Meng Huimin replied 【Yes, we can meet】.
The setting sun, hemmed in and sliced by the towering buildings on either side, filtered through the glass walls into the Cat Cafe.
Liang Jin was playing with the cats. She had set the meeting time with Meng Huimin for eleven o’clock that night.
Shen Keye asked, “How do you plan to repay me?”
She lifted her gaze and stared at Shen Keye from afar, as if the boy’s breath still lingered close by.
Everything she had asked him to do, he had done.
Yet Liang Jin felt uneasy, like she had struck a deal with the devil.
Liang Jin lowered her eyes and scratched the cat’s belly a couple of times. The British Shorthair had grown familiar with her now, rolling over playfully to expose its soft underbelly and letting out delicate mews. She said, “Next week is my birthday. Mom said if I can’t land the movie role, I have to go back and keep her company.”
Liang Jin squatted there in the dim, expansive glow of the dying sunset, cradling the soft and adorable cat in her arms. Her pitch-black eyes gazed faintly at him. “Shen Keye, do you want to celebrate my birthday with me?”
The boy’s gaze settled on her face. He gave a lazy smile but said nothing.
Liang Jin didn’t believe Meng Huimin’s opinion could decide anything. Shen Junbang wanted Shen Keye and Jiang Manyu to date, so the person backing Jiang Manyu for the female lead role had to be Mr. Shen—whose reputation alone could make all of Central quake. No matter how deep Meng Huimin’s love for Shen Junbang ran, she wouldn’t go into battle for Liang Jin’s sake. The only one who could truly help her was Shen Keye.
—He didn’t particularly care if she got the female lead, but he wanted her to stay in the Hong Kong District.
The girl lowered her eyes to her phone screen. Shen Keye had already left, and the new message read 【See you tomorrow】.
Liang Jin felt she needed to dangle some minor bait for him.
Beside the stream of cars glowing like a luminous ribbon, the girl’s lonely figure trembled her eyelashes faintly as she replied, bartering away a piece of her soul.
【See you tomorrow, Shen Keye.】
~~~
“Jinjin, what’s wrong? You don’t look happy.”
On the school’s tree-lined path, Liang Jin stood gazing toward the distant sports field. Three days had passed since her negotiation with Shen Keye. He had said “see you tomorrow,” but he hadn’t shown up to school at all, and there was still no word from Meng Huimin.
Liang Jin turned her head to Wu Lin and said, “It’s nothing.”
So much had happened lately. Wu Lin’s face filled with concern. “These past few days… Jiang Manyu’s name has been all over school. A lot of people are mocking you.”
Liang Jin tugged at her lips. “People are going to talk. Their mouths are on their own faces.”
Wu Lin didn’t know how to comfort her and grumbled instead, “I heard your department’s planning a welcome party for Jiang Manyu at Ulta? They really know how to play… You don’t have a shift tonight, right? Don’t let it ruin your mood.”
Liang Jin smiled faintly and waved her off. “Linlin, cover for me and call in sick.”
They had signed up late for PE electives and ended up stuck with track and field, which meant a 400-meter run next period. The teacher was a stickler who never let anyone skip. Wu Lin let out an “Ah!” and looked up just as Liang Jin started walking away. She called out anxiously, “Where are you going? What’s your excuse?”
“To find someone.”
At the Shooting Range, Shen Keye charged ahead relentlessly.
Liang Jin had picked up the basics over the past few days and now truly appreciated his skill.
Accuracy forged through a thousand trials.
The phone’s ringtone shattered Liang Jin’s train of thought.
Liang Wei video-called her, crying out “Sis!” Her smile revealed the gaps from her changing teeth.
“Sis, Dad came to see us today!”
Liang Jin sat outside the spectator stands as the little girl animatedly recounted the day’s events to her big sister. “They didn’t fight at all. Dad even asked about Mom and brought me a present! Are they getting back together?”
Liang Wei was only five and a half. She didn’t understand much about family matters and had no idea her parents were divorced.
Liang Wei pulled a rhinestone-encrusted Hello Kitty hair clip from off-camera and held it up proudly. “This is it. Dad said it’s for me, but you love Hello Kitty the most, Sis, so I’m saving it for you.”
Liang Jin frowned. “Did he bring anything else?”
Liang Wei blinked in confusion. “Dad?” Her pigtails bobbed like a rattle drum as she shook her head. “Nope.”
When Liang Wenbin had his affair, he cut a shady deal with his business partners. He gave Zeng Zhi barely any money and sent negligible child support for his two daughters, even though the company he founded raked in millions in revenue every year.
Showing up to visit his own flesh-and-blood daughter and his bedridden ex-wife—while she battled a serious illness—with nothing but cheap wholesale knickknacks from a Yiwu street market? That was exactly the kind of thing Liang Wenbin would do.
Liang Wei hesitated. “But Sis… the doctor said next month we have to move Mom to a regular hospital ward. Does that mean Mom’s getting better, so she’s switching to a normal room?”
Liang Jin’s heart stuttered to a halt. The doctor had mentioned how much cheaper the regular wards were.
It had been Zeng Zhi’s idea.
Liang Jin’s worry deepened for her mother. In the corner of the screen, Zeng Zhi leaned on the bedside tray table, reading a book. She seemed to sense Liang Jin’s gaze and looked over from across the room, smiling at her.
Liang Jin quickly looked away. She comforted Liang Wei with a few words and ended the call.
The training session dragged on until three in the afternoon. Liang Jin followed Shen Keye toward the changing room, but before she could descend the stairs, someone blocked her path.
