Volume One, Chapter 45 Her mind was completely occupied by Liang Jinmo.
Xu Zhi herself didn’t quite know how she so quickly managed to follow Liang Jinmo’s train of thought. Her cheeks flushed scarlet. “I—I mean, you’re just taller than me!”
She wished she could slap herself—what a troublesome mouth!
Liang Jinmo paused for a moment. “Do you talk to everyone like this?”
Xu Zhi stammered, “No, I don’t!”
“So you only make lewd jokes with me?”
Xu Zhi was on the verge of losing her mind, repeating like a broken record, “No, I don’t!”
“So that means…” Liang Jinmo hesitated, “You make them with others too?”
“Ah!” Xu Zhi was exasperated. “I mean I didn’t say that on purpose! I just meant that you’re taller—tall, that’s all!”
She was mortified. “You’re twisting my words on purpose. You’re the one with a mind full of filth!”
Liang Jinmo didn’t reply, only gazing steadily into her eyes.
Xu Zhi felt there was nowhere to hide. When she met his gaze, she quickly turned away.
But soon she sensed something was off and glanced back.
A faint smile curled at the corners of Liang Jinmo’s lips, and in his eyes was a barely perceptible trace of amusement.
“You… what are you smiling at, you…” Xu Zhi couldn’t keep it up any longer. She had completely forgotten what she had come out for and turned to flee to the bedroom. “You’re so annoying, I don’t want to talk to you anymore!”
The bedroom door slammed shut with a rather loud bang.
Liang Jinmo sat on the sofa, her blushing face still vivid in his mind. He lowered his head, unable to suppress another soft laugh.
Back in the bedroom, Xu Zhi found herself at last free from the distressing thoughts of Liang Muzhi and Chen Jing, for Liang Jinmo now occupied her mind entirely.
He seemed so cool and aloof on the surface, yet his mind was full of such nonsense. Mortified and annoyed, she tossed and turned in bed for a long while.
The apartment outside grew quiet—even the lights were turned off. She didn’t know how much time had passed before she quietly got up in the dark.
Besides the quilt, there was a brand-new blanket on the bed. She took it, tiptoed into the living room, and approached the sofa.
The room was silent; she could hear the man's steady breathing—Liang Jinmo must have fallen asleep.
It was so dark she could barely see. She gently shook out the blanket and draped it over him.
She stood for a couple more seconds, making sure he hadn’t been woken, then, like a thief, crept back to the bedroom.
At last she felt at ease. She closed her eyes, and sleep overtook her swiftly.
That night, Liang Muzhi had a difficult time.
He’d been a young master all his life and had never cared for anyone. Chen Jing lay on the hospital bed, wincing and crying out in pain one moment, asking for water the next.
These were hardly the duties of a premium caregiver. Liang Muzhi was kept busy half the night, and in this place and at this hour, even if he wanted to hire extra help, it was impossible.
Chen Jing saw he was weary and eventually quieted down, soon falling asleep again.
Liang Muzhi lay on the companion’s cot, utterly unable to sleep.
He thought of Xu Zhi’s accusations before she left that afternoon—her tear-streaked face, her trembling shoulders.
She’d left rather late; it was unlikely she would return to the city. He guessed she’d probably booked another room at the hotel.
He was the one who brought her here, and he was the one who drove her away.
He closed his eyes, his chest tight with suffocation. Even now, he could not understand how things had come to this.
Thinking calmly, there were indeed many suspicious points. Xu Zhi didn’t seem like she was lying, but…
How could Chen Jing have fallen by herself? She had no reason to do so.
She had always been a tolerant girlfriend, never minded his friendship with Xu Zhi. The things Xu Zhi claimed Chen Jing said before she fell sounded completely implausible to him.
He could find no answers. Sometime before dawn, Liang Muzhi dozed off for a while. When he woke in the morning, he discussed matters with Chen Jing.
After all, this was a medical center in a scenic area, not the most convenient place. He suggested returning to the city.
Her injury didn’t warrant hospitalization; hiring a live-in premium caregiver and a housekeeper should solve all their problems.
Chen Jing didn’t object, but Liang Muzhi didn’t leave immediately. He told her he needed to find someone at the ski resort and left for a short while.
He headed for the main security office of the resort.
There, all the surveillance footage from the ski resort was kept. He spoke directly to the head of security, a portly middle-aged man, who was surprised. “Young Master Liang just came by with a young lady. They’re watching footage from yesterday at the ski resort—they want to see the same area you asked about.”
Liang Muzhi froze. “Young Master Liang?”
“Yes, the one who… works at the Liang Corporation.” The head hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
Liang Muzhi’s face darkened.
They called him “Young Master Liang” but referred to Liang Jinmo as “Young Director Liang.” Yet he was the rightful heir to the Liang Corporation.
When Liang Jinmo first joined the company, Liang Muzhi had been displeased and questioned Liang Zhenguo about why he allowed him in—who knew what Liang Jinmo’s intentions were?
At the time, Liang Zhenguo had countered, “Then are you coming into the company?”
Of course he had refused. He hadn’t had enough fun yet and had no desire to toil away like Liang Zhenguo.
Liang Zhenguo had said, “If you won’t join, someone from the family has to. The work must get done.”
And so, in Liang Muzhi’s mind, Liang Jinmo had always just been the one to do the work. He’d never even bothered to ask what position he held at the company. But now, after just over two years, people were calling him “Young Director Liang,” which meant his rank was hardly low.
He decided he needed to talk to Liang Zhenguo back home.
But for now, there was the pressing question—why was Liang Jinmo reviewing the surveillance footage from yesterday’s ski slope? And who was the young woman with him?
He had a vague premonition, though it seemed unlikely.
Even though Xu Zhi had once walked away with Liang Jinmo right in front of him, he’d always believed she’d done it out of spite, to provoke him.
After all these years, he and Xu Zhi had shared everything, and she’d never once mentioned Liang Jinmo.
When he tore up Liang Jinmo’s textbooks in anger as a child, Xu Zhi had even helped him.
How could those two ever be involved?
He resolved to check the surveillance room himself.
The security chief arranged for someone to escort him. The door to the surveillance room swung open, and Liang Muzhi paused on the threshold, stunned by what he saw inside.
His fist clenched slowly.
All the ski resort’s footage was kept here; the room was large, with staff monitoring live feeds at their stations. Liang Jinmo and Xu Zhi sat at a computer on one side, reviewing footage from the previous day.
It had been Xu Zhi’s idea to check the surveillance—she couldn’t bear to shoulder an undeserved accusation.
With Liang Jinmo’s status, it had been easy for them to gain access.
But there was a lot of footage to go through, and they were just about to find what they needed when an uninvited guest arrived.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Zhi turned. When she saw Liang Muzhi, she was momentarily taken aback.
Their gazes locked. He saw the lingering redness around her eyes—she had clearly cried for a long time.
He felt a sharp sting in his chest.