Giving You Dawn and Dusk (GL) - Chapter 19
Liang Shi didn’t know how the original owner used to pretend in front of Xu Qingzhu’s parents.
But there were many forms of badness in the world, yet only one form of goodness.
Pretending to be good and clever wasn’t Liang Shi’s strong suit. She had little experience interacting with elders, but some senior actors in her previous drama troupe liked her a lot.
So, this wasn’t difficult for her.
The suggestion Xu Qingzhu just made was perfect.
So she readily agreed.
“You don’t need to pay rent,” Liang Shi said. “The second floor is still for you. I’ll just live on the first floor. When we get back, you can change the lock on your bedroom door; that will make you feel safer. However…”
She paused. “If your sister moves in, it seems… we can’t separate yet.”
“So I’ll convince her to go back,” Xu Qingzhu promised her. “No matter what, she might try to act cute with you and persuade you to stay when the time comes. I hope you can be firm.”
Liang Shi: “…?”
When was she ever not firm?
She gave a slightly bewildered look, and Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips lightly, turning her face away. “You’ve always found it hard to resist little girls acting cute.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Ah, this.
The original owner really… seemed unable to resist.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had so many “bosom buddies.”
“I’ll change in the future,” Liang Shi coughed lightly, immediately changing the subject. “Who’s your sister’s favorite celebrity?”
She wanted to see if there were any celebrities from her previous world here.
“Chen Zhenxun,” Xu Qingzhu said. “He seems to be an idol? From a boy band.”
Liang Shi searched through all her memories and found no trace of this person.
The entertainment industry here and where she had been before must not be the same.
“Alright,” Liang Shi’s tone was slightly disappointed.
“You know him?” Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow and asked.
Liang Shi shook her head. “How could I?”
After a brief pause, she asked again, “What do you think if I say I want to act?”
Xu Qingzhu looked her up and down, her gaze resting on Liang Shi’s eyes, and said faintly, “You should be a good actor.”
Liang Shi: “…”
It didn’t sound like a compliment.
However, she didn’t delve deeper into this topic with Xu Qingzhu. She wasn’t very familiar with the entertainment industry here. The original owner had so many complex family relationships and social networks; if she entered the entertainment industry, she might explode with scandals at any time.
Most importantly, there was also a trash system making her do missions.
These three months were a critical period.
Whether she lived or not depended on these three months.
It was just a casual mention during their conversation.
Clearly, Xu Qingzhu didn’t take her words seriously.
••••
The car drove past Jiangyuan Road, past Century Plaza, past Jinmao Tower, and past many of Haizhou City’s iconic buildings.
This place was still different from where Liang Shi used to live.
Being by the sea, even the air was humid, carrying a faint salty taste.
This was Liang Shi’s first time returning to the villa.
She had been here for a few days, but she’d spent all that time in the hospital.
It was quite difficult.
Others transmigrated and had smooth sailing, becoming life winners.
She transmigrated and was left to clean up a mess and take care of her sister-in-law.
“…”
As Liang Shi drove the car into the main driveway, she saw Xu Qinya standing at the villa’s entrance.
Her attire today was rather well-behaved: a T-shirt, jeans, white canvas shoes, no heavy makeup, carrying a schoolbag, and playing on her phone by the roadside.
As soon as she saw their car approaching, Xu Qinya put away her phone, put her hands in her pockets, and looked indifferent.
She was probably sulking with Xu Qingzhu.
Liang Shi drove the car into the yard. Xu Qingzhu, unbuckling her seatbelt, said, “You go back inside first. I’ll take care of convincing her to leave.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Xu Qingzhu was quite determined not to share a roof with her.
“I won’t get out of the car yet,” Liang Shi said. “You go deal with it. Call me when it’s resolved.”
Xu Qingzhu glanced at her, reluctantly saying, “Alright.”
Liang Shi’s car had privacy film, so people couldn’t see inside from the outside, but she could clearly see the outside movements from inside.
After Xu Qingzhu got out of the car, she told Xu Qinya, “Either go home or go back to the hotel, choose one.”
“I choose the third option,” Xu Qinya scoffed. “The hotel’s too lonely, and I don’t want to eat takeout.”
“Then go home,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Mom is still waiting for you at home.”
“I’ve talked to Mom,” Xu Qinya shrugged indifferently. “Mom said I should come to your place to cool off for a week.”
Xu Qingzhu: “…”
“Besides,” Xu Qinya pouted, “wouldn’t staying at a hotel still be wasting your money? If I stay here, just find me a small room. I absolutely won’t get in your way or be a third wheel.”
“No,” Xu Qingzhu still refused.
But Xu Qinya had already walked around the car, came to the driver’s side, and yanked open the car door.
Liang Shi, who was playing Snake in the driver’s seat: “?”
“Sister Liang Shi, tell me, isn’t my sister being unreasonable?” Xu Qinya sought her judgment.
Liang Shi: “…”
She looked at Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu frowned and said, “Xu Qinya, will you stop messing around? Go home, or stay at the hotel. Spend a few days outside to clear your head. Why do you have to come here? Do you think my life is too comfortable, so you want to come and bother me?”
Xu Qinya’s expression cracked for a second, but after a moment, she turned back and made a face at her, saying defiantly, “Yes, yes.”
Xu Qingzhu: “…”
She pressed her temples, her head aching.
“Are you even my sister anymore? I’m practically homeless, and you won’t even take me in for a few days,” Xu Qinya complained with a hint of grievance. “Even Sister Liang Shi agreed to let me stay here, why won’t you?”
