Going prepared

Xia Zhi figured the villain was so busy that he certainly had no time to look at WeChat Moments.

In fact, Lu Heng had already seen it, and he was very displeased with Xia Zhi's post. Over breakfast, he criticized her.

"Why would you post on Moments looking so improperly dressed? Do you have any sense of being Mrs. Lu?"

Improperly dressed?

His words left Xia Zhi bewildered. She couldn't help pulling up her Moments to check. She had only shown an arm. How was that improperly dressed?

That damned pervert was ridiculously picky.

But Xia Zhi refused to give up. She didn't believe anyone in this world could really be so blind. "Aheng, just tell me whether I look beautiful in this photo."

Lu Heng shot her down without mercy. "Average."

Xia Zhi said, "..."

Blind.

Beyond a doubt.

Lu Heng ate elegantly, making not the slightest sound. Xia Zhi was different, clinking and clattering away. Every time her bowl and utensils knocked together, Lu Heng would glance up at her.

As a direct result, even breakfast gave Xia Zhi indigestion.

Lu Heng elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth. "What are you doing today?"

Xia Zhi said, "Taking your brother his car."

Lu Heng nodded. "I'll go with you. I happen to have something to discuss with him."

??

Xia Zhi gave the villain a puzzled look. What a coincidence. She had reason to suspect he had dug a pit and was waiting for her to fall in.

And so Xia Zhi saw the villain drive for the first time. His hands were especially beautiful, long-fingered and strong. Light and shadow shifted across his understated luxury watch as he turned the steering wheel with effortless style.

Wow.

Someone could actually look this handsome driving.

The original owner of this body had some taste after all.

Hearing Xia Zhi's besotted thoughts, Lu Heng had just begun to feel pleased when he heard her lament with immense regret-

What a shame. All the good-looking men were into men.

Lu Heng's expression instantly darkened.

"Have you figured out how you're going to explain what happened with Fu Ting'an to me?"

Xia Zhi had long been prepared for this. "Send me the photos first."

When he stopped at a traffic light, Lu Heng sent the photos to Xia Zhi on WeChat. She opened them and looked. Good grief, who had taken these?

They were even better at making something false look real than her production crew's photographer.

But judging by the figures seen from behind in the photos, it really had been at Tang Fangjing's birthday party.

Having confirmed where the photos came from, Xia Zhi immediately felt confident. "Fu Ting'an did try to force himself on me, but he didn't succeed."

Xia Zhi dug the recording watch out of her bag and played it. Soon, her conversation with Fu Ting'an could be heard. Xia Zhi was clearly rejecting him, while Fu Ting'an, for some unknown reason, kept pestering her.

Finally, Xia Zhi gave him a vicious kick, and Fu Ting'an's piglike squeal filled the entire car.

Xia Zhi found the sound thoroughly gratifying.

Then they heard Xia Zhi say she was going to call the police, followed by Tang Fangjing's arrival.

"Now do you believe that seeing isn't always believing?"

"These photos taken out of context are seriously misleading."

Either Tang Green Tea took them, or Zhao Qingqing did.

Damn it.

Those two little bitches were ruining my reputation!

I absolutely couldn't let them get away with it!

Lu Heng frowned slightly. Tang Green Tea?

What kind of strange nickname was that?

But was Xia Zhi talking about Xiaojing?

Lu Heng didn't believe Xiaojing would secretly take photos like that. There must have been some misunderstanding between her and Xia Zhi.

Fu Ting'an...

A cold glint flashed through Lu Heng's eyes.

Seeing that Lu Heng wasn't speaking, Xia Zhi assumed he didn't believe her. "The evidence is irrefutable. If you suspect the recording is fake, you can have someone verify it anytime."

She thumped her chest. "Real gold can withstand fire. I've done nothing underhanded, so I'm not afraid of you investigating."

If the villain really didn't believe her, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't very well pull out her heart for him to inspect, could she?

Xia Zhi had barely finished speaking when her own sugary voice suddenly came from the recording watch. "Honey, I miss you so much. Give me a kiss..."

!!

Startled, Xia Zhi hurriedly reached out to stop the recording, but the villain snatched the recording watch away before she could.

His cold, sharp eyes swept over her. "What? Is there something I'm not allowed to hear?"

Thick-skinned as Xia Zhi was, even she couldn't help blushing now. "N-no... there's nothing worth listening to."

It was that lovey-dovey phone call she had fabricated.

Boohoo...

I should have stopped it as soon as the part with Fu Ting'an ended. Now I'm going to embarrass myself halfway across the world.

"Honey, someone nearly took advantage of me today. It was that Fu Ting'an. He's so annoying."

"I already told him not to pester me, but he still has no shame."

"I don't know why he showed up at Tangtang's birthday party either."

"Don't worry. I'm not interested in Fu Ting'an at all. He doesn't compare to you in any way."

"You're that confident no one can steal me away?"

"Boohoo... honey, you're so good to me."

"I love you too. Kisses."

Xia Zhi covered her face. She was so embarrassed she wanted to claw a three-bedroom apartment out of the ground with her toes.

Lu Heng turned to look at her, the emotion in his eyes unreadable. "If I remember correctly, I don't seem to have received this call. Are you sure the 'honey' in it wasn't someone else?"

Xia Zhi's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom. "There wasn't anyone else. It was you."

Lu Heng said, "Then shouldn't you explain this nonexistent phone call while you're at it?"

For a moment, Xia Zhi was at a loss for words.

What could she say?

That she had put on an act for Tang Green Tea? That she was afraid Tang Green Tea would see something and come gossiping to him afterward?

The villain wouldn't believe me. He'd only grow disgusted with me. Forget it, forget it. I won't say anything. My relationship with him is already on thin ice.

Lu Heng couldn't understand what any of Xia Zhi's thoughts meant.

But Tang Fangjing's next words from the recording watch made Lu Heng frown instinctively.

"My brother is extremely possessive. You have to really provoke him. Ideally, you should let him catch you in bed with someone else. That'll definitely drive him mad with jealousy."

"Only when he's mad with jealousy will he be madly in love with you."

How could Xiaojing say something like that to Xia Zhi?

Wasn't she encouraging her to cheat?

What followed was Lu Heng's call to Tang Fangjing.

Lu Heng stopped the recording expressionlessly. He was feeling somewhat vexed.

Xia Zhi sensed the oppressive air around the villain, but she couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"Aheng, I never actually made that call. I was just fooling around with Tangtang. There was nothing else to it."

She asked tentatively, "Don't you believe me?"

By then, Lu Heng had stopped the car in the hospital's underground parking garage. He said nothing, staring straight ahead with a cold, stern expression.

Xia Zhi carefully went over every conversation on the recording watch in her mind. There was nothing wrong with any of it. She hadn't done anything to betray the villain. Who was that expression supposed to be for?

Although he looked handsome when he was cold, he was also very frightening.

After parking, Lu Heng didn't hurry to get out. Instead, he tossed the recording watch back to Xia Zhi.

"Why did you bring a recording watch to Xiaojing's birthday party?"

She had clearly gone prepared.

Xia Zhi said, "You should never intend to harm others, but you should always guard against them. Of course I hoped I wouldn't need it, but having it and not using it is different from not having it at all."

This was also something her grandmother had taught her since she was little.

"The facts prove I was right to prepare for the worst."

Otherwise, she could never have cleared her name over what happened with Fu Ting'an, no matter what she did.