Giving You Dawn and Dusk - Chapter 19

Liang Shi didn’t know how the original host used to put on an act for Xu Qingzhu’s parents.

But wickedness in the world comes in many forms, while goodness is singular.

Pretending to be sweet and clever was not Liang Shi’s strength. She had little experience interacting with elders, but senior actors on film sets had always liked her.

So this task shouldn’t be difficult for her.

The suggestion Xu Qingzhu just made was absolutely perfect.

So, she readily agreed.

“You don’t need to pay rent,” Liang Shi said. “I’ll leave the second floor for you. I can stay on the first floor. When we get back, you can change the lock on your bedroom door; that will give you more security. However…”

She paused. “If your sister moves in, it seems like… we can’t separate rooms just yet.”

“So I will persuade her to go back,” Xu Qingzhu promised her. “No matter how, she might try to be coquettish and convince you to let her stay. I hope you can be firm.”

Liang Shi: “…?”

When have I ever not been firm?

She gave a slightly bewildered look. Xu Qingzhu lightly pursed her lips, turned her face away, and said, “You’ve always found it hard to resist a young girl’s charm.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Ah, well.

The original host was indeed… seemingly unable to resist.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had so many “female confidantes.”

“I’ll change that in the future,” Liang Shi cleared her throat, immediately changing the subject. “Who is your sister’s favorite celebrity?”

She wanted to see if any celebrity from her original world existed here.

“Chen Zhengxuan,” Xu Qingzhu said. “An idol, I think? From a boy band.”

Liang Shi searched all her memories and found she had never heard of this person.

The entertainment industry here was likely not the same as where she came from.

“Alright,” Liang Shi’s tone carried a slight disappointment.

“Do you know him?” Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow.

Liang Shi shook her head. “How would I?”

She paused, then asked, “What do you think if I said I wanted to act?”

Xu Qingzhu sized her up, her gaze lingering on her eyes, and said faintly, “You should be a good actor.”

Liang Shi: “…”

It didn’t sound like a compliment.

However, she didn’t delve deeper into the issue with Xu Qingzhu. She wasn’t familiar with the entertainment industry here, and the original host had so many complex family and social ties. If she entered the industry, she could face an explosive scandal at any time.

Most importantly, she had a trash System tasking her with a mission.

These three months were critical.

Whether she lived or not depended on these three months.

She only mentioned it casually during the conversation.

Clearly, Xu Qingzhu hadn’t taken her seriously.

//

The car drove past Jiangyuan Road, past Century Plaza, past Ginza Building, past many of Haizhou City’s landmark buildings.

This place was slightly different from where Liang Shi used to live.

Because it was near the sea, even the air was humid, carrying a faint salty smell.

This was Liang Shi’s first time returning to the villa.

She had been in the hospital since arriving a few days ago.

It was quite a struggle.

Other people transmigrate, and everything goes smoothly; they are life winners.

She transmigrated, only to clean up messes and look after her sister-in-law.

“…”

As Liang Shi drove onto the main road, she saw Xu Qingya standing by the villa gate.

Her outfit today was a little more obedient: a T-shirt, jeans, white canvas shoes, and no heavy makeup. She was standing on the side of the road playing on her phone with her backpack on.

As soon as she saw their car approach, Xu Qingya put away her phone, stuck her hands in her pockets, and looked indifferent.

She was likely sulking at Xu Qingzhu.

Liang Shi drove the car into the yard. Xu Qingzhu unbuckled her seatbelt and said, “You go inside first. I’ll take responsibility for convincing her to leave.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Xu Qingzhu was really trying hard to avoid sharing a room with her.

“I won’t get out yet,” Liang Shi said. “You go handle it. Call me when it’s settled.”

Xu Qingzhu glanced at her and grudgingly said, “Fine.”

Liang Shi’s car had tinted privacy film, so the outside couldn’t see in, but the inside could clearly see the activity outside.

Xu Qingzhu got out of the car and told Xu Qingya, “Either go home or go back to the hotel. Choose one.”

“I choose option three,” Xu Qingya snorted lightly. “The hotel is too lonely, and I don’t want to eat takeout.”

“Then go home,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Mom is waiting for you at home.”

“I already talked to Mom,” Xu Qingya shrugged uncaringly. “Mom told me to stay here for a week to cool down.”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

“Besides,” Xu Qingya pouted, “wouldn’t staying in a hotel just waste your money? I’ll stay here. Just find me a small room. I promise I won’t be in the way or be a third wheel.”

“No,” Xu Qingzhu still refused.

But Xu Qingya had already walked around the car, came to the driver’s side, and yanked the door open.

Liang Shi, who was sitting in the driver’s seat playing Snake: “?”

“Sister Liang Shi, wouldn’t you say my sister is being unreasonable?” Xu Qingya asked her to mediate.

Liang Shi: “…?”

She looked at Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu frowned. “Xu Qingya, stop making a scene, okay? Go home, or stay at the hotel. Spend a few days outside to relax, and that’s enough. Why must you come here? Do you think my life is too comfortable, so you need to come make it difficult for me?”

Xu Qingya’s expression cracked for a second, but then she turned back, made a face at her, and said provocatively, “Yes, yes, I do.”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

She pressed her temples, looking distressed.

“Are you even my sister? I’m about to be stranded on the street, and you won’t even take me in for a few days,” Xu Qingya complained with a hint of grievance. “Even Sister Liang Shi agreed to let me stay. Why won’t you?”

