Zhang Bin remained calm and deliberately feigned surprise. "Ruoi, what's wrong? How could I possibly be Zhang Bin in disguise? I'm Chen Junheng, the real deal. If you don't believe , just call your brother-in-law to confirm it."
"Impossible! You're Zhang Bin! My nose tells so, and it's never wrong," Liu Ruoi said, her voice on the verge of tears.
"Scent? Research shows that two people can have nearly identical scents," Zhang Bin said. "There are even people with no blood relation who look exactly alike. The world is full of wonders. So, you should really make that call to prove it."
"Where am I supposed to get a signal in these deep mountains?" Liu Ruoi said in frustration. "If you really are my brother-in-law, I'll die and take you with !"
I'm trying to save you, so why do you want to die and take with you? Zhang Bin argued internally, but what he said aloud was, "Don't be nervous. Once we fly to the peak, there should be a signal. You can make the call then."
"Then fly faster."
Liu Ruoi was now panicking. She was no longer in the mood to cry or struggle, much less appreciate the beautiful scenery or savor the sensation of flying through the air.
Zhang Bin had no choice but to accelerate, ascending rapidly and stirring up a howling gale.
Soon, he landed with Liu Ruoi on a ledge on a cliff face.
It was a flat, white rock platform extending from the middle of the cliff, overgrown with green moss. The area was at least a hundred square ters. Behind the platform was the pitch-black entrance to a cave.
It was an excellent place for seclusion. It was suspended between the sky above and the ground below, and a crevice in the cliff to one side concealed it further with several banyan trees whose trunks were as wide as a person's embrace.
Such a perfect spot had, of course, been discovered by Little Fox, who told Zhang Bin about it. Thus, it beca one of Zhang Bin's hideouts.
The mont they landed, Liu Ruoi scrambled out of Zhang Bin's arms. She took out her phone and checked it carefully. To her astonishnt, she had a signal. It wasn't five bars, but she had two.
She began to dial Zhang Bin's number, shooting a fierce look at the man beside her. "Let's see you talk your way out of this."
"Go ahead and call," Zhang Bin said without a hint of fear, a calm smile on his face.
The call connected quickly, and Liu Ruoi shouted into the phone, "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law, can you hear ?"
Zhang Bin's voice imdiately ca from the phone. "I can hear you. Weren't you going to Great Green Mountain for your cultivation? What's the occasion for this call?"
"I just missed you."
A look of confusion appeared on Liu Ruoi's face. Her eyes were fixed intently on Chen Junheng, who simply shrugged at her. He wasn't speaking; his lips didn't even move. How could Zhang Bin's voice be coming through the phone?
"Missed ? Don't tell you're finally planning on becoming your brother-in-law's woman? Heh heh, well, hurry back then. We can roll around in the sheets," Zhang Bin's voice teased.
"Get lost!"
Liu Ruoi had a look of coquettish annoyance, but her suspicions weren't dispelled. After all, the man before her was a genius hacker. He could have intercepted her call and routed it to a pre-recorded program designed to impersonate Zhang Bin.
"Little girl, I'm very busy and don't have ti for idle chatter. What is it you want?" Zhang Bin's impatient voice sounded from the phone.
"Brother-in-law, let ask you sothing. Did you sneak up to my room last night? Did you secretly try to push my door open?" Liu Ruoi asked, her eyes darting.
She figured that if the youth before her was really Zhang Bin in disguise, he must have a pre-recorded script. This sudden question was definitely not part of it, so he wouldn't be able to answer.
"Sneak up to your door? I was being perfectly open and aboveboard, alright? I was just checking to see if your door was locked. I was worried about your safety, that's all," ca Zhang Bin's roguish voice.
"You Big Bad Egg! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Liu Ruoi hung up, caught between amusent and vexation. She hadn't found any flaws in his performance.
Yet, a powerful intuition surged in her heart: the Chen Junheng before her was Zhang Bin—her mischievous brother-in-law.
Her gaze fixed on him as she said nacingly, "Brother-in-law, you'd better confess. Why are you pretending to be Chen Junheng to court ? You're deceiving , do you realize that?"
At that mont, all the smugness in Zhang Bin's heart vanished. This is bad, he thought frantically. She's too sharp! I only held her for a mont, and she's already figured it out.
But he would never admit it, not even if it killed him. He feigned anger and retorted, "Are you crazy? Didn't you just get off the phone with your brother-in-law? How could I possibly be him?"
"I don't know how you managed that phone call, but I know you are my brother-in-law," Liu Ruoi said, grabbing him by the collar. "Co back with . If you and my brother-in-law can appear before at the sa ti, then I'll believe you!"
Zhang Bin was dumbfounded, utterly bewildered. How can I possibly split myself in two and appear before her at the sa ti? How am I supposed to prove it like this?
Seeing his stunned expression, Liu Ruoi knew her intuition was correct. Furious tears stread down her face as her fists hamred against his chest like a drumbeat. "Brother-in-law, you big scoundrel! I'll take you down with !"
At that mont, Zhang Bin desperately wanted to just fly away and deny everything to his dying day.
But he didn't. That would be shirking responsibility, which would only leave Liu Ruoi more heartbroken and upset.
So, he gritted his teeth, and his features shifted back into those of Zhang Bin. He pulled her into a tight embrace and said softly, "Baby, don't be angry. Don't make a scene. Just listen to my explanation."
Seeing that familiar, roguish face—unmistakably her brother-in-law, Zhang Bin—sent a fresh wave of fury through Liu Ruoi. She bit down hard on his shoulder, tearing at it fiercely as if trying to rip off a piece of flesh.
He sucked in a sharp breath of pain but forced himself to endure it, continuing to speak softly. "I only did this because I saw you had fallen hopelessly in love with your brother-in-law, and how much pain and turmoil it was causing you. I was afraid you'd never marry and would end up lonely for the rest of your life. That's why I was so worried.
"So, I decided to pursue you this way to show you that there are other young n in the world just as outstanding as . I didn't want you to get hung up on just one person. I never expected you to see through my disguise.
"Please don't be angry. I was only concerned about you. How did that make a 'Big Bad Egg' and a 'big scoundrel' in your eyes?"
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