Chapter 116: Pretending to Be a Boyfriend

In the evening, Sister Li returned after buying clothes and brought dinner with her.

There were not many dishes, but everything was exquisite. Taking my injury into consideration, Sister Li had not brought any alcohol. We ate casually, exchanged a few words, and then went back to our respective rooms to rest.

Over the next few days, Sister Li went to work at the company while I stayed in the villa to recover. Before long, a week had passed, and the wound on my head had healed.

Tomorrow would be New Year’s Day. The weather had been quite cold these past few days, and sparse snowflakes had begun drifting through the air.

I could not help remembering what Ling Xue had said to me when she left: “When the snow falls next year, wait for me to come and marry you.”

Tomorrow was New Year’s Day. The snow was falling. Could I really go and marry her?

Stop dreaming. One year follows another, and there will always be another year. Perhaps it had merely been a joke. If I took it seriously, I would only be creating trouble for myself.

Sister Li returned and called from the courtyard, “A-Feng, come downstairs and help me carry these things.”

I hurried downstairs. The trunk of her car was packed with goods, crammed in so tightly that there was hardly any space left. I could not help asking curiously, “Sis, is the New Year already here? Why did you buy so many New Year supplies?”

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, and the company is taking three days off,” Sister Li replied. “I’m planning to go to Huzhou to visit my elderly foster mother, so I bought a few extra things.”

I laughed. “You’re the boss of the branch office. If you want to take a few days off, isn’t it entirely up to you?”

“That may be true,” Sister Li said, “but the company still needs rules and regulations. Otherwise, how could I manage the other employees? Besides, the head office is still overseeing us.”

“Then what about me? I’ve been resting for so many days.”

Sister Li smiled. “The company won’t suffer whether you’re there or not, so I can only leave it up to you.”

“So you mean I’m just a good-for-nothing who serves no purpose?”

“Actually, it isn’t just you,” Sister Li said with a smile. “The other interns are the same. The company newly hired several college graduates, but only two managed to sign foreign-trade contracts. The rest are merely muddling along.”

I noticed that many of the packages in the car were from famous clothing brands. Judging from the packaging, they contained men’s clothes. Unable to suppress my curiosity, I asked, “Sis, who are you buying all these clothes for?”

Sister Li smiled brightly. “For you, of course. Who else?”

I was stunned. “Sis, didn’t you just buy me several outfits a few days ago?”

“Stop asking questions. Take the clothes to your room. I’ll help you try them on and see which ones fit.”

I had always been careless about what I wore, so being made to try on clothes felt like a nuisance. Still, since Sister Li wanted me to do it, I did not want to dampen her enthusiasm.

Once we reached the room, Sister Li opened the packages and took out the clothes. As she helped me put them on, she said, “Little brother, there’s something I’d like to ask you to do. Can you promise me?”

I smiled. “Sis, as long as it’s something I can help with, I’ll definitely agree.”

She looked a little embarrassed. “Don’t agree so quickly. It’s certainly something you can do, but it may affect your reputation.”

I laughed. “What reputation? I’ve even been to prison. Do you really think I still care about my reputation?”

“My foster mother is getting old, and her health has declined considerably,” Sister Li said. “I’m going back to visit her this time, and I hope you can come with me.”

I smiled. “Sis, that’s such a small matter. Of course there’s no problem. I’ll definitely go with you.”

“Don’t be so hasty! I haven’t finished speaking yet. This time, my foster mother hopes I’ll bring my boyfriend home… I was thinking…”

I froze. “Sis, what do you mean? Do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

Blushing, Sister Li nodded. “Little brother, my foster mother hopes that before she dies, she’ll be able to see me get married. If she can see that someone is willing to take care of me, she’ll be able to rest easy.”

I had never imagined that Sister Li had bought me so many new clothes and was dressing me up because she wanted me to pretend to be her boyfriend and accompany her home to meet her foster mother.

I hesitated. “Sis, is it really all right to deceive her like this?”

She gave a bitter smile. “Little brother, I know I’m much older than you, and you surely wouldn’t want someone like me as your girlfriend. I never expected that. It’s just that the man I used to rely on is no longer dependable, and I can’t find anyone else to pretend for me at such short notice. Besides, I don’t know other people’s personalities well. What if I asked someone else to pretend and he ended up clinging to me? That would be a real headache.”

I thought to myself that although it was somewhat absurd for Sister Li to ask me to impersonate her boyfriend, she was doing it out of consideration for her foster mother’s feelings. Naturally, I should agree. My only concern was that false romances often became real ones. What if the feelings Sister Li already had for me grew beyond our control?

“That’s not what I meant, Sis,” I said. “I just feel that deceiving your foster mother is somewhat improper.”

“Don’t worry, little brother. I won’t pester you. In the future, whether it’s A-Yun or Ling Xue, if either of them falls for you, I’ll choose to step aside.”

“Sis, where did your thoughts wander off to? I’m the one who isn’t worthy of you. How could I possibly despise you? As for A-Yun and Ling Xue, there’s no way they could truly fall for someone like me.”

“Then that means you agree?”

I thought that I was still the most suitable person to pretend to be her boyfriend. If she let some other man do it and he turned out to be another scoundrel who toyed with her feelings, she would only be hurt even more.

So I said, “Of course I agree. But what if we give ourselves away and end up making things worse?”

Sister Li nodded. “That’s right. Little brother, we need to get our story straight. If my mother asks how old you are, say you’re thirty.”

I nodded, wondering whether I really looked that old. She had suddenly added six or seven years to my age. Still, I had worked on construction sites and spent my days exposed to the wind and sun, so it was normal for me to look a few years older than people my age.

Sister Li continued instructing me. “If my mother asks how we met, say that you saw someone harassing me and beat the culprit away. That’s how we came to know each other.”

“Why invent a heroic rescue story to deceive her?” I asked curiously.

“My mother most wants my boyfriend to be able to protect me,” Sister Li explained. “If you say that you once saved me, she’ll feel reassured.”

I nodded. It did make sense.

After giving me a few more instructions, Sister Li told me to go to bed early so that we could leave for Huzhou early the next day.

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116. Pretending to Be a Boyfriend — Free Reading