Volume 1 - CH 3

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The calendar on the bedside table showed September 17, 2022.

At this point, there was still over two years until Gou An would be sent to prison. In about fifteen minutes, her fiance, Mr. He Ran, would come to her and demand to cancel their engagement, calling her a fraud.

This would mark the beginning of Gou An's tragic life (not really).

At the time, Gou An's only thought was: Why struggle? One wrong step leads to another. It's better to confess and repent!

[Jiao Jiao: Okay, wise people seize opportunities while the cowardly fall behind.]

Gou An: "..."

Gou An ran her hand through her hair, grabbed her phone from the bag on the couch, and saw that she had only one message from He Ran, which she had not read.

[He Ran: Come down, I need to talk to you.]

...With such a rude tone.

Gou An took a deep breath and decisively threw away the phone.

Was He Ran going to be furious about her lies?

No problem.

Before he got angry, she could turn herself in and give up everything, in hopes of receiving a lighter punishment.

...

Gou An went downstairs.

It was dusk and He Ran, still dressed in his school basketball uniform, sat with his back to her at the dining table in the living room. He was a handsome young man with a dark tan and a charm that easily captured the hearts of countless girls at school.

Gou An used to naively believe that all of his glory naturally belonged to her.

He Ran turned around when he heard her footsteps.

He hesitated when he saw her in a white nightgown and a denim jacket, looking a little pale.

Their eyes met.

"Gou An." He cleared his throat slowly but spoke impatiently, "You finally came down. What took you so long? I have something to ask you."

"Oh." Gou An's voice was hoarse as if she had just woken up, like fine sand.

She didn't argue.

She wasn't angry or spoiled, as usual.

She was just a little tense and unnatural.

He Ran was taken aback.

As far as he remembered, Gou An wasn't very affectionate towards him, but as his fiancee, she often smiled at him and occasionally acted a little spoiled like a wealthy young lady. She was clingy, but not unbearable.

For example, when she found out that he was popular at school, she would get a little upset. So, she would sit quietly on the sidelines of the basketball court while he played and then magically hand him a bottle of iced drink with a smile. After that, the other girls who wanted to pursue him and had a little bit of morality would keep their distance.

Such tricks never stopped.

Gou An had a strong sense of possession towards things that she believed belonged to her.

She rarely acted cold and indifferent like she did today.

He Ran had not yet recovered from his surprise.

Sage's note: This text seems to be a novel excerpt with a specific cultural context that may not be familiar to all English-speaking readers. I have tried to preserve the original meaning and style while making adjustments to ensure clarity and readability in English.

Gu An didn't have time to scrutinize the expression on young Master He's face. Instead, she was fixated on the glowing green letters above his head that read "Favorability: 40", which sparkled against a black and white backdrop.

This was the "I See Love Rise and Fall" system.

"I have something to tell you," Gu An finally nodded after a long pause. "Can I go to your house?"

He Rang was caught off guard by Gu An's sudden request to visit his home, and he stared at her face for a moment...

His gaze slid down to her bare legs peeking out from under her sleepwear, and her fluffy bunny slippers. She stood quietly on the stairwell, half of her body cloaked in shadow.

As she finished speaking, she lifted her foot and began walking towards the front door.

Just as she and He Rang were about to pass each other, he grabbed her arm with force. Gu An looked up in confusion, only to see the green letters above his head flicker and change from "Favorability: 40" to "Favorability: 37".

Gu An: "?"

Wait, is this ridiculous plot for real? Is it really that easy to dislike someone? She didn't even do anything, they just brushed past each other!

Gu An opened her mouth in shock, but before she could say anything, she heard a deep, husky voice in her ear. He Rang's not-so-attractive face contorted in a scowl. "Are you just going to leave like that?"

"What's wrong?" Gu An asked, taken aback.

He Rang's gaze lingered on the smooth, exposed skin of Gu An's sleepwear straps. His temple throbbed as he averted his eyes. "My younger uncle just returned from his business trip tonight."

"And?" Gu An inquired.

"What do you mean 'and'? There's someone else at home! Another man!" He Rang's face was dark with anger.

Gu An fell silent for a moment before saying, "Oh," and zipping up her denim jacket. She blinked and added, "Is that okay?"

Why did everything have to be so complicated when they were about to end their marriage?

He Rang released her arm, scowling in silence for a moment. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he said, "Forget it. Let's talk about my problem another day. I'm going back now."

He turned and hurried away.

Gu An was confused. "What? We can't talk about it now?"

How could he just leave like that? In her panic, Gu An chased after him. "No, no, that won't do! He Rang, wait! I have to tell you something! I lied about being the person who saved you when you were kidnapped all those years ago! I was afraid you would leave me if you found out I wasn't her, so I took her place! I'm sorry! To punish me, we can end our engagement!"

Her voice echoed like thunder in the distance.

