They gazed at each other, looking on with deep affection…
“So hot…” Xu Qingzhu’s voice came, tinged with restraint.
It sounded even better than the actresses’ voices at their most passionate.
Liang Shi quickly pulled a bit more blanket toward herself, and Xu Qingzhu half-opened her eyes, catching the images on the screen.
That was probably the film’s most intense scene.
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The room echoed with their voices. They were softly calling each other’s names.
Names breathed against the tip of the tongue, and the distance between them was so close that a whisper was all it took to hear.
Liang Shi: “…”
She immediately slapped the phone face-down.
But the sounds continued, paired with the sultry background music.
Anyone’s mind would wander.
“I wasn’t…” Liang Shi started to explain reflexively, but Xu Qingzhu curved her lips into a smile. Her voice, still thick with sleep, was more alluring than anything in the film. She asked, “Is it good?”
Liang Shi: “…It’s okay.”
She’d never been good at lying.
And her brain short-circuited for a moment, and she’d gone along with the question.
Xu Qingzhu simply said: “Go to sleep soon after you finish watching.”
Liang Shi: “…?”
That was it?
Liang Shi had thought she was waking up and wanted to ask where the blankets were, but before she could open her mouth, Xu Qingzhu rolled over and fell back into even, steady breathing.
“?”
A false alarm.
But it was still mortifying for Liang Shi.
Her usual image was a serious, old-school, Buddha-like figure. Watching Category III films didn’t really fit that persona.
Even though she’d… watched them before.
It was a perfectly normal physical need.
But getting caught was another story entirely.
So she put away her phone immediately.
Liang Shi lay there thinking: How am I going to get through this long night?
Her body only touched the very edge of the bed. Even though the bed was plenty big, she was afraid Xu Qingzhu was a restless sleeper who liked to roll around, so she left her ample room.
Liang Shi herself was usually a very still sleeper. Whatever position she fell asleep in, she woke up in the same one.
Her thoughts were still tangled and chaotic, but they couldn’t fight her body’s natural drowsiness.
Before she could even figure out what to have for breakfast tomorrow, she was already asleep.
Early the next morning.
Sunlight spilled into the room, spreading across the bed. A bit too bright; Liang Shi opened her eyes against the glare.
She fumbled for her phone and checked. 8:20.
It was time to get up, but Xu Qingzhu was still asleep, as if trying to make up for all the sleep she’d missed.
Liang Shi got up and drew the curtains tightly shut so the sunlight wouldn’t disturb her.
The room fell back into dimness.
Liang Shi’s routine had always been solid.
When she wasn’t filming, she’d wake up around eight, do some exercise, eat breakfast, then watch dramas or read. In the afternoon, she’d sit on the balcony with afternoon tea and pass a relaxed, pleasant day.
When she got up, no one else was around. The common areas had already been cleaned by the servants, spotless.
She poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen, then took bread from the fridge and cracked an egg into the sandwich maker.
Planning to make a sandwich.
If she had the means, she always made sure to eat breakfast.
Just as she was busy in the kitchen, Xu Qingya’s voice suddenly rang out: “Sister Liang, you can cook?”
Liang Shi’s fried egg was cooked to medium with a still-runny yolk. She glanced back while working. Xu Qingya’s hair was a mess, completely disregarding her appearance. She let out a huge yawn, reached for the bread, and took a bite before Liang Shi could say anything.
“That’s cold,” Liang Shi said.
Too late.
Xu Qingya didn’t mind. “No worries, it’s edible.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Fine.
“Where’s my sister?” Xu Qingya asked. “Still asleep?”
“Mm,” Liang Shi said. “The doctor said last night she might sleep for a whole day and night.”
Xu Qingya shook her head. “She’s really turned into Sleeping Beauty.”
She chewed on a piece of bread while playing on her phone, then looked up a while later: “Sister Liang, what are you making? Make me one too, I’m kind of hungry.”
Liang Shi answered without turning around: “Sandwich. Almost done.”
She’d already wrapped one up and handed it to Xu Qingya, then started on her own.
Xu Qingya took a bite. She hadn’t expected much from Liang Shi’s cooking. A sandwich was like tomato and scrambled eggs; no matter how you made it, it probably wouldn’t taste bad. But it was also unlikely to taste amazing.
The moment it touched her tongue, though, Xu Qingya was stunned.
At first, she wasn’t sure. She thought maybe she was just so hungry that the sandwich seemed delicious by comparison.
But she hurriedly took two more bites and, only after swallowing everything, said: “Sister Liang, did you really make this?”
Liang Shi smiled helplessly. “You’re sitting right here. How could I cheat?”
“No, I mean this is amazing.” Xu Qingya gave her a thumbs up. “This cooking could rival a five-star chef. What did you use? Why is it so flavorful? It’s so good I want to bite my own tongue off.”
Liang Shi thought the praise was a bit over the top.
She was fairly confident in her cooking, having helped out in restaurant kitchens for many years. But such high praise all at once was a bit hard to accept.
“Just a regular recipe,” Liang Shi said. “Fried egg, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and a little sauce.”
“Better than anything I’ve had before.” Xu Qingya praised her sincerely. “This makes me want to move in permanently.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Please don’t.
But she couldn’t say that out loud, so she put on a friendly face: “Sure, move in. Stay as long as you like.”
After a pause, she added a condition: “As long as your sister lets you.”
