the sake of our He family."
"He's from the He family, but am I not?" He Zongxun curled his lips in self-deprecation. "I was born in the same year as him, and I was his comparison point since childhood, always living in his shadow. Later, he went into business, and I joined the army. Now he's a powerful figure in the business world, a royal merchant envied by everyone. Meanwhile, I'm shedding blood and sweat on the border, and I've become a mere brute, not worth mentioning."
"Second brother, that's not what I meant..."
He Zongxun waved his hand to interrupt him: "I don't blame you, and I don't resent my elder brother either."
He Jingyang sighed: "I just think this is my brother's private matter. Even if he has a girlfriend, it's none of our business."
He Zongxun shouted, "It's none of our business if he finds a woman! But if he really does find a female student, wouldn't that be bad for me?"
"How did I harm you?" He Qingzhao, dressed in a linen-colored loungewear, walked out of the house with one hand in his pocket and a carefree air.
He Zongxun met his cold gaze and said bluntly, "Big brother, we have no right to interfere with your relationships with women, whether they are female students or female celebrities, that's your business. But you are not Jingyang or Zihong, you are He Qingzhao, the eldest grandson of the He family, the heir of the He family who has been designated since childhood."
"To put it bluntly, you are the pillar of our He family. You cannot bend, and no one in the He family will allow you to bend. Because if you are bent, no one can support you. Even if you manage to hold me up, the building will eventually collapse. Don't you think you've ruined me?"
"Brother, let me be blunt. If you want to find a girlfriend, you can only look for socialites from prestigious families. You absolutely cannot look for female celebrities or female students."
"You try it and see if the old man and the others will agree."
"If you insist on going your own way, you will not only harm me, but also others."
He Qingzhao raised his lips slightly, still smiling politely, but his words were as hurtful as knives.
"If I contact you, I can't contact you again, right?"
He Zongxun was so angry he laughed: "I'm not as bored as you guys! You have so many beautiful rich girls out there, but you insist on finding a poor female student. Do you really think you're some kind of hero who saves a prostitute?"
He Jingyang's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he quickly tugged at He Zongxun's arm, signaling him to stop talking.
He Zongxun shook off He Jingyang's hand and continued, "Brother, you are different from Tang Jingyao. He only lives for himself, not for the Tang family or the Ye family. So it doesn't matter who he wants to be with, no one will interfere."
“But you’ve been groomed to be the heir of the He family since you were little, and everyone has high hopes for you. If you quit now, none of us brothers can take over your burden. Jingyang can’t, I can’t, and Zihong can’t either. The He family will be finished in our generation. So Grandpa and the others will never let you ruin your future because of a woman.”
After He Zongxun finished speaking, he looked intently at He Qingzhao.
Standing to the side, He Jingyang softly called out, "Big Brother."
He Zongxun added, "Aren't you preparing to run for president of the Asia-Pacific Chamber of Commerce? At this time, you can't afford to make a single wrong move."
He Qingzhao didn't speak, his face always bearing a gentle and refined smile, but the hand behind his back was clenched tightly, his knuckles turning a cold blue.
Under the autumn morning mist, he stood tall on the white marble steps, his Adam's apple bobbing rapidly. He chuckled in a deep voice, "Do you think I'm not as carefree as Tang Jingyao, or as lacking in courage?"
He Zongxun paused for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing: "Brother, you've already lost by asking such a question. Tang Jingyao doesn't compare himself to anyone; he just does what he wants."
After saying that, He Zongxun turned and left, but stopped after a few steps and turned back to look at He Qingzhao in the hazy autumn mist.
“You took that girl to a charity gala yesterday, and your grandparents, your dad, my dad, your third and fourth uncles, and your aunt all know about it.”
He Jingyang added quietly, "They're all waiting for you to come back to the old house."
On a misty, cool autumn morning.
He Qingzhao slowly walked down the steps and stood by the green bamboo by the courtyard wall. His loose home clothes billowed in the wind, and his back was straighter than the green bamboo.
In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed as if he and a clump of green bamboo were the only ones present.
