Chapter 27 Part 4

“Okay. Thanks, Second Brother,” Liang Shi said cheerfully.

Liang Xinhe took a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back at her. “Liang Shi.”

Liang Shi had been about to speak to Xu Qingzhu. She looked up. “Hm?”

“Good work today,” Liang Xinhe said. “Keep it up.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Had Liang Xinhe just acknowledged her?

She immediately broke into a smile. “Got it!”

Liang Xinhe took the elevator and left. In the stairwell, it was just her and Xu Qingzhu.

“How come you’re here all of a sudden?” Liang Shi asked. “Did something happen at the company?”

“No.” Xu Qingzhu exhaled softly. “Give me a moment to organize my thoughts.”

Liang Shi: “…Sure.”

During that pause, Liang Shi’s phone buzzed.

She glanced at it. It was a transfer notification from Liang Xinhe: one hundred thousand yuan, with a message: 【Take your wife to get something nice to eat. Look how thin she’s gotten.】

Liang Shi: “…”

Do rich people just throw money around every chance they get?

Liang Xinhe really was a doting brother.

He was practically over the moon just because things had improved a little.

Liang Shi replied: 【Got it. Thanks, Second Brother.】

A few seconds later, another hundred thousand yuan transfer.

Liang Xinhe: 【Buy your wife some nice clothes. And yourself too. What are you even wearing? You’re embarrassing the Liang family.】

Liang Shi: “…”

Her outfits were carefully coordinated and perfectly appropriate for the office.

Besides, she’d deliberately avoided designer labels.

If she showed up to work head-to-toe in luxury brands, everyone would know she came from money.

But after today, they probably knew anyway.

Liang Shi chose to lie flat and accept it.

Anyway, standing there being screamed at wasn’t her style. Not going up and punching the woman twice already showed remarkable restraint.

Liang Shi replied: 【Sure thing. Thanks, Second Brother.】

A few seconds later, Liang Xinhe transferred another three hundred thousand.

Liang Shi: 【?】

Liang Xinhe: 【Don’t be stingy. People might think the Liang family’s gone bankrupt.】

Liang Shi: “…”

Liang Shi: 【Okay.】

Looking at the five hundred thousand total, Liang Shi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Even if that mother Qiu Zimin was a bit of a piece of work, this second brother of hers was genuinely decent.

Liang Shi put her phone away and finally turned to Xu Qingzhu.

Xu Qingzhu had already organized her thoughts but had been waiting for Liang Shi to finish up.

She hadn’t left work in the middle of the day for no reason.

It was her first day at Minghui Jewelry’s design department, serving as deputy director.

There was a lot to handle, but unlike Liang Shi’s experience, no one had given her trouble.

Everyone knew she was the eldest miss of the Xu family. No one dared cross her, not even the head of the design department, who treated her with deference.

She’d been busy all day, taking only a brief rest after lunch before diving back into work.

In the afternoon, she stepped out for some tea and overheard colleagues discussing the day’s news. She wasn’t paying attention at first, but then she caught a familiar name: Chen Liuying.

Then she heard Bai Weiwei’s name.

Her ears perked up immediately. All the things that had happened to Bai Weiwei reached her.

She didn’t even make it back to the office before pulling out her phone and searching for Bai Weiwei’s name. The relevant news filled her screen.

Seeing the words “Bai Weiwei jumps off building,” her heart stopped for a few seconds.

She frantically called Bai Weiwei. Still powered off.

She called Zhao Xuning. No answer. The personal number went unanswered too.

She called Liang Shi. No one picked up.

She’d planned to drive straight to the hospital, but online reports said Bai Weiwei had been transferred to a private hospital. She figured rushing there blindly wouldn’t get her in to see Bai Weiwei anyway. So at the intersection, she made a U-turn and headed for Dongheng.

She didn’t know which department Liang Shi had been assigned to, so she contacted Liang Xinhe through WeChat.

Liang Xinhe had assumed Liang Shi was bullying her and was furious, promising to teach Liang Shi a lesson.

After Xu Qingzhu set him straight, they headed to the magazine department.

But the moment she arrived, she heard Liang Shi arguing with the editor-in-chief.

Under the old Liang Shi’s personality, she probably would have smashed up the magazine department and pinned the editor-in-chief to the ground for a beating.

But today, Liang Shi stood there with quiet confidence, countering her opponent point by point, leaving the woman speechless.

Every argument she made was convincing, and her voice was lovely, carrying a steadiness that was unlike the old Liang Shi.

Xu Qingzhu watched a Liang Shi who practically sparkled in the workplace, and was instantly captivated. She didn’t call out to her.

Now that it was over, she’d nearly forgotten what she’d come here for. Fortunately, after calming herself down a bit, she remembered.

Afraid of being overheard, she lowered her voice and asked, “How’s Bai Weiwei doing?”

Liang Shi had no intention of hiding anything from her. She’d find out sooner or later, so she told her the current situation. “Out of critical condition, still under observation. When visitors are allowed, Zhao Xuning will let us know.”

“And the things online, are they all true?” Xu Qingzhu asked. “Was Weiwei actually…?”

She couldn’t even bring herself to say the word “violated.”

“No,” Liang Shi said. “The room closed at ten o’clock. Zhao Xuning and I went to find you at ten past. Ten minutes. What could possibly have happened?”

