Chapter 42 "Playing Hard to Get"...
Jiang Nuanyu followed Liang Qi to the car and found that there was no driver inside. Liang Qi had driven himself here today.
She walked to the passenger side and was about to open the car door to get in when she caught a glimpse of Liang Qi seemingly watching her.
She looked up, her eyes asking, "What's wrong?" Liang Qi glanced at her through the car roof, said nothing, and got into the car.
Jiang Nuanyu was a little confused and blinked in bewilderment.
After getting into the car, she pulled on the seatbelt to fasten it, but as she turned her head, she suddenly remembered what happened in the car last night. Combined with Liang Qi's look just now, she understood—
Did he think she would sit in the back row to avoid him?
Her face flushed.
Liang Qi started the car, turned the steering wheel, and merged onto the main road.
Jiang Nuanyu initially thought that his insistence on driving her home was a way to "interrogate" her about her recent behavior. Although his displeasure and dissatisfaction were masked by his composure, she could still sense it. But after driving for quite a while, he still hadn't said a word.
She guessed that his reluctance to mention the phone call in the early morning couldn't be because he'd forgotten; he was waiting for her to explain. But she really didn't know how to bring it up.
Putting aside the fact that she had no idea what happened in those thirty-odd seconds, the fact that she made a phone call in the middle of the night was strange enough.
After struggling for a while, she seized on the hope that he would most likely still give her a choice, and finally decided to pretend she didn't know anything about Liang Qi's thoughts.
She could pretend not to know, but she wasn't truly ignorant; she wasn't that adept at feigning ignorance while actually knowing the truth. Feeling the immense pressure from his silence, she could barely breathe.
She kept her eyes glued to the window the whole way, not even glancing at it, afraid that any small change might disrupt the current stalemate, which, while seemingly secure, was actually quite safe for her.
The car wound its way along the Third Ring Road, the city lights of Beijing flashing past the window. Soon after exiting the auxiliary road, the gleaming facade of the Tangwan Club gradually came into view. Jiang Nuanyu gazed at the building from afar, secretly relieved.
Liang Qi said he was going to come and take a look, but he didn't drive the car to the club entrance. He stopped the car when he was almost at the parking spot.
He unbuckled his seatbelt but showed no intention of getting out of the car.
Jiang Nuanyu slowly fastened her seatbelt, cleared her throat, and asked, "Aren't you going in?"
Liang Qi didn't answer her. After a second or two, he turned to look at her.
Jiang Nuanyu hurriedly said, "Didn't you say it was...your friend..."
"No rush," Liang Qi said.
Hearing him say that, Jiang Nuanyu became even more uneasy. She'd already been pretending all along, so what difference would one last push make?
She said, "Then I'll go in first..."
Liang Qi looked at her without saying a word, but his gaze seemed to weigh her down.
She had a strange premonition of danger and just wanted to escape from the car as soon as possible.
"Thank you for bringing me here. ...Goodbye." She said, reaching for the car door.
The moment she touched the door, Liang Qi leaned in and grabbed her hand, pinning it down as she tried to open it.
Jiang Nuanyu was startled and instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but he grabbed it and pressed it against the door.
Her breath caught in her throat, filled with shock and fear: "W-what happened..."
He turned halfway to face her, his face half-lit and half-shadowed, but his eyes remained dark and bright, fixed on her: "So eager to leave? Nothing to say?"
She remained defiant: "...What did you say?"
Even now, she still maintains this ambiguous attitude and refuses to communicate. Liang Qi's expression changed slightly, and after looking at her for a moment, he actually smiled.
Unable to withstand his imposing aura so close at hand, Jiang Nuanyu instinctively leaned back.
Noticing her movement, Liang Qi leaned closer. She continued to retreat, and he pressed in. Even when her back was pressed firmly against the seat, with nowhere left to retreat, he was still moving closer to her.
He pressed close to her and asked casually, "Why are you hiding?"
Jiang Nuanyu's heart skipped a beat. His tone was normal, but she could sense that he was still suppressing his anger, which she could no longer quell by running away.
"I didn't..." She didn't dare, nor did she believe, that Liang Qi would tolerate her evasive answer any longer, so she changed her words at the last minute, "I didn't intend to hide..."
She admitted that she was hiding, hoping that this insincere confession would soften his heart and let her go.
Liang Qi remained silent for two seconds, seemingly unable to bear it, just as she had wished.
