Mr. Liang, you mustn't covet other people's fiancées!

After getting into the car, Qin Youya looked at Meng Shu.

"Meng Shu, you've been begging me to come here to look at jewelry all day. Did you already know that Xu and Wen Li were here?"

Meng Shu shook her head: "Aunt Qin, please don't misunderstand. I really didn't know Chao Xu and the others were here too."

Qin Youya stared at her intently without saying a word.

Meng Shu was extremely nervous and turned her head away, avoiding eye contact with her.

After a moment, Qin Youya withdrew her gaze, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes to rest: "You've been smart since you were little, so there are some things I don't need to explain to you clearly. The Zhao family will be at my birthday banquet. If you're interested, you can talk to Zhao Zhixing about it."

Meng Shu suddenly turned her head: "Aunt Qin, my thoughts..."

"I'm tired," Qin Youya interrupted her.

Meng Shu stopped talking and took out her phone to send a message to Jiang You.

[Vice President Jiang, do you still stand by what you said before?]

Jiang You replied quickly: 【What do you want to do?】

Meng Shu: [Right after the Spring Festival, didn't you say that the two of us could collaborate?]

Jiang You replied after a while: "I no longer have that idea."

Meng Shu gritted her teeth inwardly, her eyes revealing resentment: [Wen Li doesn't seem to like Liang Chaoxu, and Liang Chaoxu doesn't seem to care for her much either.]

Jiang You replied very quickly this time: [Did you bully Wen Li with him?]

Meng Shu rolled her eyes and briefly explained how Liang Chaoxu had remained silent throughout the jewelry store and Wen Li's reaction.

After the message was sent, Jiang You remained silent.

Meng Shu frowned and waited for a while before suppressing her anger and throwing her phone into her bag.

In the jewelry store on the other side

Wen Li leaned back on the sofa and said to Liang Chaoxu, "You choose for yourself, I can't pick one."

Liang Chaoxu raised his hand, and upon seeing this, the person in charge quickly led the staff out of the VIP room.

He picked up the jade bracelet and put it back on Wen Li's wrist: "My mother means that she likes whatever you choose."

Wen Li turned her head away: "But..."

Liang Chaoxu squeezed her fingertips: "No buts. I trust your judgment, and so does my mother."

Wen Li straightened up and carefully selected a three-piece set in imperial purple.

When Liang Chaoxu signed for payment, the person in charge asked, "Mr. Liang, after Miss Wen's jewelry is finished, should it be sent to Liangyuan Mansion or Yuhe Mansion?"

"Yuhe Mansion".

It was nearly dusk when I left the jewelry store.

The midsummer evening breeze was hot and humid. Wen Li lowered the passenger window, rested her head on her arm, and stared blankly at the bustling street scene.

When stuck in traffic, cars can only move at a snail's pace.

Liang Chaoxu turned his head to look at her profile, a gentle smile in his eyes: "What are you thinking about?"

Wen Li didn't even turn her head: "I was thinking I'd eat two ice creams when I get home later."

Liang Chaoxu became serious: "No, your period is coming soon, eating so much will make your stomach hurt."

Wen Li didn't say anything. After a moment of silence, she slowly turned around and looked at him: "You're very good at taking care of girls."

Liang Chaoxu was slightly taken aback: "Why are you suddenly saying that?"

Wen Li shook her head and leaned back against her arm: "It's nothing, I was just reminiscing."

Ahead, the traffic was heavy, and Liang Chaoxu drove attentively, lost in thought.

After finishing their meal, Liang Chaoxu dropped Wen Li off at the entrance of the Guanghuali residential area, told her to eat less ice cream, and then drove away.

When Wen Li got home, she washed up and went straight to the refrigerator. She took out a box of ice cream, snuggled up on the sofa, and ate it while watching TV.

The story revolves around a childhood sweetheart who, due to family misfortune, is forced to live with her childhood friend. As they spend time together, they gradually fall in love, but a misunderstanding separates them for many years. Ultimately, they stay together for life.

