The discussion was lively, but Liang Shi only felt a sense of satisfaction.
It was a pleasure to act alongside a talented actress like Zhao Ying.
Even though I still have shortcomings, I still feel incredibly satisfied.
Zhao Ying was the same.
After the director yelled "cut," Zhao Ying couldn't get out of character for a few minutes. After she finally got out of character, she said to Liang Shi, "Little sister, I'll call you next time I have work to do."
Liang Shi: "..."
She smiled and readily agreed, "Sure!"
//
On the way back to the company, Li Ran and the cameraman looked at Liang Shi with a slightly different gaze, one that held a hint of admiration.
The cameraman couldn't help but ask, "Liang Shi, how was it acting with my goddess?"
"It's very comfortable," Liang Shi said. "Sister Ying's acting skills are excellent."
"Of course, my goddess swept all the major awards with just one drama. The year she became popular in the entertainment industry, she was jokingly called the Purple Star who appeared out of nowhere." The cameraman said proudly, "But you actually acted opposite my goddess, and your aura was just as strong. You don't seem like you're acting for the first time at all."
Liang Shi just smiled and didn't give a direct answer.
After returning home, Li Ran went to submit her manuscript.
Liang Shi returned to his workstation and left work on time.
After get off work, she drove to Rainbow Kindergarten, an international bilingual kindergarten that only the wealthy and powerful send their children there.
Kindergarten lets out early, and the gate is deserted; there's no one there anymore.
She went there empty-handed, but still used the number Rainbow gave her to call Teacher Qi Jiao.
The call was answered quickly, and Liang Shi asked, "Hello, is this Teacher Qi?"
"Yes," the other person said gently. "Who are you?"
"Well, I'm Zhou Caihong's mother's colleague," Liang Shi said. "I'd like to ask you something. I'm currently at the entrance of the kindergarten where you work. Do you have some time?"
The other party was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, please wait a moment, I'll be right out."
"You haven't finished get off work yet?" Liang Shi asked in surprise.
"We're still organizing the files in the archives," Qi Jiao said. "Please wait a moment."
"Okay, take your time."
Liang Shi saw Qi Jiao not long after waiting at the kindergarten gate. She was wearing a white dress, her skin was very white, but not in an healthy way, her hair was just shoulder-length, and she was very thin, about the same size as Xu Qingzhu. She looked very quiet.
Liang Shi greeted her, first introducing himself, "Hello, I am Liang Shi."
Qi Jiao paused abruptly upon hearing the name, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists at her sides. She swallowed hard and took a half-step back.
Liang Shi looked at her, puzzled, his hand still hanging in the air. "What's wrong?"
Qi Jiao immediately shook her head, "No...it's nothing."
He then reached out and shook her hand, before separating just as quickly.
"Did you know me before?" Liang Shi asked.
Qi Jiao shook her head and stammered, "No... I don't know him."
Liang Shi found it strange, but she hadn't come today to get to know Qi Jiao. Her main purpose was to find out about the bracelet. She extended her arm and said, "Teacher Qi, Caihong said you've never received a bracelet like this before. Could you take a look and see if it's the same one?"
Qi Jiao lowered her head and looked at it for a while before saying, "Yes, a child in our class brought it before. I didn't take it away once, and then I called her parents."
Qi Jiao kept her distance from her from beginning to end, and her eyes were full of defensiveness and vigilance.
"Would you mind telling me which child it is?" Liang Shi asked. "And who are her parents?"
“Because this bracelet is very important to me, I really want to find its owner, so I hope you can tell me,” Liang Shi said sincerely.
Qi Jiao shook her head. "I'm sorry, this is the children's privacy, I can't say."
Liang Shi then asked, "I know it's Su Yu's child. May I ask who her parents are? Or you can just tell me who her mother is." Liang Shi said, "I just want to confirm."
She suspected that Su Yu was Su Yao's daughter, but she had no evidence.
Furthermore, there has been no news about Su Yao online for a long time, and she has not even appeared in those international competitions.
"Ah..." Qi Jiao hesitated, but then said firmly, "I'm sorry, our kindergarten has a rule that parents' information is kept confidential."
Having said that, Liang Shi felt embarrassed to make things difficult for her any further.
But she asked, "Is Su Yu's mother named Su Yao?"
Qi Jiao remained silent for a moment, then still gave her a favor and shook her head.
"Understood, thank you, teacher," Liang Shi said. "You can go back to your work."
Qi Jiao watched her departing figure and let out a heavy sigh.
I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest.
Is she Liang Shi?
Liang Shi, the one mentioned in his diary.
Qi Jiao clutched her pounding heart and ran all the way back to her office.
After the office door closed, a teasing voice rang out, "What's wrong? Why are you so scared?"
"No," Qi Jiao said. "Someone asked for information about the students' parents."
