Chapter 6

Rage showed in Shen Zhuo’s brow. Jealousy filled his head, and he punched Li Changqing in the face.

Li Changqing didn’t fight back. He only called my name weakly. “Song Mian.”

I caught Shen Zhuo’s furious fist. “He has a fever.”

Shen Zhuo sneered. “A fever? So instead of seeing a doctor, he comes to your apartment? Mingzhu was right. You really do sleep around!”

That exhausted my patience. I tossed him his stomach medicine. “Think whatever you like.”

“Both of you, get out.”

Before leaving, Li Changqing said, “I’ll wash it and give it back.”

He and Shen Zhuo had grown up side by side. Shen Zhuo stared at the white T-shirt, clearly a little too long on Li Changqing, and demanded, each word distinct, “You gave him the clothes you bought for me?”

Just before he exploded, I asked, “Is there anything you’ve been lying to me about?”

His anger was doused in an instant. Panic appeared in his eyes.

“He just… said you were lying to me.” Tears gathered in my eyes. I pressed my lips together.

“If you lie to me, I’ll never forgive you.”

There was a month left before the entrance exam. I’d found a discarded cancer report with Shen Zhuo’s name on it.

He really had fallen in love. He’d abandoned the idea of deceiving me further and started studying seriously. He didn’t want to keep playing.

But the game hadn’t reached its climax. How could I let him end it early?

As he searched for an excuse, I hugged him tightly and said with deep affection, “Don’t be afraid. Even if the worst happens, I’ll stay with you. I won’t make you study anymore. Just concentrate on getting better.”

Seeing the crumpled cancer report in my hand, his eyes filled with panic. His mouth opened and closed. He had no idea where to begin.

“Song Mian, you…”

He wanted to explain but couldn’t find the words. In the end, he nodded and admitted he had cancer.

One lie takes a thousand more to sustain it.

Shen Zhuo checked into the hospital.

I shuttled between school and hospital.

In such poor shape, I failed to finish the next two mock exams.

Zhao Mingzhu looked at me with the smug gaze of someone who’d known all along. “Pathetic. All this over a man.”

Everyone said I’d lost my mind over love. I only lay with my head on my desk, occasionally squeezing out a few tears.

“Song Mian used to be first in our year. Why have her grades suddenly dropped this much?”

“Mingzhu says it’s because she’s dating. That she’s already slept with a boy and has no self-respect. But I don’t believe her. Someone must’ve deliberately seduced her.”

“Why would anyone believe Mingzhu? She’s just spreading nasty rumors. Mianmian forgave her, and she’s still lying about her. Disgusting.”

In her haste for results, Zhao Mingzhu told the class I’d slept with my secret boyfriend.

But she’d done this sort of thing before. No one believed her.