To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 12

Qi Jinyou thought she might have mistaken what she saw in the dim light.

But she still walked into the small pavilion. From the water bottle and cigarette butts on the ground, it was clear someone had been there recently.

She called out the names of the two girls, but only the chirping of birds responded.

There was still no message in the group chat.

Her phone battery was running low. The power bank had been used to help a few members earlier and was now with one of them, not in her hand.

Qi Jinyou turned on her phone’s flashlight and ventured back into the woods, praying the battery would last until she got out of the forest. The path down the mountain had streetlights.

In April, darkness fell quickly, as if it only took seconds to go from dim to pitch black.

A crescent moon rose but couldn’t penetrate the dense canopy above.

She needed to hurry through the woods, her last bit of calm reminding her.

Her phone, two years old, had a worn-out battery. After just a few minutes, with a beep, the light from her phone went out.

Complete darkness enveloped her, heightening her other senses.

Her steps became unsteady. She used her hands to guide her feet, but she still bumped into branches several times. The budding branches were sharp, scratching her hands in several places.

She stopped, closed her eyes, and took a few seconds to adjust. When she opened them again, her eyes had somewhat adapted to the dark. She took big steps forward.

The path was not only narrow but also winding. Taking too large a step, she finally misstepped at a turn, and with a sharp pain in her ankle, she twisted her foot.

Unable to move her right foot, she slowly sat down, leaning against a tree.

She really didn’t seem to get along with the club.

—

After walking with the group for over ten minutes, Song Chu decided to turn back.

Manager Zhang had been leading the way, talking non-stop.

Just as he was getting excited, he turned around and realized Song Chu was gone.

Thinking he had come with Zhuang Xiaoran, Manager Zhang smiled. Even heroes struggle to resist beauty.

He didn’t bother further.

Song Chu walked urgently, texting Qi Jinyou as he went. Near the summit, he unexpectedly ran into the two female influencers. His gaze darkened as he looked behind them.

He stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

The two girls were startled at first, but seeing him block their way, they even felt a bit excited.

In the dim light, they didn’t notice the coldness in his eyes.

Until the man spoke in a icy tone: “Where’s Qi Jinyou?”

The shyness from being stopped faded. The two exchanged glances and quickly put on confused expressions.

They shook their heads in unison: “We haven’t seen her.”

Their answer naturally revealed the truth.

Without asking why Qi Jinyou wasn’t with the group, they directly denied seeing her.

Song Chu understood somewhat, his dark eyes growing colder. He didn’t have time to deal with them; finding Qi Jinyou was urgent.

The man quickened his pace up the mountain.

First, he went to the open area where the group had gathered, but it was empty.

His gaze turned toward the woods.

—

Qi Jinyou sat on the ground, rubbing her stiff and painful ankle when she heard someone calling.

At first, it was unclear, and she didn’t dare respond. She clung to the tree, reaching out to find a sturdy branch.

The calls grew closer, and she faintly heard her name.

The voice was filled with urgency.

Qi Jinyou was impressed by her hearing at that moment. As she recognized her name, she also recognized it was Song Chu.

“Brother Song Chu, I’m here.” Qi Jinyou’s voice trembled with a hint of tears.

She felt like a lost child hearing a loved one’s call.

The fear and frustration she had suppressed earlier poured out.

“Brother Song Chu, I’m here.” Afraid he might not hear, Qi Jinyou called again.

She stopped only when she saw a beam of light appear on the path.

Qi Jinyou waved her hand.

The man’s figure was behind the strong flashlight beam, only his tall outline visible.

The strong light dimmed, and the man quickly approached her.

Qi Jinyou tried to stand up, holding onto the tree, but Song Chu crouched down first.

“What’s wrong? Did you hurt your foot?” Song Chu’s first glance noticed her hands on her ankle.

His tone was low and cold.

Qi Jinyou nodded: “I twisted it.”

She felt somewhat embarrassed. Maybe it wasn’t the club she didn’t get along with, but Song Chu.

In just a few days, she had made a fool of herself in front of him multiple times.

Qi Jinyou sighed softly in her heart.

“I was walking too fast earlier.” Qi Jinyou tried to explain.

“Can you walk?” the man asked in a muffled tone.

“I can, but slowly.”

To prove it, Qi Jinyou tried to stand up, leaning on the tree, but the twitching of her lips gave her away.

The man didn’t say anything else. He opened his backpack and took out the same medicine as before: “Let’s spray some first.”

Qi Jinyou obediently sat down.

Song Chu crouched down, pushed away Qi Jinyou’s hand reaching for the medicine, and held her foot with his left hand. With his right hand, he pressed the spray bottle.

The cold spray landed, and Qi Jinyou’s foot instinctively twitched, but the man held it firmly.

Qi Jinyou stopped struggling.

After spraying around her ankle, the man put away the bottle and began to gently massage.

His palm pressed against her ankle, and the skin-to-skin contact sent a tingling sensation upward. She could hear her heart pounding like a drum.

An experience she had never had before.

Qi Jinyou’s face flushed. She reached out: “I can do it myself.”

The man didn’t respond and continued to massage.

Unable to intervene, she gave up.

She suddenly remembered the two female members she was looking for.

“Brother Song Chu, did you see those two girls on your way up?”

Even now, she was still thinking about others.

Song Chu glanced at her helplessly: “I saw them.”

Qi Jinyou nodded. The figures she had seen earlier were indeed them.

After massaging for a while, the medicine absorbed, and Song Chu stopped.

Song Chu stood up, fiddled with his phone for a moment, and ignored an incoming call. He put the phone back in his pocket.

Then he placed the backpack in front of him, helped her up, and turned his back to her, calmly saying: “I’ll carry you.”

Qi Jinyou’s first reaction was to refuse.

“I can walk by myself.”

“If you want it to get worse, go ahead.” His tone carried a subtle warning.

Qi Jinyou hesitated. She didn’t dare let him carry her.

“I’ll carry you to the trailhead. The less you walk, the better.”

Blocked by him, Qi Jinyou, limping on one foot, couldn’t easily get past him.

“Do you want me to carry you?”

The path was too narrow for two people to walk side by side. If he carried her, she would become his tool to clear the way.

Refusing further would seem like she had ulterior motives. Qi Jinyou had no choice but to climb onto his back.

Her hands didn’t know where to go until the man straightened up: “Didn’t anyone carry you as a child? Where should your hands be to keep balance?”

Qi Jinyou had been carried by her father even in her teens. Following her memory, she wrapped her arms around Song Chu’s neck.

Their bodies pressed together.

His back felt as solid as her father’s. Qi Jinyou controlled herself, resisting the urge to rest her face against his back.

Song Chu walked steadily, carefully avoiding the protruding branches.

“Brother Song Chu, thank you.” After the initial surprise and panic faded, Qi Jinyou realized she had forgotten to thank him.

Without him, she truly didn’t know what she would have done.