"Did you say so?" asked the beautiful Alpha, who then hugged Qi Jiao from behind, her hands moving erratically up her waist and abdomen. "Our upright and honest Teacher Qi?"
When she called out "Teacher Xiao Qi," there was a hint of ambiguity in her voice, which startled the Omega in her arms. The Omega grabbed the Alpha's unruly hand and pleaded in a low voice, "Cheng Ran, not here."
Cheng Ran chuckled and whispered in her ear, "But Teacher Qi, what should I do if I want to do it here?"
As she spoke, she extended the tip of her tongue, gently tracing its softness across the Omega's earlobe, causing the Omega to blush deeply. "Did you miss me while I was abroad?"
Qi Jiao bit her lip, afraid that her charming voice would escape her lips, but the mischievous Cheng Ran pinched her buttock, "Tell the truth, Teacher Qi."
Qi Jiao's eyes were filled with tears from Cheng Ran's actions. She was sitting on the desk in Cheng Ran's arms, looking at her pitifully. She weakly helped her up, "Cheng Ran, please don't do it here, okay?"
"No," Cheng Ran said, then went to kiss her. "I want to make love with our teacher, Ms. Qi, at her workplace—"
She drew out her words, making them sound extremely ambiguous, and whispered the remaining words into her ear, "The things we do."
//
Liang Shi returned empty-handed, but felt that Teacher Qi's behavior was somewhat strange.
But it could also be explained as being afraid of strangers.
That night, Xu Qingzhu returned home very late as usual.
Liang Shi waited for her to return before going back to his room.
Occasionally, Liang Shi would wake up in the early hours of the morning and, on a whim, go to the living room to check on things, only to find the study light still on, with Xu Qingzhu still working on a proposal late into the night.
There wasn't much she could do to help, so she heated up a cup of milk and brought it over.
One evening when she went in, Xu Qingzhu was looking at the design drafts.
Even though I was so sleepy that my eyelids were drooping, I sat there propping them up with my hands and watching, feeling drowsy all over.
The sound of Liang Shi pushing open the door startled Xu Qingzhu. She immediately sat up straight, but couldn't help yawning. "You're still awake?"
"I've already woken up from a good sleep," Liang Shi said. "You can't keep working overtime like this, can you?"
"Everyone in my department is working overtime." Xu Qingzhu's voice was somber. She clenched her fist and gently tapped her head before putting her glasses back on to look at the design draft. "I can't be an exception."
“We can take it slow,” Liang Shi said. “If you ruin your health like this, then no one will be able to take your place.”
"The fall press conference is about to begin," Xu Qingzhu said. "Every day is a countdown for me now, and there's no way I can rest."
Liang Shi: "..."
Seeing that Xu Qingzhu kept tapping her head, she asked, "Does your head hurt?"
"I've been staying up too late," Xu Qingzhu said. "A little."
Liang Shi raised an eyebrow: "Shall I press it for you?"
Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips and looked up at her. She was standing in the backlight, wearing a blue silk nightgown, long sleeves and pants, with her long hair casually draped over her shoulders. Her face was gentle, and her gaze was tender.
It seemed as if it had been struck by something soft.
Xu Qingzhu suddenly smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
"It's nothing." Liang Shi walked behind her, reached out and pressed on her temples, trying to avoid looking at her computer screen.
Xu Qingzhu's slender fingers hovered over the mouse, and after a while, she typed on the document in her notebook. After a while, Xu Qingzhu suddenly asked, "Do you want to take a look at this draft for me?"
Liang Shi asked in surprise, "Can I see it?"
Xu Qingzhu: "...Now you can."
Design drafts, especially those designed before a new product launch, are considered top-secret internal documents of a company.
Once leaked, it could have a huge impact on a company.
So Xu Qingzhu was a little cautious before, but the biggest problem was that she was on the phone with Sally when she came in that day and didn't really want Liang Shi to hear it.
Showing the design drafts to Liang Shi is not a big deal, after all, Dongheng Group has raised a lot of money.
They are in the same boat.
The sample on the screen has already been 3D processed, so it doesn't take much effort to look at.
"What do you want to see?" Liang Shi asked.
“Find the flaws,” Xu Qingzhu said. “This is a drawing by Lin Luoxi. She usually can’t see the flaws herself, but she has high standards for herself and asked me to tell her at least three flaws tomorrow. Also, I think this is a bit strange, and Sally thinks it’s strange too, but we can’t quite put our finger on what’s wrong with it.”
Because this design is truly stunning at first glance.
Then the more you look at it, the stranger it seems.
Liang Shi was immediately surprised when he saw it. It used the high concept of autumn, combined with elements of the starry sky and the universe, and brought out elements that had been played with to death. Every detail was done to the extreme. It was a bold and very creative design.
But she shared the same feeling as Xu Qingzhu: she was amazed at first glance, but then felt something was off.
"Is this the only picture?" Liang Shi asked.