8: Misunderstanding

Misunderstanding

Startled, Huo Mian turned around. Standing not far behind them was her boyfriend, Ning Zhiyuan.2

He seemed to have just come off his night shift. In his hand were Huo Mian's favorite snacks, grilled corn, and iced cola.

Huo Mian's mind finally snapped back into focus. Shoving Qin Chu away, she immediately explained, "Zhiyuan, it… it's not what it looks like. Please don't misunderstand. Let me explain, alright?"

"Fine. I'm listening, explain." Surprisingly calm, Ning Zhiyuan glanced back at Huo Mian. Then, his gaze shifted towards Qin Chu, who was standing behind Huo Mian. His eyes were filled with animosity. Ning Zhiyuan knew Huo Mian very well and didn't think that she was the type to mess around behind his back. Huo Mian barely even used her WeChat, and her daily schedule was a bee-line between home and work. She was an honest woman and therefore, he believed that there had to be a reason behind the scene he had just witnessed.

Before Huo Mian made up her mind on how she should explain the situation to Ning Zhiyuan, Qin Chu suddenly opened his mouth and spoke, "Huo Mian… is mine."

Upon hearing this, Huo Mian felt like her head was about to explode.

She never thought that something as cliché as this would ever happen to her. She suddenly felt like this was some kind of sick cosmic joke.

Having heard this declaration, the familiar tenderness drained away from Ning Zhiyuan's eyes, and it was replaced by an icy chill.

"Qin Chu, what the hell are you talking about?" Huo Mian was finally enraged.

"Mian. First, you tell me. Just who is he?" Ning Zhiyuan asked as he pointed at Qin Chu with a grim expression on his face.

"Zhiyuan, listen to me. He's just… my… high school classmate," Huo Mian's voice clearly wavered as she spoke. Technically, she wasn't lying. It was indeed true that Qin Chu was her classmate for three years back in high school.

"Huo Mian, we were more than just classmates, weren't we? Why don't you tell him how we just kissed in the hotel bathroom?" Qin Chu said cruelly, a haughty smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Having heard this, Ning Zhiyuan's expression darkened. He felt his entire body going numb.

"I didn't…" Huo Mian struggled to correct Qin Chu's distorted version of the truth.

"Huo Mian, don't lie. You can't lie about this when my scent is still on your lips." Qin Chu reached out and swept his forefinger across Huo Mian's lips in an extremely intimate and provocative motion.

Then, Qin Chu glanced over at Ning Zhiyuan again.

"You are Huo Mian's boyfriend, but has she ever told you about her past?" he asked.

Her past? Ning Zhiyuan thought in surprise. It was true, Huo Mian never once mentioned her past to him. Aside from still being close friends with Zhu Lingling, Huo Mian never attended any reunion-type of events, and he never asked her about it either.

"What, you didn't know? Hasn't she ever mentioned that, seven years ago, there was a man she loved deeply? That person was me," Qin Chu said, enunciating each word. Huo Mian felt the old wound in her chest, long healed over, tearing open again with excruciating slowness.

"Huo Mian, tell me, is what he said true?" Ning Zhiyuan's voice was cold, no longer holding even a hint of warmth.

pqdm.com