You Shouldn't Be Here

As she was caught off-guard, Song Qingcheng's bosom was crushed firmly against the man's chest.

After she steadied herself and in between the thumping of her heart, she could smell the faint aftershave scent on the man's body.

Realizing who it was, she was in no hurry to leave his embrace.

The wind blew in from the distant lawn, bringing with it a faint smell of mud. However, Song Qingcheng was not in the frame of mind to notice the cool wind. Her hands, which were originally clenched tightly, loosened. In her palms, the soft fabric of the polo shirt was wrinkled.

Her hand moved forward and pretended to casually hug Yu Tingchuan's waist.

The young man, who was standing on the steps, was obviously stunned. He had given her a shove because he was hot-headed. Now that he had come to his senses, he started to feel nervous. Seeing that Song Qingcheng was in the embrace of a strange man and especially when he was met with the man's rather icy gaze, he did not dare to act rashly. He turned around dejectedly to leave.

After a short silence…

"Are you able to stand up on your own?" Yu Tingchuan's deep voice came from above.

Song Qingcheng's eyelashes fluttered for a moment. "My heel hurts a little."

Then, her hand that had been placed on his waist was pulled away.

This action was also done casually on his part.

Yu Tingchuan lowered his head to look at her feet and then said, "Wait here." He went back up the stairs and entered the club.

Song Qingcheng retracted her gaze from the back view of his tall and straight figure. She lowered her eyes to look at her feet. The leather shoes were brand new and were still abrasive against the feet. In addition, she was not wearing socks. After what just happened—although she did not sprain her ankle, the skin on her heel was broken… and there were faint traces of blood.

For the past few minutes, she seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned to look towards the stairs.

Yu Tingchuan walked out with a cigarette between his fingers.

He carried a pair of canvas shoes in his other hand.

Just like that, Song Qingcheng watched as he came up closer and closer to her.

"Try this on and see if it fits." Yu Tingchuan knelt down on one knee beside her feet.

Almost at the same time…

Song Qingcheng also squatted down and sat on the steps, bending her long, pale legs. As her jeans were too short, her thighs and pale, smooth skin were completely exposed.

When she bent over to take off her shoes, the collar of her chiffon shirt swung downwards, revealing her cleavage.

Yu Tingchuan looked away and got onto his feet.

His expression was calm as he turned around and casually continued smoking.

…

The canvas shoes fit perfectly.

Song Qingcheng tied her shoelaces and stood up. She stepped on the spot twice and smiled at the man's back. "The shoes are very comfortable. At least I don't have to be a cripple for the rest of the afternoon."

Hearing this, Yu Tingchuan turned around and looked at her smiling face. His dark gaze turned to her left hand.

The wound made by the Border collie had already scabbed over.

His hand holding the cigarette hung by his side. He tapped the cigarette lightly and said, "Is Yu Jing home alone?"

White smoke billowed in the air…

There was an indescribable steadiness in his deep voice.

Song Qingcheng had a feeling that he wasn't just trying to find out about his niece's whereabouts from her. It was more like he was using this as a pretext to start a conversation. However, she still smiled and looked into his deep eyes as she replied, "Yu Jing went to her grandmother's house." As she spoke, she paused and asked him as if they had just met by chance, "What about you, Mr. Yu? Are you playing golf here?"

Yu Tingchuan lifted his gaze to look at her. There were deep creases on his eyelids, and he seemed to be trying to determine if she really did not know he was here. However, the girl's gaze was too transparent, and he found no clue.

After a moment, he nodded and asked, "Who did you come with?"

Song Qingcheng fell silent, and her smile faded.

She did not reply and only gently lowered her eyes.

Yu Tingchuan looked at her with his beautiful eyes again. After a while, he stubbed out his cigarette by the side of his shoe and said, "You shouldn't be coming to such events."

With that said, he turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Song Qingcheng's soft voice came from behind. "But this kind of situation can temporarily resolve the dilemma I'm facing. And many times, it's never a question of whether I should or not."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked away from Yu Tingchuan and walked towards the golf course with her shoes in her hand.

Her thin frame looked exceptionally frail under the sunlight.

However, she carried herself tall and straight. Even though her heels were still aching, she did not show any signs of weakness in her steps.

…

The moment Yu Tingchuan returned to the rest area, Gu Zhengshen immediately told him, "Liu Deshun came over just now, accompanied by Hou Yongwen. It seems like he has his eyes on the projects that will be launched in the second half of the year."

Yu Tingchuan lit another cigarette and held it between his long fingers. However, he did not smoke it. Instead, he looked towards Rest Area B.

Noticing his gaze, Gu Zhengshen thought that he was looking at Liu Deshun. Recalling what he had just found out, he got into the mood to gossip. "The adopted daughter of the Lu family is supposed to marry Liu Deshun if all goes as planned. That's a considerable investment for the Lu family. I found out that Liu Deshun is already fifty-seven this year."

He seemed to have thought of something and chuckled. "That's not a bad match. One is going for the money, and the other is going for the sex."

As he spoke, Gu Zhengshen glanced at the other rest area from the corner of his eye. Coincidentally, he saw Song Qingcheng covering her forehead with one hand. She looked delicate, but that was what most men liked.

Yu Tingchuan twirled the cigarette in his hand and knocked it against the side of the ashtray. Then, he called the waiter over and took out a cigarette from the pack. He threw it onto the empty tray and pointed at Liu Deshun's table. "Send it to that table."

The waiter recognized Yu Tingchuan, the boss of Hengyuan. He immediately picked up the tray to deliver the cigarette.

"Do you really like his company's elevators?" Gu Zhengshen was surprised.

Yu Tingchuan did not answer. He lowered his gaze, as if deep in thought.