Giving You Dawn And Dusk - Chapter 20

It took Liang Shi quite a while to get her heartbeat back to its normal rhythm.

As soon as she reached the door, Xu Qingya cast her an ambiguous look and even clicked her tongue twice.

There was more or less a bit of sarcasm in it.

But it was mostly teasing.

It made Liang Shi feel strangely embarrassed.

It was a little like when she had been in school and happened to stand a bit too close to a boy, and everyone would whistle or send over teasing looks.

Only back then, she had only felt awkward. This time, there was also a tiny bit of… secret joy.

She classified this emotion as—the happiness anyone would feel from getting close to a beautiful woman.

Liang Shi flipped open the metal cover of the coded lock and entered the villa password. Then she turned sideways and let the Xu sisters go in first.

Xu Qingya was quite at home and did not stand on ceremony at all. She entered first.

But the moment she stepped through the door, she let out an “Ah!”

“What’s wrong?” Liang Shi asked.

Xu Qingya looked shocked and pointed inside the house. “Sister, did your house get robbed?”

Liang Shi: “……?”

“That shouldn’t be right. This whole area is a villa district for rich people. Who would dare come steal things?” As Xu Qingya spoke, she did not notice at all that Xu Qingzhu’s expression had already changed behind her.

Liang Shi merely poked her head in to take a look and immediately understood what had happened.

The mess from that day still had not been cleaned up.

The entire first floor was covered in the aftermath of the party.

After being left there for several days, even the smell had turned sour.

It was like an uncleaned crime scene.

Liang Shi’s expression changed slightly. She coughed lightly. “It wasn’t a thief. It was… I had a party with some friends that day. After that, your sister and I went out, and there was no one home to clean.”

This blame had landed firmly on her head.

“Where are your servants?” Xu Qingya asked. “Does cleaning a house require the owner to personally give orders? Why haven’t you fired servants with so little awareness? Are you keeping them around for New Year’s? Or…”

Xu Qingya paused. “Did you not hire servants when you got married, and my sister has been cleaning this huge villa by herself?”

Liang Shi: “……”

At this moment, she was willing to call Xu Qingya Sherlock Yaya.

“How could that be?” Liang Shi denied it with a stiff smile. “I’d do it myself before I ever let your sister do it.”

Xu Qingya let out a breath of relief. “Exactly. My sister, you know, don’t be fooled by how pretty she is. She’s actually just a decorative vase. She never does anything at home. From childhood until now, her only two strengths have been good grades and being beautiful. You definitely knew that when you married her, right? If she were the one cleaning, all the precious porcelain in your house probably wouldn’t survive.”

Liang Shi: “……?”

She looked toward Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu lowered her head at just the right moment, not even meeting Liang Shi’s gaze. Yet she said irritably, “Enough. You talk too much. If you still have energy, then you clean it.”

“It’s not as if Sister Liang’s house doesn’t have servants.” Xu Qingya shoved both hands into her pockets. “I can’t do it either.”

At this moment, Liang Shi seemed to understand why Xu Qingya had looked so astonished when Liang Shi said Xu Qingzhu was gentle the first time they met.

So the original owner had truly never understood Xu Qingzhu.

When Xu Qingzhu married into this house, she had only lowered herself and acted humbly because she felt she owed something.

She could not repay with money, nor could she offer her body, so she had forced herself to do many things she actually did not know how to do.

It was hard to imagine how a young lady who had been pampered since childhood had learned how to do all those things in such a short time.

She must have paid quite a price.

Back when Liang Shi first learned to do housework, she had often bumped and bruised herself.

That probably also explained why Xu Qingzhu was so skilled at bandaging wounds.

She looked at Xu Qingzhu with a slightly complicated gaze, while Xu Qingzhu avoided the pity in her eyes.

Liang Shi sighed inwardly and said softly, “No need. I’ll have someone come clean now.”

