But she is no longer the same Liang Shi.
However, after this incident, Liang Shi realized even more how terrifying Qiu Zimin was.
This person is not simply bad or stupid; on the contrary, she is very intelligent.
She can give you information, but she won't give you any leverage over her.
She might hysterically curse and insult you, and oppress you from a moral high ground, but she won't give you the chance to insult her in return.
After all, she raised you. A child who knows how to be grateful would never do such a thing.
That is why the original owner was so ruthlessly dominated.
The original owner could go crazy and be bad without restraint, but would never harm the interests of the Liang family.
In front of Qiu Zimin, she was as docile as a lamb, occasionally showing her fangs, but becoming obedient because of those words.
If a child grows up under this kind of rhetoric, it seems perfectly normal for them to turn out this way, no matter what they become.
Qiu Zimin looked at him innocently, "What kind of rhetoric? You're not going to accuse me of PUA again, are you? Don't just pick up a trendy internet term and apply it to me. Who changed you? Who told you that once you find out I'm not your biological mother, you can turn around and question everything I've done? No matter what, I raised you. The debt of raising you is greater than the debt of giving birth to you."
Liang Shi let out a heavy breath and said without any flattery or ulterior motive, "You're very capable."
Once she calmed down, Qiu Zimin was in unbeatable form.
Even in a palace drama, she'd be a formidable character who could survive fifty episodes.
But she has a weakness.
Liang Shi said gently, "I hope your daughter doesn't have parents like I did."
“Just because someone raises a child doesn’t mean they can be called a parent and deserve gratitude.” Liang Shi slowly turned around, his eyes shining. “After all, no parent would want to raise their child into a lunatic and send them to a mental hospital.”
"Shut up!" Qiu Zimin suddenly became agitated when her biological daughter was mentioned. "My daughter would never be like you, so unable to distinguish right from wrong! So ungrateful!"
Liang Shi smiled gently and asked in return, "Is that so?"
Qiu Zimin threw a cushion at her, "Get out of here! You've taken her place and her favor all these years, and you still have the nerve to make malicious assumptions about her! Get out! This family can't tolerate you!"
Liang Shi bent down, stretched out his long arm and picked up the cushion. His voice was still gentle, but firm and powerful. "Ms. Qiu, under the sunlight, darkness will eventually have nowhere to hide."
There may be shadows when the sun shines down.
But as long as it is bright enough and straight enough, the shadow will disappear.
//
When Liang Shi left, he closed the door behind him and then took out his phone from his pocket. The recording showed that it had been running for half an hour.
I never imagined that just the conversation could drag on for half an hour.
Her understanding of Qiu Zimin has reached a new level.
It was only then that I suddenly realized that Qiu Zimin had been raised in a large family since childhood and had seen all sorts of tricks.
How could they not see through her little tricks?
But Liang Shi never really thought about doing anything with the recording.
Even if it's exposed in front of her two older brothers, in the end, it's only the two older brothers who get hurt.
Having lived for over thirty years and already established a family and career, it is truly cruel to discover that one's mother is a hypocrite and a wicked person.
Even if she wanted her two older brothers to know about this, there was no need to record it.
The photos on her phone speak for themselves.
But none of these can be used as a tool to punish Qiu Zimin.
As for how to punish him, Liang Shi had not yet decided.
However, one thing is certain: Liang Shi must live a good life, a brilliant life.
Didn't Qiu Zimin want her to become a mentally ill person who was despised by everyone?
She refused.
She wants to be a shining star that many people love.
After Liang Shi went downstairs, she found that everyone's eyes were on her. She just shrugged and smiled, "We just chatted casually, we're leaving now."
After saying that, he left the old house with Xu Qingzhu.
//
The weather in coastal cities is changeable in autumn. The morning was relatively sunny, and the sun even dried the traces of the heavy rain that fell last night.
But then, on their way home, dark clouds gathered and a light drizzle began to fall.
After returning home, Liang Shi listened to the recording of his conversation with Qiu Zimin repeatedly. It seemed like they had said a lot, but in fact, they hadn't said anything at all.
Only the Qi Jiao incident.
Liang Shi was lost in thought in his room when there was a knock on the door.
Xu Qingzhu stood at the door and asked, "I ordered milk tea, would you like some?"
As an actor, I have always avoided high-calorie foods like milk tea.
