Chapter 31.2
What Liang Shi had wanted to discuss with Xu Qingzhu earlier was that Xu Qingya had already left their house, so the two of them could live separately now.
But seeing that Xu Qingzhu was busy, and that she had just entered the company, where everything was definitely a mess, Liang Shi did not want to delay her time.
After Liang Shi came out, she sat on the sofa for a while. Feeling a little sleepy, she went upstairs to pack her things.
During this period of living in the villa, she had more or less figured out the rooms.
She really liked the second room from the left downstairs. It had bright windows, was clean, well-ventilated, spacious, and even had a walk-in closet.
So she planned to move there.
Liang Shi did not have many things. Most of the clothes in the wardrobe belonged to the original owner, all in flashy colors.
After transmigrating here, she had only bought a few pieces, so taking them was very convenient. Then there were her pillow and blanket.
After coming back in the afternoon, Liang Shi had already asked the servants to put fresh sheets on that room’s bed and place a few spare duvet covers and pillowcases there.
However, she quite liked the set she had been using, so she planned to take it downstairs.
Besides, Xu Qingzhu might not want to see her things left in the room.
Liang Shi planned to ask the servants tomorrow to donate all the clothes in the wardrobe and see which factory could recycle and remake them.
She went back to the room and folded the blanket, then placed the pillow on top. The sheets had been wrinkled by her, so she simply remade the bed. While she was at it, she also folded and pressed Xu Qingzhu’s blanket neatly.
Xu Qingzhu had the habit of changing her pillowcase every day. Liang Shi felt that by the time Xu Qingzhu finished working tonight, it would probably be late, so after hesitating, she took a new pillowcase from the wardrobe and planned to change it for her.
But the moment Liang Shi picked up Xu Qingzhu’s pillow, she was shocked.
There was a pair of scissors under her pillow.
……
No wonder Xu Qingzhu could sleep in the same bed as her. Was this so that if Liang Shi tried to force herself on her, she could take out the scissors directly?
A chill ran down Liang Shi’s back.
This was also a ruthless person.
However, it made sense for Xu Qingzhu to place a pair of scissors under her pillow for the sake of protecting herself.
She put the new pillowcase on Xu Qingzhu’s pillow, threw the old one into the laundry basket, and put the book by Xu Qingzhu’s bedside into the drawer. But when she pulled open the drawer, she saw a utility knife.
……
Liang Shi felt that Xu Qingzhu was not merely a ruthless person.
She was a werewolf.
She did not touch the other person’s things. Instead, she wrote a sticky note and pasted it on the bedside table. Then she turned on the lamp on Xu Qingzhu’s side of the bed and adjusted it to a suitable brightness. Before leaving, she also turned on the floor lamp by the entrance.
//
Xu Qingzhu sorted out her thoughts before returning to work. By the time she finished, it was already past midnight.
She took off her glasses and pressed her temples before shutting down the computer and going upstairs.
Afraid of disturbing Liang Shi, she deliberately slowed her steps.
But after going upstairs, she discovered that Liang Shi was not there.
The two blankets on the bed had also become one, and one pillow was missing.
She turned on the room light. The curtains had already been drawn, the carpet had been replaced with a new one, and there was even a beautiful transparent vase on the cabinet, with daffodils inside.
A faint fragrance could vaguely be smelled.
All the furnishings in this room proved that Liang Shi had come back, but this person had disappeared again.
She saw the sticky note by the bedside. It read: [Your sister isn’t here anymore, so you don’t have to feel awkward acting with me. I moved downstairs. This room is yours. Remember to set your alarm for the morning. If you want breakfast, please come downstairs at eight. Don’t tire yourself too much with work. Sleep early. I hope you have a good dream. ^-^]
Her handwriting was neat and beautiful, a delicate regular script.
Of course, Xu Qingzhu had seen Liang Shi’s handwriting before. Compared to the note, it was like mud and clouds.
She frowned, put down the sticky note, and turned on her phone, which had powered off because it ran out of battery. Aside from receiving company messages, she also saw Liang Shi’s message asking whether she was coming back for dinner.
