My girlfriend is from the future!

"how?"

Seeing He Tianran freeze, Wen Liang became even bolder.

"Did I hit a nerve?"

He Tianran's expression was quite amusing, alternating between red and black. Upon seeing this, Wen Liang not only didn't retract her foot, but instead used her toe to hook upwards along He Tianran's wrist, as if in a provocation.

This time, the man still didn't look up or say anything. However, the hand that was holding the girl's injured foot, and the thumb that was applying ointment, pressed lightly onto her most swollen and painful spot.

"what--!!"

In an instant, Wen Liang's provocation and seduction vanished, replaced by a face contorted in pain, its features contorted into a grimace.
"He Tianran—!!"

He Tianran tightened his grip on the other person's slender, injured foot, his thumb never leaving the sore spot, silently adding a few more drops of pressure, and said slyly:

"You, even though I've got you all hooked, still can't tell the difference between the big and small kings. Don't you know who's poking whose sore spot right now?"

"you……"

Wen Liang was in so much pain that tears were almost coming out. She tried to pull her foot back, but He Tianran's hand was holding her tightly and wouldn't loosen.

"He Tianran! Let go!"

She was both angry and in pain, and kicked his shin with the heel of her good foot.

He Tianran calmly endured the mild, painless punches, his smile deepening: "You like to act up, huh? Hmm?"

"I'll go to you!"

It's an instinctive reaction.

Wen Liang was in so much pain that she didn't care about her posture anymore. She adjusted the angle of her uninjured foot and kicked out with a sudden burst of energy—

"boom!"

There was a muffled sound.

He Tianran was so engrossed in admiring her grimacing face that he didn't even notice her attack. He only felt a dark shadow appear before his eyes, then his mouth and nose twisted, and he was kicked backward by the force, his head hitting the carpet with a thud.

"..."

"..."

The previously ambiguous and intimate atmosphere in the living room was shattered by this kick.

He Tianran lay on the ground, one hand covering his chin and the other supporting himself on the ground. The ceiling was filled with stars, and his mind was a complete mess.

He recalled all the scheming, all the pretense, all the "bad guy" scenarios since he woke up... all of which seemed utterly absurd in the face of this kick.

Wen Liang was stunned. She remained in the "kicking" position, looking at He Tianran lying on the ground. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but seeing He Tianran start to move, the words of concern that were on the tip of her tongue turned into a show of bravado:
"Hmph, if you ever get hurt in the future, just look at what you did to me today, you'll see if I don't mess with you!"

Hearing the gentle warning from Wenliang...

"puff……"

A low, barely suppressed laugh escaped from behind his hand covering his chin.

Wen Liang was taken aback:
"...You're still laughing?"

Immediately, the girl withdrew her foot, as if recalling something disgusting, and muttered:

"Eek—you don't think I'm rewarding you, do you?!"

He Tianran had barely sat down when he heard this when he almost collapsed again. He rubbed his chin, and his face, which was always tense when facing Wen Liang, was relaxed in a way that he himself did not realize.

"What are you talking about..." His voice was a little muffled: "I just feel that if our situations were reversed, you would be even more likely to kick me when I'm down."

"I'm not that bad~" Wen Liang looked away from her guilty gaze, rubbing her swollen ankle, and muttered softly, "It's not like you did this to me first..."

The man was too lazy to argue with her about who provoked him first, so he simply sat down on the carpet, leaning against the sofa, not too close to her.

Wen Liang continued applying the medicine, and He Tianran just watched her without saying a word.

However, He Tianran suddenly felt... this was fine too.

There's no need to pretend, no need to think about Yu Naoqiu, and no need to agonize over Mom and Ai Qing...

Just sitting there quietly, there's a girl who doesn't care what she looks like, who occasionally bothers her, and whose scheming is written all over her face.

The man slowly raised his hand. Wen Liang, who heard the noise, glanced at him, then lowered her head and continued wiping her hands.

He Tianran stared at the ring on his index finger, the ring that had witnessed all his restraint, his embarrassment, and Bai Wenyu's disappointed gaze tonight...

He didn't want to see it again.

But he didn't want to... just throw it away.

"Hey," he suddenly said.

"what?"

He Tianran took off the ring from his index finger and handed it to Wen Liang.

“This is…” Wen Liang stared in disbelief as she recognized the diamond ring. “…For me?”

"No."

He Tianran shook his head, as always "unromantic".

"This is for my mother."

Wen Liang's nascent joy was instantly swallowed back by him:
"...For President Bai? Then why are you giving it to me? Are you telling me to return it to your mother? I'm not going. She's still angry. When I called her when I left, she ignored me. She's probably still furious about what happened between you and Cao Aiqing."

"..."

He Tianran was speechless after being rebuked by her.

He can't exactly say, "I'm annoyed by it," can he?

"You tonight..." The man cleared his throat and forced out a stiff truth, "...thank you for what you said by the river. It made me much more sober."

"so what?"

“You,” He Tianran looked away and stuffed the ring into Wen Liang’s hand, the movement so quick it was as if he was afraid of getting burned, “…hold it for me.”

