Chapter Four — Sincerity and False Affection

The following day, Yulan went out to meet the male student from her university as they had arranged.

Having worked as a model for some time, she had long since learned to value punctuality. So this time, she deliberately arrived at the meeting place early.

But this was the first time in her life that she had gone on a date alone with a man.

And the memories of being rejected by men in the past still lingered deeply in her heart.

So even though she had arrived early, she could not help worrying—

What if he had deliberately asked her to come all the way here, only to leave her standing here alone?

While Yulan was lost in her thoughts, a man's voice drifted toward her on the wind.

“Sorry I'm a little late. Have you been waiting long?”

The moment Yulan heard his voice, her heart immediately lifted.

The uneasiness that had been lingering in her mind vanished in an instant.

A smile naturally appeared on her slender lips.

“It's all right, Senior Gu. Yulan only just arrived too.”

The model answered politely.

Hearing her response, Ge Qi was extremely pleased.

He quickly concealed the sly smile at the corner of his mouth and began showering Yulan with sweet words.

But inside, he was already mocking the woman standing before him.

“Heh heh heh… She's taken the bait! Looks like this woman is completely smitten with me. Who would've thought that the woman who used to be as fat as an elephant would be this easy to fool?”

“But that's even better… Saves me the trouble of putting in too much effort. Once I use my connection with her to get into the entertainment industry, I'll find a way to dump her afterward…!”

After saying a few more sweet things to Yulan, Ge Qi took the initiative to extend his hand, signaling for her to take it.

But the instant Yulan's palm touched his—

Ge Qi suddenly felt a gaze fixed intensely upon him.

The man instinctively turned his head.

What he saw was a tall, dark-skinned man.

The man was wearing a police uniform, his arms folded across his chest as he stared coldly at him from a short distance away.

Ge Qi initially wanted to glare back.

He was even ready to snap,

“What the hell are you looking at?!”

But the moment he noticed the police uniform, he immediately abandoned the idea.

After all, the man's authority under the law was obviously far greater than his own.

“Damn it… Why the hell is that cop standing there glaring at me for no reason? I haven't even done anything illegal.”

Ge Qi could only curse silently to himself before quickly avoiding the officer's gaze and pulling Yulan in another direction.

......................................

Her first date with Ge Qi made Yulan feel more confident.

Especially when she noticed the eyes of the young men around them unconsciously falling upon her now well-proportioned and beautiful figure.

It made her even more aware of something—

Not a single one of them could possibly imagine that the slender, fair-skinned beauty standing before them had once been a girl weighing nearly two hundred kilograms.

......................................

Late that night, Yulan finally returned home.

After Ge Qi drove away, she took the elevator back to her room as usual.

But when she reached the door, she once again heard soft music coming from inside.

“Did Xiaomei leave the music playing again…?”

Yulan thought as she took out her key and unlocked the door.

The moment she opened it, the singing inside became perfectly clear.

**“I will love you forever. I'm by your side, yet it feels as though we're worlds apart.

But I will keep waiting, and I will never stop waiting,

waiting for the day when our two hearts can finally be together.”**

“What kind of mood has Xiaomei been in lately?”

Yulan could not help laughing and shaking her head.

“She actually started listening to those old songs she used to complain were too old-fashioned.”

She casually glanced toward the audio system, only to suddenly notice—

The bouquet of roses Ge Qi had given her yesterday was gone.

Yulan did not think much of it.

She had already noticed that the roses were beginning to wilt that morning.

So she naturally assumed that Xiaomei had thrown away the flowers after they had withered.

Yulan took the empty vase into the bathroom to wash it, then continued with her shower.

The music, meanwhile, continued playing.

When Yulan finished showering and came back out, the song had reached another passage:

**“Nothing can stop a sincere heart.

Let our hearts guide the way and bring us together.

No matter where we are, as long as two hearts truly love each other,

as long as two people remain bound to one another,

there is nothing we need to fear.”**

The collection of songs was originally Yulan's favorite music.

After changing clothes, she lay down on her bed and continued listening.

Gradually…

She drifted into sleep.

......................................

At the same time, Ge Qi was driving into the narrow lane leading toward his home.

Only a few seconds after his car entered the secluded and silent alley—

The man suddenly felt something extremely strange.

As though someone were sitting in the back seat.

And that person…

was watching him.

“Am I going crazy?”

Ge Qi scolded himself inwardly.

He assumed that the gloomy surroundings were simply causing him to imagine things.

