Ficorpio
Chapter 1
On Christmas Day, I prepared ninety-nine roses for my girlfriend. In return, she smiled brightly and gave me a green knit cap.
With a charming smile, she asked in confusion, “Adrian, you don’t like it?”
“I… like it…”
A simple gift could still carry a lot of meaning. It was her way of showing she cared.
That very night, the hashtag #ActorAdrianValeGreenHat dominated the trending searches.
My girlfriend was Claire Vale—a beautiful idiot.
She almost never made mistakes at work, but in everyday life, she was constantly getting herself into one little muddle after another.
And this time, the clueless girl had gone and given me a green hat for Christmas.
My fingers tightened around the roses. I was too stunned to speak.
“It’s for me?”
Claire nodded.
With another dazzling smile, she asked, “Adrian, you don’t like it?”
I hesitated for exactly one second before smiling and nodding, pretending to be brave.
“I love it.”
It was obvious at a glance that she had knitted the hat herself. Claire wasn’t good at crafts, so she must have put in a great deal of effort. I couldn’t bear to ruin her excitement.
I lowered my head and let her place the hat on me, a gentle smile fixed on my face.
Beaming, she took the roses from my hands and pressed a light kiss to my cheek.
“Thank you, darling.”
“Let’s take a picture together.”
I watched her snatch another green knit cap from the coffee table and start to put it on her own head. My heart began to pound, and I hurriedly stopped her.
“What’s wrong?”
She blinked at me, completely baffled.
I grabbed the first excuse I could think of. “That hat’s dirty.”
Oh, hell. One Green Hat was more than enough for me to wear alone. If she put one on too, I might actually go into cardiac arrest.
Who had set her up like this? Who was bullying my baby because she couldn’t tell red from green?
I shot an irritated glance at the Green Yarn in the corner and swallowed my anger.
Claire abandoned the idea of putting on the cap, but she still wanted to take a picture.
I gritted my teeth. Fine. We could take the picture.
I wrapped an arm around her and leaned close, flashing a dazzling smile at the camera.
My plan was to quietly change the color of the cap when I edited the photo later, then post the corrected version.
But before I could do anything, the picture had already been uploaded.
I deleted it as fast as I could, but not before countless online commenters had saved copies.
That evening, the hashtag #MovieStarGreenHat shot to the top of the trending list.
The commenters stared at the photo I had posted and began arguing over it.
“I was just about to say, ‘Who’s cruel enough to photoshop a Green Hat onto someone?’ Then I looked closer and realized it was the original photo.”
“Why is Adrian Vale smiling so happily? Is the Green Hat some new fashion trend?”
The commenters were completely baffled, so I had no choice but to post an explanation.
Chapter 2
Soon, they were all declaring that they were totally invested in our relationship.
“He really does love her! Anyone who can wear the Green Hat this happily is a true man!”
“Damn it, why can’t I have a sweet relationship like this?”
It was only after Claire saw the comments online that she realized what a ridiculous thing she had done. She curled up in my arms and apologized.
How could I bring myself to blame her? She was the woman I had worked so hard to win.
I just thought it was funny.
Claire really was hopelessly absentminded, but I thought that was exactly what made her adorable. She was wonderful in every way. Her only flaw was that she was incredibly slow when it came to matters of the heart.
When I thought back on it, all I could do was sigh. Pursuing her had been pure torture because she was so oblivious.
The first time I met Claire was in a bar.
She had gotten drunk, but Julian was tied up and couldn’t go pick her up, so he asked the rest of us roommates to do it instead.
Julian was completely obsessed with his little sister. He was always showing off at the apartment, bragging about how sweet, adorable, and beautiful she was.
He had even shown us photos and videos of her.
The girl on the screen had fair skin, long, curved lashes, and brilliant violet eyes that sparkled like stars. Every frown and smile reminded me of a sacred angel in an oil painting I had once seen and never forgotten—pure, gentle, and sweet.
And yet she was even livelier and more adorable than the angel in the painting, with a beauty that struck straight at the heart.
The other two guys and I had all been curious to see her in person, so we agreed to help without hesitation.
Inside the private room at the bar, the dim lighting seemed to cast a hazy glow over Claire alone.
She lay quietly in one corner of the sofa, her silky black hair spilling over her graceful figure. A flush warmed her cheeks, and her eyes were glazed with drink. Her luminous violet gaze remained fixed on the door as she waited obediently for someone to come pick her up.
The sight hit me straight in the chest, sending a storm through my heart.
It took me a moment to collect myself and regain my composure before walking over to her.
I bent down and asked gently, “Miss, are you all right?”
Claire’s unfocused gaze settled on me. A flicker of surprise crossed her face at the sight of me, but then her brows drew together and she shook her head.
“Thank you, but I don’t need your services.”
She pulled two hundred yuan from her handbag and held it out to me.
I stared at the bills in my hand, completely stunned.
Had she mistaken me for a gigolo?
When I didn’t react, she apparently assumed I thought it wasn’t enough. Her delicate brows furrowed, and she said with the solemn air of someone teaching a lesson, “You shouldn’t be too greedy.”
Chapter 3
Owen was the first to understand what had happened. He burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
His delight at my misfortune was impossible to miss. “That’s what you get for putting on that act the moment you walked in. Look at you. She thinks you’re a gigolo! Hahaha!”
Noah joined in, teasing me. “To be fair, with a face like Adrian’s, he probably could charm quite a few wealthy women.”
I shot them both an irritated glare.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire had finally realized it was all a misunderstanding. She hurried to apologize, her voice gentle and her sincerity unmistakable.
I hadn’t been angry in the first place, and her earnest apology only softened me further.
“It’s fine.”
“Claire, you don’t need to apologize. He isn’t upset.”
“Oh, right. Your brother Julian sent us to pick you up. He should have sent you a photograph. Check your phone and take a look. I’m Owen Parker. This is Adrian Vale, and that’s Noah Reed.”
Claire opened WeChat and found the photograph. After looking at it, she nodded, then apologized again, embarrassment coloring her expression.
“I didn’t see the message. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
I curved my lips into a faint smile. “I was the one who approached you without explaining.”
I know my looks are a little too suggestive for my own good. I’ve been misunderstood plenty of times, but this was the first time anyone had mistaken me for a male escort.
Owen and the others were always teasing me, saying my face made me look like the kind of man who could charm any girl with sweet talk, lead her on, and then walk away without taking responsibility—a shameless womanizer.
With my expressive eyes and that effortless hint of flirtation in them, all it took was a slight curve of my lips and the faintest lift of my brows. Add my lazy, careless air, and I came across as cocky, mischievous, and just a little dangerous.
It was exhausting. I’d been born with this face. What was I supposed to do, get plastic surgery because people kept misjudging me?
I was a perfectly innocent man, all right?
The only women I’d ever held hands with were my kindergarten teacher and my mother. I hadn’t even touched another woman.
And yet people still assumed I was some kind of heartless playboy. I was the real victim here.
Sweet, well-behaved girls worried I’d be trouble and didn’t dare come near me. The women who did approach usually only wanted to sleep with me. None of them were interested in an actual relationship.
Whenever I said I was a conservative man, people just assumed I was putting on an act.
Honestly, I was being completely misunderstood.
Claire stood up and left with us.