Chapter 69: Ultimate Negotiation With Him
Liancheng had slept for less than half an hour. In a semi-conscious state, she perceived someone approaching.
The air was filled with a calm and aloof scent: sage, Virginia cedarwood, ebony wood. These are the base notes of all men’s colognes, and they were particularly piercing on him.
A scent of beastly scum.
Liancheng feigned sleep and turned over, her back to him.
“Get up and eat.”
Liancheng remained motionless.
The man repeated, “Aunt Wang said you didn’t eat dinner.”
Liancheng still kept her eyes closed.
Liang Chaosu threw off the quilt, pinched her waist, and pulled her up. Liancheng was startled, “What are you doing?”
Liang Chaosu carried her to the dining room, “Eat.”
“I don’t have an appetite.”
“You said it yourself, whatever you want to do to me, you will do. I want you to eat.” Liang Chaosu sat down by the dining table and, while still holding her, scooped a spoonful of chicken soup, “Drink this.”
Liancheng was dazed for a moment. “Adults’ words don’t need to be taken too seriously.”
As soon as she spoke, the rich, fishy smell of the black chicken soup’s oiliness hit her throat, making her stomach churn. She reflexively gagged, but thankfully there was nothing in her stomach to vomit. Her reaction didn’t seem obvious.
But at such close proximity, how could Liang Chaosu not perceive it?
“You want to vomit?”
These three words, usually a statement, at most a concern, but at this moment, Liancheng was genuinely guilty. The counter-question startled her, making her blood run cold and her legs weak.
“I have stomach spasms.” Liancheng turned her face away, “I told you I don’t have the mood to eat.”
Liang Chaosu looked down at her, remaining silent.
The nanny’s room door opened, and Aunt Wang, in her robe, came out from the other side of the kitchen. She paused for a moment seeing their posture and then walked over to take the chicken soup, “This soup is not fresh anymore. It gets fishy after a while. Miss Liancheng has a cold stomach and will feel uncomfortable.”
“Cold stomach?” Liang Chaosu frowned and looked at Liancheng, “How come I don’t know about this?”
Liancheng forced a weak smile, “It’s a minor ailment, no need for everyone to know.”
Liang Chaosu’s chest visibly puffed up, and his face was covered in frost.
Liancheng clearly saw the aggression cracking in his eyes, suppressed for a moment, and then erupting even more in the next.
She gritted her teeth, annoyed by his unpredictable moods, “It’s not a cold stomach, it’s my anger—caused by intense emotions.”
The storm in Liang Chaosu’s eyes intensified. From corn, fear of the dark, to not taking adult words seriously. The fire that had been accumulating in his blood finally turned into lava at this moment, bursting and erupting.
“You’re acting again. Privately, you call me paranoid, you pester me over every little thing, but the fact is, you are hypocritical, a master of lies. For four years, you’ve been acting flawlessly in your daily life.”
Aunt Wang trembled all over, so stunned that her pupils quivered.
Four years… so early…
But before she could ponder further, Liang Chaosu cupped Liancheng’s chin. His grip was strong, puckering her lips, “Are you tired? Have you ever been sincere?”
Liancheng had become very slender these past few years, with a small frame. Under Liang Chaosu’s tall and imposing physique, she was delicate and soft, as if she might break at any second.
Aunt Wang rushed forward and grabbed his arm, “Miss Liancheng is not lying to you, it’s just my old memory that’s mistaken.”
Seizing the opportunity, Liancheng pried his hand off and scrambled down his lap, “Aunt Wang, you go back to sleep.”
Aunt Wang hesitated, unwilling to leave, but Liancheng unequivocally escorted her back to her room.
“He wasn’t like this before. He’s always been cold, but he’s never laid a hand on a woman.” Aunt Wang was anxious and worried, “Liancheng, what if he hurts you again later?”
Liancheng’s expression was steady, “Don’t worry, I have experience dealing with him.”
Ever since Liang Chaosu had become a lunatic, her mental resilience had grown daily, and she had recovered her composure by now.
Liancheng closed the door for Aunt Wang and returned to the dining room.
