Jiang Mocheng was purely speaking out of anger, and in his case, even feeling guilty was a luxury. His sense of entitlement stemmed from the fact that he didn’t consider this a big deal.

Every word he said came from the heart. Yes, he had deceived her, but she had also deceived him. In a way, they could call it even.

While this might not be a major issue, he understood that she had reservations. That’s why he came—to break down those barriers.

In the past, they were Xu Yang and Jiang Xue. Now, they were Jiang Mocheng and Bai Ying.

Apart from their fake identities, everything else was real, and that was enough.

Shen Jin’s confidence and assurance were already irritating, especially when he mentioned that matter. Jiang Mocheng felt even more agitated.

When he uttered the word “dog,” both of them froze.

A dog? Bai Ying blinked. Was he referring to himself?

Although she had mentally compared him to a police dog, hearing it from his mouth made her want to laugh.

Now, who was being domineering, and who was being righteous? Who was pushing her back?

“Do I have no conscience when it comes to you?”

Bai Ying stood her ground, her eyes clear. “How long have we known each other? When you asked me to leave with you, did I hesitate? Even when you upset me, I didn’t complain. You’ve been busy outside all this time, but did I ever criticize you? I’ve been alone in the hotel every day—did I say anything?”

She was probably the most understanding girlfriend in the world.

As she spoke, she even moved herself with her own words.

Regardless of appearances, wasn’t what she said true?

Did she have no conscience toward him?!

How could he say such a thing?

Without giving Jiang Mocheng a chance to speak, she took a deep breath, her eyes glistening with tears. “Did you know who I was all along? You don’t seem surprised at all. Was I the only one kept in the dark? What did you take me for? Seeing me so cautious, are you pleased?”

“How early do you think I knew?” Jiang Mocheng’s face tensed. “I knew who you were, but I don’t mind, and I don’t care.”

Bai Ying raised her voice. “Whether you mind or not is your business. Whether I care is mine!”

He thought he didn’t mind and didn’t care, so she should burst into tears?

“Why do you care?”

Jiang Mocheng stared at her, suppressing his emotions to the extreme. “Do you still have feelings for him?”

Bai Ying sighed inwardly and said softly, “Don’t you have any interest in how I met him?”

Jiang Mocheng had indeed inquired about many things after learning she was Bai Ying.

For example, her initial encounter with Shen Jin.

But he didn’t think it was something she needed to remember.

“What kind of person do you think he is?” Jiang Mocheng’s patience wore thin, and his tone turned icy.

“Do you think he hasn’t faced similar situations before or after you? When has he ever cared?”

Bai Ying was taken aback.

Men were always petty, especially when the woman they liked was still thinking about another man.

Jiang Mocheng hadn’t wanted to say so much, but seeing her expression, he coldly sneered, “If I remember correctly, during that time, his grandmother wasn’t in good health. She passed away not long ago.”

…

In just a few words, Jiang Mocheng had unraveled Shen Jin’s intentions.

Bai Ying was surprised. Was it always the person who understood her the most who remained her adversary?

Later, she also realized that Shen Jin wasn’t the type with an abundance of goodwill. His feelings for her were never love at first sight.

In fact, initially, she thought the sequence of events was the other way around—that Shen Jin had agreed to the arrangement with her because of his grandmother.

Perhaps at that time, Shen Jin was already contemplating whether to find someone to pretend to be his girlfriend and make his grandmother happy.

But then she stumbled into the situation, and the timing was perfect.

So, after understanding these details, she took the check as a matter of course. She hadn’t expected that Jiang Mocheng, an outsider, would quickly see through Shen Jin’s intentions.

If there hadn’t been an agreement between Bai Ying and Shen Jin, if they were just a regular couple who had loved and then separated, Jiang Mocheng’s words would have shaken her.

After all, not many people could accept that the person they once loved had impure intentions from the start.

Bai Ying remained silent, her head lowered.

Jiang Mocheng couldn’t bear to see her look so wronged because of another man. He stepped forward, not giving her a chance to push him away, and hugged her.

“You don’t owe him anything. If he’s unhappy, he should take it up with me.”

Bai Ying felt woozy and was almost convinced by his words.

This man was indeed skilled at arguing.

After staying in his embrace for a while, she tried to stay clear-headed and pushed him away again.

“You say I don’t owe him anything, but I feel like I do. Regardless of his reasons, he did save me, didn’t he?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Mocheng repeated this sentence, his voice low. He looked up. “Is this how you see me?”

Bai Ying pursed her lips. Some things were truly inconvenient to say too explicitly; it would ruin the aesthetics.

He had only known her for a short time? Did he think that saying “I love you” meant he had deceived himself into believing his feelings were love?

