Chapter 148: Seeking Refuge

What is there to explain?
It was just a gift between friends.
If we elaborate slightly on Shang Jingyu's words, it was simply two people with dreams in their respective professional fields exchanging the joy of success and honor.
It had nothing to do with romance.
It would have been fine if Shang Yucheng hadn't brought it up, but the moment he did, Liang Jinshang was reminded of the unpleasantness that had occurred between them on the day of her housewarming party.
She couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "That was a gift Shang Jingyu gave me on the day I moved into my new home. If Nan Wenqian hadn't given me a hard time this time, I would still be under the misconception that you sent it. Shang Yucheng, you were still my official boyfriend back then, shouldn't you reflect on how you behaved yourself that day?"
"The boyfriend at the time?" Shang Yucheng repeated playfully.
"Yes, at the time." Liang Jinshang returned his look with a similarly enigmatic smile. "Is there a problem?"
Aside from descending from the heavens like a divine warrior today to help her out, what notable actions had he taken recently that would warrant her unconditionally reconciling with him?
"No problem," Shang Yucheng dropped those cold words and walked straight to the driver's side door.
Liang Jinshang got into the car after him and asked, "You still haven't answered my question. If Nan Wenqian can't get my standing sculpture back, can you take me to the Zhong family residence?"
Shang Yucheng let out a slight scoff. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"Why would it be inappropriate?" Liang Jinshang's thoughts inevitably wandered. "Do you have a grudge against the Zhong family?"
Shang Yucheng said with characteristic sarcasm, "Are they even worthy?"
For the Zhong family to have a grudge against the Shang family would be an utter mismatch of social strata.
At this moment, Liang Jinshang had to admit that no matter how many flaws Shang Yucheng had, one could not deny that his background was an absolute trump card.
As long as he was willing to step in, which family would dare to brazenly keep what belonged to her and refuse to return it?
Liang Jinshang gazed at him pleadingly for a moment, but Shang Yucheng was exceptionally "focused" on driving and didn't even spare her a glance.
With no other choice, she asked again, "Will you?"
This time, Shang Yucheng gave her a faint look. "Is doing this the obligation of a 'non-boyfriend'?"
His tone wasn't stern; it even carried a hint of banter.
However, the refusal behind his words was unmistakable.
Or rather, his intention to use this to force her to "acknowledge" their relationship was glaringly obvious.
Liang Jinshang felt a lump rise in her throat, leaving her speechless.
Her earlier refusal to admit that Shang Yucheng was her boyfriend had naturally been half out of pique and half serious.
After merely ten days together, so many irreconcilable problems had surfaced.
She had been the one to propose a breakup.

Although he had outwardly made efforts to win her back, had he actually taken practical action to resolve the root causes of their conflicts?
No.
So why should she be expected to casually return to his side as if nothing had happened?
Unable to swallow her anger, Liang Jinshang retorted with a dig of her own, "You certainly do plenty of things for Yuan Xi that a 'non-boyfriend' isn't required to do."
Her tone was laced with jealousy, which made the corners of Shang Yucheng's lips curve upward in a direction she couldn't see.
When they arrived outside the Zhong family's villa, Nan Wenqian had already gone inside.
Yet barely a few minutes later, Nan Wenqian was chased out in disgrace.
"President Shang... Miss Liang..." Nan Wenqian looked ashen. "The Zhong family wouldn't even let me in the house; they drove me right out."
That he would be driven out was hardly unexpected, judging by the intelligence Shang Yucheng had gathered.
She cared only about her own property.
"Didn't you let the Zhong family know that the standing sculpture wasn't yours, and that the original owner is now demanding its return?"
Naturally, Nan Wenqian wouldn't dare keep that a secret. On the way here, the bodyguards had made him fully aware that this imposing man possessed an equally extraordinary background.
He was none other than the renowned Shang Yucheng.
Offending Shang Yucheng would be far worse than having his limbs broken and being locked away in a cell for the rest of his life!
"Old Mr. Zhong said... since I already gave it to him, it belongs to his family. It doesn't matter who comes looking for it."
That was sheer absurdity of epic proportions!
"I'll call the police again!" Liang Jinshang said angrily. "Returning stolen property is only right, proper, and entirely legal."
Shang Yucheng waved a hand to signal the bodyguards to take Nan Wenqian away. "Throw this fellow back at the police station first. He has stolen a massive amount of assets from someone else—he can wait for a lawyer's letter!"
Before Nan Wenqian could let out a scream, a bodyguard covered his mouth and shoved him back into the car.
Shang Yucheng looked down at Liang Jinshang and, seeing her face flushed with anger, reached out to pinch her cheek gently. Then he said calmly, "No need to call the police. If we get bogged down bickering with a scoundrel like that, how are we supposed to live our lives?"
"What else can I do if I don't call the police?" Liang Jinshang shot him a resentful look. "Right now, the only thing I can rely on is the great and glorious public security and judicial organs."
True to form, Shang Yucheng had a heart of stone and refused to offer her any such "reliance" even now.
Still, he didn't refuse her entirely. "Go find Zheng Jue. All these years, Zhong Fu has relied on the Zheng family for his livelihood. Zheng Jue has returned to his ancestral family over the past couple of years; let's use this opportunity to see how much clout he holds among the collateral branches."
Ever since that housewarming party, Liang Jinshang had added Zheng Jue on WeChat.
Zheng Jue loved to play, and his Moments feed was filled with posts about hedonistic pleasures and high life.
He never once posted anything showing affection.
Liang Jinshang had merely maintained a polite "like-clicking" relationship with him, yet when she called him up and brought up the matter, Zheng Jue agreed without hesitation.
"Sure!" It sounded a bit noisy on his end. "Though I'm attending a wedding in a neighboring city right now, can it wait until tomorrow?"
Liang Jinshang: "Alright, whenever works for you."
"Mm-hmm," Zheng Jue replied casually, just as an indistinct, sweet female voice could be heard in the background calling out to him coquettishly.
He promptly announced he was hanging up.
After ending the call, Liang Jinshang frowned slightly.
Shang Yucheng asked, "What? He didn't agree?"
Lately, Zheng Jue had been initiating contact with him quite frequently. Beneath an easygoing exterior lay a deep mind, but overall, he was a loyal and righteous man.
"No," Liang Jinshang said with a trace of displeasure. "It's one thing that Zheng Jue went out of town for a wedding without Le Quan. But how come I heard another woman over there?"
Shang Yucheng cast a cool glance at her. "You think that's wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong!" Liang Jinshang said with righteous indignation. "He's dating Le Quan, yet he runs off to mess around with other women elsewhere..."
Prompted by a woman's sensitive intuition, she realized as she spoke that Shang Yucheng seemed a bit too concerned with these idle matters today.
It didn't fit his personality.
Liang Jinshang's voice trailed off.
However, Shang Yucheng calmly summed up the situation: "Well, you certainly live by the motto of 'holding others to strict standards while excusing yourself.'"
Liang Jinshang: "..."
Could she and Zheng Jue possibly be compared?
First of all, her "pretend trip" to Xingcheng to see her " ex-boyfriend" was genuinely a ruse; she had no idea beforehand that He Xiaoque would actually be there.
Secondly, she and Shang Yucheng had already broken up at that time—broken up!
Lastly, she hadn't even laid eyes on He Xiaoque, and in the end, wasn't he the one who got all the advantages?
Liang Jinshang's mouth opened and closed without making a sound, though anyone could tell from her expression that she was uttering muted curses.
Shang Yucheng pulled her into his arms, lowered his gaze to meet her eyes, and said, "If you keep chewing me out like that, I won't mind shutting your mouth right here."