Chapter 63: The Werewolf Brother

Le Quan had seen Liang Jinshang lose her temper and get physical, had seen her dress provocatively and head to bars, and had even witnessed her return at dawn, bearing all the signs of a wild night without a trace of embarrassment. She knew Liang Jinshang was nothing like the well-behaved girl she appeared to be. Yet, time and again, she found herself bewitched by that gentle, innocent facade, only to have her perceptions upended once more.

Take tonight, for instance: Le Quan watched Liang Jinshang down strong liquor after liquor, yet still sit upright, bobbing her head in time to the live singer’s old love ballad. Le Quan cradled her own glass, in awe. After all, with that much alcohol, even a bull would have gone down by now.

“Jinjin, should we go?” Le Quan ventured tentatively.

Liang Jinshang shook her bottle, refusing to leave. “This must be fake. How am I not drunk after all this?”

Her pupils were blown wide—how could she claim sobriety?

Le Quan was at her wits’ end trying to coax her friend—she was never the patient type to begin with. Just then, Liang Jinshang’s phone lit up. It was a message from Shang: [This is what you call coming home early after work?]

Le Quan’s eyes brightened. That tone, that attitude—who else could it be but a boyfriend? She’d always been curious about the “wolfman” from that night in the rustic town, but Liang Jinshang never spilled a word. Now, the opportunity had fallen right into her hands.

She picked up the phone, flashed it in front of Liang Jinshang, unlocked it, and opened the chat with Shang. Unlike most girls who’d love to print out their chats with their boyfriends, Liang Jinshang was a rare breed—she’d wiped everything clean, except for the latest reproachful message.

Le Quan pressed the voice button and sent, “Wolfman, your wife’s drunk. Please come pick her up.” She followed with the bar’s location.

She waited eagerly for a response, but to her shock, the other party immediately retracted the message: “This is what you call coming home early after work?” No matter what else she sent, there was no further reply.

Meanwhile, Liang Jinshang was still clinging to her, calling her “Nanyi, Nanyi”… Le Quan could only sigh, “Liang Jinshang, a heartbreaker like you will always meet your match!”

Resigned, she hauled Liang Jinshang up to leave. Luckily, she was tall enough for the task, but she still had to keep a tight grip on Jinshang’s flailing limbs, which was exhausting.

As they passed through several booths, someone called out, “Hey, Jingyu, is that your girlfriend? Didn’t you say she couldn’t make it tonight?”

Le Quan looked up to see a group of not-quite-strangers. They ran in the same circles, but Le Quan, proud and awkward about her background, rarely joined them. The only one she’d ever warmed to was Chao Jingyu—then again, few people ever disliked him.

Chao Jingyu had already risen and come over, naturally taking Liang Jinshang from Le Quan’s arms and greeting her. Le Quan was baffled, “Wait, you and Liang Jinshang…”

With so many witnesses—those who’d “seen it all” at the stables, even if Bu Qingqing wasn’t present—Chao Jingyu didn’t back down. He simply told Le Quan, “She’s my girlfriend.”

“What?!” Le Quan blurted, “How is that possible?!”

Chao Jingyu raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Do I look unworthy of her?”

He was the epitome of a well-mannered man; even when doubted, he’d only ever suggest he wasn’t good enough.

“No, no…” Le Quan pushed past the outermost person and sat down, needing a break.

She needed to clear her head. First, Chao Jingyu couldn’t be the “Shang” from WeChat—such conduct was beneath him. Second, he couldn’t have been the “wolfman” from that night in the rustic town; there was no way he’d been there. Third, whether “Shang” and “wolfman” were the same or not, one thing was certain: Chao Jingyu was being two-timed.

A wave of inexplicable gloom washed over her. She pinched Liang Jinshang’s cheeks and pulled hard, trying to wake her up and get some answers.

She herself was the product of her father’s infidelity, and she despised disloyalty above all else. But how could Liang Jinshang be that kind of person?

Liang Jinshang leaned into Chao Jingyu’s arms, whimpering in pain, and he had to rescue her from Le Quan’s grasp.

He looked at Le Quan, half amused. “Why are you pinching her?”

Le Quan just stared at him.

Chao Jingyu couldn’t help but laugh, “You look at me as if you’re giving me last rites.”

Le Quan sighed. “Chao Jingyu.”

He dabbed Liang Jinshang’s face with a cold towel, pausing to answer, “Hmm?”

Watching him tend to her so tenderly and carefully, Le Quan’s throat constricted. “You’re a good man.”

Chao Jingyu froze, at a loss as to how he’d just been handed the “nice guy” card.

“Le Quan’s drunk. Can someone see her home later?” he called.

The second miss of the Le family was notoriously hard to please; now, with a rare chance to show off, several people competed to escort her.

Someone once said the most striking looks often leaned androgynous. Le Quan’s sharp, sculpted features radiated a refreshing masculinity in her youth, making her the object of many girls’ first crushes. Now, as she grew older, her allure had shifted—less to girls, more to men.

“I’ll walk myself,” Le Quan insisted, never one to blend in. “Do I look drunk to you?”

Then she called to Chao Jingyu, “I’ll help you take Liang Jinshang home.”

She excused herself to the restroom, while Chao Jingyu supported the drunken Liang Jinshang outside. She was badly intoxicated, stumbling every other step, so Chao Jingyu finally just picked her up.

Liang Jinshang, half-conscious, sensed she was being carried. The arms belonged to a man—not Le Quan. Some instinct made her force her eyes open. “Dr. Chao?”

Chao Jingyu’s steps were steady. “Yes, it’s me.”

They crossed the bustling dance floor. Chao Jingyu bent his head and asked, “Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

It wouldn’t do to be caught out when Le Quan returned and he didn’t even know where she lived.

Liang Jinshang whispered, “Dr. Chao… can you take me to Liang Xizhou’s hospital room?”

At this hour, the inpatient ward was locked, and she was so drunk she’d disturb other patients.

Chao Jingyu gently persuaded her to go home first.

Liang Jinshang was silent for a long while before she said softly, “I don’t know where to go… I don’t have a home.”

In the midst of all the noise and revelry, Chao Jingyu heard a loneliness he’d never encountered before.

They say that only when drunk does a person’s heart feel truly empty. But he thought the hollowness in Liang Jinshang’s chest wasn’t caused by alcohol—it was something deeper, as if the wind blew straight through her soul.

“But you must have somewhere to stay. Where do you live?”

Liang Jinshang couldn’t bring herself to say she was staying at Shang Yucheng’s place. Nor could she see that, just meters away, Shang Yucheng’s car was waiting.