CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 118: SOWING DISCORD?

In that moment, Xia Liang was, in her eyes, infinitely close to being the perfect man. She was genuinely happy that her best friend could find someone so wonderful.

Yuying coughed dramatically. Clearly, she was having a hard time accepting Xia Liang’s response. What’s with this guy? Shouldn’t he be complaining at least a little bit right now? Then, I can stir up some trouble and have the fool outside the door tell Zhou Ruo everything.

Yes, Wei Wei’s appearance at the door was all part of her plan. She had deliberately acted strangely just to make Wei Wei suspicious. My calculations were perfect. If Xia Liang complains about me, Wei Wei will definitely pass it on to Zhou Ruo. Then I can swoop in and play the part of a mediator. To Xia Liang, I’ll say, ’It’s all my fault for causing this misunderstanding between you and Xiao Ruo.’ And to Zhou Ruo, I’ll say, ’This man is no good at all. I just tested him, and he showed his true colors. You can’t be with a man like him.’

She had the whole script planned out, but damn it, he wasn’t playing by the rules.

After taking a moment to regain her composure, Yuying could only manage a dry laugh. "Heh heh, well, you’re..." She wracked her brain before finally squeezing out a compliment. "You’re really something else."

"Of course," Xia Liang accepted it readily.

After all, praise is music to anyone’s ears, especially a word like ’strong’.

Seeing that Xia Liang had once again killed the conversation, Yuying rolled her eyes in resignation and tried a new tactic. She let out a long, theatrical sigh, her tone full of sorrow as she deliberately lowered her gaze to the floor.

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds passed.

Yuying grew puzzled. Why isn’t he asking what’s wrong? Normally, a girl sighing like this would immediately pique a man’s curiosity and make him ask. What is wrong with this person?

She glanced up at Xia Liang, only to find him completely engrossed in his drawing.

Damn it all!

Yuying wanted to curse out loud. What is wrong with this guy? Can’t you act even a little bit normal? A beautiful woman is sighing right in front of you. The least you could do is react! Her inner rant, however, was completely useless.

Defeated, Yuying had no choice but to spell it out. "Brother Xia, I... my boyfriend and I just broke up."

Outside the door, Wei Wei wanted to reach in and slap Yuying. If she hadn’t just seen Yuying on a video call with her boyfriend on the way over, even she might have fallen for it. That shameless woman! Though she was cursing Yuying inwardly, Wei Wei forced herself to keep listening patiently, eager to hear how Xia Liang would handle this.

At her words, Xia Liang first looked taken aback. Then, a look of dawning comprehension crossed his face. "Oh? Oh, so you were talking to me?"

Who the hell else would I be talking to?! Is there someone hiding in this room? Yuying felt she was about to go crazy, but she reined in her frustration and continued.

"I’m so envious of Zhou Ruo for having such a great boyfriend. Why can’t I ever meet someone like you?"

Xia Liang didn’t seem to take her words seriously at all, replying offhandedly, "How would I know? Maybe you just have bad luck."

...

Xia Liang’s response made a vein throb on Yuying’s forehead. Damn it! Can’t you just talk like a normal person?! Suppressing the urge to just get up and leave, Yuying lowered her voice. "It’s such a pity..."

This time, Xia Liang didn’t ignore her. He followed up with a question, "A pity about what?"

Hearing Xia Liang finally follow her script, Yuying was almost moved to tears. She hurriedly continued, "It’s a pity I didn’t meet you sooner, Brother Xia. I wouldn’t have had to suffer so much."

As soon as she spoke, two people—one inside the room and one outside—held their breath, tensely awaiting Xia Liang’s reply. Her statement was practically an open confession. A single word of comfort from Xia Liang would have filled the room with a charged, ambiguous atmosphere. Unfortunately, he seemed completely oblivious. He just said coolly, "What’s there to feel pity about? Even if we had met earlier, we wouldn’t know each other if it weren’t for Xiao Ruo. Besides, you’re not my type."

...

What a man! He’s unbeatable! Outside the door, Wei Wei gave Xia Liang a huge mental thumbs-up. Now *that’s* a real man, resisting temptation like that.

Inside the room, Yuying finally accepted that her plan had been a complete failure. She had no idea where she’d gone wrong. Could it be that he’s a master strategist, too? Does he think Zhou Ruo sent me here to test him? It was no wonder she thought so; after all, Xia Liang’s responses had been flawless. But first, I need to handle the girl outside the door.

Suddenly, she burst out laughing. "You really are the man Xiao Ruo chose! I was just testing you for her. If you had shown even the slightest weakness just now, believe me, I’d be telling Xiao Ruo all about it."

A test? If the System hadn’t just given me a choice, I might have actually believed you, you crafty old fox. Although Xia Liang saw right through her, he saw no need to expose her. He simply replied flatly, "Oh."

Yuying could only pout. "Alright, alright, don’t be so cold. I’m leaving now. But you can consider my test passed. You’ve officially cleared the ’future husband for Xiao Ruo’ hurdle."

Xia Liang had no reaction to her words. But Wei Wei, who had been just about to report everything to Zhou Ruo, suddenly widened her eyes. Hearing Yuying was coming out, she scurried away.

It wasn’t until she reached the living room that a look of sudden understanding dawned on her face. She murmured to herself, "I can’t believe it... Xiao Ying was just testing him..." A wave of guilt washed over her. "And I actually doubted her."

While Wei Wei was still berating herself, Yuying emerged from Xia Liang’s room. After composing herself, she spotted Wei Wei in the living room and asked with perfectly feigned surprise, "Oh? Xiao Wei? What are you doing here? Are you done with your tour of the house?"

Wei Wei waved her hands, looking a little guilty. "No, no."

Looks like she fell for it, just as I planned, Yuying thought. Too bad Xia Liang didn’t take the bait. She had no interest in teasing Wei Wei any further, so she just said, "Come on, let’s go find Xiao Ruo."

"Okay," Wei Wei quickly nodded.

「Half an hour later.」

Zhou Ruo and her friends were singing in the karaoke room when Xia Liang finally finished his painting. He put it away in his backpack.

"Done."

Clapping his hands together once, Xia Liang left the art studio. The four women were still singing, but Xia Liang had no interest in joining them. He went to find the chef he had summoned from the Qingyun Grand Hotel and instructed him to start preparing dinner.

At nine o’clock, with everything ready, Xia Liang went to the karaoke room to call everyone to the dining table.

「At the dining table.」

Dish after magnificent dish was brought out, and the four women stared, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Australian lobster, Emperor crab, Kobe beef steak, abalone, bird’s nest soup, shark fin... A spread like this at a high-end restaurant would cost so much they’d all be eating instant noodles for a month to pay for it.

Even the fried rice was made with Italian Alba white truffles. These truffles were notoriously difficult to cultivate, making them incredibly expensive and highly sought after. In the past, a single truffle weighing about 1.5 kilograms once sold for a price equivalent to one million Yuan.