Chapter 12

◎Getting a little whipped, aren’t we?◎

Lin Xingcan shot her friend a glare. “If she’s not Liang Shi, who else could she be?”

The friend looked innocent. “Maybe book transmigration? TV drama transmigration? Soul transmigration? Body snatching? Any of those are possible.”

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Everyone stared at the person who had spoken as though she were an idiot. This was Su Meiqi, the heiress of Haiwei Jewelry, who loved reading novels more than anything.

There had been a time when the news reported an upcoming conjunction of ten stars that only came once in a century. She found a novel with a female lead who shared her name, stayed up three consecutive nights to finish it and memorize the whole thing, and declared with absolute certainty that she would create an era of her own.

In the end… the conjunction of ten stars came and went long ago, and Su Meiqi was still here.

For this, Su Meiqi had been mocked more than once at socialite gatherings.

“Have you lost your mind?” Lin Xingcan rolled her eyes. “You actually believe something that absurd?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Su Meiqi shrugged, completely nonchalant. “Didn’t you think she’d changed? Plus, Cheng Ran posted on her Moments hinting at something about her. Probably has everything to do with whatever happened. So in that case, what’s more believable than transmigration?”

“Then what did she transmigrate into?” Lin Xingcan sneered. “A novel? A TV drama?”

“Transmigration into a book is more likely.” Su Meiqi’s eyes lit up as she spoke, and she looked ready to bolt over to Liang Shi and drag her aside to ask for the secrets of book transmigration. “Based on all her behavior, she seems like a classic book transmigrator, but…”

She stopped.

Nobody picked up the thread.

A few seconds later, she spoke in a tone of pity. “Book transmigrators nowadays are all really smart. They never go OOC. Her OOC is way too severe. She’s deviated so far from Liang Shi’s character that she doesn’t look very bright.”

Everyone fell silent.

A few seconds later, Su Meiqi asked earnestly: “Am I wrong?”

Lin Xingcan shook her head and walked on. “This is too ridiculous. I’m going to ask Auntie Liang what’s going on.”

One friend patted Su Meiqi on the shoulder. “I know Zhao Xuning. Want me to get you an appointment for a brain scan?”

Another friend sighed. “Meiqi, this is an illness. You need treatment.”

Su Meiqi: “…”

She was being completely serious.

Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu returned to the hotel.

Xu Qingzhu still carried that keep-away demeanor, standing at opposite ends of the elevator without their gazes ever meeting.

Liang Shi wanted to explain what had happened earlier but figured there was nothing worth explaining.

What she had just done… was a perfect partner performance, right?

But Xu Qingzhu didn’t react at all.

It was probably just as she’d said before: she didn’t like her anymore.

So she didn’t care whether there were other women around, and didn’t care about whatever Liang Shi might do.

Even without Liang Shi there, Xu Qingzhu could handle things perfectly well on her own.

She had an inexplicable sense of trust in Xu Qingzhu.

The elevator reached the top floor. Xu Qingzhu glanced at her phone, brow furrowing slightly, but just as the doors slid open, she leaned in.

Liang Shi shifted sideways, putting distance between them again.

“Play along with me for a moment,” Xu Qingzhu said. “It won’t take long, and it won’t cost you much time.”

Liang Shi relaxed a little. “Okay.”

Then she asked, “How do you need me to cooperate?”

She didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make Xu Qingzhu angry again, only to suffer the system’s unreasonable punishment.

Really… so unlucky.

Xu Qingzhu thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No need. Just stand there and be a human prop.”

“Okay.” Liang Shi hesitated but still offered some advice. “Talk nicely with your sister. She’s still young, and having her idol merchandise torn up must have made her furious. Little girls are all like that. Coax her first. Worst case, I’ll have someone buy her new ones. Don’t let these things ruin your relationship with your family. It’s really not worth it.”

If Liang Shi had a family, she would have treated them well.

But she didn’t.

So she envied Xu Qingzhu’s family.

A kind mother, a father who could shelter them from the storms, and a sister who might not always be well-behaved but was occasionally obedient and someone you could confide in.

“Why does that sound like you’re mourning parents you never got to care for?” Xu Qingzhu looked at her, punching in the password while speaking in a low voice. “That doesn’t sound like something Liang Shi would say.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She had the strange feeling of being probed again.

“No.” Liang Shi tried to explain, but Xu Qingzhu continued: “I remember just last month you had a huge fight with Uncle Liang over not getting that villa in North City.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Really?

She couldn’t tell whether Xu Qingzhu was testing her or just teasing.

Because there was no memory of that incident in her mind.

Fortunately, Xu Qingzhu didn’t press the issue.

When they went in, Xu Qingya was lying on the sofa with Bluetooth earbuds in, wearing the replacement shorts that were still very short, exposing two long, pale legs. Liang Shi turned away without looking.

Xu Qingzhu walked over and patted her leg, gesturing for her to sit up.

Xu Qingya reluctantly pulled out her earbuds. “What?”

“You must be hungry.” All of Xu Qingzhu’s previous sternness was gone as she spoke gently. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

Xu Qingya blinked. “Huh?”

