Chapter 23 Chapter 23
The rain and fog were hot and humid, and the white mist that rose from it blurred their vision.
The man's resolute outline was dripping with water, and his stubborn eyes were unusually serious, staring at her tightly, as if he was determined to wait for her answer.
An Jiyue's heart trembled. She was most likely to fall for his abyssal eyes. From beginning to end, she never escaped.
I barely have the energy to think, let alone answer right now. Besides, this is clearly a trap question.
As long as she answered the question, she would be tacitly approving of the possibility between them. And she simply couldn't afford to take such a risk right now.
A mist gradually filled her confused, dark brown pupils. Her usually gentle and soft light vanished before him, instead tinged with a hint of involuntary struggle. Well, why keep exposing my weakness? An Jiyue forced herself to lower her eyes and tried to pull back her slender wrist from his grip.
In an instant, his hands were clenched extremely tightly, even his face became stiff, and a hint of vigilance and hostility appeared between his brows.
Lu Ye's cold gaze passed over her and went to a place not far behind her.
"What's wrong?" An Jiuyue twisted her wrist and was about to turn around to look, but Lu Ye pulled her forward and her whole body fell into his arms without any preparation.
His chest held her steady, one arm clasping her lithe frame. His body was now as hard as a rock, emanating a cold, unapproachable aura. His breathing was heavy and slow, as if he was about to explode in anger.
"What's wrong?" She didn't even react, let alone resist, she just raised her head in confusion at his chest.
"Yue'er, I'm here to pick you up."
The rain had stopped at some point. A playful, lighthearted voice pierced the mist, echoing from not far away. An Jiyue turned in surprise to see Liang Sinan standing calmly five meters away, enjoying the little drama unfolding before him.
She felt a chill all over her body, and then shame and embarrassment rose from the bottom up, and her pale cheeks, which had just been wet in the rain, suddenly turned red.
These days, she and Lu Ye have been clean and honest, actively drawing boundaries and working hard. But today, she lost control for once, and how could she be caught by Liang Sinan?
She had even complained to Liang Sinan yesterday that her boss had suspended her because he mistakenly believed she was still in contact with her ex-boyfriend. Now, this had confirmed the charges she had tried so hard to clear.
She had already been mocked by Liang Sinan and Yue Hui for "not pursuing her career" after leaving Anshi Capital to pursue a directing career. They also preferred single life, and An Jiyue's single-minded focus on work, never distracted, since their breakup five years ago, earned her some praise.
Now, I wonder how long they will be the laughing stock of this situation.
Especially Liang Sinan, who always regarded himself as an immature child, had finally proved some of his abilities, but now he was "beaten back to his original form".
Within a few seconds, the thought of burying herself in Lu Ye's arms flashed through her mind, pretending that Liang Sinan had recognized the wrong person. However, as soon as this shameful thought came out, the person behind her shattered her fantasy as if she could read her mind.
"Yue'er, is this gentleman's embrace so comfortable that you don't want to move away?"
An Jiyue was greatly embarrassed. She quickly broke free from Lu Ye's arm and turned back. Her eyes were evasive and she timidly called out, "Brother Nan."
Liang Sinan curled his lips and responded softly: "Yeah."
He took a few steps forward, looking at the two people who were soaking wet, and his eyes stopped at Lu Ye with interest: "Is this the Mr. Lu you mentioned before?"
Mentioned him before? Lu Ye was slightly distracted. Did she mention him to others? His gloomy expression softened a little. Without waiting for An Jiyue, who was stammering awkwardly, to speak, he took the initiative to step forward and offer his hand, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Lu Ye, Chief of Joint Strategy of Company Z."
Liang Sinan just glanced at him lightly, and when he raised his hand, his fingertips brushed across Lu Ye's, and finally fell on An Jiyue's head, hitting her lightly.
After knocking, she withdrew her hand and shook hands perfunctorily with Lu Ye, not forgetting to scold him: "Yue'er, don't make Mr. Lu angry in the future."
"I understand." An Jiyue was so ashamed that she agreed and admitted her mistake listlessly.
Liang Sinan smiled with satisfaction, nodded briefly at Lu Ye, and took her into the car on the side of the road and left.
Lu Ye stood still, accepting the protest calmly. He saw all of Liang Sinan's affectionate and doting behavior, as if he was scolding his own girlfriend.
He waved to stop a car and went all the way back to the hotel that his assistant had urgently booked. The waiter had prepared a tub of hot water in advance. Lu Ye undressed and threw his wet clothes aside, then closed his eyes exhausted and took a nap.
He set an alarm for an hour later. In the less than twelve hours since last night, he'd already missed several presentations and conference calls. Analyst messages kept coming in, reports about to be sent out were waiting for his final review, and an entire team was anxiously waiting for his instructions at their screens.
This was extremely unusual. Si Luye's unshakable, second-by-second schedule had been disrupted and rescheduled for the first time.
He must be really crazy to ignore all these things and instead rush to City G all night, wade through the quagmire, attend social gatherings, and finally get caught in the rain with this woman for no apparent reason.
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Liang Sinan leaned against the car window, and on the other side sat a girl with a flushed face. She had a gentle and generous appearance, and after being drenched in the rain, she looked even more natural and pure. However, her naturally beautiful face seemed to be afraid of being seen, and was now hidden behind her wet dark chestnut hair.
