Giving You Dawn And Dusk - Chapter 9

“What is Bad Luck Value?” Liang Shi asked in her mind, hoping the system would give her an answer.

But there was nothing.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to have frozen over, the two sisters both stewing in anger at each other.

It was so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard.

“And what is a level-one punishment?” Liang Shi asked again.

The system still did not answer.

Unease stirred in Liang Shi’s heart. Her eyes swept over every corner of the room, confirming that there was no fourth person inside, and that the windows were also tightly shut. No one should be able to jump in through the window.

Just as she was tense, Xu Qingya’s clear voice rang out. “Sister Liang, your hand…”

Hearing this, Liang Shi raised her hand and saw a long bloodstain across her palm. Blood was seeping out, gathering into beads before dripping onto the floor. Before she noticed the wound, she had not felt any pain. But once she saw it, she felt as though the flesh of her palm had been sliced open by a blade. That voice was still replaying nonstop in her mind.

It could be called a double torment of both body and soul.

Was this the level-one punishment?

Liang Shi’s brows furrowed even tighter. When she was filming, she often got injured, and long experience with injuries had made her half a doctor. After seeing the blood, her first reaction was to hide her hand behind her back. Her fingers curled lightly toward her palm, but it hurt too much, and she could not curl them back.

She smiled weakly. “It’s fine. You two talk. I’ll go deal with the wound.”

“You look like you’re hurt pretty badly.” Xu Qingya came closer in concern. “I’ll go with you.”

“No need. Talk with your sister for a while,” Liang Shi said. “I’ll just find a pharmacy and get it wrapped up.”

After saying that, she glanced at Xu Qingzhu and found that Xu Qingzhu was looking over at her with an assessing gaze.

Their eyes met.

Liang Shi was the first to look away.

The wound on her palm was not exactly inexplicable. On the night she transmigrated here, in order not to mark the Omega in heat and to keep herself conscious, she had used a utility knife to cut a line across her palm.

But that cut had definitely not been this long, nor this deep.

The doctor had already treated it for her as well. There had only been a bandage on her palm.

The pain in Liang Shi’s palm was unbearable. She turned and left, not forgetting to remind them, “Call me after you finish talking.”

Before she could get out the door, Xu Qingzhu stood up, her voice clear and cold. “I’ll go with you.”

Liang Shi refused, “No need.”

But Xu Qingzhu did not listen. She walked forward and took Liang Shi’s other, uninjured hand. “Let’s go.”

An Omega’s hand was smaller than an Alpha’s, and Xu Qingzhu was thin. That faintly cool hand was suddenly placed into Liang Shi’s palm, her fingers pressing against Liang Shi’s skin.

Liang Shi’s palm suddenly turned scorching hot.

She looked back at Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu was considered tall among Omegas at 166 centimeters, while Liang Shi was 173 centimeters.

At this moment, Xu Qingzhu slightly tilted her head up. A smile appeared on that cool, aloof face, her eyes curving like crescent moons. Her fingertips lightly traced across Liang Shi’s palm, and her voice deliberately softened. “I’ll go with you.”

Liang Shi’s ears suddenly turned completely red.

Even though she had held hands while filming before, that feeling was completely different from now.

She even had the illusion that this was her girlfriend.

That they would love each other for the rest of their lives and stay together until they grew old.

“Come on.” Seeing that she was not moving, Xu Qingzhu shook her arm. “What are you standing there for?”

Only then did Liang Shi come back to herself. “Okay.”

//

The wind outside was strong, and it looked as though a heavy rain was about to fall.

The wind made Liang Shi clearheaded again.

And the moment Xu Qingzhu entered the elevator just now, she had let go of her hand and withdrawn her smile, standing very far away from her.

Only her peripheral vision seemed to glance, now and then, at Liang Shi’s injured hand.

Liang Shi knew she had been acting.

Acting for Xu Qingya to see.

It was just that this actress’s skills were still immature. She only cared about blindly showing affection and forgot the given circumstances.

Seeing one’s lover injured should bring anxiety and fear, but there was not the slightest ripple on Xu Qingzhu’s face.

Her acting skills still needed improvement.

Liang Shi did not expose her. She quietly played the role of prop for once.

There was a large pharmacy right across from the hotel. Liang Shi was about to cross the road to buy medicine, but Xu Qingzhu stopped her. “I’ll go. You wait…”

She pointed to the bench by the roadside. “Over there.”

Liang Shi had always felt embarrassed about troubling others. In the past, she had often been injured on set and was used to being independent.

She shook her head. “No need. I’ll go.”

Xu Qingzhu did not waste words and simply crossed the road. Liang Shi silently followed behind her.

After entering the pharmacy, Xu Qingzhu found the disinfectant, cotton swabs, and gauze with practiced ease. After paying, she carried the medicine out and stopped in front of the bench closest to the pharmacy.

She sat there. The wind lifted the hem of her bright yellow dress. Her eyes were indifferent and without warmth, yet she attracted many people’s gazes.

Her head-turning rate had almost reached one hundred percent.

“That Omega is so gorgeous.”

