Chapter 94: A Great Woman’s Ambition Lies Far Away; Leaving Without A Word
In a daze, Liancheng saw a face with heavy brows, a hint of fatigue. Through a crack in the curtain, sporadic moonlight seeped in, softly falling on his shoulder.
She startled, all sleepiness vanishing, and pulled the quilt around herself, sitting up.
“How did you get in?”
Liang Chaosu hadn’t expected her to wake up so suddenly. Seeing how terrified she was, he turned on the bedside lamp. “Which room in the Liang family can I not enter?”
The bedside lamp cast a dim yellow light, not harsh. Liancheng saw his suit was still neatly on him, and her heart eased slightly. She still wrapped herself in the quilt, got up, and sat further away.
“It’s very late, do you need something?”
Liang Chaosu sat on the edge of the bed without moving, implicitly allowing her caution and maintaining what she considered a safe distance. “Feng Shien is no easy person. You are not allowed to see him again.”
Liancheng frowned. A clear breeze and bright moon, someone acting with integrity, is not easy to deal with, so who is?
Someone who breaks in uninvited in the middle of the night and sits at the head of someone’s bed, *that* is easy to deal with?
But she didn’t refute him. In another day, she would be leaving.
She certainly wouldn’t see him again in this lifetime. “I know.”
Liang Chaosu had been fed too many insincere, evasive answers. He stared at her for two seconds. “Really?”
Liancheng disliked lying, and even more so disliked being a liar. But in front of Liang Chaosu, with her safety hanging by a thread, she fabricated hundreds of lies every day. In the end, she had become the liar.
Towards a liar, Liang Chaosu naturally wouldn’t believe a word. Doubt and scrutiny filled his gaze.
“Really.”
Perhaps because she was leaving soon, Liancheng spoke two truthful sentences. “I don’t like blind dates, and I have no intention of developing anything with him.”
It’s not like she became weak at the sight of any man, her heart blooming with a single glance, her passion igniting with a few words, and falling uncontrollably in deep love after a short walk together.
Yearning endlessly, unable to live without seeing each other.
Liang Chaosu’s gaze was sharp and seasoned; he wouldn’t fail to perceive her sincerity.
Yet he remained silent for a long time.
Liancheng held her breath, feeling his gaze grow deeper and deeper, stirring extreme, conflicting obscurities. In the hazy, dim glow, they magnified infinitely, becoming an impenetrable net that enveloped her.
Suddenly, he reached out.
Liancheng recoiled, tripping over the quilt.
Liang Chaosu grabbed her ankle and dragged her closer. “Have you thought it through?”
Liancheng was stunned for a second, realizing what he was asking.
But how was she supposed to think it through?
To be driven out of the Liang family by him, housed in Jade Mansion, and then, for her devoted service, be gifted a child for security?
Especially at a time when he invited a distinguished young lady for a birthday blind date.
To think it through and become a mistress, an outside concubine?
She lowered her head. She knew she should brush it off, placate him, so that tomorrow they could both be well, and the day after, they would never see each other again.
But she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth or make a sound.
Liang Chaosu wasn’t angry as he usually was. He leaned down and gently pulled her into his embrace, accepting her, the thin, soft silk quilt, and holding her completely.
“You don’t have to answer,” Liang Chaosu lowered his head slightly, gazing at her at close range. “You asked me for a chance to breathe before; I’ll trust you one more time.”
Liancheng couldn’t help but look up, observing his expression.
But he was incredibly inscrutable. On the surface, she couldn’t tell if he was probing or being sincere. Therefore, Liancheng nodded vaguely, not saying anything rash.
Liang Chaosu chuckled at her bobbing head, like a little chick pecking at rice. The stress and unhappiness all over him unconsciously relaxed. “There’s a deadline.”
Liancheng’s nodding movement paused.
She knew it; Liang Chaosu wouldn’t easily let things go.
“Before Shen Lichuan’s wedding at the end of the month.”
Liancheng lowered her head, not making a sound.
Liang Chaosu took her silence as agreement and stood up to take off his clothes.
Liancheng hurriedly tried to stop him, but he scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom.
………………
The next day, when Liancheng woke up, Liang Chaosu was already gone.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Last night, she no longer had the excuse of her menstrual period. After her clear resistance, although he still forced the issue to resolve it.
However, this coercion was a compromise; they each took a step back, and it didn’t go all the way.
This morning, he left without a sound. Compared to before, when Mother Liang blocked him in her room, and even though she begged, he had his way and opened the door, exposing them.
Liancheng was very surprised that Liang Chaosu’s promise of a chance to breathe was actually true.
But she didn’t need it anymore.
For breakfast, Liancheng, as usual, did not eat at the Liang family’s home.
Mother Liang’s attitude had already indicated that the dagger was about to be drawn.
Liancheng only hoped that this dagger could be delayed until after tomorrow before it was revealed.
