After Falling in Love with the Scum Alpha’s Beautiful Original Wife at First Sight - Chapter 16

Xu Qingzhi had not fallen asleep.

She did not like seafood porridge to begin with, yet she had forced herself to finish an entire bowl cleanly.

The consequence was that the seafood porridge never seemed to digest, sitting heavily in her stomach, so much so that Xu Qingzhi had no choice but to pace back and forth in her room.

When Shen Baiyi went out, Xu Qingzhi had only just closed her eyes.

All those faint rustling sounds entered Xu Qingzhi’s ears.

Xu Qingzhi turned over and sat up in bed, her heart full of doubt.

It was so late. Where was Shen Baiyi going now?

Was she going to the company to deal with urgent work?

Or was she going out somewhere to eat a late-night snack?

She repeatedly lit up her phone, wanting to send Shen Baiyi a message and ask, but for some reason, such a simple sentence as “Where did you go?”—even after trying several times, she still could not send it.

Xu Qingzhi opened the door and walked out. At the entrance, Shen Baiyi’s car keys and bag should have been hanging there, but now the hook was empty. Shen Baiyi had taken her bag, and she had driven out.

Xu Qingzhi turned and went into the study. She turned on the study computer and scanned through the browsing history one line at a time:

23:46, a variety show from Blue TV; 23:02, a newly released foreign film; 22:18, a novel on a certain literature site…

So Shen Baiyi had stayed in the study all that time and refused to go back to her room to sleep—not because she had been handling work.

Xu Qingzhi’s hand hanging at her side slowly clenched into a fist. She returned to her own room, lay on the bed, and stared into the empty air, waiting to hear the sound of the door opening again.

So Shen Baiyi had suddenly gone out in the middle of the night. Had she driven back to the company?

What work could not be handled at home and absolutely required her to go to the company in the middle of the night?

If she had not gone to the company, then where had she gone? Had she gone out for a late-night snack?

What kind of late-night snack could not be ordered for delivery and had to be eaten outside?

If she had gone out for a late-night snack, couldn’t she eat at a restaurant beside the residential complex? Did she have to drive somewhere to eat?

If she had not gone to handle work and had not gone out for a late-night snack, then what had Shen Baiyi gone to do?

Surely she had not gone to meet someone?

And was this the first time Shen Baiyi had hidden it from her and quietly gone out in the middle of the night?

—

Shen Baiyi did not return all night.

Only near dawn did Xu Qingzhi briefly close her eyes.

Her phone was placed beside her pillow. When it vibrated, Xu Qingzhi almost sprang up from the bed.

It was not the alarm she had set in advance, but a message from Shen Baiyi.

The screen only lit up briefly before going dark again.

Xu Qingzhi picked up her phone and took a deep breath.

What would Shen Baiyi say? Would she tell her about secretly going out last night? Would she explain the reason behind it?

She unlocked her phone and tapped open the red notification dot on the screen.

Shen Baiyi: Qingzhi, I have something to do this morning and need to go to the company early. You don’t need to prepare breakfast for me.

Xu Qingzhi stared fixedly at her chat with Shen Baiyi. Suddenly, she could not understand.

What was this message that only made things more suspicious?

She had clearly gone out at midnight last night and had never come back, yet early in the morning, she pretended that she had left early for the company.

It was too strange. Shen Baiyi clearly did not know which days Xu Qingzhi’s heat period was, and did not know that Xu Qingzhi disliked savory porridge, yet she understood Xu Qingzhi’s schedule and personality so well. She could send such a message right before Xu Qingzhi woke up, knowing that Xu Qingzhi would never ask too much, so she was too lazy to even make up a proper lie.

Even more ironic was that Xu Qingzhi had thought she understood Shen Baiyi. She knew what Shen Baiyi liked to eat and what she disliked, knew which brand of toiletries she usually used, and knew what clothing brands she liked to wear.

But since their marriage, this was the first time Xu Qingzhi had discovered that Shen Baiyi actually had another side. She could lie, she could act, and she had secrets Xu Qingzhi did not know about.

Xu Qingzhi put down her phone and got up to wash.

But the calmer she appeared on the surface, the more violently uneasy her heart became.

Xu Qingzhi wiped the water from her face. The icy temperature of the water seemed to forcefully suppress the emotions churning inside her.

Cui Can was right.

In the past, she had blindly immersed herself in her own world and had never seriously paid attention to Shen Baiyi, who lived under the same roof as her.

Xu Qingzhi had a premonition that very soon, she would be able to see clearly Shen Baiyi’s true face hidden beneath her easygoing and considerate appearance.

—

During lunch break, her grandmother called and told Xu Qingzhi something: the old house in the countryside might be demolished.

Xu Qingzhi was a little surprised. From her grandmother’s words, she faintly sensed that her grandmother intended to leave all the demolition compensation to her when the time came.

But demolition was no small matter. Xu Qingzhi advised her grandmother not to make a decision too easily yet and said that after she finished work, she would call her back to understand the situation in detail.

Not long after Xu Qingzhi got off work, Shen Baiyi came home.

