In the morning, in a hotel room.
Chu Lingtian, lying naked on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, and at lightning speed, grabbed a woman's wrist with his left hand and her snow-white neck with his right.
The woman was as beautiful as a celestial being, with fair and delicate skin, a tall and voluptuous figure, long hair cascading down her shoulders, and lips so rosy and alluring that her beauty was breathtaking.
Chu Lingtian frowned and asked, "Do you want to kill me?"
"Beast, you raped me last night, and I want to kill you!"
The beautiful woman, holding a small fruit knife in her right hand, yelled in a delicate voice, struggling forcefully to break free from Chu Lingtian's grip.
Chu Lingtian glanced at the beautiful woman and said, "Liu Bingxue, calm down first. Think carefully about what happened last night."
Liu Bingxue, seeing Chu Lingtian's extremely displeased expression, knitted her delicate brows. Her thoughts raced as she slowly recalled the events of the previous night.
Seeing Liu Bingxue in a daze, Chu Lingtian released his hands, then got up and picked up his underwear from the carpet and put it on.
*Slap!*
The fruit knife in Liu Bingxue's right hand fell to the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her beautiful, fair cheeks.
She remembered what happened last night. She had been harassed by several hooligans while drinking at a bar. After Chu Lingtian beat up the thugs, she invited him for a drink to express her gratitude.
Then, the two of them had somehow ended up in a hotel room and slept together.
Seeing Liu Bingxue's pathetic state, weeping like pear blossoms in the rain, Chu Lingtian said, "Don't worry. Although you took the initiative last night and I was passive, I've always been a man of my word. And as a man of integrity, I will take responsibility for you."
"Responsibility?" Liu Bingxue gave a bitter smile, her eyes filled with resentment as she glared at Chu Lingtian. She yanked the blanket off the bed and threw it to the floor. "How will you be responsible? What can you do to take responsibility?"
Chu Lingtian looked at the smear of alluring red on the snow-white bedsheet and was stunned. He had truly not expected Liu Bingxue to be a virgin.
In today's society with such open views on relationships, most men and women lost their virginity very early, often before they were even adults.
Therefore, for Liu Bingxue, who was in her twenties and so beautiful, with countless suitors, to still be a virgin was a testament to her being a decent girl who cherished her purity.
The importance of a woman's first time was self-evident.
Just then, Liu Bingxue's phone rang. She picked up her phone from the bedside table, took a deep breath to calm herself, and then pressed the call button:
"Mom."
"Where did you go last night? Why didn't you come home all night?"
A middle-aged woman's questioning voice came from the other end of the phone.
The middle-aged woman was Liu Bingxue's mother, named Zhang Ping.
Liu Bingxue thought for a moment and replied, "I was working overtime at the company until very late last night, so I slept on the sofa in the office."
"Bingxue, you're twenty-five this year. Don't just focus on work every day. You should also consider matters of the heart. Moreover, your father's condition is worsening day by day. Do you and your sister really want your father to leave this world with regrets? Do you really want your father to die with his eyes open?"
Zhang Ping began to sob.
Hearing that her father's condition was worsening and he wouldn't live much longer, Liu Bingxue blurted out in distress, "Mom, tell Dad that I actually have a boyfriend. I've just been thinking about when to find a suitable opportunity to formally introduce him to you."
"Really? You have a boyfriend? Why have I never heard you mention it before?"
Zhang Ping asked excitedly.
A lie often requires more lies to cover it up. Liu Bingxue could only continue to fib, "I... we've been together for a while, but I felt our relationship wasn't stable yet, so I haven't told you and Dad."
"That's wonderful, truly wonderful! I'll tell your father this good news right away. Bring your boyfriend home tonight for dinner with us. Your father will be very happy, and his condition might even improve. By the way, don't lie to us. The doctor has already said that your father's illness cannot withstand any further shock."
"Mom..."
Liu Bingxue wanted to refuse, but before she could say anything, Zhang Ping had already hung up.
This left Liu Bingxue in a real predicament. She didn't have a boyfriend at all; she had just been lying.
Liu Bingxue had focused her mind on studying and working all these years. Despite having countless suitors, none had ever managed to capture her heart.
But now, it seemed she had no choice but to bring a boyfriend home to meet her parents tonight. If her father were to die of anger due to her deception, how could she face her mother and sister, or live with her conscience for the rest of her life?
At this moment, Liu Bingxue looked up and saw Chu Lingtian putting on his outer pants. She paused for a moment, suppressed her anger, and asked, "Are you free tonight?"
"Huh?" Chu Lingtian was also taken aback, then grinned playfully. "What, you want to continue?"
"Scoundrel!" Liu Bingxue gritted her white teeth in anger, but felt helpless. After all, last night's encounter with Chu Lingtian was indeed voluntary after she got drunk. She could only seize upon Chu Lingtian's earlier words: "Didn't you say you would take responsibility for me? Then come home with me tonight and pretend to be my boyfriend to meet my parents."
"What exactly do you mean by this?"
Chu Lingtian retorted.
Liu Bingxue explained, "My parents have been pressuring me to get married for years, and my father's condition has recently become more serious. I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend and come home to meet my parents to comfort the elderly and make them happy. As long as you don't get discovered, I'll give you a sum of money as compensation."
"But remember this: we have no feelings for each other, not even as ordinary friends. Last night was just an accident, as if it never happened. After you help me deal with my parents tonight, take the money and get lost. Don't ever appear before me again."
"Alright."
Chu Lingtian shrugged, his expression indifferent. He felt that as a man of integrity, he should take responsibility for taking a woman's virginity. Moreover, Liu Bingxue wasn't asking him to take responsibility in the traditional sense, but merely to impersonate a boyfriend to appease her parents.
Liu Bingxue quickly put on her red high heels, her pair of straight, beautiful legs appearing even more stunning. She walked directly towards the door.
"Shall we take a shower before we go? After all, we both sweated a lot last night... "
Chu Lingtian admired Liu Bingxue's alluring back, a wicked smile playing on his lips as he asked.
Liu Bingxue stopped, turned around...