She remembered that this woman's name was Zhao Yinyin. Wasn't this the very person in front of her?
"Are you Xiaomo's girlfriend?" Zhao Yinyin's sharp eyes were fixed firmly on He Chuyan's face, as if she were doubting the truth of Shen Mingshu's words.
"There might be some misunderstanding." He Chuyan stammered, so angry that she wanted to break free from Shen Mingshu's hold. "Shen, what do you mean?"
But taking advantage of her struggle, Shen Mingshu got even closer and whispered pleadingly in her ear, "Ms. He, I'm really sorry. Just help me this once. Just pretend to be my girlfriend."
He Chuyan stared in disbelief. "What do you mean? You're asking me to lie?"
"I'm really at the end of my rope!" Shen Mingshu said with a pained face, anxiously grabbing her. "I really don't know who else to turn to besides you."
"That's still not okay. I won't help you lie!" He Chuyan also insisted stubbornly.
Seeing that this plan wasn't working, Shen Mingshu came up with another idea. "Right, last night when we were drinking, didn't you say that so - and - so was coming to City S for a concert? And you said the tickets had been sold out ages ago. Well, if you help me this once, I'll help you get the tickets. They'll even be VIP seats in the front row!"
Those tickets were something He Chuyan had been eyeing on the ticketing website for the past two months since the publicity started. She had tried to grab them every day but had only watched them get snatched away, ending up empty - handed.
He Chuyan's firm resolve began to waver a bit. There was still a bit of anger on her face, but at the mention of the tickets, there was also a glimmer of uncontrollable excitement as she looked at Shen Mingshu. "Can you really get them?"
"Definitely. VIP seats in the front row." Shen Mingshu nodded affirmatively.
Now He Chuyan really couldn't resist. Although she had never lied before...
It was really a tough choice. The two "little people" representing lying and getting the tickets were tug - of - warring and clashing violently in her mind, neither willing to yield to the other. Finally, after a moment of hesitation, He Chuyan made her decision.
She stared at Shen Mingshu with a determined look. "Okay, it's a deal. I'll help you this time, and you must keep your promise. Don't lie to me, or if I can cover for you this time, I'll definitely expose you in front of her next time."
"I'll do what I say!"
After they reached an agreement, He Chuyan no longer resisted him and obediently leaned into Shen Mingshu's arms.
"Shen... cough, Mingshu." He Chuyan was about to call him by his surname when Shen Mingshu pinched her. She quickly changed her address, saying awkwardly, "Mingshu is right. I'm his girlfriend."
Zhao Yinyin had already been getting impatient while the two were whispering and getting cozy. Now, as if she had been stimulated, she said, "No, it can't be. How could Xiaomo have a girlfriend? You're lying to me!"
When He Chuyan had sent Zhao Yinyin back before, she had noticed that she was a fair - skinned and beautiful woman. Her thin lips were slightly parted as if she had something to say but held back. Her eyes seemed to hold a vast blue ocean, looking sad and serene, and she had a pitiful look that no man could resist.
It seemed that Shen Mingshu also liked this type.
It seemed that this beauty had been abandoned by someone and had come back to find Shen Mingshu as a fool. Now it seemed that she was a bit mentally unstable.
"Ms. Zhao, your words are a bit unfair, aren't they? Mingshu is a handsome and decent man. Why can't he have a girlfriend?" He Chuyan glanced at her. "Do you think he should be devoted only to you and be stuck on you?"
"No... it's not like that." Zhao Yinyin shook her head.
"Xiaomo has always loved me, not you. Since I came back, no matter where he is or what he's doing, he'll come to me first whenever I have something. So he still cares about me." Zhao Yinyin retorted loudly. "The person he loves has always been me."
He Chuyan immediately shot Shen Mingshu a sharp look.
"Is what she said true?"
Shen Mingshu scratched his nose awkwardly. "This... I... well, just help me this once."
Sure enough, men were promiscuous creatures.
He Chuyan didn't even want to collude with him anymore, but for the sake of her tickets, she could only grit her teeth and continue to spin lies. "Ms. Zhao, I know about your past. Even after you came back, Mingshu told me about it. As for him coming to you first, it was my permission. I saw that you came back alone and helpless, so I let him accompany you for a while."
"What did you say? You told him to come to me?"
He Chuyan turned around and actively put her arm around Shen Mingshu's waist. She looked at Shen Mingshu affectionately and said, "When Mingshu and I are together, our relationship has always been very good. He really loves and takes care of me. But every time you threatened him with your life, he was in pain. I didn't want to see him suffer, so I let him go to you."
The next moment, Shen Mingshu also pulled her closer into his arms and said softly, "Yanyan, I'm sorry for making you worried."
He Chuyan frowned. The scalding body temperature of Shen Mingshu through the thin clothes made her feel a bit uncomfortable and she shrank back. But since it was an act, she had to make it more real. For the sake of the tickets, she was really going all out.
Gritting her teeth, He Chuyan leaned her head on Shen Mingshu's chest. She lifted her face with a bright smile and said, "It's okay. I just need to know that you love me. From now on, we'll always be together, and no one can separate us."
Under the dim yellow light at the door, He Chuyan's smiling face was bright and charming. Her eyes were glistening, and her petite body was possessively held in his arms. This made Shen Mingshu feel a momentary daze. His heart rate accelerated a bit, and subconsciously, his hand moved down to her slender waist and tightened.
He Chuyan felt a bit suffocated. Shen Mingshu's arm was squeezing her so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She frowned and pushed him.
Inside the private room, seeing their intimate appearance, Zhao Yinyin's tears were streaming down.
"No, I don't believe it. This isn't real. You're lying to me. I won't believe it." Zhao Yinyin suddenly rushed over and tried to pull He Chuyan away to separate the two.
But she used too much force. He Chuyan didn't have time to dodge. Her foot got caught on the carpet, and she stumbled and fell to the side.
When she fell, there seemed to be so many wine bottles in the private room, and some were broken. He Chuyan's palm just landed on the pile of glass shards. The fragments immediately pierced into her palm, and in an instant, blood spread out. Blood dripped down from her fair palm.
He Chuyan hissed in pain.
Seeing this, Shen Mingshu rushed to her side almost without thinking and pulled her up.
"How are you?" Shen Mingshu asked worriedly.
"It's okay. It's just a cut." He Chuyan lifted her palm and saw that there seemed to be still glass fragments in the blood - stained palm. He Chuyan gritted her teeth in pain as she pulled out the glass shards. That moment almost made her cry.
Seeing He Chuyan's bloody and mangled palm, Zhao Yinyin actually burst out laughing. "You deserve it, woman."
Hearing this, Shen Mingshu glared at her coldly and roared, "Have you had enough of this?"