Xu Qingzhu let out one final, heavy breath. “I trust Miss Zhou won’t let today’s matter go, nor will we back down. After all, I believe in justice and the rule of law. If one day the two of us meet with an unfortunate end, Miss Zhou will undoubtedly be the police’s prime suspect.”
Zhou Yi’an: “…”
“Fuck!” Zhou Yi’an cursed through gritted teeth.
Mr. Zhou, meanwhile, had already left, without stepping forward to say a word on his daughter’s behalf.
Everyone understood. Mr. Zhou had abandoned Zhou Yi’an.
Just as Liang Xinhe was about to step in, Liang Xinzhou, who had been silent until now, spoke first. “The Liang family may only be in business, but that doesn’t mean just anyone can bully us. Even if my sister has done something wrong, it’s our family’s place to deal with it. If she’s broken the law, then the law will punish her. I’d like to know what kind of vigilante justice Miss Zhou is practicing. Is this still the 21st century?”
Zhou Yi’an: “…”
Liang Xinzhou continued. “If anything ever happens to my sister, the first person the Liang family suspects will be Miss Zhou.”
“On what grounds?” Zhou Yi’an frowned. “Are you all insane?!”
“On the grounds that you have a track record,” Liang Xinhe and Liang Xinzhou said in unison.
Once the farce had run its course, Liang Xinhe lowered his voice. “Sister-in-law, are you pregnant?”
Xu Qingzhu, perfectly calm. “I lied to her.”
When it came to stirring emotions, the elderly and the young were the most effective tools.
Liang Xinhe: “…”
He’d never have guessed. This gentle, delicate sister-in-law could cut someone down without a knife.
When Liang Shi was helped inside by a waiter, Qiu Zimin and the others happened to be coming out of the room.
They’d been playing mahjong all night and were getting tired, planning to find somewhere to rest.
Seeing Liang Shi supported by someone, Qiu Zimin’s face changed at once. “What happened?”
“Nothing…” Liang Shi maintained her frail image.
The waiter beside her answered instead. “Third Miss fell into the water.”
Qiu Zimin immediately stepped aside. “Take her to rest. Tell someone to brew a bowl of ginger brown sugar tea.”
The waiter nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Is this A-Shi?” A woman’s voice suddenly rang out.
Liang Shi saw Qiu Zimin’s shoulders tremble before she turned around and put on a fawning smile. “Yes, Mrs. Qi.”
The woman addressed as Mrs. Qi wore a green qipao that elegantly traced the curve of her waist. A jade emerald bracelet adorned her arm. She walked up to Liang Shi at an unhurried pace and lifted a hand to touch her face. “It’s been so long. You’ve grown up so much.”
That arm stirred a powerful sense of familiarity in Liang Shi.
She frowned and pulled away.
“It has been a while.” Mrs. Qi smiled. “Has A-Shi forgotten me?”
Her fingers were painted with deep crimson nail polish. “That would make me quite sad.”
Liang Shi’s brow furrowed, and a fragment of memory suddenly surged into her mind.
It was this jade bracelet.
It was this hand that had dragged her into a dark room, stripped the clothes off a child, and made her stand facing the wall as punishment.
To be precise, it had been the original host.
The residual terror lodged in this body awakened in that moment, and Liang Shi couldn’t help but shudder.
She stayed silent, offering no reply.
Mrs. Qi said, “Well then, we’ll have a proper chat next time. Go change your clothes.”
Her gaze swept over Liang Shi’s chest. “Our A-Shi has certainly grown up.”
Liang Shi: “…”
The memory that had erupted from nowhere left Liang Shi feeling unsettled.
She went back to her room and changed into casual clothes. Before long, Xu Qingzhu came in too.
Xu Qingzhu had walked in with an imposing air, but the moment the door closed, she leaned against it and pressed a hand to her chest, catching her breath.
Liang Shi asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xu Qingzhu: “…I just did something big.”
Liang Shi: “Hm?”
Xu Qingzhu: “I slapped Zhou Yi’an.”
Liang Shi, shocked: “What?”
“I put myself on the line,” Xu Qingzhu said. “But it worked. At least it’ll serve as a deterrent.”
Besides, this move had successfully pulled Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe to their side, and the Liang family would shelter them. It wasn’t a loss.
Liang Shi suddenly regretted not staying behind to watch.
Xu Qingzhu had finally calmed down after a long while, but the first thing she asked was, “Were you acting just now?”
Liang Shi: “…”
She was acting.
But how was she supposed to explain?
If she admitted it, wouldn’t that make her a creep who was deliberately taking advantage of Xu Qingzhu?
Her silence was the answer.
Xu Qingzhu looked at her and said coolly, “You’re quite the actress.”
Liang Shi: “…I can explain.”
Xu Qingzhu: “I don’t want to hear it.”
Liang Shi: “How about listening anyway?”
Xu Qingzhu: “Fine. Go ahead.”
Liang Shi: “…”
She was suddenly at a complete loss for words.
But Xu Qingzhu didn’t dwell on it. She simply said, “Don’t misunderstand. Even if it had been someone else who fell in, I would have saved them too.”
Liang Shi: “…”
Crack.
Something inside her cracked a little.
“I know,” Liang Shi said. “You’re kind-hearted and beautiful. So, do you want to change now? There are clothes in the closet, though they might be a bit big.”
