Liang Shi, who was playing Snake in the driver's seat, was like: "?"
"Sister Liang Shi, tell me, isn't my sister being unreasonable?" Xu Qingya asked her for her opinion.
Liang Shi: "...?"
She looked at Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu frowned and said, "Xu Qingya, can you stop making trouble? Go home, or stay in a hotel, and relax for a few days. Why do you have to come here? Do you think I'm living too comfortably, so you want to come and upset me?"
Xu Qingya's expression froze for a second, but a moment later she turned around, made a face at her, and said in a particularly smug way, "Yeah, yeah."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
She pressed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Are you still my sister? I'm practically homeless now, and you won't even take me in for a few days," Xu Qingya complained, sounding slightly aggrieved. "Even Sister Liang Shi agreed to let me stay here, why won't you?"
Liang Shi quickly waved his hands, "No, I didn't."
Xu Qingya: "..."
She paused for a moment, then said quietly, "Goodness, he's henpecked."
Liang Shi: "..."
She just didn't want to be punished by the system for no reason.
It hurts!
“I’ll call Uncle Liu right now and have her come pick you up.” Xu Qingzhu added, afraid that she would discover her true intentions, “If you were on vacation and wanted to stay with me for a few days, that would be fine, even for the whole vacation. But school starts in just a few days, and you had another fight with Dad. Dad’s health isn’t good, do you remember? Did you consider his feelings when you ran away from home?”
"When he tore down my idol's poster, did he consider my feelings?" Xu Qingya said coldly, "Just because you're a dutiful daughter doesn't mean I'm being unreasonable, right? I really want to understand him, but his company's affairs aren't going well, so he takes it out on me and expects me to be magnanimous and forgive him. I don't understand."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Finally, Xu Qingya asked, "Sister Liang Shi, do you understand?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She couldn't understand it.
“Dad was wrong about this.” Xu Qingzhu dialed Uncle Liu’s number again, but it rang for a long time without being answered.
Xu Qingya advised her, "Don't waste your time. Uncle Liu is busy dismissing the servants at home and can't take care of it."
"Why?" Xu Qingzhu asked, puzzled.
Has the family really gotten this bad? She had no idea.
"Mom doesn't want you to know, so just pretend you don't know, okay?" Xu Qingya put her hands in her pockets, looking cool. "Be a good Mrs. Liang here, and I'll come stay at your house for a few days. After this storm passes, I'll go back, or I'll go to boarding school when I start school. I promise I won't disturb your time together, okay, my dear sister?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
The matter has been discussed to this extent.
If Xu Qingzhu disagreed, it would seem unreasonable.
She turned her gaze to Liang Shi, who had been acting as if he were invisible: "...?"
"Then stay?" Liang Shi asked, observing Xu Qingzhu's expression. He first posed a question, and seeing Xu Qingzhu breathe a slight sigh of relief, he said, "Stay. There are other rooms available here."
"Okay!" Xu Qingya thanked her sweetly, "Thank you, sister."
"Tell me first, why are you dismissing the servants?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Xu Qingya shrugged indifferently, "The company's financial situation is not good, and we don't have money at home. We can't pay salaries, so naturally we'll lay off some people. It's all a small matter."
"What a trivial matter," Xu Qingzhu said coldly. "Does it only become a big deal when the company goes bankrupt and we have to sell our houses and land? Why didn't you tell me?"
"What's there to say?" Xu Qingya said. "You know Dad isn't cut out for business. If he's going to go bankrupt, he'll go bankrupt. You're married now, so just be a good Mrs. Liang and don't get involved in this mess at home, okay? We won't bother you even if we end up on the streets. Just take care of yourself, understand?"
She spoke in a haughty, arrogant tone, and her manner was somewhat sharp.
After saying that, he turned around and went to wait at the villa entrance.
Xu Qingzhu was left standing alone at the door, lost in thought.
The family company was left by my great-grandfather, flourished under my maternal grandfather, and was later passed on to my father, but has now come to a dead end.
That won't work.
A fire ignited in Xu Qingzhu's heart, and she immediately decided to go home and talk to her father to get to the bottom of things.
When she used her marriage to secure financing from the Liang family, her father said that with this money, they could definitely turn things around. But what has happened now?
In less than six months, they had fallen to the point where they had to lay off their household servants to cut costs.
"Lend me your car keys, I need to go out for a bit," Xu Qingzhu said.
Liang Shi could guess her intentions from her expression. "Going home? To ask your parents about this?"
Xu Qingzhu nodded.
"Let's not do it yet," Liang Shi said.
