The train slowly pulled into Baihe County.
Twelve hours on the road left Jiang Chen's whole body aching.
As he was getting ready to step off the train, he saw Lu Hongluan looking at him pleadingly. "Can you help me?"
"Fine."
Along the way, he and Lu Hongluan hadn't exchanged a single word.
After all, with subconscious prejudice already taking root, he naturally kept his guard up.
He hadn't expected Lu Hongluan to be getting off here as well.
For this person to go to such lengths to get close to him, she seemed heavily invested.
A cynical sneer touched his heart.
After hauling the girl's luggage down, Jiang Chen walked away entirely.
By now it was midnight, and only two people got off the train at Baihe County.
Jiang Chen walked in front, with Lu Hongluan following behind.
The northwestern night was a bit cold, and even with two layers of clothing, she was still shivering slightly.
She carried a guitar on her back and dragged her luggage.
The plastic wheels of her suitcase made an irritating screeching sound against the ground.
She followed Jiang Chen to the station exit.
Unlike the well-planned bullet train stations in major cities, both cars and people were scarce here.
Especially at this hour, taxis and ride-sharing cars were virtually nonexistent.
She stood in the chilly wind, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
Jiang Chen, however, had anticipated this; he always kept a car parked in the local lot, which only cost a few hundred a month to maintain.
Just as he was heading toward the parking lot, Lu Hongluan grabbed him by the sleeve.
"I... can you take me to the hospital?"
"I don't know how to get there."
"I can pay you, I have money... two hundred for you, how about that?"
Jiang Chen was torn between exasperation and amusement. "Do you take me for a taxi driver?"
"N—no, that's not it."
Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, spilling over in drops. "My mom is sick and needs surgery. I didn't mean to trouble you."
"I just didn't know what else to do."
Her tears came on command, her voice thick with sobs.
Clearly, this burden had been weighing on her heart for a long time.
Jiang Chen frowned.
He wasn't a soft-hearted person—or rather, before he was with Su Zhi, his heart was hard most of the time.
Any ordinary person who achieves success is bound to have a heart of steel.
"Stop crying," Jiang Chen said expressionlessly. "I'll take you, but if I find out you're lying to me, you'll regret it."
A cynical thought crossed his mind; this woman was certainly willing to go all out.
To get close to him, she even brought up a close relative's critical illness.
Lu Hongluan showered him with profuse thanks.
She followed Jiang Chen to the parking lot.
It was an SUV worth a little over two hundred thousand yuan—average performance, but convenient since he didn't care about wear and tear.
After paying over two thousand yuan in parking fees, he drove Lu Hongluan to the hospital.
***
Hearing Qin Yu utter the word "like," Su Zhi didn't feel the joy she had imagined.
She said, "You're drunk."
She was no longer some naive young girl whose heart could be easily thrown into turmoil by a couple of sweet words.
The trials of the marketplace had made her heart both resilient and desensitized; when Qin Yu said those things, her very first thought was actually that he had an ulterior motive.
She was unwilling to view Qin Yu through a sordid lens.
So, she could only claim he was drunk.
Qin Yu's eyes carried a drunken haze and an ambiguous warmth.
"I'm not."
"I love you, Su Zhi."
"When I was abroad, I thought of you every single second."
Su Zhi fell silent.
Qin Yu's departure abroad had been the result of the Su Family applying pressure on the Qin family.
At that time, the Qin family was no match for the Su Family, so Qin Yu, being an illegitimate son, was naturally abandoned.
When Qin Yu brought this up, she subconsciously felt she had wronged him.
Sidestepping the topic, she asked, "Where are you staying?"
"I'm still at the hotel, but I don't want to stay there anymore. Can't you take me to your place?"
Qin Yu cautiously tested Su Zhi's boundaries.
If it had been the Qin Yu of the past, Su Zhi would naturally have been deliriously happy at such a request.
Yet now, only a single thought crossed her mind.
"My place is too messy and a hassle to clean up. I'd better drop you off at the hotel."
Instinctively, she did not want to bring Qin Yu into her private home.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Qin Yu's eyes.
Soon, the car pulled up at the hotel.
Feigning instability on his feet, Qin Yu let Su Zhi support him all the way to his hotel room.
Yet just as the door swung open, Qin Yu suddenly said to Su Zhi, "Don't go back tonight..."
His gaze was full of deep affection.
Su Zhi was slightly startled, instinctively turning her head away. "I... I can't."
"I still have company business to deal with tomorrow."
Her heart was in a flurry.
For some reason, the current Qin Yu lacked the power to make her blush and her heart race.
She probably still liked him.
Yet, when Qin Yu made that request, her entire body was filled with resistance.
After Su Zhi left, Qin Yu's hazy, drunken eyes cleared instantly.
His face turned ashen.
Su Zhi seemed to be slipping out of his control.
***
Jiang Chen brought Lu Hongluan to the hospital.
Without him asking, Lu Hongluan volunteered her situation.
She was a college student at Tianhai University—the very school Jiang Chen had once attended.
Her father had passed away years ago, and her mother, despite poor health, had worked hard to send her to college and had never remarried.
During college, she learned that being a resident singer at bars paid well, so with the help of her roommates, she learned the guitar and started singing.
She had earned quite a bit of money through the bars, but then her mother had collapsed and ended up in the hospital.
She had only received the news when the doctor contacted her.
As she recounted all this, a trace of moisture lingered in her eyes.
Jiang Chen, however, remained skeptical in his heart.
She was far too pretty.
Such a gorgeous girl looked nothing like someone from an impoverished background.
Anyone who understood reality knew that for a girl to maintain her beauty, she needed an economic foundation first.
Girls who were dirt poor yet fair-skinned and beautiful only existed in novels.
After all, keeping skin collagen-rich and preventing moisture loss required financial investment.
Jiang Chen said flatly, "We're here."
"Thank you, thank you."
Clutching her luggage, she hurried into the hospital.
Jiang Chen, however, did not go inside.
What would he even do in there?
If it was all an act, if she had hired actors, what good would it do for him to walk in and expose them?
Since they had laid a trap, he naturally wasn't going to jump right into it.
Besides, he had no desire to waste time on this sort of nonsense.
He let out a yawn, only to find his phone ringing with a familiar number.
It was Su Zhi.
A surge of disgust welled up inside Jiang Chen.
Since he had poured his all into this relationship, he felt no regret whatsoever after walking away.
He wasn't someone prone to dragging things out.
Therefore, when Su Zhi called at this moment, his instinctive reaction wasn't joy, but revulsion.
He answered the call, and Su Zhi's haughty voice came through the receiver.
"Jiang Chen, haven't you thrown enough of a tantrum? Exactly how much longer are you going to drag this out?"
Jiang Chen's voice was icy. "A tantrum?"
"My head hurts. Hurry back and give me a massage."
"Serves you right."
Jiang Chen suddenly changed his mind.
He turned and headed toward the hospital.