The clothes prepared here were all alpha sizes, slightly oversized for an omega.
Xu Qingzhu nodded.
She pulled a t-shirt and casual pants from the closet, turned sideways and wrung the water from her hair. Just as she reached for the zipper of her evening gown, she froze. She’d almost forgotten there was someone else in the room.
Liang Shi took the hint and turned around on her own. “Go ahead and change. I won’t look.”
Xu Qingzhu reached back and unzipped the dress.
Without sight, hearing became sharper. So Liang Shi could hear the zipper slide down, the gown pooling on the floor, the rustle of Xu Qingzhu unfolding the t-shirt to find the right side and pulling it over her head.
Every step was almost audible, building an itch in her chest. She finally just covered her ears.
Soon, Xu Qingzhu said, “I’m done.”
Liang Shi turned back around, but Xu Qingzhu added, “Oh right, did you see that woman in the qipao just now?”
“Mrs. Qi?” Liang Shi asked.
“I’m not sure,” Xu Qingzhu said. “She saw me and said some very strange things.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she couldn’t believe A-Shi would marry someone like this, and that I look a bit like Jiaojiao.” Xu Qingzhu repeated her words verbatim, then asked Liang Shi, “Who is Jiaojiao?”
Liang Shi: “…”
As if she’d have any idea.
Xu Qingzhu didn’t press her. Shortly after, a servant brought up the ginger brown sugar tea.
They both drank.
Whether it was because of encountering Mrs. Qi, Liang Shi had a nightmare that night.
The dream was set against a dark backdrop, in that same sealed room. She walked in as herself and saw the young original host.
The child had been crying, but upon hearing a sound, turned around and, upon seeing her, smiled in a dazed, vacant way.
The smile was deeply unsettling.
It gave Liang Shi goosebumps all over.
The undeveloped little girl wasn’t much to look at, but her body bore obvious marks of abuse.
Liang Shi crouched down and asked her, “Did someone hit you?”
The girl said nothing. She only smiled.
Then the door opened and Mrs. Qi walked in, the jade bracelet on her wrist, still in her green qipao. She was leading a little girl by the hand.
Mrs. Qi called out to her. “Jiaojiao.”
Mrs. Qi had Jiaojiao lie on the bed and told the little girl to stand there and watch.
Mrs. Qi raised her hand and pinched Jiaojiao, asking, “Are you going to behave?”
Jiaojiao cried. “I will… Mama, please don’t hit me…”
Mrs. Qi’s smile was cold as ice. “If you’re going to behave, then why did you go tattling to your father? Your father doesn’t even want you anymore.”
Jiaojiao could only sob.
Mrs. Qi turned to the little girl standing on the floor. “Don’t watch. Your mother sent you here too.”
Mrs. Qi touched her hair. “I just said our Jiaojiao needed a playmate, and she sent you right over.”
The little girl shrank back.
Mrs. Qi said, “Your mother told me to train you however I see fit.”
Then Mrs. Qi walked toward her. The little girl stepped back again and again, her face twisted in terror.
Mrs. Qi smiled and asked, “Where should I start, I wonder?”
Suddenly, she kicked the little girl square in the stomach.
Liang Shi watched in horror and cried out, “No!”
She reached out to stop it, but her body was insubstantial, passing through the dim dust motes.
The lights suddenly blazed on.
Liang Shi’s eyes flew open. She raised a hand to her forehead, drenched in cold sweat.
Was that… the original host’s childhood?
How could Qiu Zimin have hated the original host that much?
She was just a child. What kind of grudge could run that deep?
Liang Shi was still shaken when Xu Qingzhu beside her asked, “Nightmare?”
She nodded. “A bit.”
They’d come back early tonight, and since both had fallen into the water, they’d turned in soon after.
The blanket still sat between them as a divider.
Xu Qingzhu slept for a while, then woke up intending to use the bathroom and found Liang Shi trapped in a nightmare.
She turned on the light and roused Liang Shi.
Liang Shi clutched her pounding chest while Xu Qingzhu handed her a glass of warm water. “Are you all right?”
Liang Shi nodded. “I’m fine.”
It was just that the sensation from the dream had been so real, like she’d experienced it herself.
Neither of them could fall back asleep after that.
Xu Qingzhu sat up and opened her laptop. Liang Shi was bored.
After zoning out for a while, Liang Shi suggested, “Let’s watch a movie.”
Xu Qingzhu had her glasses on and was working on a proposal. She glanced over, saw that Liang Shi was still a little shaken, and nodded. “Downstairs?”
“We can do it right here. I had the butler fix the projector.” Liang Shi turned on the projector as she spoke and got out of bed to rummage through the drawer.
She’d also had the butler purchase some DVDs.
On top was a yuri film: The Handmaiden.
Liang Shi glanced at it. The keywords listed were same-sex and suspense.
Back in her old world, someone had recommended this film, and she’d always meant to watch it, but had kept putting it off.
Now that she found it, the premise seemed intriguing. So she asked Xu Qingzhu, “How about this one?”
Xu Qingzhu was practically a cinematic desert.
She didn’t watch many movies to begin with, so she left the choice entirely to Liang Shi.
Liang Shi put the DVD in the drive and got into bed.
![Qin Auntie, Save Me [Rebirth]](https://i3.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/aunt-qin.jpg?resize=151,215 "Qin Auntie, Save Me [Rebirth]")
