Adrian Jiang Has Feelings for Elena Shen

Grace Su stumbled as Adrian Jiang yanked her by the wrist. But she dared not show any displeasure. She merely cast a glance through the revolving door at Ethan Jiang, who was leading Elena Shen into another VIP area.

Softening her voice, she asked gently:

"Was that President Jiang of Tiansheng Group?"

"Mr. Adrian, I—"

"Grace Su." Before she could finish, Adrian cut her off coldly. When there were no outsiders around, his gaze held not a trace of warmth—only a chilling warning.

"Know your place."

"You're fully aware of what those trending topics are about. Just because I didn't suppress the media doesn't mean you and I are anything like what the public assumes."

Grace Su bit her lip instantly.

She swallowed the rest of her words along with all the resentment and unwillingness festering in her chest. In a low voice, she murmured:

"You've misunderstood, Mr. Adrian. I didn't mean anything else. I wasn't trying to approach President Jiang deliberately. I just noticed how close Elena seemed to him and was curious enough to want to say hello."

When she said "seemed close," she cast a deliberate look at Adrian Jiang.

Grace Su came from a modest background. Though Adrian had supported her over the past two years, allowing her to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry, she had never truly broken into the top social echelons of Huaihai City.

And since Elena Shen always kept a low profile, there had never been any rumors linking her to the prestigious Shen family.

Grace Su didn't know she was the heiress of the Shens. She only knew there was something unusual about the relationship between Elena and Adrian.

They weren't lovers.

But they weren't just friends either.

What she did know was that whatever feelings Elena held for Adrian were unclear—but Adrian's feelings for Elena were not the indifference he pretended to show.

Grace Su could see it.

Adrian Jiang liked Elena Shen.

He liked her very much.

She had known from the very first time she met Elena—two years ago, in the lounge near the sports equipment room at Huaihai University.

That was the moment she had started to feel jealous of Elena Shen—and to guard against her.

But what she didn't expect was that the girl who seemed detached from everything, the girl obsessed only with academics and lab work, not only had some ambiguous entanglement with Adrian Jiang but was also this close to the heir of the Jiang family himself.

The resentment in Grace Su's eyes deepened.

Yet in front of Adrian, she betrayed nothing. After that seemingly casual line about how "Elena seemed close to President Jiang," she fell strategically silent.

Elena paid no mind to the unexpected encounter at the entrance of Nightfall with Adrian and Grace Su.

She followed Ethan Jiang into one of the private VIP rooms reserved for him. Inside, several familiar faces had already arrived: Elliot Song, Lin Feng, and Sheng Youye.

Elliot was the first to turn and greet her, his eyes lighting up as he looked at her.

"Elena, feeling any better?"

"Did the medicine work?"

Elena settled into the innermost seat beside Ethan on the sofa and gave a polite smile. "Much better, thank you, Elliot."

Following his lead, Sheng Youye and Lin Feng looked over as well. Sheng Youye, swallowing what he was about to say, added in concern:

"Were you sick? That explains why Ethan wouldn't bring you along last time. Elena, the First Private Hospital of Huaihai is partially owned by my family. If you're still feeling unwell, just go. I'll have our expert medical team see you personally."

The moment he finished, Elliot tossed a lychee—peel and all—at his head with a loud thud and grumbled:

"Sheng Youye, are you implying my medicine isn't effective? Your precious hospital practically begs me to join their staff—with high pay and perks—if I'm willing, that is. Who are you trying to shade, huh?"

Laughter broke out in the room, the atmosphere warm and light.

Though Elena had never hung out like this with Sheng Youye or Lin Feng before, they had grown up in the same social circles. They were familiar with one another, even if they hadn't been close in recent years.

Especially with Ethan sitting beside her now.

After some time chatting, Ethan leaned slightly toward her and lowered his voice.

"I booked the suite next door and invited some of your close friends. If you get tired of sitting here, you can head over there and hang out with them."

He added, "Whatever you want to do is fine, as long as you're having fun. Don't worry about the cost—it's all on me."

Elena was a little surprised. She had thought he had brought her here just to catch up with Elliot and the others.

She hadn't expected another private room to be prepared next door.

Thinking of her friends, she asked, "Is Annie here yet?"

Ethan glanced at the time and gave a nod. "She's almost here."

Elena resisted the urge to leave immediately, curved her lips into a gentle smile, and said, "Then I'll wait for her."

Annie Gu was riding in Winston Gu's car on the way to Nightfall, racking her brain the whole trip trying to figure out what she had done wrong—what mistake could've been big enough for Ethan Jiang to personally message her brother and summon her here?

But the moment she stepped into the private suite and saw Elena sitting beside Ethan…

Before she could even panic about whether her collection of spicy short films had been discovered, the door closed behind her, and she saw Elena say something to Ethan before getting up to meet her.

Outside the room, Annie eyed her best friend nervously.

"Babe, what are we here for tonight?" she whispered.

Elena paused, then extended her pale palm. Nestled inside was a single dark truffle chocolate. She offered it with a relaxed smile.

"To have fun, of course. There's a room next door. What else would we be doing at Nightfall?"

Annie exhaled with exaggerated relief.

She'd been sweating bullets the entire ride over.

Realizing it was all a misunderstanding, she snatched the chocolate from Elena's hand, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Then she grabbed Elena by the wrist and pulled her toward the other room.

"Let's go! We finally have a legitimate excuse to hang out at Nightfall. We're singing tonight!"

Elena teased, "Sure, just don't get carried away and start ordering male dancers again like last time."

Annie sighed with dramatic anguish. "Even if I did, with my brother in the next room watching like a hawk, those dancers wouldn't get past the door with their boxers still on."

Elena laughed, "Fair point."