Giving You Dawn And Dusk - Chapter 3

When Liang Shi woke up again, she was in the hospital.

The sharp smell of disinfectant irritated the nerves in her brain. There were bright, spotless windows, loose blue-and-white striped hospital clothes, and an empty ward.

The scene left her a little dazed.

Could everything that had happened before have only been a dream?

Liang Shi was an actress. She had not graduated from a formal acting academy. Before entering the entertainment industry, she had been a worker constantly switching between different jobs. Her life had been hard, but she had also been strong. Her parents had died when she was young, and she had grown up with her grandparents. But during the course of her childhood, her grandfather and grandmother passed away one after another.

She made it to high school, but after her last remaining relative died, she lost her source of financial support. Left with no other choice, she had to drop out. But because she was young, there were only limited things she could do, so she could only work in a kitchen preparing ingredients. Slowly, for the sake of living expenses, at her busiest, she worked five jobs in a single day. Later, when she heard that extras could make money, she went to Hengdian.

Because she was good-looking, she was noticed by a management company in Hengdian. After that, she acted as the second female lead in a drama, which could be considered a small breakout role. From then on, her career in the entertainment industry had gone quite smoothly.

But she had never expected that after she partnered with Sun Chengcheng in a yuri drama, the other party would continuously drag her down while tying their names together, then splash dirty water all over her. As a result, her reputation in the industry plummeted, and she became the target of public criticism.

Sun Chengcheng had even falsely accused her of sexually harassing her during filming. Because of that, it was exposed that she was a lesbian. For a time, the public could not accept her, and after more than ten days of online abuse, the companies she had worked with began terminating their contracts with her one after another.

In a depressed mood, she had gone to a bar to get drunk. But when she left, she fell on the steps outside.

And then…

So had yesterday really been a dream?

She had thought she had truly arrived in another world.

A world that could tolerate her sexual orientation.

She liked girls. That was not wrong.

It was that world that did not allow her to like girls. In truth, they were the ones who were wrong.

Liang Shi pressed her temples. Her brain buzzed with pain.

Before long, a nurse walked in and took a look. Then she hurried back out. “Doctor Zhao, the patient is awake.”

Liang Shi leaned against the bed, but in her heart, she was thinking about Xu Qingzhu.

That Omega, staying with the scumbag Alpha Liang Shi, would definitely suffer inhuman torment. What had she done wrong?

Thinking of this, her heart inexplicably felt blocked.

A moment later, the Doctor Zhao mentioned by the nurse walked into the ward. She wore a white coat, her expression cold and indifferent. She had gold-rimmed glasses on, which happened to reveal the tear mole beneath the corner of her right eye. Her hair was casually tied into a low ponytail.

With both hands tucked into the pockets of her white coat, she glanced over casually. First, she adjusted the speed of the IV drip. Then, looking down at Liang Shi from above, she asked, “Does your head hurt?”

For some reason, Liang Shi heard disgust in her voice.

Or rather, the other woman had never intended to hide her emotions at all.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Liang Shi answered gently.

Hearing this, Zhao Xuning casually made a mark on the medical record, then looked at her in astonishment.

That was not right.

Would the spoiled and domineering eldest young lady of the Liang family speak so gently?

Zhao Xuning withdrew her gaze and asked again, “Does anywhere on your body hurt?”

Liang Shi frowned. After a while, she raised her hand and touched the place behind her left ear. “Here.”

Ever since she woke up, that spot had been hurting a little, but not to the point where it was unbearable.

“Oh.” Zhao Xuning’s expression was indifferent. “It’s normal for it to hurt.”

Liang Shi did not understand. “Why?”

Logically speaking, she should have hit her head or limbs when she fell. How could only the place behind her ear keep hurting?

“When an Alpha’s gland has been cut out, it’s only natural for the Alpha to feel pain.” Zhao Xuning’s words were barbed, and she said a lie as though it were true. Yet her hands did not stop moving. She secretly observed Liang Shi’s expression and physical condition, drawing line after line in the medical record.

Gland?

Liang Shi was shocked.

Her original world did not have this kind of thing. It was just a normal human world.

But she had read plenty of novels with ABO worldviews, so she understood these things very well. Only under an ABO worldview would humans differentiate into Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, and only Alphas and Omegas would develop glands.

And she was an Alpha?

In other words, she was still inside the book Sweet Love.

For some reason, Liang Shi’s first reaction was not nervousness, but relief.

“Then what about Xu Qingzhu?” Liang Shi asked anxiously. “Was she hurt?”

