Chapter 22

◎Liang Shi, You’re About to Be Cuckolded◎

Liang Shi had no idea how the original host got along with her family. So far, she’d only spoken with Qiu Zimin on the phone. But from what she knew, the original host’s two brothers were decent people. They’d simply been driven to exasperation by her reckless behavior and had given up on her. After the Liang family took in a new daughter, their attitude toward her had plummeted even further.

But the original host had brought it on herself.

In the latter half of the novel, the original host had her gland gouged out and was thrown onto the streets. Even in that wretched state, she kidnapped Liang Xinhe’s daughter, trying to use her to blackmail the second brother who had always been tolerant of her, demanding money so she could flee far away. This enraged Liang Xinhe. After rescuing his daughter, he had someone break one of the original host’s legs.

Liang Shi: “…”

For reasons she couldn’t explain, Liang Shi felt a sudden sense of connection, as if it were her own leg being broken. She shivered.

“No,” Liang Shi said. “I’m just staying home.”

The implication being: I’ve been good. I haven’t been running around or gambling.

“I heard you ended up in the hospital a couple days ago,” Liang Xinhe said. “With your wife. What asinine thing did you do this time?”

Liang Shi swallowed. “Nothing. Just… a misunderstanding.”

“I can’t be bothered to manage you,” Liang Xinhe said impatiently, though every word was reasonable. “You’re the one who married her. Our family paid a steep price to make that happen. Don’t screw this up. If you push the Xu family far enough to use the media against us, I absolutely will not stand on your side.”

“I know,” Liang Shi promised. “I’ll treat Xu Qingzhu well.”

“What goes on between you and your wife, that’s your business,” Liang Xinhe said. “But are you coming to the office or not? If not, I’ll revoke the position. No point leaving an empty office there just to annoy people.”

Liang Shi immediately said: “I’m coming.”

She didn’t have much else going on at the moment, and returning to her old profession would take time. She couldn’t act rashly when she barely understood this world. Besides, acting required enormous blocks of time. Once she joined a film crew, she’d essentially be cut off from the outside world. Right now she still needed to work on the romance target. In other words, she couldn’t stray too far from Xu Qingzhu. Without luck value, she’d die. For these three months, she’d just lay low. A person had to bow to reality sometimes.

“But Second Brother, can you transfer me somewhere?” Liang Shi ventured.

Liang Xinhe said impatiently: “What position? Isn’t a forty-square-meter office comfortable enough? My general manager’s office is barely bigger than yours. Liang Shi, that’s enough. Don’t push your luck.”

“No,” Liang Shi said. “Second Brother, I want to switch departments.”

Liang Xinhe: “?”

A few seconds later, Liang Xinhe asked with utter sincerity: “Given your abilities, which department do you think you could handle?”

Liang Shi: “…”

She coughed awkwardly. “How about starting from the bottom?”

An actress needed to experience real life regularly. To play a delivery driver, she’d actually delivered food. She’d spent a month as a junior clerk at an ad agency, set up street stalls, and even run a spicy hotpot shop. Audiences often said she could play anything convincingly. She didn’t just act the part; she was the part. She brought a genuine sense of reality to her roles. Right now, she’d just treat this as method acting.

“Let me be a regular employee,” Liang Shi said. “No big office, no special treatment. I’ll just work under the radar and learn from the ground up.”

Liang Xinhe was genuinely stunned this time. After a beat, he asked: “If you’ve been kidnapped, blink twice.”

Liang Shi: “…?”

“Forget it, I can’t see you anyway,” Liang Xinhe said. “So which department do you want?”

Liang Shi had looked into Dongheng Group earlier, so she wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with it. But as for which department to join, she really had no idea. However…

She had a flash of inspiration. “Which department works on new product development?”

“R&D?” Liang Xinhe rejected the idea. “You can’t do anything useful there. Don’t make a mess.”

Liang Shi: “…”

But Liang Xinhe had a better idea. “Go to the magazine department.”

“What do they do?” Liang Shi asked.

“It’s a new department Dongheng just set up last month. They’re planning to launch their own publication, focused on digital magazines. The department is short-staffed, so you can help out. If they need copywriting, you might even be useful. I thought you’d learned nothing in college. Turns out you can write poetry.” Liang Xinhe paused, then added: “Liang Shi, you’re the one who said you wanted to turn over a new leaf. I’m giving you the chance. Don’t cause trouble at the company again.”

Liang Shi: “…Okay.”

Liang Xinhe told her to report to the human resources department on Monday, then hung up.

Liang Shi checked the date. It was already Saturday. She’d be going to work soon.

As evening approached, Xu Qingzhu received a call from Bai Weiwei. She then rushed out the door in a flurry, driving off.

Xu Qingya watched her go, puzzled. “What’s going on?”

But no answer came.

Meanwhile, Liang Shi was in the room preparing documents for work. The original host’s diploma had been tossed into some forgotten corner, and it took Liang Shi quite an effort to find it. The original host had attended a diploma mill, so she only had a graduation certificate, not a degree. But the photo on the certificate was strikingly youthful: shoulder-length hair, a beaming smile.

Liang Shi sighed. Time really was a merciless blade. And photos really could be deceiving. No one looking at that face would believe the person behind it was a cruel, dissolute scoundrel.

She packed everything neatly away, then headed downstairs. Only Xu Qingya was in the living room.

“Where’s your sister?” Liang Shi asked.

“She just left,” Xu Qingya said. “I think Sister Weiwei needed her for something.”

“Alright.” Liang Shi didn’t think much of it.

But by nine p.m., Xu Qingzhu still hadn’t returned. Liang Shi waited in the room for quite a while, glancing at the door from time to time. At one point, for reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt absurdly like a “wife-gazing stone,” the kind of person who stood around waiting for their beloved to come home.

She’d even grown bored enough to remove the carpet, finding a fresh one from another room and laying it down. Standing on the soft carpet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

At 9:20, Liang Shi couldn’t resist calling Xu Qingzhu. It rang and rang, but no one answered. She sent a few WeChat messages. Still no reply. Text messages went unanswered too.

She grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs. The first floor was empty, unbearably quiet. Her footsteps on the hardwood stairs echoed with each tap. Desolate and lonely. The unease in Liang Shi’s chest grew heavier.

She tried Xu Qingzhu’s phone again. Straight to voicemail. The phone was off. Just as she was about to dial again, a multimedia message came through. It came from an unfamiliar number.

The photo showed the dim interior of a private room, thick with smoke. A crowd of men and women sat around a round table, all wearing dissolute grins. Bai Weiwei and Xu Qingzhu sat under the amber light. Bai Weiwei was already drunk, and Xu Qingzhu wasn’t much better. Six glasses of alcohol and a die sat in front of them.

Liang Shi frowned and was about to type: Where is this? But the next message had already arrived.

Liang Shi, you’re about to be cuckolded.

Liang Shi: Who are you? Where is this?

Seconds later, a reply: Your wife is playing Russian roulette with people at Huayue International.

If you’re any later, who knows whether the roulette will be spinning drinks or something else.