When she called the housekeeper, her heart was full of unease. She was genuinely afraid the housekeeper would say that the original owner had dismissed all the servants.

Fortunately, the original owner had not been that deranged.

Some servants still lived in the small two-story building behind the villa, and the housekeeper quickly brought people over to clean.

Liang Shi and the Xu sisters waited outside for a while.

Xu Qingya lowered her head and played with her phone, not interacting with either of them the entire time.

Xu Qingzhu’s brows were tightly locked, her face full of worry as she thought about her family’s situation.

Liang Shi simply stood there. Seeing that there was nothing to do, she started playing Snake.

The snake moved nimbly across the screen. She did not spend much thought on it while playing; she only used it to let her mind empty out a little.

The servants moved very efficiently. In less than half an hour, they had cleaned the house until it looked brand new. The housekeeper stepped forward, bowed slightly, and asked, “Miss, will you be dining?”

Liang Shi put away her phone and nodded. “Mm. Just make something homestyle. As soon as possible.”

After receiving the instruction, the housekeeper called people into the kitchen to work.

They were all professionally trained, and their movements were very quiet. From the living room, one could barely hear them.

Liang Shi stood in the living room, waiting for Xu Qingzhu to assign the rooms.

They had originally agreed on the way back that they would live separately, but judging by the current situation, that was no longer possible.

If the two of them were to live in the master bedroom upstairs, where would Xu Qingya live?

“You’ll live downstairs, in that room.” Xu Qingzhu pointed to the second room on the right. “Put your things away, then come out for lunch.”

Xu Qingya had no objection. “Okay.”

After Xu Qingzhu said that, she turned and walked upstairs.

She was still returning to the master bedroom. As she went upstairs, she looked back and asked, “Are you coming?”

It was a very soft question, but when spoken by her coldly, with the ending note lifting slightly, it took on a trace of ambiguity.

Liang Shi was dazed. She pointed at the tip of her own nose in disbelief. “Me?”

Xu Qingzhu nodded slightly.

Xu Qingya had already made herself comfortable on the sofa. Her phone was playing a dance video, and the BGM hit the beat with great energy. She raised an arm and waved. “Don’t mind me. Just pretend I don’t exist. This is your home, so be casual. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

She really was quite at home.

But what she said was fairly likable.

Liang Shi treated her like a younger sister and teased with a smile, “Then you be casual too.”

Xu Qingya shrugged. “Do I look like I’m being polite with you two?”

Liang Shi laughed softly. “That’s pretty good.”

“All right.” As Xu Qingya spoke, she stood up. “I’ll go back to my room. If you two want to whisper sweet nothings, go back to your room too. I’m not going to be your third wheel. You two…”

She winked ambiguously at them. “Enjoy your couple time.”

Liang Shi: “……”

//

The room was still the same as before.

That day had been Xu Qingzhu’s heat, and she had lain on the bed struggling for a while, so the white sheets were wrinkled.

The entire room was decorated in a very luxurious style. Even the chandelier was gilded.

The luxurious carpet was soft underfoot and light in color. The room’s decor was actually quite decent.

This was the only time Liang Shi approved of the original owner’s taste.

After closing the door, Xu Qingzhu went to strip the sheets. Her movements were fairly nimble, but when it came time to lay out the new sheets, she did not seem quite as skilled.

Liang Shi immediately stepped forward to help.

She was someone who was not used to letting others interfere in her life, and she had lived alone for many years.

Now, suddenly having to share a room with someone else felt quite uncomfortable.

Even if the other person was a stunningly beautiful woman.

Perhaps it was also because of that that her sense of rejection was not so strong, though she still carried a heavy psychological burden.

At night… how were they supposed to sleep?

Most likely, she would have to sleep on the floor, right?

Liang Shi glanced at the carpet. It could barely be considered clean.

But anything stepped on by feet would still carry a lot of bacteria no matter how visually clean it looked.

Her mysophobia made it impossible for her to accept that.

