“Okay, okay, no more crying. Feeling a lot better after spilling your heart out, right?” Liang Sheng gently patted the other girl’s head.
“Much better~” Ni Sihan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Woo~ Thank you so much, Liang Sheng~”
Yeah, thanks a lot! You little fool, Liang Sheng! Ni Sihan snickered to herself. Thanks indeed! Hehe~
She stealthily touched the phone in her pocket, which was still recording away.
A quick edit to trim out her own unflattering remarks, and she could send it straight to Song An’an and Gu Yuqi. Liang Sheng, you’re way too careless with what you say!
“Mm~ I’ll head out then?” Liang Sheng comforted Ni Sihan a little longer before standing up to go home.
Even though it was still over an hour until three-thirty, she had something very important to take care of.
Ni Sihan watched the green-haired girl’s retreating figure, a smug sense of triumph swelling in her chest.
But…
“Whoosh!” Adoration Value plummeted.
“Liang Sheng’s Adoration Value toward Ni Sihan: 8”
“Huh!?” Ni Sihan froze. She leaped up from the sofa, baffled by what could have caused such a sudden drop.
“Hahahaha~~” Back at her place, Liang Sheng threw her head back in laughter and collapsed onto her plush sofa. She pointed toward the door, doubled over in mirth. “That idiotic expression! Hahaha! As if I’d actually buy her bullshit! Hahaha~”
Akino Kazuko couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Pfft, Liang Sheng, you’re too wicked.”
Still chuckling, Liang Sheng ran her fingers over her red lips. “What a moron. Her acting’s abysmal—not even one-ten-thousandth as good as mine.”
“Alright, alright~” Akino Kazuko teased. “You’re the ultimate drama queen. No, scratch that—you’ve got Oscar-level skills. Who could possibly compete with you~?”
“Ha—!” Liang Sheng crossed her legs with a grin. “Don’t tease me like that.”
With that, she pulled out her phone and started tinkering with it. “Hmph~ As if I wouldn’t notice her little stunt. She was fiddling in her pocket for ages before coming in. Had to be recording—phone or voice recorder. Did she really think I was that stupid?”
Akino Kazuko laughed. “So you hit her with the same trick? An eye for an eye?”
“What’re you talking about?” Liang Sheng put on an innocent face, batting her big, watery eyes a few times.
Akino Kazuko nudged her host with her shoulder. “Don’t play dumb. I saw your hand in your pocket too, fumbling around with something.”
“Haha~” Liang Sheng burst out laughing and flopped back onto the sofa. She held up her phone triumphantly, grinning ear to ear. “You bet! She’s not the only one who can record. My phone’s no prop~”
As she fiddled with it…
“Thwack!”
“Ow!”
Her gloating turned to pain in an instant—the phone smacked her right in the face.
Rubbing her throbbing nose, Liang Sheng sat up and coolly pretended nothing had happened. “Ahem. Time to reel them in~ No rush from me. Once Ni Sihan sends out her clip, that little goody-two-shoes Song An’an will come charging right back at her. Ahem, she’ll rush straight over to grill me, for sure~. And as for my Senior Sister Gu Yuqi… I bet she’ll take my side!”
Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, her phone rang—Song An’an calling.
“Hello—!” Song An’an’s voice cracked with sobs on the other end. “A-Sheng! You, you… This can’t be for real!”
Liang Sheng feigned utter confusion. “Hey, don’t cry, An’an. What’s going on? Who upset you? Why are you bawling like this?”
Hearing the genuine worry and tension in Liang Sheng’s voice made Song An’an realize Ni Sihan had probably lied to her.
“A-Sheng, Ni Sihan said… she said you talked trash about me.” The naive Song An’an spilled everything to Liang Sheng.
Liang Sheng gasped in mock shock, then exploded in outrage. “She—what the hell is she playing at?! Spreading lies to frame me like that!”
“Wahhh~ I… I knew… A-Sheng would never say stuff like that about me. Ni, Ni Sihan tricked me! She’s, she’s a bad person!” Song An’an wept as she spoke, her voice utterly heartbroken.
Liang Sheng thumped her chest in solemn promise. “An’an, don’t you worry. Don’t fall for Ni Sihan’s nonsense. I’d never badmouth you behind your back. I like you way too much—how could I ever say anything bad about you?”
“Y-Yeah!” Song An’an perked up.
Wait—hold on? Her romance-addled brain suddenly clicked: Did her A-Sheng just say she likes… me?
“Ding~” Favorability rose.
“Song An’an’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 200+”
“But…” Liang Sheng launched into the next phase of her plan. “An’an, I always knew Ni Sihan was scheming, so I played it smart. I recorded our whole chat, just in case she tried framing me. And get this—I called it! Hahaha! I’ll send it over; you’ll love how ridiculous it is.”
Ah~ A-Sheng’s so clever! A fresh wave of admiration for the green-haired girl washed over Song An’an.
“Ding~” Favorability rose.
“Song An’an’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 200+”
“Mm-hmm! A-Sheng, I’m gonna learn from you. No more trusting people so easily!”
Seizing the moment, Liang Sheng switched to victim mode. “An’an, I feel so wronged~”
“W-What’s wrong?”
“You actually doubted me back there—like I’d ever trash-talk An’an behind her back. It hurts my heart so much…”
“I-I didn’t!” Song An’an flailed her hands in panic, terrified she’d truly wounded Liang Sheng.
Right then, Gu Yuqi’s call came in. Liang Sheng figured Ni Sihan had blabbed to Song An’an first, then gone straight to Gu Yuqi.
“Alright, An’an, relax—I was just messing around~ I know you didn’t mean it. You care about me so much, you just panicked, that’s all.” Liang Sheng soothed her. “I’ll send the recording now. Gotta hang up.”
“Mm-hmm~” Song An’an hung up obediently.
Mm! From now on, I’ll trust A-Sheng no matter what—and ignore those other scheming women! Song An’an balled her fists, shot to her feet, her face brimming with resolve.
Liang Sheng opened the recording and fired it off to Song An’an.
“An’an, here’s the clip~ Listen close, okay?”
After hitting send, she waited for Song An’an’s reaction once she’d heard it.
Without missing a beat, she dialed Gu Yuqi right back.
“Hello? Senior Sister Yuqi, this is about my chat with Ni Sihan, isn’t it?” Liang Sheng fumed. “I was just on the phone with An’an about it too. I’m furious!”
“Ah…” Gu Yuqi’s tone remained even. “Er, well, not entirely.”
What? Something else? Had that schemer Ni Sihan whispered even more nonsense to Senior Sister Gu Yuqi?
