Liang Shi: "?"
Liang Shi did not understand and was deeply shocked.
Xu Qingzhu specifically quoted Sally's words in her reply: "[Sally said this is you subtly implying that I neglected you because of work, and that you're jealous of work.]"
Liang Shi: "..."
As Liang Shi opened the wardrobe, he pressed the button on his phone to reply to a voice message, his tone both helpless and amused, "Tell Sally that she just had tea."
Liang Shi said, "I simply wanted to tell you to work hard, and I wasn't jealous about it."
A few seconds later, another voice message came: "Who would be jealous over something like this? Work is the most important thing. I'm not that immature."
After Liang Shi finished speaking, he put his phone aside and started rummaging through Xu Qingzhu's wardrobe.
She took out a light blue woolen coat and a fleece-lined sweatshirt from Xu Qingzhu's wardrobe. Then, thinking of Liang Wanwan's thin jeans, she looked for fleece pants that Xu Qingzhu hadn't worn yet.
This weather really does deserve a pair of fleece pants.
Xu Qingzhu's belongings were arranged very neatly; her underwear was all placed together and separated into individual compartments.
But Liang Shi didn't know where she had put them, so he had to flip through them one by one.
The first thing I found was underwear.
...
It's all white, and quite large.
Liang Shi's earlobes turned slightly red as he noticed something rather unusual when he was about to put it back.
She looked closely and saw that the lingerie was made of very little fabric, and the lace trim was very wide. She silently thought about Xu Qingzhu's breasts and realized that the lace trim should cover about half of them.
Wearing it should create a hazy, ethereal beauty, like the moon veiled in mist.
Just thinking about it made Liang Shi's ears burn.
She immediately put it back and fanned herself with her hand, trying to dispel the palpitations and heat.
He quickly grabbed what he needed and went out to hand it to Liang Wanwan.
Liang Shi let out a soft sigh, but before she could fully exhale, Liang Wanwan suddenly asked in confusion, "Sister, is it hot at home?"
Liang Shi: "..."
"No," Liang Shi replied instinctively.
Liang Wanwan asked in bewilderment, "Then why is your face so red?"
Incidentally, Liang Wanwan reached out and placed the back of her hand on her face, saying, "And it's so hot."
Liang Shi: "..."
"No." Liang Shi was a little flustered. Hearing her say this, he felt extremely embarrassed. He was afraid that if she continued, his face would get even hotter. He immediately urged, "Go change your clothes quickly. Let's go out to eat."
Liang Wanwan said, "Oh."
But as she carried Xu Qingzhu's clothes into the room, she suddenly seemed to realize something, turned around and looked at Liang Shi with a deep gaze: "Sister, did you see something you shouldn't have?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She hurried to the kitchen, replying in a soft voice, "What is there that I shouldn't see?"
//
Before sending Liang Wanwan back to school, Liang Shi also took her to Liang Xinzhou's house.
When Liang Xinzhou saw his two younger sisters, his expression remained indifferent. He only asked about their daily lives, focusing on their studies and health, and reminded them to eat well. After asking the usual questions, he asked Liang Wanwan, "What exactly happened last night?"
The thought of last night made Liang Wanwan's heart bleed, but she still told Liang Xinzhou about it.
After saying that, he asked cautiously, "Brother, did I cause you any trouble?"
Because Liang Xinzhou was the eldest brother and much older than them.
Liang Xinzhou took the lead in handling many things, and sometimes when Liang Wanwan made a mistake, Qiu Zimin would complain about Liang Xinzhou.
Moreover, this time...
Because Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe had both left home, and then she directly slapped Liang Xinran.
Qiu Zimin will definitely be so angry that she will call and scold Liang Xinzhou, and may even slander her younger siblings as Liang Xinzhou's instigation.
Liang Xinzhou smiled, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, but quickly composed himself.
He said calmly, "What trouble could they possibly cause me? I didn't answer their calls."
There was no argument, and no defense of Liang Wanwan.
Since she's already been slapped, why should Liang Wanwan stand there and slap her back?
That's impossible.
Because of Liang Xinran, after beating her two sons, she wants to beat her youngest daughter as well?
That's a joke.
Liang Xinzhou would never let such a thing happen.
For someone to provoke Liang Wanwan into anger and hitting someone, they must have been out of their mind. So, she deserved the slap.
When Liang Xinran first returned, Liang Xinzhou still had a sliver of affection for her, thinking that if she was of good character, he could keep her at home or give her a large sum of money to keep her outside.
The family shouldn't fall apart because of her return; after all, she's still his biological sister by blood.
But that was just a sliver of warmth amidst her vigilance, and it couldn't withstand her repeated antics.
The moment Liang Xinzhou moved out of his home, he knew that if he didn't send Liang Xinran away, the family would inevitably fall apart.
That would be worse than going all in.
He came with this in mind, forgetting about his younger siblings.
Looking at the conflicts in their family, calling it a coincidence is too much of a coincidence.
