Chapter 13 Will You Still Believe Me...?
Jiang Nuanyu instinctively tried to break free from Jing Yao, but his hand gripped hers tightly like an iron clamp, and she couldn't move an inch.
"Lan Xin said you arrived early, but I haven't seen you around."
Behind the sofa, Jingmai leaned against the balcony railing and raised the wine glass in his hand towards Jingyao.
Jingyao stared at Liang Qi for two seconds before looking at Jing Mai and saying, "Oh, he was with a friend just now."
Jing Mai's gaze naturally fell on Jiang Nuanyu, a polite smile on his face, and he asked, "And who is this?"
As Jing Mai spoke, Liang Qi also turned to look over. Jiang Nuanyu looked back at him with a helpless expression, but his expression was calm and indifferent, as if he did not recognize her at all.
“My friend who came with me is Jiang Nuanyu,” Jing Yao said. “This is my older brother, Jing Mai.”
Jingyao then looked at Liang Qi: "This guy sitting here... is my cousin." He smiled, "But he's a rather aloof person. You see, he didn't even greet you. Maybe... he's not curious at all?"
Liang Qi smiled faintly, but didn't reply.
Jiang Nuanyu felt her heart suddenly tighten, almost making it hard for her to breathe; she couldn't look at him anymore, lowered her head, and her mind was in chaos.
Jing Mai was used to Jing Yao's casual and flippant tone, so he took the initiative to start the conversation and said with a smile, "Miss Jiang, right?" He pointed to the sofa and said, "Don't be shy, have a seat."
Jingyao pulled her down to sit and finally let go of her hand.
Jiang Nuanyu sat in the outermost seat and glanced at Liang Qi diagonally opposite her. He wasn't looking at her.
Her hands ached from being gripped so tightly. She lowered her head, feeling inexplicably humiliated and bewildered because she hadn't yet understood what was happening.
A burst of laughter came from the entrance to the terrace; it was Song Lanxin coming over arm in arm with Zhou Manling.
Zhou Manling, dressed in a wine-red backless dress, smiled and lifted the hem of her dress, jogging a few steps toward Jing Mai.
Song Lanxin, who was left alone, scolded from behind, "Sister-in-law Manling, you value romance over friendship!"
Zhou Manling loosely hugged Jing Mai's waist, turned around and winked at Song Lanxin, admitting her "accusation".
Jing Mai naturally pulled the person in his arms into his embrace. Seeing Song Lanxin glaring at them both angrily, he laughed and said, "This is my wife. You're jealous of me? You must be a jealous person."
Song Lanxin scoffed, "But she's still my sister-in-law! Why can't I be jealous of you?"
She turned her head and saw Jingyao and Jiang Nuanyu sitting on the same sofa, and became even angrier: "Fine, so you're all like this! Always in pairs."
Jiang Nuanyu opened her mouth, at a loss for words, wanting to explain but unable to find the words, and unsure whether the people here would care about her identity.
Everyone assumed that she and Jingyao were bound together, and that seemed to be the only reason she needed to be present.
She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent.
Song Lanxin went straight to Liang Qi and sat down next to him, affectionately taking his arm: "Luckily, I still have Liang Qi." She looked up, "Right? Brother Liang Qi."
Liang Qi smiled faintly, neither responding to her teasing nor refuting it, and of course, he didn't push her away.
Song Lanxin's father was one of Jing Chengming's most trusted deputies. She was young when her parents passed away unexpectedly, so Jing Chengming raised her as his own granddaughter. She already had a very close relationship with several of Jing's grandchildren.
Jiang Nuanyu was unaware of these things.
She couldn't help but glance at the sofa next to her.
Song Lanxin leaned against Liang Qi, laughing and joking with the people next to her; Liang Qi's white casual shirt collar was slightly open, revealing a bit of skin on his chest, which appeared and disappeared as Song Lanxin moved.
Jiang Nuanyu lowered her head again and again, but the figure in her peripheral vision could never be driven away.
A waiter brought over a tray with a glass of champagne, but Jiang Nuanyu waved her hand and said, "No, thank you."
Hearing this, Jing Mai casually asked, "Miss Jiang doesn't drink alcohol?" Attending a party usually involves at least a glass of champagne. "Are you allergic to alcohol? Let me get you some non-alcoholic drinks. What would you like to drink?"