“Hey, sorry about this—no girls allowed here. It’s all guys.”
The man spoke with a thick Beijing drawl, apparently one of the athletes working under the coach. Liang Jin watched Shen Keye’s retreating figure from afar and said urgently, “I’m looking for someone.”
“Who? Hey, you can look for me. Wanna get to know each other?”
The guy eyed the pretty girl and extended his hand, clearly about to spout more nonsense, when he was interrupted.
“She’s looking for me.”
The guy turned around, his eyelids twitching. “Brother Ye.” He deflated with a pout. “Looking for you, huh.”
Shen Keye stood there, the tip of his nose glistening slightly with sweat, that little mole standing out starkly. He ignored the guy completely. Catching Liang Jin’s faintly reproachful gaze, he guessed the reason and called out with a frown, “Liang Jin.” His tone was flat as he added, “Come here.”
Liang Jin trailed behind him, a touch of irritation in her voice. “I tried calling you, but it didn’t go through.”
Shen Keye had his own private changing room at the shooting range. Liang Jin followed him inside and said firmly, “If there’s something you want, just tell me. You can make me do anything—as long as you actually help me, instead of stringing me along.”
She hated this push-and-pull game. She hated lies.
Shen Keye shrugged off his jacket. Beneath it, he wore only a simple black tank top that clung to his lean muscles, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Liang Jin’s anger faltered, her gaze heating up against her will. She tore her eyes away and called his name like a reprimand: “Shen Keye!”
Shen Keye slipped on a clean jacket and turned back to her, his expression indifferent as he explained, “I’ve been in emergency training these past few days. Haven’t made it to class.”
Liang Jin’s thin lips parted slightly. “You didn’t tell me.”
“You didn’t ask.”
She hadn’t even sent him a simple “good morning.”
Feeling she’d lost ground, Liang Jin said, “So, what about Meng Huimin…” She paused, meeting Shen Keye’s eyes. “What’s your stance on her?”
Shen Keye smiled, his expression inscrutable.
He said, “Come here.”
Liang Jin frowned but stepped closer.
Shen Keye tilted his body slightly to look at her, narrowing his eyes as he asked, “Has anyone ever chased you before?”
Liang Jin fell silent, unwilling to answer.
He pressed, “Hm?”
There was something invasive about Shen Keye’s casual probing, as if he were delving into her very soul. Liang Jin looked away. “Yeah… but I don’t care about that stuff.”
“You don’t care?” Shen Keye latched onto her words. “Afraid I’ll dig deeper?”
“No.”
His tone turned even more probing. “Never had a puppy-love fling?”
Liang Jin shook her head in denial. “No… no early romance.”
Shen Keye let out a faint chuckle. “Then do you even know how people usually chase someone?”
“…”
The silence stretched too long.
Liang Jin could hear the muffled gunshots echoing faintly from the training field outside. Beyond that, there was only the sound of Shen Keye’s breathing.
She shoved him away abruptly.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming call. Seeing the caller ID, she froze for a moment.
It was Manager Luo from Ulta.
Manager Luo’s voice came through after she answered. “Liang Jin, have you gone and pissed off someone else lately?”
Liang Jin asked, “Why do you say that?”
“I heard the boss mention someone wants you fired.”
In that instant, Liang Jin’s eyes flicked to Shen Keye standing nearby. His thin lips tugged downward ever so slightly.
Manager Luo went on, “It was a girl… surname Jiang, I think.”
Jiang Manyu.
Liang Jin’s emotions churned.
She offered no explanation of the grudges involved, simply saying, “Got it. Thanks, Manager.”
She hung up, fully aware now that she had no way out.
This month’s credit card statement and hospital bills had already landed in her inbox. Her card was nearly maxed out, and Shen Keye was toying with her.
Liang Jin had no interest in dragging out this pointless conversation. She hated the tension in the air. Tilting her head, she asked, “…Do you want me to chase you?”
She found Shen Keye insufferably arrogant. If he liked her, why make her take the initiative? He acted like some lofty judge looking down on her.
Liang Jin pressed on, rejecting the notion outright. “Shen Keye, what can you even give me? This hot-and-cold routine, barely seeing your face, calls going straight to busy signal?”
She had never met anyone like Shen Keye.
Her pale face stared at him without fear, delicate skin revealing faint blue veins beneath.
Shen Keye lowered his gaze. She hadn’t bothered hiding the call from him—he’d heard every word.
“I’ll message Shen Junbang right now,” he said. “Change the female lead.”
Liang Jin froze in place.
Shen Keye’s long, knuckled fingers hovered over the screen. He’d already typed out the message and now held the phone in front of her. He tilted his head, staring at her coldly. “Send it or not—you decide.”
The green send button glowed there. Liang Jin looked up at Shen Keye in a daze.
In the dim, cramped changing room, his dark eyes seemed piercing, boring straight into her.
The clock on the wall ticked away steadily.
The opportunity she’d dreamed of was right there in front of her, yet Liang Jin simply closed her eyes.
There was no joy, as she’d expected.
She was forcibly pulled into the grinding gears of fate, compelled to make an agonizing choice at the fork where both paths led inexorably to death.
Liang Jin steeled herself and raised her hand. Her heart pounded louder with every beat, and she jabbed down with all her might. A sharp “beep” rang out like thunder crashing through the air.
At the same time, she heard the voice say:
“Then, Liang Jin, make sure your next actions satisfy me.”