Chapter 192: The Weaver Girl Recovers Her Feathered Clothes
Liang Chaosu slowly looked up. He had a dark complexion, thick hair, and dense, jet-black eyebrows and eyelashes. The shadows they cast were deep, making him appear different from usual, cold and solemn.
Bai Xiwen’s heart skipped a beat. She sat in place, her hands clenching reflexively.
Liang Chaosu signed the specially approved note and dialed the internal extension, ordering Zhou Dazhi to come in.
Bai Xiwen was caught off guard. She stood up somewhat awkwardly, “Director Liang, I—”
Liang Chaosu raised his hand to stop her, his expression indifferent and his aura heavy. “Rumors are flying in our circle. President Bai knows a lot, yet seems to have no grasp of the situation. Can you dare to use the kind of lies that Lian Cheng spews out, attempting to fool and flatter, on me?”
Bai Xiwen certainly dared not. Let alone fooling Liang Chaosu and using him to flatter others, even mere deception was something she feared and was hesitant about.
Speculation in the social circle varied wildly. On the surface, Liang Chaosu was ambitious, but Lian Cheng was uninterested. In reality, it was an internal struggle between the Liang father and son. Years ago, Father Liang made the first move, striving to bring Liang Chaosu down. After the New Year, the father and son went to Iceland. Liang Chaosu took a blow but emerged victorious, while Father Liang went traveling globally.
The process was unclear, but the speculation about Lian Cheng was not merely a pastime; it was like a bargaining chip. Moreover, after Liang Chaosu returned to the country, Lian Cheng did not live with the Liang family. Based on this, Lian Cheng’s status was even lower.
Bai Xiwen took a deep breath. The mistake was here; her subconscious underestimation of Lian Cheng made Liang Chaosu feel offended.
In other words, Liang Chaosu viewed Lian Cheng as being of equal status to himself.
Zhou Dazhi escorted Bai Xiwen out. He stopped at the elevator entrance. Bai Xiwen entered the elevator, and as the doors were closing, she raised her hand to stop them.
“Secretary Zhou, will Miss Lian Cheng be Mrs. Liang?”
Zhou Dazhi thought he had misheard. His gaze at Bai Xiwen was peculiar and absurd. “President Bai, you’re asking me this?”
Bai Xiwen regained her senses. Asking the personal secretary about gossip, she apologized.
The elevator doors closed. She took out her phone, and social media apps pushed breaking news.
“Liang Corporation Chairman issued a statement: ‘Siblings relationship, not together.'”
Bai Xiwen was stunned. Liang Chaosu’s clear stance undoubtedly intended to reveal to the outside world that he felt differently about Lian Cheng, followed immediately by a statement clarifying their relationship.
She truly didn’t understand.
……………………
At four o’clock, Lian Cheng came downstairs on time.
Liang Chaosu’s car was easy to recognize: a pure black Rolls-Royce. If one couldn’t distinguish it among luxury cars, there was also the conspicuous license plate, Nan A05050.
Lian Cheng couldn’t recall when he had changed this license plate, but she had previously speculated about its meaning.
Liang Wenfei returned to the Liang family in early May. If Liang Chaosu’s license plate was a date, it would be to commemorate the return of his biological sister.
It was true that Liang Wenfei’s return to the country was fraught with fear and apprehension. However, Liang Chaosu’s indifference towards her was stark. Changing the license plate four years ago and displaying it daily made Lian Cheng increasingly feel he was utterly hypocritical.
Zhang An walked around the rear of the car and opened the rear door for her, then took her luggage. “Miss Lian Cheng, did you bring hiking boots? Qingxi Valley has treacherous mountain terrain and narrow, difficult paths. The sports shoes you’re wearing have soles that are too thin; they’ll hurt your feet.”
Lian Cheng glanced at the back seat. Documents were piled on the center armrest. Liang Chaosu was sitting on the other side, wearing rimless glasses, a white shirt, and black trousers, exuding the precious and refined demeanor of someone in a superior position.
Lian Cheng turned to the co-pilot’s seat and replied to Zhang An, “Thank you for your reminder. I’ve been to Qingxi Valley before.”
Liang Chaosu went to Qingxi Valley two years ago to discuss a project, and Zhang An was the driver. Of course, he knew Lian Cheng had been there.
He held the co-pilot’s car door open. “We’ll be getting on the highway soon. The co-pilot seat is the most dangerous; you should sit in the back.”
Lian Cheng frowned. The next second, Zhang An casually placed the luggage on the co-pilot’s seat and fastened the seatbelt. “The trunk is full; your luggage fits perfectly here.”