Jiang Nuanyu gave a weak and awkward laugh: "Thank you, but... no need."
Jingmai didn't speak for a moment, and the others around him also fell silent for a few seconds.
Jiang Nuanyu sensed that the atmosphere seemed to have become slightly awkward because of her refusal, but she was powerless to force herself to salvage the situation.
Jingyao glanced at her and said, "It's nothing, she's just not feeling well today."
Jiang Nuanyu closed her eyes, her heart torn apart, wanting to refute but utterly speechless.
"Oh, I see." Jing Mai nodded knowingly and said nothing more.
His initiative to take care of her wasn't out of any particular enthusiasm, but as the eldest brother, he felt he had to maintain proper etiquette in such situations.
As for Jingyao, he has never lacked women, but unless they are chosen by his family, they are destined not to stay by his side for long. Jingyao also knows his limits and never easily brings people to formal occasions.
It's just a birthday party today, so it doesn't really matter.
This was something that everyone present, except Jingmai, tacitly understood.
During this time, Song Lanxin and Zhou Manling occasionally exchanged a few words with Jiang Nuanyu, but those polite words, which were only for the sake of appearances, did not bring them closer together.
Jiang Nuanyu was well aware of her own limitations, so she didn't care much. However, during the conversation, she learned about Liang Qi's relationship with the Jing family.
She knew that Liang Qi's identity was not simple, since he was able to occupy a core position in Tianqi, but she did not expect that he could almost be considered a member of the Jing family.
She felt like she knew him a little better, but she couldn't feel happy at all.
She was sitting not far from him, yet he seemed very distant.
It was even further back than when she first met him.
There were moments when she really wanted to disregard everything, ignore the occasion, abandon manners, and impulsively turn around and leave, even if it would create a public embarrassment and anger them all.
But she couldn't do it.
Staying means at least retaining a shred of dignity.
She had never felt time could pass so slowly and unbearably. A few more minutes, or maybe hours, passed, but she lost all sense of time and couldn't make out what had happened.
From initial shock, humiliation, anger, and resentment, she later seemed to be left with only numbness and powerlessness.
Song Lanxin was pulled to the balcony railing by several friends and took a selfie with her back to the swimming pool below.
Liang Qi's surroundings became quiet for a moment. He bent down to place the wine glass on the table, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Nuanyu, pausing for a brief moment.
She lowered her head, but her shoulders were straight. The curve of her hair covered half of her face, and her exposed chin was tightly clenched. When her gaze fell, her fingers on her leg were also tightly twisted.
She was very uncomfortable and uneasy, more tense than he had ever seen her at any moment.
Liang Qi slowly leaned back on the sofa, looked into the distance, and remained silent for a moment.
Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and looked away: "It's getting late."
Song Lanxin had sharp ears; upon hearing this, she turned her head, raising her eyebrows: "What? It's only this early and you're already thinking of leaving?"
Jing Mai and Zhou Manling, who were chatting and laughing quietly to the side, also looked up.
Liang Qi didn't respond to any of them, but turned to look at Jing Yao. He didn't say anything more, but his eyes inexplicably carried a strong force.
Jingyao met his gaze, and after a couple of seconds of eye contact, he suddenly smiled.
He slowly smiled, laughing to himself for a long time, as if he had finally felt genuine joy throughout the entire night.
However, Jiang Nuanyu's numb emotions seemed to have been torn open, and began to rise up quietly.
“It’s getting late,” Jingyao glanced at Jiang Nuanyu beside him, then looked at Liang Qi and said, “I have to take Nuanyu home first.”
Jingyao was going to take his female friend home, so it was not appropriate for the others to stay any longer.
Before leaving, Jiang Nuanyu intended to avoid Liang Qi, but after feeling his gaze, she couldn't help but look at him.
He slightly raised his head, his eyes as deep as still water. Though he showed no clear emotion, she felt an unbearable pressure.
She was embarrassed and ashamed, and hurriedly lowered her head, not looking in his direction again.
As Jiang Nuanyu walked from the villa to the parking lot, the pent-up frustration she had endured all night finally burst forth in her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
But Jingyao was still beside her.