Without even checking what time it had been sent, she casually replied: [Sorry, I just saw the message. My phone ran out of battery earlier.]
The other party did not reply. She was probably asleep.
Xu Qingzhu instinctively wanted to go downstairs and see which room she was sleeping in. But halfway down the stairs, she felt that she must be crazy.
After Xu Qingya left, it was very normal for them to live separately.
And after some time, once the company stabilized and her father’s emotions also stabilized, they were going to divorce.
Besides, it was already so late. If she went over, she might disturb the other person’s sleep.
So she turned around and went back. But she had already turned off the living room lights, and there was no light on the second floor either. There was only the dim moonlight refracted in from downstairs. She already had slight myopia, and on top of that, she had night blindness, so she could not see clearly at all. At first, she carefully stepped upstairs and had no problem.
But one of the steps was higher than the others. She was thinking about things and did not notice. Her foot kicked against the step, and the pain made her suck in a breath. It took her a long while to recover.
//
The next morning.
Liang Shi woke up on time at seven. She opened the window to ventilate the room, then did a set of aerobic exercises.
The biggest difference between the original owner’s body and her own was—ab lines.
Her original body had ab lines because she had always kept exercising.
But this original owner’s body was completely relying on good foundations to avoid developing a beer belly. Eating and drinking recklessly all day, how could she possibly have something like ab lines?
Liang Shi actually did not pursue this kind of thing much. She only felt that exercising made a person feel good and kept the body healthy.
By the time she finished the aerobic routine, it was exactly seven-thirty. She went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
It was the simplest fat-loss sandwich. She was not sure whether Xu Qingzhu would come downstairs to eat, but she still made her portion.
At seven-fifty, Xu Qingzhu came downstairs on time.
She had already changed into a shirt, with a light-colored suit jacket draped over her arm. Her hair was casually pinned up, and she wore light makeup. The lipstick shade was probably dusty rose.
A high-end no-makeup makeup look.
After Liang Shi saw her, she greeted her. “Morning.”
Xu Qingzhu nodded at her. Neither of them mentioned last night’s separation, which counted as a tacit understanding.
However, when Xu Qingzhu came downstairs, she was limping, holding the stair railing and slowly making her way down.
Liang Shi asked her, “What happened?”
Xu Qingzhu sighed. “I kicked the stairs when I was going upstairs last night.”
“There wasn’t any light?” Liang Shi handed her the finished sandwich. “Be careful next time.”
“No. The living room was pitch-dark,” Xu Qingzhu said. “The weather wasn’t good yesterday either.”
“What does that have to do with the weather?” Liang Shi said.
“If the weather was good, there would be moonlight. But there wasn’t any last night. And I have night blindness, so it’s normal I couldn’t see clearly.”
Liang Shi: “……”
While Xu Qingzhu was eating, Liang Shi was already cleaning up her own dishes. “Then can you still drive later?”
Xu Qingzhu moved her foot. The pain made her frown, but she still stubbornly said, “I should be able to.”
“It hurts that much?” Liang Shi looked at her foot. Her ankle was slightly bruised but not swollen. “Why don’t you go to the hospital first?”
“No. I have a meeting at nine-thirty,” Xu Qingzhu said. “It’s nothing serious.”
“It’s already bruised. Check whether the bone is misaligned or something,” Liang Shi said. “Eat quickly. I’ll drive you to the hospital later, then send you over.”
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
While eating, she asked unclearly, “Don’t you have work?”
“I do,” Liang Shi said. “But whether I go or not right now makes no difference. Our team doesn’t really need me much. It’s different for you. You still have to oversee the overall situation.”
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
“And I’ll go to work after sending you to the company,” Liang Shi said. “It won’t take too long. It’s still early.”
Xu Qingzhu glanced at her foot. It did hurt a lot when she moved it slightly, so she did not refuse. “Thank you.”
Hearing that familiar thank you, Liang Shi felt all sorts of complicated emotions.
She looked at her once, then again.
