Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Qiao Lian had no idea why she had said that. But now that she had said it, she could only wait for a response.
Silence. The line had gone silent again.
Qiao Lian stared straight ahead, as though she was looking into the night. But she wasn’t looking at anything.
Her mind was a tangled mess…
Did Shen Liangchuan know it was her?
She recalled something. When she had been at the end of the rope, he had come out of nowhere and, like a saviour, had suggested a contractual marriage.
She recalled again. When they had just gotten married, he had been cold towards her and there was always a sense of unexplainable animosity.
She had eventually thought that he treated her that way because of his first love.
But now she found out that wasn’t the case.
And if that wasn’t the case, then what exactly was the case?
Could it be that he did not know she was Xiao Qiao?
This thought hung in mid-air all, tangled and complicated. Qiao Lian felt like her brain was overloaded and about to explode.
She continued to stare straight ahead. She might as well not think about anything, she would just wait for his answer.
Second by second, time slipped away.
The room was absolutely silent.
Then he finally spoke, “I know…”
Like it was nothing. It wrung her heart.
How could he be so unperturbed?
She thought about the moment she had realized he was Zi Chuan. Those raging emotions… and yet listening to him now…
Qiao Lian was even confident that Shen Liangchuan had known she was Xiao Qiao for a long time.
But if he had known all along she was Xiao Qiao, why had he treated her like this?
Qiao Lian had too many questions that needed clarification.
However the moment she opened her mouth, she realized she no longer knew what to ask.
She sat there, stunned.
The both of them fell silent, as though they didn’t quite know what to say next.
After what seemed like a long time, Qiao Lian snapped out of the hypnotic silence.
The one thing she really wanted to know was… why did he not turn up eight years ago, when they were supposed to have met?
Gathering her courage, she was just about to ask the question when she heard Song Cheng’s voice in the background, saying, “Brother Shen, the director is waiting for you.”
Qiao Lian paused and held back the words that she was about to speak.
Instead, she said with understanding, “You go take care of it, we’ll speak again when you have time.”
Shen Liangchuan replied, “Okay. You take good care of yourself.”
“Ok.”
After the phone call, Qiao Lian lay on the bed staring at the silent night sky. So Shen Liangchuan was really busy, not avoiding her!
But little did she know…
In an office building in Beijing City.
Shen Liangchuan stood by the full-length window, quietly looking out into the distance. The cell phone was still in his hand, frozen in the same position as when he hung up.
Song Cheng was standing behind him. Everyone else had gone home after work; only the two of them were in the office.
Song Cheng cleared his throat. “Brother Shen, we- should we really be lying to Ms. Qiao?”
The icy stare from Shen Liangchuan that followed was enough to shut him up for good.
Shen Liangchuan continued to look into the distance.
Underneath his usual calmness, he was at a loss.
Although he had tried his best to cover up his moves during the game, it seemed like Qiao Lian had managed to spot something suspicious.
And hence the call.
She said she had a question…
He didn’t have to think very hard to figure out what she was going to ask.
But to revisit what had happened eight years ago… would only hurt the both of them.