Chapter 117: The Family Portrait

Shang Yucheng had presented a difficult dilemma. Although he only offered two options, Liang Jinshang could not make a choice for the moment. She could not simply abandon Liang Xizhou. Yet, if she chose him again this time, she would completely alienate Shang Yucheng. Their relationship had not even reached the ten-day mark; she had gained a house, which was a clear profit. However, the reality would surely be that Shang Yucheng would take the house back, and she would have thoroughly infuriated him.

Liang Jinshang felt a headache coming on. She was not without blame for the conflict between Shang Yucheng and Liang Xizhou. She had been avoiding being honest with Shang Yucheng about the demolition project, blindly pinning her fading hopes on Nan Yi showing up to make Liang Xizhou change his mind. But how could life ever proceed according to her plans? When one link breaks, every subsequent link fails.

Shaking off her tangled thoughts, she decided to sit down and unpack the housewarming gifts her friends had brought. She had been too busy hosting to pay attention to who brought what. Now, they were lined up on the coffee table: an architectural model, a bronze ornament, refrigerator magnets, a designer necklace, and a thin envelope. The first two were from Le Quan and her partner. The handmade refrigerator magnets were clearly souvenirs from E-Continent, featuring classic architecture; since Chao Jingyu had just returned from there, they were surely a thoughtful gift from him. The necklace was beautiful, and while it looked expensive, it didn’t seem like a housewarming gift. Only Shang Yucheng would be both perfunctory and extravagant in such a way. As for the thin envelope, she couldn't guess what it was. It certainly couldn't be cash. Because it was unusual, a strange feeling stirred within her, as if opening it would reveal something extraordinary. She felt the exterior; it was neither soft nor hard. A hunch arose, and she couldn't wait to open it.

Her eyes widened, and her hand trembled. It was a family portrait of Fang Xinou, Lu Rou, and herself. When Lu Rou took her and moved out of the Guanlan Courtyard years ago, she had naturally taken all the photos she could. Thus, this house, which had been staged to look exactly as it had before, was missing only the photos of their family of three. Those photos had been lost as she and Lu Rou drifted between various rental apartments. After Lu Rou died, Liang Jinshang spent a period in a haze. At that time, the landlord, disgusted that Lu Rou had committed suicide in his apartment, had angrily demanded that Liang Jinshang move out immediately. Back then, Liang Xizhou and Nan Yi were her best friends, and they had helped her sort through those belongings.

A few months later, they both suffered a crushing catastrophe. Liang Jinshang had no time to ask, nor did she dare to ask, what had happened to the items Lu Rou left behind. She truly never expected that Liang Xizhou would have the heart to have them restored and returned as a gift. Looking at the photo, it had been professionally refurbished and laminated. For an ordinary person, these things would be simple, but she had no idea how Liang Xizhou had managed to go out and arrange it.

Liang Jinshang pressed the long-lost photo to her chest. She thought to herself: she had made her choice.

Before falling asleep that night, she called the Liang family. She lied, saying Liang Xizhou had drunk too much and had already fallen asleep, so he was staying at the new place for the night. Her adoptive parents noticed nothing and thanked her for taking care of him.

"Once I’ve settled in here, you two can come over to stay," she said.

Her adoptive mother replied, "We old bones won't bother you. Once the house is demolished in a while, we’ll be able to move into our own new home."

Liang Jinshang paused. "Yes." Fearing her mother would bring up the transfer of their household registration again, she hurriedly hung up. She would pick up Liang Xizhou tomorrow and then sit down to talk with them. Transferring the registration was out of the question; otherwise, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

The next day, Liang Jinshang took a half-day off, intending to pick him up. Perhaps because of the alcohol, she woke up later than usual, roused by the sound of the doorbell. She stood behind the door, hesitating for a long time whether to open it. Could it be Shang Yucheng? If it were really him, how could she still go to the Saint-Anne Sanatorium? Fortunately, the person outside just kept pressing the bell without any other action. If it were Shang Yucheng, he would have likely taken out his key and opened the door himself.

Outside was Shang Yucheng’s chief assistant. "Ms. Liang, I apologize for disturbing your rest," An Feng said.

"Assistant An, is something the matter?"

An Feng took out a bright red folder with the words "Property Ownership Certificate" embossed in gold. Liang Jinshang took it, stunned.

"President Shang asked me to handle this a few days ago. His intention was that you shouldn't be bothered with such a small matter, so I took care of all the procedures on your behalf."

Liang Jinshang suddenly felt she had been small-minded. She hadn't expected him to have even completed the property registration.

"You said this was handled a few days ago..." she confirmed. "Did Shang Yucheng say anything before you brought it over today?"

An Feng had previously done the dirty work of securing a fraudulent degree for Gong Xueyuan, but as an assistant, one learns to play to the crowd. Seeing how much effort Shang Yucheng was investing in this Ms. Liang, he knew she was the current favorite and had to be treated with deference.

"Although President Shang did not leave a message for me to relay, I believe his intention is simply to hope this gift brings you joy."

Liang Jinshang had asked only to confirm that the decision to give her the house had been made days ago. But after what happened last night, she wondered if he still held the same intention. It seemed Shang Yucheng was more magnanimous than she had imagined; at the very least, he wasn't using the house as leverage against her.

Holding the property certificate, Liang Jinshang sat on the sofa. She had originally intended to meet the previous owner to thank them for keeping her childhood home so well. Now, on the coffee table, to her left was a precious family portrait preserved for eight years, and to her right was the property certificate for this home. Having firmly made her choice, she now found herself forced to erase that answer.

Still, no matter how difficult things were, she had to go to work. Le Quan came over to gossip about the "reckoning" with Shang Yucheng yesterday. Had she not reminded her, Liang Jinshang would have almost forgotten that Shang Yucheng also owed her a debt.

"Let me tell you, you need to keep a closer eye on your man lately," Le Quan said, citing inside information from Zheng Jue. "The two Zheng brothers are currently locked in a power struggle, both eyeing the fat piece of the meat that is the Shang business empire. I see Gong Xueyuan acting restlessly lately; she probably wants to reconcile with Shang Yucheng so she can kick out 'Third Master Zheng.' Or, taking a step back, that cuckold Zheng Shan is likely trying to use her to gain the support of the Shang family to defeat Zheng Jue. In any case, you can't be too careful regarding Gong Xueyuan."

Liang Jinshang rested her chin on her hand. "You've only been with Zheng Jue for a few days, and you're already acting like his virtuous assistant."

Le Quan's words were, of course, biased toward Zheng Jue, but her primary concern was clearly for Liang Jinshang. "Don't be ungrateful for someone looking out for you."

Liang Jinshang was, of course, joking. She had already decided: she would go to see Shang Yucheng first. It was certainly wrong of her to secretly conspire with Liang Xizhou about the household registration, but was Shang Yucheng not also in the wrong for secretly "dating" the Gong sisters behind her back? Since both sides held cards against the other, they could negotiate.