That was rare. Xu Qingzhi silently washed vegetables in the kitchen, pretending she had not heard Shen Baiyi enter.

Unexpectedly, Shen Baiyi came into the kitchen impatiently and stood by the door, watching Xu Qingzhi’s busy back.

“Qingzhi, I’m home.”

Xu Qingzhi acted as if she had only just noticed Shen Baiyi had returned. She turned and smiled at her. “You got off work very early today.”

In truth, Shen Baiyi usually got off work early too, but she either went to accompany Qi Yue, ran off somewhere else to have fun, or went to the club to find Jiang Yi. Only after she had played enough would she come home.

She had always lied to Xu Qingzhi, saying she was working overtime. In any case, Xu Qingzhi never checked up on her.

Shen Baiyi tied up the kitchen trash bag for her and asked as if casually, “Qingzhi, I heard from Aunt that the old house in the countryside is going to be demolished. Did Grandma tell you?”

Xu Qingzhi’s gaze flickered.

That was right. Shen Baiyi’s aunt was her grandmother’s neighbor in the countryside. It was not strange that she would know about the demolition.

She just had not expected Shen Baiyi’s aunt to be so good to Shen Baiyi, this distant niece. After all, if something like demolition happened in someone else’s family, even biological siblings might make a fuss over it. Yet Shen Baiyi’s aunt had told Shen Baiyi the news so quickly. Wasn’t that a bit too good?

Xu Qingzhi smiled. “Aunt sure has a quick mouth.”

She did not care what expression Shen Baiyi would have after hearing that. She lowered her head and continued cutting vegetables on her own.

Shen Baiyi had not expected Xu Qingzhi not to follow the topic. In a place Xu Qingzhi could not see, she made an irritated expression, then quickly smiled and leaned closer.

“Qingzhi, why don’t we use this opportunity to have Grandma move over and live with us?”

Hearing this, Xu Qingzhi stopped moving and looked thoughtfully at Shen Baiyi.

Seeing that Xu Qingzhi had reacted, Shen Baiyi felt delighted and pressed on. “Think about it. Grandma is getting old, and she was seriously ill before. Her health isn’t that good after all. In the future, she’ll definitely need us younger ones to take more care of her.”

“Before, Grandma insisted on living in the old house, and we were usually busy with work, so it wasn’t convenient to care more about her. But now that the old house is going to be demolished, I think when the time comes, there’s no need to choose a new house as compensation. Just take the demolition money. Let Grandma keep the demolition money in her hands for her retirement, and we can clear out the study for her to live in.”

“What do you think?”

Xu Qingzhi was silent for a while. “It sounds…” It sounded like a flawless speech.

Shen Baiyi watched her face closely, unwilling to miss even the slightest change. She heard Xu Qingzhi say, “It sounds very reasonable.”

Great. Shen Baiyi was just about to let out a sigh of relief when she immediately heard Xu Qingzhi sigh.

“But I’m just afraid Grandma won’t be willing.”

Shen Baiyi froze. “Why wouldn’t Grandma be willing?”

Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother only had Xu Qingzhi left as family. Her health was also poor. Perhaps within two years, she might fall ill again. The only person worth painstakingly planning for was Xu Qingzhi.

Now that there was this opportunity for demolition, she would definitely leave all the demolition compensation to Xu Qingzhi.

If the old house was exchanged for demolition compensation, Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother would have nowhere to live. Wouldn’t she only be able to move into their home?

Xu Qingzhi said, “I heard that if she can exchange it for a house, Grandma might be able to live in the same building as her old neighbors and friends. Although having Grandma live with us would be quite good, I have to go to school during the day, and you also have to work. Grandma would stay home alone, with no familiar people to chat with her. Wouldn’t that be quite lonely too?”

“As for supporting her in old age, that’s what I should do anyway. The savings I have now are enough to support Grandma in her old age. It doesn’t matter if we don’t take that bit of demolition compensation.”

That bit of demolition compensation—

Shen Baiyi almost failed to hold back her expression.

That bit of demolition compensation? What was wrong with Xu Qingzhi? Did she not know exactly how much money the demolition compensation could give?

And she was even thinking of exchanging it for a house. The resettlement housing given in exchange for demolition was in a bad location, and it would not be easy to sell either. Only an idiot would choose resettlement housing instead of demolition compensation.

She dug her nails deeply into her palm. Under the stimulation of pain, Shen Baiyi forcibly held back from letting her features twist.

“…But…”

Xu Qingzhi did not give her the chance to speak. She continued worrying aloud on her own. “It’s hard to leave one’s homeland. Now that demolition is happening, there’s no choice. But if we make Grandma leave those old sisters she’s known for decades, who knows how upset she’ll feel? Grandma needs friends too, and she needs social interaction. This is something we can’t replace.”

“Sometimes, people become more likely to fall ill precisely because their emotional needs aren’t being met. I think after Grandma recovered from her illness this past year, she actually had a pretty good life in the countryside. Before, it was because she had to take care of me that she overworked herself and fell seriously ill. Now, I don’t really have anything for her to worry about. Every day, she grows flowers, plays mahjong, and her spirits are even better than before. It seems people still need to be happy for their bodies to be healthy.”

