There was a lot of rain in late autumn, and the rain started to fall again in the middle of the night.
It was raining heavily around 2 PM, and there were even a few claps of thunder.
The bell whimpered a few times in fright.
Liang Shi patted her back in her sleep, coaxing her to sleep.
But as she half-opened her eyes and looked at the other side of the bed, Xu Qingzhu's phone was still lit up, and she didn't know what he was looking at.
However, the rain didn't last long, and the sky cleared up at dawn.
When Liang Shi woke up, Lingdang was looking at her with her round eyes. Just as Liang Shi was about to greet Lingdang with a smile, Lingdang immediately covered her mouth, made a "shh" gesture, and then pointed at Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu was still asleep, probably having a nightmare, her brows furrowed.
Liang Shi continued to lie there holding Lingdang. It has to be said that holding a soft little child in his arms was like holding a small heater.
She took two candies from the drawer and handed them to Bell.
Sure enough, Lingdang's eyes lit up immediately.
But she peeled one and fed it to Liang Shi before eating it herself.
The blanket on Xu Qingzhu's side also slipped down, exposing her beautiful, fair, and slender shoulders. Liang Shi pursed his lips, stretched out his long arm, and pulled the blanket up for her. As a result, Xu Qingzhu suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes full of defensiveness.
This startled Liang Shi.
Xu Qingzhu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Liang Shi.
Lingdang immediately leaned over and said in her childish voice, "Auntie, did you have a nightmare?"
Xu Qingzhu nodded, resting her arm over her eyes, and weakly replied, "Mm."
"It's okay, it's okay." Lingdang lay down beside her and kissed her on the cheek. "A kiss will stop the nightmares."
Xu Qingzhu, who was initially frightened by the nightmare, laughed upon hearing this, pulled Lingdang into her arms, and kissed her soft little face. "How can you be so sweet-talking? Did you put honey on your lips?"
“No.” Lingdang blinked. “Auntie’s words were sweet.”
Liang Shi: "Huh?"
Lingdang said, "Auntie's mouth is sweet, Auntie, you can try it."
Xu Qingzhu: "?"
Liang Shi patted her gently. "What are you saying?"
Bell snorted softly, "That's true, you just ate candy, wasn't it sweet?"
Liang Shi: "..."
Xu Qingzhu was amused by her childlike words, but deliberately put on a stern face and teased her: "You two stole food again?"
Lingdang pursed her lips, stared with her round eyes, and betrayed Liang Shi without hesitation: "My aunt gave it to me."
Faced with Xu Qingzhu's oppressive gaze, Liang Shi swallowed hard, then rummaged through the drawer and handed her another one.
Xu Qingzhu shook her head, "I won't eat."
Liang Shi: "..."
Then she called to Liang Shi, "Come here."
Liang Shi was taken aback: "Huh?"
But her body moved over honestly, Xu Qingzhu holding the bell in one hand and reaching out with the other, her fingertips gently brushing against the corner of her mouth.
Xu Qingzhu had just woken up, her cool voice slightly hoarse, sounding particularly alluring, "You didn't even wipe your mouth clean before you ate."
Liang Shi: "?"
Xu Qingzhu showed her her fingertip, which had a white sugar residue on it.
Liang Shi was embarrassed.
Xu Qingzhu chuckled softly, her voice lazy and casual: "Teacher Liang, why are you just like a child?"
Liang Shi: "..."
This was an accident!!!
//
When Liang Shi returned the bell, he bought some fruit on the way.
It wasn't anything valuable; I just noticed that the oranges sold by roadside vendors were bright yellow, and the cherries looked excellent.
She tasted it and thought it tasted better than what she bought in the supermarket, so she bought a bag of oranges and over two hundred cherries.
These things are probably considered beneath the Liang family to be considered respectable.
But for Liang Shi, going out to eat always meant bringing something in return.
She happened to think these things were delicious, so she bought them to let everyone try something new.
Imported fruits aren't necessarily better than the ones she bought.
Lingdang praised the oranges in the car, and Xu Qingzhu helped her break one off and shared it with her. She also fed a segment to Liang Shi, the diligent driver.
This orange lived up to its appearance; it was juicy and sweet.
After getting off the bus, Liang Shi carried two bags of fruit, while Xu Qingzhu pulled the bell.
After returning to the old house, Lingdang became much more well-behaved, losing her playful nature outside and becoming a quiet and gentle little princess.
