Chapter 20

◎You Sleep on the Bed Tonight.◎

It took Liang Shi a good while before her heart settled back into its normal rhythm.

The moment she reached the doorway, Xu Qingya cast her a knowing look, accompanied by a couple of clicks of the tongue. There was more than a hint of snark to it, though mostly teasing. It made Liang Shi feel rather self-conscious. Like being back in school, when you stood a little too close to a boy and everyone started whistling or shooting you teasing looks. Back then she’d only felt embarrassed. Now, though, there was also a little spark of delight.

She chalked up this feeling to the universal joy of being close to a beautiful woman.

Liang Shi flipped open the metal cover of the keypad lock, punched in the villa’s code, then stepped aside to let the Xu sisters enter first. Xu Qingya, as familiar as if she owned the place, waltzed right in without the slightest hesitation. But the moment she crossed the threshold, she let out a cry.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Shi asked.

Xu Qingya looked stunned, pointing inside. “Sister, did you guys get robbed?”

Liang Shi: “…?”

“Shouldn’t be. This is all upscale villas. Who’d dare rob around here?” Xu Qingya chattered on, not noticing that Xu Qingzhu, standing behind her, had gone pale.

Liang Shi poked her head in and immediately understood.

The mess from that night still hadn’t been cleaned up.

The entire first floor was littered with the aftermath of the party. It had been sitting there for days. The smell had gone sour. It looked like an unprocessed crime scene.

Liang Shi’s expression shifted slightly. She cleared her throat. “It wasn’t a robbery. I had some friends over for a party the other day, then went out with your sister. No one’s cleaned up since.”

The blame landed squarely on her shoulders.

“Where are your servants?” Xu Qingya asked. “Does a clean house need the owner’s orders? Servants that clueless should’ve been fired ages ago. Are you keeping them for the New Year? Or…”

Xu Qingya paused. “When you two got married, did you not hire any servants? Has my sister been cleaning this entire huge villa herself?”

Liang Shi: “…”

At that moment, she was tempted to call Xu Qingya “Sherlock Qingya.”

“Of course not,” Liang Shi said with a stiff smile. “Even if I did it myself, I’d never let your sister do it.”

Xu Qingya looked relieved. “Right? My sister, don’t let her looks fool you. She’s just a pretty vase. She doesn’t do anything at home. Growing up, her only two merits were good grades and being pretty. You must have known that when you married her. If she tried to clean, I bet half your precious porcelain would be gone.”

Liang Shi: “…?”

She looked at Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu lowered her head at just the right moment, not meeting her eyes, and said irritably: “That’s enough from you. If you’ve got the energy, why don’t you clean?”

“Sister Liang’s house has servants,” Xu Qingya said, hands in her pockets. “And I can’t do that stuff either.”

Liang Shi was starting to understand why Xu Qingya had been so surprised when she’d said Xu Qingzhu was gentle. The original host had never truly bothered to understand Xu Qingzhu at all.

When Xu Qingzhu first married in, her submissive behavior stemmed from guilt. Unable to repay the family with money, and unable to give her body, she had forced herself to do things she’d never normally do. It was hard to imagine how a pampered young lady could learn all that in such a short time. The cost must have been enormous.

Liang Shi remembered how she’d constantly bumped and bruised herself when she first learned housework. That probably explained why Xu Qingzhu was so skilled at bandaging wounds. She’d been injured so often that, like a veteran patient, she’d learned medicine.

Her gaze toward Xu Qingzhu was complicated, and Xu Qingzhu avoided the tenderness in her eyes.

Liang Shi sighed inwardly. “No need. I’ll have someone come clean up now.”

When she called the butler, her heart was pounding. She was terrified he’d say the original host had dismissed all the servants. But fortunately, the original host hadn’t been quite that unhinged. Some servants still lived in the small two-story building behind the villa. The butler quickly brought people over to clean.

Liang Shi and the Xu sisters waited outside. Xu Qingya buried herself in her phone, not speaking to either of them the entire time. Xu Qingzhu’s brow was furrowed with worry, preoccupied with her family’s troubles.

Liang Shi stood there, and with nothing else to do, started playing Snake. The snake dodged nimbly across the screen. She didn’t put much thought into it, just used it to let her mind drift.

The servants worked with impressive efficiency. In under half an hour, the house was spotless. The butler stepped forward and bowed. “Miss, would you like dinner?”

Liang Shi pocketed her phone and nodded. “Yes. Something simple, as fast as possible.”

The butler relayed the order and sent people to the kitchen. They were all professionally trained and moved so quietly that from the living room, you could barely hear a thing.

Liang Shi stood in the living room, waiting for Xu Qingzhu to assign rooms. They’d agreed to sleep separately on the way over, but given the current situation, that was no longer possible. If the two of them took the master bedroom upstairs, where would Xu Qingya sleep?

“You’re downstairs. That room.” Xu Qingzhu pointed to the second room on the right. “Put your things away, then come out to eat.”

Xu Qingya had no objections. “Okay.”

Xu Qingzhu turned and headed upstairs. She was still going back to the master bedroom. Halfway up, she turned and asked: “Coming?”

A quiet question. But delivered in her cool, detached voice with the faintest upward lilt at the end, it carried a hint of something intimate.

Liang Shi blinked, pointing at her own nose in disbelief. “Me?”

Xu Qingzhu gave a small nod.

