Giving You Dawn and Dusk - Chapter 21

Liang Shi understood the full meaning of that sentence when she went downstairs.

It should have been: You sleep in the bed tonight, and I’ll sleep on the floor.

But a physically fit Alpha like her, how perverse would she have to be to make an Omega who had just recovered from heat, was just discharged from the hospital, and was still in a delicate state, sleep on the floor?

Liang Shi couldn’t do it.

Liang Shi felt no decent person could do it.

After the three of them finished dinner, Xu Qingzhu went to the study.

Xu Qingya also went back to her room to sleep.

Liang Shi had nothing to do, so she returned to her room to research things.

She urgently needed to understand the “demons and monsters” around the original host.

Those who had sent her disgusting text messages, and those in the group chats who talked about wanting to play with her wife.

What on earth were they?

She had left all the groups before, but the contacts remained. A group of people were messaging her. When she refreshed the screen, it was full of red dots, enough to drive a compulsive person crazy.

Liang Shi chose contacts with slightly more serious screen names. They were mainly asking why she left the groups, and whether her sex life with the Omega was enjoyable.

She didn’t know if it was enjoyable, but all these people were quite vulgar.

She had hoped to glean some information from here, but after scanning them, she found nothing useful, so she deleted many more contacts until the System warned her about excessive deletion and asked if the account had been hacked.

After deleting a large number of people, she posted on her moments (a social media feature like Facebook or Instagram).

【The green grass of spring,

The clouds of summer,

The fallen leaves of autumn,

The snow of winter.

It seems everything is vibrant,

Everything is full of poetry,

Everything is reminding me to live well,

To love the world more,

And most importantly,

To cherish the people around me,

And the happiness of the present.】

It looked like a lyrical poem, a stark contrast to the original host’s usual posts.

After all, the original host’s previous posts were usually just photos of long legs, half-body shots of beautiful Omegas and Betas, or yachts, luxury cars, and socialite parties.

These were also different from Liang Shi’s own lifestyle.

Liang Shi had always thought that if she ever became rich overnight, she would act modestly.

She could buy luxury cars and houses, but she would always remember the word low-key.

Wealth should not be flaunted.

Because wealth that is conspicuously displayed suggests the person is not very intelligent.

Her little poem sparked heated discussion in her moments.

Some people in the circle commented:

[Where did you copy this from? It’s very beautiful.]

[Teacher Liang, are you considering ghostwriting essays? My sister needs another eight hundred words for her assignment.]

[My goodness, are you planning to turn over a new leaf?]

[What triggered this change?]

[…]

Liang Shi replied uniformly: 【Didn’t copy it. Wrote it myself.】

【Planning to turn over a new leaf and be a better person.】

The comment section was filled with: [???]

Obviously, no one believed her.

But Liang Shi wasn’t posting it for them. She was posting it for Xu Qingzhu to see, and for herself to see.

She was Liang Shi, the Liang Shi who would strive to live a good life.

The original host did have a job initially, listed as the Deputy Head of Human Resources at the Liang family company, but she had barely shown up.

She was accustomed to being a prodigal. She raced cars and horses with Cheng Ran’s crew, and when she was happy, she would charter a helicopter to fly to a casino for a round of gambling, easily losing several million in one night.

Her regular activities included yachting, cruising, skiing, and all kinds of over-the-top entertainment.

Her university major was Chinese Language and Literature—a generalized major—but she attended a rather subpar university. She mostly scraped by on final exams, relied on others to cover her attendance, and paid people to ghostwrite her assignments. Her time at school was heavily subsidized.

She essentially learned nothing.

Liang Shi was quite displeased by this.

She hadn’t been able to attend university originally. Later, she often wanted to take self-study exams, but she had to jump straight into filming without a break, leaving no time to study.

Even so, to better understand scripts, she constantly expanded her knowledge base. Learning knows no bounds.

Because of her low education, she was often attacked for it after becoming an actress.

It was quite painful.

If she had the chance, Liang Shi still wanted to go back to school.

But for now, it was all wishful thinking.

She looked up the Liang family’s enterprise. It was considered upper-middle class in Haizhou City’s affluent circle.

Their main business was high-end luxury goods, and they also owned several malls and hotels, but they weren’t involved with the government.

The land in Chengnan that Qiu Zimin mentioned was likely a future development area planned by the government. Whether it was for a new mall or a new school, as long as a businessman caught the political tailwind, making a fortune in a short period was easy.

Zhou Yian’s family was involved in politics.

From ancient times to the present, those in politics have always been a step above those in business.

