Liang Shi lay down, hugged her, buried his head in her neck, and said in a wronged voice, "Wife, I'm nervous."
"It's alright," Xu Qingzhu said. "We'll know the result soon enough."
"What should we do now that we know?" Liang Shi said, "I haven't decided yet..."
"So you went ahead and did it?" Xu Qingzhu chuckled. "Our teacher Liang was so brave today."
Liang Shi muttered, "Zhao Xuning forced me into this situation."
Xu Qingzhu simply advised her, "It's okay, we can discuss it after we know the result."
Xu Qingzhu patted her back, "I'm here with you, and with our baby."
It was just a simple sentence that calmed Liang Shi's anxious emotions.
Xu Qingzhu has recently developed the habit of taking a nap after lunch. After eating, she always takes a nap. Liang Shi was infected by her yawn and also yawned.
The room temperature was just right, and the familiar scent of Xu Qingzhu quickly made me feel sleepy.
When Liang Shi woke up, Xu Qingzhu was already standing by the window looking at the scenery.
The apartment they booked was on the 30th floor, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
Liang Shi asked in a hoarse voice, "How long have I been asleep?"
"Half an hour," Xu Qingzhu said. "Get up."
Liang Shi was somewhat disappointed: "It's only been half an hour."
"You can't sleep too long during your lunch break." Xu Qingzhu walked over and reached out to pull her out of bed, but the light was against her back.
Pregnant Xu Qingzhu was wearing loose clothes and a casual low ponytail. She had no makeup on, but her skin was flawless. Liang Shi reached out to her, and the moment their hands met, Liang Shi sat up, hugged her waist, and rested his head on her belly.
I put my ear to her belly and listened quietly to the sounds it made.
"Did they kick you?" Liang Shi asked.
“I kicked him,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Otherwise, how do you think I woke up?”
“Baby, you’ve worked so hard.” Liang Shi looked up and reached out to touch Xu Qingzhu’s head, but because of the height difference, he couldn’t reach her. He could only gently pinch her chin. Xu Qingzhu touched her head and said, “It’s alright, they’re not too much of a fuss.”
"Baby." Liang Shi was still nervous, and rubbed his head against her stomach. "I'm still scared."
"What are you afraid of?" Xu Qingzhu said, "You should think that once this test is done, you'll be at ease. Whether it's true or not, we'll have a result."
"Besides, the Shen family is quite nice." Xu Qingzhu flicked her forehead. "Get up quickly, I want to go get some milk tea."
"Ice or hot?" Liang Shi stood up and hugged her from behind.
"It's hot," Xu Qingzhu said.
"That's acceptable."
Fearing being recognized when going out, Liang Shi wore a mask and put one on Xu Qingzhu as well. Then he took Xu Qingzhu downstairs and went out.
There was a milk tea shop across the street, and there was a long queue.
After Xu Qingzhu and Liang Shi walked over, they waited and chatted casually.
"Don't you have to work this afternoon?" Liang Shi asked.
Xu Qingzhu shook her head: "I finished taking care of everything this morning."
"..."
Soon it was their turn. Liang Shi ordered two cups of bubble tea. While she was waiting, she felt some probing gazes coming from her, but when she looked back, she couldn't find where the probing gazes were coming from.
In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
But soon, she became a trending topic.
Her agent told her about it over the phone, "You've been photographed with President Xu."
Liang Shi: "..."
The trending search term is #LiangShiIsMarried#.
Chang Hui asked what to do, whether they should take the opportunity to go public.
Liang Shi logged into Weibo and, after scanning the comments, discovered that the photos were taken at the entrance of the milk tea shop earlier. She and Xu Qingzhu were holding hands and queuing to buy milk tea, and someone had taken side and back photos of them.
The comments from netizens were quite positive, considering she's an actress, not a popular celebrity.
So she took the opportunity to make it official.
@Liang Shi: Yes, I'm married.
He pinned the post to the top of his chat list and commented: "Don't dig into this, you're not in the know."
Chang Hui had already set up a personal studio for her. When the studio reposted her Weibo post, the caption read: "Teacher Liang and his wife are so loving~ But please pay more attention to the artist's work and stay away from the artist's private life."
There was no hiding anything.
The more you try to hide something, the more it will provoke a backlash from the public.
It's better to be straightforward and eliminate those who aren't your target audience from the outset; it will save you a lot of trouble later.
Of course, there will be a price to pay for doing this.