But the sensation did not disappear.

Instead, it grew stronger.

A chill slowly crept up his spine.

The hairs all over his body stood on end.

Eventually, Ge Qi could no longer endure the suffocating pressure.

He decided to sneak a glance at the rearview mirror.

And then—

The man froze on the spot.

Sitting in the back seat…

was a tall man.

He was wearing a police uniform.

It was the same police officer who had been standing there watching him earlier.

Those eyes glimmered with a terrifying light as they stared directly at him.

Ge Qi was scared out of his wits.

He hurriedly stopped the car and lowered his head, not daring to look at the rearview mirror again.

After a long while, he finally summoned enough courage to slowly open his eyes.

In the rearview mirror…

there was no one.

The man immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next second—

that terrifying pressure suddenly shifted from behind him to his side.

Ge Qi's body instinctively whipped toward the passenger seat.

“WAAAAAHHHH—!!!”

He let out a terrified scream.

Because the man who had just been sitting in the back seat had now appeared silently in the passenger seat.

Lei Zhen did not turn to look at him.

He simply sat there in silence.

His face was as cold and stern as a stone statue, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Yet the pressure created by that silence alone was enough to leave Ge Qi completely terrified.

Then—

Lei Zhen finally spoke.

“If you don't truly care about Yulan, don't go near her again.”

His voice was low and cold.

“Because from this moment on…”

Lei Zhen slowly turned his head.

Those sharp eyes fixed directly upon Ge Qi.

“This is no longer just a warning.”

But strangely—

His lips never moved.

And yet his voice entered Ge Qi's ears with perfect clarity.

The next instant, Lei Zhen's figure vanished.

Only Ge Qi remained inside the car.

And—

a bouquet of roses that he remembered very clearly.

It was the same bouquet he had given Yulan the previous day.

At some point, it had appeared inside the car.

Ge Qi stared at the roses in horror.

One petal after another slowly drifted from the stems.

Tap.

A petal landed on the seat.

Then—

the petals, which had once been bright and beautiful red, began to melt.

Red liquid slowly seeped into the seat.

The color was so vivid…

it looked exactly like freshly spilled blood.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!”

The sharp smell of blood instantly filled the entire car, shattering the last fragment of Ge Qi's composure.

......................................

“I love you… So why are you doing this to me…?”

A low, sorrowful male voice came from the foot of the bed.

That familiar voice pulled Yulan awake from the depths of her dark, hazy consciousness.

She immediately looked toward the source of the voice.

“Lei Zhen…?!”

Yulan softly called his name.

She knew.

This time, it wasn't a dream.

The young police officer was standing at the foot of her bed.

He was wearing a complete police uniform.

Strangely—

Yulan did not feel the slightest bit of fear.

All she felt was a confusion she could not explain.

“What are you talking about…?”

she could not help asking.

A faint, forced smile appeared on Lei Zhen's slightly darkened face.

He seemed to let out a quiet sigh.

There was no anger on his face, nor any trace of blame.

But Yulan clearly saw a fleeting hint of disappointment in his eyes.

That disappointment, however, was quickly replaced by gentle concern.

“You're always like this, you know?”

Lei Zhen spoke in a warm and calm voice.

“Do you know how worried I am about you…?”

“Why?”

Yulan asked in confusion.

Lei Zhen looked at her.

“You're a very straightforward person. You mean no harm toward anyone.”

“You're sincere toward everyone.”

“And you're soft-hearted. You're easily moved by other people's suffering, and you're very kind.”

As he spoke, his gaze grew gentler.

“But on the other hand, you're too innocent, and you trust people too easily.”

“You're too easily deceived.”

“So… I can't help worrying about you.”

His voice remained gentle.

And Yulan could clearly feel the warmth emanating from him.

But—

At that very moment, Lei Zhen's figure suddenly vanished from her sight.

“Wait, Lei Zhen…!”

Yulan hurriedly called out.

She suddenly sat upright in bed.

And then—

she realized that she had awakened once again.

It had been a dream after all.

At that moment, the audio system she had never turned off was still playing music in the room.

The singing slowly reached her ears:

**“With unwavering devotion, I will keep waiting,

whether in this life or in another.

When time finally allows us to touch,

even if only for a fleeting moment,

let that moment bind our love together for all eternity.”**

Those lyrics suddenly reminded Yulan of the dream she had just experienced.

She stared blankly into the darkness.

After a long silence, the girl finally whispered,

“Lei Zhen…”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Did I… make you sad?”