Ou Lu gazed at Liang Sheng, her expression shifting to three parts sympathy, three parts guilt, and four parts heartfelt pity (what a riot). This poor girl had been so wronged—it was heartbreaking! She had just misunderstood her and given her the cold shoulder, yet Liang Sheng still adored her like this.
And not only had Liang Sheng done the right thing, but she had even apologized. What an incredibly sensible child!
“Ding~” Favorability rose sharply.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 16”
“Don’t cry!” Ou Lu wrapped an arm around Liang Sheng’s shoulders. “Your sister will stand up for you. Don’t be scared!”
“Whine~ Whine whine~ Uh… cough cough, mm, okay. Thank you, Sister.” Liang Sheng’s crying was spot-on, and at Ou Lu’s words, she melted right into her embrace.
This kid really trusts me, doesn’t she?
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 19”
“This has to be a video you doctored! What shady tricks did you pull behind the scenes?” Su Ze cried foul like the thief yelling “thief” first. With a derisive “Heh,” he dumped the blame squarely on Liang Sheng. “Liang Sheng, I never pegged you for this type—stooping to such sleazy tactics!”
“Pfft!” Liang Sheng nearly choked on a mouthful of blood from sheer outrage. Holy hell, Su Ze—a few days apart and your shameless hide’s gotten even thicker!
“Look, we’ve got surveillance right here!” Liang Sheng raised her arm and pointed to the camera tucked in the corner of the room’s ceiling. “So, for the sake of clearing our names, why don’t we all check the footage?”
Su Ze’s face drained to a ghastly shade, mottled with a rainbow of ugly. “This, pulling up surveillance or whatever…”
Liang Sheng bore down relentlessly, hands planted on her hips. “What’s the holdup? Let’s go right now. We can all head over together.”
Su Ze was utterly flustered now, his hands twitching uselessly, not knowing where to settle.
Liang Sheng spoke with grave sincerity, ever the picture of “understanding.” “Classmate Su Ze, you bumping into me? Fine. But what if my hand slips and I smash this cup right onto Sister Ou Lu? What if it shatters on the floor, shards flying up and slicing her? You’ve got a grudge against me, sure—but you can’t vent it all on Sister Ou Lu too, right?!”
Look at her—so empathetic, always putting others first. Heartwarming? Not a chance.
“Ding~” Favorability rose sharply.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 28”
Haha~ Su Ze, you’ve gone and capsized in the goddamn gutter this time! Like the old saying goes: tread the riverbank long enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet. Pull these petty stunts forever, and sooner or later, someone’ll call your bluff.
Liang Sheng ached to belt out a laugh but couldn’t let it show. The effort left her squirming with discomfort all over.
“Sigh…” Liang Sheng spoke up again, the epitome of “understanding.” “Classmate Su Ze, I’m giving you an out right now. Just bow to me, say sorry, and we’ll skip the surveillance check. I wouldn’t want you to feel awkward. Deal?”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 30”
What poise this young lady had! Ou Lu admired her deeply. Wronged and slandered, yet willing to forgive.
“I…” For once, Su Ze—this big tough guy—had his eyes reddening with fury, tears welling up and swirling.
“I’m sorry!” He bowed low and deep to Liang Sheng. Straightening up, he added, “But honestly, this time I really did just bump into you by accident, Liang Sheng. Sorry. I’ll watch it next time—please don’t get the wrong idea about me. We’re all classmates, always running into each other. Wouldn’t want things awkward down the line.”
“Mm, let’s hope so…” Liang Sheng let out a sigh.
By now, Cha Susu, Bai Zhen, and Cha Su had all finished watching the video on Liang Sheng’s phone.
“Swish~” Favorability dropped.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability toward Su Ze: 155”
“Swish!” Favorability plunged sharply.
“Bai Zhen’s Favorability toward Su Ze: 11”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 45”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Bai Zhen’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 75”
Heh heh, Su Ze—you tried to snatch the chicken and ended up losing your rice stash. Liang Sheng stifled a smirk.
So, is this what a massive social death looks like? Damn right. Serves you right for your constant dirty tricks. Pull another one, and I’ll have Hana swoop in to knock every last tooth from your head!
“Let’s wrap this up.” Liang Sheng waved over Cha Susu and Bai Zhen from across the way. “You two get back to filming quick so we can all grab dinner together.”
She turned back to Cha Su next, bowing with an apology. “Sorry about that, Uncle. We interrupted your shoot—please, carry on.”
“No sweat, no sweat.” Cha Su boomed with laughter, loud enough to rattle eardrums. “Gave me a nice breather to catch a killer show! Beats anything I’ve ever directed hands down!”
The cigarette-chomping uncle shot a loaded glance Su Ze’s way, smacking his lips with a “Tsk tsk tsk.” “Ah, you know what they say—you can paint the skin, the flesh, even the fur of a tiger, but good luck capturing its bones.”
“Haha!” Liang Sheng chimed in with a laugh. “Right? You can know a person’s face and words, but never their heart!”
Su Ze turned away sharply. No one caught the look on his face.
You fossil, you decrepit geezer—wait till my Heartthrob Value hits the max. I’ll make every last one of you beg for death!
“Back to filming!” Cha Su barked. Order snapped back into place as the crew sprang into bustling action once more.
That punk kid? Clocked him as bad news from the jump. Schmoozing up to my little girl—gotta be some Sea King type who hits it and quits it. A big-shot director like me? I’ve weathered every storm there is. I can spot ‘em a mile off. Dream on about playing my baby!
“Sister Ou Lu~” Liang Sheng sidled right up to Ou Lu again, batting her big, innocent, dewy eyes nonstop. “Sister Ou Lu won’t stay mad at me now, right~?”
“Not mad anymore,” Ou Lu said with a smile. “You’re pretty sharp, little guy.”
“Eh—?” Liang Sheng drew out the sound, puffing her cheeks in a pout. “Why’s Sister Ou Lu calling me little guy? I’m not little at all!”
“Because you’re just too darn cute~” Ou Lu reached up and pinched Liang Sheng’s plump little cheeks.
“Hmph!” Liang Sheng huffed in mock indignation. “Sister Ou Lu, you know what? Cuteness doesn’t hold a candle to sexiness.”
“Huh?” Ou Lu blinked in total confusion, missing the double entendre entirely.
Liang Sheng flashed a “hehe” grin and clasped Ou Lu’s hand. “What I mean is, my cuteness is nothing next to your sexiness, Sister Ou Lu~”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 35”
Ou Lu froze for a beat before erupting in hearty laughter. “Talk about a little devil in a pint-sized package!”
Liang Sheng laughed right along with her, seizing the moment for an invite. “Sister Ou Lu, come eat with us later, okay? I really, really want to hang out with you some more~”