She knew he liked her; she wasn’t blind.

But liking was such a shallow emotion, especially when it came to a man and a woman.

If she weren’t Bai Ying, if she were truly Jiang Xue, how long would this relationship last?

“It’s not how I see you.”

Bo Ying spoke softly. “It’s a fact.”

She asked each word deliberately, “Did you find out who I was on the day we went to Jincheng?”

She had already recalled the details of that day. Her tone turned mournful.

“So that’s why you were so rough with me. You weren’t even in a fight; you were just angry, weren’t you? Can you honestly say you didn’t have any thoughts of breaking up with me back then?”

Men were so contradictory.

He knew, so he could mind and care, get upset to the point of hurting himself, and then come back to be cold and harsh with her.

Now that she knew, he assumed she had no qualms about introducing this matter and continuing to be lovey-dovey with him?

Bah, he thought he was handsome, didn’t he?

“You can be upset, but I can’t.”

“You can entertain thoughts of breaking up, but I can’t.”

Bai Ying looked at him disheartenedly. “Let me ask you: What do you take me for?”

Jiang Mocheng couldn’t refute her words.

Because on the night he learned about her relationship with Shen Jin, his mind had been flooded with countless thoughts—yes, he admitted it, but those thoughts hadn’t lasted even two seconds before he extinguished them.

He had lived for over twenty years, and never before had anyone dared to deceive him like this.

“Don’t you know what you mean to me?”

“Anyway, I won’t let you go.”

He said, “I won’t let you walk away from me again, there won’t be a second time.”

Bo Ying had anticipated he would say something like this; she wasn’t surprised at all.

He and Shen Jin were originally just business rivals, but now they had become entangled in personal matters due to a series of misunderstandings.

With their personalities, it was likely that their feelings for her, which weren’t very deep to begin with, were now being fueled by a competitive desire to win.

This led to the current situation—Shen Jin insisting on taking her away, and Jiang Mocheng refusing to let go at all costs.

It wasn’t a big problem.

This way, she could catch her breath; she didn’t have to go with Shen Jin or Jiang Mocheng.

He had left the room to take a phone call midway, and when she opened the door to leave, she hadn’t even stepped out when a man in a black suit and sunglasses at night came out of another room…

She wasn’t sure if they were guarding against Shen Jin or her.

Bai Ying knew she definitely couldn’t leave today, and maybe not even tomorrow.

She simply closed the door, took a quick bath, and after being tossed around by him all of last night, she had to muster up the energy to deal with one thing after another that had come up unexpectedly today.She was so tired that her eyelids were fighting each other.

Before falling asleep, she went to the balcony, looked down, and saw more and more cars parked outside the hotel in the deep night.

She didn’t know whether to complain about her luck.

Indeed, receiving a large sum of money also meant that bigger waves were coming in her life.

What was there to complain about?

Before falling asleep, Bo Ying thought hazily that all of this was her choice, her decision.

…

When Jiang Mocheng came back into the room, she was already deeply asleep, not even the slight movement of him sitting on the edge of the bed could wake her.

He looked at her sleeping face with a deep gaze. Her determination to leave was strong; the suitcase was still properly placed there, and even the items on the washstand were neatly packed.

As long as Shen Jin came up, she would obediently follow him, just like that day when he said he would take her away, and she agreed without any hesitation.

Shen Jin’s car was still downstairs, and more and more people were gathering.

She was right; he really couldn’t keep her for long.

He actually didn’t care what Shen Jin thought or what he would do next.

He only cared about her thoughts.

Bai Ying slept too soundly.

She felt that at least after her foster mother’s death, she had never slept so well, so comfortably. Even in her dreams, she felt utterly content, so much so that the sound of waves crashing against rocks, which didn’t stop, annoyed her and made her frown. When the sound continued, she irritably opened her eyes.

The light was too bright.

She instinctively closed her eyes, and when she adjusted, she heard the crisp sound of metal. She looked towards the source of the sound.

A man in a white shirt and trousers sat on the sofa, leaning back lazily, fiddling with a lighter. Seeing her look over, he stood up, came to the bed, and looked down at her, “Awake?”

“Didn’t I say I would take you on a vacation? It just so happens I’ve finished my work.”

Jiang Mocheng stretched out his hand and gently caressed her face with his fingertips, saying tenderly, “Get up and wash up. I’ll take you out for a walk and to enjoy the sea breeze.”

Bai Ying looked at him in astonishment, propped herself up with her elbows, and sat up. It was a bright room, and outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows was a beautiful seaside view.

She had been mistaken!

She really had been mistaken!

She looked at the man in front of her and flopped back in despair—

Ah, this damned man!

Can someone please take this nuisance away!