CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204: THE REAL DEAL!

They believed they were no match for Han Mengyu.

Hearing what Xia Liang said, Han Mengyu lightly tapped him and peeled a grape.

"Ah..."

As she spoke, Han Mengyu’s face turned bright red, partly from the alcohol and partly from shyness. It was her first time doing something like this. Xia Liang ate the grape in one bite, and she quickly offered him another.

In the midst of the crowd, Zhou Xiangqiao finally squeezed her way through and smiled at Xia Liang as a form of greeting. Then she turned to look at Shi Qiang. Even though he didn’t have a girl on each arm, the group of women around him was quite proactive, with some even forcefully linking arms with him to make him drink.

Her bootlicker was actually surrounded by other people, and Zhou Xiangqiao couldn’t stand it. She immediately shouted, "Step aside!"

Her words immediately made the people drinking unhappy.

"Who are you? Don’t you know the rules?"

"You just got here and you’re telling us to step aside? Who do you think you are?"

"Do you think you’re Young Master Shi’s girlfriend, telling us to leave?"

"Exactly. You should take a good look in the mirror."

...

Although Zhou Xiangqiao was indeed pretty, there were a few women in the crowd whose looks were on par with hers. Rebutted like this, her face turned pale.

That’s right! At best, I’m just his ex-girlfriend. What right do I have? Her only hope now was for Shi Qiang to speak up for her.

Luckily, Shi Qiang saw her just then. Although he had grown a bit bolder through this series of trials, he still felt a little nervous seeing Zhou Xiangqiao.

"Xiang Qiao, you... what are you doing here?"

Seeing that Shi Qiang did indeed know this woman, the girls nearby looked at each other, unsure what to say for a moment.

Zhou Xiangqiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seems he still feels the same way about me, she thought. This is perfect.

Zhou Xiangqiao knew she couldn’t treat him as she had before. She took a deep breath.

"Shi Qiang, I think there were some misunderstandings between us. Can we have a proper talk?"

"Talk? What about?" Shi Qiang was utterly confused. In fact, he had no idea what she wanted to talk about.

Hearing this, Zhou Xiangqiao glanced around, gritted her teeth, and said, "Get rid of them first."

Before Shi Qiang could even agree to her demand, the girls nearby were having none of it.

"Why should we?"

"Exactly! We’re having such a good time with Shi!"

"Could it be the ex-girlfriend has come knocking?"

"That’s what I think it is..."

Hearing someone guess the truth, Zhou Xiangqiao’s face turned a few shades paler. She paled at the realization. With the label of ’ex-girlfriend,’ these girls will probably ridicule me until I want to crawl into a hole. Forget about talking to him, I’ll probably be sent packing in disgrace.

On the other side, Han Mengyu, watching this scene unfold, turned her head to Xia Liang.

"Is that her?"

"That’s right." Xia Liang naturally wrapped his arm around her, holding her against his chest.

Han Mengyu looked her over and finally commented, "She’s so average." As she said this, it was clear she didn’t understand why Xia Liang had bothered to stage this play for a few cents.

"But someone likes her," Xia Liang said with a resigned look towards Shi Qiang.

It was obvious he was struggling. I want to help her, he thought, but I remember how she shut me down this afternoon. Besides, I have no idea how to get rid of these girls. They were just drinking with me and feeding me fruit. It would be too cruel to just kick them to the curb now, wouldn’t it?

Uncertain of what to do, Shi Qiang turned his head to look at Xia Liang, his eyes a mix of confusion and nervousness, clearly pleading for help.

Xia Liang, however, ignored him and simply picked up some fruit to eat. He was clearly leaving Shi Qiang to handle the situation himself.

Helpless, and seeing that Xia Liang was ignoring him, Shi Qiang could only bite the bullet and step up.

"Why are you here?"

Although Shi Qiang’s tone wasn’t warm, he had at least responded.

Zhou Xiangqiao immediately explained, "I couldn’t get through to your phone, but then Brother Xia picked up. He said you were at the bar. I was worried you’d get drunk, so I came over to make sure you had a safe ride home."

Shi Qiang found her explanation laughable. What an obvious excuse. If Brother Xia and I were actually drunk, how could a girl like her possibly get us both home? Back in the day, I was lucky if she even replied to a text, let alone called me.

Shi Qiang wasn’t a fool. I know Xia Liang set all this up for me. Her attitude only changed because he created this facade of me being a wealthy heir. She just wants to get her hooks into me. To hell with love! The woman I once groveled for treated me with utter indifference, but now that I’ve been packaged a little, she’s come running back.

He knew that he could have more than just a relationship with her now. If he were a little bolder, she would probably even go to a hotel with him. The thought made his breath catch in his throat. But it was clear he was all bark and no bite. He quickly came back to his senses. This is all a charade created by Xia Liang. If we got together, the truth would come out soon enough, and she would definitely leave me then. Anyone else in my shoes would probably try to keep the deception going for as long as possible, but I’m not like them.

Shi Qiang’s gaze became firm. He looked steadfastly at Zhou Xiangqiao.

"We’re over. Please leave."

As he said this, he forced the words out through gritted teeth, even though his heart ached.

"What?" Clearly, Zhou Xiangqiao couldn’t believe those words were coming from Shi Qiang’s mouth.

I thought that by coming here and making such a huge concession, he would forgive me once I agreed to be his girlfriend, no matter how angry he was. But I didn’t even get to play my trump card before he shut me down and told me to leave.

For a moment, Zhou Xiangqiao found it hard to accept. After all, she had just pushed away a wealthy heir who loved her. She could have lived a carefree life, affording luxury goods without needing to work. But all that was now gone.

With a tinge of heartache, Zhou Xiangqiao said, "Why? Didn’t you used to love me so much? Didn’t you say you would wait for me? I’ve come back to you now, let’s start over, okay?"

Listening to her, the surrounding women were momentarily dumbstruck. So she really was the ex-girlfriend. But they weren’t fools. They could see Shi Qiang was still somewhat reluctant. This wasn’t the time to kick someone while they’re down; it might just backfire on them.

"Because I don’t like you anymore," Shi Qiang said. "Can’t you see all these girls around me now?"

Hearing this, a few of the women even edged closer into his embrace.