After Teasing the Heroine and Running Away, I Was Forced into Love - Chapter 27

The office was in complete chaos. Even He Wenzhi, who was in a meeting, rushed over. By then, He Roushuang had already been examined by a doctor.

The wound was shallow and caused no internal injuries.

Yet, seeing the vivid crimson stain on the snow-white wall, He Wenzhi’s anger flared. He wanted to slap his son again.

“Is this how you treat your sister?” He Wenzhi roared, his beard bristling with fury.

He Roushuang shakily stood up. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Dad, I rejected my brother’s proposal today. It’s only natural he’d be upset.”

She forced a gentle smile, perfectly playing the victim. But…

He Roushuang wasn’t like this in real life. Closing her eyes, she couldn’t help but recall the tragic fate of the original owner in the novel.

Driven by morbid curiosity, she had even secretly looked up the original owner’s marriage partner, telling herself it would be just a glance.

What she saw was a bloated, middle-aged man whose shirt buttons strained to bursting. He was groping a female employee under his command.

And then there were those yellowed teeth, stained black from years of smoking, no amount of whitening could ever erase.

He Roushuang couldn’t help but have nightmares night after night, waking up in terror each time to frantically check if a sleeping boar was beside her.

It was truly horrifying.

He Roushuang resolved to become a bad woman: cold-hearted and detached. She only needed to save the Female Lead, partly out of sympathy for her plight and partly because staying close to the Female Lead would help her avoid all the tragic endings.

However, despite telling herself she would only save the Female Lead, He Roushuang still took in the girl who had been harassed by the old, fat man and fought a lawsuit on her behalf.

With He Roushuang’s backing, the lawsuit was naturally won, but she also earned the old man’s lasting resentment.

If she ever fell into his hands again, He Roushuang didn’t dare imagine what would happen.

She shouldn’t have saved that girl. Now she had invited disaster upon herself, completely exposing her true intentions.

But…

Whenever He Roushuang saw girls with tears in their eyes, she couldn’t help but want to save them, even though she herself was a broken ship.

“Our Roushuang is so sensible,” He Wenzhi said, his eyes sparkling with affection as he looked at his daughter, as if seeing the woman he loved most.

He Roushuang successfully earned more favor points with her cheap old man. After repeatedly refusing his offer to go to the hospital, she walked out the door with two large bandages on her head.

Her footsteps were as swift as the wind; anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she was rushing to the bathroom, unable to hold it in for another second.

In reality, He Roushuang was hurrying to answer Shi Qing’s call. How could she not understand the Female Lead’s personality?

A little gloomy, a little insecure.

Clearly she was a stunning beauty, yet she lived under the constant shadow of debt collectors. No wonder she felt insecure.

The author’s explanation for this was actually quite reasonable—not the kind of “she’s insecure because she’s insecure” logic.

The first call went unanswered.

“Please… please, pick up!” He Roushuang clutched her phone, inwardly repenting. After all, she hadn’t meant to ignore the call.

She couldn’t exactly leave the phone on speaker and let the Female Lead overhear her arguing with the Male Lead. That would be too embarrassing.

Although He Roushuang had sent bodyguards to follow Shi Qing, they hadn’t called yet, suggesting the Female Lead wasn’t in immediate danger.

But…

The unanswered call was still serious. Perhaps the Female Lead was angry with her.

Just as He Roushuang was anxiously speculating, the second call was finally answered.

“Thank goodness…”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

But the unfamiliar woman’s voice on the phone sent a chill through He Roushuang’s heart. Why wasn’t it Shi Qing?

Could Shi Qing be secretly flirting with another woman behind my back? That can’t be right. Isn’t the Female Lead supposed to be a super-straight, iron-willed woman?

He Roushuang suddenly plunged into a crisis of existential doubt, running through every possible scenario in her mind.

“Are you Miss He?” Qin Wenlu asked hesitantly.

“Yes, this is she.”

Though her brain was still in a smoking, frozen state, He Roushuang’s mouth reacted quickly, answering immediately.

“Did Shi Qing call just now?”

“I was discussing work matters, so I hung up.”

Anxious to avoid any misunderstanding from the Female Lead, He Roushuang rushed to explain. But all she heard in response was a soft, gentle chuckle.

“Our Shi Qing understands perfectly. You’re a busy woman, after all.”

Qin Wenlu exchanged a few polite remarks before finally explaining why Shi Qing couldn’t answer the phone.

The reason was simple: Shi Qing was drunk—completely and utterly wasted.

However, unlike some who might dance wildly or vomit uncontrollably when drunk, Shi Qing’s drunken state was remarkably well-behaved.

She was like a little kitten that barely moved.

After hearing the explanation, He Roushuang nodded in relief and slowly approached the elevator. But she couldn’t resist asking Qin Wenlu one last question:

“What’s your relationship with Shi Qing?”

Qin Wenlu seemed surprised by the question, but as a seasoned player in the game of love, she detected a faint hint of jealousy in He Roushuang’s casual remark.

“We’re friends now,” Qin Wenlu replied with a smile, sensing the underlying drama in He Roushuang’s words. “We’ve known each other since college, but… I have a boyfriend, so you don’t need to worry, Miss He.”

In truth, Qin Wenlu had been single recently, though she had a few ambiguous connections. But she wouldn’t jeopardize her friend’s budding romance, so she simply claimed to have a boyfriend.

Why call it a romance?

Because as an experienced player in love, Qin Wenlu heard genuine concern in He Roushuang’s words.

After all, a cold, domineering CEO wouldn’t react this way. They’d be as cold and unyielding as a block of ice.

Excessive concern was a clear signal that something was up.

It seemed fate had finally smiled upon Shi Qing, the tragic girl, allowing her to break free from the perfect spiral of debt.

Qin Wenlu was genuinely happy for her.

After hanging up, He Roushuang rushed downstairs to the company entrance. Her driver had been waiting since morning. After giving him the address Qin Wenlu had provided, He Roushuang began to speculate about the woman who had answered the phone.

The woman had later identified herself as Miss Qin, so it was obvious she was the Female Lead’s best friend in the novel.

“Qin Wenlu…”

He Roushuang murmured the name to herself. This woman was one of the few capable individuals the Female Lead had managed to recruit.

Thank goodness I know the plot, He Roushuang thought, secretly relieved. Otherwise, she would have been inexplicably consumed by jealousy again.

Many people who transmigrate into novels find the plot drastically altered. He Roushuang considered herself fortunate that the storyline remained largely unchanged, allowing her to accurately predict events.

She savored the exhilarating feeling of being a prophet.