To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 19

This was the second time Qi Jinyou had been caught by Song Chu.

Without turning around, she already felt the pressure emanating from him.

Qi Jinyou adjusted her expression in two seconds, forcing herself to stay calm. She turned around with a smile. “Song Chu-ge, what a coincidence.”

Seeing that Song Chu didn’t respond, she continued, “My foot is completely healed. I can walk and run now, so I thought I’d take a walk before being discharged.”

“I saw this building looked nice and got curious, so I came in. I didn’t expect to run into you.”

Even Qi Jinyou could hear the lack of confidence in her own voice. She just wanted to escape as quickly as possible. “I’ve been out too long; the doctor will come looking for me. I should go back now.”

The man’s hand moved from her collar to her arm, his gaze locked onto her face, watching her fabricate a story with amusement.

He noticed Qi Jinyou signaling for him to let go but didn’t react.

His intense stare made her uneasy—lying was not her strong suit.

And clearly, Song Chu didn’t believe her at all. His expression was one of pure skepticism, as if daring her to continue the act.

Left with no choice, she admitted, “Fine, I’ll be honest. I saw you come in, so I followed you.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have been prying into your privacy.”

After saying that, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Qi Jinyou suddenly thought of the time she had asked him to keep her part-time job a secret. A thought formed in her mind.

“Song Chu-ge, if you help me keep my secret, I’ll help you keep yours.”

But in the end, she left out the words “then we’ll be even.”

After all, the way she discovered his secret wasn’t exactly honorable.

The man paused, then finished her thought for her. “You want us to be even? I keep your secret once, you keep mine once, and then we owe each other nothing?”

Qi Jinyou nodded. “Is that not okay?”

Before she could finish speaking, she felt herself being pulled closer. His hand slid from her arm to her waist, and suddenly, she found herself pressed against his chest. Their faces were only a few centimeters apart. If she looked up, she could see his deep, stormy eyes.

Qi Jinyou’s face instantly burned. She quickly lowered her head, flustered both by their intimate proximity and by the intense emotion in his eyes that made her nervous—had she said something wrong?

“No.” His answer was firm.

Song Chu’s gaze lingered on her face.

Seeing her shy and uneasy expression, he found her utterly endearing and decided to stop teasing her.

He let go of her waist, and Qi Jinyou stepped back, looking at him in confusion.

“I don’t need you to keep anything for me,” he explained calmly.

Qi Jinyou froze for a moment, her gaze drifting toward the end of the hallway.

Before she could look away, Song Chu took her hand and led her in that direction.

His steps were firm yet slow, occasionally glancing at her foot.

When they entered the room, Aunt Li was momentarily stunned to see Qi Jinyou behind Song Chu. Then, she smiled warmly, glanced at the person in bed, and quietly excused herself.

Approaching the bedside, Qi Jinyou took a closer look.

And realized her mistake.

The woman lying in bed was beautiful, but she was clearly much older than Song Chu.

Though her eyes were closed, her features bore a strong resemblance to his.

“Song Chu-ge, is this your mother?” Qi Jinyou asked hesitantly. She wasn’t sure, but she was certain now that their relationship wasn’t what she had initially assumed.

The man nodded.

She immediately felt ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” Qi Jinyou said sincerely, apologizing for her mistake.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I originally thought she was your…” Qi Jinyou trailed off, but Song Chu could guess.

“My girlfriend? Or a lover I’m secretly hiding?” He looked straight at her.

Qi Jinyou nodded with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Auntie,” she said to Song Chu’s mother.

If it were a normal misunderstanding, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but under the current circumstances, she felt particularly guilty.

“If my mom heard that, she’d be happy,” Song Chu said with a faint smile. “Mothers always love it when people think they look as young as their sons’ peers.”

“What happened to Auntie?” Qi Jinyou couldn’t help but ask.

“An accident years ago. She’s been unconscious ever since.”

Qi Jinyou didn’t know much about the Song family’s affairs. She had only overheard bits and pieces from her aunt’s conversations. Since she hadn’t been in Haishi for long, the accident must have happened before she arrived.

Looking at the sleeping woman again, Qi Jinyou noticed that, apart from her unnaturally pale skin, her well-maintained appearance made her look no different from an ordinary person.

As she observed her closely, a strange sense of familiarity arose. It felt as though she had seen this face somewhere before, but she couldn’t recall where.

Even as she left the room, she kept searching her memory—but to no avail.

Perhaps beautiful people just looked similar, or maybe she had seen a celebrity with a similar face before.

On the first floor, several people were working, all moving quietly and carefully.

How had she not encountered a single person on her way up earlier?

As she stepped out the main door, she suddenly understood.

This entire hospital likely existed solely for Song Chu’s mother.

And the reason Song Chu visited her every day… was simply because it was on his way.

A complex emotion welled up in Qi Jinyou’s heart, something she couldn’t quite put into words.

Suppressing the feeling, she turned to look at the man. “Song Chu-ge, you’re really filial. Auntie is very lucky to have you.”

Qi Jinyou had seen her cousin Shen Yao argue fiercely with his mother over money, and even on normal days, he rarely showed any respect toward his elders.

Shen Yan was the same.

“My mom doesn’t like being called Auntie Song. Her surname is Meng—you can call her Auntie Meng,” Song Chu said softly, though a hint of sorrow was evident in his tone.

“And don’t praise me. I used to be a troublemaker who always made my mom angry,” he said with a self-deprecating smile.

Qi Jinyou wanted to say, “You still are—just to other people.”

They walked leisurely along the path for over ten minutes.

Then, Song Chu spoke. “Tomorrow, I’ll come pick you up from the hospital.”

“No need. It’s easy to get a taxi here,” Qi Jinyou replied, though she wasn’t sure if taxis actually passed by this area. She just didn’t want to trouble him any further.

After all, once she was discharged, their brief intersection would end. They would go back to being two parallel lines.

A meeting like this, destined to be short-lived, was best cut off early.

The longer it lasted, the harder it would be to part.

“Song Chu-ge, thank you for everything these past few days,” Qi Jinyou said, stepping ahead of him and turning to face him while walking backward.

“You just recovered, and you’re already being reckless again,” he reminded her, pulling his hands out of his pockets.

Qi Jinyou playfully shook her head. She had walked this path several times; it was straight and smooth.

But when he suddenly pulled her into his arms, she realized there were other dangers.

Stabilizing herself against him, she saw an elderly man with a cane slowly passing by. His steps looked unsteady.

Qi Jinyou’s face flushed again, but under the dim streetlight, Song Chu didn’t notice.

She quickly stepped back, pulling away from his embrace.

Then, the hand that had just held her waist stretched out toward her again.

“Give me your hand,” he said.