Supremely Talented Tyrant

Chapter 1767 - 1968: Liang Xiaohan's Little Secret!!!

She never expected that the man she met by chance a few days ago would be her cousin's boyfriend, and now that they've met again, her face is instantly filled with shock.However, for some unknown reason, although Liang Xiaohan recognized Hao Jian, Hao Jian could tell from her eyes that she knew, but she pretended not to recognize Hao Jian at all, quickly shifting her gaze elsewhere, as if they were complete strangers, before leading her two younger siblings downstairs.

After coming down, the two children snuggled up to Second Aunt and called her Granny, and then Second Aunt led them towards the restaurant, with Liang Xiaohan following.

Hao Jian was slightly taken aback, not understanding why, since they clearly recognized each other, Liang Xiaohan was pretending not to know him, acting like strangers. Liang Yuwei's attention was completely elsewhere and didn't notice Hao Jian's change, as she held onto Hao Jian's arm, heading towards the restaurant.

Then Liang Yuwei sat down with Hao Jian beside her, everyone else also took their seats, and the chefs quickly started serving all the dishes.

At this point, as elders, Liang Youzhen and Uncle naturally started eating first, which allowed the youngsters like Liang Yuwei, Hao Jian, and Liang Xiaohan to pick up their chopsticks and start eating. This is the basic etiquette at the dining table, a rule that must be followed.

Although having two kids around made the atmosphere particularly joyous and lively, everyone seemed quite in their element. Hao Jian, however, was distracted due to the incident with Liang Xiaohan; though he occasionally responded and smiled, his mind was entirely focused on why Liang Xiaohan was pretending not to know him.

Could it be that my disguise caused her not to recognize me? Hao Jian entertained this thought but soon dismissed it himself. Though they had only met a few times under dimly lit conditions, it was impossible not to see his face clearly, so he was sure Liang Xiaohan recognized him.

Additionally, when Liang Xiaohan first came out, the surprise and astonishment in her eyes had already revealed everything—she recognized him at the time, thus there was no way she didn't recognize him.

So, sitting at the dining table, Hao Jian's thoughts wandered, contemplating these matters. Eventually, as he pondered, a moment of clarity flashed through his mind, suddenly piecing the whole situation together, and a smile appeared on his face.

At that moment, Little Lai and Junjun, for some unknown reason, started fussing and then began crying, and Aunt and Second Aunt took the two kids away to calm them down.

Liang Yuwei sat quietly eating beside him, constantly offering Hao Jian food with a gaze filled with affection and indulgence that was impossible to hide.

Once there are elders at the table, etiquette such as toasting is indispensable. As they ate, Hao Jian voluntarily toasted Liang Youzhen, Uncle, and Second Uncle. Liang Youzhen, although once involved in the officialdom, had long abstained from drinking; Uncle is a person of simple desires, while Second Uncle can drink but is not much inclined to overdrink.

Fortunately, Hao Jian's round of toasting resulted in just a few cups, without being forced to drink too much, unlike some leaders who consume excessive amounts, insisting on drinking until someone is completely drunk.

After a glass, the four of them opened up a conversation, exchanging thoughts on various topics, but the conversation was very refined, not the kind characterized by slouching with laid-back postures.

Aunt and Second Aunt soon calmed the kids down and rejoined the table. Although Hao Jian was engaging in conversation and laughter, and Liang Yuwei sat quietly listening from the side, Hao Jian's mind was still occupied with other matters.

Like finding the right time to have a proper talk with Liang Xiaohan, to confirm whether his reflections were indeed correct.

Finally, this dinner concluded, with everyone moving to the living room to sit down; Aunt, Second Aunt, and Liang Yuwei tidied up the dishes and cutlery, while the two children ran around playing.

Liang Xiaohan sat beside the television, watching it absent-mindedly, clearly lost in her thoughts.

Hao Jian knew that if he continued chatting with Liang Youzhen and the other two, considering their collective wealth of knowledge and conversational reserves, there's no telling how long the discussions would endure. He was impatiently eager to validate certain things, contemplating how to find an excuse for a brief departure.

