Giving You Dawn and Dusk (GL) - Chapter 9
“What is bad luck value?” Liang Shi asked in her mind, hoping the system would give her an answer.
But there was none.
The atmosphere in the room was icy, the two sisters sulking at each other.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“What is level 1 punishment?” Liang Shi asked again.
The system still didn’t answer.
Liang Shi felt uneasy. Her eyes scanned every corner of the room, confirming that there was no fourth person in the room. The windows were also tightly closed, so no one should be able to jump in.
Just as she was nervous, Xu Qingya’s clear voice rang out, “Sister Liang, your hand…”
Hearing this, Liang Shi raised her hand and saw a long bloodstain on her palm, bl00d seeping out. The bl00d formed beads and fell to the ground. She hadn’t felt any pain when she hadn’t noticed the wound, but once she saw it, she felt the skin and flesh of her palm being cut by a blade. That voice kept replaying in her mind.
It was a double torment of body and mind.
Was this Level 1 Punishment?
Liang Shi’s brows furrowed even tighter. She often got injured while filming, and having been sick for a long time, she had some medical knowledge. Her first reaction after seeing bl00d was to put her hand behind her back and gently curl her fingers back into her palm, but it hurt too much to curl them back.
She smiled weakly. “It’s okay, you guys chat. I’ll go take care of the wound.”
“Your injury looks very serious,” Xu Qingya said worriedly, leaning closer. “Let me go with you.”
“No need, you chat with your sister for a while,” Liang Shi said. “I’ll just find a pharmacy and bandage it casually.”
After speaking, she glanced at Xu Qingzhu and saw her looking over with a searching gaze.
Their eyes met.
Liang Shi looked away first.
The wound on her palm wasn’t completely inexplicable either. On the night she transmigrated, to avoid marking the Omega in estrus period and to keep herself awake, she had used a utility knife to cut her palm.
However, that cut was definitely not this long or this deep.
The doctor had also bandaged her hand, and there was only a bandage on her palm.
Liang Shi’s palm was throbbing with pain. She turned to leave, not forgetting to instruct, “Call me when you guys are done chatting.”
Before she could leave, Xu Qingzhu stood up, her voice clear and cold. “I’ll go with you.”
Liang Shi refused. “No need.”
But Xu Qingzhu didn’t listen and stepped forward to take her other uninjured hand. “Let’s go.”
An Omega’s hand was smaller than an Alpha’s, and Xu Qingzhu was thin. Her slightly cool hand was unexpectedly placed in Liang Shi’s palm, their fingers touching.
Her palm suddenly became scorching hot.
Liang Shi turned back to look at Xu Qingzhu.
She was considered tall for an Omega, at 166cm, while Liang Shi was 173cm.
At this moment, Xu Qingzhu slightly tilted her head, a smile appearing on her cold face, her eyes curving like crescent moons. Her fingertips lightly brushed across Liang Shi’s palm, her voice deliberately softened. “I’ll go with you.”
Liang Shi’s ears suddenly turned red.
Even though she had held hands while filming, it felt completely different from now.
She even had the illusion that this was her girlfriend.
They would love each other for life and stay together until old age.
“Let’s go,” Xu Qingzhu said, seeing that she wasn’t moving, shaking her arm. “What are you still spacing out for?”
Liang Shi then came back to her senses. “Okay.”
••••
The wind outside was strong, looking like a heavy rain was about to fall.
The wind blew Liang Shi a bit more awake.
And as soon as Xu Qingzhu entered the elevator, she let go of her hand, also stopped smiling, and stood far away from her.
Only the corner of her eye seemed to glance at her injured hand from time to time.
Liang Shi knew she was acting, acting for Xu Qingya to see.
It was just that this actor’s acting skills were still immature, only focusing on blindly showing affection but forgetting the given situation.
Seeing a loved one injured, one should be anxious and afraid, but Xu Qingzhu’s face showed no emotion at all.
Her acting still needed improvement.
Liang Shi didn’t expose her and quietly played the role of a tool.
Opposite the hotel was a large pharmacy. Liang Shi was about to cross the road to buy medicine, but Xu Qingzhu stopped her. “I’ll go. You wait…”
She pointed to a bench by the roadside. “…over there for me.”
Liang Shi was always embarrassed to trouble others and had gotten used to being independent, often getting injured on set before.
She shook her head. “No need, I’ll go.”
But Xu Qingzhu didn’t say much more and went directly to cross the road, while Liang Shi followed silently behind her.
Entering the pharmacy, Xu Qingzhu easily found disinfectant, cotton swabs, and gauze. After paying, she left with the medicine and stopped at the bench closest to the pharmacy.
