100 Days with the Contract Lover - Chapter 128

Liang Jingtang could only scoff at his own absurdity and humility. At this point, what was he still agonizing over? Would questioning her change any of the facts? His heart was filled with disappointment; the depth of his love for her mirrored the depth of his disappointment now.

For the past thirty years, he never imagined he would love a woman so deeply, let alone that the woman he loved would be someone who hid her identity as a married woman. He had wholeheartedly trusted her, aware of her concealment, yet never investigated further because he believed she wouldn’t deceive him.

But reality proved how laughable his belief was!

How could she be so cruel?

She claimed to appreciate his kindness, yet ultimately used his love as a weapon to wound him deeply!

There was nothing left to say, was there? Each additional word only made him feel more insignificant.

He turned away, and she didn’t follow.

Yet, it was him who stopped first.

He stood with his back to her for a long time, unable to resist trampling on his dignity, and asked her, “Did you ever like me? Even just a tiny bit?”

He knew pursuing this question was pointless, yet he couldn’t let it go.

“If there was no Nangong Yao, would you have accepted me?”

Yu Nuanxin knew the answer in her heart, but at this point, affirming it wouldn’t change anything and would only hurt him more. So she hardened her heart and forced herself to be ruthless. “This means nothing to either of us. I hope we can still be friends.”

That was a denial, wasn’t it?

She had never been moved by him.

Liang Jingtang was completely disheartened, his heart turned to ashes. He finally trampled on his last shred of dignity and received such an ending. “Sorry, I can’t be friends with someone who has deceived me.” He left resolutely.

Yu Nuanxin bowed her head in sorrow, tears silently streaming down.

I’m sorry, truly sorry, a million apologies…

If there was anything she could do to make amends, she would do it without hesitation. But he would never see her again, would he?

…

Nangong Yao stood on the rooftop, witnessing everything. Seeing her with her head down, he knew she was crying. Her sadness was like a needle, piercing his heart, and he felt it too.

He had orchestrated all of this; the outcome was as he had predicted, but it didn’t bring him the satisfaction he had anticipated.

His feelings for her seemed to have shifted, perhaps earlier than he realized, but he hadn’t noticed.

Yet he vowed that the grievances and pain she endured today, he would personally make up for.

…

After Liang Jingtang left, everything returned to normal. Yu Nuanxin continued her work, gossiping with colleagues during lunch, but it was clear that everyone felt a bit down. Occasionally, when Liang Jingtang was mentioned, the atmosphere would become awkward.

Chen Ran once probed if she had argued with Liang Jingtang, but she didn’t know how to respond. In any case, not seeing him left her feeling empty and filled with guilt.

A week passed like this, and everyone seemed to have adjusted somewhat. Yu Nuanxin wasn’t as deeply affected as she had been initially.

That afternoon, just half an hour into work, Yu Linglong came over with a sour expression to inform her that the president wanted to see her in the office.

She thought to herself that the devil was going to torment her again. Reluctantly, she went upstairs, forcing a polite smile. “President, you wanted to see me?”

“Accompany me on a business trip to France.”

“What?” Did she hear that right?

“I don’t know what part you didn’t understand.”

Uh… she understood each word individually, but together they didn’t make sense. “Isn’t that Assistant Xiang’s job? I’m just a small assistant.” A ‘sweet deal’ like a trip to Paris seemed far beyond her reach.

“I don’t need you to remind me of your position or how I should arrange things.”

“Oh… but… I have a lot of work.” Yu Nuanxin was conflicted. France was her dream destination, and she really wanted to go, but not with Nangong Yao. Moreover, she hadn’t fully adjusted her mood and really didn’t want to travel far at the moment.

“Delegate it to other colleagues!”

“But…”

“Your duty is to do as I say!” Nangong Yao’s domineering command left her no choice. She sighed helplessly. “Yes! When are we leaving?”

“Now!”

“Now?” she exclaimed. Wasn’t that too rushed? “But my passport, ID, clothes, skincare products, and…”

“None of that is necessary. I’ve already prepared clothes for you,” Nangong Yao said with a teasing look. “They’re all in your size.”

Yu Nuanxin instinctively wanted to protect her chest. Why did he seem so wicked and improper?

Xiang Wei knocked and entered, carrying a suitcase. “President, everything’s ready.”

She looked at Yu Nuanxin with a mix of surprise and inevitability.

The surprise was because she had always accompanied the president on business trips, and this change to Yu Nuanxin was hard to accept.

The inevitability was because the president had been revolving around this woman lately. Taking her on a trip under the guise of business was no surprise. She had already checked; there was no business with France recently, so the president’s intention to spend time alone with her was clear.

Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she was really… jealous!

The feeling was so strong that for a moment, she had the impulse to wish this woman would disappear from the world.

But she forced it down. Jealousy could make a woman lose her mind and become terrifying, and she didn’t want to be that kind of woman.

Yu Nuanxin could see the hostility in Xiang Wei’s eyes and silently blamed Nangong Yao for putting her in this situation. It was obvious to anyone that Xiang Wei had a crush on him. He was as cunning as a fox; how could he not know?

Making a woman who secretly loved him ‘serve’ another woman was like trying to drive her crazy. From another perspective, it was also putting her in the spotlight!