His face was so close, his warm breath brushing against her skin, tickling and tingling. His upper body was almost pressed against hers, and enveloped in his mature aura, she felt a strange ache in her lower abdomen.
She didn't understand why she would have such an inappropriate physical reaction to him at a time like this. Embarrassed, she turned her face slightly away, trying to create some distance. Liang Qi, however, tilted his head slightly, deliberately meeting her gaze.
She kept her eyes downcast, refusing to look at him; he said, "Still hiding now, huh? Looks like you were lying again."
She hurriedly protested, "I didn't..."
Liang Qi nodded: "If you're not lying, then you genuinely like avoiding me. ...You like 'avoiding me'?" He pretended not to understand, asking knowingly, "If I remember correctly, didn't you like 'me'?"
The understated sarcasm in his tone stunned her: "I..."
Liang Qi chuckled lightly, saying, "Yesterday in my car, you were putting on a very aloof act, and I thought you were trying to distance yourself from me. So you called me in the middle of the night, then deliberately didn't say anything, and then didn't answer the phone again the next day." He paused deliberately, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Pretty funny, isn't it?"
His tone was calm and relaxed, but her heart clenched: "I didn't...it's not what you think. The call was made unintentionally, it was my fault..."
"Hmm." Liang Qi responded casually, repeating meaningfully, "Unintentional. Accidental."
Jiang Nuanyu felt utterly speechless, almost overwhelmed by her own powerlessness. She anxiously explained, "I didn't lie to you, I'm telling the truth, I wasn't joking, I—"
“Shh…” Liang Qi interrupted her, lifting his gaze from her lips to her eyes, and said, “I believe you.”
He kept saying he believed her, but a flicker of despair crossed her heart, and she could only weakly repeat her protest: "It's true..."
Liang Qi nodded slightly: "I told you, I believe you."
She looked at him in bewilderment and panic, and he met her gaze without flinching, his eyes swirling with emotion, but she couldn't decipher what he meant.
Liang Qi said, "You were the one who said you liked me and wanted to see me on the first day we met." His gaze slowly moved from her eyes back to her lips. "You were also the one who kissed me first, huh? Isn't that right?" His tone was soft and ambiguous. As he spoke, he lowered his head a little, and his lips were almost touching hers.
Jiang Nuanyu's heart pounded violently in her chest. She tried to hold her breath, but couldn't control the intermittent breaths that escaped her.
Between breaths, he said, "Up to this point, I believe you."
He finally released her hand, raised it, and stroked the top of her head; Jiang Nuanyu dared not resist at all, letting him gently touch her hair.
He smoothed a few strands of her hair that were loose on the back of the chair and said slowly, "You said you wanted to be closer to me, and then you got into my bed." He looked into her eyes and frowned. "From here on, should I believe you or not? You tell me."
Jiang Nuanyu's heart was pierced with pain, a burning sensation searing her eyes. Her voice trembled as she said, "When I said I was close to you, it wasn't...it wasn't like that, I just..."
“Oh…” Liang Qi interrupted her casually, as if he knew everything. “Being closer to me doesn’t include sleeping together, right? And sleeping together is a bit too close, isn’t it?” His gaze was fixed on her, his words light and flirtatious, but his tone was not frivolous at all. “But I remember reminding you, didn’t I?”
She was taken aback and couldn't deny it.
His hand moved down to her shoulder. She was terrified; her heart trembled. But he didn't move any further down.
He ran his hand through her hair, pressing it against the back of her neck, and said calmly, "I've warned you, so there's no going back on my word, understand?"
Jiang Nuanyu wanted to say that she didn't regret it and never resisted her instinct to touch and get close to him, but her throat was so tight that she couldn't utter a single word. She pursed her lips, tensed her jaw, and tried her best to control herself, shaking her head at him.
Her eyes glistened with tears, her eyelashes were wet, and her gaze was pitiful. Liang Qi ignored her denials and continued mercilessly, "If you really want to back out, once is enough. I gave you a chance and space to process your emotions. But what did you do?"
He stepped back slightly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her forehead: "You lie with your mouth, yet your actions are completely contradictory. On one hand, you avoid me, refusing to communicate; on the other hand, you desperately tell me with your eyes that you miss me." He gently stroked a small patch of skin at the corner of her eye with his fingertips, saying, "Even now, do you know what your eyes are telling me?"
