The anchor I was supposed to meet turned out to be my student.

I couldn't not go, because not going wouldn't solve the problem. If I stayed in Shanghai, he would come knocking on my door sooner or later. So I said goodbye to Ye Zhi and went with a stiff upper lip.

When I arrived at the address he sent in the text message, I looked up and saw that it was a boxing club...

He wouldn't come looking for a fight with me, would he? Although I had practiced a little bit of martial arts before, it wouldn't have been very effective. I couldn't help but swallow hard, and then I steeled myself. Damn it, I'm tough as nails, even if I can't fight, I can still take it.

After I gave my name to the staff, he took me to Lu Chaoxiong. He was hitting a punching bag. He was no longer the gentle and refined man he usually was, but a muscular man with a muscular body. It was hard to imagine that he could maintain a body like mine at his age. He's got something... I thought of Mrs. Lu, who was about the same size as Lu Xiaojun. I couldn't help but wonder if she could really satisfy her husband's needs.

(I'll pay back the debt on Saturday.)

Chapter 12, Section 67: The Man Who Came Out of the Closet

Lu Chaoxiong's punches were fast and powerful, and even his side kicks were fierce, lifting the sandbag at such a large angle. If a person were to be hit by such a kick, they would probably end up in the hospital in no time. Watching him from the side, I was terrified.

"Do you know how I feel right now?" Lu Chaoxiong suddenly asked without stopping his actions.

Seeing that he was covered in sweat, I said, "You must be very tired. After all, I used to do a little boxing, and I know that it takes a lot of strain on your arms and waist, especially since your punches were so powerful..."

"I feel like hitting you!" Before I could finish rambling, his tone suddenly changed.

I instinctively took a half step back to avoid being "accidentally injured" by his boxing practice. No wonder I felt his strength had increased significantly after I moved next to him; he was actually "speaking indirectly"...

"Uncle, did I do something wrong?" I asked calmly, unsure if he had found out that I was a counselor.

boom!

Lu Chaoxiong threw a full-force punch at the sandbag and then pulled back, turning to me with a cold expression and saying, "You seem completely oblivious to your own limitations?"

Does he really know that I'm a counselor?

I thought it made no difference and was about to admit it when I heard him say, "Xiaojun cried tonight, did you know that?"

I was stunned. It wasn't what I expected. But Lu Xiaojun was crying? What exactly happened? Countless questions flashed through my mind.

"Seeing you so oblivious to your own shortcomings, I really can't help but punch you, you brat!" Lu Chaoxiong said angrily.

I was also very anxious when Lu Xiaojun cried, but to be honest, why would she come to bother me if she was crying...? Okay, I suddenly remembered that I was her fake boyfriend, so I quickly got into character and said, "Uncle, I really don't know what's going on right now. Maybe there's some misunderstanding? Can you tell me more about Xiaojun crying?"

Lu Chaoxiong is a rational man who has lived a long life. He only impulsively confronted me because his most precious daughter cried. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and sat down in a seat. I sat down next to him as well... Well, I'd better stand. What if I really did something wrong to Xiaojun?

"I'm asking you, are you having an affair with another woman behind Xiaojun's back?" Lu Chaoxiong asked, his eyes fixed on me, as if if I answered yes, I would be sent straight to the hospital.

Upon hearing this, I immediately thought that Lu Xiaojun had seen the posts and updates Luo Yao had shared for me on WeChat Moments. But that didn't make sense either. Lu Xiaojun would cry because of my infidelity, which would only be based on the premise that I was really her boyfriend. But we both knew it was all an act, so I was even more confused.

But in front of Lu Chaoxiong, I could only say, "Absolutely not. I am devoted to Xiaojun. How could I do something to betray her like this?"

Suddenly a thought flashed through my mind: Lu Xiaojun seemed to be in a bad mood ever since she saw me this morning, and she was like that when I called her at noon. Could it really be that she has her period and is crying from the pain?

"She was also ignoring me today. Could it be because of that... she's on her period?" I asked cautiously, looking at Lu Chaoxiong's expression.

Lu Chaoxiong looked at me with displeasure and said, "Impossible. Xiaojun usually starts around the 25th, and it usually lasts about four days. But there are one or two months a year when it lasts for a week or even longer. Don't you, as her boyfriend, know that? Is this how you care about Xiaojun?"

I was stunned when I heard this. No, how do you know so much about your daughter's menstrual cycle?

Lu Chaoxiong immediately realized what I meant, and his face, which was even older than mine, blushed slightly. He coughed and explained, "As a father, isn't it only natural to understand and care about my daughter's health?"

Sure, you can, but why are you blushing like that with a bubble teapot...?

Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, Lu Chaoxiong glared at me and said, "Stop changing the subject, kid. Do you think I'll believe you so easily? Explain this to me."

As he spoke, he showed me his WeChat Moments, which contained a post by Lu Xiaojun with only one line: "Seeing them snuggling together so affectionately today, I realized that he already had someone else in his heart, and that I was just indulging in wishful thinking..."

This melancholic writing style is definitely from a girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend. Because I had been putting myself in Lu Xiaojun's shoes as her boyfriend, I subconsciously tried to identify with him, but I realized that I don't fit the "him" described in her post at all. Even the photo of me and Luo Yao holding hands doesn't match at all...

Things are getting more and more bizarre. I'm even starting to wonder who the man Xiaojun is so hopelessly in love with is, that he could actually win her heart!

I said sincerely, "Uncle, please believe me. I really didn't do anything to betray Xiaojun. There must be some complicated misunderstanding here. I will definitely find out the truth and give you a satisfactory explanation!"

I looked at Lu Chaoxiong with a determined gaze. He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to give me a chance, saying, "Okay, you'd better give me a satisfactory explanation by tomorrow night."

Seeing that Lu Chaoxiong had finally let me off the hook for the time being, I breathed a sigh of relief. However, the misunderstanding that Lu Xiaojun and I were a couple was getting bigger and bigger. I could have just explained it by saying "we are not actually a couple", but if I had said that, I would not have been able to explain what happened at Lu Xiaojun's house last time, and I would have had to bear even greater anger from Lu Chaoxiong.

“I’m still not satisfied…” Lu Chaoxiong suddenly said.

Before I could react, he asked again, "Do you know how to box?"

I immediately shook my head; I didn't want to get beaten up. I had just witnessed how that sandbag was sent flying by the wind.

Lu Chaoxiong looked at me mockingly and said, "Didn't you just say you used to practice a little boxing?"

"Ah...that was all in middle school, I've forgotten it all..."

Lu Chaoxiong snorted coldly, then said disappointedly, "When we talked at my house last time, I only temporarily accepted you as a test, to see if you would think you really had my daughter after gaining my approval and become less attentive... But through this incident, I've discovered that you're far from putting enough effort into Xiaojun. You're still far from being truly accepted by me..."

It seems this fake father-in-law is really hard to deal with...

After leaving the boxing gym, I first deleted all the posts Luo Yao had made for me. Then, I was filled with mixed feelings about Lu Xiaojun. She cried, and I was worried, but she wasn't crying for me, which made me very upset... No matter what, I have to find her tomorrow and ask her clearly, and I also need to give Lu Chaoxiong a proper explanation for our pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

After being tormented all night, I returned to my apartment feeling exhausted. I found Bi Antong with a backpack unlocking the door. It was already past nine o'clock at night. Why was she so late?

Bi Antong glanced back at me, and after recognizing me, she gave a soft snort and continued to open the door and go inside without saying a word. I followed her in.

She still seems angry, and I still don't understand why.

"Why are you so late?" I asked casually.

"She went to the hospital."

"Are you really in so much pain that you need to go to the hospital?" I felt a little guilty for not going with her, since I had promised to take care of her as best I could.

However, Bi Antong blushed and scolded, "You're the one who's in so much pain that you have to go to the hospital! I'm going to the hospital to be with my mom..."

"I was just showing you some concern, why are you so angry..." I said, feeling wronged.

Bi Antong gave me a complicated look, then turned and went to the balcony to collect the clothes and take a shower, slamming the bathroom door shut with a particularly loud bang...

(Bonus chapter tomorrow)

Chapter 13, Section 68: How Did You Get a Girlfriend? (First Update)

I turned on the air conditioner and sat on the sofa, trying hard to recall my two encounters with Bi Antong today. One was when I helped Xin Ning carry her luggage to her dormitory, and the other was when she saw Xin Ning and me at the entrance of the teaching building after school...

I think I've discovered the key point: my sister Xin Ning was present at both of these encounters, and Xin Ning and I were quite intimate both times. We're siblings, so we didn't find it strange, but to outsiders, especially those who didn't know we were siblings, we looked like a couple deeply in love.

If Bi Antong's sudden change in attitude towards me was truly due to jealousy, then a thought that I had only dared to fantasize about briefly before bed but never dared to delve into became clear in my mind: she likes me.

I glanced instinctively at the bathroom, where the light was still on, and heard the sound of running water. This made me quickly suppress my thoughts, look away, and continue to analyze the situation calmly.

The idea that Bi Antong likes me seems very unrealistic to me, because we've only known each other for half a month, and I'm not the kind of big shot who spends money like water, nor am I a handsome guy who looks like he's out of this world... Could it be that I underestimate myself when it comes to the perception of appearance?

