Giving You Dawn and Dusk - Chapter 26.1

Unfortunately, Liang Shi hadn’t been focused on recording last night.

Mainly, she hadn’t expected Xu Qingzhu to completely black out, to the extent that she remembered absolutely nothing when she drank too much.

It was a kind of skill.

At least, Liang Shi didn’t have it.

She sometimes did inappropriate things when drunk, but she always remembered them when sober, sometimes even more clearly than usual.

She and Xu Qingzhu were two extremes, which is why she rarely got drunk.

After years in the entertainment industry, she had honed her skill in avoiding alcohol considerably.

Now, she could generally leave any social dinner or gathering unscathed.

Since Xu Qingzhu had forgotten, Liang Shi wasn’t malicious enough to remind her.

Last night’s events weren’t pleasant memories anyway.

If Xu Qingzhu knew she had been drugged with an aphrodisiac and nearly exposed and assaulted while drunk, she probably wouldn’t sleep for nights.

However, Liang Shi still spoke up to advise her, “Don’t go out drinking anymore.”

Xu Qingzhu frowned. Her cool voice sounded extremely indifferent, but the end of her sentence rose slightly. “Are you controlling me?”

“No,” Liang Shi also lay down on the bed, only occupying enough space for half her body, still keeping a significant distance from Xu Qingzhu. She didn’t even look at Xu Qingzhu, only said softly, “It’s just a suggestion. If you get drunk outside alone, and your blocker fails, it can cause pheromone confusion. I can’t always get to you in time.”

And sometimes, she would be so powerless that she wouldn’t know what to do.

The original host was such an asshole and had offended too many people.

This time, Cheng Ran showed mercy at the last minute, but what about next time?

It’s not always possible to escape danger unscathed.

“So, you care about me?” Xu Qingzhu asked frankly, without a hint of seduction.

This was clearly an ambiguous question, which could have led to: You worry about me? You like me?

But spoken in her cool, indifferent voice, it cut off all fantasy.

It was more like asking, Do you think the weather is nice today?

Liang Shi nodded. “Mhm.”

—Mainly worried that if you die, I’ll die too.

“Mhm?” Xu Qingzhu sounded confused by her answer. “Why?”

Liang Shi gave a forced smile. “You’re my wife. Isn’t it normal for me to care about you?”

Xu Qingzhu stared intently at her, trying to read something on her face, but Liang Shi maintained her composure perfectly.

She kept her expression calm. After a while, she said to Xu Qingzhu, “If you have any occasions where you absolutely must drink, you can ask me to join you.”

Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow. “Can you drink for me?”

“I can shield you from drinking,” Liang Shi said, then added, “If necessary, I can also drink. You know, I have a good tolerance for alcohol.”

Liang Shi wasn’t entirely sure about this body’s alcohol tolerance, but her own was quite good before.

The original host was a known party animal, so her tolerance shouldn’t be worse than Liang Shi’s former self.

Xu Qingzhu closed her eyes, her voice faint. “I shouldn’t have any necessary occasions to drink. Yesterday was just an accident.”

“I see,” Liang Shi said. “Then in the future, if you have business to discuss, don’t go to Huayue International. The Liang family owns quite a few restaurants; you can go there directly.”

“Me discussing business?” Xu Qingzhu shook her head. “That’s unlikely.”

Liang Shi: “…”

It’s very likely, okay?

You’re going to be reborn and become an Omega respected by everyone in Haizhou City!

In this world, Alphas are inherently more advantageous than Omegas, especially in the workplace. Most industry elites are Alphas because Alphas don’t have to give birth. Furthermore, once a family has children, the Alpha is expected to bear the burden of supporting the family, making leaders favor them.

Therefore, it is quite difficult for Omegas to distinguish themselves professionally.

Yet, Xu Qingzhu manages to do it.

However…

Liang Shi suddenly remembered that in the original book, Xu Qingzhu only managed to revive the Xu family’s Minghui Jewelry—making it grow large and successfully listing it as the Minghui Group after receiving angel investment—after the original host had her scent gland removed, and she met her true love, the Alpha Lu Jiayi, who helped her.

The original host’s scent gland was removed by Xu Qingzhu’s other suitor, Chen Liuying.

But Xu Qingzhu hasn’t had her scent gland removed now.