Zhao Xuning: “……?”

Perhaps Zhao Xuning’s expression was too surprised, because Liang Shi suddenly realized that her words were far too suspicious.

The original owner was a scumbag Alpha, and her terrible attitude toward Xu Qingzhu was something everyone knew. So for her to ask this now made her seem extremely inconsistent—or as though she had some ulterior motive toward Xu Qingzhu.

Thinking of this, she immediately shut her mouth.

“She is still unconscious for now.” When Xu Qingzhu was mentioned, Zhao Xuning’s voice became even colder. She looked at Liang Shi with undisguised disgust. “An Omega is very fragile during heat. If an Omega is forcibly marked, it will be extremely disadvantageous for their future pregnancy, and it will cause severe trauma to their body. But…”

Zhao Xuning paused, then let out a mocking laugh. “Why would you, Miss Liang, care about that?”

Liang Shi pressed her lips together.

She had no way to explain to others that she was no longer the former Liang Shi, and she had no way to prove that the things from before had not been done by her.

In other people’s eyes, she was the one who had bullied Xu Qingzhu and tried to forcibly mark an Omega in heat.

“I’m sorry.” Liang Shi apologized gently. “When Xu Qingzhu wakes up, I’ll personally explain it to her.”

“Suit yourself.” Zhao Xuning leaned over and examined her gland from a distance. That place was currently red. It had been scratched last night by an Alpha driven frantic by her susceptible period, so of course it hurt.

“We’ll observe you for another day. If nothing happens, you can be discharged,” Zhao Xuning said.

Liang Shi nodded. “Oh.”

Oh?

Zhao Xuning frowned in surprise. Liang Shi’s attitude today was truly too strange. She was actually so… gentle.

This gentleness did not seem feigned. It was more like a kind of politeness, humility, and warmth steeped into her very bones.

It was not as if Zhao Xuning had only met Liang Shi today.

“Liang Shi.” Zhao Xuning put away her pen and suddenly asked, “Do you still remember who I am?”

Liang Shi raised her head and looked at her. Those eyes were very clear, carrying the polite air of someone asking a question. “I’m sorry.” She touched the back of her head. “I can’t quite remember.”

“Amnesia?” Zhao Xuning reached out and touched her forehead. “Can an Alpha’s susceptible period make someone lose their memory?”

But Liang Shi’s expression did not seem fake. Zhao Xuning turned back and instructed the nurse, “Arrange a brain CT for her.”

“Thank you,” Liang Shi said.

Zhao Xuning: “……”

If Zhao Xuning had not been steady and composed since childhood, her jaw would probably have dropped on the spot after hearing those words.

She had known Liang Shi since they were ten years old. She understood exactly what kind of dog-like person the other woman was better than anyone. Words like “thank you” would absolutely never come out of the eldest Miss Liang’s mouth.

But…

Zhao Xuning had actually heard her sincerely thanking her.

This was truly something she never thought she would witness in her lifetime.

Liang Shi, however, did not feel that anything was wrong.

Although the other woman’s attitude was poor, it was obvious that the two of them were old acquaintances. There was also a reason the other woman misunderstood her. But she could not keep living according to the original owner’s way of life. That would be too unbearable.

She definitely still had to be herself.

Taking this chance to pretend to have amnesia was not a bad method.

“I’d like to ask something.” Liang Shi spoke gently, asking politely, “Which ward is Xu Qingzhu in?”

“What does it have to do with you which ward she’s in?” Zhao Xuning retorted instinctively, but after retorting, she realized that her attitude had been a little too harsh. She pressed her lips together and, after a moment, turned and left the ward.

However, after she left the ward, the young nurse behind her answered in a low voice, “Miss Xu is on the tenth floor, Room 1002.”

Liang Shi smiled gently. “Thank you.”

The young nurse was a Beta. Seeing the beautiful Miss Liang smile at her, her heart immediately bloomed with joy, her heart pounding like a startled deer. Blushing, she said shyly, “You’re welcome.”

After saying that, she ran off like a wisp of smoke.

Liang Shi put away her smile again.

She looked out the window. The city’s tall buildings stood row upon row. The sky was very blue, and the scenery was beautiful. An airplane roared past overhead, leaving behind a line of gray smoke.

A moment later, Liang Shi made a decision. She would live properly in this world.

She organized the fragments in her mind and discovered that she knew very little. Everything still needed to be explored by her.

When she searched Xu Qingzhu online, the first result that appeared was news of their marriage.

