Chapter 105: I’m Not Good at Lying

I slunk back into the shop in low spirits. Hua Jingjing refused to leave no matter what, and I truly had no way to deal with her. What worried me now was this: if the little devil really did call me, how was I supposed to shake Hua Jingjing off long enough to go see her?

The little devil had risked everything to sneak out. If she did not see me, there was no way she would go back. Xu Shu had begged me on the phone to be sure to call her after I met her, and in truth that should not have been anything too difficult. I was confident that Xu Xin was already quite obedient to me; after a few words from me, she would probably head home. The problem was that Hua Jingjing was here too, and that made everything far more complicated.

Hua Jingjing would surely find it strange: how could that little devil, whom I had only met yesterday, come looking for me today? Then I would have no choice but to explain that in fact we had known each other for a long time. She would then ask how I had come to know her, and I would have to admit that I met her at Xu Shu’s house. Then Hua Jingjing would become even more puzzled and ask what I had been doing at Xu Shu’s house. I...

What a headache!

In the end, Hua Jingjing would surely be furious beyond words, convinced that Xu Shu and I had conspired together to deceive her. As for me, that would not be much of a problem; at worst I would just get a nasty scolding from Hua Jingjing and that would be that. But Xu Shu and Hua Jingjing were such close friends. If they fell out because of me, I truly would not want to see that.

Sigh. It seemed one really should not lie. Once a lie has been told, it takes countless others to cover it up. Now I was deeply regretting it.

When I went back inside, the shop owner beamed at me and said, "She’s gone? That woman is really something. She buys books without caring whether they are useful or not. I sold her a whole stack of old stock that had been sitting here forever. She nodded and took them without even looking. If I had known she was so generous, I should have picked out even more. From the looks of it, money doesn’t seem to matter to her at all!"

I could only force a smile, then sat back down at the cash register. The owner had sold quite a few books and was in high spirits, continuing to eat the Yangzhou fried rice she had not yet finished, now already cold. I sat on the stool and thought for a while, then decided I had better explain the situation to Xu Shu and see if she had any good ideas.

I picked up my phone and said with a grin to the owner, "Sis, you keep eating. I’m going inside to make a call."

She smiled back. "What kind of call can’t be made in front of me? Telling sweet nothings to your girlfriend, are you?"

I only smiled without answering and hurried to the very back of the bookstore. There I dialed Xu Shu’s number.

"Hello? Tang Qian, did my sister find you?"

"Not yet. I just called her mobile, but it was turned off. I can’t get in touch with her. There’s something else here too, and I’m worried that if your sister really does come, it’ll be hard to handle."

"Something else? What something else?"

"Well... Hua Jingjing is here right now, and I can’t get rid of her. I’m afraid that if your sister shows up then, it’ll be impossible to explain. What should I do?"

"Hmph! You... you got yourself into this mess because you’re a flirt. How am I supposed to know what to do? I don’t care!"

"Who’s a flirt? You’re slandering me again! This is partly your fault too. Who told you to pretend not to know me at the birthday party? Now everything is about to be exposed. Let’s see how you explain it to Hua Jingjing!"

"..." She gave a cold snort. "You fooling around and leaving heartbreak everywhere, and now you blame me? How was I supposed to know you’d go after my sister? I haven’t even settled accounts with you for seducing an underage girl yet!"

"Please, big star, I would never dare to go after your sister. Didn’t I already explain everything to you? If Hua Jingjing really finds out that we worked together to keep it from her, I’m fine with that. I’m just afraid that you and she will end up ruining your friendship. You don’t care about that either?"

In truth, I was also very afraid. If Hua Jingjing learned the truth, it would not be hard for her to guess that the person I truly liked was Xu Shu, and that was the real reason I had hidden everything. But Xu Shu had gone along with me in keeping the secret, and I still did not know why. Perhaps she simply did not want Hua Jingjing to know about the time she had wrongly accused me?

As expected, Xu Shu fell silent on the phone for a moment before finally saying, "Tang Qian, you’ve really put me in a terrible position! Fine, fine. I’ll hold Hua Jingjing back. But once you meet my sister, you have to personally take responsibility for sending her home!"

I said happily, "All right! I’ll definitely send her back!"

Xu Shu said unhappily on the phone, "Hmph! You get yourself into trouble by being two-timing and then expect me to wipe your... your mess? What sort of person are you? I’ve been dragged into this by you. From now on... just keep deceiving her for the rest of your life!"

With that, she immediately hung up. I stood there stunned for a long while, feeling helpless. Was I really going to have to keep this hidden for the rest of my life?

I walked back to the cash register. Seeing the pained expression on my face, the shop owner smiled and asked, "What’s wrong? That gloomy look of yours—did your girlfriend give you a scolding?"

I thought to myself that if she really were my girlfriend, things would actually be easier. Since it would have to be revealed sooner or later, I might as well come clean about everything. It was precisely this awkward situation that left me with no choice but to keep hiding it, and that truly was miserable.

