"First, even though I'm posing as your... girlfriend to deal with that big star, it's all just an act, and we still need to keep our distance," Jiayi asserted confidently, "You can't have any intimate behavior with me."
Yesterday's misunderstanding with Huo Zhenyang, when he mistook her for a reporter and treated her roughly and barbarically, showed that this man was unpredictable and did as he pleased. If she pretended to be his girlfriend, would he take things too far?
Therefore, she had to make this clear to him in advance.
Huo Zhenyang's thin lips curved into a shallow arc, feeling the girl was clearly overthinking things.
Jiayi knew he was looking down on her for being overly sentimental, but she didn't care and continued to emphasize, "In any case, you'll provide me with accommodation and food, and I'll help you deal with Miss Jiang. This deal is very fair, but I won't do anything beyond this scope. If you treat me like you did yesterday... I'll leave right away, and I'll also tell Miss Jiang that I'm not your woman at all, that you've been lying to her."
Huo Zhenyang raised an eyebrow; she wasn't some naive rabbit but a little fox! She was actually using Jiang Meiyi, the very person he found most troublesome, as leverage to threaten him.
He began to wonder if choosing this girl was like picking up a hot potato, but his interest seemed to have grown a bit more.
He had never been threatened by anyone before, and in his life, he had never imagined someone daring to coerce him. Strangely, he didn't get angry but laughed instead, retorting, "What do you mean 'beyond this scope'? In front of Jiang Meiyi, you are my woman. If I keep my distance from you, she's too sharp and would never believe it. Some intimate gestures between us are not unreasonable."
He was a businessman and not a fool. If this was a deal, it had to be absolutely fair.
Jiayi thought for a moment, looked at him, and said seriously, "Ordinary physical contact is okay, like holding hands, embracing, that's fine. Anything else is not." She paused, then added, "Oh, and even if it's a hug, it can't be too close, no... random touching, no touching of private areas!"
Huo Zhenyang frowned. If she hadn't looked like a high school student, he would have suspected she was a top lawyer negotiating terms, as her thinking was quite meticulous and not as easily bullied as she appeared.
He nodded, then shrugged his shoulders, "Since there's a 'first,' there must be a second condition, right?"
Jiayi hesitated, then said, "When this matter is over, I hope... you can help me find my family."
Huo Group was wealthy and powerful, with connections everywhere, and deep ties to various media. Not to mention their dominance in G City, they were even top-tier nationally.
If he just spread the word to help investigate her background, it would be an incredibly simple task for him.
Moreover, she herself was mysteriously injured on Huo Family's hunting grounds. As the boss, he bore some responsibility! It all came down to whether he was willing to help or not.
Huo Zhenyang's deep dark pupils fixed on Jiayi, "That depends on whether you can resolve this matter to my complete satisfaction, whether you can make me truly content."
Jiayi bit her lip, "I'll try my best."
Huo Zhenyang's eyelids twitched, his expression blank, "Deal."
Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief and slipped into the car.
The engine started, and the sports car left the city area, heading back toward the villa at Huanglong Mountain's hunting grounds.
The intricately carved gates of the villa were wide open, and the lights along the driveway on either side of the courtyard were on, making it as bright as day. Auntie Li and the butler had been waiting at the door for some time.
Seeing the two of them get out of the car one after the other, and noticing the state of Miss Jiayi's torn clothes, Auntie Li was startled and hurried over to wrap her in a coat, "Miss Jiayi is too reckless. In the middle of the night, with no lights on, away from the busy city, for a girl to walk like that! I was so worried! Are you alright?"
"Auntie Li, I'm sorry..." It was evident that Auntie Li was a good person who genuinely worried about her. Jiayi didn't want to cause her any more concern, "Nothing's wrong, I just fell and tore my dress..."
Auntie Li relaxed, "That's good then. You don't know how unsafe the intersections ahead can be. With all the new construction, there are lots of workers and outsiders, a very mixed crowd, and many unemployed drifters. There have always been incidents for the past two years. Last month, two girls from G University came here for a picnic and to do some painting, and they were even... Sigh, it's a good thing you're okay!"
Jiayi's face turned slightly pale as she thought back to the earlier scene, a sweat breaking out on her back.
A few steps behind her, Huo Zhenyang took in the pallor and the fear on her face as he raised his voice, "It's getting late, bring Miss Jiayi upstairs."
Watching the back of Jiayi and Auntie Li as they entered the villa, Butler Luo, who had just parked the young master's car, came up and whispered, "Young Master, I've paid those two men. However, that blond guy says his head was hit by Miss Jiayi and he needs to see a doctor, so we'll have to give them a bit more."
Huo Zhenyang had also seen the bloody state of the blond man's head when Jiayi hit him.
He spoke indifferently, "It doesn't matter, just add some more money to shut them up."
Butler Luo nodded and then gave a wry smile. Who would have thought Miss Jiayi, who looked like a child, had such courage and was quite formidable? If the young master hadn't intentionally sent two people to frighten her, maybe she would have walked back to the city center by now.
However formidable she might be, the young master was still one step ahead, managing to make Miss Jiayi rein in her temperament and come back willingly.
*
After several days at the villa, the abrasions on Jiayi's face had much improved.
During these days, Huo Zhenyang spent most of his time at the company in the city center, occasionally returning in the evening or not at all. Even when he did return, it was very late, so she hardly saw him again.
On the seventh day, the last layer of scab naturally fell off, leaving the new skin pink and tender, with no scars left behind.
In the morning, as Auntie Li came upstairs with breakfast, she was stunned to see Jiayi's face had almost completely healed, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.
Even with her injuries before, the girl's features could not be hidden; Auntie Li could tell the girl was a delicate beauty, like a water sprite. Only the abrasions had been quite severe at the time, looking fierce and greatly affecting her beauty.
Now without the scars, it was as if she had become a completely different person, entirely rejuvenated.
Auntie Li set down the tray and said earnestly, "Miss Jian called you a country bumpkin, but I think Miss Jiayi is not a bit inferior to Miss Jian. If you dressed up a little, it wouldn't be hard to surpass her."
But looking at herself in the mirror, Jiayi felt a bit lost. Who exactly was she?
Why had she been injured in a remote place like the Huanglong Mountain hunting grounds without any reason?
What identity lay behind this face?
She had tried hard to remember over the past few days, but the more she thought about it, the more her head hurt…
She could only wait and see if he would keep his promise to help her find her family after helping him deal with Jian Meiyi.
It was at this moment that there was a knock on the guest room door, and Butler Luo came in holding two rectangular boxes, maintaining his customary polite smile as he greeted Jiayi.
During her stay in the villa, it was rare for Butler Luo to come upstairs to her room in person.
Jiayi's gaze fell on the exquisitely beautiful gift box tied with a golden ribbon and she asked curiously, "What's the matter, Butler Luo?"
Butler Luo placed the gift box on the crystal coffee table and gestured for her to open it, "Miss Jiayi, there will be a dinner tonight next to the villa. The guests are friends who came with the young master to Huanglong Mountain and the senior staff of the hunting ground. The young master said that you should join him — these are the clothes and shoes he has prepared for you."
Jiayi untied the ribbon, opened the lid of the box, and her eyes widened.