Only belatedly did Xu Qingzhu realize. “Did I say thank you again just now?”
Liang Shi nodded. “Yes.”
“But this really is worth thanking you for,” Xu Qingzhu said.
Liang Shi was silent for two seconds. “……Then why don’t you think about the bastard things I did before?”
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
“Forget it. Don’t think about it.” Liang Shi said. “It’s early in the morning. That’s not good for physical and mental health.”
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
She faintly said, “The things you did before were indeed quite bastardly. But…”
“What?” Liang Shi asked.
Xu Qingzhu paused. “Nothing.”
After eating, Xu Qingzhu planned to wash the dishes, but Liang Shi told her to go get her bag and change shoes so they could leave. Liang Shi would wash the dishes for her.
Xu Qingzhu could only say thank you again.
Liang Shi’s movements paused, and she stiffly said, “You’re welcome.”
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
//
There was nothing serious with Xu Qingzhu’s foot. She had only twisted it and had not injured the bone. The doctor applied some medicine and wrapped it briefly, and that was it.
When Liang Shi sent Xu Qingzhu to the company, it was exactly eight-fifty.
She had even left Xu Qingzhu ten minutes to go upstairs.
By the time she herself arrived at the company, it was already nine-thirty.
She was half an hour late.
When she clocked in, that mechanical electronic voice sounded again, once more publicly executing her in front of everyone.
Everyone in the cubicles looked over, but then turned away. No one thought it was a big deal.
What could there be?
Although she was new, on her first day, she had taken down the arrogant Editor-in-chief Sun. Everyone knew she was not simple.
What was being late? Was it even a thing?
It was not.
Even if she did not come for an entire day, her salary would still be paid. It had nothing to do with ordinary workers like them.
Besides, as long as the magazine department head position remained vacant, it meant this newcomer could be promoted into the head of the magazine department at any time.
No one would point fingers at someone with connections.
So everyone was very calm. After all, when Liang Shi had not come to the company yesterday, they had already privately discussed this new employee.
There were all sorts of rumors about her identity, but a well-informed colleague gave the conclusion that she was the Liang family’s ignorant, arrogant Third Miss.
After the colleagues in the HR department heard that she had not destroyed their department but had only fired Editor-in-chief Sun, they were quite shocked.
Because that person had once caused a bloody storm in the HR department. She was even more outrageous than a husky tearing apart a house. The HR department head’s office had been left in complete chaos, and the department head had almost resigned.
Why had the department head stayed later?
Probably because life forced her to.
In short, everyone knew this person could not be provoked.
Liang Shi also had nothing much to do all morning. Everyone was busy with their own work. The little girl beside her workstation was still there, quietly reading as before.
And she was reading Pride and Prejudice.
Who knew whether such a small child could understand it?
She was too quiet, so quiet that people could ignore her existence.
No one knew which colleague’s child she was.
With nothing to do, Liang Shi found a movie to watch and put on headphones. She was watching a sci-fi film. In this world, sci-fi films had developed faster than in her original world. Perhaps with the differentiation of genders, humanity’s intelligence had generally improved, and their understanding of sci-fi films was higher.
The one she was watching was called National Border. The production was quite grand.
Halfway through, she noticed something beside her. Turning her head, she saw that the little girl had leaned over to watch, staring without blinking.
The movie was entirely in English. Although there were subtitles, many words were not exactly common. There were even some obscure words, so it was not friendly to such a small child.
Liang Shi would not deprive a child of the fun of watching a movie, but she still asked, “Can you understand it?”
The little girl’s voice was crisp. “Is it about aliens attacking Earth? That person just now is a spy, right?”
Liang Shi: “……”
She was genuinely surprised.
Because in the known plot, that person had always existed as an Earthling, and only hidden clues had been planted. It had not been clearly stated that he was a spy.
Liang Shi had watched many films, so she guessed that person was a spy. But she did not expect such a young-looking girl to see it at a glance too.
She could not help feeling curious. “Little friend, how old are you?”
