Chapter 28: Artificial Respiration Part 2

Dark red liquid mixed with shattered glass tumbled to the floor, the wine snaking across the gray stone like blood.

The commotion drew everyone’s attention.

Liang Shi pulled Xu Qingzhu back a step, making one thing clear: she was the one losing her mind. This had nothing to do with us.

Liang Xinhe arrived at just the right moment. He’d drunk quite a bit while socializing and, prone to flushing when drinking, his face was flushed red. “Liang Shi, what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Liang Shi replied. “A-Zhu and I were just chatting.”

“You go chat then.” Liang Xinhe said. “My sister-in-law is coming with me.”

Liang Shi blinked. “Huh?”

“I’m taking my sister-in-law to meet a few people,” Liang Xinhe said. “All of them are in the jewelry business.”

Liang Shi understood. He wanted to help Xu Qingzhu build connections, so she had no reason to object.

It was only then that Liang Xinhe noticed the shattered wine glass on the floor and Zhou Yi’an standing nearby, her cold eyes burning with anger. He immediately stepped in as the host. “Miss Zhou, has something happened? If there’s anything I can help with, please don’t hesitate.”

Zhou Yi’an glanced at him askance, her arrogance and condescension on full display.

Not even bothering with the barest pretense of politeness.

Liang Xinhe weathered the snub with a few seconds of awkwardness before turning to a waiter. “Clean this up quickly. We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

The waiter hurried to comply.

Liang Xinhe moved to leave with Xu Qingzhu, and naturally, Liang Shi followed.

But Liang Xinhe turned back and gave her a look, his tone dripping with disdain. “What are you following us for?”

Liang Shi: “…?”

“Second Brother, you’re taking my wife away,” Liang Shi said. “Of course I have to come.”

She had no desire to be left alone here with Zhou Yi’an.

Liang Xinhe waved a hand. “Go on, I’m just introducing your wife to some people. I’ll bring her right back. You’d only be in the way.”

Liang Shi: “…”

She said meekly, “At least let me come along and support my wife’s image. I’m part of the Liang family too.”

Liang Xinhe paused abruptly and called her name with utter seriousness. “Liang Shi.”

Liang Shi: “Huh?”

Liang Xinhe spoke with great objectivity, trying his best to strip all emotion from his voice: “Have you really forgotten what a mess you used to be?”

Liang Shi: “…”

She coughed. “Second Brother, I’ve changed.”

Liang Xinhe waved her off. “Listen, I’ll bring your wife back in a bit. Among the people I’m meeting, there are some you’ve offended in the past. If they see you, they’ll turn right around and leave. I suggest you just stay put.”

Then he glanced at Zhou Yi’an, still standing there like a statue, and lowered his voice. “Mom said you and Zhou Yi’an were high school classmates, on good terms. You should chat with her. Our family’s South City land still depends on the Zhous.”

Liang Shi: “…?”

She couldn’t tell whether Liang Xinhe was being sincere or not.

But his eyes were so pure.

He looked like he was simply following Qiu Zimin’s words, unaware that his alpha sister was being harassed by another person of cloaked gender, one who was 99% likely an alpha.

Liang Xinhe turned to leave with Xu Qingzhu, but Xu Qingzhu gathered her skirt and said quietly, “Second Brother, wait a moment.”

“What is it?” Liang Xinhe asked.

Xu Qingzhu turned around and crooked a finger at Liang Shi.

Liang Shi walked over, slightly displeased. “What is it?”

Xu Qingzhu said, “Lower your head.”

Liang Shi instinctively covered her ears. As nice as that earlier stimulus had been, she genuinely couldn’t handle another round.

She… really wasn’t that much of a gentleman.

Xu Qingzhu frowned slightly and whispered with a coquettish pout, “Come here.”

To anyone watching, it looked like a couple flirting.

Liang Shi obediently bent down and lowered her head, and Xu Qingzhu reached up, her fingers gently rubbing Liang Shi’s earlobe.

Wherever her fingertips passed left a tingly, ticklish trail of sensation from the base of her spine all the way to the crown of her head, both thrilling and pleasant, drawing out an involuntary sigh of contentment.

This time, Xu Qingzhu truly lowered her voice, speaking so only the two of them could hear: “Be careful around Zhou Yi’an.”

Liang Shi nodded. “I know.”

After Xu Qingzhu and Liang Xinhe left, Liang Shi stood by the swimming pool in a daze.

The pool was empty.

Everyone wore evening gowns, wine glasses in hand, weaving through the crowd, networking, socializing.

This was just a social occasion.

And Liang Shi holding a wine glass was nothing more than a prop.

She’d barely touched the wine in her glass.

She usually only drank when she was alone. It helped her sleep.

She didn’t drink ordinarily.

She also ignored Zhou Yi’an.

Presumably finding the teasing no longer amusing, Zhou Yi’an left with a man and threw herself into the main event of the evening.

Glass in hand, smiling as she introduced herself to one person after another.

Liang Shi had no interest in that sort of thing.

She simply scanned the crowd with her gaze, searching for the person she wanted to see, but never found her.

Cheng Ran hadn’t come.

She did spot Cheng Ran’s brother, and turned away in disgust.

She thought she’d have peace and quiet until Xu Qingzhu returned, but before long, Zhou Yi’an appeared behind her, having even removed her tailcoat and tried to drape it over Liang Shi’s shoulders.

Fortunately, Liang Shi was always alert. She turned and shot Zhou Yi’an a sidelong glance, dodging the touch.

