Chapter 2 — My Best Friend's Older Brother Took Responsibility for Me

Early the next morning, my phone chimed with a WeChat friend request. The avatar was a pure white Samoyed sitting on the grass, sticking out a pink tongue. The display name was just one character: *Zhi*. The request note read: *Your husband.*

I froze for two seconds before realizing—this was my ultra-handsome husband who answered one word for every three questions. Who said he was a scammer? He actively added me on his own initiative! I tapped accept.

The next second, he sent a photo—a row of diamond rings neatly lined up on a black velvet tray, each one sparkling under the light.

Zhi: *Which one do you like? Send me your ring size.*

He intended to buy a ring? I zoomed in on the photo. Five or six dazzling diamond rings—you could smell the money right through the screen. Just as I hesitated over whether to be polite—after all, it was just a one-night stand and we weren't truly close—Ye Zhiyi sidled over and spotted the chat and photo at a glance.

"Pick one! Pick the biggest one! Small diamonds aren't valuable and don't hold value—it's a waste of money!" "Wouldn't that be a bit weird?" "You were eaten clean by him, and you're feeling sorry for his wallet? No wonder that scumbag fooled you for two years." "..."

She directly held down my voice message button, cleared her throat, and abruptly let out a cloyingly sweet, whiny tone: "Hubby~~~ I want the biggest diamond on the far right, ring size 6.5! Thanks hubby, mwah mwah!"

Before I could even register what happened, she hit send. I scrambled to recall it, but accidentally tapped delete message instead. Completely ruined!

"YE! ZHI! YI!!!" "You're welcome," she said, crossing her legs. "Who knows, maybe he'll think you're money-hungry and initiate a divorce himself—I'm helping you!" "Do you dare swear you won't regret this?" "..." I was speechless.

Truth be told, I did feel a bit of regret. Randomly registering a marriage—what if he belonged to a criminal syndicate? But he was just too handsome. Oh well, whatever happens, happens. I stared at the chat window; the other side remained quiet for a long while. Several minutes passed without any movement.

At the jewelry counter, Li Hangzhi listened to that sickeningly sweet, whiny, and all-too-familiar voice message, falling silent for several seconds. He exited the chat window, switched to another account, and browsed Ye Zhiyi's Moments. Her latest post was nine early-morning photos: the sunrise in Hecheng, balcony greenery, and in the bottom right of the sixth photo, a fair wrist was exposed—slender, pale, with a slightly raised wrist bone.

That hand... he had held it two nights ago. Very soft, not much strength, but when clutching his arm, her nails...

He exited the app and called the Ye family landline.

"Hello, Young Master?" Aunt Wang answered. "Is Zhiyi home?" "Yes, she's with her best friend." "A slender girl, somewhat tall, short hair, with a small mole at the tail of her left eyebrow?" "Yes, yes, exactly her! You have such a great memory, Young Master—I didn't even notice the mole on her eyebrow." "Understood. I'm hanging up."

Li Hangzhi put away his phone and looked at the counter attendant. "The largest one on the far right, size 6.5. Wrap it up for me." "Understood, sir. Please wait a moment." The staff member stepped away to retrieve the ring box. Li Hangzhi remained standing in place, opened his phone, and initiated a video call to Lin Wan.

After a long time, the other side timidly answered. On the screen appeared half of the girl's face, hair loosely tucked behind her ear, the tiny mole at the tail of her left eyebrow catching the sunlight. Confirming it was indeed her, he panned the camera toward the remaining rings.

"Pick one more." "Huh?" "Pick it yourself." Three short words, leaving no room for refusal.

I looked at the rings on the screen. The gigantic diamond ring was gone. As expected, he thought it was too expensive and put it away, making me pick from the rest. Blatantly stingy, but at least honest. Just as I was about to say it wasn't necessary, his voice came through again.

"I have to catch a high-speed train in ten minutes—not much time for you to choose. If you don't like any, I'll take you to pick when I return from my trip."

It was just a ring, no need to be so complicated. I randomly pointed out the smallest one, a simple design suitable for daily wear. "Take the bottom left one." "Okay." The next sentence he spoke was to the salesperson: "Wrap this one up too."

Rustling sounds came from the other side, and then the video hung up. This man was certainly swift. From start to finish, he didn't even show his face; I didn't even get to see his top-tier looks again before it disconnected.