Hua Jing chuckled again, this time louder, the sound like silver bells that only made Lin Qian's blood boil hotter. Without hesitation, Hua Jing stepped closer and casually raised her hand, patting Lin Qian's shoulder as if the two of them were the oldest, dearest of friends.
Her touch was maddeningly familiar, confident, and intimate.
"There's no need for you to be ashamed," Hua Jing murmured, her grin widening into something almost wicked. "Come on, you can thank me. Go on, say it. You can thank me."
The way she leaned in, lips curled in shameless triumph, made Lin Qian's fists twitch at her sides. She really wanted to punch this woman—just one clean punch to send her flying several feet away, that smug grin wiped off her face.
But she couldn't.
Because behind that grin, beneath the teasing lilt of her voice, Lin Qian knew very well there was a sincerity that made her heart clench.
