“Young Miss! Don’t get worked up!” Liang Sheng hurried forward and grabbed Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s hand, which was clutching the collar of Su Ze’s shirt. “Let Su Ze explain slowly.” Playing the good Samaritan? That was right up her alley!
This time, Lu Ziqing actually listened. She slowly released her grip, though she was still glaring at Su Ze with fury in her eyes. “You’d better give me an explanation. What’s this Liang Sheng said about you giving every girl your love?”
The moment Liang Sheng heard that, she quickly tiptoed up and whispered into Lu Ziqing’s ear. “Young Miss, why should Su Ze explain anything to you? I know you like him, but he’s not your boyfriend yet~!” That’s right—I’m the pure little white lotus green tea girl, la la la~ Piss you off!
Sure enough, Lu Ziqing got flustered at those words. “Who likes him? What makes him worthy of my affection? Liang Sheng, don’t talk nonsense!”
Ha, she knew it… Wait, what? Why was she denying that she liked Su Ze? Liang Sheng had expected something like, “He owes me an explanation!” or her demanding of Su Ze, “Explain yourself right now—who do you actually like?” But she never imagined Lu Ziqing would stare straight at her and shout, “Who likes him?!”
Su Ze’s already sour expression darkened even further upon hearing this. His face turned a spectacular shade of black.
After yelling at Liang Sheng, Lu Ziqing collected herself and turned back to grill Su Ze. “Do you have a bunch of girls you like?”
What was she supposed to do now? Sweat beaded on Su Ze’s forehead. He gritted his teeth. “Miss Ziqing, there’s something I’ve always been afraid to say…”
Hold on—this vibe. Liang Sheng was stunned. Was Su Ze about to confess? Wasn’t he worried that if Lu Ziqing accepted and announced it to everyone, his other harem candidates would find out and their Heartthrob Values for him would plummet?
Lu Ziqing grew impatient. “Spit it out already. Stop dithering—it’s annoying.”
Su Ze was hesitating because he was torn inside. If he said it, he had the same worries Liang Sheng did. If he didn’t, with Lu Ziqing’s Heartthrob Value for him dropping so fast, he was panicking. And seeing Liang Sheng smirking smugly on the sidelines made his stomach churn.
“The girl I like… she’s too good for me,” Su Ze continued, beating around the bush in his confession to Lu Ziqing.
Lu Ziqing couldn’t decipher his meaning and only got angrier. “Can you just say it straight?!”
Su Ze grew more frantic. He feared that if he confessed and she accepted, then blabbed to everyone—including her father—that her dad wouldn’t approve and might set a trap for him. Never mind that for now; if his other girls found out, how could he explain? How could he openly pursue them? With a girlfriend, his reputation as a player would be ruined.
Pfft. Liang Sheng nearly burst out laughing at his panicked state. Good—serves you right, you two-timing playboy, you master juggler of girls. Your day has come!
“Miss Ziqing, from childhood to now, my feelings for you… you must know them already,” Su Ze said, uttering what he thought was an ambiguous line.
At first glance, it sounded like a confession, but Liang Sheng thought it over and realized something was off with this sly old dog. He hadn’t said he liked Lu Ziqing specifically. “Feelings” could mean friendship, brotherly affection for a sister, or romantic love—which was it? He hadn’t clarified. So if things blew up, he could claim he never meant romantic interest. And that line about “from childhood to now” could be spun to other girls as sibling-like affection.
No way was she falling for his trick. Liang Sheng grabbed Lu Ziqing again and whispered, “Young Miss, he said ‘from childhood to now’—that’s treating you like a little sister! He’s too bashful to say it outright, so he has to beat around the bush. How heartless—he’s such a scumbag when you’ve been so good to him. Bah!”
Whoosh! Favorability dropped sharply.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Su Ze: 67”
Lu Ziqing completely bought Liang Sheng’s words. In her heart, Liang Sheng had always been genuine with her—a true friend, sister, and bestie.
Su Ze noticed the sharp drop in Lu Ziqing’s Heartthrob Value for him. Even though Wakako was in dormancy, he could still see all the girls’ Heartthrob Values.
No, he had to fix things with Lu Ziqing first. He could deal with the others later. Su Ze steeled himself. This situation had him on pins and needles.
“Miss Ziqing!” Su Ze suddenly grabbed Lu Ziqing’s arm as she started to leave with Liang Sheng.
Lu Ziqing froze, trying to shake off his hand, but she lacked the strength while his grip was firm. Liang Sheng was stunned too. No way—was this scumbag really committing to confessing to Lu Ziqing? Was he ready to ditch his other harem girls for now?
Whoosh! Favorability dropped.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Su Ze: 65”
“What are you doing, Su Ze? Let go of me!” Lu Ziqing was utterly disgusted by the man before her now.
