Be my girlfriend

Leaning back, she rested her back and got lost in thought.

*Flashback*

He brought her to a nearby room and made her sit on the bed. Opening drawers, he searched for the medkit.

After a while, he sat near her, gently cleaning her bruise with cotton.

Unaware, Rong felt strange seeing him take such care of her.

It was the first time she had no words to express her feelings. She was clueless about the bluster of those heartbeats.

The whole time, her eyes were only asking to see him. There was something at that moment that she could not express. Perhaps she didn't know what had happened to her.

A text notification snapped her out of her thoughts, making her smack her cheeks.

"Cong Rong, what are you even thinking? Stop it."

She extended her hand to reach the phone and opened Ming's chat.

Ming: Rong, can you help me pick up a parcel from nearby? I guess I'll be late today.

Rong: Alright, no problem.

Ming: I love you. Tomorrow's breakfast is on me.

Giggling over her text, she sent a heart emoji and got up.

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

Running his hand through his wet hair, he stepped out of the bathroom and immediately looked at his phone.

As soon as he opened WeChat, he received messages from his mom. The smile disappeared somewhere in the air as soon as he opened them.

Mom: Shaoqing, your dad wants to meet your girlfriend. He wants you two to attend your brother's wedding together. And remember, no excuses this time. You know your dad. Be a good boy and invite her.

He let out a sigh of exhaustion. Putting his phone down, he again picked it up when someone named 'Fav' called him.

??: Shaoqing!

Shaoqing: How are you, Luli?

Luli: I'm doing great. What about you?

Shaoqing: Nothing good. Nothing bad.

Letting out a laugh, she commented.

Luli: You're always like that.

Shaoqing: You know me, of course.

Luli: I have good news for you. I'm coming back from abroad.

Shaoqing: Woah! When are you coming?

Luli: Before your brother's wedding, I won't let you have the fun alone.

Shaoqing: Of course, you need to be here with me.

Luli: Well, do you remember our promise?

Shaoqing: Don't worry. I do.

Luli: That's better. Shaoqing, I have to go now. I have classes to attend.

Shaoqing: Hmm. Take care.

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

Sitting alone at the bus stop, Zhao Ming kept dosing off. That's when a car's horn woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and got up to walk closer to it.

"Xiaomi Ge, what are you doing here?"

"Let me drop you home. It's late already."

"No, it's fine. The last bus is almost arriving."

Looking at his watch, he chuckled and asked, "Are you sure?"

Frowning at her place, she took out her phone and checked the time.

"As your old neighbour and a gentleman, let me drop you off, Zhao Ming."

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

Collecting Ming's parcel, Rong had just reached outside her place when she noticed a black car parked in front with a man standing there.

She squinted her eyes as the man turned around to face her.

Gasping, she asked in a startling tone. "Mr. Wen? What are you doing here?"

With his arms wrapped, he approached her. "You told me you wanted to repay me for your mistakes. I finally found a way for you."

"Umm... How can I repay you then?"

"Be my girlfriend."

"WHAT?" 

Upon hearing this, her ears perked up as if she had gotten an electric shock. Her wide eyes searched for an explanation in their eye contact.

"I'm giving you a chance to repay me. Pretend to be my girlfriend for a month until my brother's wedding."

Taking a pause, he added, "Besides, you started this mess. You need to clean it too."

"I-"

He took his phone out and offered her a QR scan.

"Scan it and save my number. You can send me your conditions to add them to the contract."

"A contract?"

"Of course, we need to sign a contract. I don't trust anyone other than my mom. What if you run away in the middle?"

"Wait! Why would I?"

"No one knows."

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

Furiously, she put Ming's parcel on the table and tumbled onto the bed.

"A contract? Me running away? What was he even thinking?" She rolled her eyes when she heard the sound of a notification.

Grabbing her phone, she opened the chat.

Shaoqing: Be ready before 10 a.m. We're going to the mall for shopping.

As she read his text, she received a call from him. With a sigh escaping her mouth, she picked up the call.

Rong: What's with the shopping?

Shaoqing: As you're pretending to be my girlfriend, you have to be my date for an office party.

Rong: What? I didn't agree to do this.

Shaoqing: You started this mess. And you even agreed to repay me.

Rong: Aren't you taking too much advantage of me?

Shaoqing: But I think it's you taking advantage of me. You're lucky to have a rich, handsome, and powerful boyfriend.

She made a puke sound while listening to his words.

Rong: Don't you think too highly of yourself?

Shaoqing: Well, I'm the high one here, and...

Before he could say anything further, she hung up the phone. He stared at the phone in disbelief. "Did she just hang up on me? ME?"

Rolling his eyes, he glanced at the mirror as his reflection pleased his heart. Walking a little closer, he smirked at the sight.

"Indeed, she's lucky enough to have such a perfect boyfriend like me. Haha!"

Ming and Rong were having breakfast together on a fresh Sunday morning. But today, Rong acted unusually. Instead of eating, she seemed more focused on replying to someone's text, making her look suspicious.

She had a bite of toast and sipped juice before heading towards the entrance door.

While she fixed her hair, glancing at the mirror, Ming scoffed. "Rong, do you have a date today?"