Chapter 16

◎Then lend me a shoulder.◎

Liang Shi drove back to the hospital.

The moment she arrived, Qiu Zimin called.

“A-Shi.” Qiu Zimin sounded slightly stern, but using the pet name still made it feel intimate. “Did you meet Zhou Yi’an?”

Liang Shi leaned against the wall, feeling the cold seep through her back.

The lights in the ward were off. The room was dim.

She pressed her lips together, her voice quiet, tinged with something hard to name. “I did.”

“How did it feel?” Qiu Zimin asked, then continued without waiting for an answer. “It’s time you divorced the one from the Xu family. She’s a sickly thing and not even the Xu family’s biological daughter. We’ve poured seventy or eighty million into her already. That’s not a small amount, but your father and I love you. You liked her before, so we didn’t say anything and let you have your way.”

“But the Xu family is a bottomless pit. Xu Guangyao has no head for business. Their company is going bankrupt sooner or later. Best to cut your losses early. What Zhou Yi’an can give you is more than you can imagine. If we don’t get that land in South City, you’ll…”

“What will happen?” Liang Shi interrupted coldly.

Qiu Zimin suddenly stopped.

She had never heard Liang Shi speak in that tone before.

This daughter had a bad temper, but she’d always been obedient in front of her mother, never uttering a harsh word.

She frowned. “What kind of attitude is that?”

Liang Shi let out a quiet breath. “What attitude do you think I should have?”

“Liang Shi, is there something you can’t just say directly? Do you have to be passive-aggressive with your own mother?” Qiu Zimin grew angry too, her voice sharp. “You were the one who asked me to set this up, right? So I set it up. Even if you’re not satisfied with Zhou Yi’an after meeting her, there’s no need to treat me like this. I’ve done everything with your best interests at heart. I was the first to approve your marriage to Xu Qingzhu. You’re my daughter. Why would I harm you?”

Liang Shi pinched the bridge of her nose. “No. You wouldn’t harm me.”

She sounded calm, but there was a thread of faint sarcasm.

Qiu Zimin answered with certainty. “Of course not. You came from my own body. I’m the person who loves you most in this world. How could I harm you?”

“Is that so?” Liang Shi’s lips curved as she asked in return.

In the darkness, every emotion was amplified.

All the complicated feelings from the private room earlier poured out, transforming into fury.

“You don’t believe me?” Qiu Zimin sneered. “Liang Shi, what’s wrong with you? Why won’t you even believe your own mother? I raised you for all these years. What did I do wrong to deserve being treated like this?”

“Then do you know that Zhou Yi’an is an Alpha?” Liang Shi said coldly.

There was several seconds of silence on the other end.

The breath seemed to freeze.

“No.” Qiu Zimin said.

Her tone was awkward.

“Do you know that when two Alphas are together, one of them can get sick?” Liang Shi asked.

Another silence from Qiu Zimin.

After a moment, she said: “Of course I know. But what does that have to do with you?”

“What did you mean by introducing Zhou Yi’an to me?” Liang Shi said. “You know she likes me, so you wanted to trade me for that land in South City? I truly had no idea I was worth so much.”

Qiu Zimin grew flustered. “A-Shi, Mom didn’t mean it like that. Two Alphas can be together too. Yi’an doesn’t mind that you’ve been married before. You can become her partner. What matters most is that two people love each other. Mom knows a doctor. There’s now a procedure that can turn an Alpha into a beta or omega. It’s harmless to the body.”

“So you did know.” Liang Shi said. “Which means your suggestion is for me to divorce Xu Qingzhu, undergo a differentiation surgery to become a beta or omega, and marry Zhou Yi’an. That way the Liang family can get the land in South City. Is that right?”

Qiu Zimin fell silent.

A few seconds later, the line went dead.

Silence can say a great deal.

Liang Shi emptied her mind in the endless silence, letting her thoughts drift aimlessly.

After a while, a text message from Qiu Zimin arrived.

“A-Shi, if it weren’t absolutely necessary, Mom wouldn’t do this. You know Mom loves you most out of all four children. Whatever you do, Mom supports you. The Liang family’s financial troubles are harder than you can imagine. You’ve lived in this house for over twenty years. You’re part of this family. Xinzhou and Xinhe have been working themselves to the bone at the company. Wanwan is still young. Right now, only you can help the Liang family get through this. Consider it Mom begging you. That land in South City determines the Liang family’s survival, and you are the key. If you decide not to help, the Liang family could go bankrupt within two months, and then our whole family… Never mind. Forget Mom said anything.”

“Mom was confused. Get some rest. Next time you come home, Mom will apologize to you in person.”

Liang Shi read both messages expressionlessly, then powered off her phone.

Qiu Zimin’s meaning was crystal clear.

If she didn’t marry Zhou Yi’an and secure the land in South City, the entire Liang family would be out on the streets.

And at the end, she’d pulled the retreat-as-advance gambit.

Feigning retreat while actually forcing Liang Shi to submit.

This tactic clearly wasn’t being used for the first time.

