Chapter 15: Taking Advantage of My Feelings for You

Liang Jinshang went upstairs for afternoon tea, with Chao Xinghe following behind to give her Chao Jingyu’s contact information.

“My brother said if you need him for anything, feel free to reach out. Cheng and his wife just arrived, and he’s worried he won’t be able to host you properly, so he won’t keep you for dinner.”

Chao Xinghe poured her a cup of black tea. “But since I don’t have to entertain the guests, how about I take you out for a meal?”

Liang Jinshang took a delicate bite of cake. “No need, I have to go back to school tonight to work on some architectural plans.”

This was her other side job.

The architecture program was notoriously demanding. For the past two years, she’d been too busy earning a living and paying for her treatments to focus on anything else. Now, with graduation looming, she was still one EI paper short of meeting the requirements.

Luckily, her paper had just passed review. If all went well, it would be published next week.

…

The Chao family arranged a car to send her back to campus.

As Liang Jinshang steadied herself by the car door, ready to say her goodbyes to Chao Xinghe, she suddenly saw Gong Xueyuan approaching.

Chao Xinghe took a half-step forward, almost casually placing himself between Liang Jinshang and Gong Xueyuan, greeting her with a smile. “Sister Xue.”

Gong Xueyuan nodded slightly, then turned to Liang Jinshang. “Miss Liang, wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

Gong Xueyuan came quite close, scrutinizing her without restraint. “You seem very familiar to me. Have we met before?”

Liang Jinshang’s expression remained calm and serene. “What if we have? If you can’t recall, we must not have been close. If the past held little connection and now we’re at odds, there’s hardly any need for pleasantries between us.”

Gong Xueyuan nodded in agreement, but the next instant, her hand flashed out—slap!

It was so sudden, and at such close range, that Liang Jinshang couldn’t react in time. Her face was jerked sharply to the side by the heavy blow.

A red mark bloomed quickly across her pale, narrow cheeks, so prominent it was almost shocking.

“Sister Xue!” Chao Xinghe angrily grabbed her arm. “Why are you hitting people?!”

Gong Xueyuan’s chest heaved with emotion. “I hit exactly who I meant to—the woman shameless enough to sneak into the men’s restroom!”

Chao Xinghe shot a quick look at Liang Jinshang. The two of them had been together the whole time and hadn’t even crossed paths with Gong Xueyuan.

But it couldn’t have been Cheng who confessed, either.

So how had Gong Xueyuan found out?

Even as he wondered, Cheng and Chao Jingyu walked over together, immediately understanding what must have happened when they saw the scene.

Chao Jingyu frowned in disapproval. “Xueyuan!”

Liang Jinshang, though the one struck, wore a mask of calm, while Gong Xueyuan, eyes brimming with tears, immediately turned to Chao Jingyu with a trembling accusation. “Did I hit the wrong person? Or was the scent of perfume on Cheng’s body really from you?”

Liang Jinshang understood at once—she deserved it.

So that was why Gong Xueyuan had come so close, to distinguish the scent of perfume on her. She’d used Chao Jingyu’s perfume to provoke Bu Qingqing, completely forgetting that Gong Xueyuan had a nose as well. She really shouldn’t have gotten so carried away with Cheng earlier.

Chao Jingyu looked helplessly at Cheng, the instinct for male camaraderie making him seriously consider taking the blame himself.

But Cheng spoke with casual indifference. “You didn’t hit the wrong person. I probably deserve a slap, too.”

Of course, Gong Xueyuan couldn’t bear to strike him. Instead, she threw herself into his arms, pounding her fists against his chest as she sobbed, “You’re only acting like this because you know how much I love you!”

Cheng wrapped an arm around her waist and glanced at Chao Jingyu. “Ah Yu, could you give us a moment?”

Liang Jinshang bowed her head in silence.

Cheng’s words made it clear—he wanted Chao Jingyu to clear the area, mainly to get rid of her.

…

Chao Jingyu led Liang Jinshang and Chao Xinghe aside.

“Miss Liang, I apologize to you on Xueyuan’s behalf,” Chao Jingyu said, pausing. “Consider it another favor I owe you. In the future, if you need help and I’m able, I’ll do whatever I can.”

“You’re not even her real fiancé, why are you apologizing for her?” Chao Xinghe’s young face was still full of anger. “Brother, you just spoil her.”

Liang Jinshang, who had kept her head lowered all this while, now looked up at Chao Jingyu with a sorrowful gaze and a faint catch in her voice. “…Dr. Chao, can I really come to you for help with anything?”

Though she didn’t shed a single tear, her fragile, helpless appearance was enough to soften even an outsider like Chao Jingyu.

As for Cheng, who knew what his heart was made of? Because of him, she’d been slapped, and yet he hadn’t offered a word of comfort or an apology, not even a glance in her direction.

Chao Jingyu replied gently, his tone warmer and more sincere than the first time he’d made his promise.

Liang Jinshang knew full well that Chao Jingyu wasn’t truly seeking to make amends—most of this was just to smooth things over for Gong Xueyuan.

But she didn’t mind. A slap was nothing to her; one day, she’d return it a hundredfold.

Besides, she’d gained Chao Jingyu’s promise, worth more than gold.

With an air of resigned endurance, Liang Jinshang climbed into the car. Once the door closed, her face returned to its usual impassivity.

Chao Xinghe, still worried, insisted on accompanying her back to school himself.

As the car pulled away, Liang Jinshang glanced in the rearview mirror. Chao Jingyu was still standing by the roadside, watching her leave, while Cheng, with his arm around Gong Xueyuan, was whispering soft words to comfort her, never once looking up.

Chao Xinghe fiddled hesitantly with his phone for a long while before finally telling her, “My brother said Gong Xueyuan doubled back to that restroom and caught Cheng still inside, smoking. Who knows what they talked about, but after that, she came looking for you…”

Whether Liang Jinshang heard him or not, she only leaned silently against the window.

Looking at her delicate profile, Chao Xinghe thought of one phrase: “evoking pity on sight.”

No denying, her morals weren’t spotless.

But damn it, beauty really was its own justification—there was just no arguing with it.