Liang Shi quickly waved her hands. “I didn’t. No.”

Xu Qingya: “…”

She paused, then said darkly, “Wow, the henpecked husband dynamic is strong.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She just didn’t want to be inexplicably punished by the System.

It hurts!

“I’m calling Uncle Liu right now to come pick you up,” Xu Qingzhu, afraid she would figure out her real intention, added defensively, “If you were coming here for a holiday break, there wouldn’t be a problem; you could even stay for the whole break. But school is starting in a few days, and you fought with Dad. Don’t you remember that Dad isn’t well? Did you consider his feelings when you ran away from home?”

“Did he consider mine when he tore up my idol’s posters?” Xu Qingya said coldly. “So, you’re the dutiful daughter, and I’m the unreasonable one, right? I really want to understand him, but his company isn’t doing well, and he’s taking his anger out on me, then expects me to be generous and forgive him. I don’t understand that.”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

Finally, Xu Qingya asked, “Sister Liang Shi, do you understand?”

Liang Shi: “…”

She dared not understand.

“Dad was wrong about this,” Xu Qingzhu still dialed Uncle Liu’s number, but it rang for a long time without an answer.

Xu Qingya advised her, “Don’t waste your effort. Uncle Liu is busy dismissing the household staff now. He can’t deal with it.”

“Why?” Xu Qingzhu asked, confused.

Had the family’s situation become this difficult? She hadn’t been told at all.

“Mom didn’t want you to know, so you can just pretend you don’t. Okay?” Xu Qingya put her hands in her pockets, looking cool. “Just be a good Madam Liang here. I’ll come stay at your house for a few days. After this storm passes, I’ll go back. Or, when school starts, I’ll move into the dorms. I promise I won’t interfere with your life as a couple. Can you do that for me, my dear sister?”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

With the conversation reaching this point.

If Xu Qingzhu still disagreed, it would seem unfeeling.

She looked at Liang Shi. Liang Shi, who had been acting as a transparent person: “…?”

“Then she can stay?” Liang Shi looked to Xu Qingzhu for a cue, starting with a question. Seeing Xu Qingzhu slightly relax, she affirmed, “Let her stay. There are plenty of rooms here.”

“Great.” Xu Qingya sweetly thanked her. “Thank you, Sister.”

“First tell me, why are you dismissing the household staff?” Xu Qingzhu asked.

Xu Qingya shrugged indifferently. “The company’s financial situation isn’t good. The family doesn’t have money to pay salaries, so naturally, they let some go. It’s all minor stuff.”

“Minor stuff?” Xu Qingzhu said coldly. “Is it only a big deal when the company goes bankrupt, and we have to sell the house and land? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“What’s there to tell?” Xu Qingya said. “Dad isn’t a businessman. You know that. If it goes bankrupt, it goes bankrupt. You, you’re married off. Just be a good Madam Liang and don’t worry about the family’s messed-up affairs, okay? We wouldn’t bother you even if we were living on the streets. Just be well, understood?”

Her tone was overly arrogant and slightly aggressive.

After speaking, she turned and walked toward the villa entrance to wait.

Leaving Xu Qingzhu standing alone at the gate, deep in thought.

The family company was an inheritance from her great-grandfather, flourished under her maternal grandfather, and was now facing ruin under her father’s management.

This couldn’t stand.

A fire ignited in Xu Qingzhu’s heart. She immediately wanted to go home and confront her father.

When she traded her marriage for the Liang family’s investment, her father promised that with that money, he could stage a brilliant comeback. But now?

In less than half a year, they were reduced to laying off household staff to cut costs.

“Lend me the car keys. I need to go out for a bit,” Xu Qingzhu said.

Liang Shi could guess her intention from her expression. “Going home? To ask your parents about this?”

Xu Qingzhu nodded.

“Let’s not right now,” Liang Shi said.

Xu Qingya was listening with her ears pricked up on the other side. Liang Shi leaned closer and whispered, “If you go back with that mood, you probably won’t solve anything. Plus, you don’t know the full story right now. What if there’s another hidden reason? Besides, it’s noon. Let’s eat first, and then we can think this through…”

Xu Qingzhu’s gaze fell on her, carrying a hint of sharpness. Liang Shi awkwardly rubbed the tip of her nose, adding a hesitant half-sentence, “Does that sound alright?”

The final word was barely audible.

Xu Qingzhu looked at her, still thinking. Xu Qingya at the door said lazily, “Can you two stop being so slow? I’m starving.”

Liang Shi wasn’t sure she could persuade Xu Qingzhu, but Xu Qingzhu paused for a few seconds, then awkwardly turned her face away, rubbing her ear.

Liang Shi realized she had gotten a bit too close to Xu Qingzhu.

She immediately stepped back half a step and apologized sincerely. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s nothing,” Xu Qingzhu interrupted her, then naturally took her hand. She leaned forward, placing her head near Liang Shi’s ear. Her warm breath exhaled near Liang Shi’s ear, carrying a provocative heat that made Liang Shi’s ears itch and her throat feel dry. She cleared her throat a little unnaturally.

Xu Qingzhu’s slightly damp lips were only a millimeter from her earlobe. A slight movement, and their skin would touch.

Liang Shi’s heart hammered; she felt like it would leap out of her chest.

Xu Qingzhu’s lips, still slightly moist, brushed past her ear, and she whispered in a low, smoky, captivating voice, “Sorry for the trouble. You have to play along with me.”

Liang Shi: “…”

I can play along, but can you please not stand so close?