She packed a few clothes simply and took the pink jade butterfly hairpin that Father Liang had given her.
As she was leaving, she happened to run into Father Liang. He had just returned from his morning exercises, dressed in an ivory white tai chi uniform, his face ruddy, exuding a distinguished and composed aura, showing no signs of his sixty years.
The men of the Liang family, going back several generations, were all like this: handsome, tall, with bone structure more attractive than superficial looks. Even as they aged, they didn’t loosen up, possessing a natural talent for preserving their youth.
“Going to see Bai Ying so early?” Father Liang glanced at the hairpin on her head, his smile full of warmth. “Liancheng is a young lady now; you should wear more of this jewelry.”
A smile played on Liancheng’s lips. “Father’s kind intentions will certainly be embraced.”
Father Liang asked again, “How’s your conversation with that young man? Have you met?”
Liancheng replied, “We met yesterday.”
Father Liang’s eyebrows twitched imperceptibly. He didn’t press further and changed the subject. “Gu Xingyuan was in a car accident. They lost the baby, and his wife is still unconscious. The culprit in this matter is someone within the Gu family themselves. It’s very troublesome to handle, a real headache. You and Chaosu are not on good terms; don’t provoke his bad luck these days.”
Liancheng paused.
Father Liang appraised her leisurely, explaining gently, “Gu Xingyuan’s marriage was against all principles, and the Gu family had already prepared to deal with it, but Chaosu seized the opportunity to support him. However, that woman is different.”
What was different? It was just picking on the weak. The man’s faults were all blamed on the woman. They reaped the benefits, while the woman bore the consequences.
Liancheng’s expression was just right, showing a hint of sympathy, so that Father Liang couldn’t detect any flaws.
As she walked out of the main gate of the Liang house, her expression crumbled like falling bricks, tumbling down, shattered into pieces.
Father Liang wouldn’t tell her about Gu Xingyuan’s wife’s fate for no reason. He also pointed out that Liang Chaosu was very busy these days. She felt it was both a premonition and a warning.
A premonition that the truth would be revealed soon, and a warning not to be stubborn.
Liancheng was surprised for a moment. Father Liang didn’t seem to intend to deal with her directly once the evidence was found. Combined with his constant questioning about blind dates, it was as if he were hinting for her to have a change of heart and marry far away.
But this was just her own speculation. Father Liang’s scheming was too deep; his words were often ambiguous, making one feel they understood, only to willingly jump into a bottomless pit.
She first went to Bai Ying’s place to leave her luggage and had breakfast with Bai Ying at a street stall. They drank soy milk like wine, and the two heartily downed five or six cups. It was a farewell meal, and the bill was seventeen yuan and fifty cents.
Liancheng paid.
Bai Ying used this as an excuse to send all the money in her WeChat wallet to Liancheng as travel expenses and also gave her a card, not for Liancheng, but for her goddaughter’s milk powder money.
Liancheng refused to accept it, refusing to let her leave.
They haggled until past ten o’clock. Liancheng was supposed to go to Shenheng, but she suddenly received a message on her phone from Maitreya Buddha, inviting her into a group.
Clicking it, she saw the group name was 【Dad Liang Loves Me, Be Fierce】.
Liancheng choked. She wanted to leave the group.
The next second, videos flooded the group. She clicked on one.
Paper confetti sprayed, calligraphy was flamboyant, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were a colorful mess. In the middle flashed a cleaning lady, giving a death stare from the hallway entrance.
Maitreya Buddha stood in the center of the chaotic revelry, climbed onto the table, and directed someone to turn up the sound system. “Don’t stop, keep playing music, keep dancing…”
Liancheng: “……”
Maitreya Buddha used to complain that going to work was like going to a grave, but after earning money, Liancheng felt he was happier than a ghost.
The next second, someone even happier appeared.
Tai Duoduo grabbed Maitreya Buddha’s pants and climbed onto the table. “The contract bonus is two hundred thousand. Thank you, Liang Family, my father. Thank you, Young Madam Bai, my mother. I have enough for a down payment on a house; I finally have a home in Nan Province…”
“I’ve saved enough for the betrothal gifts—”
“My mother’s house in the countryside can be built—”
“I can go for treatment, I’m having a child—”
“……”
This last one could have been omitted.
Scrolling to the end, Maitreya Buddha @ed her. “Liancheng, your bonus has also been issued. If you have time, please condescend to come and work at this dreadful place.”
Liancheng didn’t reply.
Bai Ying fastened her seatbelt. “Are you still going to Shenheng?”
Liancheng shook her head. They had already thanked Dad Liang; it seemed Liang Chaosu’s disturbance hadn’t been taken to heart by them.
She looked at the Spring Cherry blossoms in the green belt outside the window, rapidly receding behind them, and suddenly smiled. “A strong woman has ambitions far and wide; farewells need not be announced. You sleep well tomorrow; you don’t need to see me off.”
