Chapter 24: Don’t Be Ungrateful
“Shen Lichuan,” the man behind him warned, “I’ll only tolerate your loose tongue this once. You and your Shen family shouldn’t push your luck.”
Shen Lichuan paused, his breathing becoming even rougher and faster. Glancing at the subtle expression on Liancheng’s lowered head, he took a deep breath and walked away.
Liancheng heard his footsteps descend the stairs and closed the door of the billiards room behind her.
Liang Chaosu still stood in place. The light only illuminated his sapphire blue suit, which was sharp, neat, and possessed an innate aura of dominance.
“Is something wrong?”
Liancheng’s left hand was behind her back. “Nothing.”
She had planned everything carefully, intending to use a Band-Aid to show a small gesture of concern for his injury, and then, if his attitude softened satisfactorily, to inquire about Mr. Bo.
But thinking and doing were two different things. She considered herself clear-headed, yet she still felt pain.
Liancheng turned and pulled the door open.
“Stop,” Liang Chaosu asked her, “What are you holding in your hand?”
Liancheng took a breath. “Nothing.”
“If there’s nothing, what are you hiding?” The voice from behind grew closer, and in an instant, a broad chest pressed against her. He raised her left hand. Liancheng immediately clasped it with her right, preventing him from seeing.
“Open it.”
“There’s nothing,” Liancheng turned her head away.
The billiards room doorway was unlit, dim and gloomy. Liancheng’s long hair was disheveled, appearing even darker and thicker in the gloom, making her profile extremely pale. Her jaw was delicate, as if she were a pale piece of paper, easily torn.
Liang Chaosu pursed his lips, his tone softening slightly. “Take it out yourself, and don’t make me say it a second time.”
His voice, rare among men, possessed both magnetism and depth. However, because he usually spoke little, mostly making decisions and resolving situations, his magnetic depth transformed into a resonant power, like the striking of metal and stone.
Even with his softened tone, Liancheng still feared him.
Her hand spasmed open, revealing two crumpled Band-Aids on her fair palm.
Liang Chaosu picked up the Band-Aids, spread them out, and smoothed them flat. The back of the adhesive tape was printed with rows of small, naive, and adorable ducklings in a light yellow.
His fingers, which had been cut by a carving knife, involuntarily twitched. “For me?”
Liancheng couldn’t help but retort, “I wouldn’t have obsessive delusions.”
The man’s face immediately darkened, and his voice turned cold. “So, you originally intended to use these Band-Aids to show concern for your brother?”
Not for Liang Chaosu.
Liancheng lowered her head, saying nothing.
Liang Chaosu’s fingers exerted pressure, crumpling the Band-Aids into a ball. He tossed them into the trash can from a distance. “From now on, if you’re giving something to your brother, don’t let me see it.”
Liancheng suddenly rushed over, and Liang Chaosu’s expression changed. “Stop.”
Liancheng ignored him, retrieved the Band-Aids from the trash can. The non-stick cloth on the back of the adhesive had come off, and the tape was stuck together, completely unfixable.
She clutched them tightly. “Pretend I never came this time.”
Liancheng opened the door, and the man grabbed her wrist.
Liancheng tried to shake him off, but as she moved, she was forcefully suppressed and pulled into an embrace.
“You did come,” Liang Chaosu pried open her fingers, retrieving the even more tightly balled-up Band-Aids. He forced her to look at them. “This is evidence that you heard my words and must remember them from now on.”
He raised his hand and tossed them, and the two Band-Aids fell back into the trash can.
Liancheng stared blankly, remembering…
In fact, she had remembered for a long time.
It was just that after more than a decade of feelings since childhood, letting go was like detoxing from a drug addiction. Without a brutal, life-and-death struggle, she was powerless to control it.
And today, her fleeting gesture of sending Band-Aids was met with his utter disgust and merciless crushing. This was his warning, indicating his extreme aversion to her.
A chasm finally opened in Liancheng’s heart. From now on, she would truly be able to move on.
“I know,” Liancheng pushed him away. “Can I go now?”
