to give lip service while undermining secretly

As soon as school ended, Wanqing dashed out of the gates. Just as she stepped outside, she spotted A Cheng among the crowd, a black sedan parked behind him, silently watching her.

Startled, she instinctively took a step back.

A Cheng parted the crowd and approached, respectfully calling out, "Miss."

"What are you doing here?" Wanqing whispered, glancing nervously around her. Thankfully, there were other cars parked outside the school, and the students' attention was far from such matters, so no one noticed them.

"The CEO sent me to pick you up."

"It's not time yet!" she told Mu Tianyang. Dinner was at school, and she wouldn't be going home until after evening study. If anyone was to pick her up, it should be after the study session!

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I... I came out for dinner. The cafeteria was too crowded."

A Cheng's gaze lingered on the bulging bag slung over her shoulder, clearly stuffed with books. If she had come out for dinner, why would she need to carry textbooks?

Wanqing felt guilty under his scrutiny.

The truth was, she hadn't come out for dinner. Her homeroom teacher knew about her mother's condition, and when she asked for leave to care for her mother after school, the teacher had kindly agreed.

This had been part of her plan all along—to visit Xu Kewei. She had told Mu Tianyang she would be attending evening study and just needed to return before the session ended.

But to her surprise, Mu Tianyang had anticipated her intentions and sent someone to block her here.

Back at the villa, Wanqing retreated to her room, unsure of what to do. Clearly, her attempts at subterfuge had failed to fool him, and she had only succeeded in angering him once again. When he returned, she knew she would face another round of punishment. The past few days flashed before her eyes—the languid spring nights, the endless shame...

The thought of it made her skin crawl, her senses overwhelmed with hallucinations. She seemed to hear his labored breathing, see his sweaty face, feel his coarse hands roaming over her body...

She shook her head violently, pulled out her textbooks from her bag, and resolved to numb her mind with homework.

Although she had been on leave for half a semester, she had returned to her original class. It was the second semester of sophomore year, and many subjects had already been covered. The class had moved on to review for senior year. Wanqing had missed so much and could only catch up through self-study and endless exercises.

She took out the workbook, looked around at the lack of desks and chairs, and reluctantly walked into the dressing room. She sat at the vanity and began her work.

At some point, the overhead light flickered. Startled, she looked up and saw Mu Tianyang leaning against the wall, his finger on the light switch.

"You... you're back!" Wanqing hurried to stand, realizing that the vanity was cluttered with books and test papers. She quickly started to tidy up.

"Why are you studying here?" Mu Tianyang asked.

Wanqing heard no anger in his voice, no hint of irritation, and, feeling bolder, she replied, "I didn't dare enter your study."

Mu Tianyang smiled slightly and walked toward her. She jumped back in surprise, bumping the bottles on the vanity, which clattered noisily.

He reached her side, cupped her chin, and kissed her lips. "I heard you were planning to run away today?"

"I..." Wanqing wasn't sure whether to tell the truth, "I wasn't."

"Is that so?" Mu Tianyang's kiss trailed down her cheek.

"Really, I wasn't."

Wanqing placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him away, but unable to summon the strength. She lightly grasped his shirt instead. Her mixed signals pleased him. With a swift motion, he lifted her up and seated her on the vanity.