My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

the other side.

Jiang Yi fell onto the soft floor mat, his wrists marked with several red welts from the rough nylon cable ties.

He struggled to prop himself up, but everything went black.

When he was being pushed in by several people, his eyes were covered with a thick black cloth. The cloth had a pungent smell of machine oil, which made his temples throb.

"Miss, we've brought the person."

The door closed behind me with a heavy click, clearly indicating that it was locked.

Then the footsteps faded into the distance, growing fainter and fainter until they were completely inaudible.

The room was quiet for a while, with only the faint hum of the air conditioner vents and the low-frequency vibrations characteristic of some kind of mechanical device in operation.

Jiang Yi struggled to sit up, leaning against the cold wall, and was about to reach out to pull off the blindfold.

A hand reached out faster than him, its fingertips slightly cool, tracing the edge of his cheekbone and gently lifting the strip of cloth.

A sudden burst of light flooded in, and Jiang Yi squinted, taking a while to adjust before he could clearly see the person in front of him.

Zhao Ran sat in a dark gray wheelchair, one leg wrapped in snow-white gauze from knee to ankle, resting on a support extending from the front of the wheelchair, with a faint red hue showing through the gauze.

She was wearing a loose black athletic short-sleeved shirt, her hair casually tied into a low ponytail, with a few stray hairs sticking to her forehead.

His face was pale, but his eyes still held a chilling, scrutinizing look that sent a shiver down Jiang Yi's spine.

"Ms. Zhao, is there any point in you constantly bothering me?"

Jiang Yi pulled his hand out from behind his back, his fingertips digging hard into the edge of the nylon cable tie, trying to find a little room to loosen it. "Your leg is like this, can't you just stop?"

Zhao Ran tilted his head, leaned back in the wheelchair, placed his hands on his knees, and looked at him.

She smiled slightly: "I've calmed down. See how gentle I am this time?"

Jiang Yi glanced down at the tightly bound cable ties on his wrist: "Is this what you call gentleness?"

"That's called Q-Fun," Zhao Ran replied without changing his expression. "If I weren't gentle, you'd be sitting on an iron chair in some basement right now."

Jiang Yi took a deep breath, not wanting to continue arguing with her about this topic.

He changed his posture, trying to make himself look less disheveled:

"What exactly do you want? We've only met twice so far. I, Jiang, don't have that much charm, do I?"

Zhao Ran did not answer immediately.

She turned her head slightly, shifting her gaze from his face to the sky outside the window, cut into geometric shapes by tall buildings, as if she were thinking about something.

After a few seconds, she turned back, her voice softening slightly: "Of course you do."

Jiang Yi frowned: "What?"

"I said, of course you have that charm." Zhao Ran repeated, the joking tone lessened, replaced by a seriousness that made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"I've always had a good eye for people. If I like someone at first glance, I'll like them no matter how I look at them; if I find someone annoying at first glance, no amount of flattery will work."

Jiang Yi's lips twitched slightly: "So the first thing you saw in me was—"

"The photo your sister sent me," Zhao Ran interrupted him crisply. "Under the ginkgo tree, in a white shirt, sunlight falling on your face, you're smiling like a fool. I stared at it for about ten seconds."

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sweeping over his face as if reconfirming something: "Then I thought, this guy, I have to get him."

Jiang Yi fell silent.

He wanted to say something in rebuttal, but faced with such frankness that bordered on absurdity, he couldn't find the right words for a moment.

"Ms. Zhao," he began, "I already have a girlfriend. And we have a very good relationship, with no intention of breaking up."

"I know, Su Xiaoyue, you know." Zhao Ran waved his hand, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather. "I have no intention of breaking you up with your rich girlfriend."

Jiang Yi was stunned: "Then you—"

"I said I won't restrict your freedom, interfere with your personal life, or meddle in your dating life."

Zhao Ran pushed the wheelchair forward half a meter, stopped in front of him, bent down, and looked at him at eye level.

She was very close, close enough that he could smell the faint scent of disinfectant and a barely perceptible smell of medicine on her.

"I just need you to spend some time with me occasionally. You don't need to come every day, you don't need to be responsible for me, and you don't need to explain yourself to anyone. For a year, I'll take care of everything for you, including the mess your sister made, and the trap that woman surnamed Xia might set for you."

She paused, her gaze fixed on his face, as if trying to capture every subtle change in his expression: "Think about it?"

Jiang Yi looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then shook his head: "No need to consider it. I refuse."

Zhao Ran's expression didn't change, but her gaze lingered on his face for a moment longer.

"Ms. Zhao, I'd also like to be frank with you."

Jiang Yi's voice was a bit more steady than before.

"I'm not someone you're going to such lengths to be with. You're good-looking, skilled, and have a good background. What kind of person can't you find? Why waste your time on me?"

"Miss Zhao, it's really pointless for you to keep bothering me."

Zhao Ran did not respond immediately.

She leaned back in her chair, placed her hands on the armrests, and shifted her gaze from his face to her own leg, which was wrapped in gauze, pausing for a moment.

"My leg was injured in a car accident."

Jiang Yi suddenly looked at Zhao Ran, realizing that Zhao Ran's words had a hidden meaning.

"What do you mean? You're blaming me for your car accident?"

(Give the child a good review; a 5.1 rating is unprecedented and will likely remain so on Tomato.)