Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was still woozy, but the moment Qiao Luo took me from him, strength flooded my entire body.

“Waaah! Hubby, where are you going?”

“Damn those husband-snatchers! I missed you so much I forgot how to study. Don’t go! If staying meant I had to drive a luxury car and live in a mansion, I’d do it!”

Qiao Luo covered her face with one hand while using the other to hold me upright so I would not dive headfirst into the floor.

“Say something and coax her.”

“Hurry. She’s more stubborn than an ox when she’s drunk.”

Like a fish freshly leaping from the water, I wriggled left and right in her arms, testing my chances of escape.

Qiao Luo shoved me toward Lu Qinian.

“Your wife, your problem. Hold her so she’ll stop dancing in my arms.”

Lu Qinian quickly caught me.

His voice softened even further.

“I promise I’ll be waiting right here when you wake up tomorrow.”

“Go rest first, okay?”

I clutched his hand, my eyes brimming with tears.

“Then be careful when you go hunting.”

He laughed but patiently agreed.

“All right. Don’t worry.”

I stared at Lu Qinian until he nodded solemnly. Only then did I relax.

“Sorry to trouble you with her. I’ll buy you dinner another day.”

Qiao Luo said nothing. She reached out and dragged me over, and I tactfully burrowed into her arms.

She hauled me into the elevator and pinched my cheek.

I looked at her blankly.

She clicked her tongue. “Chen Youxi, oh, Chen Youxi. You’re done for.”

“You’re going to spend the rest of your life digging wild herbs for that man—enough to cover an entire mountain.”

In the middle of the night, I sat up in a daze.

A light had been left on below.

We shared a two-person room, so my kindhearted roommate must have left it for me. Filled with gratitude, I opened my bed curtain.

Qiao Luo was watching a show with headphones on. When she saw me awake, she pulled them off.

“Feeling better?”

“Do you feel so full of strength that you could dig up every wild herb in the world?”

That mouth of hers instantly dredged up my terrible memories.

I covered my burning face.

“Aaaaaah! Please stop.”

“I hugged Lu Qinian, called him my husband, and kept begging him to kiss me.”

Qiao Luo pointed at my lips.

“Did you get the kiss?”

I shook my head.

“On the cheek?”

I shook my head again.

“The floor must have been spotless after you left.”

“What does that mean?”

Qiao Luo’s voice slowly merged with the voice in my head.

“Because every last scrap of your dignity was on it.”

I howled at the ceiling lamp like a wolf.

Not too loudly, though.

Qiao Luo could not bear to watch.

“Why are you howling? Just find someone else to like.”

“If you’re desperate, I can trick my brother into coming over for you to play with. He looks respectable enough.”

“Thank you so much.”

Suffering, I shrank back onto my bed.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw myself losing my mind all over again.

I tossed and turned all night. Worse, the voice in my head would not stop nagging.

【A vicious supporting girl never meets a good end.】

【The male lead and heroine will live happily ever after. You belong in a garbage dump.】

When I found my phone, several new messages awaited me.

I opened them one by one until I reached Lu Qinian’s.

【Get some rest.】

【Is there anything you want for breakfast? I can bring it to you.】

Lu Qinian worked out every morning, rain or shine, all 365 days of the year.

The track was visible from our balcony. Whenever I woke up early enough, I could see him running.

Probably because he exercised so much, his abs were very defined.

Summer clothes were thin. The slightest sweat made his shirt cling to his body, revealing their faint outline.

I became lost in thought.

When I finally looked down, I had sent him two words.

【Your abs.】

My fingers flew to recall the message.

He was faster.

【?】

【??】

【???】

It was over.

Now this was true humiliation.

I opened my bed curtain. Qiao Luo had already climbed into bed.

With no one to consult, I could only listen to my pounding heart and blurt out, “This is all your fault. I should have been asleep ages ago.”

“Now you’ve thrown my thoughts into chaos, and I can’t sleep. You deserve to die.”

Every passing second stretched without end. I dug my nails into my palm and waited for Lu Qinian’s reply.

I prayed that someone would attack him, give him amnesia, and erase my stupidity from his memory.

Heaven ignored me.

He replied:

【I’m sorry.】

【You’ve thrown me into chaos too.】