If You Are A Dodder Flower Chapter 44 Part2

During the party, she was with the younger group and didn't really go anywhere else, so she was quite easy to spot. It looked as though she hadn't left the party room the entire night. He was relieved.

As he watched the video, he noticed a small thing: just as they arrived at the party, after Xia Rou had greeted a few people, her body suddenly stiffened up.

When he paused that moment and zoomed in, he could see the side of a face he recognized: Hu Chen.

Though Hu Chen was quite l.u.s.ty, he was also a smart person with a good grasp of boundaries. Cao Yang was rest a.s.sured of him.

He zoomed in closer to look in detail, and he realized that Xia Rou was still smiling as she looked at Hu Chen. The moment her expression changed was when Hu Chen drew nearer.

Cao Yang watched that part twice before realizing… As Hu Chen moved his body, Xia Rou probably saw the person behind him.

He fast forwarded a little to see that person from the front. He was quite a handsome young man, and Cao Yang had a vague recollection of seeing him before at Hu Chen's side.

He called Hu Chen. Translated by The Novelst

"Brother Yang?" Hu Chen's voice was a little hoa.r.s.e, having obviously just woken up. No one knew how late he stayed last night.

"Yesterday there was a young man with you. He looks good, who is he?" Cao Yang asked.

Hu Chen let out a long "Hmmm…" as he processed the question, since his brain wasn't quite at peak performance. After a few seconds, he finally answered, "Oh, Xiao Liang?"

Liang…

Big brother, Liang Ziheng is a b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

Cao Yang's tone was calm. "Who is he?"

Hu Chen didn't know the reason for Cao Yang's sudden interest in Liang Ziheng, but since he had called specifically to ask, something was off. He pushed away the woman on him, sitting up straight to rub his eyes.

Thinking it over for a minute, he answered, "His name is Liang Ziheng. His family works in engineering. His mother pa.s.sed away two years ago, and his father remarried last year. His stepmother is my mother's very extended relative; we aren't related by blood, but he comes down to our house frequently."

"Brother Yang, why are you asking about him?" he asked.

"Nothing much. Do me a favor and sound him out," Cao Yang said. "See whether he has anything to do with our Xiao Rou."

Hu Chen was a little surprised, not having imagined that this was about Xia Rou. He quickly recalled the happenings of the previous night and more specifically, the way Xia Rou's expression changed when she saw Liang Ziheng.

That expression, that gaze… it looked like she had seen her enemy.

"Alright, leave it to me," he said immediately.

Hu Chen gave Cao Yang the results of his search the next day.

"It was Xiao Liang's first time meeting Xiao Rou. He was really surprised, he felt that Xiao Rou was quite beautiful. Other than that, there's nothing between them," said Hu Chen.

"That's all?"

"That's all." Hu Chen was positive.

Hu Chen was a smart person and Cao Yang was confident in his abilities. Since he said that was all, there was probably nothing else.

"But…" Hu Chen hesitated a moment.

"What?"

"Xiao Rou… Could it be that she knew Xiao Liang before? The way she looked that night… It didn't seem like the first time she's met him. It's like something happened between them. She doesn't seem to like Xiao Liang," he said to Cao Yang.

"… I got it," he said. "Thanks."

He hung up. Hu Chen took a glance at the screen before putting away his phone.

There was another thing he hadn't told Cao Yang. When he was questioning Liang Ziheng, he seemed excited when he brought up Xia Rou and had asked many questions about her.

When he learned she was only seventeen and that she was still in her junior year, he had revealed an obvious disappointment on his face.

His aspirations were quite high! It was probably because Xia Rou's surname wasn't Cao, huh.

Hu Chen knew that Liang Ziheng was the only child of the Liang Family. In the last few years, his father had been allowing him to try and manage the family business.

Though the Liang Family's business wasn't good enough to pique his interest, he still liked to see Liang Ziheng's wild ambitions.

Xia Rou…

Xia Rou was quite a likeable child. It was too bad that she wasn't surnamed Cao.

Hu Chen remembered that just this morning his little brother who was still abroad had brought her up as they videochatted.

At such a young age she was so good at seducing men…

If the Cao Family really intended to raise her as a daughter, even if her surname wasn't Cao, she wasn't someone that Liang Ziheng could touch. If it was his foolish little brother, then maybe that would be possible…

But…

He thought back to the party again. He saw Xia Rou rocking to the music on the dance floor, with that small waist…

He lit up a cigarette and pulled two deep inhales. The corner of his mouth quirked into a smile.

The Cao crown prince… liked small waists, too.

When Cao Yang was on the phone with Hu Chen, he was still out and about. He only returned home at night.

When he saw Xia Rou at dinner, she had already recovered. Her face was white and slightly pink, her skin shining with youthful radiance. Her eyes curved into crescents when she smiled to reveal her white teeth.

As long as she was there, the atmosphere at the dining table was very relaxing and joyful.

She had brought warmth to the house.

He observed her during their meal, and could only see the gentle and calm att.i.tude on her face. As soon as the heavy learning had ended, she looked very relaxed.

He couldn't see even a hint of the sorrow of that night when she had clutched at him and cried in grievance.

She hadn't been acting. Translated by The Novelst

Cao Yang could see the peace she felt now and the sorrow she felt that time were all her true feelings.

After they finished eating, he said to Xia Rou, "Come to my study for a bit."

Proofread by: Hannah