The family was all there. Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe had just come out of the study. Qiu Zimin and Liang's father were sitting on the sofa, one scrolling through the news on an iPad and the other flipping through a fashion magazine. Yu Wan and Sun Meirou, the two sisters-in-law, were watching a drama on the side.
The family atmosphere is good; it appears peaceful and harmonious.
It was Lingdang who called out first: "Grandpa and Grandma, I'm back."
And so this peace was broken.
Liang Xinzhou first looked at Liang Shi: "You're back."
Liang Shi nodded, "Eldest brother, second brother."
She stood there, looking slightly awkward.
Xu Qingzhu, following her, naturally fared no better.
"I also bought fruit." Liang Xinhe clicked her tongue. "Our little Liang Shi has grown up."
Liang Shi had become familiar with him and glanced at him, saying, "I saw something nice on the way and just bought it on a whim. I'll eat it as fruit after dinner later."
"Don't bring everything home," Qiu Zimin suddenly said coldly. "This house isn't a garbage dump. We collected garbage decades ago, and we're still collecting garbage now."
The atmosphere in the house immediately turned cold after these words were spoken.
Lingdang tilted her head back, puzzled, and asked, "Grandma, what does this mean?"
Qiu Zimin immediately changed her demeanor, squatted down and explained to Lingdang, "It means don't pick up those unclean things to eat, or you'll easily get sick."
Bell frowned. "But no one in our family picks up unclean things. Everything is very clean."
"Grandma was just saying it casually." Qiu Zimin didn't want Lingdang to know these things, so she glossed over the matter.
These words might fool the children, but they couldn't fool the many adults present; everyone could hear the unspoken meaning behind her words.
Liang Shi frowned, wanting to retort but feeling that speaking in front of so many people would make the atmosphere in the house incredibly strange and awkward.
Everyone felt uncomfortable, so they endured it.
Liang Xinzhou coldly replied, "This house is quite clean; no one picks up trash."
He then gestured to the maid standing nearby, "Take these fruits to the kitchen and wash them."
The maid came over and took away the fruit.
Liang Shi felt a little better after that.
Correspondingly, Qiu Zimin frowned and glanced at Liang Xinzhou with resentment.
Liang Xinzhou didn't react much, and continued to invite Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu in to sit down.
Yu Wan and Sun Meirou stopped watching TV and stayed with Xu Qingzhu instead.
Liang Wanwan had one more class at school today, so she was the last to come back.
Dinner was served after she returned.
The seating arrangement remained the same as before, but since it was Xu Qingzhu's first time eating at the Liang family's house, she was seated next to Liang Shi.
A huge table was set up with dozens of dishes, and everyone ate quietly. The villa was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
No one made a sound.
After finishing his meal, Liang Xinzhou asked the servants to bring up the prepared fruit.
He had just finished instructing the servants when Qiu Zimin frowned and said, "Who knows if things outside are clean? Those plastic bags are all poisonous."
"Then don't eat it." Liang Xinzhou said coldly, his glasses obscuring his sharp gaze, but unable to suppress his chilling aura. "It's just a small token of my third sister's affection, you don't have to be like this, do you?"
"You're quite good at acknowledging your own sister," Qiu Zimin scoffed. "Your own sister is probably suffering somewhere, and you don't even bother to look for her."
"Azi," Liang's father suddenly said, "You've just finished eating, so talk less."
He ordered the servants in a deep voice, "Bring up the fruit that the Third Miss bought."
The maid was so nervous by the family atmosphere that she didn't know what to do.
Only after Liang's father gave the order did they dare to go to the kitchen to get the food.
When the maid brought the food, Qiu Zimin left the table with a cold face.
She made everyone unhappy.
Liang Shi glanced at everyone present, sighed softly, and said with a wry smile, "I'll go talk to her."
She stood up, then her gaze fell on Liang's father. "Would you like to come along?"
"You two talk," Liang's father said. "I won't get involved."
Liang Shi didn't say anything, got up and went upstairs.
She knocked a few times on Qiu Zimin's door. Qiu Zimin opened the door, and when she saw her, her eyes showed disgust. She then said coldly, "What are you doing here? What's there to talk about between us? You don't even acknowledge me as your mother anyway."
“That depends on whether you acknowledge me as your daughter,” Liang Shi said. “I’d like to have a talk with you.”