She had never heard Liang Shiyong speak in such a tone before.
Although this daughter usually has a bad temper, she is always well-behaved in front of her and never says a harsh word to her.
She frowned. "What kind of attitude is this?"
Liang Shi exhaled softly, "What do you think my attitude should be?"
"Liang Shi, why can't you just say what you mean? Why do you have to be so sarcastic with your mother?" Qiu Zimin was also angry and said sternly, "You asked me to set up this scheme, right? Well, I did it for you. Even if you're not satisfied with Zhou Yi'an now, you don't have to treat me like this. I've done my best to help you. I was the one who agreed to your marriage to Xu Qingzhu. You're my daughter, how could I harm you?"
Liang Shi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, you won't hurt me."
It sounded calm, but carried a hint of sarcasm.
Qiu Zimin answered affirmatively, "Of course, you are the flesh of my flesh, I am the person who loves you most in this world, how could I harm you?"
"Is that so?" Liang Shi asked with a smile.
In the darkness, all emotions are amplified infinitely.
All the complex emotions I felt in the private room just now have now manifested as anger.
"You don't believe me?" Qiu Zimin sneered. "Liang Shi, what's wrong with you? Why don't you even believe your mother? I've raised you for so many years, what did I do wrong to deserve this treatment?"
"Then do you know that Zhou Yi'an is an Alpha?" Liang Shi asked coldly.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
They even held their breath.
"I don't know," Qiu Zimin said.
Her tone was somewhat awkward.
"Do you know that if two Alphas are together, one of them will get sick?" Liang Shi asked.
There was silence on Qiu Zimin's end again.
After a while, she said, "Of course I know, but what does it have to do with you?"
"What do you mean by introducing Zhou Yi'an to me?" Liang Shi said, "You know she likes me, so you want to use me to exchange for that piece of land in the south of the city? I really didn't expect that I was so valuable."
Qiu Zimin became anxious, "Ashi, Mom didn't mean that. Alphas can be together. Yi'an doesn't mind that you've been married before, and you can be her lover. The most important thing is that two people are together and love each other. Mom knows a doctor who knows a technology that allows Alphas to become Betas or Omegas without harming their bodies."
“You knew all along, didn’t you?” Liang Shi said. “So your advice to me was to divorce Xu Qingzhu, get a differentiation surgery to become a Beta or Omega, and marry Zhou Yi’an, so that the Liang family could get that piece of land in the south of the city, right?”
There was silence on Qiu Zimin's end.
A few seconds later, the call ended.
Silence can sometimes say a lot.
In this endless silence, Liang Shi emptied his mind, letting his thoughts drift freely.
A while later, she received a text message from Qiu Zimin.
"Ashi, I wouldn't be doing this if I weren't forced to. You know, you're my favorite among my four children, and I always support you no matter what you do. The Liang family's financial problems are more severe than you can imagine. You've lived in this family for over twenty years; you're a member. Xinzhou and Xinhe are always working hard at the company, and Wanwan is still young. Now, only you can help the Liang family through this crisis. I'm begging you. That piece of land in the south of the city determines the Liang family's fate, and you're the key now. If you decide to ignore it, the Liang family might go bankrupt in less than two months, and then our family... never mind, never mind."
[It was Mom's fault. You should get some rest. Next time you come home, Mom will apologize to you in person.]
Liang Shi read the two text messages expressionlessly, then immediately turned off his phone.
Qiu Zimin's words were actually quite clear.
If she doesn't marry Zhou Yi'an and get that piece of land in the south of the city, the Liang family will all starve.
Finally, they pulled off a move that was a strategic retreat.
It appears that they have backed down, but in reality, they are forcing Liang Shi to bow down.
This tactic doesn't seem like it's the first time it's been used.
The original owner probably used to do that.
Because Liang Shi had a memory in his mind that was transmitted during the phone call just now.
In the dark room, the original owner was tied to the bed in a nearly transparent gauze dress, while the person standing beside the bed was dressed in black leather and holding a whip. The person's face was not visible in the darkness, but the sound of the whip hitting flesh was very jarring.
The original owner stubbornly endured it without uttering a single sound.
Liang Shi's hearing was tormented by that memory.