The little girl’s eyes were still fixed on her computer. Liang Shi took off her headphones, paused the movie, and looked at her seriously.
When the movie was paused, the little girl looked a little disappointed, but she still politely answered, “Six.”
“You’re the same age as my niece,” Liang Shi said. “My niece is also six this year. But why aren’t you going to school?”
She said openly, “I got into a fight with a classmate and was ordered to reflect for a month.”
“And you’re proud?” Editorial team leader Zhou Li turned back to look at her, and the little girl lowered her head.
Liang Shi instantly understood. This was their team leader’s daughter.
“I was clearly drawing my blade to help when I saw injustice,” the little girl said softly.
Zhou Li glanced at her. “Don’t interfere with Mommy’s colleague’s work.”
“It’s fine,” Liang Shi said. “Go ahead and work. I don’t have anything to do anyway.”
After saying that, she added, “If you have anything you need me to do, feel free to assign it to me.”
Zhou Li looked at her faintly. “Not at the moment. But you need to familiarize yourself with the company employee handbook. There’s a meeting at three this afternoon. After the meeting ends, I’ll discuss your future work content with you.”
“Okay.”
After that, Zhou Li threw herself into work and did not bother with the little girl again.
Liang Shi asked the little girl, “What’s your name?”
“Rainbow,” the little girl said. “Zhou Caihong.”
“Your English pronunciation is so standard,” Liang Shi said. “Have you lived abroad before?”
“My dad is a foreigner and is currently abroad,” Rainbow said. “I’ve always been with my mom. I’m bilingual.”
She did not speak like a six-year-old child at all. Her logic was clear, and her wording was rigorous.
Liang Shi asked her, “Can you understand English?”
Rainbow said, “Simple English, yes.”
So Liang Shi handed her one earbud. “Watch together?”
Rainbow pulled a chair over and sat beside her.
The two of them finished watching the movie. Liang Shi truly had not expected a six-year-old girl to be able to talk so confidently and insightfully about a foreign sci-fi film.
So she asked, “Then can you understand Pride and Prejudice too?”
Rainbow nodded. “More or less.”
So Rainbow briefly retold the plot inside to her and gave a simple evaluation of the main characters.
Liang Shi: “……”
This was probably the legendary genius girl, right?
“Sister, what’s your name?” Rainbow asked.
“My name is Liang Shi.”
While speaking, Liang Shi had taken off her suit jacket, leaving only a white shirt. The top button was undone.
The cubicle was a little warm, so she rolled up her shirt sleeves. Rainbow suddenly frowned and said, “Sister, your bracelet looks really familiar.”
“Ah?” Liang Shi was surprised. “My wife gave this to me.”
Liang Shi had been wearing the bracelet Xu Qingzhu had won at the auction.
She had promised Xu Qingzhu she would not lose it, so she carefully kept it on.
However, this bracelet did have some age to it. There were some scratches on it, and when she first got it, it was darkened. Silver products would develop this kind of appearance after not being worn for a long time. After she wore it for a few days, it became slightly brighter.
“Mm.” Rainbow stared at the bracelet, then asked, “Can I take a closer look?”
Liang Shi handed her wrist over and still said somewhat disbelievingly, “This was bought from an auction, so you probably haven’t seen it elsewhere. It might just be similar.”
“No,” Rainbow said. “It’s exactly the same… I remember where I saw it.”
Logically speaking, items handed to an auction would usually be things one had used before.
But this bracelet was an anonymous donation, and the owner of this item had passed away many years ago.
If Rainbow had really seen this bracelet before, it meant this person was connected to the Sheng family, and the connection was not shallow.
Even Xu Qingzhu had not obtained her grandmother’s family heirloom, so the person who had possessed this bracelet should have been someone who almost became the family’s daughter-in-law.
Liang Shi integrated the information she had previously seen online. Then the owner of this item should be Su Yao?
But it was said that before Sheng Qinglin died, the two had already broken up.
Online information was true and false, difficult to distinguish.
But Liang Shi felt this was a clue, so she asked, “Where did you see it?”