She sat there, the wind blowing her bright yellow skirt. Her eyes were indifferent and cold, yet they attracted the attention of many people.
Almost reaching a 100% turning rate.
“That Omega is so hot.”
“Indeed, I really want to ask for her contact information.”
“Don’t even think about it. She already has an Alpha.”
“……”
The fragmented discussions of passersby occasionally reached Liang Shi’s ears. She only glanced slightly and then looked away.
Liang Shi wasn’t in the mood to do anything right now.
She just 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 inexplicably endure so much?
This garbage system.
Liang Shi cursed a few times in her heart, lost in thought about this matter to the point where she didn’t hear Xu Qingzhu calling her.
Until Xu Qingzhu gently pushed her. “Give me your hand.”
Liang Shi then came back to her senses. She slowly extended her hand and said softly, “Sorry.”
The fingers Xu Qingzhu was holding her hand with suddenly tightened. She looked up at her thoughtfully.
Liang Shi was thinking about other things and didn’t notice.
And Xu Qingzhu expressionlessly took out a cotton swab and cleaned the bloodstains on her palm.
The pain brought Liang Shi back to her senses a little. She lowered her head and looked at the serious Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu’s technique for treating wounds was very professional, and she applied just the right amount of pressure. It was obvious that she often dealt with injuries.
But Xu Qingzhu had loving parents and a good family background. Even when the Xu family’s business was in crisis and on the verge of bankruptcy, her parents hadn’t let her suffer any hardship.
Marrying the original owner was Xu Qingzhu’s own suggestion.
Even if the original owner was a terrible person, she wouldn’t have committed domestic violence… would she?
Just as Liang Shi was thinking wildly, Xu Qingzhu suddenly asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“You seem very skilled at bandaging wounds,” Liang Shi said what was on her mind.
Xu Qingzhu’s hand paused. She smiled very lightly.
Her long hair fell beside her face, and the corners of her mouth curved into a pleasant arc. Even seeing only her profile was enough to make one fall for her.
It made Liang Shi’s mind wander for a moment, and then she thought: No wonder she’s the female lead of the novel.
“Is there something funny?” Liang Shi cleared her throat, afraid that people would see through her face-obsessed nature.
Xu Qingzhu’s smile faded, and her voice became cold again. “Nothing.”
As soon as she finished speaking, 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 balance the ecosystem. The higher the value, the more severe the corresponding punishment. It is triggered every multiple of 8, and an additional punishment is given every three triggers, with no upper limit.]
Liang Shi: “?”
The anger in Liang Shi’s heart was burning fiercely, and the system said in a cheap-sounding voice, [Host, please understand, we’re all just workers, it’s not easy.]
“So what did I do wrong?” Liang Shi asked as calmly as possible. “Why did I trigger the bad luck value?”
This time, the system didn’t vaguely explain it away like it did with luck value, but instead listed a bill, just like a supermarket shopping 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 final interpretation rights belong to the Resentment Management Bureau]
Liang Shi: “……”
What kind of garbage system was this?!
“Meaning, as long as I make Xu Qingzhu angry, I’ll accumulate resentment value?” Liang Shi asked coldly.
System: [Logically speaking, that’s how it is.]
Liang Shi felt a fire in her chest. Before she could speak, the system first opened its mouth to appease her: [Don’t worry, we’re just following the rules. You can still do whatever you want in the future.]
The system, knowing it was in the wrong, even acted spoiled.
[As long as you complete the missions properly, this punishment will definitely not happen a second time.]
“What if I don’t?” Liang Shi retorted.
System: [……Give me a chance.]
Liang Shi: “?”
System: [Your luck value has accumulated to ten points. We will now issue a small gift to you: RMB 30,000.]
Liang Shi: “……?”
Was this a slap and then a kiss?
Then her phone vibrated slightly. Sure enough, she received a bank transfer notification from an unknown account, with a sentence attached: [Your performance has satisfied the target very much. Please continue to work hard! ^-^]
Liang Shi was speechless. All she wanted to do now was smash this system!
To hell with your little emoticon.
Before she could ask any more questions, the system had already made a hasty retreat. [Another mission-taker is calling me. I’ll go first. Good luck to you!]
“Good luck my ass,” Liang Shi muttered.
Meanwhile, Xu Qingzhu, who was bandaging her wound, just tied the final knot of the bandage, even tying it in a bow.
It didn’t quite match the strong Alpha’s temperament.
Liang Shi looked at the target’s face, and her anger seemed to subside a little… maybe.
But unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhu suddenly raised her head, her gaze directly meeting hers. Her red lips parted slightly, and she said with a smile, though it was a rhetorical question, her tone was certain: “You… aren’t Liang Shi, are you?”