*Chapter 30: The Price of Laughter*
Back in the city, the investor and hotelier bickered as usual in Zhao Liang's living room.
"Your hotels are nothing without my stocks propping them up," the investor boasted.
"And your stocks would collapse if no one had rooms to stay in," the hotelier shot back.
Li Xue smiled faintly at their silliness, while Mei Yan muttered, "Do they even like each other?"
"More than they admit," Li Xue whispered.
The friends' laughter filled the room, but Zhao Liang remained apart, sipping his whiskey. Yet when Li Xue's soft laughter joined theirs, his eyes darkened.
Later that night, he cornered her in the hallway, his voice low.
"Why do you laugh with them but never with me?"
Her breath caught. "Because they don't try to break me."
For once, Zhao Liang had no reply. His silence lingered like a wound.