Jiang Nuanyu's eyelids trembled as she looked at him with bewilderment and unease, unsure of how he truly saw her.
She feared he would strip away her facade completely, yet she also hoped he could see through all her thoughts and understand the unspoken words she wanted to say. That way, it wouldn't be considered that she had deceived him.
He traced the outline of her eyes with his gaze, looked into the depths of her eyes, and said, "Your eyes say you like me."
Jiang Nuanyu's heart skipped a beat, and she panicked.
He observed her expression, gently stroking her chin with the back of his fingers, and said, "But given your inconsistent lying skills, should I believe you this time?"
Jiang Nuanyu was stunned, her floating heart suddenly plummeting to the bottom.
Liang Qi stared at her for a long time, his eyes turning completely cold, but his voice remained calm and devoid of any emotion: "Jiang Nuanyu, what do you take me for? Or do you think I'm so patient and willing to play this game of playing hard to get with you?"
Jiang Nuanyu never expected that the first time she would hear her name from Liang Qi's mouth would be in this situation. Her heart was torn apart, and the pain made it hard to breathe.
The defenses she had been desperately maintaining collapsed in an instant. She could no longer hold back, her eyebrows furrowed together, and large tears streamed down her face.
She bit her lip hard, trying to keep herself from crying out loud; only the sound of her sobbing could be heard between breaths.
Liang Qi didn't speak again, and slowly relaxed her jaw. Her fingertips, her skin radiating hot air, were a result of her desperately suppressing her emotions.
He knew perfectly well what he was doing, and he had anticipated that she would be hurt, unable to defend herself, and cry. But when he actually saw her tears, he felt a slight, uncontrollable regret, and he didn't say anything more cruel.
He was annoyed by her repeated deliberate avoidance and the inconsistency between her words and actions disguised as sincerity, but he wouldn't have driven her to this point.
He released her, leaned back in his chair, straightened his suit jacket, and squinted at the front of his head.
Freed from his restraint, Jiang Nuanyu lowered her head, raised her hand to cover her mouth, but cried even harder and more aggrievedly. Suddenly, she pushed open the car door and rushed out.
Liang Qi reacted extremely quickly, opening the car door almost simultaneously without hesitation. He walked around the front of the car in a few steps, strode forward, and grabbed her arm. She turned around due to inertia and bumped into his arms. She struggled to push him away, but Liang Qi did not let go of her.
She pouted, ignoring how pathetic she looked crying, and barely managed to utter a few words: "I like you..." She only got halfway through before another wave of grievance welled up. She closed her eyes, and several large tears instantly rolled down her cheeks. "I like you..."
She pushed away his arm that was gripping hers, her chest heaving violently, and cried out on the verge of collapse, "I said I like you, my eyes and mouth said it all!... I kissed you because I like you, I wanted to see you because I like you, I slept with you because I like you! I like you!"
Faced with her accusatory confession, Liang Qi was shaken and speechless.
She turned her head to one side, panting heavily. She was so emotional that her brain was slightly oxygen-deprived, her vision went white for a moment, and she swayed as if she was about to lose her balance.
Liang Qi tightened his grip on her wrist, then placed his other hand on her shoulder, gently turning her around and steadying her. He looked at her, pursed his lips, as if wanting to say something, but only frowned slightly.
She gripped his sleeve tightly, pulling hard in her hand. She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes, blurring her vision. She blinked, but her vision blurred again after she could see his face clearly.
"How can you be so unfair? Just because I like you, you're always on the winning side, in a superior position in the relationship, able to care or not care, believe or not believe at will, right?"
Her eyes were blurry with tears, and her lips trembled: "But you knew...you knew I liked you, you believed me..."
Liang Qi's expression softened slightly after she hit the nail on the head.
She understood the tacit agreement in his expression, and her heart broke even more. She choked out, "You believe I like you, but you don't need it at all... But I don't understand, you clearly don't need my affection, so why do you keep feeding me hope?"
Her jaw trembled, tears streaming down her face like beads. Her eyes were filled with pain as she looked at him: "Why did you make me think that you wanted me to like you, and that you liked what I liked? Why did you make me expect that one day you would give me the same response, expect that you would like me too... You made my body, my heart, involuntarily want to be closer to you, but why didn't you tell me that there would never be a place for me in your heart..."
