Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I had a long, fragmented dream.

In the dream, I lost all sensation in my legs.

Then, wings sprouted from my back, and I felt as though I were floating among the clouds.

In that empty, drifting void, I could still hear bits and pieces of an argument.

And unbelievably, one of the voices was Liang Qiezhao’s.

He was furious-especially, especially fierce.

How novel.

In my memory, Liang Qiezhao was never someone who lost his temper easily.

The only time was one year in winter, after the heavy snow thawed and then froze again. I slipped on the steps outside the company entrance and hurt my tailbone. He guarded me for a whole month, face dark.

After I recovered, he all but forced me to practice driving, making me park in the underground garage. He forbade me from walking those winter roads with a thin sheet of ice ever again.

That counted as the angriest he had ever been.

It was a good thing we broke up.

If he found out I hadn’t listened to his warnings-that I’d driven while emotionally out of control, and even gotten into a car accident-who knew how furious he would be.

Mm. Good thing.

It was all just a dream.

Outside the half-closed door of the hospital room.

Liang Qiezhao stood in front of Ni Jingzhi, arms hanging at his sides, his profile stretched long by the corridor’s cold white light.

“I always felt that distance creates prejudice, so… that’s why I came to see her.” Ni Jingzhi’s voice carried a helpless, aggrieved edge. Her fingers unconsciously twisted at her hem, not daring to meet his gaze.

Liang Qiezhao had eyes dark as ink, like deep seawater with no visible bottom. When he wasn’t speaking, his stare was especially cold.

Right now, paired with his grim face and clenched jaw, those eyes gave off a stern, chilling pressure.

“What exactly did you come to see? Was it necessary to come all this way?!” Liang Qiezhao kept his voice low, but it was drawn so tight it felt ready to tear.

“I wanted to see what kind of person could make you refuse to agree to an engagement for so long.” Ni Jingzhi’s voice broke with a sob. “I was just curious…”

“Curious enough now?” Liang Qiezhao cut her off. “You’ve seen her get into a car accident? Seen her with a concussion? Satisfied?!”

His tone was icy, leaving not the slightest room.

“Jingzhi, even for the sake of the old ties between our parents, I think I’ve already made myself clear enough.”

“I won’t accept a marriage alliance with you. And I won’t get engaged to you.”

“Liang Qiezhao, you’ve rejected me for a whole year. I even took the initiative to help you find excuses in front of the elders-and this is all I get in the end?”

“If you won’t go through with this marriage alliance, do you really think you can marry her now?” Ni Jingzhi finally lost control and cried out loud. “You’ve only just taken over the group-do you really think you can call all the shots in front of the elders? Stop dreaming!”

Liang Qiezhao fell silent for two seconds. In the corridor, there was only her stifled sobbing.

Then he said quietly:

“If not now, then later.”

If it wasn’t her, it wouldn’t be anyone else.