Liang Shi spoke at a steady pace and in a calm tone, yet his words were filled with a sense of pressure.
Even though she was standing a step lower than Qiu Zimin.
But she still firmly held the upper hand.
After asking the question, she paused for a few seconds, then tried to trick her, "You know my biological parents, right?"
As she spoke, Qiu Zimin's complexion worsened.
When she raised the question, Qiu Zimin immediately shouted, "Get out!"
The sound startled the birds kept on the second floor of the villa, which immediately flapped their wings and crashed into their cages.
And all the doors in the rooms opened because of this sound.
Xu Qingzhu was the first to come out. She looked at the two people facing each other on the stairs and immediately called out, "Liang Shi."
Liang Shiying instinctively reassured him, "It's alright."
Next came Mr. and Mrs. Liang Xinhe, who lived on the second floor, and Mr. and Mrs. Liang Xinzhou, who rushed up from the first floor.
Liang Xinhe was the first to ask, "What happened? Liang Shi, did you make Mom angry again?"
Liang Xinzhou immediately said, "Let's find out the details first, don't rush to conclusions."
Two lines of clear tears streamed down Qiu Zimin's face.
"What's wrong?" Liang Xinzhou asked in a deep voice, "What did you two argue about?"
Liang Shi looked at Qiu Zimin and chuckled, "I have nothing to say, you two talk."
She didn't want to confront Qiu Zimin about everything that had happened here.
Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe were not bad to her.
Regardless of how Qiu Zimin treated the original owner, she was a qualified, even excellent, mother to her other children.
Her children also respected her greatly.
Liang Shi felt it would be too cruel to tell his two older brothers, who were already married and had established their own families, all in front of them.
She will never forget the kindness she has received.
All of this was simply a conflict between her and Qiu Zimin.
Moreover, as long as they don't completely break ties with the Liang family.
Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe will still be her backup plan, even though she will likely never need them.
But what if?
Liang Shi believed that one should not be ruthless in dealing with people.
When Qiu Zimin saw her two sons, tears streamed down her face like a flood. Her gaze towards Liang Shi was incredibly tender, yet filled with profound sorrow.
Sun Meirou immediately stepped forward to comfort her, "Mom, don't be angry. Ashi is still young. If he said anything wrong, you can discipline him. Don't cry yourself sick. You'll be the one who suffers in the end."
"Liang Shi." Liang Xinhe stopped Liang Shi, who was about to return to his room. "You need to explain yourself clearly. You've made a huge mess of things. If you say you have nothing to say, you have to give an explanation."
Liang Shi turned around and looked at Qiu Zimin from afar, his tone indifferent, "Are you sure you want me to say it?"
Qiu Zimin suddenly burst into tears, "Liang Shi, Liang Shi, I've raised you for so many years, and I never thought you were this kind of person! All these years I've treated you better than my own children, and this is how you treat me?"
—They treat you better than their own children.
Upon hearing this, Liang Xinhe and Liang Xinzhou's expressions immediately changed.
"What do you mean?" Liang Xinhe was the first to lose her composure. "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about?"
“Now that things have come to this, I won’t hide it from you anymore.” Qiu Zimin cried as she said, “Liang Shi was someone I picked up outside back then. I… I was too…”
At this point, she suddenly choked twice, then her eyes rolled back and she fell straight backward.
Fortunately, Sun Meirou reacted quickly and grabbed her waist, preventing her from falling down the stairs.
//
Qiu Zimin ended this farce by falling into a coma.
The atmosphere at home became strange and tense. After hearing that Qiu Zimin's shock was caused by excessive emotional excitement, Liang Shi, who was involved in the incident, left the room on the third floor.
The space was left for them.
She didn't care how Qiu Zimin smeared her.
In any case, the original owner never left a positive image for everyone.
However, she should be able to move back to her old villa tomorrow and then look for a new place.
She's at the Liang family's house; she probably won't stay long.
We'll see if Qiu Zimin will completely break off relations.
After she went out, Liang Xinzhou chased after her.
Liang Shi smiled wryly, "Brother, what are you doing?"
Liang Xinzhou glanced at her shoulder, paused for a few seconds, and then said, "For so many years, I've always treated you like my own sister."
"Do you know I'm not a child of the Liang family?" Liang Shi suddenly asked him.
Liang Xinzhou pursed his lips and truthfully replied, "I know."
This surprised Liang Shi.
She asked in confusion, "Then why are you still so good to me?"
She's not my biological sister.
That's way too much sympathy.
Liang Xinzhou stood there and said gently, "Let's talk outside."
