To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 13

“No need.” The man’s deep voice sounded.

“This have something to do with me,” he explained, his tone becoming clearer.

Qi Jinyou understood what he meant. Upon learning that the two female influencers had already gone down the mountain, she could roughly guess that they had set her up. This wasn’t a premeditated scheme but more of a spur-of-the-moment decision after seeing messages in the group chat.

The root cause was, of course, Song Chu.

Even though she had no part in this rivalry, the trouble had probably started when Song Chu stepped in to help her at the club.

The two influencers likely resented Zhuang Xiaoran more. Throughout the trip, Zhuang Xiaoran interacted with Song Chu the most, and he did not treat her coldly.

People tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. They dared not provoke Zhuang Xiaoran, so their pent-up frustration from being unable to get close to Song Chu was instead directed at her, the easier target.

Qi Jinyou hadn’t expected Song Chu to admit it so openly.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

“I guess I’m just unlucky,” she muttered with self-deprecation, suppressing the bitterness in her heart.

Twice now, she had been caught up in work-related conflicts, both times because of trivial romantic entanglements, and both times she was the innocent party.

She made a mental note to visit the temple later and get a charm to ward off bad romances.

“Not necessarily,” Song Chu’s words of comfort confused her.

“So you don’t need to thank me. If anything, I should be apologizing to you,” he continued.

About ten minutes later, they walked out of the forest and reached an open area. They sat down on a bench.

Song Chu took a few packs of biscuits from his backpack and handed her a wet wipe. Qi Jinyou took it, wiped her hands, and opened a pack. Now that her emotions had settled, she realized she was hungry.

The chocolate biscuits were sweet but not overwhelming. She quickly finished the two small pieces in the pack, just as a bottle of water was handed to her.

Qi Jinyou accepted it and twisted open the already loosened cap.

She hadn’t expected Song Chu to be this attentive.

Whether it was because she was truly hungry or because the biscuits tasted good, she ended up eating two more packs.

Song Chu gathered all the trash, walked to a nearby trash can, and threw it away before returning.

Qi Jinyou stood up but didn’t dare put weight on her right foot, shifting all her balance onto her left.

Maybe the medicine was working—her foot didn’t seem as painful as before. She tried taking a step.

“Don’t push yourself. If you keep this up, your foot will be ruined,” Song Chu said, pulling her back onto the bench.

It wasn’t that serious, at most, she would just be limping for a few days.

“You need to rest for at least a week,” he reminded her again.

This statement hit Qi Jinyou—she mentally calculated a week’s worth of lost wages.

“I already said this is my responsibility. I’ll take full responsibility. Someone is coming to help us. They should be here in about thirty minutes,” Song Chu said.

He sat beside her and lifted her right leg onto his lap. “You need to elevate it,” he explained.

His phone rang for the third time before he finally took it out. Seeing “Manager Zhang” on the screen, a trace of coldness flashed across his face. He pressed the mute button.

Let him wait.

The thought of leaving Qi Jinyou alone on the mountain to wait for help still irritated him.

Of course, he also blamed himself for not staying with her.

—

Meanwhile, Manager Zhang, who was making his way back up the mountain, finally got through on the fifth attempt.

From the two influencers, he had learned that Song Chu had left to find Qi Jinyou. After several failed attempts to call her—her phone was off—he started to sense trouble and hurried back.

“Mr. Song, did you see Xiao Qi on the mountain?” Manager Zhang carefully chose his words, deciding “see” was better than “find.”

There was a brief silence on the other end before Song Chu answered, “Yes. She’s safe, but her foot is injured. It’s a work injury. Figure out how to compensate your employee.”

“Of course!” Manager Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Do you need me to come up? Or should I send a female colleague?”

All he got in response was two words: “No need.”

The call ended.

Manager Zhang hesitated for a few seconds before turning back. He silently thanked Song Chu for not making him climb the mountain twice in one day.

—

The two fell into a brief silence.

Qi Jinyou racked her brain for a topic but found nothing.

“Why are you suddenly willing to return to Haishi?” Song Chu eventually broke the silence.

After graduating last year, she had accepted a job offer from a well-known company in her school’s city and stayed there. When she returned to Haishi for the New Year, her aunt played the sympathy card, hoping she would move back. Initially, she hadn’t taken it seriously, but during a high school reunion, she overheard her friends’ salaries. That was when she decided to return, using her aunt’s request as an excuse—on the condition that she lived independently.

Qi Jinyou was surprised. Song Chu’s words implied that he knew she had only moved back after the New Year.

Had he been paying attention to her all along?

She glanced at him, trying to find an answer on his face, but he remained expressionless.

“I have more connections in Haishi, so work is easier,” she replied, giving a vague but respectable excuse instead of the real reason.

She also noticed the subtle sarcasm in his tone.

But she didn’t dwell on it. After several interactions, she found him harder to read.

Her past impression of him had been that of an arrogant, cold, and reckless rich kid—despite his reputation as an outstanding alumnus of No. 8 High School, she had never seen him through rose-colored glasses.

Now, after their recent encounters, she realized her past judgment had been too shallow. But what kind of person was the real Song Chu? That was still unclear.

The only thing she was certain of was that he was not who she had once thought he was.

Qi Jinyou thought of a cabbage.

The persona he showed the world was like the rough outer leaves of a cabbage. To truly understand him, one would have to peel back the layers. She had neither the desire nor the patience to do so—and he wouldn’t give her the chance anyway.

Song Chu let out a light chuckle, clearly unconvinced by her reason.

But he didn’t press further.

Silence fell between them again. Qi Jinyou tried to pull her foot off his lap several times, but he held it in place each time, so she eventually gave up.

The wait was long, but luckily, Song Chu had a power bank, allowing her to pass the time on her phone.

She thought firefighters would come to the rescue but was surprised when a medical team arrived instead.

A stretcher and six tall men—though their clothes bore a hospital logo, they didn’t look like doctors.

A woman in her thirties followed behind them, likely a doctor.

The team approached Song Chu first, whispering something to him.

The female doctor motioned for Qi Jinyou to lie on the stretcher. She secured three safety straps around her.

The six men effortlessly lifted her, and Song Chu double-checked the straps before signaling them to start moving.

He and the female doctor followed behind.

In less than thirty minutes, they reached the base of the mountain, where an ambulance was already waiting.

Once inside, the safety straps were removed.

A female medical staff member took off Qi Jinyou’s shoe and carefully examined her foot from knee to sole.

Her expression relaxed. Based on what the director had relayed from Song Chu, she had expected a fracture, but it was only a mild sprain.

She told Qi Jinyou, “It shouldn’t be a big issue. We’ll go to the hospital for a proper check-up.”

After getting into the ambulance, Qi Jinyou never saw Song Chu again.

His power bank was still in her hand.

How was she going to return it to him later?