Chapter 361: Fainted
Chapter 361: Chapter 361: Fainted
"What... what are the conditions?" Xu Xianhui asked quickly.
Cao Dong smiled. "Be my girlfriend."
At his words, Xu Xianhui instinctively took a step back, causing Cao Dong’s face to darken instantly. Her disdain for him was just too obvious. He could overlook it in the past, but for her to still show such contempt while he was offering to help her...
’If she’s so disgusted by me, why is she even accepting my help? And from the looks of it, she doesn’t even plan on paying me back.’
Seeing Cao Dong’s darkened face, Xu Xianhui realized her reaction had been too obvious. She quickly forced a laugh and said, "Your request is a bit sudden. I need to think about it. Can I give you an answer in a few days?"
Cao Dong had been pursuing Xu Xianhui for months without success, and his patience was already wearing thin. Seeing her blatant disdain for him today stoked a flicker of malice in his heart. Hearing her words, he sneered, "Fine. You go ahead and think about it. As for the money, once you’ve made up your mind, I’ll *then* see whether I feel like lending it to you."
With that, Cao Dong turned to leave.
"Wait!" Seeing Cao Dong about to leave, Xu Xianhui panicked and quickly grabbed his arm.
"What, made up your mind already?" Cao Dong asked, turning his head to look at Xu Xianhui.
Xu Xianhui stammered, "Can you... can you just lend me the money first? I’ll give you my answer in a few days."
Cao Dong laughed at that. "Miss Xu, do you think I’m an idiot? I lend you the money, with no idea when you’ll pay it back. Then, in a few days, you tell me you’ve thought it over and decided not to be my girlfriend. What’s in it for me? We’re talking about a lot of money here, not just a couple of bucks."
"I... I really need the money. Can you please just lend it to me first?" From the bottom of her heart, Xu Xianhui didn’t want to be with Cao Dong. Just looking at his face made her physically uncomfortable. Forget spending a lot of time with him; she couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eye while they were talking now.
"You *really* need the money?" Cao Dong narrowed his eyes. He remembered how Xu Xianhui’s eyes had lit up when he’d pulled out the cash earlier, and he sneered inwardly. ’This woman’s eyes really do sparkle at the sight of money. And yet, even for the money, she still finds me this repulsive!’
This realization made the malice in his heart grow even stronger.
"If you have the money, just lend it to me first. I promise I’ll pay you back later." Xu Xianhui’s voice was faint, but she deliberately avoided mentioning anything about being his girlfriend.
Cao Dong sneered to himself. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Fine, if you want to borrow the money now, you can. Just come with me."
"Go? Go where?" Xu Xianhui asked, watching Cao Dong warily.
Xu Xianhui’s resistance only solidified the idea in his mind. He sneered, "I thought you needed money. If you don’t come with me, does that mean you don’t want it anymore?"
The moment he mentioned getting the money, Xu Xianhui’s resistance vanished. "Okay, I’ll go with you to get it then."
Xu Xianhui felt a wave of relief. ’This is great. Cao Dong finally agreed to lend me the money first. Once I get the money from him and pay back the loan sharks, I won’t have to worry anymore.’
’As for Cao Dong...’ Xu Xianhui pursed her lips. ’He likes me, after all. If he really comes asking for the money, I can just tell him I’m still thinking about us. As long as I keep that possibility open, I’m sure he won’t press me to pay him back.’
With that thought, Xu Xianhui followed Cao Dong away from Beijing University, and they took a bus toward his home.
To be honest, Xu Xianhui had no idea where Cao Dong actually lived. She only knew his home was in the city, but she had never asked for the specific location, and he had never mentioned it.
After they got off the bus, Cao Dong led Xu Xianhui toward a neighborhood of residential buildings.
"You live here?" Xu Xianhui scanned her surroundings. This didn’t look like the city center; in fact, it felt rather remote. She was unfamiliar with the area, and seeing how few people were around, she started to feel a little uneasy. "You live this far out?"
"Yep," Cao Dong said with a nod.
Seeing two women emerge from an alley in the distance put her slightly at ease, so she followed Cao Dong into the narrow lane. After a series of twists and turns, he led her to a small courtyard.
Just as they were about to enter the courtyard, Xu Xianhui stopped in her tracks. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt a sense of panic. "Cao Dong, why don’t you go in and get the money? I’ll wait for you out here."
Cao Dong sneered. "What’s this? Acting so high and mighty even when you’re the one borrowing money. Anyone who didn’t know better would think *I’m* the one who owes *you*. Since you’re so wary of me even while asking for my money, you might as well just go home. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you ever again. It’s obvious you don’t like me, I get it now. No matter how hard I try to win you over, you’ll never think I’m good enough. You probably just look down on me."
"I..." Choked by his tirade, Xu Xianhui bit her lip. Afraid he really wouldn’t lend her the money now, she relented and followed Cao Dong into the courtyard.
Cao Dong shut the courtyard gate securely, then said to Xu Xianhui, "Come on, let’s go inside the house."
"Okay." Xu Xianhui took a few steps, then couldn’t help but ask, "How come no one’s home?"
"It’s the middle of the day, they’re all at work. Of course no one’s here," Cao Dong answered confidently. In reality, this wasn’t his house; it belonged to a friend who was out of town for a while and had asked him to watch the place. That was how he had the key.
"Oh." Xu Xianhui took a deep breath and hesitantly followed Cao Dong into the house.
Cao Dong led Xu Xianhui into the main room, gesturing to a chair. "Come on in."
"Um, you can just give me the money. I’m in a hurry to get back." Xu Xianhui still felt a little panicky. After all, there was no one else in the house. It was just the two of them, a man and a woman alone together, and she felt it wasn’t right.
Cao Dong sneered. "What? I’m lending you a huge sum of money, and you can’t even spare a few minutes to talk with me?"
"That’s not it. I..." Xu Xianhui considered it. ’A little conversation won’t hurt.’ So she nodded and said, "Alright then. I’ll stay for a little while."
Seeing Xu Xianhui sit down, Cao Dong arched an eyebrow slightly and went into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with two glasses of water, placing one next to her. "You had a long bus ride. Have some water."
"Thank you." Xu Xianhui took the glass. Feeling awkward and unsure of what to say, she brought the glass to her lips and took a couple of sips to mask the uncomfortable silence.
When he saw her drink the water, a faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed Cao Dong’s lips. He then started making small talk with her.
Since she still needed something from him, Xu Xianhui had no choice but to play along. But before long, she started to feel a little dizzy.
"My head feels a little... a little... dizzy." Xu Xianhui frowned and put a hand to her forehead. Suddenly, it clicked. She looked at Cao Dong. "You..."
Before she could finish, Xu Xianhui passed out, slumping forward onto the table.