"Um--"

Wen Liang forced out a playful nasal tone and deliberately asked, "Why me?"

“I’m holding it,” he whispered, “...only to be reminded of how awful I was today.”

He paused, then added:
"...And if you take it, I will remember what you said to me today, as...a warning to myself."

"So... this counts as my 'spoils of war'?"

"Whatever you think."

"Hee~"

Wen Liang savored the word "spoils of war," her eyebrows raised in delight. She looked at the ring in her palm, then looked up at the extremely awkward man.

"Okay then..."

She smiled, slipped the ring onto her middle finger, and dangled it.

"But let me make this clear, this is just a 'temporary' arrangement. This is something you owe President Bai. Whether President Bai will want it in the future is uncertain, but if there's an opportunity, I'll help you fulfill this wish. In the meantime, I'll wear it for a bit, is that too much to ask?"

"what ever……"

Looking at her "taking advantage and then acting innocent" attitude, He Tianran couldn't help but smile and offered a reminder:
"Wear the index finger."

Wen Liang pulled her hand away and covered it with her other hand, pressing it against her chest, as if afraid that He Tianran would change his mind and take it back.

"why?"

"You don't mean you can't tell the meaning of wearing a ring on different fingers, do you? The middle finger means 'in a relationship,' while the index finger means 'single.' Now that you're a celebrity, you can explain it when you attend events, but if the media or fans see you wearing it on your daily life, you're bound to be speculated on again."

"Speculation? You don't need to worry about that, Mr. He. I'll take care of it myself..."

Upon hearing those two words, Wen Liang didn't hold back. Instead, she confidently waved her hand again, showing off the small diamonds on the ring, which sparkled with a delicate yet persistent light under the warm living room lights.

"But you should really 'think about' your own situation."

"I?"

"Yes~"

Wen Liang withdrew her hand, pushed herself up on the ground, and moved her hips forward, bringing the two of them even closer together.

"Don't you think you've improved a bit since your 'teenager' personality came out last time?"

"Really?" "Yes, absolutely!"

Wen Liang was very certain. Although she had recently said sincerely that He Tianran was the only He Tianran, the fact that men have multiple personalities and different memories is an objective reality.

“Look, when I was recording the variety show with the ‘lead singer,’ he said that there was no connection between you two, and you didn’t even know each other very well. But look at him now, not only can he perfectly help you with the red carpet task that you’re not good at, but afterwards you can also understand how he felt when he heard what I said. You even know what I said to him in the park that day, right?”

He Tianran was stunned by her question, his eyes darting around.

He subconsciously touched his temple, seemingly troubled by something.

When Wen Liang saw his reaction, she knew she had guessed everything correctly.

Her good little feet got restless again, rubbing themselves on the carpet before shifting to a more comfortable position, almost sitting cross-legged in front of the man:

"Are there signs of 'sharing' between you two? Is that clear-cut boundary... becoming blurred?"

He Tianran felt a chill run down his spine when she asked him that question.

"I have no idea……"

The "boy's" escapism, the "writer's" scheming, the "lead singer's" surging emotions that seemed to arise from nowhere...

Can these three things really still be clearly separated as they were at the beginning?

"Anyway, from what I've observed, the three of you used to each do your own thing, completely unrelated to each other. 'The kid' was responsible for causing trouble and escaping reality; you, the 'writer,' were responsible for scheming behind the scenes and cleaning up the mess, using your 'rotten person' theory to push everyone away; as for the 'lead singer'..."

Wen Liang pursed her lips, clearly still resentful of the "lead singer's" distancing behavior in the park:

"'Lead singer,' huh~ He's just here to annoy me!"

Listening to Wen Liang's incessant chatter, He Tianran fell into deep thought.

The boy's naivety that day led to Cao Aiqing's protection, which indirectly enabled the writer to experience the warmth of everyday life.

And because the lead singer heard Wen Liang's words "If only back then" on the red carpet, he finally remembered the embarrassing memories of his "teenage" that even "writers" were unwilling to face;

And the "writer" sitting here at this moment, listening to Wen Liang analyze his personality, his understanding of the "lead singer's" actions, and even... his implicit acceptance of Wen Liang's "meddling," isn't that also a kind of loosening of boundaries? If all these personal pronouns were replaced with "He Tianran," how would it be different?

“But things are different now. Or rather, besides discovering today that you, He Tianran, are a ‘bad person,’ it has also made me certain of something else.”

Wen Liang seemed to have guessed what He Tianran was thinking. She stretched out her middle finger, which was adorned with a Bulgari ring, and poked He Tianran's knee. The gesture seemed to be a deliberate reminder to the silent He Tianran, urging him to give some response and listen to what she was about to say.

"...How is it different?"

A hint of panic flashed in the man's eyes.

A gentle smile played on her lips as she slowly leaned forward.
“You, the ‘writer’ whose mind is filled with nothing but hatred and self-interest, must have started to feel how the ‘lead singer’ feels about me. When I said ‘If only back then…’ on the red carpet, you also felt heartache and regret, right?”