If Liang Shi’s body remains in this world, it means Xu Qingzhu won’t suffer that injury. Will she still achieve that rebirth?

Liang Shi realized for the first time that her arrival might cause a butterfly effect in this world.

Will Xu Qingzhu still meet Lu Jiayi?

Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang out: 【Don’t worry, the main plot of the book won’t change.】

Liang Shi: “Are you eavesdropping on me?”

System: 【Just happened to hear you. Replying to you now.】

Liang Shi: “…Then answer this for me: Will Xu Qingzhu revive the company and become the head of the Minghui Group?”

The System was silent for two seconds. 【That is classified. I cannot disclose it.】

Liang Shi: “?”

Then what are you even saying?

Liang Shi tried to ask again. The System immediately said: 【Keep up the great work, Host! The 10,000 yuan reward has been credited to your account. Please spend it as soon as possible, oh. Friendly reminder: If you spend all this money on Xu Qingzhu, your Luck Value might increase, oh.】

Liang Shi: “Why is it might?”

System: 【Because it’s a probabilistic event. The random drop of Luck Value depends on your good fortune, oh.】

Liang Shi gave up.

Her luck was consistently terrible.

She never won the lottery, but when her assistant bought a ticket with her, the assistant could win twenty thousand.

She never won any raffle, even with only two participants. She wouldn’t win with a fifty-percent chance.

She was quite the lucky charm for people around her.

Almost everyone who bought a lottery ticket with her had won, and the prizes were usually five figures.

And she got nothing.

Knowing this, she asked, “Fine. Can I save this money without spending it?”

Liang Shi wanted to save it for when she left the Liang family, as a precaution.

System: 【You can. P.S.: But if you have money and don’t spend it, are you an idiot?】

Liang Shi: “…?”

Before she could talk back, the System quickly backed down: 【I apologize, oh. The System spoke without thinking. Host, please don’t be angry, oh. The System knows it was wrong, ne.】

Liang Shi: “…”

Can this System have some backbone?

“Let’s make a deal,” Liang Shi said. “Can you stop using those particles at the end of your sentences?”

System: 【Ah? Why, ne?】

Liang Shi: “…It’s quite disgusting.”

System: 【Oh.】

Liang Shi was merciless. “Just be the cold, emotionless AI you were when you first arrived. Don’t adopt human mannerisms to gross me out.”

System: 【…】

After that, the silence in her mind was absolute.

Xu Qingzhu reached out and waved her hand in front of Liang Shi’s eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

Liang Shi snapped back to reality, shaking her head. “Nothing…”

“You’ve been holding that pose for a full minute,” Xu Qingzhu said. “That’s very strange.”

Liang Shi had been talking to the System in her mind. To an outsider, she looked like she was spacing out, but when talking to the System, she blocked out all external interference.

It seemed she couldn’t communicate with the System in front of others anymore, or something might go wrong.

If she suddenly did that on the street, people would think she was crazy.

Liang Shi pressed her temples, explaining, “I suddenly felt a little tired and zoned out for a moment.”

Xu Qingzhu asked, “What did you do today?”

Liang Shi: “I went back to the old family residence.”

Xu Qingzhu said nothing more.

In the enclosed room, on the same bed, even with two quilts, if neither spoke and the room fell silent, they could hear each other’s breathing and heartbeats.

Liang Shi guessed Xu Qingzhu was worried about the awkwardness, which is why she kept trying to find topics to talk about.

And now, Liang Shi had run out of ideas for conversation.

Xu Qingzhu felt the same.

Liang Shi usually had strong self-control, but even she felt the tension was too awkward. She forced a yawn, feigning sleepiness. “I’m so tired. I’m going to sleep first.”

Xu Qingzhu nodded. “Mhm.”

Liang Shi turned over, showing only her back to Xu Qingzhu, and instinctively turned off the lamp on her side of the bed.

Xu Qingzhu turned off the lamp on her side, and the room was plunged into darkness.

In the dark, a person’s senses are magnified infinitely.

Especially since an Alpha’s senses are generally sharper than others, Liang Shi could hear every one of Xu Qingzhu’s breaths clearly. She had no choice but to adjust her breathing to match Xu Qingzhu’s.

After five minutes, Xu Qingzhu had turned over twice and sighed three times.

And Liang Shi couldn’t sleep either.