“Miss Ziqing, the person I like… it’s you!”
He confessed! Liang Sheng felt doomed. How was she supposed to keep stirring the pot now? Lu Ziqing was head over heels for Su Ze. With a confession like that, wouldn’t she accept on the spot, all blissed out?
In truth, Lu Ziqing wanted to be happy, but beyond the massive shock, any joy she felt was forced. Actually… she wasn’t especially thrilled, just a little surprised.
In the past, she would have agreed without hesitation, but this time she frowned. No immediate urge to accept came over her. Instinctively, her gaze drifted toward Liang Sheng.
Liang Sheng was at a loss when she noticed Young Miss Lu Ziqing staring at her. She blinked in confusion and glanced at Su Ze. Seeing Lu Ziqing silent, Su Ze panicked, clenching his fists and watching her tensely.
Their eyes darted in a tense triangular standoff, the tangled emotions hanging in the air for a full thirty seconds.
“Liang Sheng, say something,” Lu Ziqing broke the silence first.
Liang Sheng stared dumbly at Lu Ziqing, baffled at being put on the spot again. She stammered, “S-Su Ze just confessed to you, Young Miss.”
Lu Ziqing nearly choked on her anger at that. She shot Liang Sheng a fierce glare. “I have ears—I heard him just fine! How are you this dense?”
Liang Sheng felt wronged. What had she said wrong? Su Ze confessed to you, not me—what was she supposed to say? Should she reject him for Lu Ziqing? Accept on her behalf? Play the other woman? Of course, she kept those thoughts to herself. With her timid nature, all she dared do was gripe inwardly.
Seeing Liang Sheng’s attitude, Lu Ziqing’s temper flared, like a aggrieved wife wanting her husband to stand up for her, only for the husband to cower silently.
“Miss Ziqing?” Su Ze sensed her mood and grew uneasy.
Lu Ziqing had no time for him right now—she just wanted to hash things out with Liang Sheng (though she wasn’t even sure what about). Su Ze grew anxious and stepped forward to grab her again.
Lu Ziqing dodged back, and he grasped at air.
“Su Ze, we’ll talk about this later. Hold on—I need to say something to Liang Sheng. Get out for a bit,” Lu Ziqing blurted without thinking.
Su Ze was frantic and furious, but he feared defying Young Miss Lu’s order would make her Heartthrob Value drop even more. He hesitated briefly before storming out the door in a huff.
Liang Sheng had wanted Su Ze gone, to stop bothering them, but seeing Lu Ziqing like this… Su Ze, come back! How could a grown man be such a wimp? So what if your Heartthrob Value drops? Big deal! Keep fighting me!
No point dwelling. With things as they were, Liang Sheng eyed Lu Ziqing’s stormy expression, her knees starting to buckle.
Thud.
Lu Ziqing jumped back several steps in fright.
“Liang Sheng, are you crazy?! W-What are you doing?!” Lu Ziqing was clearly shaken. Liang Sheng’s legs had given out, and she’d pitifully dropped to her knees on the floor.
“Young Miss, if I’ve done wrong, let the law punish me,” Liang Sheng said, on the verge of tears. “Please don’t look at me like that… I’m scared…”
Pfft. Lu Ziqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Hahaha!”
Seeing Young Miss Lu laugh eased Liang Sheng’s fear a bit, and she let out a few silly chuckles of her own.
“What are you laughing at? What’s so funny?” Lu Ziqing suppressed her smile and resumed glaring at Liang Sheng.
Liang Sheng had grown used to Lu Ziqing’s emotional whiplash by now. Fine, if you say no laughing, no laughing. She clamped her mouth shut, hung her head, and stood there like a child who’d been caught misbehaving.
“Get up!” Lu Ziqing commanded. “Don’t pull this—it’s like I’m the one bullying you!”
Liang Sheng obediently rose and brushed off her knees, grumbling inwardly: You’re the one bullying me… You even made the kid kneel.
Once she was on her feet, silence fell, plunging the room into an awkward hush.
“Ahem, Young Miss,” Liang Sheng couldn’t stand it and tried to break the ice with some awkward chit-chat. “Uh, that outfit you’re wearing today looks really nice.” The words were out before she wanted to slap herself.
“Don’t change the subject,” Lu Ziqing caught on immediately and rolled her eyes.
Liang Sheng gave an embarrassed laugh. “Um, Young Miss—” Yep, classic Liang Sheng, scrambling for another topic. “Y’know, rolling your eyes too much can lead to retinal detachment.”
…A barrage of awkward ellipses floated across the sky.
This time, Lu Ziqing wanted to slap Liang Sheng herself.
Liang Sheng nearly teared up after saying it. Those lines hadn’t passed through her brain at all—just desperate topic fodder. The incident proved, indirectly—no, directly—that Liang Sheng really shouldn’t have a mouth.
