CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 117 THOUGHTS

Naturally, the person standing outside the door was Yuying. She was delighted when she heard Xia Liang’s voice. This is the right place. I didn’t make a mistake.

Pushing the door open, she went inside. Xia Liang saw it was Yuying and was somewhat curious himself.

"Eh? Yuying? What brings you here? There are plenty of entertainment facilities over there," he said.

Yuying lied without blushing or skipping a beat. "I don’t really like those kinds of places; they’re too noisy. I usually prefer to be alone, reading or painting." She said this because Xia Liang was in the art studio painting. To appeal to his interests, she claimed painting as her hobby as well.

She had thought this would make Xia Liang see her in a new light, but all he did was comment indifferently, "Oh."

With that, the conversation ended. He turned back to his work on the three-meter-long canvas.

Seeing Xia Liang completely ignore her, Yuying felt a flicker of contempt. So sanctimonious. Just a moment ago, when I was flirting with you, you were sneaking glances at me. Now that I’ve delivered myself to your door, you’re pretending you don’t even see me.

Of course, she could only think these things to herself. Since Xia Liang remained silent, she had to be the one to find a topic of conversation. Noticing the lack of paintings in the room, she took the initiative. "I see there aren’t many paintings in the studio. Do you not come here to paint often?"

"Not really," Xia Liang replied.

His terse reply left Yuying speechless once again. She cautiously took two steps forward. Seeing that he said nothing more, she quickly closed the distance between them and bent down to look at the canvas in front of him. In that position, all Xia Liang had to do was turn his head to see her abyss-like cleavage. For today, Yuying had specifically worn her favorite bra.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice full of seduction. She was so close that Xia Liang could even feel her breath on his skin.

"Can’t you see for yourself?" he retorted. "Also, can you keep your mouth further away from me? If you have a cold, you’ll pass it to me."

...

Huh?

Yuying froze, finding his words hard to believe. This was a response she had never imagined in her wildest dreams. What is with this man? Yuying’s lips twitched.

At that moment, Xia Liang had just received his reward.

Yuying finally snapped out of her stupor. Her attention had been entirely on Xia Liang, so she hadn’t bothered to look at what he was painting. Since he had put it that way, she finally turned her gaze to the canvas in front of her. Not looking was one thing, but the moment she did, she sucked in a sharp breath.

HISS.

The three-meter canvas was densely packed with the name "Zhou Ruo," written over and over again. There must be tens of thousands of them! Yuying swallowed hard. That alone would have been astonishing, but the most crucial part was that from a distance, all these names coalesced to form the image of a person’s face.

And that person was, naturally, Zhou Ruo.

In that instant, Yuying realized she had been mistaken. A moment ago, she was mocking Zhou Ruo for not having a firm enough grip on Xia Liang, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. To prepare a gift with such painstaking effort... clearly, Zhou Ruo holds a very high place in his heart.

For a moment, Yuying felt the situation had become tricky. But I’ve always believed that in this world, there’s no cat that won’t steal cream and no man that won’t cheat. Men who are faithful simply lack the ability to cheat or haven’t faced a great enough temptation.

After steeling herself, a fierce determination reignited in her heart. A man this handsome, rich, and talented... I absolutely cannot let him get away!

She covered her mouth and gasped in feigned astonishment. "Oh my, that’s Xiao Ruo! A painting this large must have been very difficult to create, right?"

Xia Liang’s hand never stopped moving as he replied, "It’s fine. Not difficult."

Yuying naturally assumed Xia Liang was just being modest and decided it was time to set a trap for Zhou Ruo. Time to display my exquisite tea artistry, she thought. In her mind, a project of this scale must have taken at least half a month of preparation.

"Does Xiao Ruo know you’re preparing this gift for her?" she asked. She was prepared for both answers. If Xia Liang said "No," she could follow up by saying how little Zhou Ruo must care about him to not even notice something like this. If he said "Yes," then she could pivot to how could Zhou Ruo let him work so hard just for a birthday present.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t anticipated Xia Liang being so monstrously efficient, having spent less than five hours on it over two days. He was already nearing the end. His hand moved at full speed, like a robot meticulously writing the names. Even so, he still found the time to answer her.

"She probably knows."

After all, Zhou Ruo isn’t a fool, Xia Liang thought. She heard it was her birthday and then saw me go into the art studio. Anyone would guess I was preparing a gift for her.

Hearing Xia Liang’s answer, which aligned with one of her scenarios, Yuying began to execute her plan. "Ah? What? So Xiao Ruo knows you’re preparing a gift for her?"

At this, Yuying put on a pained expression. "Oh, Xia Liang, I feel so bad for you. I can’t believe Xiao Ruo would make you work so hard every day just for a gift."

Before Xia Liang could even react to this, Wei Wei, who was listening outside the door, was already seeing red.

Wei Wei was outside the door, but not because she was looking for Xia Liang like Yuying was. She had felt that Yuying was acting strange all day. When Yuying claimed she was going to the karaoke room, Wei Wei’s suspicions were raised. Normally, Yuying was the most obsessed with taking photos, capable of spending two hours editing a single picture. Yet today she wanted to go sing by herself? It didn’t add up. Driven by curiosity, Wei Wei followed her shortly after she left and witnessed a scene that infuriated her: Yuying had gone to the art studio. Wei Wei knew Xia Liang was in there. Sneaking over at a time like this... you don’t have to be a genius to know she’s up to no good.

Unlike Yuying, Wei Wei truly considered Zhou Ruo her close friend. The sight made her want to burst in, but she calmed herself down. Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding, she decided to keep listening for a bit longer.

And that’s when she heard Yuying’s last comment. Wei Wei was instantly livid. That green tea bitch! Zhou Ruo is so good to you, and you stab her in the back by talking about her like this in front of her boyfriend!

Wei Wei was tempted to storm in, grab Yuying by the collar, and demand to know if her conscience had been eaten by a dog. But she held back. She wanted to see how Xia Liang would react. Would he be unfaithful to Zhou Ruo? If he really gets involved with Yuying, I’ll definitely tell Zhou Ruo the truth, she resolved.

Pressing her ear to the door, Wei Wei continued to listen.

Xia Liang finally reacted. He turned to Yuying with a bewildered expression. "Did I say I was having a hard time? You’re a strange person. If I were serious about it, I could finish several pieces like this in a single day."

Huh?!

Yuying was rendered completely speechless by his retort.

Outside, Wei Wei had to stifle a laugh. One, because Xia Liang’s answer was totally unexpected, and two, because Yuying was so thoroughly shut down. He’s probably just saying he can make several a day to annoy her, Wei Wei thought.