Chapter 30: The Blessings of a Man Surrounded by Beauties

The room was shrouded in darkness; Shang Yucheng had not yet returned.

If Liang Jinshang had to admit to any aspect of him she admired, it would be his utter devotion to his work—he was a true workaholic.

Ever since the pink-haired girl had photographed Hu Zhinan at the bar that night, Liang Jinshang had immediately begun to investigate him.

Hu Zhinan had been out of prison for less than half a year and was already the project manager at Qingcheng Construction Group. The Gong family's support was undoubtedly behind this rapid ascent.

This made it clear: before Shang Yucheng had intervened to arrange a marriage alliance with Gong Xueyuan, the Gong family's chosen partner had evidently been Qingcheng Group.

Facing imminent employment herself, Liang Jinshang had done extensive research on the major corporations in Province A.

Nantian Construction, under Shang Yucheng’s command, was backed by the powerful Nan Group. With Shang Yucheng’s ruthless and domineering methods since taking the helm, Nantian was poised to overtake Qingcheng and become the new leader in the construction industry.

In other words, the rivalry between these two men might not be over beauty alone—territory and empire were also at stake.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Although it was difficult for Liang Jinshang to regard Shang Yucheng as a “friend” with any degree of calm, given how she currently longed to stab him in the back, she could just about bring herself to be his ally for once.

She had considered asking Chao Jingyu for help.

But first, Chao Jingyu was a man of principle—the sort of thing she intended to do was hardly aboveboard, and he might not assist her. Second, her actions would harm Gong Xueyuan, and that was something Chao Jingyu would never support—she had already tested the waters on that point in the car yesterday.

Liang Jinshang waited late into the night.

She was beginning to think Shang Yucheng wouldn’t return at all, when the sound of the door opening reached her ears.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone.

Two men and a woman—all the very people she’d just been thinking about—entered together.

Fortunately, the apartment, both in terms of location and size, was one of those “poverty limits the imagination” affairs, giving her the chance to slip into the nearest master bedroom before they came in.

Chao Jingyu’s voice sounded, “Yucheng, why are your lights on?”

“I must have forgotten to turn them off when I left this morning,” Shang Yucheng replied, his tone perfectly even, as if that were simply the truth.

Chao Jingyu said, “Xueyuan’s dead drunk. Let her sleep here tonight; I’ll head home.”

But Shang Yucheng countered, “No need for you to leave—there’s more than enough rooms.”

Hiding in the master bedroom, Liang Jinshang said nothing.

Outside, Gong Xueyuan’s drunken ramblings could be heard. Shang Yucheng said, “Make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to take a shower.”

Liang Jinshang hadn’t yet decided how to face him when the door to the master bedroom swung open.

Shang Yucheng stood with his hand on the doorknob, expressionless, regarding her.

His face betrayed not an ounce of surprise, as if he had fully expected to find her there.

Chao Jingyu’s footsteps approached. “Yucheng, do you have any hangover tea here? I’ll make some.”

Shang Yucheng’s brows twitched slightly, and finally he stepped inside.

When Chao Jingyu caught sight of Liang Jinshang, he quietly closed the door.

Chao Jingyu patiently repeated his question.

Receiving no reply, he called out, “Yucheng?”

Shang Yucheng frowned—not because he was unwilling, but because he had no idea where on earth the hangover tea was kept.

Liang Jinshang whispered to him, “Third cabinet on the left in the kitchen.”

Shang Yucheng repeated the instruction through the door, and Chao Jingyu chuckled in resignation. “Young master, your hospitality is truly eye-opening.”

Chao Jingyu retreated, and the two inside the room fell silent.

Shang Yucheng was a man of few words by nature.

Liang Jinshang, for her part, was tongue-tied, embarrassed to have taken a million from him only to keep showing up in front of him again and again.

She had imagined that tonight would be just the two of them, sitting face to face in the living room to negotiate.

Not silently staring at each other in a bedroom filled with memories of passion.

“Ahem, Mr. Shang…” Liang Jinshang finally broke the silence. “Do you have a moment later? There’s something I’d like to discuss.”

Shang Yucheng had drunk quite a bit. At this hour, he was clearly tired, and his demeanor and words were rough. “What could be so important that you have to break in illegally in the middle of the night to talk about it? Looks to me like you’re just looking for trouble!”

Liang Jinshang had to admit, this was hardly the right time.

He didn’t seem remotely sober!

Yet with two people blocking her way outside, she couldn’t leave.

Just as Shang Yucheng began unbuttoning his shirt and made for the bathroom, Liang Jinshang had no choice but to follow.

Caught off guard, Shang Yucheng suddenly turned, exposing a stretch of firm, sculpted chest and abs to her.

She quickly lowered her gaze, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment, doing her best to avoid any hint of impropriety.

As if she weren’t the same Liang Jinshang who, only a month ago, had brazenly followed him into the men’s room.

For some reason, Shang Yucheng recalled Gong Xueyuan’s words: “You’ve never seen how she behaves in a nightclub! It’s all an act!”

It was quite an act, indeed.

Shang Yucheng pinched Liang Jinshang’s chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Liang Jinshang, do you need me to show you what ‘payment on delivery’ really means?”

Even as he equated her with a commodity, Liang Jinshang’s face remained impassive.

Her heart only grew colder.

She pried his fingers free, pulled out her phone, and quickly brought up the video. “Perhaps I should be the one to show you what it means to enjoy ‘the fortune of many wives’.”

The moment Shang Yucheng saw the footage, his face darkened, the very air seeming to thin around them.

Liang Jinshang, undeterred, added, “Oh, and by the way—you’re the one being shared.”

With a sharp motion, Shang Yucheng shoved her against the bathroom wall, his voice icy. “Where did you get this?”

There are some things, after all, that are one thing to know yourself and quite another for others to know.

A man’s pride is a ridiculous thing.

Liang Jinshang’s leg was still injured, and now her shoulder would surely be bruised as well. But seeing Shang Yucheng like this, she felt a deep satisfaction—she could hardly feel the pain.

Perhaps her expression was too openly mocking, for the veins stood out on Shang Yucheng’s forehead, his anger and the alcohol raising the temperature in the room several degrees.

Unable to contain himself, he abruptly slapped the shower lever. Cold water came crashing down, drenching both of them in an instant.

The water was turned on full. Pinned by him, Liang Jinshang could barely breathe.

She began to struggle, but as they pressed against each other, their bodies—so intimately familiar—began to shift in mood.

She wore a smoky gray silk blouse, which, though not transparent when wet, clung to her form in a way that was… tantalizing.

While Shang Yucheng’s face betrayed little, his hands were far more honest, indulging themselves freely.

Unable to break free, Liang Jinshang’s hands flailed, knocking over bottles of shower gel and lotions, which clattered to the floor in a noisy cascade.

“Yucheng, what’s going on in there? Did you fall?” Gong Xueyuan’s voice called suddenly.

Liang Jinshang snapped back to herself, only then realizing that Shang Yucheng hadn’t locked the bathroom door.

And she couldn’t even remember whether she’d locked it herself.