Chapter 19: Thought I Would Touch You
“I cannot give you any opinion on this matter,” Bai Ying said, squeezing Liancheng’s hand. “I can only advise you to think more and be cautious.”
Liancheng knew perfectly well what to be cautious about. It was just that the Goddess of Childbirth had only favored her once in this lifetime, and if she didn’t accept it, she wouldn’t even be able to touch the edge of a child in the latter half of her life.
Liancheng took a deep breath, exhaled, and then remembered the Head of Gynecology Department’s reminder at City First Hospital that the child might have problems.
A thousand threads of thought were constricting her, making it hard to breathe. “The gears of my fate haven’t turned at all, but the chain of my life is about to fall off completely.”
The words were melancholic, and Bai Ying couldn’t bring herself to smile, trying to comfort her.
Since childhood, they, the second-generation young ladies, had a small social circle. In this circle, most were like Liang Wenfei, arrogant about their background and with fiery tempers, while the remaining minority belonged to the powerful woman faction.
Bai Ying had moved in both circles. Four years ago, when Liancheng’s background was exposed, both factions looked down on Liancheng and excluded her. Bai Ying felt bored,
It happened that she was studying medicine and going abroad at the time, and she was tormented by textbooks on internal medicine, surgery, and cell anatomy, as well as by the inhumane academic bullies of foreign advisors, to the point of a nervous breakdown. She was rescued entirely by Liancheng’s long-distance calls and witty remarks.
Bai Ying repeated the line she remembered most clearly: “Heaven gave birth to me, my talent must be useful; hardships are all experiences; through a thousand trials and tribulations, vast oceans and boundless skies await.”
“That’s for you,” Liancheng said listlessly. “Heaven gave birth to me, my talent must be useful; I’d rather not use it if I don’t have to.”
Just as Bai Ying was about to reply, a voice cut in from not far away, cold and indifferent.
“Not use what?”
Liancheng’s breath hitched, and she almost immediately sprang up from Bai Ying.
Liang Chaosu stood about three meters away, holding a stack of reports. His outstanding build and aura made the bustling hall seem like a blurred background, highlighting his dashing spirit and his profound, unfathomable demeanor.
Liancheng walked up to him and vaguely said, “Nothing, we were just chatting.”
“Heaven gave birth to me, my talent must be useful; you’d rather not use it if you don’t have to?” Liang Chaosu looked down at her, staring at her expression. “Are you tired of working?”
Liancheng breathed a sigh of relief and mumbled in agreement, offering a perfunctory response.
Liang Chaosu was a difficult man to deceive or fool, but in some matters, he was old-fashioned.
He saw through current events and industry changes with sharp insight.
He was completely unaware of the trending buzzwords and sarcastic quips that young people used online.
Many times, when Liancheng made subtly cynical remarks about him, Liang Chaosu would earnestly accept them.
It wasn’t surprising to Liancheng that he had now misunderstood it as something work-related.
“Regretting it?”
He glanced at Bai Ying indifferently, didn’t even say hello, and turned to walk away.
Liancheng quickly waved goodbye to Bai Ying and jogged to catch up with him. “Regretting what? Regretting what?”
“Workplace intrigue, heavy workload for interns. If you had chosen to pursue graduate studies back then, you wouldn’t have had to endure these hardships.”
Liancheng pushed open the glass door and solicitously invited him to go first. “That’s not entirely true. I understand the principle of ‘hardship first, then sweetness’.”
Going to work is just serving the boss, and you can slack off. Pursuing graduate studies means serving the advisor, and in addition to Liang Chaosu, you can’t relax for a moment. Liancheng would have to be crazy to regret it.
Liang Chaosu paused, an almost imperceptible reaction that Liancheng didn’t notice.
He just looked expressionless and strode forward.
The Bai Family Hospital occupied a large area, and a vast open-air parking lot had been ostentatiously sectioned off to the northwest of the main building.
Liang Chaosu’s car was near the green shrubbery; Liang’s father’s car had already driven away.
