Volume One, Chapter 99 Clearly, Xu Zhi had no desire to be kissed by him.

The room was quiet, the two of them staring at each other.
“This feels almost like a wedding ceremony…” Liang Muzhi said awkwardly. When he glanced up, his gaze, for some reason, landed on Xu Zhi’s lips.
The main thing was, there was a wound on her lip, a scab had formed, and his attention was drawn to it.
Sensing his gaze, Xu Zhi pressed her lips together and turned her face away, uncomfortable.
The atmosphere suddenly became subtle. Liang Muzhi’s heart started racing; he quickly looked away, focusing on the schedule in his hands, though his mind was a mess.
Xu Zhi spoke up, “Let’s discuss this part with them when we’re done. We should cut this segment.”
It took Liang Muzhi a few seconds to respond with a quiet “Mm.”
It was obvious Xu Zhi didn’t want him to kiss her. His thoughts drifted uncontrollably—what about the man she liked? Had she ever kissed him? Shared other moments of intimacy?
Xu Zhi had no idea what he was thinking. She forced herself to focus and looked carefully at the schedule. This arrangement…
It really did resemble a wedding.
Reminiscing about their relationship, watching a slideshow of their photos together, even exchanging couple’s rings.
She closed the schedule and sighed, glancing at Liang Muzhi. “If we go through with all this, we might as well skip the wedding itself—it’s practically the same thing.”
Liang Muzhi forced his mind back to the present and flipped through a few more pages, feeling at a loss.
“My mother is really something… What about your dad? Wasn’t he here last night? Didn’t he say anything?”
Xu Zhi replied, “Do you really think my dad cares about this? The only reason he went last night was because he didn’t want my mom to go alone.”
Zhao Nianqiao was still opposed to Xu Zhi getting engaged to Liang Muzhi, so Xu Heping kept her from getting involved in any of the engagement preparations.
Liang Muzhi threw the schedule aside in frustration and suddenly asked, “Do you want to go out for a bit?”
Xu Zhi answered honestly, “I want to sleep.”
She’d spent half the night crying, hadn’t slept well at all, and now she was lethargic, longing only to rest.
“Sleep? Come on, let’s have some fun.” Liang Muzhi said, “I’ll take you somewhere nice. Do you remember Monkey? My racing friend? He’s put together his own team, and they’re doing an amateur race at the track in the east of the city these days.”
Xu Zhi knew it—Liang Muzhi’s hands were itching again; it had been a while since he last raced.

She didn’t want to go and simply flopped onto the bed. “I’m tired, you go ahead.”
“I told my mom I was coming to see you—otherwise she wouldn’t have let me out so easily, you know…” Liang Muzhi pleaded, “If she finds out I went racing, she’ll definitely scold me again.”
He was using his usual tactic—using her as an excuse to go play. She was annoyed, but she didn’t want any more unpleasantness between them at this point, avoiding unnecessary complications. She had traded her relationship with Liang Jinmo for this engagement ceremony; she didn’t want all her efforts to come to nothing. So she said, “Wait for me downstairs. I’ll go change.”
Satisfied, Liang Muzhi went downstairs.
When they left, Liang Muzhi drove straight to the east side of the city. Xu Zhi napped in the backseat, never once opening her eyes during the drive.
At the racetrack, Xu Zhi woke groggily. Liang Muzhi unfastened his seatbelt, turned to her, and said, “By the way, Chen Jing called me just now. I told her to come too.”
Xu Zhi had barely opened her eyes when she heard this, feeling bewildered at first. Once it sank in, her expression soured.
After what happened at the ski resort, Xu Zhi’s feelings toward Chen Jing were beyond mere dislike—she was outright repulsed.
She said, “Go have fun. I’ll sleep in the car.”
Liang Muzhi could tell she was upset and explained, “I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
Xu Zhi lay back down. “Mm, then go see her.”
Liang Muzhi, helpless, didn’t press her further and got out of the car.
Chen Jing hadn’t arrived yet, so he went to find Monkey.
Monkey was, of course, a nickname. He and Liang Muzhi had met not long after he started racing, and their relationship was quite good. They greeted each other warmly, and when Monkey heard Xu Zhi had come as well, he laughed. “Back when you raced, she’d always wait anxiously at the sidelines, her face pale, terrified you’d get hurt. She really cared about you. So why is she so relaxed this time, sleeping in the car?”
Liang Muzhi was taken aback.
He remembered—Xu Zhi had always waited at the trackside for him. That time he got hurt, she’d been the first to rush to his side.
Now, she seemed not to care whether he’d get injured or not. She hadn’t even said her usual, “Drive carefully.”
Some unfamiliar feeling stirred inside him. At that moment, his phone rang, interrupting their conversation.
Chen Jing had arrived.
His plan to get in a few laps was put on hold. He and Chen Jing sat together on the benches outside the track.
After all that had happened, their reunion was restrained, given the circumstances.

There was no hug, no kiss—the atmosphere was even a bit stifling. Chen Jing looked at him. “Since there are no bodyguards now, why don’t we just run away? Right now.”
Eloping sounded romantic, but…
Liang Muzhi replied, “My grandfather hasn’t even been discharged from the hospital yet. I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to take it.”
Chen Jing thought he was making excuses.
She refused to be subordinate to anyone else, especially not Xu Zhi. She had to stop this engagement ceremony. Liang Muzhi was, after all, the heir to the Liang family. Even if they ran away now, the family business would still be his when he returned.
She had her own plans. To wrestle with people like Liang’s parents, Liang Muzhi was her trump card. As long as he remained steadfast, there was no need to fear not winning over the rest of the Liang family.
But clearly, Liang Muzhi was no longer under her control; he only used money to keep her quiet. She did want money, but people are greedy—if she could become the future mistress of the Liang family, she’d have endless wealth and a legitimate status.
Chen Jing lowered her head. “Have you ever thought about me? What am I supposed to do? Am I really to be your secret lover, hiding in the shadows? If someone finds out, I’ll be called the other woman, when I was with you first.”
Liang Muzhi was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. “I’ll find a way to break off the engagement, but not now—at least not until my grandfather’s health is completely stable. Chen Jing…”
He paused. “I can’t make you any promises about the future. We’ll just have to take it one step at a time. You have to understand, if it weren’t for your father’s position, we wouldn’t be facing so much resistance. My parents wouldn’t be so insistent on this engagement.”
His words struck a nerve. Chen Jing’s face went pale. “Are you blaming me?”
“No, I’m just stating the facts. Our current predicament wasn’t caused by me alone, so you need to learn to compromise as well.”
Liang Muzhi had no energy left to comfort her. He felt exhausted by this relationship; the initial excitement and thrill of being with her seemed to have worn away over time. He was starting to feel bored.
Chen Jing was deeply wounded. She sensed vaguely that Liang Muzhi was beginning to see her as a burden.
It was only natural—he was a young master who enjoyed fun and games, and she’d gone along with his wildness because it was exciting. But nothing about recent events had been fun. He couldn’t stand being watched by bodyguards all the time.
She felt anxious and lost, unable to think of a way to hold on to him. She didn’t know what to do.
He and Xu Zhi had always been so close. She’d worked so hard to sow discord between them, and now the two were about to become engaged, a couple in everyone’s eyes.
Uneasy, she asked, “Once you’re engaged to Xu Zhi, she’ll no longer just be your childhood friend—she’ll be your fiancée. Are you going to fall in love with her?”
The question was so abrupt that Liang Muzhi was stunned.