Their wedding had been held very low-key back then. Because the Xu family’s business had been in crisis, Liang Shi had only wanted to obtain Xu Qingzhu and had not taken it very seriously.

Even so, many media outlets had still exposed the matter.

Because Xu Qingzhu carried the title of “Haizhou’s number one Omega.”

There was only one reason for that—she was beautiful.

Very few people could balance a cool, aloof air and a gorgeous, seductive beauty perfectly, but Xu Qingzhu could.

In fact, she was among the best of them.

Her eyes were cold, yet her appearance was stunning and alluring.

When she was in university, someone had taken a photo of her and posted it online. It quickly attracted the admiration of many Alphas.

Later, Xu’s father felt that this was not good, so he spent a large sum of money to have her photos removed from the internet. But Xu Qingzhu’s appearance was the type that no one would ever forget after seeing it once.

Xu Qingzhu had extremely high popularity online, but she had not become a celebrity.

During the year she graduated from university, because of her family’s business crisis, she chose to enter a marriage alliance with Liang Shi to save the company. After that, she remained at home as a full-time wife.

After Liang Shi finished looking everything up, she still could not stop worrying about Xu Qingzhu. She got out of bed, put on her slippers, and went to the tenth floor.

This body seemed to have memories of the hospital, and she found the ward very smoothly.

Standing outside Room 1002, however, she hesitated, not knowing how to face Xu Qingzhu.

Was she supposed to say to her: Actually, I’m not that Liang Shi?

Then she would either be sent to a psychiatric evaluation center or taken to some secret national institution for dissection.

Just as she was thinking, a voice suddenly came from behind her. “What are you doing here? You’re not welcome here.”

Liang Shi turned around and saw Xu Qingzhu’s best friend, Bai Weiwei. She was wearing a white suit, and Zhao Xuning was following behind her.

“Haven’t you harmed Zhuzi enough? What else do you want to do?” Bai Weiwei condemned her righteously. “Back then, we only married Zhuzi to you because we believed you would treat her well. But look at you. Look at what you’ve done.”

Liang Shi lowered her head, looking as though she would let her scold her however she wanted.

Bai Weiwei rolled her eyes. “Miss Liang, there’s no need to pretend to be pitiful. Every time you finish bullying Zhuzi, you act like this. Do you think Zhuzi will change her mind just because of that? Let me tell you, impossible. This time, once Zhuzi wakes up, the two of you must get divorced.”

Liang Shi pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry.”

“Heh.” Bai Weiwei gave a mocking laugh, while Zhao Xuning walked forward into the ward.

Inside the ward, Xu Qingzhu was sitting on the bed with her eyes open, as quiet as a fragile porcelain doll.

Bai Weiwei saw Xu Qingzhu at once and immediately ran into the ward. “Zhuzi, how are you? Are you okay?”

Xu Qingzhu gave her a weak smile and shook her head, reassuring her. “I’m fine.”

Her voice was hoarse. Her eyes were transparent and clear, yet they carried a coldness that made her difficult to approach. After comforting Bai Weiwei, she raised her head and looked toward the doorway, just in time to meet Liang Shi’s gaze.

Liang Shi’s face instantly grew hot.

No one could escape those eyes.

Liang Shi’s heartbeat suddenly sped up a little. Then she heard Xu Qingzhu say in a calm voice, “Weiwei, go outside with Xuning first.”

Bai Weiwei frowned. “What for? Don’t tell me you’re still going to forgive her?”

Xu Qingzhu merely smiled, and even that smile carried a hint of ice. “I want to say something to her.”

Zhao Xuning had always fully respected Xu Qingzhu’s decisions. Half forcefully, she pulled Bai Weiwei out of the ward, leaving only Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu inside. For a moment, the silence was terrifying.

Xu Qingzhu turned her face away and looked out the window, staring blankly for a long time.

After a long while, she turned back and looked at Liang Shi.

Her face was pale, and there was not a trace of blood on her lips. The look she gave Liang Shi seemed about to turn into an ice spike, just one step away from stabbing straight into her. Liang Shi felt so guilty and uneasy that, after hesitating, she still spoke first. “Are you… are you okay?”

Xu Qingzhu lightly pressed her lips together, her pale lips curving into a cold arc.

A moment later, she gripped the corner of the blanket and said coldly, “Liang Shi.”

“Mm?” Liang Shi answered. “I’m here.”

“Let’s get divorced,” Xu Qingzhu said very calmly. “I’m serious.”

It was as if a hand had suddenly seized Liang Shi’s heart.

It hurt so much that she almost could not breathe.