To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 27

The two of them arrived at the parking lot. Qi Jinyou stood by the front of the car, waiting for him to get her bag.

To her surprise, Song Chu got into the driver’s seat.

The passenger door was already open.

Song Chu spoke in a firm tone, leaving no room for refusal: “I’ll drive you home.”

Qi Jinyou swallowed the words she was about to say. She was annoyed at herself—why did she always give in so easily when faced with his dominance?

She got into the car. Half an hour later, they arrived at her apartment complex. The whole way, she didn’t say a word, just gazed out the window at the busy streets. The night view of Haishi was truly beautiful. She realized she had never taken the time to appreciate it before.

When she first came to Haishi, she carried the pain and sorrow of losing her parents. She knew she was living under someone else’s roof and focused all her energy on studying. During high school, she either stayed at school or in her aunt’s house, rarely stepping out. To her, Haishi was just a temporary place she wanted to escape from.

Now that she looked closely, Haishi actually had its own charm and beauty.

The car took several turns before reaching her neighborhood, but Qi Jinyou didn’t mind. She had just enjoyed a full tour of the city’s night scenery.

Just before she arrived home, her phone buzzed with a message. It was from Le Yi, sharing her half-day travel plan in Haishi. She would arrive at noon by high-speed train, head straight to Wansong Group for an interview, and after that, they would explore the city together. She planned to return to Huashi the day after tomorrow.

In the message, Le Yi specifically mentioned that she wanted to visit Haishi’s famous trendy bars and even listed a few names.

But Qi Jinyou didn’t recognize a single one.

Unless her colleagues dragged her along, she never went to bars.

She replied to Le Yi with a sticker that showed someone reluctantly agreeing.

After getting home and taking a shower, the exhaustion from the day’s ups and downs finally hit her. All she wanted was to be wrapped up in her cozy bed.

But she couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about the blind date—how her aunt would react, what kind of dissatisfaction she would express.

Then, her mind wandered to Song Chu and his mocking attitude towards her blind date from start to finish.

In the darkness, she stretched her arm out from under the blanket. Her wrist felt cool, and the pearl on the bracelet glowed softly.

It was supposed to bring protection, but at this moment, she wished it could bring her back to the life she had before meeting Song Chu.

Her thoughts then turned to work. As a newcomer, she had already taken a week off. She didn’t know what kind of situation she would face tomorrow.

Her mind was a mess, thoughts bouncing around nonstop. She lay in bed for almost an hour before she finally started feeling sleepy.

Just then, her phone lit up with a message. The sound pulled her back to full alertness.

Annoyed, she grabbed her phone and saw it was from Song Chu.

She opened it and found a picture.

It was of Beile, lying on the floor with a dull, sad expression.

Below the picture was a message:

“What did you feed him? He refuses to eat dog food now.”

Qi Jinyou seriously thought back. She had followed Song Chu’s instructions exactly.

“I didn’t give him anything else, just what you told me to.”

Song Chu didn’t say much more, only replied:

“Alright, I’ll check again.”

Qi Jinyou rolled her eyes. She had no words for this situation.

Monday, Craftsman Interior Design Company

Qi Jinyou was the first to arrive at the office.

She had majored in architecture in college, but she preferred interior design. In recent years, the architecture industry had been declining, so while in university, she had also studied interior and soft furnishing design.

The company she joined, Craftsman, was a well-known high-end interior design firm in Haishi.

A house can be lived in for decades, but its interior decoration changes much more frequently. Especially in recent years, the trend of updating soft furnishings every three to five years has become a new consumer habit.

A senior from her university had entered this industry immediately after graduation and now had her own soft furnishing brand.

Qi Jinyou didn’t have such ambitions. Her main reason for choosing this field was that it would be useful if she ever wanted to work abroad.

The pursuit of a better life is something all humans share.

Qi Jinyou was assigned to Project Team Two, which mainly handled home renovations.

Her first task was to attend the Monday team meeting.

During the meeting, a few colleagues asked about her recovery.

She stood up and walked a few steps to show she was fine.

After the meeting, they had a smaller team discussion. Their supervisor, Zuo Wei, introduced a new project: the complete renovation of an old villa. Last week, some colleagues had already taken measurements at the site. This week, they needed to come up with four design proposals, one per designer.

Qi Jinyou was one of the four.

Zuo Wei reminded them that the client was a young woman, so they needed to pay extra attention to details.

The client had specified a general style—modern minimalism with some Chinese elements mixed in.

And apparently, there was no budget limit.

Zuo Wei concluded, “Don’t try to save money for her. As usual, if your design is accepted, you get a 3% commission.”

This was the biggest project Qi Jinyou had worked on since joining the company.

After the meeting, she immediately got to work.

Her colleagues, still recovering from the weekend, joked that she must have been injected with energy during her hospital stay.

In reality, she was just focused on the commission.

Around 10 AM, she received a message from Le Yi:

“Jinyou, I’m on the train now!”

Judging from the cheerful emoji she sent, her mood was great.

Le Yi was naturally optimistic, always bouncing back quickly even after setbacks. Besides her personality, her background played a part—she was from a wealthy family, with parents who had built a solid financial foundation. Even if she never worked, she would be well-off for life.

Qi Jinyou sent her a good luck sticker and reminded her to call after the interview.

She also looked up a trendy restaurant online and made a reservation.

Putting her phone down, her thoughts drifted to Le Yi’s interview. Her potential employer was none other than Song Chu. And then, she thought of the strange message he had sent her last night.

Since he hadn’t messaged again, Beile was probably fine.

She wondered if Le Yi would run into Song Chu.

If she did, would she still be excited about seeing his abs, or would his arrogant attitude crush her enthusiasm?

Le Yi was actually like herself—despite all her bold talk, she had no real dating experience.

The afternoon passed quickly. Qi Jinyou finished the layout design for the first-floor living room.

At 5 PM, Le Yi called.

Judging by her lively voice, the interview seemed to have gone well. She didn’t reveal the results, saying they would talk in person.

At 5:30, Qi Jinyou eagerly clocked out.

Since Le Yi wasn’t familiar with Haishi’s transportation, Qi Jinyou told her to wait at a nearby café. She would come to pick her up.

It was a 30-minute drive to Wansong Tower.

She had passed by the building before but never entered. From afar, it always stood out among the skyscrapers, its gray-blue glass exterior radiating an unapproachable coldness.

But up close, it felt more grounded. The entrance was open, with well-dressed professionals coming and going, some looking serious and others chatting casually.

Using location sharing, Qi Jinyou spotted Le Yi in a lounge area on the first floor.