“What are you spacing out for?” Xu Qingzhu said. “Change your pants. We’re going out to eat.”

“What do you mean?” Xu Qingya frowned. “You’re not trying to use dinner as an excuse to call Mom and Dad over, are you? I’m telling you, I can’t swallow this anger. He threw away my idol merchandise. Do you know how hard those albums are to find? They’re all limited editions. You can’t even find secondhand copies now.”

“No. Mom wants you to go out and clear your head,” Xu Qingzhu said. “You and Dad both need to cool down. I’m not going to lecture you. We’ll just grab a meal. Liang Shi and I still have things to do, so we’ll leave after dinner.”

Though Xu Qingya didn’t quite believe it, she really was hungry. She stuffed her earbuds into her backpack and pointed at Xu Qingzhu. “Sis, you’d better not lie to me.”

“When have I ever lied to you?” Xu Qingzhu said.

Xu Qingya gave a little humph but said nothing more.

Liang Shi wasn’t familiar with the restaurants around here and had no idea where the good ones were.

Fortunately, Xu Qingzhu didn’t ask her to choose. As soon as they got in the car, she handed over her phone with the destination already loaded. Just follow the navigation.

When they arrived, Liang Shi went to park while letting the Xu sisters head inside first.

The parking lot was quiet. She sat in the driver’s seat for a while, waiting until her mind had rested a bit before heading in.

It was an elegant Western restaurant. Xu Qingzhu had already ordered for her, and when she came in, she thanked her politely.

Xu Qingya looked up at her. “Sister Liang Shi, you’re now…”

Liang Shi: “Hm?”

Xu Qingya clicked her tongue. “Getting a little whipped, aren’t we?”

“Am I?” Liang Shi rubbed the tip of her nose, a bit sheepish. She had just been polite enough to say thank you.

How did that connect to being whipped?

“Definitely, definitely.” Xu Qingya nodded furiously. “Who doesn’t know that the Third Miss of the Liang family is disrespectful to her elders and spoiled rotten?”

Liang Shi: “…”

Ah. Well.

“That’s enough.” The food arrived right on time, and Xu Qingzhu cut in smoothly. “All right. Let’s eat.”

Xu Qingya shrugged carelessly. “It could just be rumors. I think Sister Liang Shi has always been pretty great.”

Xu Qingzhu shot her a glance. “How much did she bribe you?”

“Nothing. Don’t you think Sister Liang Shi is great?” Xu Qingya asked.

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

She said coolly: “Eat.”

“If you think she’s not great, why did you marry her?” Xu Qingya scoffed, then looked at Liang Shi with starry eyes. “Sister Liang Shi is so gentle with you.”

Even Liang Shi felt she didn’t deserve the praise.

The Xu family probably had no idea what Xu Qingzhu’s situation had been like before.

After all, the original owner had been an expert at putting on an act in front of the Xu family.

Back then, to get Father Xu to marry Xu Qingzhu to her, the original owner had even knelt in the Xu family’s living room for an entire day.

The most terrifying part was that everyone thought she treated Xu Qingzhu wonderfully.

Only the person living it knew what a living hell it truly was.

Liang Shi looked at Xu Qingzhu, and her heart ached suddenly.

For a moment, she felt it viscerally.

Like how everyone thought she had no parents, no one to answer to, standing under the spotlight, bright and dazzling.

But nobody knew what it was like to return alone to an empty house, afraid to date, with no one to confide in. How lonely that was.

Xu Qingzhu noticed her gaze and looked back. The corner of her lips curved. “What are you looking at me for? Eat.”

Liang Shi speared the foie gras from her plate and placed it on Xu Qingzhu’s. “You eat first. Have more.”

“Stop feeding us dog food.” Xu Qingya teased.

Just then, Liang Shi’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. It was Cheng Ran.

She frowned and declined the call.

Xu Qingya asked: “Why aren’t you answering?”

Liang Shi blocked the number. “It’s someone I don’t particularly like.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, at Cris Bar.

The beautiful Alpha sat at the bar, drink after drink, fingers dialing a number over and over.

But the receiver only produced a robotic voice: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.”

The glass flew from her hand, shattering into transparent fragments.

Cheng Ran pressed her fingers to her brow and cursed. “Shit.”

“Liang Shi has seriously lost her mind.” Cheng Ran threw back another drink. “Cutting me off over Xu Qingzhu? And for the record, I never even touched Xu Qingzhu. Who was the one bullying Xu Qingzhu all along? Unbelievable. She’s a piece of trash. Now suddenly she’s playing the simp?”

She ranted for a while longer, then let out a long breath. “No, I need to find out what happened to this damn woman.”

“Could Xu Qingzhu be threatening her?” Cheng Ran muttered as she dialed another number. The other side picked up quickly.

Cheng Ran pressed her temple and gave orders, still tipsy. “Help me look into someone.”

“Who?”

Cheng Ran said: “Liang Shi.”

Then she added: “Also, Xu Qingzhu, and the Xu family’s current financial situation.”

A few seconds later, she continued: “Most importantly, everything that happened to Liang Shi at the hospital yesterday and today. Every single detail. I want to know everything.”

She refused to believe Liang Shi had changed overnight.