After considering it for a moment, I said, "Sis, I might have something urgent in a little while. If the shop isn’t closed yet, could I leave early?"

Zhuang Min was very generous about it. "Of course. You picked things up quickly enough, and there’s not much left for you to learn. Besides, business isn’t busy today. If you really have something to do, you can go now. After all, your girlfriend is more important."

I glanced at the Ferrari still parked outside and said gratefully to Zhuang Min, "Thank you, Sis. But it may not be certain yet. I’m waiting for a call. I’ll see in a bit."

A few minutes later, Xu Shu called again. I answered quickly. "Hello? How is it?"

"Hmph, that fool who values romance over friends. I said I wanted to meet her alone, but she wouldn’t agree and insisted on dragging you into it. I couldn’t exactly refuse. What am I supposed to do?"

I rubbed my forehead and said painfully, "How can that be? Why don’t you just say that there’s something very important and you must meet her alone? With the relationship you have, would she really ignore you?"

"Easy for you to say. Right now, her eyes are full of you; how would she still remember me? Besides, if I really tricked her into coming, what important thing could I possibly say? If I can’t come up with anything, won’t that make her even more suspicious? Why don’t you make one up for me?"

My head hurt so badly I could hardly speak. After thinking for a long time, I could only say, "Then tell her you’re going to visit her at home. She’ll have to come back and receive you, won’t she? She probably wouldn’t dare bring me home with her. Wouldn’t that solve it?"

"Hmph, what a rotten idea. She’s already said she’s with you. If I insist on visiting her home now, wouldn’t that be deliberately making things hard for her?"

"Then... what do we do?"

"I was about to ask you that! When it comes to lying, how could I possibly be as good as you?"

"What are you talking about? We don’t have any other choice. Do you think I like lying? If that’s how you want to put it, then I’ll go tell her the truth right now. Anyway, it’s impossible to hide it from her forever. The sooner I say it, the sooner I’m free!"

"Wait, Tang Qian! I’m afraid of you, all right? Fine, fine! I’ll think of another way. Honestly, what a mess..."

When I realized how much Xu Shu feared Hua Jingjing finding out, I could not help feeling a trace of smugness. "Then this is what you said. I’m not good at lying either. If you don’t want Hua Jingjing to know, then hurry up and get her away."

"Tang Qian, I’ll settle accounts with you later. New accounts and old ones together! Hmph!"

With that, she hung up again, viciously.

I sighed. What a helpless business this was. For the sake of a tiny lie, the whole thing was growing larger and larger. I did not know how it would ever be brought to an end.

Five minutes later, Hua Jingjing called. "Hello, Tang Qian. I... have something to do and have to leave first. You got off easy today. I’ll come again tomorrow and see whether you’ll still recognize me. Hmph!"

I let out a breath of relief. "Is that so? Fine. We can talk about tomorrow later."

Hua Jingjing gave several resentful snorts before hanging up. Half a minute later, I saw the Ferrari start up outside, turn the corner, and speed away down the street.

At the same time, my phone rang again. Xu Shu was calling once more.

The shop owner smiled and said, "You sure are busy, Xiao Tang. Is your girlfriend always nagging you?"

With a bitter smile, I answered, "Hello."

"Tang Qian, I don’t care anymore. When Hua Jingjing sees me later, what urgent matter am I supposed to tell her? You absolutely have to make one up for me now, or I won’t have any way to save face!"

I was silent for quite a while, then an idea suddenly struck me. "I’ve got it. Tell her that by chance you learned I’m actually a pauper, not the rich man she saw me as last time. You were afraid Hua Jingjing would be fooled by me, so you summoned her to remind her. Isn’t that a perfectly good reason?"

"..." She gave a cold snort. "You say you’re no good at lying? I think you’re just a born liar! Fine, I know what to say now. Remember to send my sister back, all right? If I’m not there, you stay with her and don’t leave!"

I broke into a sweat and agreed.

But after that, I waited all the way until eight o’clock, when the bookstore was about to close, and I still had not received a call from Xu Xin. I also kept trying her mobile, but it remained switched off.

I was growing puzzled. Where on earth had that little devil gone?

After locking the shop, I said goodbye to the owner and went out alone onto the street. Anxiety rose within me. By my reckoning, Xu Xin had been away from home for more than three hours already, so she ought to have called by now. Could it be that she had not come looking for me after all? Or had something happened to her?

I had no idea where to look for her, so I could only wander home slowly. I hoped that, just as before, I might see her figure waiting for me beneath my apartment building.

When I got home, I deliberately lingered downstairs for a while, but still I did not see that familiar figure throw herself at me. My worry was reaching its peak. In that instant, I suddenly realized that little devil Xu Xin had already taken up a very important place in my heart.

I waited a little longer before disappointedly going upstairs. Just as I opened the door, I saw my sister and a girl laughing and playing on the sofa in the living room. As I came closer, I heard the girl cry out, "Brother Tang Qian is back! I’m going to tell him on you and see if you still dare to tickle me!"