Liang Xiheng’s thin lips curved slightly. ”Quite bold.”
Yun Qing was momentarily at a loss for words.
Honestly, making eye contact with him while dancing was a very stressful thing.
His presence was too overpowering. The moment their eyes met, a tingling sensation ran across her scalp. But strangely, once was all it took to want a second time. She survived it all thanks to her solid performance skills—she wasn’t thrown off by him.
“Not bold enough, and I’d never have caught you.”
“You know me well?” he said flatly.
Yun Qing’s eyes trembled, and her confidence dipped considerably. ”What I mean is, I have to take the initiative to get Xiheng-ge to notice me, so I’ll have a chance to get closer to you.”
Her words were sincere and pure.
The phrase “get closer” made Liang Xiheng’s gaze pause for a moment.
His words carried deep meaning. ”And how would that ‘getting closer’ work?”
Yun Qing thought for a moment, then said in a soft voice, ”For example, if Xiheng-ge took my hand tonight of his own accord, quietly caring whether I was warm or cold—that would be a step closer.”
Her eyes were exceptionally clear. They seemed innocent, but in truth they quietly tracked his every move.
Liang Xiheng’s smile faded, and all thought of teasing her vanished.
Even so, he still habitually kept himself in the dominant position. “Anything else you want to tell me?”
Yun Qing fell into thought.
Before she could figure it out, she heard him ask, “Run into some trouble lately?”
Yun Qing looked at him in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Am I really that old in you students’ eyes?” His tone sounded like teasing, but a layer of coldness lurked in his eyes.
“That’s just because they’ve never met you—they’re making things up about your car.”
Liang Xiheng asked, “Why didn’t you come to me?”
Yun Qing shot back, “If I came to you, would you help me solve it?”
“I’m a victim too.”
Yun Qing’s voice caught. Hearing that from his mouth just sounded strange.
With his status, forget ordinary families—even those tycoons probably wouldn’t dare provoke him lightly.
The words “victim” were truly hard to connect with him.
“I already know who’s behind the rumors.” Yun Qing took out her phone from her bag and handed it to him.
Liang Xiheng took it.
Then she said, “The passcode is 110110.”
Liang Xiheng’s eye arched. “Not afraid I’ll learn your secrets?”
“In front of you, I can have no secrets.”
Yun Qing then told him, “Open the recordings. The file at the very top is the truth behind the rumors.”
Liang Xiheng unlocked the phone with one hand, quickly found the recordings on the clean, tidy home screen, and tapped to play the file.
The recording was completely unedited, opening with a stretch of muffled, noisy clamor.
He dragged the progress bar with his long finger, only letting go when Yun Qing’s frosty voice came through.
He listened all the way to the end.
Liang Xiheng handed the phone back to her. “If she doesn’t post a clarification tomorrow, what’s your plan?”
Yun Qing’s brows lowered slightly, and she said evenly, “If she won’t post it, then I’ll have no choice but to expose the recording.”
Liang Xiheng: “That’s merciful.”
“That’s merciful?”
“Is your school’s disciplinary code just for show?” His deep voice carried a chill.
Yun Qing was momentarily speechless.
With his pointer, she realized she could actually hand over all the rumor screenshots and the recording to the school leadership and let the school punish however it saw fit—no need to show any mercy.
“Let’s wait until tomorrow’s over,” Yun Qing said, looking at him. “I’m sorry for dragging you, Xiheng-ge, into this mess too.”
Liang Xiheng’s voice was low. “As long as you’re satisfied with whatever the outcome is.”
“Okay.”
After a moment of silence, Yun Qing looked at him curiously and asked, “Xiheng-ge, how old are you?”
Seeing his expression shift, she silently cursed herself and quickly changed course. “Never mind, age doesn’t matter to me.”
Liang Xiheng’s eyes turned slightly cold as he followed her words. “Then what does matter to you?”
Yun Qing instinctively tried to placate him. “Nothing matters.”
At that, a flicker of amusement passed through Liang Xiheng’s eyes.
He looked away and murmured a quiet assessment: “Silly girl.”
?
How was that not just an insult?
Yun Qing was momentarily speechless, but she didn’t hold it against him.
Just then, the man suddenly said in a low voice, “I’m going out for a smoke.”
It was a statement, not a request.
The next moment, he grabbed his cigarette pack, opened the door, and got out of the car, leaving her alone inside.
Yun Qing’s gaze followed his figure as he stood alone on the curb behind the car, cupping his hand around the flame to light his cigarette.
The cigarette tip glowed a flickering crimson, and the smoke he exhaled blurred his face.
The last time she’d hugged him, she had caught a very faint scent of tobacco on him—but what stood out more was a crisp, quiet fragrance of cedar. The two scents mingled together, and somehow, the smell made her feel safe.
Come to think of it, she really must be seriously ill.
As if sensing something, his gaze swept over.
It was clearly one-way glass, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that he could see her.
Yun Qing slowly turned her head away, her thoughts spreading like vines.
Just then, Assistant Xu walked over to Liang Xiheng holding a tablet.
“President Liang, we’ve found what you were looking for.”
Liang Xiheng pressed out the remaining half of his cigarette against the lid of a trash can and took the tablet with one hand.
On the screen was a video of the pas de deux from Butterfly Lovers. The moment he tapped play, the still image came to life.
In the video, the female lead was as ethereal as an immortal, her dancing light and graceful.
She wore a costume of pink and white, and as she spun, even the arc of her swirling skirt seemed to carry her lingering tenderness for her partner.
The male lead lifted her effortlessly above his head, then seamlessly assisted her through a difficult backbend.
The looks they exchanged were full of deep affection.
Watching them, they truly seemed like a blissful pair of immortal lovers.
Liang Xiheng’s gaze landed on the male lead’s name. Without needing any explanation from his assistant, he had already guessed what “Yi Gu Qing Cheng” meant.
Before the video finished playing, he shut off the tablet, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. “I see it,” he said coldly.
Assistant Xu said nothing, taking the tablet back from his boss.
Though his boss’s expression was utterly neutral, at this moment he felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Hearing a sound, Assistant Xu instinctively turned his head.
Seeing that it was Yun Qing getting out of the car, he quietly withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.
Under the pale, hazy glow of the streetlight, that dignified, imposing face of his seemed even more aloof, his hands-in-pockets aura set off by the darkness of the night, making people wary of approaching him.
Yun Qing walked up to him with her bag in hand and said, “Xiheng-ge, if you have things to take care of, I won’t keep you.”
Liang Xiheng looked at her thin, bright dance dress, his voice flat. “Put your clothes on.”
Yun Qing: “?”
“In the car. My jacket.”
“Oh.” Yun Qing then turned back, took the suit jacket he’d left on the armrest, and draped it over herself.
By this time, Liang Xiheng had already walked up behind her, calmly watching as she gathered the jacket around herself and turned around.
The smile at the corner of the young girl’s lips seemed impossible to suppress.
It was just a jacket—was she really that happy?
He said evenly, “From now on, whether at school or out somewhere, if anything comes up, tell me right away.”
“Mm.” Yun Qing was overjoyed inside, and said to him with a smile, “See you later, Xiheng-ge.”
Liang Xiheng gave her one last look, then unhurriedly turned and got into the car.
Seeing this, Assistant Xu hurried over to Yun Qing in long strides, his voice respectful: “Miss Yun, we’ll be heading back now.”
Yun Qing nodded. “All right.”