"you--"

As the face drew ever closer, He Tianran abruptly stood up:
"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Wen Liang also stood up, facing the man without flinching:
"Isn't that right? You 'writer,' you keep saying how much you hate me, but the 'love' you feel for me, the 'lead singer' you have for me, is almost overwhelming your 'hatred'! You're completely contradicting yourself!"

Love?
Heartache?

Pity?

These words were, for him, a "writer" who had crawled out of the despair and resentment of his "youth," the most vicious and uncontrollable curse in the world.

“Wen Liang, aren’t you too confident in yourself? Do you think that just because you shout out ten million on stage tonight and curse me awake by the river, you’ve won? Do you think I have to be like that idiot ‘lead singer,’ agree with you, think highly of you, and fall in love with you? You’re utterly ridiculous…”

He Ran laughed in exasperation, but Wen Liang's next words froze his smile on his face.

"Then why did you come over when I said I really wanted to leave? Huh—?!"

Her voice was urgent and heavy, carrying a wet, almost scalding heat that brushed against the man's lips.

He Tianran began to back away, while Wen Liang stepped forward, her leg limping, but this did not diminish her momentum or speed in questioning the man.

"Why did you calm down after I confirmed that you were who you are? Why were you willing to carry me back and apply medicine to me? Huh?!"

He Tianran was forced to retreat step by step by her rapid-fire questions. His heel hit the edge of the sofa and he leaned back. If the sofa hadn't been soft, he probably would have fallen hard.

Wen Liang stood in front of him, head bowed, looking at him.

One of them was relentless, while the other had nowhere to escape.

“Tell me, He Tianran! If you hadn’t started to feel the ‘lead singer’s’ feelings for me, and if your personality hadn’t started to become more unified, why would you have done all this? You could have just left me in the rain! You could have just watched me suffer and be in pain, wouldn’t that have been more in line with your ‘scoundrel’ persona?!”

"Stop deluding yourself!"

He Tianran propped himself up on the sofa, his bathrobe's belt undone, revealing a large expanse of his chest, but he seemed oblivious. He walked to the window, and as he did so, he forced out a seemingly reasonable explanation through gritted teeth:

"You're still an artist under my company! I can't let anything happen to you! I can't let you affect the company's image and interests! It's that simple!"

"You're just being sentimental?"

Wen Liang laughed, completely ignoring He Tianran's explanation, and sticking to her own logic, pressed on:
"Then why are you running?! Am I that ugly right now?! Am I a ghost?! Are you afraid of me?!"

The man felt like jumping out of the window; he just didn't want to stay in front of this vixen any longer. Unfortunately, the window in front of him was a completely enclosed floor-to-ceiling window.

"You fucking... can't we sit down and talk? I'm not running away, and I'm not scared!"

"You're feeling guilty, He Tianran!"

Wen Liang, limping along, forced him step by step to the window.

With a "smack," she braced her good hand against the glass next to his ear, executing a classic "wall slam," only the roles of the man and woman were completely reversed.

The girl's freshly washed face came closer, her nose almost touching the man's.

“The ‘writer,’ that ‘scoundrel,’ would he walk the red carpet? Would he spend ten million to carry my sedan chair? Would he carry me back on his back? Would he kneel on the ground… to apply medicine to my ‘enemy’?”

With each word she spoke, He Tianran's face grew paler.

"Tell me, He Tianran..."

Her eyes were full of smug satisfaction, as if to say, "I've seen right through you."

"Are these things something a 'writer' should be doing?"

"..."

"No!" Wen Liang gave her own answer, her voice both soft and ruthless, "This is something only a 'lead singer' would do!"

“Shut up!!”

He Tianran finally snapped and shoved her away.

Why should I shut up?!

Wen Liang stumbled from his push and almost fell, but she grabbed the window and pressed forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks:
"I've exposed you!! You're too scared to face it!"

“He Tianran, how is your current escapism any different from that of that 'young man'?”
"You're such a contradictory coward! You can't even admit that you like me!"

"I fucking—"

"What the hell are you?"

Wen Liang tilted her head back, her eyes shining like fire:

"You dare not admit it! Because once you admit it, all your pretense will crumble! You will no longer be able to hate me or push me away with a clear conscience!"

"you……"

He Tianran was rendered speechless by her words.

"Get out of here—!!"

He Tianran abruptly yanked open the guest room door and darted inside as if fleeing for his life.

boom! !

With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut with all his might, the noise making the entire suite vibrate.

The living room finally fell silent.

Wen Liang stood in front of the tightly closed door, listening to the heavy breathing inside.

Hearing the same sentence again today caused Wen Liang's arrogance and anger to slowly fade away, replaced by a leisurely, extremely smug smirk.

She looked down at the ring on her middle finger that was sparkling with tiny lights.

"Hmph... You think you're so high-level? You dare to poke at my sore spot? I'll poke you to death!"

Wen Liang turned around, limping like a victorious female general, and walked straight towards He Tianran's spacious master bedroom. (End of Chapter)