When Xu Qingzhu turned over for the third time, Liang Shi turned on the lamp on her side.

Xu Qingzhu’s breathing hitched. She then sat up. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s fine,” Liang Shi said. “I can’t sleep either.”

Xu Qingzhu opened the bedside drawer and took out a book written entirely in English. “I’ll go downstairs and read. You rest.”

Liang Shi immediately said, “Wait.”

Xu Qingzhu stopped. “Mhm?”

“How about we watch a movie?” Liang Shi suggested. “Maybe watching a movie will make us sleepy.”

There was a projector in the room, which would also allow Liang Shi to complete her passive mission.

Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Should we watch downstairs?”

Liang Shi chuckled. “No, we don’t need to. Watching downstairs will wake up Ya Ya. Don’t we have a projector in the room? We’ll use that one.”

Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips, looking hesitant.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Shi asked. “Do you prefer reading?”

“No,” Xu Qingzhu said. “I can do either.”

“Then…” Liang Shi reached for the drawer to grab the remote. But just as her hand touched the drawer handle, Xu Qingzhu said, “The room’s projector is broken.”

Liang Shi: “…Ah, well. Okay.”

Her disappointment was obvious in her tone, making one want to tease her.

Xu Qingzhu looked at her, saying flatly, “Did you forget?”

Liang Shi: “Ah? What?”

Xu Qingzhu smiled faintly. “Last time I was watching a movie in the room, Liang Shi came in and smashed the device.”

Liang Shi: “…”

“You should sleep early,” Xu Qingzhu said. “I’ll go read downstairs.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She was still completely stunned after Xu Qingzhu left.

It was her?

No, the original host?

Did she really smash someone’s projector when they were peacefully watching a movie?

The original host was a lunatic.

Wait.

Why did Xu Qingzhu say ‘Liang Shi’ and not ‘you’?

She was right there. Why didn’t she say ‘you’?

Did Xu Qingzhu already realize something?

Or was she intentionally probing?

…

Could she really be probing with that?

Liang Shi wasn’t sure. But Xu Qingzhu had definitely noticed something.

Her attitude toward her was much more relaxed than before. Liang Shi certainly didn’t believe it was because she had changed recently and been slightly kinder to Xu Qingzhu.

Are you kidding? If someone treated her the way the original host treated Xu Qingzhu, she would never forgive them and would rather see them suffer a miserable death.

How could she forgive so easily?

There were only two possibilities.

First, Xu Qingzhu deeply loved the original host. Any slight change in the original host would make her instantly change her mind and show a happy face.

But this possibility was slim to none and could be dismissed immediately.

Xu Qingzhu didn’t seem like the kind of person who was blinded by love.

She might have had a good impression of the original host at some point, but after being hurt, she would tightly guard her heart, preventing the original host from hurting her again.

So, only the second possibility remained.

Xu Qingzhu had realized she was not the original Liang Shi, but she didn’t know where she came from.

Science couldn’t explain this abnormal phenomenon. As a highly educated individual, Xu Qingzhu was extremely cautious and was constantly testing her in daily life.

Figuring this out, Liang Shi felt a strange sense of relief.

After all, she didn’t have to keep up the act in front of Xu Qingzhu anymore. From now on, what she didn’t remember, she didn’t remember. What she didn’t know, she didn’t know. There was no need to hide anything.

Given Xu Qingzhu’s cautious nature, she wouldn’t expose her without absolute certainty.

Liang Shi lay back down on the bed. Her earlier claim of not being tired was a lie. She was actually exhausted. She hadn’t slept well last night, and going to the Liang family today had worn her out both physically and mentally.

However, having someone beside her made her unable to sleep.

Now that she was alone on the bed, although Xu Qingzhu’s scent still lingered in the air, it didn’t bother her much.

She remembered to set an alarm before falling asleep quickly.

//

Xu Qingzhu curled up on the sofa downstairs, reading her novel.

Having slept for a day and a night, she wasn’t very sleepy.

But her body was weak. After less than two hours of reading, her eyes felt dry and strained, and she couldn’t concentrate anymore.

She closed the book, rubbed her eyes downstairs, and guessed Liang Shi had fallen asleep. Only then did she quietly go back upstairs.

She opened the door very softly, afraid of disturbing the person sleeping.

A lamp was on in the room, illuminating the doorway.