After thinking it over and over, I realized that thinking about it more would be useless, and it would be faster and more accurate to verify it with the person in question.

At this moment, Bi Antong had finished showering and was passing by the TV with her underwear and clothes. I looked at her, but she quickly put the clothes in her hands to her side to cover herself so that I wouldn't see them...

What? It's not like I haven't seen it before. It hangs on the balcony every day, fluttering around. Once it even fell to the ground, and I had to pick it up and put it back to dry for you.

“Tongtong…” I called out to Bi Antong as she walked back from the balcony.

"What?" She stopped and looked at me with an icy expression.

"I... um..." Asking her directly if she likes me would be too low, and it's hard for me to ask her that.

Bi Antong said impatiently, "Say what you want to say quickly, I still have homework to do."

"It's nothing... Go do your homework, it's already ten o'clock, don't stay up too late, get some rest... Your teacher is really something, assigning homework every day, is she sick..." Faced with Bi Antong's aloof demeanor, I couldn't ask any more questions; I'm not used to her attitude.

Upon hearing this, Bi Antong nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, I don't know which crazy counselor made us study other people's career plans today and then made us make one ourselves..."

I think I posted this assignment in the college group chat today...

Bi Antong went back to her room, but my questions remained unanswered, so I went to her door again, lingered for a while, and then knocked.

Bi Antong opened the door, holding a pineapple in her arms. Both she and her daughter looked at me with puzzled expressions.

"What are you going to do now?" Bi Antong looked at me unhappily, seemingly annoyed that I had interrupted her train of thought in writing her career plan.

"Do you...?" He only managed to say two words before swallowing back the remaining three words, "Do you like me?"

"Is it something? Tell me quickly, I need to do my homework," Bi Antong urged.

Finally, somehow, I said, "Are you... busy taking care of Pineapple, which is why you've missed your homework? Let me take care of it for you..."

Bi Antong rolled her eyes at me, shoved the pineapple in her arms into my hand, and said speechlessly, "If you want to play with the pineapple, just say so... Here, take it."

Then she abandoned her daughter and shut the door.

Pineapple jumped to the ground, raised its paw and knocked on the locked door a few times, meowing a few times, but still didn't get a response from its mother. It turned back to look at me with a wronged expression, its eyes seemingly filled with resentment, as if expressing strong condemnation towards me.

As expected of a cat worth tens of thousands of yuan, it is not only beautiful but also very intelligent. I picked it up, held it in my arms, and started to pet it, while mentally preparing myself to ask it some questions later.

I knocked on the door again.

"What exactly do you want?!"

The door opened, and Bi Antong's expression became extremely impatient.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't bring myself to ask. While I was agonizing over this, it suddenly dawned on me that asking her if she liked me was pointless. If she said no, I'd be embarrassing myself; if she said yes, of course I'd be happy, but then what? Should I accept her? I do have fantasies about Bi Antong, but it's normal for men to have fantasies about beautiful women. Admittedly, Bi Antong is outstanding, but it's just admiration and fondness, far from love. To rush into accepting her would be irresponsible… Should I reject her? Then our friendship would end there.

Just as I was about to give up on this pointless question, I heard Bi Antong suddenly say coldly, "Hmph, you don't need to feel embarrassed anymore. I already guessed what you wanted to say..."

Holy crap, she actually guessed it! Was I that obvious...?

Then she said, "Let me tell you, do you want me to move out?"

"When did I say that?" I didn't know why she suddenly brought this up.

Bi Antong snorted and said, "You got a girlfriend, so you wanted me to move out and cut ties with me, but you were too embarrassed to say it, so you were in a difficult position just now, right? You don't need to deny it, I saw how affectionate you two were today, you were practically kissing right in front of the teaching building, so lovey-dovey..."

She was referring to the scene after school in front of the teaching building, where I grabbed Xin Ning's shoulder and explained Jiang Yan's text message to her. She actually thought we were going to kiss, she really thought Xin Ning and I were a couple...

Taking this opportunity, I quickly explained, "You've misunderstood. That girl is my younger sister, Hua Xinning. Today is their freshman registration day, and since my parents didn't come, I'm taking care of her..."

"Your sister?" Bi Antong's pupils dilated in disbelief.

I nodded.

At this moment, Bi Antong's expression was one of utter astonishment, and I could sense the highs and lows she was going through.

Recalling what she had just said, I asked, "You were so cold to me today, wasn't it because you were worried I'd make you move out, and that's why you were in a bad mood?"

Bi Antong's previously icy demeanor vanished, replaced by two blushes. She shifted her gaze from my face and stammered, "Yes, so what? You agreed to let me move in, and now you're making me move out again. Of course I'm unhappy about that..."