She accused him in almost despair. She was accusing him, but why did her heart ache so much?
Liang Qi was struck by her pain; his breathing became heavier and more uneven than before. He raised his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears, but hesitated before touching her.
He suppressed the impulse, grasped her shoulders again, and looked at her: "Just because of this? Because I don't need you?" He tried to confirm the most fundamental reason for all her actions.
Jiang Nuanyu's heart tightened suddenly, and she asked incredulously, "Isn't that enough?"
Her self-esteem and emotions had been destroyed by his words in the car, leaving her only able to receive the most negative and hurtful interpretations.
“I don’t need you anymore.” She frowned, but couldn’t say “I don’t like you anymore,” only saying, “I don’t need you to know that I like you anymore.”
She looked at him, and as she spoke, her heart seemed to shatter at the same moment: "Liang Qi, don't know I like you. I'll never say I like you again..."
Liang Qi stared at her silently for a moment, then asked again, "Is this what you wanted?"
“No…” Jiang Nuanyu shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “You made me do this…” She lowered her gaze and saw his hand gripping her wrist. This connection between them inexplicably made her sob again. “I wasn’t playing hard to get, it was you…” Her lips curled down again. “You’re the one who’s a master of playing games.”
She looked up at him, her voice trembling with sorrow, "But I don't want to play with you anymore. I don't want to play anymore..."
Her eyes dimmed. The feeling of knowing she was drifting away from him was so painful it was suffocating, leaving her powerless.
Liang Qi frowned slightly, but ultimately did not force her. He nodded slightly and then lowered his gaze.
He respected her choice.
Just as he treated Shi Youning, all he gave her was respect.
Jiang Nuanyu felt a sudden, excruciating pain. Love and pain intertwined, invading every part of her body, as if they could tear her apart completely.
She was powerless, struggling in agony, but all to no avail; her emotions had nowhere to escape, and in the midst of torment, they suddenly seemed to turn into hatred.
She hated his respect, his calm indifference, his letting go, and his ease in handling things.
She hated that she loved him even more. She hated that even now, she still loved him more in this second than she had in the last.
She hated that her hatred was love, and that her hatred made her love him even more. But in the end, she only hated him.
Finally, her emotions broke through her defenses again, and she began to struggle against his hand. He didn't let go; instead, he held on even tighter.
The force on her wrist struck a vulnerable spot in her heart. She instinctively wanted to resist, struggling harder and harder, as if nothing else mattered at that moment; all she wanted was for him to let her go.
Fearing he might hurt her, Liang Qi released his grip, leaving it suspended in mid-air, indicating that he would no longer force her.
Sure enough, he let her go, and she was relieved from her breakdown, only crying silently.
Liang Qi stood beside her, crying with her.
She was crying so hard her head was spinning, and she didn't even notice her phone vibrating in her bag.
Liang Qi glanced at her bag, then at her tearful eyes, and helplessly reminded her, "Your phone."
Jiang Nuanyu was startled, her eyes narrowing. She calmed down, sniffed, wiped away the tears that had gathered on her chin, looked for her phone, and took a deep breath.
However, it took her several gasps to exhale.
"Hello, Yu Miao." Her voice was hoarse and strained, with a heavy nasal tone. Her emotions seemed to have calmed down a bit, but the tears in her eyes hadn't stopped falling. In the blink of an eye, another tear fell. "...I'll be there right away."
Seeing her like this, Liang Qi frowned slightly, unable to bear it any longer. Remembering that she had come to Tangwan for a date, he turned and glanced in the direction of the club entrance. Outside the glass doors, a few people were standing sparsely.
After she hung up the phone, he said, "I'll drive you there. You can wash your face in the car, okay?" His voice was softer and gentler than ever before, as if he thought she would shatter at the slightest startle.
His comforting words and concern made Jiang Nuanyu's heart soften for a moment, but she quickly realized that he was always thoughtful and considerate in his work, and his gentleness at this moment was probably just out of gentlemanly manners. She couldn't mistake it for special treatment.
A pang of sadness welled up in her heart, and she firmly shook her head, refusing him.
Liang Qi closed his eyes and nodded in defeat.
Jiang Nuanyu wiped her face with her hand again, glanced at him quickly, said nothing, and walked past him toward the club entrance.
Liang Qi turned around and slowly followed her to the side, slightly behind.
She knew she couldn't refuse, so she let him walk beside her.
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