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

The three people walked out of the airport waiting hall.

The March wind in Kyoto was still chilly, but the sunshine was lovely and warm.

Gu Qinghan walked ahead, pulling her suitcase, looking down at her phone as she walked, seemingly texting someone.

Su Xiaoyue linked arms with Jiang Yi, leaning against him like a kitten that had finally found its nest, her eyes half-closed in contentment.

Jiang Yi felt a little awkward being held by her arm, but it was better than before.

He told himself that he wasn't lying, that he was trying to reassure her.

Keep her calm, buy her time, pay back the money, and then confess everything.

Every step was taken out of necessity, and every step was for the final "confession" outcome.

But why did his hand unconsciously tighten slightly when she reached out to hold it?

The parking lot was on the underground level of Terminal 3. As the three of them took the elevator down, Su Xiaoyue's phone rang.

She released Jiang Yi's arm, took out her phone and glanced at it, then frowned and muttered under her breath, "My mom... so annoying. I said I'd call her when I arrived, why is she nagging me..."

She answered the phone, walked to the side to take it, and lowered her voice, but Jiang Yi still heard a few words.

"We've arrived." "It's fine." "Don't worry about it."

Gu Qinghan stood next to him, about a meter apart, and neither of them spoke.

After a while, Gu Qinghan spoke first, her tone more casual than when she was at the arrival gate: "Are you nervous?"

Jiang Yi turned his head and glanced at her: "A little."

Gu Qinghan's lips curved slightly, the curve of which was hard to define as a smile or something else: "Don't be nervous, Xiaoyue won't eat people."

These words are almost exactly the same as what Su Xiaoyue said on WeChat.

Jiang Yi couldn't help but think to himself, these two really have a good relationship, so good that they even speak in similar ways.

"I'm not nervous about her," Jiang Yi said.

"What are you so nervous about?"

I'm worried about you.

Gu Qinghan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

It wasn't that polite, distant fake smile from before, but a genuine laugh, with eyes crinkling, mouth widening, and a hint of surprise in the expression.

"Me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so worried about me? I'm not going to eat you."

"You're looking at me like I'm a liar," Jiang Yi said truthfully.

Gu Qinghan's smile faded somewhat, but not completely.

She looked into his eyes, paused for two seconds, and then nodded: "Okay, you're quite honest. I won't beat around the bush with you then, I really don't think you're very trustworthy."

"Qinghan!" Su Xiaoyue hung up the phone and walked back, just in time to hear this. Her face immediately darkened. "How could you say that?"

"I'm telling the truth," Gu Qinghan said without changing his expression. "What did you send me here for? Wasn't it to keep an eye on people for me?"

Su Xiaoyue was speechless, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Finally, she could only turn to Jiang Yi and say, "Honey, don't be angry. That's just how she is. She may not be nice, but she's a good person..."

"I'm not angry," Jiang Yi said.

He wasn't angry at all.

Gu Qinghan's suspicions are reasonable; any normal best friend should have such vigilance.

If he weren't involved, but rather an observer, he would probably say the same thing as Gu Qinghan.

Be careful, online dating is unreliable, don't get scammed.

The problem is, he was indeed lying.

Therefore, every doubt Gu Qinghan expressed was like a needle, precisely piercing the spot where he felt most guilty.

The three people took the elevator down to the underground parking lot.

Jiang Yi originally thought that when Gu Qinghan said "the butler is waiting in the parking lot," she meant an ordinary business car, at most a Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

But when they turned the corner and saw the gleaming black sedan parked in the VIP parking space, its dark metal gleaming under the lights, Jiang Yi's steps faltered involuntarily.

Lincoln.

And it's an extended version of the Lincoln.

He didn't know much about cars, but he knew that this kind of car wasn't for the average person.

The car is about five or six meters long. The black body reflects a cold light under the lights, and the Lincoln logo on the front looks like a silver badge, understated yet incredibly eye-catching.

A middle-aged man in a black suit and white gloves stood beside the car. Seeing them approach, he gave a slight bow and said in a steady and respectful voice, "Miss, Miss Gu, the car is ready."

Su Xiaoyue nodded, then turned to look at Jiang Yi, her eyes bright: "Honey, let's get in the car."

Jiang Yi stood there, looking at the stretch Lincoln, then at his own faded hoodie and the sneakers he'd worn for almost two years, and suddenly felt a strong sense of incongruity.

He felt like an extra who had wandered onto the wrong set, stumbling into a scene he had no right to be in.

"Husband?" Su Xiaoyue tilted her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Yi took a deep breath, swallowed back the words "Should I take off my shoes before going up?", and got into the car with Su Xiaoyue.

The interior space was much larger than he had imagined.

The leather seats are as soft as a sofa, the carpet underfoot is so thick that it makes almost no sound when you step on it, and the roof is a starry sky ceiling, with pale blue dots that look like the night sky shrunk countless times and embedded on the roof.

There is an armrest in the middle of the seat with a control panel embedded in it. There are cup holders on the inside of the door, and three bottles of mineral water are already placed in the cup holders. He didn't recognize the brand, but he knew they were expensive just by looking at the design of the bottles.

Su Xiaoyue sat next to him, and Gu Qinghan sat opposite him, forming a delicate triangle in the car.

The moment the car door closed, the noise from outside was instantly shut out.

The air conditioner was blowing warm air gently, carrying a faint fragrance, not the cloying sweetness of car air fresheners, but a lighter, more sophisticated scent, like some flower whose name he couldn't recall.

"Honey, would you like some water?" Su Xiaoyue took a bottle of water from the cup holder and handed it to him.

Jiang Yi took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

The water tasted different from what he usually drank; it was softer, smoother, and had a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness.

He glanced at the label on the bottle—it was all in English, and he only recognized the words "Natural" and "Spring".

"It's from France." Gu Qinghan noticed his gaze and casually said, "Xiaoyue's family only drinks this brand."

Jiang Yi said "Oh" and put the water bottle back on the cup holder.

He didn't want to say anything more on this topic, because every word he said would make him more aware of the gap between himself and Su Xiaoyue.

That kind of gap can't be bridged by hard work; it's because we weren't even on the same level from the start.

Su Xiaoyue leaned on Jiang Yi's shoulder, nestled in her seat, and sighed contentedly.