Giving You Dawn and Dusk (GL) - Chapter 6
The ward was quiet, and Xu Qingzhu was taking small sips of water.
Her posture while drinking was very elegant, clearly showing she had received proper etiquette training. Her beautiful swan neck stretched gracefully, revealing exquisite lines as sunlight danced on her skin.
It was a very picturesque scene.
Liang Shi unconsciously stared, lost in thought, until Xu Qingzhu finished drinking, capped the bottle, and placed it on the bedside table. Her eyes then coldly flicked over. “What are you looking at?”
Liang Shi: “……”
She awkwardly looked away.
Liang Shi was not a talkative person. Even after spending several years in the entertainment industry, she still maintained a solitary existence.
If it weren’t for her good acting skills, she really wouldn’t have been able to survive in the entertainment circle.
She had always believed in treating others with sincerity.
So when Sun Chengcheng showed her kindness, she didn’t take too many precautions, but she didn’t expect to be set up.
Thinking about these things, Liang Shi’s mood also sank.
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Xu Qingzhu broke the silence. “After I’m discharged from the hospital, I’ll have the lawyer prepare the relevant documents. I won’t take any of your property. As for what you did before…”
She paused, her voice colder, but it sounded like she was forcing herself to be calm. “The Liang family’s help to the Xu family…”
A sudden, loud, and jarring ringtone interrupted Xu Qingzhu’s words.
Liang Shi looked at her first, and then belatedly realized it was her own phone ringing.
Liang Shi: “……”
This ringtone was really awful.
She took out her phone, covered the receiver, bowed slightly, and said to Xu Qingzhu, “Excuse me.”
Then she looked at the screen. It was Cheng Ran.
“Hello,” Liang Shi answered, deliberately lowering her voice. “What is it?”
It was noisy on Cheng Ran’s end, but her voice still came through clearly. She had a loud voice. “Where are you?”
“Hospital,” Liang Shi said.
Cheng Ran frowned. “I’m at the hospital too. How come I haven’t seen you? Or…”
She paused and quickly guessed. “You’re not in your own ward, you’re with Xu Qingzhu?”
Liang Shi glanced guiltily at Xu Qingzhu and immediately said with a righteous expression, “That’s right.”
“What for? Going to apologize?” Cheng Ran teased playfully when she heard this. “Then I’ll go to Xu Qingzhu’s place now and take a look.”
“Don’t come,” Liang Shi refused.
“What’s wrong? I’m also considered Xu Qingzhu’s friend, right? Can’t I even come see her when she’s sick?” Cheng Ran’s tone left no room for discussion. “I’m already here. I can’t just leave without doing anything. Why are you being so resistant? Could it be… you really want to be a good lover?”
After saying that, she laughed to herself. “Come on, who doesn’t know who you are?”
“Cheng Ran,” when Liang Shi called her name, her tone carried a warning.
But Cheng Ran didn’t care. “I’ll be there soon. Come out and meet me.”
Then the phone was hung up.
Liang Shi frowned at the phone screen and then looked at Xu Qingzhu, finding that she had already turned to the side, no longer looking at her.
Worried that Cheng Ran would come to Xu Qingzhu’s ward and say something that would upset her, Liang Shi immediately said to Xu Qingzhu, “A friend is coming to see me. I’ll go now.”
Xu Qingzhu didn’t respond.
“If you need anything, just press the emergency bell,” Liang Shi said. “Or call me. Your phone is on the bedside table. I’ve charged it for you. Also…”
Liang Shi glanced at the phone with the matching couple phone case, lowered her eyes, and said, “I’ve restored all your data. There’s no password, you can set it yourself. Also, I’ve deleted all the copied data, including the USB drive that stored your information. I’ve destroyed it. I won’t touch your phone or invade your privacy again in the future.”
After taking Xu Qingzhu’s phone, the original owner had copied all the data to a USB drive. During the waiting time outside just now, Liang Shi thought of this and went to a phone store outside, rushing to get it done. She was also afraid that Xu Qingzhu would feel uncomfortable, so she bought her a new phone.
“There’s also a brand new, unopened phone. If you don’t want to use the old one, you can insert your SIM card and use the new one,” Liang Shi said, already hearing the click-clack of high heels in the hallway. She guessed it was Cheng Ran.
No one but her would walk around the hospital wearing stilettos.
Liang Shi immediately cut to the chase. “Take good care of yourself. I’ll go now and come see you later.”
After saying that, she hurried out of the ward.
And the moment she walked out of the ward, Xu Qingzhu, who was lying on the bed, opened her eyes.
She hadn’t fallen asleep.
She had heard everything Liang Shi said.
Moreover, she had good hearing since childhood, and she had also heard what Cheng Ran said on the phone.
Not only that, but she had also heard those frivolous and contemptuous words that Liang Shi had said to others about her in the past.
She just hadn’t said anything.
Because the Xu family was on the verge of bankruptcy, and it was Liang Shi who married her and injected a considerable amount of capital into the Xu family, thus saving the company. Therefore, she knew she was indebted and had always swallowed her anger.
Moreover, she had a good impression of Liang Shi.
In her memory, Liang Shi had always been the girl who bravely sought a way to survive even when kidnapped, who encouraged her to escape together, not the current Liang Shi, who was cynical, arrogant, willful, and promiscuous.
