Chapter 57: I Am No Scumbag Woman

Shang Moting drove Lin Ting and the others to the dance academy.

Jiang Jingyao sat in the back, observing the extraordinarily handsome man and Lin Ting.

No matter how she looked at it, the two didn't look like friends at all.

Their current dynamic felt somewhat like enemies.

This was because the man's aura was simply too overpowering, too oppressive.

A slight sense of unease fluttered in her chest.

She couldn't help wondering if this man might end up selling them off to some remote place where nobody could ever find them.

Jiang Jingyao instinctively gripped Zhou Yuwei's hand, but Zhou Yuwei and Fang Rui had already fallen sound asleep.

They were completely oblivious to any potential danger.

Halfway through the journey, Lin Ting finally turned to look at Shang Moting and broke the ice by asking, "Are you heading over there for something?"

Shang Moting gave a low hum of laughter and said, "I thought that after two weeks without seeing each other, you had completely lost your speech system."

Lin Ting retorted, "For two weeks without seeing you, your tongue is so venomous that if you licked yourself, you'd probably poison yourself to death."

Shang Moting let out a chuckle.

Lin Ting gave a soft huff. "What a waste of the topic I had such a hard time coming up with."

Shang Moting glanced at her sideways.

It wasn't an illusion; she really had lost quite a bit of weight.

"Then ask it again," Shang Moting said.

Lin Ting looked at him and genuinely repeated the question, "Are you heading over there for business?"

Shang Moting smiled. "Two weeks apart, and you've become a lot more obedient."

Lin Ting's face fell instantly. "Don't push your luck!"

With that, she made a fist and gave his arm a light punch.

Jiang Jingyao finally felt a bit more at ease.

They weren't enemies; they seemed more like a young couple who had been quarreling for two weeks.

Shang Moting raised an eyebrow with a smile, deciding not to tease her further. "I went back to the old family residence and just happened to pass by that way."

"Oh."

Lin Ting glanced at him again.

It was already this late, and even though he had gone back to the old residence, he wasn't staying there and was instead returning to his own place.

However, she didn't ask any further.

They arrived at the entrance of the dance academy.

When Shang Moting's car came to a stop, it attracted a great deal of attention.

Lin Ting got out of the car to help Fang Rui from the back seat.

Jiang Jingyao supported the other girl.

Shang Moting stepped out of the car as well.

Lin Ting said, "Thank you for today. I'll treat you to a meal another day."

"Which day is 'another day'?" Shang Moting asked.

Lin Ting was already heading toward the school gates when his question made her freeze in her tracks. "I was just being polite, just making conversational small talk, and you actually took it seriously."

"Mm-hmm, I took it seriously," Shang Moting replied.

Jiang Jingyao looked at them, supported Zhou Yuwei, and walked ahead first.

What friends?

The air was thick with the scent of romance.

"Treat me to dinner," Shang Moting said. "Tonight."

Lin Ting's eyes widened. "I need to take my roommates back."

"Mhm, I'll wait for you here," Shang Moting said.

Lin Ting parted her lips in disbelief. "Didn't you eat your fill when you went back to the old residence?"

"Haven't eaten yet," Shang Moting replied.

Lin Ting paused for a moment, looked at Fang Rui, and then said, "Then wait for me for a bit."

...

Lin Ting returned to the dorm, got Fang Rui settled into bed, placed a glass of water on her nightstand, and then told Jiang Jingyao that she was heading out.

"Are you coming back tonight?" Jiang Jingyao asked with a smile.

"Probably not," Lin Ting answered. "What are you smiling at?"

"Your boyfriend is super handsome," Jiang Jingyao said.

"He is not my boyfriend," Lin Ting protested.

"We're adults now, we're in college, we're allowed to date. What's wrong with admitting it?" Jiang Jingyao bumped her shoulder against Lin Ting's. "Or are you still in the ambiguous stage where the window paper hasn't been poked through yet?"

Lin Ting sighed. "You're overthinking it. He's definitely not my boyfriend."