Chapter 177 (End of Main Text)
For example, some roles might not be considered if you are already married.
That would indeed result in losses.
But Liang Shi never intended to hide this matter; she simply didn't want Xu Qingzhu to be exposed to the public.
There's nothing to hide about her marital status.
Compared to her family, her career wasn't that important.
Liang Shi's candid answer actually made people less concerned, and the hype quickly died down.
She has two works that have been broadcast and are currently being filmed. The roles complement her, and she doesn't intend to become a big star, so she won't follow that route.
The news that an actor who isn't particularly well-known is married isn't considered big news by netizens.
This incident conveniently diverted Liang Shi's attention, and by the time she finished dealing with it, two hours had already passed.
Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu went to retrieve it together.
Just like when Xu Qingzhu recognized Su Yao, Liang Shi accompanied her throughout the process, and this time Xu Qingzhu stood firmly by her side.
To be honest, Liang Shi had considered many possible outcomes and even quite rationally devised solutions.
The result was as expected, but it still felt unbelievable.
The report stated that the probability of a biological kinship is 99.9999%.
In other words, she is indeed Zhu Mingqi's daughter.
After receiving the appraisal report, Liang Shi sat on a bench with Xu Qingzhu, lost in thought.
I don't know what I'm thinking, my thoughts are just wandering.
It took her a long time to compose herself before she stood up and said to Xu Qingzhu, "Let's go."
Xu Qingzhu didn't ask her what to do, she just quietly stayed with her.
However, after learning the result, Liang Shi still sent the news to Zhao Xuning.
Zhao Xuning simply replied indifferently, "I understand."
They probably already guessed it.
Liang Shi didn't mention acknowledging their kinship, which she found abrupt.
It might be because the Shen family is currently in a harmonious relationship, and because the Shen family's status is too high, that they feel a sense of inferiority.
There was also a sense of powerlessness.
Just like before, I'm still afraid of facing the unknown.
Because they were unwilling to disrupt the current balance, they chose to temporarily escape.
Liang Shi also fell silent that evening, and seemed to be in a bad mood.
Xu Qingzhu then said that since she was going to be conflicted anyway, she might as well just say it first and let others be conflicted.
Liang Shi shook his head frantically.
Later, the two lay in bed and after the lights were turned off, Liang Shicai said in a low voice, "I used to imagine many times what my parents would be like, what their personalities would be like, and whether I would have any siblings. After I came here, I thought that would be my parents and family. But then I found out that wasn't it. Now I realize that my parents and family are so dazzling, but I am just an ordinary person."
“Shen Fenghua has an MBA from a prestigious foreign university and minored in psychology; Shen Hui is a graduate student in the medical school of a prestigious foreign university; and Shen Siyan is from Qingyi University.” Liang Shi said, “I never went to university, which I find regrettable, but it is an irreparable regret.”
“I don’t fit in with them, just like it takes a lot of effort for me to integrate into your world. But because it’s you, I’m willing to try, to change, to accept all the worlds around you that I may not have experienced before, and to try to understand them.”
“But now, I’m facing an even bigger change, and I don’t want to change. They’re all great, but I feel like I’m not from their world. I don’t want to compete with them, and I don’t want to put myself in an unfamiliar environment. It’s like being naked, with everyone watching you, about to start a new frenzy. I’m afraid I’ll get exhausted, so I’m backing down.”
"Xu Qingzhu," Liang Shi murmured softly, calling Xu Qingzhu's name tenderly, with a hint of bitterness in his voice, "Am I a coward?"
"Mmm." Xu Qingzhu responded, then kissed her lips again in the darkness, "Our teacher Liang is so wronged."
It's like coaxing a child.
Liang Shi chuckled lightly: "I don't feel wronged. At least I know they are still alive, and I am not the one who was abandoned."
If you know you were abandoned, you must be very sad.
It can feel like being abandoned by the whole world.
But now that she knows she wasn't abandoned and that someone in her family misses her, that's a kind of comfort.
"So you're just going to deny it from now on?" Xu Qingzhu asked her, "Keep this secret hidden?"
Liang Shi shook his head: "I haven't thought about it yet. Who knows, I might impulsively reveal the secret one day."
Xu Qingzhu nodded: "That's fine too."
She fully respects Liang Shi's decision.
“Just like you said, we’re seeking verification simply to take control of the situation,” Liang Shi said. “So we’re in a dominant position now.”
Xu Qingzhu replied softly, "Yes."