Outside the dining room window were the blurry neon lights of the street and tall buildings. In the deep, dark night, the hazy lights intertwined. Some people were enjoying family dinners, while others were desperately trying to secure a tomorrow.
Liancheng stood on the other side of the dining table, her back turned. “Let’s talk.”
The man’s face was submerged in the shadow cast by the light, “Talk about what?”
Liancheng leaned on the edge of the table, “You’re going to such great lengths now, all for the sake of getting me married, right?”
Liang Chaosu’s eyes were gloomy.
Liancheng said coldly, “I will follow your arrangements, but emotionally I have no intention of getting married, and—” she paused, then added with a hint of panic, “I can’t let go of my parents. Your current pressure and pursuit will only make me afraid and terrified. I need time.”
“What do you mean?”
Liancheng locked onto his face, “I can’t escape, and I won’t. If you’re really not at ease, you can arrange bodyguards to watch the door. The Gu family is very busy, and your energy and time should be focused on that.”
“You want me to leave?”
Liancheng, “I am asking, formally consulting with you.”
“Am I making you very uncomfortable?”
Liancheng didn’t understand why he asked again, but she was taking the honest route now and didn’t need to say anything against her will. “Yes.”
“Where am I making you uncomfortable?”
Liancheng judged his expression; this state and atmosphere were the first time they had experienced this in four years.
He seemed to genuinely dislike her pretense and appeasement. In the past, even with all her sweet words, he was bone-chillingly grim. Now, with her outright rejection, he was conversely more stable emotionally.
Liancheng had a realization: Liang Chaosu detested her to the extreme. The more she cautiously tried to please him, the more she clung to him like a stubborn stain, impossible to remove.
If only she had known, if only she had known…
Let that scoundrel buy watermelons and get lost, crawl away. Why did she have to force herself to be a sycophant every day, eating shit for nothing?
“I’ve already said, I’m afraid of you.” Liancheng guessed his thoughts and adjusted her attitude, “You are too cunning and shrewd; I can’t deceive you. It’s like a thief and the police. A thief would rather go to jail than be interrogated and scrutinized by the police in an interrogation room every day.”
The man remained motionless, gazing at her for a moment, then suddenly stood up and grabbed her, “You just don’t like being suspected?”
Liancheng disliked many things about him, but honesty wasn’t meant to be revealed all at once. One truthful statement was sincerity, but revealing all truths was like digging up a grave.
“Do you like it?” Liancheng avoided answering. “Before, when Madam Liang and your sister suspected you, did you like it?”
Liang Chaosu looked at her confrontational demeanor. He detested her lies, but the truth, like lies, was not pleasant to hear.
“If you can’t drink the chicken soup, there’s some chestnut cake.” He paused and added, “From Heji.”
Liancheng was startled, “Which Heji?”
“On Ring Road, Huimin Street.” Liang Chaosu’s face was calm, as if the day’s conflict was past. “The one you went to buy last time you took leave.”
Liancheng choked, staring at his eyebrows and eyes. She couldn’t tell if this was a new round of intimidation or a probe.
That day, she first asked the owner to make the pastry, and while waiting in line, she went to a black clinic for her prenatal check-up. They were separated by a street. Was it him investigating Shen Lichuan’s people and finding something?
Liancheng maintained her newly established “truthful” persona, “I don’t eat fattening sugar-oil mixes at night.”
“Eat.” Liang Chaosu opened the box. “If you gain weight, someone will want you.”
Liancheng, for a moment, looked at the sweet pastries as if they were coated in poison, a lump in her throat, and extremely nauseating.
………………
The next day after breakfast, Father Liang accompanied Mother Liang in the garden, pruning branches.
“Feifei called, saying Africa is too hot. Even the environment of a five-star hotel can’t compare to international chain IKEA, and she wants to come back.”
Father Liang dismissed it, “Then let her come back. It’s already difficult for Lichuan to start a business. Feifei is pregnant and will only distract him.”
Mother Liang’s flower-arranging action froze. Looking at Father Liang’s calm demeanor, she could only laugh and cry, “Do all you men who have weathered the storms of the business world become so smart, experienced, and able to handle everything with ease?”
This praise was rare from Mother Liang. Father Liang put down his shears, “What do you mean?”