"Really not?" Jiang Jingyao pressed.

"Really not," Lin Ting said with a smile. "Even though he's very handsome, he'll never be that."

Jiang Jingyao narrowed her eyes and remarked, "Still, I think the two of you are a great match."

Lin Ting touched her own chin and murmured, "Well, being able to match me is probably his honor."

"So vain," Jiang Jingyao laughed.

"I'm off."

...

When Lin Ting went back to find Shang Moting, she saw him waiting beside the car from a distance.

From the moment she spotted him to the time she walked right up to him, three different beauties had already walked over to talk to him.

However, Shang Moting hadn't said a single word.

The others had naturally known to leave tactfully.

As Lin Ting approached, Shang Moting thoughtfully opened the front passenger door for her.

Lin Ting raised an eyebrow. "President Shang, quite popular, aren't you?"

Shang Moting looked at her and gave her head a light tap. "Not as popular as you, little beauty."

Lin Ting arched an eyebrow, extremely satisfied with this form of address. "How did President Shang arrive at that conclusion?"

"Your school's online forum," Shang Moting said, having just taken a look at it earlier. "How many bouquets of flowers have you received in the two weeks since the semester started?"

There were many photos of Lin Ting circulating on the forum.

Lin Ting eating in the cafeteria.

Lin Ting undergoing military training on the sports field.

Walking along the path with friends.

Going shopping at the convenience store.

And pictures of Lin Ting receiving flowers from various young men.

Every single photo, regardless of the angle, whether clear or slightly blurry, was breathtakingly pretty.

In her relaxed state, Lin Ting exuded a gentle, radiant, and dazzling charm.

"Don't talk nonsense," Lin Ting said. "I haven't accepted a single one of them."

"Is that so?" Shang Moting looked straight into her eyes.

He was clearly smiling, and his voice sounded no different than usual.

Yet, meeting his gaze, Lin Ting inexplicably felt a pang of nervousness.

"Do I look like a heartless tease?" Lin Ting asked. "Accepting people's flowers when I don't even like them?"

Shang Moting continued to gaze at her silently.

As Lin Ting met his eyes, she suddenly recalled the moment Shang Moting had placed a rose wreath on top of her head.

Not only had she accepted it, but she had even told him to keep it safe.

Later on, though, she had simply forgotten about the flowers and never brought them up again.

No, no, now wasn't the time to think about where the wreath went; the point was that she *had* accepted flowers from him.

"Cough," Lin Ting cleared her throat. "Well, let's go. Time for that dinner I promised."

With that, she climbed into the car.

Shang Moting smiled, gently shut the passenger door, and walked around to the driver's side.

Once inside, Lin Ting said, "You pick the restaurant."

Shang Moting acknowledged with a hum, then asked, "What is your major?"

"Classical dance," Lin Ting replied, but she still couldn't hold back and asked, "That flower wreath you gave me in Jiangcheng—did you throw it away?"

"It's been over a month. Did you expect those flowers to achieve immortality and never wither?" Shang Moting asked.

It was the expected outcome.

Lin Ting wondered why she had even bothered to ask.

She turned her gaze toward the scenery outside the window.

Come to think of it, she hadn't bought flowers for herself in a long time.

"The flowers you gave me were different from the ones they gave me. The flowers they give me carry implications like confessions of love," Lin Ting said. "You are different."

"Then what was my implication?" Shang Moting asked.

"Well..." Lin Ting tapped her fingers against the door panel, pondering for a moment before saying, "You're like... decoration for something you're interested in."

Shang Moting glanced at her.

Lin Ting continued, "It's like... when you like something and find it interesting, you want to decorate it all pretty so that it's pleasing to look at."

Shang Moting kept his eyes on the road ahead without speaking.

Lin Ting turned her head to look at him and asked, "Right?"

"What if I said no?" Shang Moting replied.

Lin Ting froze.

Shang Moting tapped his fingers twice against the steering wheel, then said, "What if my intentions were exactly the same as all those other guys who gave you flowers?"