CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: BAI YUEGUANG’S STAND-IN

Shen Liao didn’t say any nonsense; his promises weren’t meaningless empty words either, perhaps he was a man with some responsibility.

Jiang Lai really liked him.

She liked his face, his body, and his eyes.

So when facing him, Jiang Lai didn’t feel particularly impatient; instead, all she could think about was the sound of his urgent breathing when he embraced her just now.

Indeed, feelings that engage the body but not the heart are quite thrilling.

But there was no choice; Jiang Lai still had to push him away.

"Shen Liao, stop deceiving me, and stop deceiving yourself."

"I haven’t..."

"I saw that agreement."

The man’s extended hand instantly froze, and his eyes clearly showed panic and helplessness.

"I can explain."

"Alright, go ahead, explain what the words ’maintenance agreement’ mean."

The man bit his lip tightly, fully aware that his relationship with Jiang Lai was like an infected wound, and the only cure might be to cut it out completely.

"I admit, when I first got together with you, it wasn’t because I liked you. I was despicable and vile; you can hit me and curse me if you want. I only hope you can give me another chance."

"Did you keep me by your side because of that girl you proposed to that day?"

"No, it was a misunderstanding that day, I couldn’t possibly propose to her..."

Jiang Lai took a deep breath, her tone growing calmer.

"Alright, let’s not talk about the wedding; let’s talk about the previous point. Did you keep me by your side because of her?"

Shen Liao was silent.

Jiang Lai was silent too.

He couldn’t continue lying and hiding, but he also couldn’t face Jiang Lai’s increasingly disappointed and sorrowful gaze.

"Jiang Lai..."

A shout, low and suppressed, carried a helpless and uneasy tremor.

Jiang Lai forced a difficult smile.

"I’ve already signed the words on the agreement, so that you won’t feel indebted to me. I’ll take everything you give me, don’t worry. Since she’s back, I will leave."

"Jiang Lai, don’t do this! It’s true that I was wrong about this, please give me a chance to make amends, alright?"

Jiang Lai shook her head.

"Shen Liao, I’m just an ordinary girl, utterly ordinary. For you, I tolerated Shen An’s sarcastic comments, ignored the bullying and oppression from the upper circles, but the reason I could endure these things was because I felt I had a place in your heart. Now you tell me all this was just wishful thinking, from start to end I was merely someone else’s substitute; Shen Liao, you’ve all bullied me like this, how can you ask me to endure it?"

After saying this, Jiang Lai looked at him, resolute.

"Let me go, Shen Liao, if you still have any affection for me."

——

Shen An waited below for only a short while before he saw his big brother coming out.

At first glance, Shen An was too shocked to speak.

After all these years, he was seeing "lost and dejected" embodied in Shen Liao for the first time; no matter what situation, Shen Liao was always proud and noble, yet now he seemed like a wilted eggplant, a person always so strong, suddenly turned into such a state.

Shen An felt a pang in his heart, drooping his head as he walked over.

"Brother... Jiang Lai won’t come down?"

Shen Liao stopped, slowly turned, and looked up at the dim light above.

It was the light he saw every time he came home, warm and spirited.

Only now, standing here, did he realize how precious that simple light of the past had become today.

At this moment, Shen Liao had no idea how to face Jiang Lai.

Shen An hurriedly caught up and followed Shen Liao into the car.

"Brother, what’s the matter? Is Jiang Lai upstairs or is she unwilling to go with you?"

No way, his brother had lowered his pride to apologize, Jiang Lai couldn’t be so blind, could she?

Then, Shen Liao, who had been silent, looked at Shen An.

"How did you find her?"

"Through her social media, like Weibo, Ins, etc..."

"Let me see."

"Ah... okay, okay."

Shen An hastily found Jiang Lai’s Weibo and handed it to Shen Liao. The most recent update was just two days ago, next to a fruit stand, a girl wearing a straw hat and a floral dress, with two black braids gripping a bright orange, smiling brightly, eyes shining like stars.

Shen Liao stared at this photo without moving, a wave of indescribable tenderness and heartache surged within him.

He was almost thirty, and never thought he’d have another chance to experience such vivid and passionate feelings.

Sitting in the car, he swiped through Jiang Lai’s Weibo one post after another; almost all her posts were related to him.

July 2nd: [Someone reading a newspaper looks so handsome, sneaked a pic, not showing you guys!]

June 30th: [I keep wondering how I’m so lucky to have the most handsome man in the world, ah... my fangirl syndrome is acting up again]

May 13th: [In a relationship, is it true that the person who loves the most is the one who gets hurt the easiest?]

Each one, each segment, accompanied by a hand-drawn sketch with a cartoon boy and a cartoon girl, lively and funny.

The comment section doesn’t have kind words.

Some say she’s delusional, some say she dreams all day, and there’s someone sarcastically commenting under every post, telling her to show the man’s photo for everyone to see.

Almost no comment in there is kind, as if someone’s deliberately stirring negativity against a stranger they never met, filled with mockery and ridicule.

And Jiang Lai, she never explained or responded.

When seeing these comments, what was she thinking?

With her sensitive and tearful personality, how could she possibly endure such malicious attacks?

Shen Liao’s breath nearly stopped, his heart twisted with a sharp ache, he put the phone down and slowly exhaled.

"Did you know about these comments?"

Shen An stammered.

"I... I don’t really look at her Weibo, plus what she posts seems like she’s dreaming..."

"I owe her."

On hearing this, Shen An looked at his big brother in disbelief.

"How do you owe her? Brother, she was not even the slightest bit stingy when swiping your card, you spent millions on her, letting her live a life she could never live in her lifetime, how could you owe her?!"

"I’m her boyfriend, she’s supposed to spend some money."

"Brother... get a grip, did Jiang Lai drug you or something?"

Shen An couldn’t just watch his brother’s flower inserted into Jiang Lai’s cow dung.

Not to mention it was a piece of malnourished cow dung.