Behind the villa is a large garden, which the gardener has shaped into various forms.
Even in autumn, the place is still full of flowers.
However, the autumn nights were chilly, and Liang Shi wrapped his coat tighter around himself, but still sneezed.
Liang Xinzhou took off his coat and handed it to her.
Liang Shi initially wanted to decline, but swallowed the words at the last second before they left his mouth. He reached out and took the coat, turning all his distant words into a single, "Thank you."
“I have a younger sister,” Liang Xinzhou said. “She’s the same age as you, not much different.”
“But after my father took her out, he was distracted for a moment and she was stolen. At that time, my parents were in a very bad state. We searched for a long time but couldn’t find my sister. Until one day, my mother brought you back from somewhere. You are a little younger than my sister, but my mother treated you as her third sister. Only then did the atmosphere at home ease up.”
Liang Xinzhou is a calm and composed person. When talking about these things, he tried his best to describe them from an objective perspective and did not deliberately favor anyone.
“I know Mom and Dad have been looking for our third sister all these years. But to me, you are the one who saved our family, and you were this big when you came to our house.” Liang Xinzhou gestured with his hands, “A tiny little bundle. To be honest, you are prettier than our third sister. Xinhe kept asking to be held when he saw you. He was too young to remember anything back then, so he thought you were our sister.”
When Liang Shi listened to him talk about his childhood, the images would appear in his mind as well.
“You’re very well-behaved,” Liang Xinzhou said. “You hardly ever cry. Since you came, Xinhe often says that the little sister has become well-behaved and doesn’t cry much anymore. And you used to love to smile, your eyes would crinkle when you smiled.”
“I’ve watched you since you were a few months old. I was the one who held your hand and helped you practice walking. I also watched you learn to run. After you learned to talk, the first word you called out was ‘brother.’ I don’t know if you were calling me or Xinhe.” Liang Xinzhou smiled as he recalled these things. “I took you to kindergarten on your first day. The teachers at the kindergarten all praised you for being well-behaved.”
“Although you became very rebellious later, you were still very obedient at home,” Liang Xinzhou said. “I sometimes lament that my sister has gone astray, hanging out with those spoiled brats for no reason, but I have never thought of not treating you as my sister. Besides, my sister has recently passed her rebellious phase and has returned to the well-behaved girl she was when she was little, which makes me very happy.”
“If I could, I would hope you never know that you are not your parents’ child,” Liang Xinzhou said. “I will take this secret to my grave, even if my own sister comes back.”
As Liang Shi listened, his nose tingled and a tear fell down his cheek.
She looked at Liang Xinzhou's profile and said, "Brother, I once hoped for that too."
However, Qiu Zimin is two-faced, and if we don't confront her soon, there may be endless trouble in the future.
She didn't want to live a life of constant fear.
Besides, the original owner deserves justice for all the grievances she suffered over the years.
"So don't overthink it," Liang Xinzhou said. "You were our little sister before, and you still will be."
Liang Shi smiled, "I'm afraid Mom doesn't think that way."
I strolled back to the villa entrance.
Liang Shi returned the coat to Liang Xinzhou. "Brother, all I can say is that Mom's feelings for me aren't what they seem on the surface. If one day I sever ties with the Liang family, I will remember the kindness you and my second brother have shown me. I hope that even if we can't be siblings, we can still be friends."
Only, not the enemy.
//
When Liang Shi returned to his room, he was exhausted.
This mental fatigue spreads to the body.
She leaned against the door and rested for a while before letting out a heavy sigh, releasing all her bad emotions.
When she opened her eyes again, she found Xu Qingzhu looking at her.
"..."
"Are you alright?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Liang Shi nodded: "Unexpected, yet reasonable."
"She's quite a good actress," Xu Qingzhu said casually.
Despite what happened that night, and after the incident with Qiu Zimin, the two seemed to have returned to a time when they could get along peacefully, and the atmosphere was finally no longer awkward.
Liang Shi smiled helplessly, "If she couldn't act, how could everyone have been fooled by her for so many years?"
Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips, "I'll show you something."
Liang Shi turned his head to the side. "What?"
Xu Qingzhu moved over, opened the bedside drawer, and took out the things she had found in the room.
A blood-red button, and a tattered rag doll.
Liang Shi frowned. "What is this?"
Xu Qingzhu said, "I found the button behind the door; it had human blood on it, and this doll..."
She paused, turned the doll over, and saw two words embroidered on the front of the doll's clothes: Liang Shi.
And it was covered in needles.