Liang Sheng was lost in these delightful thoughts when Lu Ziqing grew dissatisfied. Without Liang Sheng’s usual chatter filling the air, she felt off, the silence around her ears making her restless and irritable (put plainly, she was just being tsundere).
“Come on, talk to me, Liang Sheng,” Lu Ziqing said, nudging Liang Sheng’s ribs with her elbow.
“Pfft!” The nudge was too forceful, and Liang Sheng spat out a mouthful of hot cocoa. She coughed nonstop—”Cough cough cough, cough cough cough”—feeling like Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s poke had nearly given her pneumonia on top of bronchitis.
Had she offended Miss Lu somehow? Tears welled in Liang Sheng’s eyes (from the choking) as she looked toward Lu Ziqing. But Young Miss Lu Ziqing showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she grumbled at Liang Sheng for being careless with her drink, spitting cocoa all over the floor and making a mess.
Hah, fat chance of getting Young Miss to realize her mistake! Liang Sheng swallowed her frustration and stood up. “Young Miss, where’s the bathroom? I’ll grab a rag and wipe up the floor.”
Lu Ziqing blocked her. “I’ll call someone to clean it. You just wait here.”
Liang Sheng figured that meant no work for her, which was even better. She sat primly on the bed, munching biscuits and sipping hot cocoa with carefree delight. Sigh~ So this was the “dull” life of the wealthy? It wasn’t all that great either (hey, stop humblebragging).
Just then, the door swung open. Thinking Lu Ziqing had returned, Liang Sheng jumped up enthusiastically, her mouth stretching into a grin that bordered on creepy. “Young Miss…?”
It was Su Ze.
His face was grim as he stood before Liang Sheng, gripping the doorframe with one hand. His expression was dark, as if she owed him a fortune in silver and gold.
“Liang Sheng, don’t push your luck by stealing my lover.”
Liang Sheng was stunned speechless. Where did he get the nerve to spout such shameless nonsense? The gall to say something so brazen! What, you have a harem of girlfriends and you’re proud of it? Fine, bravo—you’re an ace scumbag.
Liang Sheng decided not to give him any face anymore. Things had gone this far; no point pretending she was clueless. She shot to her feet. “Su Ze, you’ve got some nerve calling her ‘your lover.’ Is it Lu Ziqing? Gu Yuqi? Or Hana? Oh wow, what a lineup~ You’re quite the saint, Su Ze, your heart split into pieces for every girl who likes you. Loving them all equally, are you? Sure, it’s not scummy—you’re just giving every girl who adores you the love she wants…”
“What the hell are you snarking about?” Su Ze cut her off abruptly. He panicked a little, wondering if her favorability system had spilled some beans. But if it had, that would violate the rules outright, and it’d get wiped out.
Liang Sheng shrugged indifferently. She knew Su Ze’s system was in hibernation, so she had nothing to fear. Time to let loose.
“Su Ze, what you’ve done is way over the line.” I oughta punish you in the name of the moon—but she held back the last bit; too cringey.
What? She even knew about that? Su Ze’s heart skipped a beat. How had she found out…?
“You even know about that? But hey, it’s every man for himself in this world—had to use you all somehow…” Su Ze let out a long sigh and actually started explaining.
Liang Sheng was baffled inside. What “that”? “Every man for himself”? “Use you all”? She had no idea what he was on about—she knew nothing! Come on, spill more.
But Liang Sheng played dumb right along with it. “Yeah, so I have to stop you.” She wasn’t entirely clear on the details, but Kazuko’s offhand hints, those recurring dreams, and Su Ze’s weird behavior let her piece together a rough picture close to the truth.
Su Ze figured there was no point talking anymore—this setup screamed declaration of war. He turned to leave.
“Su Ze, what were you just saying?” Ever heard of love lurking around the corner? As Su Ze reached for the half-open door, Lu Ziqing pushed it wide and stepped in.
“Miss Ziqing, I just came in to say hi to classmate Liang Sheng.” Su Ze didn’t bat an eye, his face calm, heart steady—lying smooth as drinking water.
Ha? Seriously? Liang Sheng and Miss Lu both rolled matching white-eyed stares. Smooth move.
But Liang Sheng knew better. She was facing the door and had seen it clearly: Lu Ziqing had just been crouched at the door crack, peeking and eavesdropping inside. Probably starting right after Su Ze entered, around when Liang Sheng had “praised” him as a “saint.” Lu Ziqing must have been out there listening for a good while. Su Ze, back to the door, had seen nothing.
Splash~
Favorability dropped.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Su Ze: 80”
Huh? Hadn’t it fallen to the seventies last time? Guess Su Ze had been working his charm on Young Miss Lu Ziqing while she was away. No biggie—she’d grind it down eventually.
“You’re lying to me, Su Ze?” Lu Ziqing gritted her teeth, glaring daggers, looking like a serpent spirit coiled to devour him alive.
Su Ze froze, panic creeping in. His words started to stammer. “N-no, I swear! Miss Ziqing, you have to believe me—it’s the truth. I swear to heaven, everything I said is true, true, true!”
So certain, huh? Bet a lightning bolt’s gonna zap you crisp, you lying sneak.
Fool! Liang Sheng snickered inwardly in schadenfreude. Better to just admit it—denying and doubling down on lies would only backfire.
Sure enough.
Splash~
Favorability dropped.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Su Ze: 76”
“Su Ze! You’re still lying! I heard everything—what’s this about ‘your lover’? When did you ever have a lover? You’ve never mentioned it to me! Explain yourself!” Lu Ziqing lost it, elegance be damned. She grabbed Su Ze’s collar like Popeye, ready to hoist him up, and unleashed a furious barrage of questions.
This was no time to sit out—Liang Sheng hurried over, eager to pile on.