As Wen Li looked at the jewelry, she suddenly remembered what Qin Youya had said to her at the jewelry store earlier that day: "That's how your grandmother and I taught you..."

Upon realizing this, she froze in shock.

In that sense, Meng Shu and Liang Chaoxu were truly childhood sweethearts, and they might even have been deeply in love with each other before.

In an instant, fragments of past memories that I had seen or heard with my own eyes flooded my mind.

That summer, in front of the wonton shop, Meng Shu, her eyes red with tears, questioned Liang Chaoxu. The two sat facing each other, their pain unspeakable…

Meng Shu repeatedly said that she and Liang Chaoxu took care of each other. They always felt special towards one another…

Wen Li, with an ice cream spoon in her mouth, was still in a daze.

Therefore, the relationship between Meng Shu and Liang Chaoxu may still be one of deep affection and intense hatred.

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Li suddenly twitched the corners of her mouth and smiled.

Never mind, I've loved others too.

How could I ask him to empty his entire heart and leave only me?

After laughing, Wen Li couldn't help but ponder seriously—if the relationship between Meng Shu and Liang Chaoxu was truly one of intense love and hate, was it more love or more hate?

Just then, my phone vibrated.

Wen Li took it and saw that it was Tian Miao.

"What's wrong, Miaomiao?"

It was very noisy on Tian Miao's end; judging from the background noise, it must have been in a bar or club, so Wen Li couldn't hear her clearly and could only catch bits and pieces of what she was saying.

"President Liang... is drunk...Director Meng is here to pick him up..."

Wen Li frowned, but before she could respond, her phone beeped with another call.

"Miaomiao, wait a minute. I need to take this call."

With that, Wen Li hung up on Tian Miao and answered Jiang You's call.

"Senior."

"Wen Li, is Liang Chaoxu good to you?"

Before Jiang You could finish speaking, Wen Li froze.

After a few seconds, she laughed and said, "It's fine."

Jiang You took a deep breath: "He didn't even protect you, and you call that 'good'?"

Wen Li was slightly taken aback, and asked three questions in a row: "What protection? When did this happen? How come I don't know anything about it?"

Jiang You gave an irrelevant answer: "Wen Li, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

Wen Li remained silent, listening quietly to what he had to say.

Jiang You explained in detail: "Liang Chaoxu and Meng Shu have been friends for many years. In a sense, they are childhood sweethearts who have known each other since they were young."

When Meng Shu was eleven years old, her family suffered a tragedy, leaving her and her grandmother to depend on each other. When the patriarch of the Liang family was alive, he was an old acquaintance of Meng Shu's grandfather, and the Liang family has been taking care of Meng Shu and her grandmother ever since.

"Liang Chaoxu and Meng Shu have been attending the same school since junior high school, and the entanglement between them is far more complicated than you have seen."

"Wen Li, Liang Chaoxu is older than you, and more shrewd. Some things are not as simple as you think."

Jiang You paused for a long time after saying this.

Wen Li thought he had finished speaking, and slowly said, "Senior, I only realized what you just said a few minutes ago."

"I knew a long time ago that they had a close relationship, but I believed Liang Chaoxu wouldn't do..."

"He might just be using you," Jiang You interrupted.

Wen Li was stunned: "...What?"

Jiang You sighed heavily: "I was deceived by him too. He kept saying he would protect you, but now I realize he was lying."

Wen Li clenched her fingers, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

Jiang You continued, "The only person he wanted to marry from beginning to end was Meng Shu."

"To him, you are nothing but a facade."

"The Liang family doesn't approve of Meng Shu marrying into the family, so he pretends to want to marry you. In this way, the Liang family will naturally choose the better option between the two."

Wen Li didn't know how she ended the call.

The moment the call ended, messages from Tian Miao started popping up one after another.

[Again, it seems Mr. Liang is drunk.]

[Director Meng and Gu Zhihuai, who had dinner at your house last time, are also here.]

……