“Seriously. I really want to ask for her contact information.”

“Forget it. She already has an Alpha.”

“…”

A few fragments of the passersby’s quiet discussions occasionally drifted into Liang Shi’s ears. She only glanced sideways slightly before withdrawing her gaze.

Right now, Liang Shi had no attention to spare for anything.

She only wanted to figure out what Bad Luck Value was. Was it a curse from fate, or had she done something wrong?

Why did she have to suffer so much for no reason?

This trash system.

Liang Shi cursed it several times in her heart, so lost in thought over this matter that she did not hear Xu Qingzhu calling her.

Not until Xu Qingzhu gently pushed her. “Give me your hand.”

Only then did Liang Shi come back to herself. She slowly handed her hand over and said softly, “Sorry.”

The fingers Xu Qingzhu used to hold her hand suddenly tightened. She lifted her head and looked at Liang Shi thoughtfully.

Liang Shi was thinking about other things and did not notice.

Xu Qingzhu expressionlessly took out a cotton swab and cleaned the blood from her palm.

The pain made Liang Shi return to herself slightly. She lowered her head and looked at the serious Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu was very skilled at treating wounds, and her pressure was just right. It was obvious she was someone who often handled injuries.

But Xu Qingzhu had parents who loved her, and her family background was also very good. Even when the Xu family’s business was in crisis and on the verge of bankruptcy, her parents had never let her suffer the slightest grievance.

Marrying the original owner had been something Xu Qingzhu had proposed herself.

No matter how terrible the original owner was, surely she would not go so far as domestic violence… right?

Just as Liang Shi’s thoughts were running wild, Xu Qingzhu suddenly asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“You seem very practiced at bandaging wounds.” Liang Shi said what she was thinking.

Xu Qingzhu’s hand paused. She laughed very softly.

Her long hair fell beside her face, and the corners of her mouth curved in a delighted arc. Even if Liang Shi could only see her side profile, it was enough to make someone fall completely for her.

Liang Shi stared in a daze for a moment, then thought: As expected of the novel’s female lead.

“Is something funny?” Afraid that Xu Qingzhu would see through her weakness for pretty faces, Liang Shi cleared her throat and asked.

Xu Qingzhu withdrew her smile, and her voice became cold again. “Nothing.”

The moment her voice fell, that mechanical system voice suddenly sounded in Liang Shi’s mind:

[Bad Luck Value is a virtual value created by the Resentment Management Bureau to maintain ecological balance. The higher the value, the more severe the corresponding punishment. It is triggered every time the accumulated value reaches a multiple of eight. Every three triggers will come with an additional bonus punishment. There is no upper limit.]

Liang Shi: “?”

Just as rage was burning hot in Liang Shi’s heart, the system spoke again in a cheap, wheedling voice:

[Host, please understand. We’re all working people. It isn’t easy.]

“So what did I do wrong?” Liang Shi asked as calmly as possible. “Why was Bad Luck Value triggered?”

This time, the system did not muddle through with a vague explanation the way it had with the luck points. Instead, it listed out a checklist, like a supermarket receipt.

[Triggered Xu Qingzhu’s PTSD: 5

Favored Xu Qingya: 1

Triggered Xu Qingzhu’s grievance: 1

Triggered Xu Qingzhu’s anger: 1

Note: The Resentment Management Bureau reserves the final right of interpretation.]

Liang Shi: “……”

What kind of trash system was this?!

“So that means as long as I make Xu Qingzhu angry, Bad Luck Value will accumulate?” Liang Shi asked coldly.

System: [Theoretically speaking, yes.]

Liang Shi was furious. Before she could speak, the system began comforting her first:

[Don’t be anxious. We’re just following the rules. In the future, you can still do whatever you want.]

The system knew it was in the wrong and had even started acting cute.

[As long as you complete the task properly, this punishment definitely won’t happen a second time.]

“What if I don’t?” Liang Shi asked in return.

System: […Give me a chance.]

Liang Shi: “?”

System: [Your luck points have accumulated to ten. A small gift will now be issued to you: thirty thousand RMB.]

Liang Shi: “……?”

Was this hitting her with a stick and then giving her a sweet date?

Immediately afterward, her phone vibrated slightly. Sure enough, she received a bank transfer notification from an unknown account. There was even a line attached to it:

[Your performance has made the target very satisfied. Please keep up the good work! ^-^]

Liang Shi was speechless. Right now, she only wanted to smash this system to pieces, okay?!

To hell with your little emoticon.

Before she could ask anything else, the system had already slipped away.

[Another tasker is calling me, so I’ll go first. Good luck!]

“Good luck, my ass,” Liang Shi complained.

Xu Qingzhu, who was helping her bandage the wound, had just finished tying the final knot in the bandage. She had even tied it into a bow.

It did not really match the aura of a powerful Alpha.

Looking at the face of her capture target, Liang Shi seemed… to calm down just a little.

Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhu suddenly raised her head. Her gaze looked straight at Liang Shi, her red lips parting slightly. “You…”

She paused. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. Though it was a question, she said it with certainty.

“You aren’t Liang Shi, are you?”