He Really Was a Huge Scumbag

At seven o'clock, the male lead of tonight's matchmaking dinner made his entrance right on time.

Shen Heng appeared carrying a bouquet of tulips. With his sharp, handsome face, tall stature, long legs, and graceful bearing, he drew praise from quite a few of the female guests the moment he stood there.

Chu Tianqing, of course, was not among them. She merely grumbled to herself, Well, well, that forever-unchanging iceberg face knows how to strut like a peacock, too.

Aunt Liang couldn't stop smiling as she welcomed Shen Heng inside and introduced him to everyone.

Chu Tianqing glanced around and noticed that, aside from her, there was one other person whose expression wasn't looking too good: Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu had remembered that she had met this Shen Heng before.

The last time she bullied Shen Xixi, this was the man who had come to her rescue. He had left a deep impression on her because he was so handsome. She hadn't expected him to be Shen Xixi's brother—no, her fake brother.

Yan Ruyu felt uneasy and silently prayed that he wouldn't tell her mother on her.

If her mother found out she had gotten into trouble outside again, she would certainly give her a proper lesson, like limiting her credit card allowance or something.

Chu Tianqing pressed her lips together to hide a smile. Looked at this way, these two were a pair of bickering sweethearts.

The atmosphere at dinner was relaxed and pleasant. Everyone enjoyed the food and exchanged casual chatter, with laughter ringing out all around.

After dinner, everyone moved elsewhere for tea. Aunt Liang deliberately singled Yan Ruyu out, saying she had heard that Yan Ruyu could play the piano and asking her to play a piece for everyone.

Yan Ruyu was reluctant at first, but after a glare from Mrs. Yan, she obediently went up.

Yan Ruyu could indeed play the piano, and quite well at that. When she finished, everyone applauded.

Her cheeks flushed, Yan Ruyu bent low and fled back to her original seat, only to find that her mother was gone.

As she searched for her, she turned her head and met Shen Heng's gaze. He greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Miss Yan. This is our second meeting. My name is Shen Heng."

"H-hello, my name is Yan Ruyu." Yan Ruyu stammered, then collected herself. "Mr. Shen, if you could treat this as our first meeting, I would be sincerely grateful."

Shen Heng chuckled, sat down beside her, and began chatting with her.

Chu Tianqing watched them on the sly from nearby and couldn't help smiling to herself. So watching other people fall in love was this entertaining.

But seeing how effortlessly Shen Heng handled himself, Chu Tianqing couldn't help thinking of Fang Ke and began to wonder whether they had guessed wrong before.

Judging by Shen Heng's behavior, he didn't seem to have someone in his heart.

If he did have Fang Ke in his heart and was still flirting with Yan Ruyu, then that meant he really was a... huge scumbag!

Chu Tianqing's expression immediately became hard to describe.

If things really were as she suspected, even though her wonderful big brother had always helped her, she would still hate this man.

As Shen Heng chatted with Yan Ruyu, he kept feeling that something was off. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Shen Xixi glaring at him.

Shen Heng's first reaction was, What's wrong with her? Did she take the wrong medicine?

He tried to ignore her stare, but found that he simply couldn't.

He ended his conversation with Yan Ruyu as politely as he could, silently rose to his feet, and gave Shen Xixi a look telling her to come over.

Chu Tianqing caught the signal and got up as well. The two went to talk in a corner of the stairwell at the back.

As soon as she came over, Shen Heng hit her with a question. "What was that look for? You looked like you were cursing me."

"Huh? Was it that obvious?" Chu Tianqing quickly smiled. "I wasn't cursing you, really. I just disapproved a little."

"Disapproved of what? Of me seeing Yan Ruyu because she's your sworn enemy?" Shen Heng scoffed and advised her in a low voice, "Don't be so childish. Whatever squabbles you two have, they're just children's games. There's no life-or-death grudge between you."

That was true enough. Because Chu Tianqing had begged for mercy, the feud between her and Yan Ruyu had come to an abrupt end, never reaching the point of a life-or-death grudge.

"It's not because of that." Chu Tianqing denied it, her mind racing as she searched for the right words and offered a tactful hint. "Brother, even if it's a marriage alliance, you should still respect Yan Ruyu. You can't marry her for her family background and give your heart to another woman. If I found out you did something like that, I would..."

Shen Heng's gaze darkened as he suppressed emotions churning like waves. "You would what? Go on."

"I would despise you," Chu Tianqing said righteously. "As a woman, I would stand with women first. Even if you're my brother, if you act like a scumbag, I'll condemn you in the strongest terms without mercy!"

Shen Heng stared at her for a moment, his heartbeat quickening beat by beat. Suddenly, he smiled mockingly and asked, "Xixi, you really are my good little sister. I'd like to know what evidence you have to prove I'm a scumbag."

In that instant, he truly felt both afraid and hopeful.

He was afraid that Chu Tianqing felt the same way. If she showed even the slightest sign of it, he would take a step forward without hesitation, hold her in his arms, and fall with her.

In the corner of the stairwell, a wall lamp cast a dim yellow light.

Light and shadow fell across Shen Heng's face, outlining the straight bridge of his nose and his taut jawline.

Chu Tianqing looked into his long, narrow eyes but couldn't make out his emotions at all. A sense of suffocation swept over her, and her heart sounded a warning of danger.

"I, I..." She swallowed nervously and stammered incoherently, "I don't have any evidence. It was just a hunch. Brother, don't be angry. I'll never bring it up again!"

Chu Tianqing lost her nerve. She couldn't shake the feeling that Shen Heng's intensely intimidating expression meant he wanted to slap her.

Seeing her shrink back, Shen Heng was so angry he laughed, his wildly pounding heart cooling in an instant.

He raised a hand to his forehead, feeling a splitting headache coming on.

I really must be crazy to have expected that from her. I'm beyond saving.

Seeing Shen Heng at a loss for words, Chu Tianqing asked carefully, "Brother, are you all right? Please don't be angry with me. I only meant well. I hope you... can marry someone you truly love."

Otherwise, he would hurt an innocent girl. She felt sorry for Yan Ruyu.

Shen Heng lowered his hand and looked down at her, stressing each word. "None of this concerns you, Xixi. You've overstepped. Don't bring it up again."

With that, Shen Heng strode away without waiting for Chu Tianqing to reply.

Chu Tianqing watched his retreating figure and thought back over their conversation, then grabbed herself by the neck in frustration.

She felt she hadn't been wrong, but she was also sorry for hurting her wonderful big brother.

Being a good person was so hard!

She trudged back to the living room, found a corner to sit in, and glumly began drinking red wine.

Chu Tianqing knew that Shen Xixi, the owner of this body, could hold her liquor quite well, so she drank a couple more glasses.

To her surprise, after a while, she felt as though the world were spinning around her.

Wait, did my alcohol tolerance change along with the soul?

Dizzy and muddleheaded, she lay down and soon fell into a stupor.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she felt herself boarding a boat, swaying as it moved forward.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw a man's prominent Adam's apple and sharply defined jawline.

Who was she? Where was she?