The cigarette he was holding was blown into flames by the wind, burning up to his fingertips, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, letting it continue to burn.
He Zongxun and He Jingyang walked out of the hillside villa where He Qingzhao lived.
He Jingyang said with dissatisfaction, "Second brother, I think what you just said was a bit excessive. Tang Jingyao is not as good as you say. I still think eldest brother is better."
He Zongxun chuckled: "According to blood relations, of course our eldest brother is the closest to us. But if we're talking about friendship, Tang Jingyao and I are closer than our eldest brother."
He Jingyang was still dissatisfied: "Then you can't talk about me like that, brother. No matter what, you are surnamed He, not Tang."
He Zongxun said, "Tang Jingyao has the spirit of a chivalrous outlaw, willing to go to great lengths for his brothers, and is quite detached at heart. Although he appears to be upright and honest, he is actually like Emperor Wu of Han, with great ambition and desire."
He Jingyang then understood his intention and exclaimed in surprise, "Second Brother, you've gone through all this trouble, it wouldn't be to help that girl, would it?"
He Zongxun paused for a moment, then said, "It's not really about helping. I have no relation to that girl, and I'm not so kind as to help her out of obligation. My main concern is that I don't want my brother to do something that will ruin his future. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. Although we brothers have always lived in his shadow, we have also been protected by his halo."
He Jingyang deduced from his meaning: "So you're afraid that if your older brother's affair with a female student blows up, it will affect his future?"
He Zongxun said, "It's impossible for my brother to be with that girl. Maybe it was just a passing fancy, or maybe it's because Tang Jingyao found a female student, so he..."
He Jingyang continued, "So you first used the He family's business to put pressure on him, and then used Tang Jingyao to provoke him, just to force him to give up."
He Zongxun explained, "Tang Jingyao is harsh with his words, but he only says two-tenths of what he loves, which is why those misunderstandings occur." He shook his head, "But my older brother is different. He may not love even a little bit, but he can act like he loves a lot."
"Moreover, given his nature, even if he wanted something, he wouldn't ask for it openly. He would use all sorts of tricks to make others come to him willingly."
"But there's a saying that goes, 'Too clever by half.' I'm afraid he'll overthink things and end up hurting himself as well. In that case, he'll not only hurt others, but he'll also hurt himself."
"When that day comes, someone like him, who usually acts all refined and cultured, will become even more insane when he goes crazy. He might even be crazier than Tang Jingyao."
“If he goes crazy, we’ll all suffer along with him. We might as well nip the fire in the bud before it gets out of control.”
He Jingyang was stunned for a moment, and said, "Second brother, you seem to know a lot about this."
"I don't know anything! I've seen it all! People like them are all like that."
He Jingyang suggested, "Then why don't you just find that girl and talk to her, and tell her to stay away from your brother?"
He Zongxun roared, "Am I crazy? Putting aside whether people would believe me if I went to find them for no reason, even if they did, I've offended my elder brother. Do I even want to live anymore?"
He Jingyang put his arm around his shoulder: "Second brother, don't be angry, come on, come on, I'll treat you to dinner."
Suddenly remembering something, He Zongxun asked, "Is that girl from M University?"
He Jingyang touched his buzz cut: "It seems so. I heard my aunt mention it last night."
He Zongxun grinned: "If I remember correctly, Fu Zhenhe's wife is a teacher at M University, and she used to teach Zhao Yue."
He Jingyang had a vague sense of unease: "And then?"
He Zongxun patted his shoulder: "Third brother, you and Zhao Yue were elementary school classmates, and you two are on good terms. Go find him and have him bring a gift to visit his teacher at M University. While you're at it, try to bump into that girl. If you can set Zhao Yue up with her..."
He Jingyang turned and left: "Second brother, you go by yourself, I'm not going. I want to live a few more years!"
If He Qingzhao found out about this, he would surely send him to Siberia to dig potatoes!
It's terrifying to even think about, he's definitely not going!
He Zongxun grabbed He Jingyang by the collar: "Come on, let's go together and cut off this ill-fated relationship for him before our eldest brother does!"
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