“In our class teacher’s hands,” Rainbow said. “During one class, our classroom kept making clinking sounds. The teacher confiscated Su Yu’s toy. When she passed by me, I saw this bracelet.”
“Are you sure it was the same one?” Liang Shi asked.
Could seeing it only once really be trusted?
Zhou Li, who had been working, suddenly turned back and said firmly, “You can believe her.”
Liang Shi said, “Mm?”
“She has a photographic memory,” Zhou Li said.
Liang Shi: “……”
Liang Shi felt deeply shocked.
So she really was a genius girl?!
“Then who is Su Yu?” Liang Shi asked.
“Su Yu is Su Yu.” Rainbow frowned. “A not very likable child.”
Liang Shi: “……”
“And your teacher?” Liang Shi asked. “What’s your teacher’s name? Do you have her contact information? The teacher who confiscated this bracelet.”
Rainbow said without thinking, “Our teacher’s name is Qi Jiao. Her phone number is xxxxx.”
She reported a string of numbers. Liang Shi quickly wrote it down, then asked Rainbow which kindergarten she attended. She planned to find time to look for this teacher and take a look at Su Yu as well.
However, when she wrote down the name Qi Jiao, she felt something strange, as if she had seen it somewhere.
What she wanted to figure out was the origin of this bracelet.
Perhaps she could also uncover Xu Qingzhu’s background.
Liang Shi had once asked Qiu Zimin, since everyone said Xu Qingzhu was not biological, who were her biological parents?
Qiu Zimin had impatiently answered, “Who knows which orphanage they adopted her from? Sheng Linlang didn’t even have a belly back then, so where did she get a daughter? I heard she was adopted from Angel Orphanage, but that place closed down a long time ago. So many years have passed. What’s the use of investigating her background? In the future, even if the Xu family gets better, their family business will belong to her younger sister. How would she have a share?”
Liang Shi had not discussed this issue deeply with her.
But Liang Shi did not feel that Xu Qingzhu had been adopted from an orphanage. Just based on the fact that she and Xu Qingya’s faces were fifty percent similar, it did not seem like it.
She leaned more toward Xu Qingzhu being Sheng Qinglin’s child.
But as for who Sheng Qinglin had the child with, that was unknown.
After all, talented men were often romantic. Although he had an official girlfriend, Su Yao, at the time, rumors about him often spread too.
One report had even sorted through Sheng Qinglin’s rumored partners back then and said with certainty that in the year before Sheng Qinglin died, the two of them had already broken up.
And in the year Sheng Qinglin died, Xu Qingzhu had not yet been born.
So… it was indeed a mystery.
//
In the afternoon, Liang Shi was assigned work—organizing interview materials.
Everyone in the editorial team had already divided up the work. Tomorrow, they were going to a film crew to interview the popular artist Zhao Ying. The editor conducting the interview still needed an assistant, and Zhou Li asked whether Liang Shi could do it.
Liang Shi agreed at once.
After assigning the task, Zhou Li asked her privately, “Can I treat you as a newcomer or intern?”
“Yes,” Liang Shi said.
Zhou Li was silent for a moment. “Then if you want to learn things here, I won’t be polite with you. Please don’t be late again in the future. Being thirty minutes late counts as absenteeism. If you really have something urgent, you can ask me for leave. I’ll send you the numbers of everyone in the editorial team in a while.”
Liang Shi nodded, smiling nonstop. “Okay.”
“I don’t care what university you graduated from or what major you studied. Since you don’t have work experience, start from the beginning. Everyone in the editorial team, and even the colleagues in the magazine department, are your seniors. Every one of them has something worth learning from,” Zhou Li said seriously. “Don’t use your privilege to act tyrannically in the magazine department. If you still think you’re here just to idle around, you can tell me now. I’m only a worker. I won’t force you to do anything…”
“It’s fine, no need.” Liang Shi immediately said, “Just treat me as an ordinary intern. I can do anything.”
“You know Photoshop, photography, and copywriting, right?” Zhou Li asked.
Liang Shi said, “I also know a little typesetting.”