No refusal, no resistance, so obedient.
A smile gradually appeared on Liang Chaosu’s face. “Besides the Band-Aids, do you have anything else to say to me?”
Liancheng was startled and looked up at him. “You think I have something else to say?”
Her purpose had been cut short, and she hadn’t even managed to ask. Did he know from the moment she entered the room?
“Then do you?” Liang Chaosu let her look at him. As her gaze lingered for a few more moments, his voice inexplicably deepened.
“You were very good this time. I’ll grant you one request.”
Liancheng did not like this; instead, her scalp tingled.
Liang Chaosu enjoyed entrapment tactics. Liancheng, being naive before, saw the smile on his face and the softness in his eyes. When he asked if she wanted anything, Liancheng answered frankly: her identification documents.
The result was as expected. She had repeatedly tried to sneak out her documents and escape, but Liang Chaosu only used this one statement to confirm her persistent desire to flee, leading to a painful consequence.
During university exam season, she skipped classes for an entire week, spending her days and nights in his bed. Only when her advisor suspected her disappearance and contacted Mother Liang did Liang Chaosu let her off the hook.
“I have no requests.”
Liang Chaosu paused for a moment, appearing somewhat disappointed. He lifted her chin and gazed at her. “Feifei’s wedding date has been set for the ninth of the twelfth lunar month. Mother is giving her three percent of Liang Family shares as dowry, along with three manors in Nan Province and twenty-six properties. Countless gold, silver, and jade items are not included. You are the same age as her… Don’t you want anything?”
Liancheng observed his expression, quickly analyzing his intentions.
Laying out Liang Wenfei’s generous dowry was a hint that the Liang family attached great importance to the marriage, warning her not to cause trouble.
Mentioning they were the same age likely meant she should also be getting married. Liancheng remembered Mr. Bo’s one hundred million yuan. Such a massive investment would surely require a swift return.
But she was outwardly unaware of the hundred million. If she followed his lead and showed eagerness for marriage, Liang Chaosu, with his shrewdness, might detect a discrepancy.
Liancheng clenched her fists but couldn’t avoid responding. “I don’t want anything.”
With the topic having shifted, she had a sudden idea. “My health hasn’t fully recovered yet, so I’m not suitable for marriage. It’s best to wait until Mr. Bo can take a look.”
Liang Chaosu frowned tightly, and Liancheng’s heart sank. “What’s wrong?”
Liang Chaosu’s hand moved to her cheek. His palm was dry and warm. Calluses grazed her skin as he caressed it, a barely perceptible forbearance.
“Mr. Bo was in a car accident and cannot come for the time being.”
Liancheng’s innermost being trembled. She forced herself to maintain her composure. “How could this happen—When?”
“This morning on the way to the airport, there was a twelve-car pile-up on the cross-river bridge. His car was at the end. He is currently in a coma.”
Liancheng quickly adjusted her emotions, feigning concern and urgency. “Are there any other injuries? Did the doctor say when he would wake up?”
Liang Chaosu studied her. “You care about him a lot?” He paused, then answered himself, “You’ve always been so kind-hearted.”
Liancheng didn’t reply. She should have felt pity and sympathy for Mr. Bo’s car accident, but what filled her heart the most was joy, celebrating her narrow escape.
Liang Chaosu was about to say something else when a servant knocked from outside the door. “Eldest Young Master, Madam is calling you to the banquet.”
………………
Liancheng ate her meal in silence.
She showed no reaction to Liang Wenfei’s provocations during the meal and quickly went upstairs after it ended.
She had passed the most difficult hurdle, Mr. Bo, more unexpectedly than she could have imagined.
However, the Liang family was wealthy and powerful. If Liang Wenfei’s pregnancy preservation was important, and without Mr. Bo, there would be a Mr. Zhang, a Mr. Li…
It was possible that another one would appear tomorrow.
Liancheng wouldn’t always be so lucky. She needed to find a way to leave that wouldn’t involve her being caught midway or apprehended after she succeeded.