Xu Qingya, on the other side, was listening intently to what was happening. Liang Shi stepped closer and said, "Going back in this state of mind won't solve anything. Besides, you don't know anything about the situation. What if there's something else going on? And it's lunchtime. Let's have lunch first and discuss this further..."
Xu Qingzhu's gaze fell upon him, carrying a hint of sharpness. Liang Shi awkwardly touched the tip of his nose and added uncertainly, "Is that okay?"
She pronounced the word "ba" as an empty sound.
Xu Qingzhu looked at her, still thinking, while Xu Qingya at the door said lazily, "Can you stop dawdling? I'm starving."
Liang Shi wasn't sure he could persuade Xu Qingzhu, but Xu Qingzhu paused for a few seconds, turned her face away awkwardly, and rubbed her ears.
She then realized that she was a little too close to Xu Qingzhu.
She immediately took a half step back and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's nothing." Xu Qingzhu interrupted her, took her hand, leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, her warm breath tickling her ear with a hint of teasing heat, making Liang Shi's ear itch and her throat a little dry, so she coughed lightly, not quite naturally.
Xu Qingzhu's lips were a hair's breadth away from her ear; if they were just a little closer, their skin would touch.
Liang Shi's heart was pounding, as if it were about to jump out of his chest.
Xu Qingzhu's slightly moist lips brushed against her ear as she whispered, "I'm sorry to trouble you."
Her voice was low, husky, and captivating: "You have to act in a play with me."
Liang Shi: "..."
Sure, but could you please not get so close?
Chapter 20
It took Liang a while to get his heart back to a normal rhythm.
As soon as she reached the door, Xu Qingya gave her an ambiguous look and made two "tsk tsk" sounds.
There was a certain degree of sarcasm in it.
However, there is a hint of irony in this.
This made Liang Shi feel quite embarrassed.
It's a bit like the feeling you get when you're in school and someone gets too close to a boy, and everyone whistles at you or gives you teasing looks.
But back then she only felt embarrassed; now she also felt a little... delighted.
She categorized this feeling as the pleasure that everyone wants to be close to beautiful women.
Liang Shi opened the metal case of the combination lock, pressed the villa's combination code, and then turned to let Xu Qingzhu and her sister go in first.
Xu Qingya, on the other hand, was very outgoing and didn't stand on ceremony at all, leading the way into the house.
But as soon as he entered the door, he exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Liang Shi asked.
Xu Qingya looked shocked and pointed into the house, asking, "Sister, was your house burgled?"
Liang Shi: "...?"
“That shouldn’t be the case. This area is full of wealthy villas. Who would dare to steal?” Xu Qingya said, completely unaware that Xu Qingzhu’s expression had changed behind her.
Liang Shi only peeked out once and immediately understood what was going on.
The mess from that day hasn't been cleaned up yet.
The first floor was full of remnants of a party.
It had been sitting for several days, and the taste had gone bad.
Just like a crime scene that hasn't been cleaned up yet.
Liang Shi's expression changed slightly, and he coughed softly, "It wasn't a thief, it's just... I had a party with my friends that day, and then I went out with your sister, so no one was cleaning the house."
She's definitely going to take the blame for this.
"Where's your maid?" Xu Qingya asked. "Does she need to be told by the master to tidy up the house? Why don't you fire such an insensitive maid? Are you going to keep her around for the New Year? Or..."
Xu Qingya paused, "You didn't hire any maids when you got married, and my sister cleaned this huge villa all by herself?"
Liang Shi: "..."
At this moment, she was willing to call Xu Qingya Sherlock Holmes.
"How could that be?" Liang Shi denied with a stiff smile. "I would never let your sister do it if I were to do it myself."
Xu Qingya breathed a sigh of relief. "That's right. My sister, don't be fooled by her pretty face. She's just a pretty face. She doesn't do anything at home. Her only redeeming qualities are her good grades and her good looks. You must have known that when you married her, right? If you let her clean, I'm afraid all your precious porcelain pieces would be lost."
Liang Shi: "...?"
She looked at Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu lowered her head at the right moment, not even making eye contact with her, but said irritably, "Alright, you talk too much. If you still have the energy, then you clean up."
“It’s not like Sister Liang’s family doesn’t have servants,” Xu Qingya said, hands in her pockets. “I couldn’t do it.”
At this moment, Liang Shi seemed to understand why Xu Qingya had expressed surprise when she told him that Xu Qingzhu was very gentle.
It turns out that the original owner really didn't understand Xu Qingzhu.
When Xu Qingzhu married into the family, she acted subserviently only because she felt indebted to them.