Xu Qingya had already made herself comfortable on the sofa, phone open to a dance video with a punchy beat. She waved her arm high. “Don’t mind me. Pretend I don’t exist. This is your house. Make yourselves at home.”

She really was familiar with strangers. But the way she said it was endearing.

Liang Shi treated her like a little sister and teased with a smile: “Then make yourself comfortable too.”

Xu Qingya shrugged. “Have I ever been anything but?”

Liang Shi chuckled. “That’s a good attitude.”

“Alright.” Xu Qingya stood up. “I’m heading to my room. If you two want to whisper sweet nothings, go to your room too. I’m not going to be your third wheel. You two…”

She winked at them with a mischievous grin. “Enjoy your time alone.”

Liang Shi: “…”

The room looked the same as before.

That day had been Xu Qingzhu’s heat period. She’d thrashed around on the bed for a while, leaving the white sheets wrinkled.

The entire room was extravagantly decorated, even the chandeliers were gilded gold. The luxurious carpet felt plush underfoot, in light tones. The decor was actually quite tasteful. It was the one time Liang Shi could genuinely approve of the original host’s aesthetic sense.

After closing the door, Xu Qingzhu went to strip the sheets. Her movements were fairly quick, but when it came time to lay a fresh sheet, she seemed less practiced.

Liang Shi immediately stepped in to help.

She wasn’t the type to let others into her personal life, and she’d lived alone for many years. Having to suddenly share a room with someone felt distinctly awkward. Even if that someone was a stunningly beautiful woman.

Perhaps that was exactly why her resistance wasn’t so strong, though the mental burden weighed heavily on her.

Tonight… how were they going to sleep?

She’d probably end up on the floor, right?

Liang Shi glanced at the carpet. It was reasonably clean. But anything that went under your feet had plenty of bacteria no matter how spotless it looked. Her neat-freak tendencies couldn’t accept that. Better to roll up the carpet and lay down a blanket.

She pondered this as she and Xu Qingzhu finished making the bed. When they were done, Xu Qingzhu looked a little tired. She sat on the edge of the bed, breathing lightly.

She wore a fitted black turtleneck sweater. Her pale face held a soft camel-pink flush, her eyes bright. When she lowered her gaze, her thick lashes cast deep, dramatic shadows beneath her eyes. Her hair was pulled into a casual bun, with wisps framing her forehead, yet it looked effortlessly elegant rather than messy.

Whether from the weight of her worries or her constitution, she was very thin. Even seated in the tight sweater, there wasn’t a hint of excess around her waist.

She sat barefoot on the soft carpet, her luminous white toes blending into it like a painting.

“I’m sorry,” Xu Qingzhu said, once she’d caught her breath. “I broke my promise. I couldn’t convince my sister to go back. I’ve been causing you trouble these past few days.”

“Huh?” Liang Shi had drifted off staring at her and only caught the last part.

She looked down, slightly flustered. “What did you say?”

“My apologies,” Xu Qingzhu repeated patiently. Her voice was cool and clear, like meltwater from a glacier, though it did nothing to lower Liang Shi’s temperature. “I’ve been causing you trouble. My family situation isn’t good right now, so we can only impose on you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Liang Shi said. “It’s a small thing. And… we’re family now. Your family is my family too.”

Xu Qingzhu looked up at her. She had just licked her lips, and they glistened like jelly dusted with shimmer powder.

Liang Shi turned her face away. She didn’t dare look again.

“Xu Qingzhu.” Liang Shi felt she needed to reiterate. “Everything I said in the hospital room was true.”

“Hmm?” Xu Qingzhu asked softly, her voice carrying a cool yet intimate quality. “Which parts?”

“That I’ll never hurt you again. I meant every word.” Liang Shi said. “Whatever wrongs I’ve done to you in the past, they’re behind us. I know I can’t have the shamelessness to ask for your forgiveness. Hurt is irreversible.”

“But…” Liang Shi paused, then said earnestly, “I’ll change. That’s not just empty talk.”

Xu Qingzhu gazed at her, then slowly smiled. The corners of her lips curved at a perfect angle, her eyes half-mooned. Her pale face looked soft and flushed, like cherry blossoms drifting down.

For one instant, Liang Shi could have sworn she smelled spring.

She felt as if Xu Qingzhu had bewitched her.

She immediately looked away.

Xu Qingzhu said softly: “I believe you.”

Her voice still carried that upward lilt, light as a feather, brushing against the softest places.

“But… I still owe you an apology,” Xu Qingzhu said, standing up. “It’s only polite.”

“Fine.” Liang Shi relaxed slightly. “I just wanted to make things clear. From now on, this is your home. You can do as you please. No need to ask my opinion. Of course… if…”

She coughed lightly. “If you’re in a good mood, you can occasionally listen to mine.”

Xu Qingzhu was silent for a moment, then laughed softly.

“I’ll try,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Dinner should be ready. Let’s go down.”

“Wait.” Liang Shi stopped her.

“What is it?”

Liang Shi stared at the carpet. “Do you have any new rugs? Or can we take this one out?”

She genuinely couldn’t handle sleeping on a bacteria-ridden carpet.

“We do,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Let’s change it after dinner.”

“Great.” Liang Shi accepted readily.

She reached for the door. Xu Qingzhu happened to be right behind her. She stepped forward, once again pressing close. Afraid of being overheard, she lowered her voice: “You sleep on the bed tonight.”

Liang Shi: “…?”