Fortunately, there weren't many of those scenes.
In that memory, there was also Qiu Zimin's voice, praising the original owner, "Ashi did a really good job."
Meanwhile, Liang Shi was also thinking about the scene that had just happened, where Zhou Yi'an told her it had been a long time.
So the original owner and Zhou Yi'an knew each other before.
However, Liang Shi did not know exactly how much interaction they had.
Furthermore, Liang Shi suspected that Qiu Zimin must have known that the original owner of the body was not her biological child.
That's why they resort to such despicable methods to torment the original owner.
Liang Shi couldn't help but sigh again, wondering what a mess the system had dumped on her.
Moreover, Qiu Zimin just said on the phone that Xu Qingzhu is not Xu's biological daughter.
Does Xu Qingzhu know this?
She never met Xu Qingzhu's parents after she arrived, but judging from the information she found, Xu Qingzhu's parents treated her very well.
Just considering that Xu Qingzhu was willing to marry the original owner to save the family business, her parents must have treated her quite well.
Liang Shi has a slight case of mysophobia. She went to the bathroom in the ward and washed her hands carefully, including the wrists that Zhou Yi'an had touched.
A faint scent of orange wafted from my wrist, and that was the end of it.
I turned off the bathroom light, took off my coat by the dim moonlight and hung it by the door, let my hair, which I had casually tied up while driving, fall loose, and lay down on the bed without even turning on the light.
She was a little tired.
Liang Shi had finally managed to get his life from hard mode to normal mode, but now he's jumped straight into hell mode.
Anyone would be devastated in this situation.
She lay there, but her mind was still clear.
The phone kept spinning in her hand, occasionally tapping against the bed sheet.
A moment later, she turned over and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
If the way to gain luck is to win over Xu Qingzhu, then she just needs to fulfill all of Xu Qingzhu's requests.
Right now, isn't divorce what Xu Qingzhu wants most?
Then she should just agree to the divorce.
If she can't express it verbally, she'll send a message.
Liang Shi realized she had been caught in a cognitive bias. Now that she understood, she immediately picked up her phone and texted Xu Qingzhu: "I agree to your request. Let's get a divorce."
Click send.
A few seconds later, a small red dot appeared in front of the message.
The message indicated that the transmission failed.
Liang Shi: "...?"
No signal?
She tried posting another message: "[If divorce is what you want, then let's get divorced, and from now on let's continue to be friends.]"
The second half of the sentence is basically empty talk.
Xu Qingzhu probably never wants to see her again in this lifetime.
However, it still shows that the transmission failed.
Liang Shi carefully checked the phone and found that all the internet-connected apps worked.
He just couldn't send a text message to Xu Qingzhu.
She tried again, sending: "Are you asleep?"
A moment later, a cell phone vibrated slightly in the ward, and a light source on the bedside table lit up, reflecting off the white ceiling.
Liang Shi was startled. Before she could sit up to check, a cold voice came from beside her, "Are you looking for me?"
It is Xu Qingzhu.
Liang Shi reached out to turn on the light, but Xu Qingzhu said, "Let's not turn it on, let's chat for a while."
Liang Shi: "..."
She pursed her lips, restless and uneasy on the bed.
Xu Qingzhu patted the spot next to her and asked, "Want to lie down?"
Her question was devoid of any romantic undertones.
But to Liang Shi's ears, it sounded exactly like "Are you sleeping?"
My ears are itchy, and so is my heart.
After hesitating for a moment, Liang Shi still lay down.
There was no way around it; she was just too tired.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Liang Shi asked.
Xu Qingzhu didn't answer, but instead asked, "Is this your first time meeting Zhou Yi'an?"
An eerie silence suddenly fell over the room.
"Liang Shi," Xu Qingzhu said coolly, "Perhaps you need a shoulder to lean on?"
Liang Shi, who was already drowsy, suddenly woke up. She looked over and could only see Xu Qingzhu's profile in the dim light.
For a moment, she couldn't figure out what Xu Qingzhu was going to do.
Their attitude toward her changed drastically within half a day.
Liang Shih always firmly believed that there must be something fishy about things that are out of the ordinary.
But she did really want to draw some warmth from others.