It was understandable that Qiu Zimin wanted to align with that family.

But to sell her?

Impossible.

After her research, Liang Shi looked up Xu Qingzhu’s family company.

Compared to the Liang family, the Xu family’s company was negligible, just a jewelry company.

But Xu family’s Minghui Jewelry, going back thirty years, was a resounding name in the industry. They released one new product every spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and they would be sold at astronomical prices even before hitting the market.

In the jewelry sector, even Dongheng, which specialized in high-end luxury goods, couldn’t compare with the Xu family.

It was no exaggeration to say that thirty years ago, Minghui Jewelry was the industry benchmark, unattainable by many jewelry companies.

But in recent years, it had declined.

Some people online even said that the decline of Minghui Jewelry was the decline of an era.

This showed the high level of praise their family received online.

The company’s name originally wasn’t Xu. The previous generation’s head was named Sheng Wang.

He had a son and a daughter. His daughter, Sheng Linlang, was one of Haizhou’s most prominent socialites. Rumor had it that the sons of the three major wealthy families in Haizhou City all pursued her, but she chose the most inconspicuous one, Xu Guangyao, marrying beneath her status.

At the time, Xu Guangyao was just a designer at Minghui Jewelry.

Everyone thought Minghui Jewelry would be passed down to the son, Sheng Qinglin, but Sheng Qinglin was aloof and proud, becoming an internationally renowned architect at the age of 20.

However, his girlfriend at the time was Su Yao, an internationally celebrated jewelry designer.

There was no way the family business would fall into Xu Guangyao’s hands.

But things change. Sheng Qinglin died in an unexpected accident at 25. His girlfriend went abroad for further studies and soon announced her marriage.

Old Mr. Sheng aged greatly overnight and lost the will to manage the company, gradually handing it over to Xu Guangyao.

The circumstances surrounding Sheng Qinglin’s death were highly debated online.

Some said his girlfriend killed him because he caught her cheating.

Others claimed Xu Guangyao was responsible, as he benefited the most from the entire situation.

But no one could draw a definite conclusion.

The truth was likely known only to those involved.

Liang Shi finished her research, filled with emotion.

She hadn’t realized there was such a convoluted story behind Xu Qingzhu’s family.

Just as she was reading, her phone suddenly rang.

An unknown number flashed on the screen. She hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

A familiar voice came through the line; it was Zhou Yian.

She chuckled lightly. “Darling, you finally deigned to answer the phone.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She really needed to change her number.

“Yes?” Liang Shi asked testily.

“Can’t I call you just because I want to?” Zhou Yian’s laugh was wicked, but hearing her sigh, and afraid she would hang up, she quickly said, “I found out something when I investigated you. Do you want to know?”

Liang Shi said coldly, “Say it if you want to. If not, forget it.”

“It’s about your adorable Omega. Would you like to…” Zhou Yian spoke quickly, but before she could finish, Liang Shi coldly interrupted, “Forget it.”

“Aren’t you curious about Xu Qingzhu’s biological parents…” Zhou Yian sped up her words, but Liang Shi hung up before she could finish.

Liang Shi firmly believed that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Zhou Yian coming to her clearly meant she wanted something.

Besides, what was the importance of finding Xu Qingzhu’s biological parents? As long as she had a good relationship with her current parents, that was enough.

Liang Shi promptly blocked the number.

A moment later, the phone rang again.

She instinctively hung up.

But a few seconds later, it rang again.

She hung up again.

She suspected Zhou Yian was calling from a different number.

This person is so annoying.

When the number called for the third time, she impatiently answered, asking coldly, “Are you done yet?”

The other side was silent for two seconds. “…”

“If you call again, I’ll report you for…”

Before the word “harassment” could be spoken, a clear voice rang out. “Liang Shi.”

Liang Shi: “?”

It wasn’t Zhou Yian.

The original host hadn’t saved the contact name.

“Hey,” Liang Shi suppressed all the curses she wanted to say and answered softly, “What is it?”

“Are you still coming to work at the company?” the person asked. “If you’re not, I’m removing your position.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Who is this?

She cleared her throat. “Um…”

The person: “Yes?”

Liang Shi tried to sound as humble as possible. “May I ask who this is?”

The person was silent. Even through the phone, Liang Shi could feel his speechlessness.

A few seconds later, the clear voice pronounced each word distinctly: “Liang, Xin, He.”

Liang Shi sighed in relief, replying quite familiarly, “Second Brother.”

Liang Xinhe: “?”

He let out a light scoff. “Liang Shi, are you possessed by a ghost?”

Liang Shi: “…??”