Liang Shi quickly waved her hand. “I didn’t, I didn’t.”
Xu Qinya: “…”
She was silent for a moment, then said faintly, “Well, well, a henpecked wife, aren’t we?”
Liang Shi: “…”
She just didn’t want to be inexplicably punished by the system again.
It hurt!
“I’m calling Uncle Liu right now to pick you up,” Xu Qingzhu said, trying to cover her true intentions. “If you were coming to stay with me for a few days during vacation, no problem, even for an entire holiday. But school starts in a few days, and you fought with Dad. Dad isn’t well, do you remember? Did you consider his feelings when you ran away from home?”
“Did he consider my feelings when he tore up my idol’s poster?” Xu Qinya said coldly. “So you’re the filial daughter, and I’m just being unreasonable, right? I really want to understand him, but his company’s not doing well, and he’s taking it out on me, then expecting me to be magnanimous and forgive him. I don’t understand.”
Xu Qingzhu: “…”
Finally, Xu Qinya also asked, “Sister Liang Shi, do you understand?”
Liang Shi: “…”
She dared not understand.
“Dad was wrong about this,” Xu Qingzhu still dialed Uncle Liu’s number, but it rang for a long time with no answer.
Xu Qinya advised her, “Don’t bother. Uncle Liu is busy dismissing the house staff right now. He can’t be bothered.”
“Why?” Xu Qingzhu asked, puzzled.
Had the family truly fallen to this point? She had no idea.
“Mom doesn’t want you to know, so it’s okay if you just pretend not to know, alright?” Xu Qinya said coolly, hands in her pockets. “Just be a good Mrs. Liang here. As for me, I’ll stay at your place for a few days. After this storm passes, I’ll go back, or when school starts, I’ll live in the dorms. I promise not to disturb your private world, okay? My dear sister.”
Xu Qingzhu: “…”
With the words already said to this extent.
It would seem heartless for Xu Qingzhu to disagree.
She cast her gaze towards Liang Shi, who had been acting as a transparent person: “…”
“Then stay?” Liang Shi acted according to Xu Qingzhu’s expression, first posing it as a question. Seeing Xu Qingzhu visibly relax a little, she then said, “Stay then. There are plenty of rooms here.”
“Alrighty!” Xu Qinya sweetly thanked her, “Thank you, Sister.”
“First tell me, why is the family dismissing the staff?” Xu Qingzhu asked.
Xu Qinya shrugged indifferently. “The company’s financial situation isn’t good. The family has no money and can’t pay salaries, so naturally, they’re letting some people go. These are small matters.”
“What small matters?” Xu Qingzhu said coldly. “Do we have to wait until the company goes bankrupt, sells off houses and land, for it to be a big deal? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What’s there to say?” Xu Qinya said. “Dad isn’t cut out for business, you know that. If it’s going to go bankrupt, then let it go bankrupt. You, you’re married off. Be a good Mrs. Liang and don’t worry about the family’s mess, okay? As for us, even if we end up on the streets, we won’t trouble you. Just be well, understand?”
She spoke with a haughty, arrogant tone, somewhat aggressive.
After speaking, she turned and went to wait by the villa door.
Leaving Xu Qingzhu standing alone at the door, contemplating.
The family company was an industry left by her great-grandfather, which flourished under her maternal grandfather, and then passed to her father, only to reach its current dead end.
This couldn’t be.
A fire ignited in Xu Qingzhu’s heart, and she immediately decided to go home and clarify things with her father.
When she sacrificed her marriage for the Liang family’s financing, her father had said that with this money, he would definitely make a magnificent comeback. But what about now?
In less than half a year, they had fallen to the point of having to dismiss household staff to save money.
“Lend me the car keys, I’m going out for a bit,” Xu Qingzhu said.
Liang Shi could guess her intention from her expression. “Going home? To ask your parents about this?”
Xu Qingzhu nodded.
“Not yet, maybe,” Liang Shi said.
Xu Qinya on the other side was pricking up her ears, listening to their conversation. Liang Shi leaned in a step and said, “If you go back in this mood, it probably won’t solve the problem. Plus, you don’t understand anything right now. What if there’s another hidden reason? Besides, it’s noon. Let’s eat first. We can discuss this at length…”
Xu Qingzhu’s gaze fell on her, with a hint of sharpness. Liang Shi awkwardly touched the tip of her nose, adding a half-sentence uncertainly, “Alright, maybe?”
The “maybe” came out as an empty sound.
Xu Qingzhu looked at her, still thinking. Xu Qinya at the door lazily said, “Can you two stop dawdling? I’m starving.”
Liang Shi wasn’t sure she could persuade Xu Qingzhu, but Xu Qingzhu paused for a few seconds, then awkwardly turned her face away and rubbed her ears.
Only then did Liang Shi realize she was a little too close to Xu Qingzhu.
She immediately stepped back half a pace, sincerely apologizing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine,” Xu Qingzhu interrupted her, then took her hand, leaned forward, and whispered in her ear. Her warm breath caressed Liang Shi’s ear, carrying a hint of provocative heat that made Liang Shi’s ears itch and her throat feel dry, causing her to cough unnaturally.
Xu Qingzhu’s lips were a millimeter from her ear; just a slight movement and their skin could touch.
Liang Shi’s heart thumped, feeling like it was about to jump out of her chest.
Xu Qingzhu’s slightly moist lips brushed past her ear, and she whispered, “Excuse me, sorry for the trouble.”
Her voice was low, like a husky whisper, captivating. “You’ll have to play along with me.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Yes, I can, but can you not be so close?