“But in that photo online, Weiwei’s expression was completely wrong,” Xu Qingzhu said.

“Because something had been slipped into the drinks that night. You all drank it.” Liang Shi chose her words carefully, ensuring everything she said was truthful. “Her reaction was worse than yours. The aphrodisiac triggered an early heat period, which is why she looked so out of it. Zhao Xuning got her out in time and administered a suppressant. No serious harm was done.”

“Then why did Weiwei jump?”

“Zhao Xuning says she got into a fight with her girlfriend.”

“She has a girlfriend? Hasn’t she been waiting for Zhao Xuning all this time?”

“…”

Liang Shi had assumed Xu Qingzhu knew.

Turns out, she didn’t.

Liang Shi could only rub her nose sheepishly. “I don’t know the details either. Zhao Xuning must have been standing guard for a while. She sounded exhausted, so I didn’t press.”

Xu Qingzhu clenched her fist, then abruptly changed the subject. “So was I violated that night? Were you the one who took off my clothes?”

Liang Shi: “…”

“No,” Liang Shi said. “When I went in, you were still wearing your camisole. Your underwear was still on, and your pants were intact.”

As she said this, the scene from that night conveniently resurfaced in Liang Shi’s mind.

Her gaze drifted slightly downward, and with a casual glance, she took in Xu Qingzhu’s upper body.

The buttons of her shirt were straining a little.

Liang Shi looked away.

“Then did we sleep together?” Xu Qingzhu could normally tell from her own body whether anything unusual had happened, but to be safe, she asked anyway.

“Ah…” Liang Shi hesitated briefly, reached up to touch her ear, then answered. “No.”

“You’re lying,” Xu Qingzhu said with certainty.

“I’m not.” Liang Shi suddenly leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Don’t you know your own body?”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

Xu Qingzhu stared at her intently.

A few seconds later, Liang Shi caved. She sighed helplessly. “You kissed my cheek. Does that count?”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

Xu Qingzhu had been asking her in earnest and dead seriousness, but she hadn’t expected an answer like that.

The two of them were tucked in a corner of the stairwell, with Xu Qingzhu leaning slightly against the wall. Liang Shi moved in just a little and effectively cornered her.

The Alpha smelled wonderful: a delicate, clean fragrance of silver needle white tea.

It was soothing and reassuring.

Her tone wasn’t the tough, cold voice from the office. It had gone soft and sweet, somewhere between a playful whine and fond indulgence.

Mixed in was a hint of shyness too, because when she said the word “kissed,” her voice trembled.

The warmth of the Alpha’s breath ghosted across her face, making Xu Qingzhu’s heart race. Her lowered lashes fluttered.

She reached out to give Liang Shi a gentle push, but her hand happened to brush against somewhere it shouldn’t have.

Many Alphas were flat as boards.

Liang Shi was a notable exception.

Even among Alphas, she was on the tall side.

Xu Qingzhu’s push was light, but Liang Shi couldn’t help letting out a muffled groan.

Awkward.

Xu Qingzhu’s hands were small, and a gentle push really shouldn’t have carried any force. But the spot she pushed was rather sensitive. Even the slightest pressure registered with startling clarity.

Liang Shi had lost control.

It wasn’t just that. Her ears were burning like fire.

It was the first time a girl had touched her there… and the girl happened to be her wife in name.

Liang Shi took half a step back. Xu Qingzhu blinked in a daze, her hand still suspended in the air, mildly embarrassed.

Her fingers even curled in midair, like someone playing piano keys. A purely reflexive gesture with nothing behind it. But to Liang Shi, her imagination had already cooked up an entirely different interpretation.

“…”

She felt heat rush up from somewhere in her core.

The air between them went distinctly awkward.

Liang Shi pinched her ear in a fluster. “Forget I said anything.”

Xu Qingzhu looked at her, then suddenly laughed.

She shrugged. “Sorry, I had too much to drink that night. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

Liang Shi waved her hands frantically. “It’s fine, it’s fine! I wouldn’t have dared do anything to you!”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

That sounded so timid it made Xu Qingzhu want to laugh. Even the tension she’d been carrying about Bai Weiwei eased a little. She deliberately teased her. “Even if you had done something, I wouldn’t remember. So really, you can say whatever you want.”

Liang Shi: “…?”

“Heaven is my witness, I really didn’t do anything,” Liang Shi said earnestly. “Your sister was still in the car that night. What could I have done?”

“If my sister hadn’t been there, you would have?” Xu Qingzhu pressed smoothly.

Liang Shi: “…No.”

Her voice trailed off, tinged with just a hint of guilt. She muttered, “I’m not that much of a gentleman.”

Xu Qingzhu heard it and laughed inwardly.

Why does she feel so innocent?

She teased on purpose. “What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Speechless. After a few seconds of frozen silence, she declared firmly, “I am an honorable person. I wouldn’t take advantage of someone’s vulnerability.”

Xu Qingzhu: “…”

Xu Qingzhu pressed a hand to her forehead, laughing. “Oh, thank you so much.”

Liang Shi: “?”

It somehow felt like Xu Qingzhu was being a little sarcastic.

“Really, believe me,” Liang Shi said. “If I’d actually done something to you, I’d have chased you down demanding you take responsibility.”

Xu Qingzhu’s smile faded, and she raised an eyebrow in warning. “Try it?”

Liang Shi: “…My mistake.”