She remembered turning off the lamp near Liang Shi’s side, near the balcony, when she left. But when she returned, the lamp on her side was on, perfectly lighting her path back to bed.

Liang Shi’s sleeping posture was very proper. She was lying flat on her back, hands resting on her abdomen, her breathing shallow.

Xu Qingzhu walked over and sat on the bed. The edge of the bed gently sank under her weight.

Liang Shi didn’t stir, suggesting she was in a deep sleep.

Xu Qingzhu put the book into the drawer, then slowly climbed into bed, leaning against the headboard and looking over.

Liang Shi hadn’t worn makeup recently, or perhaps only very light makeup.

The old Liang Shi always wore makeup, no matter how late she came home, and it was always very heavy.

She favored bizarre colors, especially lipstick, often using shades that would be considered hard-to-sell. She only got away with it because she was so attractive.

Sometimes, Xu Qingzhu would see her sleeping on the sofa with her makeup still on.

But the current Liang Shi, though she shared the same face, had completely different eyes.

Some say that to judge a person’s character, you must look at whether their eyes are bright.

If her eyes shine like stars, she must be a person of upright character.

The old Liang Shi’s eyes were lifeless, showing only a deep disdain for the world, and sometimes, she’d wear an expression that suggested she wanted everyone to die.

But the current Liang Shi’s eyes always shone with a gentle warmth.

Xu Qingzhu was skilled at observing details, just as the current Liang Shi concealed all her actions in minute details.

It seemed that apart from her bluntness in the hospital, when she walked into the room carrying strawberries and boldly stated she would change, hoping Xu Qingzhu would trust her, she was always calm and gentle at other times.

A subtle white tea scent always emanated from her.

It was very soothing.

During the time her maternal grandfather was ill, Xu Qingzhu’s room always had a pot of white tea brewing.

She habitually fell asleep smelling that scent, as if her grandfather had never left.

She smelled that comforting scent again.

But she really couldn’t confirm who Liang Shi was.

Where did she come from?

She sat there, her gaze tracing the contours of the other woman’s face.

She still preferred her without makeup.

But… what did it matter to her?

She was going to divorce Liang Shi eventually.

She didn’t want to obey her father’s wishes, using her marriage as leverage for the company’s temporary survival, nor did she want her grandfather’s life’s work to be in vain.

She had to join the company, even if her father opposed it.

Speaking of which, the last message she sent her father only received a two-word reply: Don’t you dare.

Her father believed that marrying into a good family and finding an Alpha who was good to her would be the best thing for her life.

But he forgot that she had been a straight-A student since childhood, scored high marks to enter Qingyi University, and earned an MBA.

If she hadn’t been so reluctant to leave home, she would have gone abroad for further study.

She chose marriage for the sake of the company and a little bit of her own selfish desire.

But what did this marriage bring her?

Only endless pain and ceaseless fear.

Xu Qingzhu sighed softly. In the middle of the night, she couldn’t help but think about these things, troubling her mind.

She decided not to follow her father’s decision anymore. She sent a message to her cousin, who also worked at the company, saying she planned to start working there and needed him to arrange a position. She asked not to take a high-ranking position and displace existing employees, but just for an opportunity to work in a core department, such as the Design Department or the Exhibition Department.

For a jewelry company, the Design Department was the core. Without excellent, market-transcending designs, the company could never establish itself in the industry.

The Exhibition Department was responsible for the annual new product shows, from hiring models to defining the identity of each piece of jewelry, indirectly affecting the sales of every new product.

The Advertising and Marketing Departments were equally important.

Every marketing strategy determined whether the jewelry would catch the public eye and win over consumers. The age of “good wine needs no bush” was over. In the modern era, marketing was an essential component.

Xu Qingzhu’s major was most suited to the Human Resources Management Department, but she decided to go to a department with more soul.

To fundamentally reverse Minghui’s current situation, she had to pull out the rot entirely. Bringing in new people was meaningless; it would only be grafting new shoots onto a rotten root, and it would rot eventually.

Her cousin quickly replied, telling her to come anytime. There happened to be a management vacancy in the Design Department, and she could take it immediately.

A sudden, high-level entry seemed like the quickest way now.

Xu Qingzhu replied to him: 【Okay, thank you, Cousin.】

After a few seconds, she added: 【I’ll report for duty tomorrow.】