“What do you want now?” Liang Shi said.

“Baby, you’re so heartless.” Zhou Yi’an looked at her. “People have their pride, you know. You can’t just keep hurting me again and again.”

“I wish you did have some pride,” Liang Shi said. “Leave me alone. I have a wife.”

Zhou Yi’an raised a hand to her forehead. “Your little omega wife? That stick of bamboo?”

(T/N: 竹 (zhú) literally means “bamboo”)

Liang Shi: “…Her name is Xu Qingzhu.”

“Whatever bamboo she is.” Zhou Yi’an curled her lips in a smile. “Is she as pretty as me? Does she treat you as well as I would? Baby, you should know, I can make you…”

She leaned in close, her voice dropping to a demonic whisper. “I can make you a widow at any moment.”

Liang Shi: “…”

This was a full-blown psycho.

How on earth had the original host gotten tangled up with someone like this?

Truly speechless. Speechless to the point of being speechless.

“Could you look in the mirror for me?” Liang Shi said. “From head to toe, face to body, where exactly do you outshine Xu Qingzhu?”

“So you didn’t choose me because I’m not as pretty as her?” Zhou Yi’an laughed. “Then how about I carve up her face?”

Liang Shi: “…Why don’t you just kill me instead?”

Zhou Yi’an’s expression froze. She wanted to laugh but couldn’t, making her face look downright bizarre. Her lips twitched upward, then jerked several times as she asked in disbelief, “Baby, you’d actually die for her?”

Liang Shi: “…”

It wasn’t a question of whether she was willing to die for Xu Qingzhu.

As things stood now, of course she wouldn’t.

But who wanted to be stalked by a psycho like this?

It was just something said in anger.

Besides, given her current situation, if Xu Qingzhu died, she wouldn’t survive either.

In a sense, she really did have to die for Xu Qingzhu.

“What about you? Would you die for me?” Liang Shi asked.

Zhou Yi’an fell silent.

“I really want to make that omega disappear. Baby, I can’t stand watching her be intimate with you. What should I do? I want you.” Zhou Yi’an said. “Be with me and I’ll treat you well.”

“Could you stop being crazy?” Liang Shi said. “I don’t like you. I can’t even stand you.”

“It’s okay.” Zhou Yi’an leaned in close, her tone languid and suggestive. “Feelings grow with time.”

Liang Shi: “…”

Her gaze swept across the hall. People had started noticing them.

After all, one was the notoriously wild Third Miss Liang, and the other was the newly scrutinized Miss Zhou.

What were the two of them huddled together for?

Had the Liang family secured the South City land?

When Liang Shi’s gaze swept past, the onlookers quickly averted their eyes.

“Baby, give it some thought?” Zhou Yi’an said. “After all, you’re the first woman I’ve ever wanted in my entire life.”

Liang Shi pressed her lips together. “Are you about to lose your mind?”

Zhou Yi’an: “How could liking you be losing my mind?”

Liang Shi sneered. “Then what if we both go crazy today?”

Zhou Yi’an’s interest was piqued. “Oh?”

“If you lose, you never come near Xu Qingzhu again.” Liang Shi laid out her terms.

Zhou Yi’an clicked her tongue. “Baby, you really are protective of her.”

She kept calling her “baby,” making Liang Shi want to slap her across the face.

The last man who harassed her like this had already been delivered to the police station.

Liang Shi had clawed her way up from the bottom. She understood full well that you couldn’t go head-to-head with someone who had more power than you.

Different people required different methods.

Liang Shi looked at her, a provocative glint in her eyes. “Are you in?”

Zhou Yi’an nodded with relish. “Sure.”

Liang Shi suddenly closed the distance. “You know I can’t swim, right?”

Zhou Yi’an’s expression shifted, her pupils contracting. “What are you doing?”

Liang Shi took her hand and smiled, a cold glint in her eyes. “Zhou Yi’an.”

“Huh? Liang Shi, what are you doing?” Zhou Yi’an’s voice turned tense.

Liang Shi placed Zhou Yi’an’s hand on her own shoulder and smiled at her. “You wanted to see who’s crazier, right?”

Before Zhou Yi’an could react, Liang Shi shouted at the top of her lungs, “Don’t!”

Her feet stumbled, and she toppled backward, splashing straight into the water.

Zhou Yi’an’s hand was still frozen in midair, making it look exactly as though she had pushed Liang Shi in.

Liang Shi thrashed in the water, sending up a tremendous spray, screaming desperately: “Hel… help!”

Then her head sank beneath the surface.

The splashing water immediately drew everyone’s attention. The crowd stared, stunned.

Someone wanted to jump in and help, but since Zhou Yi’an was standing right there, frozen in place, no one dared to act.

If Miss Zhou had pushed someone in, that person must have offended Miss Zhou.

If someone recklessly jumped in to save them, wouldn’t that mean offending Miss Zhou too?

No one was willing to take that risk.

So the crowd exchanged glances. Someone asked, “Who got pushed in?”

“No idea.”

“Wasn’t Third Miss Liang standing there just now?”

“Holy shit!”

“…”

Bullying Third Miss Liang on the Liang family’s own turf. No matter how useless Third Miss Liang might be, they couldn’t let Zhou Yi’an push her around like this.

Besides, Third Miss Liang couldn’t swim.

After flailing twice, she sank beneath the water.

A few seconds passed before Zhou Yi’an finally snapped out of it. She laughed bitterly.