Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

"What?"

Song Chang's surprised exclamation startled Xu Qingcheng, who immediately gestured to her, "Keep your voice down!"

Song Chang covered her mouth, knowing that this matter was of great importance.

She simply sat down next to Xu Qingcheng, and the two whispered to each other with their heads close together.

"You're really bold. Tell me what you're planning." Song Chang was getting impatient. She felt that all of Xu Qingcheng's current schemes were bordering on insane. "I seriously suspect you've lost your mind."

Xu Qingcheng lowered her eyes, took a sip of juice, and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Changchang, Qingyao's accident was not an accident, it was the Ye family who did it."

Song Chang wasn't surprised. Thinking back to the time when Xu Qingcheng almost hit Ye Wenhan with her car, he could roughly guess what had happened.

"As long as I continue to oppose the Ye family, as long as Ye Chengnian can't take away Shengshi, Qingyao can have one accident and then two more." Xu Qingcheng took a deep breath, raised her hand to press against the corner of her eye to stop the tears from flowing.

She is actually quite calm now, but when she talks about it, she can't help but shed tears.

"They're threatening me with Qingyao's life, trying to force me to back down and give up Shengshi." Xu Qingcheng clenched her teeth, her fingers tightening, and took a deep breath to calm her emotions that she couldn't control once the topic came up.

"I will not allow them to swallow up Shengshi, nor will I allow them to continue to harm Qingyao."

Song Chang reached out and hugged Xu Qingcheng. "I understand everything you're saying. But have you thought about it? By deceiving Fu Jingting—no, the Fu family—you're planting a bombshell. Have you considered what will happen then? The child will eventually be born, and this lie will definitely be exposed eventually."

"I know this lie won't last long." Xu Qingcheng pressed her fingers to her temples. "I have a way, but it will take some time."

"Do you need my help?"

Xu Qingcheng shook her head. "That won't be necessary, but I do have something else I need your help with."

"you say."

"Could you buy me a box of birth control pills? I can't go myself right now."

Song Chang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "What? Even now, Fu Jingting still didn't let you off the hook? He didn't use any protection?"

"..."

Xu Qingcheng remained silent.

Song Chang tapped his head. "Then what do you need birth control pills for? You might as well make it real!"

"It's not what you think." Xu Qingcheng tightened her fingers. "I can be irresponsible to myself, but I don't want to be irresponsible to the child. I also want to leave him some room. After all, everyone... meets someone they truly want to spend their life with, and so will he. If there's no child to hold him back, he might find it easier to handle future relationship issues."

Xu Qingcheng smiled and said, "I know it's too sentimental and too hindsight to say this now, but that's really what I think."

"And what about you? What are you going to do?" Song Chang looked at her and couldn't help but ask bluntly.

"I...I'm fine." Xu Qingcheng rubbed her eyes, forcing a smile. "When the time comes to pay back the debt, I still have to pay it back. My methods were dishonest, and I'm afraid I won't be able to escape the consequences."

Her smile was forced and bitter.

Song Chang didn't say much, "Okay, I'll help you with that. But birth control pills aren't a cure-all. If you get pregnant during this time, it won't be a birth control pill anymore, it will be an abortion pill."

Xu Qingcheng tightened her fingers and hummed in agreement.

A sudden silence fell between the two of them. It was almost time, and Xu Qingcheng's phone rang. It was Fu Jingting, asking if she was done and offering to pick her up.

Xu Qingcheng hung up the phone and saw Song Chang staring at her. He clicked his tongue and said, "You're being chased so closely, and you've only been out for a short time. Judging from how well you look, it seems you haven't been harassed lately."

"Hmm. We've reached a consensus, at least we still need to maintain a certain level of decorum in front of outsiders." Xu Qingcheng stirred her juice and suddenly asked, "Changchang, I mean, if I were nicer to him, do you think he...would he dislike me less when the truth comes out?"

In the end, I didn't dare to ask if he would like me if I treated him better.

Do you like a scheming woman who plots against you?

To be honest, Xu Qingcheng admitted that she couldn't do it either if she put herself in her shoes.

So how could she have such an absurd idea?

Song Chang was taken aback, stunned by Xu Qingcheng's question. She stared at Xu Qingcheng with surprise, "Qingcheng, do you even know what you just said?"

Xu Qingcheng lowered her head and remained silent.

Song Chang couldn't help but push her, "Hey! Xu Qingcheng! You can't be serious, you... you..."

"I already told you it was all hypothetical," Xu Qingcheng interrupted Song Chang hastily, looking at her with a smile. "There are no hypotheticals, I understand perfectly well."

She stood up. "Let's go."

"Qingcheng, I unconditionally support all your decisions. I can't help you, but I can listen to your troubles. However, listen to me: protect your heart and don't get hurt again. Rather than that, I'd rather you be ruthless." Song Chang said worriedly. Qingcheng's question must have been for a reason.

But given her current situation, no matter what Song Chang does, she can't think of the best possible outcome.

Xu Qingcheng gave her an OK sign, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.

She thought she had been tempered by reality to be worldly enough, but she found that she could still be extremely naive at times. She couldn't let warmth numb her heart; she was probably more suited to standing in the freezing cold, enduring scrutiny and ridicule.

When the two came out of the coffee shop, Fu Jingting had already arrived. He didn't have a driver; he drove himself there.

It wasn't convenient to park, so I just stopped on the side of the road. I rolled down the window and looked over. He was wearing a stand-up collar jacket, and in the dim evening light, he was the brightest ray of light.

His face alone was enough to make passing beauties turn their heads repeatedly.

But he was oblivious, his eyes lowered as he scrolled through his phone as if about to make a call, when Xu Qingcheng's phone rang.

She didn't answer; she hung up. She hurried over and met the man's gaze as he turned his head to look at her.

The light was dim and the neon lights hadn't yet come on, and in that space between light and shadow, the curve of his raised eyebrow easily captured all her attention.

Xu Qingcheng walked around to the passenger side, opened the car door, got in, and waved goodbye to Song Chang.

Song Chang bent down and looked at Fu Jingting, half-jokingly saying, "Mr. Qingcheng, please be nice to my best friend and don't bully her."

As the car drove off, Fu Jingting suddenly turned to look at her, "Did I bully you?"

"Song Chang was just saying that, and you actually took it seriously?!" Xu Qingcheng assumed that he cared about Song Chang's words.

Fu Jingting chuckled, "She really did. I'm curious what Mrs. Fu and her best friend talked about? Did they discuss how I bullied you?"

He thought she looked too flirtatious and improper, and Xu Qingcheng couldn't bring herself to give him a proper explanation.

She decided not to explain anymore, but for some reason her heart was still beating a little faster, and even her voice softened, "Just chatting, we weren't talking about you."

Sometimes, when you realize that you are being overly influenced by someone and remind yourself to be careful not to be influenced, you find that this self-reminder seems to have increased their influence on you.

She glanced at him, seeing his effortless and relaxed demeanor, and Xu Qingcheng felt a little annoyed. Why did he get to do this?