Chapter 62: Sounding the Gong and Withdrawing the Troops

Tonight, Shang Yucheng had a few too many drinks as he entertained his business associates.

He called Liang Jinshang over, simply because he was drunk and needed someone to tidy up after him.

Perhaps it was because, with this woman, most of the time they spent together was devoted to a single, familiar act. The body remembers those pleasures that run bone-deep; soon enough, they become habitual gestures.

Shang Yucheng took a shower. When he emerged, both his intoxication and desire had faded. Liang Jinshang had already ordered a meal for him; once he finished eating, she said she needed to return to work.

Shang Yucheng was also ready to go home, hoping to recover from the fatigue of his business trip.

They descended the stairs together. Offhandedly, Shang Yucheng asked, “Are you really not coming back with me?”

Liang Jinshang replied tactfully, “I’ll come back early after work.”

Shang Yucheng, with a lazy air, looked as though he was about to say something mischievous.

Suddenly, Liang Jinshang’s gaze shifted. She noticed a man and a woman walking ahead of them—also just having come down from upstairs.

It seemed they’d had a quarrel; the man strode ahead, while the woman trailed behind, humbly reaching for his hand.

Liang Jinshang recognized the man: Shang Yiming.

At the sight of him, her first instinct was to put some distance between herself and Shang Yucheng, not wanting anyone to see them together.

But Shang Yiming’s attention was elsewhere.

Liang Jinshang slowed her steps, intending to let them pass first, but then her expression changed drastically. She didn’t even hear what Shang Yucheng said, but moved to chase after them.

Shang Yucheng also recognized Shang Yiming. He frowned and grabbed her arm. “Why are you running?”

“I have an urgent matter!” Liang Jinshang’s expression was rarely so frantic.

Shang Yucheng’s grip was firm; the light, relaxed atmosphere between them vanished in an instant. He sneered, “He just took a woman to a hotel, and now you’re chasing after him like you’re catching him in the act.”

“No! It’s not—” Liang Jinshang’s face was deathly pale. “Shang Yucheng, let go! Let go, quickly!”

She struggled so desperately she seemed not to care if she hurt herself. Shang Yucheng released her, his expression cold and indifferent.

Without a backward glance, Liang Jinshang hurried after Shang Yiming.

...

When she caught up to Shang Yiming at the corner, he was alone, standing by the roadside with a dark expression, smoking.

Liang Jinshang called out to him, her voice strained. “Shang Yiming!”

His cigarette shook. Turning to see her, he exclaimed in surprise, “Liang Jinshang? You startled me!”

She glanced around anxiously. Shang Yiming asked, puzzled, “What are you looking for?”

“Just now…” Liang Jinshang hesitated. If she asked directly, she’d reveal she had also just been at the hotel. But after only a brief pause, she pressed on, determined. “Where’s that girl who was with you?”

Shang Yiming’s expression shifted instantly—somewhat flustered, but quickly defensive. “What girl?”

“I saw her, at the Grand Banquet…” Under the sunlight, Liang Jinshang’s already pale skin looked almost translucent. “What did you do to her?”

She hadn’t forgotten the way the girl looked, pleading desperately behind him.

Remembering the unpleasant episode just now in the hotel room, Shang Yiming snapped, “What’s it to you?”

Liang Jinshang’s dark eyes fixed on him, sending a chill down his spine. She asked softly once more, “Shang Yiming, what did you do to her?”

Anger flared in him. He shoved her. “I went to a hotel with my girlfriend—what do you think we did?! You look like I betrayed you or something… Wait, weren’t you just at the Banquet too? What were you up to?”

She only registered his first words; something snapped inside her.

His hand was still on her shoulder, but in a flash, Liang Jinshang grabbed his wrist, twisted hard, and drove her knee into his stomach.

The movement was so practiced it seemed she’d done it countless times. Shang Yiming, a man who spent his days behind a desk, couldn’t evade it.

In the next instant, he dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach and groaning.

Liang Jinshang seized him by the hair, forcing him to look up. Her voice was icy. “She didn’t want to, did she? Shang Yiming, if you ever force someone again, next time it won’t be your stomach you’ll be clutching.”

...

Unsurprisingly, both Liang Jinshang and Shang Yiming were late clocking in that afternoon.

Le Quan scooted her chair over, studying Liang Jinshang’s distracted expression for a while. “Where did you go at lunch? Why do you look so pale?”

Liang Jinshang’s eyes flickered as she looked at Le Quan’s concerned face, which overlapped with a memory—someone who had always cared for her.

She stared blankly for a moment before managing a faint smile. “It’s nothing, maybe just a bit of heatstroke.”

“Then take it easy.” Le Quan took out her phone. “I’ll get you some medicine.”

Liang Jinshang murmured, “You really don’t have to be so good to me.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“It’s nothing…” Liang Jinshang changed the subject casually. “You always know what’s going on. Do you know the name of Shang Yiming’s new girlfriend? Where does she work?”

Le Quan looked up from her phone, touching Liang Jinshang’s forehead. “Are you sure it’s heatstroke and not something else?”

Liang Jinshang said nothing, but her expression showed she genuinely wanted to know.

Le Quan’s face was shocked, and she lowered her voice. “You can’t be serious? Shang Yiming gave up, and now you’re chasing after him?”

Liang Jinshang didn’t laugh at her joke, only forced a faint smile and returned to her desk.

But for the rest of the afternoon, she accomplished nothing.

Just before closing time, Le Quan invited her to leave together, but Shang Yiming appeared with a stack of blueprints. “Sort these out for me and send them over today.”

“Today?” Le Quan protested. “Why not just wait until eleven tonight to give us the order?”

Shang Yiming forced a grin and walked away.

Le Quan, exasperated, scolded, “Why do you act so meek in front of him? Are you blind, liking someone like that?”

Liang Jinshang gave a cold laugh. Like him?

She’d rather chop him to pieces.

At that moment, the workday ended. Liang Jinshang shoved the blueprints aside and stood up. “Le Quan? Want to go for a drink?”

“…Sure.”

And so they drank, all the way until nine at night.

To avoid Shang Yiming, that “24-carat idiot,” as Le Quan called him, she suggested they both silence their phones.

Liang Jinshang tossed her phone to Le Quan, letting her do as she pleased, then downed another glass.

Seeing the way she was drinking tonight, Le Quan grew a little concerned and tried to stop her. “Hey, you have five missed calls from someone named Shang. Who is that?”

Liang Jinshang shoved the phone aside. “Forget the calls. Nan Yi, tonight all I want is to get drunk. Drink with me!”

“Nan Yi?” Le Quan was puzzled. “Who’s Nan Yi? You really are a heartbreaker.”