It would be more practical to roll up the carpet and lay down a quilt instead.

As she thought this, she finished making the bed with Xu Qingzhu. Once they were done, Xu Qingzhu was a little tired and sat on one side of the bed, breathing slightly.

She was wearing a high-collared, fitted black sweater. Her fair face carried a faint camel-pink flush, and her eyes were very bright. When she lowered her lashes, those thick eyelashes cast deep shadows beneath her eyes. Her hair was casually tied into a bun, with many loose strands around her forehead, but she did not look messy at all.

Whether because she had too many worries or because of her personal constitution, she was very thin.

Even sitting down in a fitted sweater, there was not a trace of excess flesh on her lower abdomen.

She stepped barefoot on the soft carpet, her pearly-white toes and the carpet seeming to form one natural picture.

“Sorry.” After Xu Qingzhu recovered some strength, she said, “I went back on my word. I couldn’t persuade my sister to leave. I’ll be troubling you for the next few days.”

“Ah?” Liang Shi had accidentally been distracted while looking at her. By the time she came back to herself, she had only heard the words “troubling you.”

Liang Shi lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed. “What did you say?”

“I’m sorry.” Xu Qingzhu patiently repeated it, using that clear, cold voice of hers, like snowmelt from a glacier, though it still failed to cool Liang Shi’s body. “I’ve troubled you. My family’s situation isn’t good right now, so I can only disturb you.”

“Ah, it’s fine.” Liang Shi said, “These are all small things. And… we’re family. Your family is also my family.”

Xu Qingzhu raised her head to look at her.

She had just licked her lips, and they were glistening, like jelly sprinkled with shimmer.

Liang Shi turned her face away, not daring to look again.

“Xu Qingzhu.” Liang Shi felt it was necessary to reiterate. “Everything I said in the ward before was true.”

“Mm?” Xu Qingzhu asked softly, her voice carrying a cool, intimate feeling. “Which things?”

“The things about not hurting you again. I meant all of them sincerely,” Liang Shi said. “No matter what wrong things I did to you in the past, they’re already done. I know I have no way to shamelessly beg for your forgiveness. After all, harm can’t be reversed.”

“But…” Liang Shi paused, then said earnestly, “I will change. That isn’t an empty promise.”

Xu Qingzhu looked at her, then suddenly curved her lips in a smile.

The curve of her lips was just right, and her eyes were half-bent. Her fair face looked soft and pink, like cherry blossoms falling in a fluttering shower.

At that moment, Liang Shi even smelled the scent of spring.

She felt as though Xu Qingzhu carried some kind of enchantment.

She immediately turned her face away.

But Xu Qingzhu lowered her voice and said, “I believe you.”

The final note still rose slightly, like a small feather, brushing precisely against the softest place in a person’s heart.

“However… apologies still need to be said.” Xu Qingzhu stood up. “That’s basic courtesy.”

“All right.” Liang Shi relaxed slightly. “I only wanted to make my stance clear. From now on, this place is your home. You can arrange things however you like. There’s no need to ask for my opinion. Of course… if…”

She coughed lightly. “If you’re in a good mood, you can occasionally listen to my opinion too.”

Xu Qingzhu was silent for a moment, then laughed softly.

“I’ll try,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Lunch should be almost ready. Let’s go downstairs to eat.”

“Wait.” Liang Shi stopped her.

“What is it?”

Liang Shi stared at the carpet and asked, “Are there any new carpets? Or can we remove the carpet?”

She really could not stand sleeping on a carpet full of germs.

“There are,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Let’s change it after we come back from eating.”

“Okay.” Liang Shi readily agreed.

She reached out to open the door, and Xu Qingzhu happened to be behind her. Xu Qingzhu moved slightly forward and once again stood extremely close to her.

Afraid of being overheard, Xu Qingzhu lowered her voice and said, “Tonight, you sleep on the bed.”

Liang Shi: “……?”