He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

Wasn't he abroad? When did he return to China? Why didn't he tell me?

Xia Ruo's hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold her phone.

She sat frozen in the passenger seat, staring at the still-lit screen on the center console, her mind blank.

The car door was suddenly pulled open from the outside.

Xia Ruo shuddered violently, shrinking half an inch into the seat like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"What's wrong? Why are you so scared!" Zhou Siyan bent down and sat down, putting the hot drink in her hand.

Xia Ruo's fingertips twitched, and she almost missed catching it.

"No, it's nothing, thank you, Mr. Huo."

Zhou Siyan stared at her questioningly for two seconds, then shook his head helplessly, lowering his voice by half an octave:

"Drink it while it's hot to ward off the cold."

The engine was then started, and the car rejoined the traffic.

Xia Ruo held the hot drink in her hands, but her heart was ice-cold.

What should I do? What should I do now? Has he already found out?

No, no—

If he found out, given his personality, he would definitely take action. He wouldn't act so nonchalantly, buying her hot drinks and telling her to drink them while they were still hot.

"Why do you look so worried? Are you feeling unwell?" Zhou Siyan's voice suddenly came through, filled with genuine concern.

"Let's go straight to the hospital."

As he spoke, he turned the steering wheel to make a U-turn.

"No, no, no—"

Xia Ruo quickly grabbed Zhou Siyan's arm, her voice urgent and strained.

"I'm not feeling unwell, I just got scared watching a horror movie."

After she finished speaking, she realized that she was holding his arm tightly.

She quickly released her hand as if she had been electrocuted. "I'm sorry, Mr. Huo, I didn't mean to touch you."

"It's okay, feel free to touch it." Zhou Siyan's gaze lingered for a moment on her withdrawn hand.

"Those TV shows are all fake. If you really want to watch them, I'll watch them with you later."

At this moment, Xia Ruo no longer cared about such words.

Only one thing was spinning wildly in her mind—to save her life.

Calm down, Xia Ruo! She frantically tried to reassure herself in her heart:

He doesn't know; he doesn't know yet.

There's still time. We just need to come up with a good solution.

Think of a way! Think of a way! Think of a way!

She bit her lip, her gaze fixed on the steaming cup of milk tea on her lap, going over every possibility in her mind again and again—

Run? There's no way to escape. Play dumb? I can't keep up the act anymore. Confess?

Suddenly, a bold idea popped into her head.

It was outrageous, even a bit naive, but her sixth sense told her it was feasible.

After a week of getting to know Zhou Siyan, she felt that he was not a cold-blooded and ruthless person.

If she were to admit her mistake and return all the embezzled money, would he... take pity on her and forgive her?

After hesitating for a long time, she spoke softly, "Mr. Huo."

"Um?"

Xia Ruo took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around the cup: "If... I mean, if someone lied to you, what would you do?"

Zhou Siyan's fingers, which were lightly tapping the steering wheel, suddenly froze in mid-air, as if frozen by something unseen. His brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

He did not answer immediately.

The carriage fell silent. Xia Ruo panicked and hurriedly added, "I just suddenly remembered another drama I watched. The male lead in it got scammed, and I just wanted to ask you what you think."

After saying that, Xia Ruo's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

"That depends on what they lied about." His voice was neither loud nor soft, revealing no emotion.

"What if... they deceived me emotionally and also swindled me out of my money?" Xia Ruo's voice became even softer.

This time, Zhou Siyan's brows furrowed genuinely.

The fingers slowly closed around the steering wheel, the knuckles turning slightly white—

At that moment, he was thinking: How did I give myself away? Did I say something wrong, or did she see something?

He stared at the road ahead, his jawline taut.

"That depends on what she does next," he said. "If she's willing to be honest, I can pretend nothing happened."

Xia Ruo's heart skipped a beat.

"What if...she keeps lying?"

Zhou Siyan turned his head and glanced at her. Her unfathomable eyes reflected the dim light of the streetlamp and her slightly pale face.

"Then I'll throw her into the Huangpu River."

Xia Ruo's face turned deathly pale, and the last trace of color on her lips vanished completely.

Her hand jerked violently, and the scalding hot drink spilled from the cup, splashing onto the back of her hand. She seemed completely oblivious to the pain, frozen in place, her eyes wide open, her pupils constricted to tiny.

The Huangpu River.

These three words were like an icicle, piercing straight into her skull and penetrating her entire body.

She recalled the original owner's fate—being thrown into the river, never even getting a proper ending.

Now, the knife that had been hanging over her head has finally fallen.

A buzzing sound began to ring in her ears, the cup in her hand trembled, and the hot drink spilled out, trickling down her fingers, but she was completely unaware.

Zhou Siyan immediately stopped the car, grabbed Xia Ruo's hand and wiped it with a wet tissue, his brows furrowed tightly:

"Are you stupid? Can't you feel the heat?"

He meant to scare her, but he didn't expect her to be so frightened.

Why are you so timid? Were you that scary just now?

As he wiped, he mentally reviewed what he had just said—the implication was so obvious, the advice was to confess and be lenient, and to resist and be severely punished, why did this little girl only listen to the second half?

He was now 100% certain that Xia Ruo knew he was his online boyfriend.

Actually, he could just be honest with her now, call her "baby," and see how she reacts.

But he didn't want to.

He still hoped that Xia Ruo could admit it herself.

He thought to himself: As long as she speaks, even just a few simple words—"Brother, I was wrong."

Even if her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, he would pull her into his arms, gently comfort her, saying it was okay, that it was all in the past, and that he had known all along.

Xia Ruo's lips trembled a few times, "I..."

Her voice sounded like it was being choked.

"I'm going to throw out the trash."

She almost instinctively seized on this excuse and frantically tried to open the car door.

Zhou Siyan reached out and pressed down on her wrist.

His palms were hot against her cool skin.

"What are you afraid of?"

Xia Ruo dared not look at him. She lowered her head and stared at the hand that was gripping her wrist—the joints were distinct and the fingers were long and slender. It was clearly a beautiful hand, but at this moment it felt like a pair of shackles that she could not break free from.

"No...no." Her voice was still trembling.

Zhou Siyan's thumb slowly slid across the inside of her wrist, gently stroking the thin skin again and again.

"Xia Ruo, it's okay to make a mistake and correct it. It's not a big deal. Is there something you want to tell me?"