Liang Shi was about to join the crew and needed to prepare sufficient living supplies for Xu Qingzhu, so she made a list in her mind again.
Breakfast consisted of barley porridge and steamed buns bought downstairs. Liang Shi found it troublesome, so she casually tied her hair into a bun and didn't care much about her appearance. She wore a long trench coat and went downstairs to buy steamed buns. On the way back, it was windy, and she even sneezed. While eating, she told Xu Qingzhu to wear something warmer.
Xu Qingzhu stared at her intently, and Liang Shi looked back innocently, "What's wrong?"
Xu Qingzhu smiled and said, "I'm wearing a turtleneck sweater."
Liang Shi nodded: "I see. What I mean is you could wear a thicker coat, right?"
Xu Qingzhu pulled down her turtleneck sweater. "What I mean is, you made me wear a turtleneck sweater."
There was a hickey on her neck that Liang Shi had planted the night before, a very obvious one that her hair couldn't cover at all.
It was similar to what she had done to Liang Shi that day.
Liang Shi: "..."
She coughed awkwardly, never expecting Xu Qingzhu to bring this up. It was something she had kept tightly under wraps, a beautiful misunderstanding she had made while drunk, something she dared not bring up when she was sober.
But since Xu Qingzhu had brought it up, Liang Shi pursed his lips and pointed to the marks on his neck that hadn't faded yet.
He didn't say anything, but the meaning was clear—didn't you do it for me too? Here's yours back.
Xu Qingzhu took a sip of porridge, swallowed it slowly, and then hummed softly, "You drank too much that day, and I bit you."
Liang Shi: "..."
"Teacher Xu," Liang Shi said quietly, "do you think I'm like you?"
Xu Qingzhu: "?"
“I remember everything even when I’m drunk,” Liang Shi said. “You black out, but I don’t.”
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
She looked at Liang Shi with a smile, but her tone was threatening. Her deathly smile sent a chill down Liang Shi's spine.
"So, Teacher Liang, is it good to have a lot of ineffective memories? What do you remember?" Xu Qingzhu said, "It's when I was drunk and thought it was a dream that someone bit me..."
"Stop!" Liang Shi stopped her urgently, her ears turning red. "Teacher Xu, I give up. You should eat your food; you still have to go to work later."
“I can be a little late,” Xu Qingzhu said. “I’ll have time to talk this over with you.”
Liang Shi: "..."
She readily admitted defeat and quickly changed the subject: "Teacher Xu, please eat more."
Xu Qingzhu was about to wash the dishes after finishing her meal when Liang Shi told her to put them down and asked her if there was anything she needed to buy, as she planned to go to the supermarket later.
"Let's buy some candy and snacks," Xu Qingzhu said. "If Lingdang, Shengyu, or Rainbow come to visit, we need to have something to offer them."
These little guests are very likely to come.
Liang Shi glanced at the somewhat small house; if all three children came at the same time, the house might not be big enough to accommodate them.
She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Teacher Xu, do you think this house is small?"
"I'm fine." Xu Qingzhu finished her meal and got up to go to her room to change. "What's wrong?"
"Should we move to a bigger house?" Liang Shi took out the key Liang Xinzhou had given her. "It's in this neighborhood, the house my older brother gave me."
Xu Qingzhu asked, "Which building?"
“The house two houses away,” Liang Shi said. “I haven’t seen it yet, but it should be bigger than this one.”
Xu Qingzhu paused for a moment, then shook her head and refused, "No, I don't think so. Moving once a week would waste all my time."
“I can take care of this, I’ll handle it,” Liang Shi said. “You just need to pack your own clothes in your suitcase, and I can take care of the rest before you join the crew.”
Xu Qingzhu stood at the doorway, looking at her with a wistful expression: "So I'll be living alone in such a big space?"
Liang Shi: "..."
Wasn't it the same in Repulse Bay before?
"No, thank you," Xu Qingzhu said. "A smaller place is better. Anyway, it's just the two of us. After you leave, I'll be all alone here, so it won't feel too empty."
For some reason, Liang Shi sensed a sense of loneliness in Xu Qingzhu's words and immediately said, "Then when I don't have many scenes, I'll come back to stay at night."
Xu Qingzhu closed the door, her voice muffled by the door panel. "Whatever."
His tone was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger, nor any expectation.
Liang Shi sat there, feeling a little down. She looked around and realized that although they had only moved in a few days ago, the house was already filled with their belongings: fresh flowers in a vase on the table, keychains hanging on the door. Moving was indeed a hassle.
A small space won't feel empty.
Liang Shi felt that Xu Qingzhu's words made sense.
So I put the key away, planning to go and see what the house looks like when I get back today.
//
After dinner, Liang Shi drove Xu Qingzhu to work.
Xu Qingzhu initially refused, but Liang Shi stood at the door twirling his car keys. After Xu Qingzhu finished applying her lipstick, he chuckled and said, "If you want me to drive you in a while, I won't be able to help you. Now, let me show you what I'm capable of."
Xu Qingzhu glanced at her and said, "Yes, Teacher Liang will be very busy from now on."
Liang Shi: "...Not as busy as Mr. Xu."
Just before leaving, Xu Qingzhu pinched her waist, and then Liang Shi took the opportunity to press her hand down, holding it tightly as they went downstairs.
Xu Qingzhu's hands are always cold, and Liang Shi's palm retracted, just covering her hands.
