Chapter 3
The comments were baffled.
“Is she trying a new tactic?”
“Playing nice won’t help. You’re just a plot device. Give it up.”
“It’s all an act. In a minute she’ll insist on sleeping with him. Who’d have thought? She ended up helping the leads get together instead.”
Cling to him?
Before, I would’ve.
Now, I wouldn’t dare.
Faced with cold, hard cash, love hardly mattered.
Hadn’t some great authority on romance said it?
Love without material security is a heap of sand! One gust of wind! Gone!
I left.
I even thoughtfully shut the door for them.
After all that, surely he wouldn’t cut my pocket money?
No.
I had to act fast. I needed to get my money back as soon as possible and free myself from Ji Liang’an’s control.
My head was full of ways to ask for the money. But only I knew that was a lie.
I was actually on the verge of losing my mind.
If I hadn’t numbed myself with those thoughts, I would’ve jumped out of bed right then and thrown that female lead out.
I was still brooding when I heard a sound at the door.
I tossed my phone aside and closed my eyes.
A gaze settled on my face. It felt almost hot.
Ji Liang’an’s voice was cool. “Stop pretending. I know you’re awake.”
My eyelashes twitched.
“Sit up and drink your hangover soup.”
I wanted to keep pretending, but my phone kept chiming. Clearly, I’d been chatting.
His voice was as calm and low as ever. “Staying up to secretly talk to that man?”
“Cui Baihe, do you like him that much?”
What man?
What was he talking about? Wasn’t he the one chatting with another woman?
They were about to chat their way into bed!
I couldn’t keep pretending.
I opened my eyes and sat up.
I’d meant to get drunk and throw a tantrum at Ji Liang’an.
Ideally, with a hearty feast afterward.
Instead of getting my tantrum, I’d become his third wheel.
“It’s hot.”
“Ji Liang’an, you…”
I bit my tongue in time.
No more making a fuss.
It wasn’t hot, actually. Just warm.
I was simply used to wheedling.
Because that was the only way
to keep his eyes on me.
“Hot?”
He’d come prepared.
From another, otherwise empty bowl, he scooped up an ice cube.
He put it in my mouth.
“Keep it there.”
“Don’t burn your tongue.”
While I couldn’t speak, he explained:
“An old classmate.”
“She argued with her family and needs to stay here for one night.”
“She’s leaving tomorrow morning. Don’t be angry, hmm?”
“This is where the supporting girl stops him and forces herself on him?”
“He obviously won’t let her, so he goes straight to the female lead’s room.”
“If she hadn’t made trouble, they wouldn’t have moved so fast.”
“That’s why he kicks her out the next morning, without even giving her the inheritance.”
The comments were frantically spoiling my ending.
I shook my head over and over and took a large step back.
“It’s fine.”
I spat out the ice cube.
“She can stay here forever for all I care.”
“Brother Liang’an, am I getting in your way?”
“I’ve found somewhere to live. I’ll move out tomorrow.”