“Why didn’t Mom and Dad wait—”
“Wait for what,” Liang Chaosu pulled open the driver’s side door. “For you?”
Liancheng’s expression froze, and she silently sat in the back seat.
Liang Chaosu said impatiently, “Get in the front.”
His subtle displeasure from before was now unconcealed, causing the air in the car to become heavy and silent.
Liancheng got into the co-pilot’s seat and proactively explained, “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful just now, I didn’t mean to treat you like a driver.”
Liang Chaosu suddenly reached out.
Liancheng startled and leaned against the car door, the seatbelt tightening, cinching her chest and accentuating her curves.
Liang Chaosu’s fingertips moved to just below her eyes.
Liancheng raised her hand to block him, but the back of his hand brushed hers and landed on the lock of the co-pilot’s storage compartment. With a gentle push, it clicked open.
Liancheng watched as he stuffed the stack of reports inside, then withdrew his hand, not glancing at her once the entire time.
It made it seem as if she had overreacted and was being overly sensitive.
“Thought I was going to touch you?” he raised an eyebrow at her, his tone not good. “Don’t want me to touch you?”
Liancheng pretended not to hear his sarcasm, answering half-truthfully, half-falsely, “It’s broad daylight, and there are many people at the hospital. I was afraid of being discovered, so I reacted a bit strongly. I didn’t mean what you’re thinking.”
“Lying,” Liang Chaosu locked the car door, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Am I easy to fool?”
Liancheng decisively shook her head. “You are wise and mighty.”
Liang Chaosu was caught off guard by this answer. His stern expression cracked for a moment before he composed himself. “You’re lying to me with this sentence too.”
Liancheng was exasperated and raised her hand to swear, “You are wise and mighty, unfathomable, invincible, and may you live for ten thousand years.”
Liang Chaosu was silent for a second. “Your usual trick, a mix of truth and falsehood, making the fake seem real.”
His summary was spot-on, and Liancheng broke out in a cold sweat.
He mentioned her usual trick; did he discover it long ago?
How long ago?
Or did he just discover it and was testing her?
Sensing her intention to deny it, Liang Chaosu let out a hum from his throat. “Like this sentence, ‘wise and mighty, may you live for ten thousand years’ is false, but ‘unfathomable’ and ‘invincible’ are true.”
“It’s all true,” Liancheng insisted stubbornly.
“It’s all false,” Liang Chaosu released the steering wheel, his expression focused and deep. “This time it’s false, and not seeing Shen Lichuan last night is also false.”
Liancheng’s face drained of color. If she still hadn’t understood why Liang Chaosu had been inexplicably gloomy during her physical examination, she would be truly foolish. “Did you check the surveillance cameras?”
She didn’t offer even a token protest, which made Liang Chaosu’s face even more grim.
“I didn’t check this time.”
Liancheng didn’t believe him. If he hadn’t checked the surveillance cameras, how could he have discovered she was lying?
It was also her forgetfulness. When had Liang Chaosu ever trusted her? Every time, he would first threaten her, watch her rack her brains and use all thirty-six stratagems, listen to her earnest words, amuse himself enough, and then, turning around, he would investigate for solid evidence, missing none.
Filled with annoyance, she remained silent.
Liang Chaosu looked at her, his eyes deep as if he had bored a hole into her, penetrating her thoughts. “When have I ever wronged you by checking? It’s because you lie like a seasoned pro that I don’t trust you; you have brought this upon yourself.”
Liancheng clenched her fists, taking one breath after another, yet still unable to alleviate the suffocating feeling in her heart.
Why did she lie? Was it because she wanted to? Did she like it? Did she have any other choice?
She told the truth that it had nothing to do with Shen Lichuan, but no one believed her. She wanted to end their relationship and leave the Liang family, but Liang Chaosu held onto her identification documents and punished her severely every time he discovered something.
She had tried countless methods of resistance, only to find that as long as Liang Chaosu didn’t agree to end it, she had to obey and be submissive, serving him like a bonded servant, flattering him, and surrendering to him wholeheartedly.