She had learned a very mixed range of things in the past.
“Okay,” Zhou Li said. “Then follow this interview first. Zhao Ying has a bad temper. We spent quite a lot of effort arranging time with her. If you find her unpleasant, you can leave first. Don’t argue with her. I know your…”
“No, no,” Liang Shi said helplessly. “Team Leader, my temper really isn’t very bad.”
The bad-tempered one was the original owner!
Zhou Li smiled. “All right. That’s all for now. I’ll see how you perform later.”
Liang Shi knew that Zhou Li had already started treating her as an employee to train and had given her a chance to gain experience.
In the workplace, having this kind of senior was fortunate.
Liang Shi happily said to her, “Thank you, Team Leader. I’ll definitely work hard!”
After she returned to her seat, Rainbow asked in confusion, “Why are you so happy when she’s making you work?”
“Because cold violence is scarier than exhaustion,” Liang Shi said. “People have to learn things through exhaustion. Your mom is teaching me.”
Rainbow said, “……All right.”
Although the little girl was very smart, she still could not understand the human relationships of the adult world.
That afternoon, Liang Shi organized all the materials needed for tomorrow’s interview. Before getting off work, she handed them to Li Ran, the editor in charge of going out for the interview.
Li Ran looked at the materials. Originally, she did not have any expectations and casually flipped through them, already mentally prepared to go home and work overtime to do it herself. But unexpectedly, these materials made her eyes light up.
The story about Zhao Ying and the parts related to BARE had all been organized clearly and concisely.
There were sections and bullet points. At the end, there was even an interview outline.
When Liang Shi handed it to her, she said, “Sister Ran, I practiced writing an interview outline. Could you help me take a look? Sorry to trouble you. Just treat it as grading homework. I know you have rich interview experience, so I’m shamelessly asking for guidance. If you can give me a little advice, I’d be endlessly grateful.”
That “Sister Ran” stunned Li Ran.
Adding in the corners of Liang Shi’s mouth, which held a three-point smile, and her humble attitude, she seemed like a completely different person from the one who had stood there and sternly questioned Editor-in-chief Sun that day.
She also did not fit the image of the arrogant and domineering Third Miss Liang from the rumors.
In that instant, Li Ran’s knees went weak, and she almost knelt.
She held onto the desk and finally found a little confidence. “Okay. I’ll help you look at it, but I have to work overtime tonight to prepare some things, so I can’t give you feedback immediately. Is it okay if I tell you before work ends tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Liang Shi said, “Sorry to trouble you, Sister Ran.”
Li Ran said, “……It’s no trouble.”
Even her voice was trembling.
After they left the office building, a colleague laughed at her. “Do you need to be that scared?”
Li Ran said, “That’s because you don’t know how terrifying she used to be.”
Colleague: “……”
Liang Shi did not know that her behavior had scared Li Ran half to death.
After going home, she used the study computer to sort through the interview materials again. She also watched through all of Zhao Ying’s previous interviews and extracted the useful information.
Then she turned off the lights and went back to her room to rest.
//
Xu Qingzhu went to meet Cherry. They chatted until very late and drank a little. By the time she took a taxi back, it was almost ten.
She first went to the study and sent Sally an email, telling her that Cherry had already agreed to come help at Minghui Jewelry and did not mind working together with her. Xu Qingzhu would also show one hundred and twenty thousand percent sincerity, hoping Sally could return to China and help her through this crisis.
After sending the email, she saw a new document on the computer desktop. It had not been renamed. She thought it was hers and opened it, only to discover it was the materials Liang Shi had organized.
She actually read it from beginning to end. At the back, there were even some notes Liang Shi had made herself.
For a newcomer, it was still pretty good, but it could be made even more complete.
Xu Qingzhu made some slight revisions for her, then saved it and shut down the computer.
After she came out of the study, she found that the chandelier in the living room had been turned off.
But the house was still emitting a warm yellow glow. She crouched down to check and saw a strip of light running along the wall from the first floor all the way to both sides of the stairs. There was also a hidden light line under the stairs, illuminating every step clearly.
