Chapter 130: An Apology

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Liang Jinshang had no way to answer Liangzi.

Objectively, Shang Yucheng’s lips were sealing hers shut.

Subjectively, given the situation between them, she had no desire for Liangzi to know that she was caught up in this.

A grown man like Liangzi would not have blundered into the women’s restroom in such a frantic state unless he had already guessed what was happening inside.

The thought made the heat climbing from Liang Jinshang’s neck burn even more fiercely.

Her hair had come loose in every direction. She could not tell whether it was sweat or water clinging to her flushed cheeks. Shang Yucheng caught a strand between his lips, and the beastlike force of his assault eased at last.

Liang Jinshang seized the opportunity to push against his shoulder and draw back a little.

Her eyes shimmered with tears. The delicate skin beneath her chin, where the man had just gripped and kissed her, was already mottled blue and purple.

Her lips were marked with dark and pale shades of red, with beads of blood still welling up—painful and pitiful.

She looked as though she had truly been ravaged.

Yet the flames burning in Shang Yucheng’s eyes did not recede in the slightest out of pity. If anything, her appearance seemed to provoke him, making his gaze grow darker and deeper.

Liang Jinshang was genuinely furious—and frightened.

One hand uselessly clutched at the front of her dress while the other groped wildly behind her.

Her fingers found a ceramic diffuser bottle. She snatched it up at once and held it in front of herself.

Never before had she resisted Shang Yucheng with such desperate intensity.

Beneath his icy tone lay anger ready to erupt.

“So in front of your old flame, you’ve finally decided to play the virtuous martyr?”

Liang Jinshang shook her head rapidly, though it was impossible to tell whether she was denying it or expressing refusal.

Sweat—or perhaps tears—flew from her temple.

“Shang Yucheng, not here… There are people outside…”

And not strangers, either. It was someone who had grown up with her, someone important to her.

A bleakness spread through Liang Jinshang’s heart.

If a man truly cared about a woman, how could he do something like this in front of her friends and family?

It was too humiliating.

A vicious, frigid smile appeared on Shang Yucheng’s severe face.

“Isn’t it better with someone outside? He can help you put him to the test. Let’s see whether he’ll still want you after learning that you’re willing to fool around even in a restroom.”

With that, he effortlessly pried the ceramic bottle from Liang Jinshang’s hand and tossed it onto the floor.

Outside, Liangzi first heard a tremendous crash of breaking ceramic, followed by Liang Jinshang’s restrained yet unmistakably suggestive cries.

Anyone could tell what Shang Yucheng was doing to her.

Blocked by two suited bodyguards, Liangzi could not move forward.

He planted his hands on his hips and paced back and forth outside the door, trying to vent his fury.

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Once he had calmed down a little, he slapped his forehead hard.

“Damn it! What am I afraid of? This is my territory!”

He pulled out his phone to call security, then shouted toward the restroom, “Jinshang, I have a key! Don’t be afraid. My people will be here soon!”

He was speaking less for Liang Jinshang’s benefit than for Shang Yucheng’s.

He did not dare issue an outright threat, believing that this warning would be enough to make Shang Yucheng stop.

But the next moment, Liang Jinshang’s voice came through the door, trembling with sobs yet laden with irresistible allure. Liangzi nearly dropped the phone in his hand.

Shang Yucheng had evidently taken his warning as a challenge and was bullying her even more relentlessly.

Liang Jinshang’s uncontrollable cries continued to drift through the door without pause.

Blood rushed to Liangzi’s head. With a sharp crack, he smashed his phone to the floor.

He strode forward, seized one of the bodyguards—who was half a head taller than him—and punched him viciously in the face.

Yan Liang had no family to rely on and no powerful connections. All these years, he had survived in the underworld through shameless smooth-talking and sheer social cunning.

But that did not mean he was a coward.

If he let Shang Yucheng’s power intimidate him today, if he could not even protect his sister on his own turf, he would smash his own head against a wall before He Xiaoqian ever got the chance to deal with him.

Yan Liang fought like a street punk.

After only a few swings, he was subdued by the professionally trained bodyguards.

The two men had evidently been instructed not to hurt him seriously. They merely twisted his arms behind his back and pinned him in place, keeping him from advancing.

Yan Liang kicked wildly, stretching his legs as far as he could to strike the restroom door. Each word burst from between his clenched teeth.

“Shang Yucheng! You! Get! Out! Stop! Going! Too! Far!”

The commotion outside was so loud that Yan Liang failed to realize the sounds inside the restroom had long since fallen silent.

At that moment, Shang Yucheng had no mind to concern himself with his disrespect or provocation.

Liang Jinshang had sunk her teeth into his shoulder, and he was forced to hold her up so she would not slide off the sink.

She had bitten him with all the strength she possessed. Before long, she tasted blood.

But the metallic flavor was quickly diluted by the tears streaming down her face.

She cried as she bit him, her mouth salty and bitter, unable to distinguish one taste from another.

At last, the sobs she could no longer suppress forced her to release him. She wept in broken gasps, her tears soaking Shang Yucheng’s face at such close range.

Strictly speaking, this was only the second time she had cried in front of him.

The first had been on her birthday, when emotion had overwhelmed her so completely that she could not stop crying. Even then, Shang Yucheng had been at a loss.

Today, after being hurt so deeply, her eyes had turned red within minutes.

Though Shang Yucheng still harbored a furious anger with nowhere to go, it could not overcome his heartache.

His heart was torn between two fierce and contradictory emotions, yet he still had to comfort her first.

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“Stop crying. Don’t you know whether I was serious or not? A few tears are enough. That thug outside is about to start a war with my men.”

Shang Yucheng reached out to wipe away her tears.

But Liang Jinshang immediately turned her face aside.

Her expression was strange—not anger or resistance, but something more like agitation and embarrassment.

Shang Yucheng remembered what that hand had just done.

With a soft click of his tongue, he raised an eyebrow.

Then he reached past her to turn on the faucet and wash his hands.

The movement placed him around her in an embrace.

Liang Jinshang dodged the hand he brought up to wipe her tears. They continued to stream down her face, and she had no attention left for the state of her clothes from top to bottom.

It was Shang Yucheng who reached out and gathered the front of her dress together.

There were no buttons, so he could only hold it closed with one hand.

Her crying had given him a headache. Taking advantage of the moment, he pulled the front of her dress toward him and drew her against his chest. As he spoke, the vibration of his voice traveled through his chest into her cheek.

His tone was cold, touched by an almost imperceptible helplessness.

“I’m a man. You were calling out another man’s name and asking to perform a striptease. How exactly was I supposed to be gentle with you, hmm?”

“I have nothing to do with you anymore,” Liang Jinshang said coldly.

“Since you insist on putting it that way…”

Shang Yucheng released her with an impassive face and made as though he would resume his lewd advances.

“Then the debts between us amount to more than one.”

Liang Jinshang felt a chill and hurriedly fumbled to gather her clothes back together, shattering the bravado on her face.

“Shang Yucheng, don’t!”

Shang Yucheng frowned.

“I’ll give you one chance. Apologize to me, and I’ll let you go for now.”

Apologize?

Why should she apologize?

Liang Jinshang was seething with resentment, but the circumstances left her no choice. She could only call out angrily, “I’m sorry!”

It was called an apology, but she delivered it in much the same tone one might use to tell someone to get lost.

Shang Yucheng was so furious that he laughed. His voice turned cold, each word cutting slowly like a knife.

“What are you sorry for? Explain it clearly.”