In addition, Liang Shi didn't like sweets before, so he probably didn't drink more than ten cups of milk tea a year.
But now that Xu Qingzhu had invited her, she got up and followed her to the living room.
Xu Qingzhu's double milk foam looks so blissful, while Liang Shi gets a cup of brown sugar pearl milk tea.
There are no other seasonings.
Hsu Ching-chu said, "Considering that you'll be joining a film crew soon, you shouldn't eat things like milk foam."
Liang Shi chuckled, "Do you know that there are people who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight?"
Xu Qingzhu nodded: "Aren't I one?"
Liang Shi: "...?"
She laughed, "Me too, so why did you get double milk foam but I didn't?"
"Do you really want it?" Xu Qingzhu glanced at the two cups of milk tea. "Then shall I order you one now?"
"No need, no need." Liang Shi was just teasing her casually. Seeing that she picked up her phone, he immediately said, "I'll just drink this."
"We mainly offer two drinks as the minimum order," Xu Qingzhu said. "If I order you another drink, I'll have to drink another one myself, and I can't drink that much."
Liang Shi: "..."
She reasonably suspected that her drink was just a free gift from Xu Qingzhu to reach the minimum order amount.
"No need to doubt it." Xu Qingzhu met her questioning gaze and admitted directly, "It's a discount for reaching a certain spending threshold."
Liang Shi: "..."
Even though she knew it was a discount for reaching a certain spending threshold, Liang Shi still thought the milk tea tasted good.
It's raining outside. Fine raindrops condense on the glass, transforming into long, thin lines that slide down the windowsill and then along the gray walls into the soil.
Xu Qingzhu turned on the TV and asked Liang Shi what he wanted to watch.
Liang Shi said it was up to him.
Then Xu Qingzhu turned on a movie – Fantasy City.
Starring: Yang Shuyan.
Liang Shi: "?"
Just one minute into the opening sequence, Xu Qingzhu suddenly said, "By the way, I received a package today."
"What?" Liang Shi asked hastily, still swallowing the pearls in his mouth, "A gift?"
"I guess so."
Xu Qingzhu bent down slightly, opened the drawer of the coffee table in the living room, and took out a picture book the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
It was beautifully packaged and came in a box.
She paused the TV and then focused intently on unpacking the box. The cover that was revealed after opening it was a still from Yang Shuyan's drama.
She looked very cool and beautiful in that period film.
Liang Shi: "?"
“When I was on the live stream last time, I told Yang Shuyan that I really liked her movie, and then she sent me a set of exquisite merchandise, with her autograph on every page.” Xu Qingzhu flipped through the pages: “She really put a lot of thought into it.”
“Yes.” Liang Shi bit his straw. “You’re the client, so she’s definitely going to be nice to you.”
Xu Qingzhu turned her head to the side upon hearing this, "Why are you being so sour?"
Liang Shi immediately widened his eyes and shook his head, saying, "No. But do you know Sister Ying and Yang Shuyan..."
She paused, her eyes conveying a wealth of emotions.
"Are they a couple?" Xu Qingzhu asked, "But their fans are causing a huge uproar; they're arguing almost every day."
"You even watch their fans argue?" Liang Shi asked in surprise.
"Huh?" Xu Qingzhu said, "I also joined a Weibo fan group."
Liang Shi: "..."
“Fans don’t know the relationships between the artists, they’re just making wild guesses.” Liang Shi tried his best to steer the conversation in another direction, “Yang Shuyan was there when I auditioned for ‘Yu Guang’ last time.”
"Yes, I heard she'll have a special appearance in it." Xu Qingzhu looked like she knew everything, then turned to Liang Shi: "Mr. Liang, I'd like to interview you. You've only been in the industry a short time, yet you're already acting alongside two of the industry's most accomplished actresses. What's it like?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She paused for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "We haven't started filming yet. I'll tell you after we finish."
As Xu Qingzhu carefully put away the merchandise set, she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for Teacher Liang's 3,000-word reflection essay later."
Liang Shi: "?"
Is he some kind of remarkable person?
Why write three thousand words?!
Liang Shi glanced at her. "Is it because I'm going to work with your goddess that you want me to write a three-thousand-word reflection?"
"Huh?" Xu Qingzhu was taken aback, then laughed after a moment: "My goddess? Who?"