But memories wouldn’t change, people would.
Liang Shi was no longer the person in her memory.
Lying on the bed, tormented by her estrus, she had finally realized it.
Even if Liang Shi was now saying she wouldn’t hurt her and repeatedly assuring her, and even if her behavior had improved, she wouldn’t trust Liang Shi again.
She only wanted to divorce Liang Shi.
Then she would go to the company to help her father. She had an MBA degree, but her father had always worried about her health and hadn’t let her get involved in company affairs.
Just as Xu Qingzhu was thinking, her phone vibrated slightly.
[Mom: Zhuzhu, has your sister contacted you?]
Xu Qingzhu frowned. [No.]
Xu Qingzhu had a younger sister named Xu Qingya, who was 15 years old this year. She had just started high school and was in her rebellious adolescence.
Before she got married, Xu Qingya often argued with her parents at home, and she was caught in the middle as a mediator.
When she got married, Xu Qingya cried her eyes out and promised her that she would be obedient to her parents from then on.
This promise had been effective for four months.
At least, this was the first time since her marriage that her mother had contacted her to ask about Xu Qingya’s situation.
She replied: [No.]
[Mom: Yaya and your dad had another fight. Your dad threw away all of Chen Zhenxuan’s merchandise and tore up the posters in her room. She got so angry that she ran away from home. Your dad’s stubborn temper flared up too and he cut off her card. She should contact you. When she does, please take care of her and try to persuade her.]
Xu Qingzhu: [Okay.]
She was currently exhausted but still forced herself to call Xu Qingya.
No one answered.
She called again, but it was a busy signal.
Switching back to the screen, she saw a message from her mother: [Are you and A’Shi getting along well?]
Xu Qingzhu’s finger hovered over the screen, unsure how to reply.
A clear tear fell onto the pillow.
She typed: Mom, I plan to divorce Liang Shi
Before she could finish typing, a message appeared at the top of the screen: [The Liang family is powerful and has helped us. Be good to A’Shi. She might have been spoiled since she was little and has a bad temper, but she’s not a bad kid.]
Xu Qingzhu: “……”
That’s because you haven’t seen her vicious side.
[Mom: The company’s situation doesn’t seem to be very good recently. Your dad comes back exhausted every time. Just the two of you being well is enough.]
Xu Qingzhu deleted all the words she had typed. A thousand words turned into a single word: [Okay.]
**
On the other side, Liang Shi saw Cheng Ran.
Cheng Ran had a brown wavy hairstyle, wore a tight-fitting short skirt, and her makeup was heavy, very similar to the makeup the original owner had when Liang Shi transmigrated.
Liang Shi smelled the pungent perfume from a distance. She fanned her nose with her hand, and was glad that she did not let Cheng Ran into Xu Qingzhu’s ward.
“Let’s go,” Cheng Ran said. “Go see Xu Qingzhu.”
“No need,” Liang Shi refused, keeping some distance from her. “She’s asleep.”
Hearing this, Cheng Ran turned to look at her, a suspicious expression on her face. “Liang Shi, when did you become so considerate?”
Liang Shi: “……”
“Alright, can’t I even not touch her?” Cheng Ran said. “Are you serious? Guarding me like I’m a thief.”
Liang Shi pursed her lips and called her name seriously, “Cheng Ran.”
She felt it was necessary to make things clear with Cheng Ran.
If she continued to associate with someone like Cheng Ran, Xu Qingzhu wouldn’t be able to avoid misunderstanding her.
But just as she finished speaking, her phone rang again. It was an unknown number.
She turned her back to answer it. “Hello?”
A wronged voice came from the other end of the phone. “Sister Liang Shi.”
Liang Shi: “……”
Who was this now?
The original owner’s habit of not adding contact notes was really bad.
“Is my sister with you?” Xu Qingya said. “If she is, avoid her for now.”
Liang Shi: “……”
Who was her sister?
“Sister Liang Shi?” Xu Qingya called tentatively. “Is my sister with you? Are you at the villa?”
Liang Shi realized. This should be Xu Qingzhu’s younger sister.
Liang Shi coughed softly. “We’re not together. What’s the matter?”
Xu Qingya said angrily, “It’s good that you’re not. Otherwise, I’ll get reported again later. Sister Liang Shi, can you give me fifty thousand yuan? Don’t let my sister know about this. My dad cut off my card, and I have nowhere to stay right now.”
When Liang Shi was on set before, she had seen too many runaway rebellious teenage girls, so she was very calm at this time and only asked, “Where are you now?”
“Genting Mansion,” Xu Qingya instructed her. “Don’t tell my sister about this.”
Liang Shi didn’t agree immediately. “I’ll come find you now. Find a place to stay.”
Xu Qingya was obviously very familiar with her and trusted her a lot. “Okay.”
After hanging up, Liang Shi was thinking about how to handle this when Xu Qingzhu’s voice came from behind her.
She called out coldly, “Liang Shi.”
Liang Shi turned around and saw her standing at the door, her face pale.
She asked, “Did Yaya contact you?”
Liang Shi: “……”
After a moment, she said without hesitation, “Yes, she did.”