However, leaving these three elders behind like that would be inappropriate both emotionally and rationally, so he kept thinking about finding a suitable excuse for a short break. Perhaps fortune favored him, understanding his thoughts, as at the moment he was racking his brain, suddenly, his phone rang.

Instantly, a smile appeared on his face, and he stood up, gesturing with his phone to Liang Youzhen and the other two to indicate he was taking a call. The three nodded silently upon seeing this, and Hao Jian exited with his phone.

Outside, seeing the call was from Spice Ginger, he unhesitatingly hung up, knowing Spice Ginger would call back if it was urgent, while he had something more pressing to attend to, so he pocketed the phone, leaning against the wall outside, waiting for someone to appear.

Sure enough, Liang Xiaohan, who had been watching TV, quietly stepped out after noticing Hao Jian had left, following him outside. Liang Youzhen and the other two chatted away, unaware of this detail.

Liang Xiaohan stepped out and immediately saw Hao Jian leaning against the wall, walking straight over. Hao Jian noticed her too but remained silent.

At this moment, a sly smile appeared on Liang Xiaohan's face, as she said, "What a coincidence, my cousin-in-law, I didn't expect to see you here!"

Her tone was teasing when looking at Hao Jian, clearly making fun of him. However, Hao Jian retained a calm demeanor, seemingly unfazed by her provocations.

Suddenly smiling, Hao Jian looked straight at Liang Xiaohan without saying a word, making her, who was initially quite confident, feel like he was seeing through her thoughts. Yet, she continued to jest with Hao Jian, given she had seen him just days ago and was amused at how quickly he became her cousin's boyfriend—it was naturally worth teasing about.

Nonetheless, she had another thought perpetually hiding in her mind which remained unexposed, the true reason she followed Hao Jian outside, while now probing Hao Jian's response to proceed with her plan.

Hao Jian smiled slightly, revealing nothing as he said, "Yes, how coincidental, I never expected to meet our grade's leader, Liang Xiaohan, here."

Upon hearing this, Liang Xiaohan's originally smiling face instantly changed color, as if Hao Jian had caught her weak spot, and she angrily stared at him, saying, "You... What did you say! I didn't hear!"

Seeing Liang Xiaohan's reaction and behavior, Hao Jian confirmed his suspicions, her panic and unease affirming the accuracy of his assumptions.

Despite already knowing each other, if there were no other issues, even if not great friends, they'd greet one another at least. But Liang Xiaohan's behavior was peculiar, initially surprised at seeing him, then pretending he was a complete stranger.

Strange occurrences indicated a deeper issue; initially, he struggled understanding the problem, but observing Liang Xiaohan's behavior at the dining table—acting the complete good girl, which starkly contrasted the Liang Xiaohan he'd known through previous encounters—it seemed like she was a different person entirely, which led him to deduce an answer.

Liang Xiaohan was the dutiful daughter at home, while at school, she displayed her more authentic self—fighting, smoking, bullying classmates—reflecting her true nature. After school, rather than heading home, she'd roam over to bars, internet cafes, places banned for minors, hanging around, surrounded by followers, skipping classes to fight, showcasing her truest self.

Yet, her true self was completely different from the person she portrayed to parents and relatives—a top student, excelling in academics, maintaining an outstandingly good-girl image.

She navigated these dual identities seamlessly, portraying them with remarkable precision—creating a perfect dutiful daughter image at home and a rebellious student leader image at school, perfectly balancing both worlds.

Though Hao Jian had no idea how Liang Xiaohan managed to maintain both personas concurrently, one thing was certain—the secrecy of her dual life was unknown to almost everyone, and now, he knew.

This explained why, upon seeing him, she was initially surprised and then pretended not to recognize him, because Hao Jian had witnessed her smoking and fighting side. If he revealed her, the good-girl image she portrayed to her parents would be destroyed.

Her dual-life would begin to crumble.

So her immediate reaction was pretending not to know Hao Jian, warning him not to say too much, fearing disclosure would lead to catastrophic consequences.