An Jiyue moved her lips and turned her face away, "If you want to laugh, do it quickly."
He then glanced at her with a half-smile, but did not say anything as harsh as she had imagined, as if he had already let go of the previous episode.
"I'm not in the mood right now. I won't let you go when I return to P City."
Liang Sinan shifted his gaze to the window and said nothing more. An Jiyue suddenly realized that he had returned to G City for some reason, and he must have just come from the Liang Mansion. Compared to her own little quarrel, his matter was naturally more important.
She rarely saw Liang Sinan so silent. Sniffing carefully, she could still smell the lingering scent of Arturo Fuente in the air.
An Jiyue reached out and grabbed his sleeve, put it under her nose and took a deep sniff, then threw it away with her nose raised.
In the past, she would have mercilessly despised him for once again losing control of his cigarettes. But today was different. She had already lost the upper hand, and the Liang Mansion incident had always been an insurmountable thorn in his heart, so she was unwilling to accuse him further.
After all, she had felt the same way.
"Brother Nan, are we going back to P City now?"
"Yeah." Liang Sinan was not willing to stay in this city for even half a second longer, "Do you have anything else to do?"
"No, I'm just a little cold."
An Jiyue looked at him pitifully, shivering in her half-dry suit. Liang Sinan cursed himself for being inconsiderate and quickly took off his thin jacket to wrap her up.
"Are you feeling warmer now? I'll take you somewhere to freshen up first."
"No, no, just one piece of clothing is fine. Let's go back to P City."
She knew Liang Sicheng's concern, that he was allergic to the air here. Liang Sicheng looked at her face carefully, and finally nodded with relief.
He really wanted to leave as soon as possible. Every street scene here was both familiar and unfamiliar, and it was about to tear him apart along with it.
City G is changing with each passing day, with tall buildings rising from the ground. Only a few old shops remain the same as he remembered, but they have changed owners and the taste may no longer be as good as it used to be.
The Liang Mansion where he grew up was exactly the same, having changed hands for many years.
Liang Sinan stared out the window intently, his tall and agile body not in a relaxed posture. Veins were faintly exposed on his arms, and shiny sweat was oozing out of his temples, as if he was fighting something inside.
An Jiyue tilted her head worriedly and asked, "Brother Nan, are you okay?"
"It's okay." He answered briefly, but he couldn't deceive himself with the heavy heart.
It was just a trivial inheritance, even an industry with subprime mortgage risks, which was nothing compared to the wealth he now held in his hands.
But that was the Liang family's ancestral property, the only property left by his father.
Liang Sinan had never cared about these things. After his mother remarried, she handed over the Liang family's property to Uncle Cheng to manage. It was not until she made her will that she discovered that the property had long been placed under a trust with conditions attached, and ultimately only Liang Sinan and his wife could inherit it.
If he gave up, the youngest son born to "that uncle" and his mother would be able to get the inheritance legally.
Liang Sinan had originally entered the Liang Mansion with a cynical air, as if he were a visitor who had come here to admire its reputation. Even after hearing all this, he maintained his dignified demeanor and quietly waited for his mother, whom he had not seen for many years, to speak.
His mother, Xie Ying, had become haggard and anxious, and had seemed a stranger to him from the moment he walked in. Now, almost pleadingly, she sat on the sofa beside him and softly suggested that he consider giving up the inheritance.
Liang Sinan had been torturing himself for many years and thought he had explored the darkness of human nature, but at that moment he still felt that the world was absurd.
He resisted the urge to laugh out loud and looked at the "uncle" who was terminally ill beside her. Those eager eyes stared at Liang Sinan, as if as long as Liang Sinan agreed to give up, he would die peacefully in the next second.
In just a few seconds, Liang Sinan suddenly felt unwilling, and he frowned pretending to be embarrassed: "I need to think about it."
Xie Ying said anxiously, "What are you considering? This is just a shrinking business. Besides, your Uncle Cheng has been running this business for so many years. Even if he has no credit, he has worked hard."
Liang Sinan put away his superficial politeness and replied sharply: "Of course there is no merit, otherwise the Liang Group, which was one of the best in G City back then, would not have ended up like this today."
Xie Ying remained silent. She had helped Liang Sinan's father build his business for a few years in her early years. Now that the Liang Group's performance had been weakening year after year, it was clear who was right and who was wrong.
Cheng Qiming straightened up weakly and smiled at Liang Sinan in a friendly yet cold manner: "Sinan, I know that you have a deep relationship with your biological father, so you must naturally obey his will. He wants you to inherit with your wife, so where is your wife? Where is your son?"
Liang Sinan's heart skipped a beat, and then he couldn't help laughing. This uncle actually thought that such a small matter could stop him.
"Don't worry about it. I'll bring someone to your house someday to take away what belongs to me."
He stood up and was about to leave when Xie Ying called him. She rushed forward in surprise and joy: "Nannan, who is it? Bring it here as soon as possible so I can see it. I have some jewelry——"
Liang Sinan's throat was choked, and his heart softened. He gently pushed his mother's hand away, "Forget the jewelry. But I want the Liang Group."
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