He Rang suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Gu An crashed into his back, exclaiming in pain. It was wet and slippery in the hallway due to the rain, and she almost slipped.

As she helped He Ran stand steady on his feet, she heard a low, magnetic male voice on the other side of the rain curtain say, "What show is this?"

...

Under the wet steps, the man was still dressed in the suit he wore during the He family's high-level meeting in the afternoon, his hair neatly combed. He was tall and slender with broad shoulders, standing tall in the pouring rain with one hand holding a black umbrella while rolling up his suit sleeves to his elbow.

Gu An stood by He Ran's side, supporting his arm, and gazed at the man in front of her.

Her gaze slowly moved forward and finally settled on the man's head, where there was a deep green word displayed like a monster's health bar in an RPG game - "Friendliness: 15."

Gu An: "I suddenly have a question. What is the maximum score for this rating system? Is it out of 10?"

"Jiao Jiao: If a character like He Ran, who has a rating of 40 upon his introduction, is showing 400% love for you, then he's probably not here to dissolve your marriage but to wash your feet."

Gu An: ...

"Jiao Jiao: I'm also curious. Why don't you ask him?"

Gu An: ...

Okay, let's not dwell on how low He Jinhang's friendliness rating really is for now.

This so-called "I can see his love ebb and flow" function becomes even more rudimentary in the presence of this exquisite man, like a Windows 98 system.

As water droplets continuously fell from the edge of his black umbrella, the man's face matured and handsome under the umbrella.

Nearly thirty years of age had left no trace on his body, only making him more charming.

With sharp facial features and a slightly indistinctive hooked nose, which was said to be related to his grandmother's British heritage, the only flaw in his appearance may be his eyes. Since he officially took over the entire He family in his early twenties, the man's eyes became deep and sharp, exuding a sense of oppression when they swept over someone.

Despite habitually wearing a gentle smile on his face, the innate aura he carried made people feel suffocated.

As Gu An and He Jinhang locked eyes, the air between them became suffocating.

For a moment, her mind went blank.

She tried desperately to recall what she said or did the first time she met He Jinhang in her dreams, and why he hated her so much, but it seemed to be in vain.

She could only stare at him with admiration as the man's lips curved slightly upward into a smile. However, the polite and unfamiliar voice that came out of his mouth made her think of the perfect overlap with the phrase "take her away" from her dream.

It was like a gentle death sentence from the King of Hell.

He Jinhang lifted his eyes slightly, his gaze calm as he spoke in a calm tone, "Miss Gu, may I ask what I heard just now?"

Gu An: ...

Gu An seriously pondered some questions, such as how she always thought that growing up with He Ran, who seemed like a playboy but had never actually messed around with anyone, was not a bad idea. He was good-looking and a good student, marrying this person she knew inside and out would mean a stable life, everything going according to plan.

Even if he didn't like her.

So that's why, when he was trying to find the little girl who saved his life when he was a child, he rashly adopted this name.

But now things were different.

She saw the future.

A terrifying future, where she was like a puppet being manipulated by fate. Her feelings for this childhood friend were not enough to outweigh her fear of the predetermined tragic future.

She didn't want it to be this way, she knew it was wrong.

At this moment, standing very close to He Ran, she could smell the scent of his youth mixed with a faint tobacco smell, which made her throat itch and want to sneeze.

The wrist that had been shackled by cold handcuffs in her dream began to ache again.

Gu An blinked and suddenly gained infinite courage.

"Mr. He?"

Her cheek began to burn, probably because his gaze had fallen on her.

The little rabbit slippers rubbed against the floor.

"You didn't hear wrong just now, my proposal is serious. I deeply realize the mistakes and deception I have committed over the years, and I suddenly realized that I should not have been pretending to be He Ran's savior all this time."

He Ran: "..."

"It's already this day and age, and He Ran has his own thoughts. As childhood sweethearts, I am considerate of his feelings. So, we don't need to let the matters of our grandfathers weigh on our hearts. Gu and He's families can be like two parallel lines from now on..."

"He Ran, do you know what you're saying?"

He Ran, the young master, raised his voice and interrupted her, pulling the person who was still talking non-stop in front of him.

Gu An was fixed in his embrace but stubbornly tilted her head, too lazy to pay attention to the sudden outburst of the young man, and desperately leaned forward to look beyond him at the man standing motionless under the steps.

The latter's expression showed no emotional fluctuations.

Gu An's gaze flickered and she lowered her head, not even daring to look up at the courage fluctuating above his head.

She took a deep breath.

"What I just said was that I want to dissolve the marriage with He Ran."

...The tone seemed too harsh, would she get beaten up?

"Oh."

She added.

Author's Note: An An: Who knows, my family, I'm really afraid of Uncle He.

Today's lazy group is taking a big break, the main goal is to humble anyone who can be humbled and make the enemy speechless.

Keep sending red envelopes, love you hardworking readers.

Also: The original male lead = He Jingxing = the male lead of this book.