She tried her best to hold back her tears until she got on the bus.
Jingyao fastened his seatbelt and was about to start the car.
Jiang Nuanyu asked in a low voice, "Why?"
Jingyao stopped what he was doing, stared ahead, and remained silent.
"Because of Liang Qi, is that right?"
Jiang Nuanyu turned to look at him, the parking lot lights reflecting off the wetness in her eyes through the glass.
Jingyao curled his lips slightly, not denying it.
Jiang Nuanyu gave a weak laugh and said, "You may be disappointed. There's nothing between him and me. Thanks to you," her voice choked uncontrollably, "there's no possibility of anything happening in the future."
Jingyao looked out the windshield and asked casually, "What, regretting coming with me?"
"Should I regret it?" Jiang Nuanyu retorted. "What good would it do to regret it?"
Jingyao tapped the steering wheel with his finger and said, "Then be happy."
Jiang Nuanyu laughed angrily, her brows furrowing deeply in disbelief: "You think... if you say these things a few more times, you can feel at ease and not bear the consequences of your actions, is that it?"
"Exploiting other people's feelings, trampling on their dignity, and treating their existence as a tool—do you think these are things that can be dismissed with a mere, flippant remark?"
Jingyao's smile faded slightly. He turned his head, as if to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.
She shook her head: "I don't know what you're trying to do, but none of this will work. You won't achieve your goal. Besides, you're really boring."
Jingyao listened, chuckled indifferently, but didn't look at her again.
Jiang Nuanyu blinked away the water vapor in her eyes and said coldly, "Take me to the door."
Jingyao remained silent.
A moment later, he started the engine.
As the car drove out of the gate and into a place where taxis could go, Jiang Nuanyu asked Jingyao to stop the car and called a taxi on her phone.
Jingyao didn't insist. After she hailed a taxi and left, she turned around and went back to the villa.
Seeing that he returned so soon after leaving, Song Lanxin asked in confusion, "Why didn't you take the girl home?"
Jingyao glanced at Liang Qi, leaned back on the sofa, and said, "She doesn't want me to take her."
"ah?"
Jingyao said meaningfully, "I probably upset her, so I took a taxi home by myself."
Song Lanxin wanted to ask a few more questions, but another friend pulled her downstairs to see the guest off.
Liang Qi and Jing Yao were left alone on the terrace for a moment.
There was also a wine bottle in front of Jingyao, but he stood up and slowly reached for the bottle in front of Liang Qi.
Liang Qi leaned back on the sofa, slightly raised his gaze, and then indifferently looked away.
How are you feeling?
Jingyao sat back down, poured himself a drink, frowned, and said, "I almost thought you really didn't care, but in the end you couldn't resist playing the hero?"
Liang Qi didn't speak, his fingertips gently swirling the half-glass of whiskey.
"The more indifferent you seem, the more it shows that you don't want others to criticize her for being caught between you and me."
Jingyao put down the wine bottle and said, "But that only proves that you're not as indifferent as you think. Hmm? Am I right?"
Liang Qi looked up at him, his gaze calm yet sharp.
"The feeling of being caught in a dilemma must be extremely uncomfortable, right?"
Jingyao chuckled dryly, his tone full of triumphant satisfaction, "It's good that you don't feel good. You stole my things, and I feel the same way. It's a tit-for-tat exchange, letting you experience it from time to time... It's quite interesting. I didn't work for nothing."
Liang Qi looked at him for a moment, then slightly curved the corners of his lips and replied casually, "Is that so?"
Jingyao's expression immediately changed.
Liang Qi looked at him coldly and said, "If you find it interesting, then continue."
He leaned down, loosened his grip, and the wine glass clattered gently back onto the coffee table.
“But Jingyao, throwing a tantrum won’t work. If you want what you want, fine, but prove you’re the one who deserves it more. I’m giving you that chance.” He paused. “Don’t use your methods on unrelated women.”
After saying that, he calmly stood up and started to leave.
Jing Yao raised his head and sneered, "President Liang, are you talking about qualifications at the Jing family's house?"
Liang Qi kept his eyes fixed ahead, ultimately ignoring his provocation, gave a silent laugh, and left.
Jingyao stared in the direction he left, his hand gripping the wine glass tightly.
A note from the author:
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