His Addiction - Chapter 1

Liang Mushi got into a fight.

It was already eleven o’clock at night when Xu Zhi received the call from the police station.

The dormitory building had a curfew, so when Xu Zhi tried to leave, the dorm manager gave her a hard time. In the end, the manager sighed as if lamenting the state of society: “Today’s university students… girls, yet they still don’t know how to act properly…”

Xu Zhi knew the manager had misunderstood, but she didn’t bother to explain. She quickly stepped outside, braving the heavy snow to flag down a taxi at the side gate of the campus and headed to the police station.

To bail Liang Mushi out, she needed to complete some formalities, mostly filling out forms and paying fees.

The police officer asked Xu Zhi, “What’s your relationship with Liang Mushi?”

Xu Zhi hesitated before saying, “I’m his childhood friend.”

The Liang and Xu families were old friends, and when Grandpa Xu was alive, he and Grandpa Liang had arranged a childhood engagement between the grandchildren. Their parents didn’t object either, accepting that Xu Zhi would one day marry into the Liang family.

Among everyone involved, only Liang Mushi’s attitude was ambiguous. If he was opposed to it, he merely laughed it off whenever people teased him; if he agreed, he never privately expressed any romantic intentions to Xu Zhi.

He treated her well but seemed to maintain a certain distance.

His attitude sometimes left Xu Zhi feeling uneasy. Still, as a girl with a shy nature, she couldn’t bring herself to confess her feelings, even though she liked Liang Mushi deeply and had already accepted her family’s arrangement. As things stood, she could only call herself his childhood friend.

“He only has one emergency contact on his phone, and it’s you. I thought you were family,” the officer said with some surprise. “He got into a fight at a bar over his girlfriend.”

Xu Zhi’s hand froze, thinking she’d misheard. “What… girlfriend?”

“Yes, a girl named Chen Jing. They were out at a bar, and some thug started harassing her. Liang Mushi smashed a bottle over the guy’s head…” The officer clicked his tongue. “Pretty vicious—the guy’s still in the hospital undergoing surgery. The bar also got dragged into it, so you’ll have to look into how to handle it. You might even end up in court.”

Xu Zhi was stunned. She and Liang Mushi talked almost daily over WeChat or the phone, yet he’d never mentioned any girlfriend.

After finishing the paperwork, a police officer brought Liang Mushi out.

As soon as Xu Zhi looked up, she noticed a new scar on his forehead.

It was about three centimeters long, slanting across his left brow, freshly scabbed and quite prominent on his handsome face.

This wasn’t the first time Liang Mushi had been in a fight.

His history with fighting dated back to middle school. The young master had been raised spoiled, and with the Liang family’s wealth and influence, words like “compromise” and “back down” weren’t in his vocabulary. He’d lived recklessly and arrogantly all these years.

He walked up to Xu Zhi and called her, “Xiao Zhi.”

Everyone close to Xu Zhi called her Zhi, but Liang Mushi insisted on adding “Xiao” at the beginning. That single extra word carried a hint of intimacy.

Xu Zhi hadn’t yet recovered from the shock. She stared at the wound on his forehead, instinctively wanting to ask if it hurt, but when she opened her mouth, she changed the question. “Who is Chen Jing?”

Liang Mushi was taken aback for a moment, then gently tugged her sleeve, pulling her out of the police station’s lobby. “Let’s talk outside.”

A blizzard had been forecasted tonight, but the severity of the weather was even greater than expected.

Xu Zhi, slender in build, felt as if she might be blown away. She regretted not thinking it through earlier when, in her rush, she’d grabbed a wool coat that was clearly no match for the snow and wind.

Liang Mushi led her across the road to a hotel opposite.

Xu Zhi, her thoughts chaotic, tightened her coat and followed him, still wondering who Chen Jing was as her mind, frozen almost numb, kept dwelling on it.

Inside the hotel lobby, warmed by central heating, she finally felt like she’d come back to life, slowly unclenching her cold-stiffened fingers.

Liang Mushi didn’t stop at the front desk; he brought her straight into the elevator. As they rode up, he said, “Chen Jing is my girlfriend. I was planning to introduce her to you soon, but then this happened… She’s in a room upstairs.”

Xu Zhi remained numb, feeling as if she’d been frozen solid. Only after stepping out of the elevator did she remember to ask a question. “If she’s your girlfriend, why didn’t she come to the police station to bail you out?”

“She was harassed and got quite a scare,” Liang Mushi explained as they walked. “Besides, the weather outside is awful…”

He caught himself and added, “Thanks for going through this trouble, Xiao Zhi. Once everything’s sorted, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Xu Zhi felt like the blizzard was blowing straight through her heart, leaving her unbearably cold.

Liang Mushi knocked on a door, and soon someone opened it. Immediately, the person threw herself into Liang Mushi’s arms.

With a tearful voice, Chen Jing said, “You scared me to death… How could you be so reckless, getting into a fight with those people… And you got hurt. Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Liang Mushi stopped Chen Jing’s hand from reaching for his forehead, clearing his throat as he signaled that someone else was present. “This is Xiao Zhi.”

Only then did Chen Jing notice the other person, turning to look at Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi had a cool and elegant look, natural and bare-faced yet still attractive. In contrast, the made-up Chen Jing looked more polished.

“So, you’re Xiao Zhi. Mushi talks about you often. Nice to meet you.”

Chen Jing extended her hand, and Xu Zhi hesitated before shaking it politely.

After closing the door, Liang Mushi had barely settled on the sofa when Chen Jing leaned over to dab his wound with a tissue.

Xu Zhi felt uncomfortable and stood frozen in place.

Liang Mushi pushed Chen Jing away. “Stop it. I’ll clean it up later. First, let’s find a place for Xiao Zhi to stay. The dormitory is probably locked by now.”

Liang Mushi called the front desk, only to hang up after a brief conversation.

In extreme weather, the hotel was fully booked.

Chen Jing pouted. “There’s no way we can get a room at this hour. Even this king room is one I booked for the two of us this morning.”

Xu Zhi’s first thought was that the two of them had already booked a room this morning, and a king room at that.

She didn’t know why her mind fixated on such a detail, but the more she tried to suppress it, the more she couldn’t stop thinking. So, they were already at that stage? How long had they been dating?

Liang Mushi had hidden it so well.

Just over a month ago, she’d seen him at the Liang family’s place, where Grandpa Liang had half-jokingly asked when he planned to marry Xu Zhi. She’d blushed, and she clearly remembered his response.

He’d replied, “Grandpa, you’re too eager. At least wait until Xiao Zhi graduates.”

Her misunderstanding had grown within his vague responses, often making her feel that she must also hold a special place in his heart.

But now, it felt like he’d played a huge joke on her.

Unable to smile, she pulled out her phone and looked down. “It’s fine; I’ll find another hotel nearby.”

Chen Jing suggested, “We’ll help you look online. Why don’t you go downstairs and check for nearby hotels? If we book one, we’ll call you. That way, we’ll cover more ground.”

Xu Zhi wasn’t naive—Chen Jing was clearly trying to send her away.

She didn’t want to stay any longer, so she turned to leave.

“Wait, let me walk you…” Liang Mushi began, but Chen Jing immediately grabbed his arm.

“You’re hurt; don’t wander around. Just rest…”

Xu Zhi didn’t hear the rest. She stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Outside, the biting cold hit her in the face, and it felt as if the world were shrouded in a dancing veil of white.

Xu Zhi pulled her coat tighter around her. Snowflakes landed on her long eyelashes, and as she blinked, they fell, resembling a single tear.