Xu Qingya: “Tch.”
Liang Shi quickly finished her own sandwich and sat chatting with Xu Qingya.
Mostly Xu Qingya chatted and she just responded.
Xu Qingya was quite the talkative girl. When she got onto idol culture, her eyes lit up.
She even said her dream was to become a talent agent.
But after saying that, she went quiet for a moment, then said: “Forget it. I’ll pick a different dream.”
“Why?” Liang Shi asked, puzzled.
Xu Qingya sighed. “Sister Weiwei is a talent agent. She’s the one who got me most of Chen Zhengxuan’s merch.”
Liang Shi understood her concern but could only offer a hollow comfort: “Not all talent agents are like that.”
It did remind her of Bai Weiwei and Zhao Xuning.
After she’d left with Xu Qingzhu last night, she hadn’t seen Zhao Xuning on the way out, so she still didn’t know how Zhao Xuning had fared.
Out of basic human decency, Liang Shi sent Zhao Xuning a message after finishing breakfast and loading the dishwasher, asking how things were on her end.
A long while later, Zhao Xuning replied: 【It’s fine.】
A pretty curt answer.
But Liang Shi had done her part.
She let it go after that.
With nothing to do that morning, she started researching Dongheng Group, especially the newly established magazine department.
Just as Liang Xinhe had said, the magazine department was brand new. They hadn’t published a single issue yet. On Weibo, there was only an official account with no posts and ten thousand followers, probably bought by someone.
Since they hadn’t put out anything, there was almost no information to be found online.
She took the opportunity to look at other digital publications, especially the experience of similar companies launching digital magazines, trying to find successful case studies.
In the process, she discovered that the first in the industry to do this was Haiwei Jewelry.
Just a jewelry company, yet it had remarkably forward-thinking experience. Not only had it launched a digital magazine, it had also created a top-tier domestic fashion magazine, Pearl.
In an age when print media was in decline, the print industry had become a dying one. Many large publishing houses had shut down; those still operating were mostly losing money or running on sheer passion. But Pearl had charted its own course, focusing on feminism and inviting well-known domestic authors to write its forewords.
In a fashion magazine, there wasn’t much written content, but every piece in every issue packed a punch.
In the new media era, each article would rack up over a hundred thousand reads in minutes.
But their print magazine and digital publication were produced separately, with zero overlap in content.
That was precisely why the digital edition hadn’t cannibalized the magazine’s sales.
And the people who started this magazine hadn’t come from the publishing industry at all. There were fashion industry insiders, designers, even web novel authors.
So the industry’s verdict on Pearl was: a bunch of third-rate people running a first-rate magazine.
Liang Shi compiled all the information. By the time she was done, it was noon.
The butler asked whether she wanted lunch prepared. She was still mentally working through the menu when Liang Xinhe’s call came through.
She picked up and greeted him politely: “Second Brother.”
“Where are you?” Liang Xinhe asked.
Liang Shi thought he was checking up on her and answered obediently: “At home.”
“Chuanlan Villa?”
“Yes.”
“What are you still doing there?” Liang Xinhe’s tone was already impatient. “Liang Shi, I really thought you were turning over a new leaf, but it’s the same old thing? Messing around out there is one thing, but now you won’t even come home? Do you want to cut ties with the Liang family?”
Liang Shi: “…?”
“Enough. How are you talking to A-Shi?” A gentle, feminine voice came through. “You clearly just worry about A-Shi and want to see her, but you say things like that to sting her. With your attitude, you can’t get through three sentences without an argument.”
Liang Shi guessed this was her second sister-in-law.
In the original novel, the second sister-in-law didn’t have much screen time.
But she was a very positive character.
When the original host had hit rock bottom, she’d even given the original host a sum of money. But that money had been gambled away in no time.
Later, the original host had even set her sights on her daughter.
Liang Shi didn’t know much more than that.
After all, she hadn’t memorized the entire text before transmigrating.
“A-Shi.” It was the second sister-in-law who’d taken the phone. “You’re coming back to the ancestral home today, right? Remember to bring your wife.”
“Second Sister-in-Law.” Liang Shi’s tone was very polite. “A-Zhu is sick. I can’t make it back.”
“Is it serious?” the second sister-in-law asked with concern. “Then stay home and take care of her. It’s fine. I’ll talk to Mom.”
“How can you keep indulging her like this?” Liang Xinhe took the phone back. “Liang Shi, whatever you have going on today, you will come home. What did you tell me last week? That even if it rained knives from the sky, you’d come back to the ancestral home. You forgot your own words?”
Liang Shi: “…”
That was the original host who said that.
Whatever.
She was the one in charge now.
“It’s Eldest Brother’s birthday today. You won’t even come home for a meal? You might as well stop calling yourself a Liang,” Liang Xinhe said irritably before hanging up.
Liang Xinhe really did have a short temper.
But his heart was in the right place.
Liang Shi didn’t complain. She told the butler to only prepare lunch for Xu Qingya today, as she needed to return to the ancestral home.
Since it was Liang Xinzhou’s birthday, Liang Shi had to go no matter what.
She was still part of the Liang family, after all.
It was just that the original host had a mediocre relationship with the family. With all the drama she’d caused over the years, she’d probably exhausted everyone’s patience.
A mess all around.
Liang Shi didn’t know the way back to the ancestral home, so she had the driver take her.