A trace of warmth flowed through Xu Qingzhu’s heart.
She had drunk a little alcohol, and hot blood rushed upward. She went to knock on the first-floor doors. She knocked on two rooms, and both were empty.
When she was about to knock on the third room, just as she raised her hand, the door opened automatically.
“Eh? Does the house have automatic doors?” Xu Qingzhu asked in confusion.
“No.” Liang Shi had still been watching Zhao Ying’s interview clips. Hearing the knocking sound keep ringing out, she had thought Xu Qingzhu was trapped outside and could not get in, so she opened the door. As a result, she smelled the faint scent of alcohol. She asked, “Did you drink?”
Xu Qingzhu nodded. “I met a classmate and drank a little.”
Liang Shi asked, “Are you drunk?”
“I’m okay.” Xu Qingzhu asked, “Did you install the lights on the stairs?”
“The housekeeper installed them,” Liang Shi said. “They’ll stay on all night. Remember to watch your step afterward.”
“Okay.” Xu Qingzhu puffed out her cheeks. Then she leaned against Liang Shi’s door and suddenly bowed ninety degrees to her. “Thank you!”
Liang Shi: “……”
Who knew whether Xu Qingzhu would still remember tomorrow?
Her posture of blacking out whenever she drank was rather like “as long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassed one is someone else.”
Liang Shi asked, “Have you washed up?”
Xu Qingzhu shook her head. “Not yet. I’ll go wash up.”
Good. She was not drunk to an outrageous extent.
But she swayed a little when walking. Liang Shi was worried, so she went out and supported her upstairs.
Back upstairs, Liang Shi turned on the light. Xu Qingzhu looked at the empty bed and said softly, “Didn’t they say it takes twenty-one days to develop a habit? Why did I sleep with you for only a few days, and yesterday when you weren’t here, the bed felt a little cold?”
Liang Shi said, “The temperature dropped last night.”
Xu Qingzhu said, “So I added another blanket.”
Liang Shi said, “……Well done.”
She helped Xu Qingzhu to the bathroom. Xu Qingzhu looked into the mirror and suddenly said, “Liang Shi, can you sing me a song?”
Liang Shi: “?”
What kind of move was this now?
Xu Qingzhu blinked. “Can you? If not, I’ll go sleep.”
Liang Shi said, “……You haven’t washed up yet.”
“I can skip washing up.”
“……”
Liang Shi said, “Then if I sing, you’ll wash up?”
Xu Qingzhu answered crisply, “Yes!”
Liang Shi: “……”
My god.
Did Xu Qingzhu know she was like this after getting drunk?
Liang Shi really wanted to record this right now and show it to the sober Xu Qingzhu tomorrow.
And use it to warn her: please don’t drink anymore in the future!
But Liang Shi’s phone had been left downstairs in her room. Right now, she could only coax Xu Qingzhu to sleep first.
She cleared her throat and began singing, “The rain blocking the road seems like snowflakes, are you cold as you weep…”
It was a Cantonese song she used to listen to often.
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhu froze, then frowned and interrupted her. “I want to hear an English song!”
Liang Shi paused, thinking, what kind of strange request was this?
While she was still hesitating, Xu Qingzhu snorted softly. Her cold voice softened, as if acting spoiled. “Hurry up~ the water is going to get cold.”
Liang Shi: “……”
Her heartbeat suddenly missed a beat. Helplessly, she answered, “Okay.”
After pausing for a few seconds, she started singing. “I was found on the ground by the fountain at Valder Fields and was almost dry…”
This song had once been her phone ringtone. The melody was gentle and very healing.
Her English was standard, and even singing it a cappella did not affect how pleasant it sounded.
Xu Qingzhu also began washing her face in her singing.
By the time the song ended, Xu Qingzhu had finished washing up. She consciously took off her coat, lay on the bed, and even blinked her big eyes at Liang Shi as she said, “Good night!”
Liang Shi thought, finally, it was over. She helped her dim the bedside lamp. “Good night.”