Lian Cheng looked back at Liang Chaosu. He looked up from his documents, his glasses reflecting the light, making it impossible to see the expression in his eyes.
“Sit in the back.” His voice was tired, steady, hoarse, and certain. “The statement has been issued; I will not cross any boundaries with you.”
Lian Cheng smiled. “I saw it, brother.” She took a key from her pocket. “I was just about to tell you, I have a car.”
Liang Chaosu was silent for a second. He took off his glasses and rubbed the faint red marks on his nose bridge. “There are many winding roads in the mountains; don’t risk your life with your driving skills.”
Lian Cheng’s smile became a little more sarcastic. “The co-pilot seat isn’t safe, driving isn’t safe, only by brother’s side is safe, right?”
The four o’clock afternoon sun was strong, shining through the car window glass onto Liang Chaosu, a mass of warm yellow light and shadow, half illuminated, half obscured.
“Zhang An.”
The man’s chest expanded, his breathing becoming rapid with the rise and fall.
After a long while, he hoarsely instructed, “Put the luggage in the back seat.”
Lian Cheng helped Zhang An close the car door and sat in the co-pilot’s seat.
She had a pretty good idea of her own driving skills. Driving at 20 kilometers per hour on an Icelandic snowy night had still made her heart pound with fear all night.
Qingxi Valley had eighteen winding mountain turns. Her driving would be a burden and a risk to the general public.
However, she just didn’t want to sit next to Liang Chaosu.
The car drove out of the residential community.
Lian Cheng received a call from Bai Ying.
“Have you departed for Qingxi Valley?”
Lian Cheng hummed in affirmation.
“Then you’re really not going to investigate your biological parents? If you don’t want to give Liang Chaosu leverage, you can let me and Shen Lichuan help.”
“Bai Ying,” Lian Cheng reminded her, “I’m in his car.”
Bai Ying was typing rapidly, her noisy voice not paying attention. “I understand you’re afraid of implicating me and Shen Lichuan, but you met Feng Shien at the high-speed train station today. You saved his number, are you planning to have him investigate?”
Lian Cheng hung up the phone, tapped on the message, and poked Bai Ying.
The car’s interior space was limited, and the doors and windows were closed. Liang Chaosu could hear everything clearly.
Lian Cheng knew he could hear, so she couldn’t help but poke him with disappointment, “I told you, I’m not good at driving on mountain roads. I’m taking his car on a business trip.”
Bai Ying sent a barrage of apologies, pleas, and crying cat emojis, finally defending herself.
“Did Feng Shien ask about your background? You guys aren’t discreet. The Gao family’s sisters were coincidentally out traveling. Even if I don’t leak it, Liang Chaosu, with his thousand-mile ears, will know before tonight.”
Lian Cheng looked up at the rearview mirror and met Liang Chaosu’s eyes. They were dark, deep, like a lonely, cold sea.
She remained unmoved and lowered her head to continue replying to the message. “If he knows, he knows.”
Liang Chaosu was currently anxious to make her soften. No matter how angry he was, he wouldn’t threaten or intimidate her as before, nor would he make a move against Feng Shien.
Bai Ying’s messages flooded in, instantly overwhelming her reply.
“I think Feng Shien has a point.”
“Don’t assume it’s impossible just because the police investigated. The Liang family is a nest of vipers.”
“If your background is related to the overseas Chinese couple, it’s foreign capital. The Liang family has treated you too poorly; they’re guilty and are concealing it. They definitely wouldn’t dare tell you.”
“Lian Cheng, I asked my dad. He said that whatever ideas you have now are still following Liang Chaosu’s lead.”
“He can turn hostile whenever he wants; you have no guarantee.”
“If your background truly is related to the overseas Chinese couple, have you considered that perhaps if you find them, you won’t be giving Liang Chaosu leverage, but gaining the ability to leave him completely?”
“So that he can never grasp you again in this lifetime? Completely lose the possibility of possessing you.”
Bai Ying, excited, enthusiastically envisioned, “Given his madness when he wielded a knife and made you stab him, he’d gladly go to prison as long as you could forgive him.”
“After he gets out, I don’t think he’ll give up easily. But if your biological parents are the overseas Chinese couple, it’s different.”
“It’s like the Weaver Girl finding her feathered robe and returning to the heavenly palace. Liang Chaosu, that mad dog, can only bark at the sky on the ground his entire life, crying until his eyes are blind, unable to touch you in the slightest.”