Behind her, Shen Baiyi’s face was as dark as water.

When she had gotten definite news from her aunt about the demolition, Shen Baiyi had been rather excited. Qi Yue had even taken the initiative to invite her to a bar today, but Shen Baiyi had found an excuse and refused.

She had originally thought there would be no surprises on Xu Qingzhi’s side. Smoothly and easily, she would persuade her to choose the demolition compensation, then have Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother move in with them.

She had not expected to hit a wall with Xu Qingzhi.

And Xu Qingzhi even used the excuse that her grandmother could not leave her old acquaintances to refuse her.

Had Xu Qingzhi never thought that if all her grandmother’s old sisters chose the demolition money and left with their grandchildren, her grandmother would still end up living alone?

Shen Baiyi took several deep breaths before barely suppressing her emotions.

“Uh, I’ll go downstairs and throw out the trash first.”

After going out, Shen Baiyi completely removed her disguise. Her heart was full of rage, urgently needing to be vented.

She had endured Xu Qingzhi for a year. Seeing that she would soon be able to dump her, she had not expected Xu Qingzhi to actually…

Qi Yue had also almost drained Shen Baiyi’s money. Without this demolition compensation to help her turn things around, Qi Yue would probably immediately dare to part ways with her.

After throwing out the trash, Shen Baiyi did not immediately go upstairs and return home.

She stood downstairs in the cold wind for a while, thinking about how she could make Xu Qingzhi relent.

On Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother’s side, she would definitely need her aunt to help persuade her.

But was Shen Baiyi supposed to tell Xu Qingzhi that she needed money?

However, she had always pretended to be busy with work, and she usually had nowhere to spend money. For a moment, she could not find a suitable excuse to say that she urgently needed a large sum of money.

Moreover, the reason she had just used to persuade Xu Qingzhi was that this money should be left in Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother’s hands as retirement money. If she changed her words later and said she needed money, it would make it seem like everything she had said before had been driven by ulterior motives.

Seeing that she had stayed outside for quite a long time, Shen Baiyi unwillingly lifted her feet and walked home.

—

After Shen Baiyi went downstairs, Xu Qingzhi also stopped moving.

She placed the knife in her hand to the side and fell into deep thought. The meaning behind Shen Baiyi’s words could not avoid that demolition compensation. Why was she so concerned about this money? She seemed to strongly hope this sum of money could remain in Grandma’s hands.

Or perhaps in Xu Qingzhi’s hands.

Shen Baiyi knew that she and her grandmother had depended on each other for survival, so she naturally could think that if Grandma got this money, she definitely would not bear to spend a single cent of it and would leave it all to Xu Qingzhi.

So, did Shen Baiyi actually want this money?

Was she very short on money recently?

But that was not right. In the past, Shen Baiyi would go on business trips for half a month at a time, and whenever she worked overtime, she would work until late at night. Business trips came with allowances, and overtime came with overtime pay. But during this period, Shen Baiyi had unusually stopped frequently going on business trips and working overtime. If she were short on money, she should be even busier than before.

If Shen Baiyi really was short on money, then what exactly had she done behind Xu Qingzhi’s back?

—

At dinner, Shen Baiyi only took two bites before putting down her chopsticks and saying to Xu Qingzhi with a guilty expression, “Qingzhi, I might have to go back to the company to work overtime. When I was downstairs just now, a colleague called me twice. I’m afraid I’ll only be able to come back very late tonight.”

Hearing this, Xu Qingzhi frowned slightly, but she expressed understanding.

“Since you have to work overtime, then go. I’ll get you a sandwich to bring along. Even if you don’t eat dinner, you still need to eat something to fill your stomach.”

Shen Baiyi answered obediently, “Okay.”

Watching Shen Baiyi leave in a hurry, Xu Qingzhi returned to the dining table, and the expression on her face faded.

Very late tonight?

She was afraid Shen Baiyi would not come back the entire night.

She picked up some food with her chopsticks, put it into her mouth, and chewed slowly.

One year of marriage. Half a year of dating. Only now had she discovered that Shen Baiyi had this kind of ability.

Lies like working overtime came straight from her mouth, and she was also bold, confident in having something to rely on, not worried at all that Xu Qingzhi would suspect her.

Xu Qingzhi thought self-mockingly, In Shen Baiyi’s heart, was she just an easy-to-fool idiot?

Facing an entire table of dishes, Xu Qingzhi lost all appetite. She put down her chopsticks and propped her forehead with one hand, staring blankly.

If she had fallen asleep early that day, perhaps even now, she would still be kept in the dark by Shen Baiyi.

Thinking about it now, was the Shen Baiyi who had moved her back then the real Shen Baiyi?

Xu Qingzhi truly could not understand. She took out her phone and called Cui Can.

About a few seconds later, the call connected, and Cui Can’s voice came through. “Qingzhi, what’s up?”

Xu Qingzhi was silent for several seconds. She pressed her lips together and made an expression toward the empty air that looked neither like crying nor not crying.

“Cui Can, I’m so tired.”