Xu Qingzhu soon closed her eyes, and her breathing became long and even.
Liang Shi stayed in the room for a while. Seeing she was asleep, she left the room.
But the moment she stepped out, Xu Qingzhu opened her eyes. There was no trace of the haziness from earlier in them. Instead, they were completely clear.
She even took out her phone and sent a message to Doctor Gu: [I discovered another difference. Her singing sounds much better than before.]
Gu Junru: [I’ll come to your villa this week to take a look. Is that convenient?]
Xu Qingzhu: [Yes.]
//
The drama Zhao Ying was currently filming was called Thirty-Year-Old Me. It was a modern urban workplace drama, and Zhao Ying was the female lead.
This interview with her mainly focused on her understanding of BARE.
Because Zhao Ying had another nickname in the industry: “the human flower of wealth.” The bags she usually carried were all 70,000 yuan and above, and her accessories started at six figures. She could be considered a loyal user of BARE.
On the way to the interview, Liang Shi suddenly became a little interested in her surname.
Surnamed Zhao, and also so rich.
So she took out her phone and sent Zhao Xuning a message: [Do you know Zhao Ying?]
After a while, Zhao Xuning replied: [My cousin.]
Liang Shi: “……”
This world really was small.
Liang Shi went out for the interview with Li Ran. There was also a colleague from the magazine department’s photography team. After getting into the car, Li Ran kept looking over the interview outline, afraid she would make a mistake later.
But amid the busyness, she still greeted Liang Shi. “The interview outline you made was good. I picked a few of the questions you wrote and used them in today’s interview draft. I’m letting you know first, and I’ll also report this truthfully to the boss later.”
“Okay. It’s my honor.” Liang Shi secretly rejoiced inside.
After they arrived at the set, someone specially received them and brought them to Zhao Ying’s tent.
Today, they were filming outdoor scenes, so the lounge was just a temporary tent. Zhao Ying’s assistant explained some precautions to them, as well as questions they could not ask.
Li Ran was busy recording everything, but Liang Shi’s mind had already flown to the filming location.
The director was explaining the scene to the actors. Zhao Ying’s appearance was too outstanding. Liang Shi could recognize her at a glance. Not only that, she also saw Chen Liuying.
When Chen Liuying and Zhao Ying stood together, Chen Liuying looked a little lacking.
Zhao Ying was a “human flower of wealth” built with money. Chen Liuying was the marketed “internet’s number one dominant Alpha.” Their faces had no obvious difference in superiority, but their temperaments did.
Liang Shi also discovered that the Zhao family members generally carried a kind of temperament that said, “I’m very impressive, but I won’t say it; however, with one glance, you can tell I’m different from others.”
Zhao Xuning was like this, and Zhao Ying was also like this.
Filming began over there. Chen Liuying’s acting was not bad, and Zhao Ying’s was even better. The scene between the two of them passed in two takes, so they counted as qualified actors.
While they waited, the director suddenly shouted, “She says she won’t come, so she just won’t come? What? Is she trying to leave my crew hanging?”
“She won’t act as a villain? Who was it back then who said in an interview that she wanted to break through herself? Fuck, what the hell!” The director was furious. “She isn’t even popular yet, and she already thinks she’s a big shot? Fine, if she wants to play like this, spread the word. Whoever uses her in the future is going against me! Let her be arrogant! Arrogant my ass!”
“Director, what do we do then?” someone below asked.
“Film something else first,” the director said. “I’ll contact someone else.”
“But today is Liuying’s wrap day. This is her last scene,” the person below said. “Liuying is entering another crew this afternoon.”
Director: “……Fuck. Where am I supposed to find someone at the last minute?”
The commotion on set was loud. Zhao Ying stood there and suddenly met Liang Shi’s gaze.
Liang Shi: “……”
Did Zhao Ying know the original owner?
But Zhao Ying said, “Director, what do you think of that one? She’s quite good-looking, very photogenic, and her outfit today is pretty suitable too. Why not use her?”
Liang Shi: “?”
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