“I’m being unreasonable, and she’s not? You go comfort her then. She’s crying, but I’m not. Why are you bothering with me!” Shishi kicked him away impatiently.
Huo Zheng yelped, feigning a broken leg, and squatted on the ground, wailing.
Shishi originally intended to leave him and walk away, but after taking a few steps, she couldn’t bear to hear him cry out in pain.
She retreated to his side and asked, “You’re screaming so horribly, is your leg broken? I didn’t use much force just now.”
Huo Zheng, still squatting and holding his leg, said, “I told you, a gentleman uses his words, not his hands. If you’re so fond of using your hands, you’ll never get married.”
“I didn’t use my hands, only my foot. Whether I get married or not is none of your business!” Shishi glared at him, saying irritably.
Huo Zheng extended a hand, signaling her to help him up, and said, “Anyway, I always get injured when I’m with you. Aren’t you going to help me into the car?”
Shishi helplessly, and with a hint of suspicion that he was faking, grabbed one of his hands and pulled him up from the ground, fearing his leg might truly be injured.
Once Huo Zheng stood up, he unceremoniously draped his entire arm over her shoulder, using her as a crutch as they walked with a limp.
Shishi felt he was too heavy and could barely support his weight. She gritted her teeth and lowered her head, only to discover that she had kicked his left leg, but he was now limping on his right.
She immediately shoved him away with force and said angrily, “I think you’re a better actor than that Sophie. Your leg isn’t hurt at all, and you still want to cling to me!”
Huo Zheng stopped faking and moved his legs, blocking her way. “Alright, no more fooling around, okay? Let’s talk in the car.”
Shishi sidestepped him, truly not wanting to deal with him anymore and just wanting to go back.
“Then do you want to hear my real thoughts?” Huo Zheng called out to her retreating back. “I wasn’t siding with you earlier because I didn’t want your relationship with Sophie to become too strained. If she has ulterior motives and targets you, I was worried you might be in danger.”
Shishi couldn’t help but stop and turn to look at him, asking in disbelief, “You’re worried about me?”
Huo Zheng didn’t let her dwell on it, taking her hand and walking towards the car. “After all, I’m your fake boyfriend now, so I have to pretend to care about your safety.”
Shishi let him lead her to his car, unable to help but chuckle secretly.
Huo Zheng nudged her. “Are you still a three-year-old? You laugh when you’re happy and get angry when you’re upset. Hurry up and get in the car.”
Shishi suppressed her laughter and got into his car, her mood improving. She said, “I know those photos were definitely Photoshopped by Sophie. It’s ridiculous to think she can slander Sister Gu by just finding a handsome guy online.”
Huo Zheng, however, couldn’t laugh. His expression was solemn as he said, “The photos aren’t Photoshopped. The man in the picture is Yang Sijie. He was Susu’s first love…”
Shishi looked utterly shocked. “Oh my god, how could President Qin stand seeing those photos?”
“That’s what worries me the most,” Huo Zheng said with a pang of anxiety. “Do you know how I met Sister Susu?”
“Sister Gu’s friend, you met her through your sister?”
Huo Zheng replied, “No. I met Sister Susu at a nightclub. She was a cleaner there at the time.”
“No way, why would Sister Gu work as a cleaner?”
“I didn’t understand it then either. Later I found out she was hiding from the man in the photos, living under a false name. She didn’t dare to do her original job and could only hide in a nightclub where no one knew her…”
Huo Zheng told Shishi what he knew about Susu and Yang Sijie.
Shishi found it terrifying as she listened. After he finished speaking, she was stunned for a long time and murmured, “I kind of understand now why Sister Gu spoils Sophie so much. Maybe Sophie really didn’t mean any harm.”
Huo Zheng, however, said calmly, “This incident definitely involves Sophie. Her desperate attempt to clear herself is a sign of a guilty conscience. Do you know what I think?”
“What do you think?”
Huo Zheng analyzed, “Although Sophie helped Sister Susu before, she’s probably psychologically unbalanced now. Sometimes the change between being mentally sound and unsound is subtle. Her mental illness is cured medically, but her psychology is twisted. You shouldn’t provoke people like her directly. If she targets you, you won’t be able to guard against it.”
Shishi looked at him, having never seen him analyze things so logically. She asked, “What’s wrong with you today? Are you still you?”
Huo Zheng wasn’t joking. “After my sister had her accident, I spent a long time wondering why a friend who was so close to my sister could be so deranged towards her. I couldn’t understand it for a long time, so I read a lot of books on criminal psychology. Sometimes, the closer the person, the more imperceptible their inner changes are, which is why you let your guard down.”
“I understand. You know Sophie has problems, but you need to placate her first. Once you’ve figured things out, you’ll help Sister Gu, right?”
“It’s good that you understand. Don’t be impulsive from now on,” Huo Zheng reminded her. “Dealing with bad people by arguing or fighting, like you do, is the most foolish method.”
Shishi said angrily, thinking about it, “Don’t say it, Sophie is really good at provoking me. But every time I get angry and want to reason with her, it’s like hitting cotton with a fist. That feeling of helplessness makes me even angrier.”
“That’s called a vicious cycle. The more you act like this, the happier Sophie becomes. That’s her goal,” Huo Zheng taught her a trick. “To deal with someone like Sophie, who hides deeply and is insidious, it’s best to act completely indifferent to her. Don’t let her words or actions sway your emotions. Then she’ll be the one to go crazy.”
“Yes, how did I not think of that? From now on, I’ll treat her like air.” Shishi decided to try Huo Zheng’s method.
…
As soon as Susu and Tianyi returned to the villa, Tianyi went to the study, and Susu returned to her room alone.
Tianyi closed the study door and called Xiao Anjing.
Before he could speak, Anjing eagerly asked, “You, you and Susu are back, are you okay?”
“Susu and Yang Sijie’s matter is long past for me. I won’t care about those boring photos,” Tianyi said bluntly.
Hearing his voice was normal, Anjing felt relieved and said, “That’s good. I was worried for half the day.”
“Are you still at the venue?” Tianyi asked.
“I’m not anymore. I’m accompanying Lan Yu for a casual stroll.”
Tianyi said, “It’s good that there’s no one else around besides Lan Yu. Find someone to investigate the calligraphy and painting merchant who sponsored Sophie, and also investigate Sophie’s interactions with her sponsor. It seems Yang Sijie is like a centipede, dead but not stiff.”
“Ah, what do you mean? Does that mean Yang Sijie is still alive?” Anjing asked, his heart fluttering with panic.
“What I mean is that although Yang Sijie is dead, there are still people connected to him who want to harm Susu.”