I sighed as I locked my apartment door and turned back. Meng Bao was already standing with his cheerful smile and radiant gaze, as if everything that happened just now, including the crying, the sobbing, and the begging of not leaving him alone, was just a pretence made by Meng Bao to fool me.

I squinted at him suspiciously and commented, "It\'s so fast for you to change the mood. Did you really feel sad just now, or it\'s just a pretence?"

Meng Bao paused immediately. Then he suddenly kneeled again in front of me while hugging my leg. He looked up, staring at me with the same pitiful gaze of an abandoned puppy, and said, "O—Of course, Meng Bao is very sad, Jie. Meng Bao really thought that you\'ve abandoned me…"

My suspicion became even more prominent once I saw how easy it was for Meng Bao to change his mood, like a talented actor who had been trained to act like a cute baby to his beloved Jie, so his Jie would take care of him and gave all her attention to him.

\'He reminds me of MengMeng, and all her schemes only for me to give her all the attention I have.\'

How could someone be so shameless that he acted like a baby only to get attention? Where are that greatness, intimidation, and icy cold gaze that Meng Bao had when he faced someone else?

"It seems that you\'re used to this," I commented.. "Did you act like a baby a lot?"

"W—Well, only to certain people…" Meng Bao replied.

…

"Fine then, Mr. Robin Yang, what do you want to say? About yesterday, it is my fault, really. I just don\'t want you to get entangled unnecessarily with me. You see, Mr. Robin Yang, you and I have our own life other than this whole rental boyfriend thingy we are doing," I explained thoroughly. "We are different, we have a different life, and we have a different background, and I don\'t want this to develop further."

\'Well, I was in love with you, Meng Bao. Maybe a bit…\'

\'But after knowing your identity, alongside what you did, I… well I still love you. Do you think I suddenly lost interest in you? Of course not. This connection and familiarity for you are so strong, Meng Bao. I really thought it\'d be crazy for me to fall in love with a man I just knew for three days!\' I confessed in my heart, not wanting Meng Bao to hear my real thought.

It was a useless thought, after all.

\'But even if I\'m currently interested in you, I\'m not some kind of romantic female lead. Where I want everything to go my way, with me getting saved and coddled with your love.\'

\'I have a job to keep, a family to feed, and sisters to be schooled. As much as I like you, risking everything I have right now just because I like you, it\'s not realistic.\'

Meng Bao seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, then he replied, "Jie, I don\'t understand why did you change so suddenly. I thought everything\'s going well. But if you suddenly lose your interest in me as a rental boyfriend, then… can I…"

Meng Bao lowered his gaze, his body trembled, as if he was mustering something so incredibly courageous in his heart. After he collected his courage, Meng Bao looked up again and continued, "Can I chase you as a man instead?"

…

…

"HUH?!" I almost jumped out of fright.

\'Did… did Meng Bao confessed to me? Did he really said that he wants to chase me as a man instead of just being a rental boyfriend thingy?\'

I was both in delight and in uncertain feeling. As much as I wanted to believe him, I\'m afraid that he was lying. I didn\'t know what he\'d get from me for this drama, but I\'m pretty sure that he\'s not single. He even admitted it himself in the office, especially to Alex, that he had a girlfriend already.

"M—Meng Bao, are you… single?"

"I am!" Meng Bao nodded vigorously. His eyes were sparkling out of happiness, especially after I called him Meng Bao again.

\'Lies! That\'s blatant lies!\' I wanted to bust him out immediately. He definitely lied through his teeth. He confidently said that he might move on from his childhood sweetheart because of a girl he claimed was his girlfriend.

And now, he\'s telling me that he\'s a single man?

Lies! Definitely a liar!

\'And I\'m falling for his crocodile tears! He\'s no different than that Alexander Priest! They are both hot playboys!\'

Truthfully, I really wanted to tell him outright that I knew about his lie. But if I told him how I found out about his lie, that\'s just plain stupid.

Of course, if I called him out of lying for being single, he\'d realize that I\'m Secretary Shi. I didn\'t know what\'d happen if he knew it, though. Meng Bao looked so kind and bubbly right now, but I already knew about his real nature, and who knew this might be his pretence.

\'Maybe he really is a manipulative bastard!\'

Damn it! I got even more annoyed the more I think about it. I regretted falling in love with a cheap man! But I couldn\'t kick him out now since he might do the same embarrassing fake crying.

\'So I really have to cater to this playboy\'s wish of whatever he wanted to do with me and all his sweet words here until he\'s satisfied, huh?\'

\'Aish, this is why I can\'t have a nice thing. When I finally fell in love with someone, it turns out that man is a playboy with superb acting skill.\'

"I can\'t let you do that, Meng Bao," I said. "You and I are just too different. We should go separate ways. Why are you doing this so suddenly? You know that I cannot pay you more from that rental boyfriend app! I\'m so broke right now!"

"I\'m not here for money, Jie…" Meng Bao shook his head. "As I told you before, I\'m here because I want to chase you as a man in love, not just a professional rental boyfriend."

"It\'s so easy for you to say love, aish," I sighed. "Meng Bao, it\'s too fast. I know you don\'t like me for real. We\'ve only known for three days, and you suddenly want to abandon your childhood sweetheart of years? Don\'t say crazy stuff! Do you love me more than your childhood sweetheart?" I tried to reason him, but the only answer he got was…

"Yes."