Liang Xinzhou has never believed in such a coincidence.
Liang Shi then asked Xu Tong how things were going and if there were any new leads.
Liang Xinzhou hesitated for a moment, then took a stack of documents from the study upstairs. These were documents he had uncovered yesterday by following the clues.
He discovered that Xu Tong's father, Xu Kang, had once been in contact with a woman named Zhang Yangning, who came from Taozhi Village, the same place as Liang Xinran.
Zhang Yangning is an HR professional at an advertising company. She is five years older than Liang Xinran and graduated from an ordinary second-tier university.
But for Peach Blossom Village, she is a remarkable existence. However, her parents died and she was raised by her grandmother, who has long since passed away. She is essentially alone in this world and has no ties in Peach Blossom Village. Yet, she returns to Peach Blossom Village two or three times a year.
Liang Xinzhou had someone call the village chief of Taozhi Village. According to him, Zhang Yangning was much older than Liang Xinran, and he had never heard of any interaction between the two. Moreover, at that time, Zhang Yangning's mother and Liang Xinran's mother were notoriously at odds, and even the children from both families didn't speak to each other.
Moreover, Zhang Yangning is known for her arrogance in the village, probably because she is one of the few college students in the village. Every year when she comes home, she drives a new car, dresses neatly, and stays in her newly renovated home, rarely going out.
He would stay in the village for a few days during the Spring Festival and then leave, never saying goodbye to his neighbors.
Finally, the village chief complained that he didn't know why she came back every year, and that she never brought flowers to her parents' graves.
Liang Shi quickly skimmed through the documents, which included Xu Kang's resume. His previous company was also a design firm in the industry, but it wasn't well-known and was far less famous than Haiwei. However, it was quite remarkable that a company could still hire him after he had stolen company secrets.
However, the reason he only worked at the second company for a month was that the other company was slow to discover the real reason for his departure from Haiwei, so they fired him.
He also had to pay Haiwei Jewelry 1.2 million yuan in compensation for stealing company secrets.
It was a huge sum for him, while, as far as Liang Xinzhou knew, the secret he sold only fetched one million.
In the end, he lost 200,000 yuan.
Because he had worked at Haiwei Jewelry for a relatively long time, the company showed him some leniency and did not sue him in court, causing him to face legal trouble and imprisonment.
But this incident greatly stimulated Xu Kang and brought about a dramatic change in his life.
Liang Xinzhou then discovered that Xu Kang and Zhang Yangning had been in contact six months before he was fired from Haiwei Jewelry.
Liang Shi asked in surprise: "So you suspect that Zhang Yangning and Xu Kang are involved in that theft case?"
“Not only that,” Liang Xinzhou said, “my intuition tells me there’s definitely something between Liang Xinran and Zhang Yangning.”
Liang Shi frowned slightly: "You mean the bell incident was something Liang Xinran deliberately orchestrated?"
Liang Xinzhou remained silent for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "There is no substantial evidence."
Liang Xinzhou is a very cautious person; he won't accuse others without substantial evidence.
But it will be very difficult to find out the truth about this.
This complex relationship is easily overlooked.
Liang Shi sighed helplessly, "What about the bell? Are we just going to let it go like that?"
She still remembers the little girl sobbing and crying, looking as aggrieved as a little rabbit. If she just let it go like that, it would definitely leave a knot in the child's heart.
And ever since that day, Bell has become exceptionally sensitive.
In the past, if Lingdang had accidentally pushed Shengyu and Shengyu had bled, Lingdang would have been the one to comfort Shengyu, saying sorry and telling her not to cry. But that night, Lingdang only dared to stand there and whisper sorry, feeling flustered, helpless, and scared.
That wasn't the bell Liang Shi recognized.
Liang Xinzhou paused slightly, his eyes filled with disdain, yet his tone remained arrogant: "How could that be?"
Liang Shi perked up: "Oh?"
“Go pick up Lingdang after school tonight,” Liang Xinzhou said. “Take her directly to the old house. Liang Xinhe and I will go back to the old house before you arrive.”
His tone was calm, but his words carried absolute certainty.
Liang Shi felt that he was a safe haven, giving people a great sense of security.
Just hearing him say that ignited Liang Shi's enthusiasm, and he immediately agreed.
After leaving Liang Xinzhou's house, Liang Shi took Liang Wanwan back to school.
The media school is not far from the medical university, but its teaching buildings are much newer, and the students coming and going at the entrance are very energetic and have an artistic atmosphere.
Liang Shi told Liang Wanwan not to be too sad, and that if there was a chance, he would ask Chen Mian for an autograph for her again.
Liang Wanwan thought for a moment, then shook her head and said no, adding that Xu Qingzhu had gotten Yang Shuyan's autograph for her.
Liang Wanwan laughed and said, "I guess I should find someone else to like."
He spoke as if he were discussing something with himself, his laughter tinged with bitterness.