Chapter 41: I Don't Know How to Comfort People!

Page (1/3)

Inside a room at Yue Sheng Residence.

Shang Moting had Lin Ting’s cheeks pinched between his fingers, and she glared at him.

He found it amusing and let out a laugh.

Lin Ting slapped his hand away. “Who’s being sour? Have you had too much to drink? Are your ears not working properly?”

Shang Moting looked at her.

Lin Ting glanced at him, then turned her back, clearly unwilling to speak with him.

Watching her from behind, Shang Moting paused. He reached around to touch her face, then gently pressed against her cheek. With a little force, he hooked his arm back and turned her halfway around until she was facing him again.

Lin Ting glared at him.

Looking at her puffed-up little face, Shang Moting asked, “Are you angry?”

“Why would I be angry?” Lin Ting said. “I’m merely a concerned citizen condemning the behavior of certain disgusting men!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Shang Moting raised a brow. “Then allow me to offer a friendly reminder to this concerned citizen: you have wronged an innocent man.”

Lin Ting stared at him.

Shang Moting was still touching her face with the back of his hand, almost as though he were half-embracing her. He looked at her as well.

After the two of them gazed at each other for a while, Lin Ting delivered her final conclusion. “You don’t look innocent to me.”

Shang Moting’s expression turned several degrees colder. “...”

His features were already rather intimidating. Once his expression cooled, he looked downright frightening.

Lin Ting pressed her lips together and fell silent.

Shang Moting’s fingers brushed over her cheek twice before he released her. “Why did you come here?”

Lin Ting shook her head. “I don’t want to tell you.”

Shang Moting did not ask again.

The footsteps outside gradually faded, but the sounds of laughter and revelry did not disappear.

Shang Moting glanced at Lin Ting’s clothes. It was obvious at a glance that she had not come here for anything ordinary.

He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

Lin Ting looked up at him. “?”

Shang Moting gathered the coat around her and said indifferently, “I’m taking you home.”

Lin Ting blinked. “Now?”

Shang Moting did not know why she had asked that. He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

Lin Ting said, “If we go out now and run into someone, it’ll damage your image.”

Shang Moting frowned, unable to understand.

Lin Ting raised a hand and rubbed her nose. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “Mr. Shang’s public image is that of a man who has no interest in women. But just now...”

As she spoke, she gestured with both hands. “You did this, and then that, and then you... did that to me...”

“What did I do?” Shang Moting asked deliberately.

Lin Ting responded with a roll of her eyes.

Page (2/3)

Shang Moting fell silent.

Lin Ting continued, “Your current image doesn’t match the rumors. In the short time we’ve been here, word may already have spread outside.”

As she spoke, she imitated the whispering tone people used behind someone’s back. “That Mr. Shang is nothing like the rumors say. He’s actually quite the player. He’s really wild.”

Shang Moting watched her animated expressions.

Lin Ting went on, “If we go out now and people see you... they’ll think, they’ll think... Do you understand?”

Shang Moting did not.

“Your expression tells me you don’t,” Lin Ting said. “They’ll think there’s something wrong with you. It was over so quickly.”

There had been the faintest hint of amusement in Shang Moting’s eyes, but the instant he heard her words, his expression darkened.

Even the corners of his mouth seemed to drop several degrees.

“There were already rumors outside that you couldn’t perform,” Lin Ting continued, still unaware of the danger and merely trying to consider his feelings. “If you go out now, won’t that just confirm the rumors?”

Shang Moting’s face darkened even further.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

At last, Lin Ting realized something was wrong. She looked at Shang Moting, then immediately covered her mouth.

That expression. That terrifying expression. That expression of someone preparing to silence a witness.

The rumor was probably true.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

She had struck him right in the sore spot.

This was a matter of masculine pride.

And she had just said it out loud.

Lin Ting swallowed, lowered her hand, and said, “Um... it’s really nothing. There are always people willing to have a Platonic relationship, aren’t there?”

Shang Moting looked at her as he listened to her halting attempt at consolation.

“Hmm...” Lin Ting thought for a moment before adding, “No one is perfect, after all. Everyone has flaws. Look at you: your figure, your appearance, your status, your power—everything about you is top-tier, absolutely exceptional. Naturally, there have to be a few... insignificant imperfections elsewhere.”

Shang Moting’s face was grim. He seemed to want to say something, but did not know what to say.

Lin Ting was screaming inwardly.

Help! How was she supposed to comfort someone?

How was anyone supposed to comfort someone over this?

Could someone come and save her?

“So, um...” Lin Ting said. “It’s really not a big deal. It’s just...”

She had run out of things to say and decided it would be best to flee first.

The thought had barely formed before she turned and dashed toward the door.

But her escape failed at the very first step. Shang Moting caught her by the back of her clothes and dragged her back.

Lin Ting felt like crying and immediately blurted out, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! I really don’t know how to comfort people, so please don’t force me. Go find someone else to comfort you. Don’t make things difficult for me. I really didn’t mean to poke at your wound.”

Shang Moting listened as she babbled on and on. Looking at her miserable little face, he supported her chin with the web of his hand and asked, “Who told you that?”

“No one, no one.” Lin Ting clutched his sleeve, her face pitiful and her whole expression desperate to escape.

“No one?” Shang Moting suddenly applied a little pressure with his hand. “If no one told you, then you made it up yourself.”

Page (3/3)

“How could I have made it up?” Lin Ting gripped his sleeve tightly. “Why would I spread rumors about you? Besides, I don’t know. I’ve never experienced it myself, so how would I know whether you can’t—”

Lin Ting hurriedly shut her mouth and pressed her lips together. “I’d better stop talking.”

Whether from panic or some other reason, her face reddened again.

Shang Moting pinched both her cheeks, then released her.

Lin Ting covered her face with both hands and rubbed her slightly burning cheeks. After a moment, she suddenly realized something and looked up at Shang Moting.

“Did you just say I was spreading rumors?”

Shang Moting glanced at her without answering.

“If it was a rumor...” Lin Ting asked, “do you mean the rumors aren’t true?”

Shang Moting did not respond. Instead, he bent down and lifted her into his arms.

Lin Ting instinctively put her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Take off your gloves,” Shang Moting said.

Lin Ting obediently removed her gloves and put them in her pocket.

Shang Moting looked at her.

Lin Ting met his gaze, not understanding what he meant.

“Put your arms around my neck,” Shang Moting said. “Hide yourself.”

Lin Ting immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder.

Shang Moting glanced at her, then carried her to the door.

Holding her with one arm, he twisted the doorknob with the other and pushed the door open.

The corridor was filled with noisy men and women.

Lin Ting’s face was buried against his shoulder, and she heard a few sounds that were far too intimate.

She instinctively tightened her arms around Shang Moting.

Shang Moting lowered his eyes to look at her, then carried her outside.

Someone greeted him. “Mr. Shang, leaving already?”

Shang Moting ignored them and carried Lin Ting straight downstairs.

“Who’s that girl? She must be something special to have gotten close to Mr. Shang.”

“Is Mr. Shang taking her home? What kind of charm does she have?”

“Don’t gossip carelessly. Be careful he tears this place apart.”