Both of their hands were white, but upon closer inspection, Xu Qingzhu's hands were slightly whiter.
Xu Qingzhu has small joints and even thinner fingers, but her hands are bare, without any ornaments.
Unlike Liang Shi, who wore a decorative ring on his little finger.
Xu Qingzhu stroked the cold ring and suddenly asked, "Does wearing a ring on your little finger mean you won't get married?"
"I'm married now, aren't I?" Liang Shi answered subconsciously.
Xu Qingzhu scoffed lightly, "Go."
Her voice was cool and aloof, and when she said that word, it sounded like she was scolding me. I always felt like she was going to say something like, "You can fool others with that, but don't try to fool me."
Liang Shi explained, "I just bought the ring casually and wore it on whichever finger it was on; there weren't many rules."
Xu Qingzhu responded with an "oh" and then didn't reply further.
After dropping Xu Qingzhu off, Liang Shi drove to the store. When she arrived, Gu Zhaoyuan was already waiting inside.
The advantage of this restaurant is that it has private rooms, which offer good privacy.
Liang Shi chose to meet Gu Zhaoyuan here precisely because he saw this point.
After entering the private room, Liang Shi asked Gu Zhaoyuan what he would like to drink, and Gu Zhaoyuan shook his head and said, "A glass of warm water will do."
Liang Shi ordered an iced Americano. After their drinks arrived and the waiter left the private room, Gu Zhaoyuan asked, "Miss Liang, where is Xingyue?"
“We haven’t met since she called me,” Liang Shi said. “I sent her a text message last night, but it’s probably not a good time to contact her now.”
"Then..." Gu Zhaoyuan paused, and after a while said, "When can I see her?"
Liang Shi pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly: "The situation is still unclear. I don't know what happened to her, and I'm afraid that any rash actions might hurt her. She's not in a good situation right now, so it's best not to add to her burden. If I go to her workplace and can't find her, then we'll discuss it again."
Liang Shi told him everything, but did not reveal Gu Xingyue's specific work location or her current situation.
For Gu Zhaoyuan, the less he knows, the better.
Gu Zhaoyuan asked, but Liang Shi replied, "After you meet, let Xingyue talk. I'm not really in a position to talk about her."
However, fearing that Gu Zhaoyuan might not trust her, Liang Shi took out the photo she had previously obtained from Rainbow, concealed the key information, and showed Gu Zhaoyuan what Gu Xingyue looked like now.
“She’s had plastic surgery,” Liang Shi said. “So she might look different from what you’ve seen before.”
Even though you haven't seen her for so many years, Gu Zhaoyuan, you still recognized Gu Xingyue at a glance.
In the group photo, Gu Xingyue's appearance was captured in countless ways. Gu Zhaoyuan said that she had a mole in the middle of her wrist.
Gu Zhaoyuan's expression turned solemn, and silence continued to spread in the private room.
After a long while, Gu Zhaoyuan took out his phone. "I've learned a little bit about it. Xingyue was adopted by Mrs. Qi back then."
After Liang Shi left, Gu Zhaoyuan repeatedly tried to probe Gu Yingbo, hoping to find out more clues about Gu Xingyue.
Gu Yingbo was mostly erratic, especially when Gu Xingyue was mentioned. He would inexplicably go berserk, then burst into tears, repeatedly muttering, "Xingyue, I'm sorry..."
Gu Zhaoyuan could easily guess that this matter must be related to his father.
So he got his hands on the safe his father had kept hidden under the bed, which he treasured. It had a six-digit combination lock, and he tried several combinations but couldn't open it. Finally, he unlocked it using the date of Gu Xingyue's car accident.
The box contained a photo of Gu Xingyue and a debt note, which Gu Yingbo owed Yang Jiani, amounting to 20 million yuan.
Gu Yingbo lived a life of poverty and could never come up with 20 million. Even Gu Zhaoyuan couldn't imagine where he spent his 20 million.
But there is this IOU.
There was also a written agreement Yang Jiani made when she took Gu Xingyue away, promising to treat her as her own daughter and provide her with a comfortable life, but Gu Xingyue was forbidden from having any connection with the orphanage for the rest of her life.
Gu Zhaoyuan was completely confused after reading all this. When he asked Gu Yingbo, Gu Yingbo would sometimes burst into tears and apologize, and sometimes he would furiously curse the crazy woman.
He didn't get any results, but he shared all this information with Liang Shi.
Liang Shi knew more, and basically figured it out by guessing and some other means.
She told Gu Zhaoyuan to stay at a hotel in the city that night, and to meet him immediately if Gu Xingyue had any news.
//
In the afternoon, Liang Shi greeted Zhou Li, saying he would help her pick up Rainbow, as he happened to need to see Teacher Qi.
After thanking her, Zhou Li went with her without worry.
On Friday, the traffic to the kindergarten was heavier than usual, and the place was crowded with people. After picking up Rainbow, Liang Shi asked her, "Did Teacher Qi come today?"
Rainbow nodded. "They've arrived."
Liang Shi stood there and waited, and incidentally, she also saw Sheng Yu and Su Yao.
She took the initiative to walk over and greet her. She hesitated for a moment before calling out to Su Yao, but still managed to say, "Mom."
Su Yao paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "Are you here to pick up your colleague's child?"
Liang Shi nodded, "While you're at it, ask their teacher about the situation."