The original owner had probably always given in.

Because a memory had just surfaced in Liang Shi’s mind, delivered during that phone call.

In a dark room, the original owner was bound to a bed wearing a gossamer dress, nearly transparent. A figure in black leather stood at the bedside holding a whip. The face was invisible in the darkness, but the sound of leather striking flesh was piercingly sharp.

The original owner endured it without uttering a single sound.

Liang Shi’s hearing was tormented by that memory.

Fortunately, the clip was short.

In that memory, Qiu Zimin’s voice was also present, praising the original owner. “A-Shi, you did so well.”

Meanwhile, Liang Shi was also turning over what had happened in the private room. Zhou Yi’an had said it’d been a long time.

So the original owner and Zhou Yi’an had known each other before.

But how deep their connection went, Liang Shi had no idea.

And Liang Shi suspected that Qiu Zimin must know the original owner wasn’t her biological child.

That was why she would resort to such despicable means to torment the original owner.

Liang Shi couldn’t help marveling at the kind of mess the system had thrown her into.

Moreover, Qiu Zimin had said on the phone that Xu Qingzhu wasn’t the Xu family’s biological daughter either.

Did Xu Qingzhu know?

Since arriving, she hadn’t met Xu Qingzhu’s parents, but from what she’d found online, Xu Qingzhu’s parents treated her extremely well.

Given that Xu Qingzhu had been willing to marry the original owner to save the family business, her parents must have treated her well.

Liang Shi had a slight cleanliness obsession. She went to the ward’s private bathroom and washed her hands meticulously, including the wrist Zhou Yi’an had touched.

Only after her wrist carried a faint orange fragrance did she stop.

She turned off the bathroom light. By the weak moonlight, she removed her jacket and hung it by the door, letting her casually tied-up hair fall loose. Without even turning on the lights, she lay straight down on the bed.

She was tired.

Liang Shi had barely managed to raise her life from hard mode to normal, and now she was suddenly in hell mode.

Anyone would break.

She lay there, but her mind stayed sharp.

The phone spun restlessly in her hand, tapping against the sheets now and then.

After a moment, she rolled over, and a sudden flash of insight hit her.

If the way to earn luck value was to romance Xu Qingzhu, then she just needed to fulfill all of Xu Qingzhu’s wishes.

What did Xu Qingzhu want most right now? Wasn’t it a divorce?

Then she’d just agree to divorce.

If she couldn’t say it out loud, she’d send a message.

Liang Shi realized she’d fallen into a thinking trap. Now that it was clear, she immediately picked up her phone and texted Xu Qingzhu: “I agree to your request. Let’s get a divorce.”

She hit send.

A few seconds later, a red dot appeared before the message.

Delivery failed.

Liang Shi: “…?”

No signal?

She tried another: “If divorce is what you want, then let’s get a divorce. Going forward, we can continue as friends.”

That second half was mostly empty words.

Xu Qingzhu might never want to see her again in this lifetime.

Still, delivery failed.

Liang Shi checked her phone carefully. Every internet-connected app worked fine.

Only messages to Xu Qingzhu wouldn’t send.

She tried again: “Are you asleep?”

A moment later, a faint buzz came from inside the ward. A light flickered on the bedside table, reflecting off the pristine white ceiling.

Liang Shi jolted. Before she could sit up, a cool voice came from beside her. “Were you looking for me?”

It was Xu Qingzhu.

Liang Shi reached for the light switch, but Xu Qingzhu said: “Leave it off. Let’s talk for a bit.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She pressed her lips together, sitting on the bed, unsure of herself.

Xu Qingzhu patted the space next to her. “Want to lie down?”

She asked without a trace of suggestiveness.

But to Liang Shi’s ears, it sounded exactly like: “Want to sleep together?”

Her ears itched. Her heart itched.

Liang Shi hesitated for a moment but lay down anyway.

She couldn’t help it. She was too tired.

“What did you want to talk about?” Liang Shi asked.

Xu Qingzhu didn’t answer. She only asked: “Was today your first time meeting Zhou Yi’an?”

The room fell into an eerie silence.

“Liang Shi.” Xu Qingzhu spoke, cool and clear. “Maybe you need a shoulder?”

Liang Shi, who had been on the verge of dozing off, snapped awake. She looked over and could only make out Xu Qingzhu’s profile in the faint light.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell what Xu Qingzhu intended.

Her attitude had shifted dramatically in just half a day.

Liang Shi firmly believed that when something was this out of the ordinary, there was a reason behind it.

But she genuinely wanted to draw a little warmth.

While she was hesitating over how to answer, Xu Qingzhu suddenly rolled toward her and came to rest right beside her.

“You…” Liang Shi barely got the word out before Xu Qingzhu’s fingers settled on her lips. “Don’t talk.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Her fingertips carried the same faint orange fragrance. It smelled wonderful.

Enough to set one’s heart swaying.

Xu Qingzhu’s head came to rest against her shoulder, her voice muffled and low. “Then lend me a shoulder.”