Chapter 36 Indulging Your Arrogance "Let's start dating again."...
Ten minutes after the reception began, four media outlets were cleared out.
Mr. Yu and his delegation came to apologize, saying they would definitely urge rectification and conduct a thorough background check before inviting the delegation.
This isn't something that can be avoided by conducting a background check. Liang Jingzhuo said calmly, "It's alright."
The group of leaders were terrified. They said that a suite had been prepared upstairs, and that they had disturbed the two guests' enjoyment. They could go up and rest for a while, and that someone would be sent to invite them down once the main event began.
The apology was very sincere.
Liang Jingzhuo did not express his opinion, but turned to look at Xie Qingci.
Amidst the worried looks from the leaders, Xie Qingci smiled and nodded, "Sure, I haven't had enough sightseeing yet."
The group breathed a sigh of relief, sent someone to deliver the room key, gave detailed instructions on hospitality, apologized again, and then turned to leave.
Liang Jingzhuo is a difficult person to invite, and his presence today is undoubtedly related to his newlywed wife, making him someone who cannot be offended.
After the others left, Liang Jingzhuo returned and asked, "Are you going to rest?"
Xie Qingci shook her head, "I just arrived, I'm not tired."
Liang Jingzhuo looked at her, his expression lingering for a moment, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
She understood what he meant: "Actually—even if you hadn't come, I was planning to go find them anyway."
Teachers and classmates all describe her as gentle and good-tempered, but she never thinks of herself as a pushover. She believes that good manners and politeness are the normal and healthy way to socialize.
Liang Jingzhuo looked at her for a moment, then said, "That's not what I wanted to say."
Even without her saying anything, he could tell why she had gotten up, but as a man and as a husband, he would never let her handle things on her own if he could.
Learning from past experiences, a thorough on-site inspection was conducted in the large venue. The organizers interviewed and registered the invited media representatives a second time, and set aside extra space for them to conduct post-conference interviews.
Amidst the elegant attire and graceful movements of employees in uniforms and name tags, they interacted with media personnel scattered throughout the venue, quickly guiding the entire group towards a secondary venue separated from the main venue.
Having guessed wrong, Xie Qingci was momentarily bewildered, then looked up at the tall figure standing before her. "Hmm? What's that?"
Under the dazzling light of the crystal chandelier, Liang Jingzhuo looked into her eyes and slowly opened his lips: "Let's start over, Xie Qingci, let's start our love again."
This relationship, which was predetermined from the very first meeting, is now embarking on a new beginning, even after we have become a legally married couple.
The autumn wind blowing in from the balcony brushed past her ears, and Xie Qingci was stunned for a moment, the tremor in her chest rising to her eardrums.
After a moment, she slightly shifted her gaze from his face and responded with a soft "Mm".
...
-
After the weekend, Xie Qingci returned to school and took a leave of absence. Zhou Mingzhen was planning to leave for Shanghai on Wednesday, and Xie Qingci had to go with her.
When I opened the dormitory door, Ke Meng and Duan Siyu were lying sprawled on their beds. They had no classes on Monday morning and had just woken up.
Hearing the door open, the two sleepily peeked out from behind the curtains, holding their phones.
"Oh, Aci, you're back? I thought you wouldn't be back until the afternoon."
There was a regular group meeting on Monday. Liang Jingzhuo took an early flight and left early in the morning. When Xie Qingci woke up, he had already been gone for a while.
Aunt Wen prepared a separate breakfast for her, saying that when her husband left, she should not disturb her rest.
Xie Qingci placed the desserts and snacks she had brought for the two of them on the table and replied with a smile, "Yes, I brought you small cakes and snacks."
Upon hearing this, Ke Meng immediately rolled out of bed, let out a "Wah!", and scrambled down the stairs. She glanced at the table laden with desserts and snacks, then pretended to cry, grabbing Xie Qingci's shoulder and pressing her cheek against her shoulder.
"Where can I find a roommate who is both beautiful and so wonderful?!"
Duan Siyu lay on the bed, pouting in disgust, "You're not allowed to talk to a fairy if you haven't brushed your teeth or washed your face! How rude!"
Ke Meng immediately covered her mouth and chuckled, "I'll go now." After saying that, she turned and walked into the washroom.
Xie Qingci smiled, turned around and went to wash the bedding. She was going to Shanghai on Wednesday and wouldn't be back until Monday, so she wanted to wash and dry it in advance.
Hsieh Ching-Tzu has always been quite hygienic when it comes to bedding, washing and changing it almost three times a week.
He tossed the old duvet cover into the laundry basket, laid out the new sheets, and paused for a moment as he smoothed out the wrinkles with his palm.
It was already late at night when we returned to Fushun Hutong from the party last night. Aunt Wen had gone to bed early. She and Liang Jingzhuo entered the house quietly and went straight upstairs.
After wearing high heels all night, her feet were starting to ache, so the first thing she did was take off her shoes and put on slippers.
Knowing he had to catch an early flight today, she told him to take a shower and go to sleep first, as she still needed to remove her makeup and jewelry, which would take some time.
The person who had been given the advice didn't rush into the bathroom. Instead, he slowly removed his watch and cufflinks and invited her, "Let's shower together."
Given previous examples, Hsieh Ching-Tzu was not too keen on the idea of a shared bathing setting where accidents could easily happen.
So she rejected him with the words he had said to her at the party: "No couple takes a shower together in the early stages of a relationship."
When she replied, her expression was very serious and earnest in order to make her statement more believable.
Using his own weapon against him, she felt he should be able to give up on this idea.
Unexpectedly, the man looked at her and said shamelessly, "But our relationship is based on the premise of a legal marriage, and that doesn't count today."
This truly embodies the exploitative contractual mindset of capitalists.
She closed her eyes silently, unable to refute him, and could only take her clothes and go to take a shower with him.
The process was certainly not going to be smooth sailing. Although we didn't repeat the mistakes of the last time we bathed together, it was about halfway done.
During that time, he led her to touch him.
For the first time in my life.
Even when they were very close before, she wouldn't look at him, so it was even more impossible now. Her face turned completely red, and without any finesse, she looked away and asked him if he was done.
Finally back in the room, he kissed her, and she grabbed his hair and told him no.
How could this be?
He kissed her calf and said it was okay, it was fine.
In the end, the sheets were changed twice, and two sheets of the ones we just bought yesterday were used up.
Including the previous day's sheets, she changed the sheets in just two days as often as she does in a week.
Thinking of this, a blush crept onto her cheeks again.
Ke Meng and Duan Siyu finished washing up and were about to enjoy their little cakes when they saw Xie Qingci bowing down in front of the bed, her hand pausing as she smoothed the sheets.
She turned her head to look and exclaimed in surprise, "Aci, your face is so red, do you have a fever?"
The two were about to go find a thermometer and check if there were any fever-reducing medications in the dormitory.
Xie Qingci straightened up, raised her hand to touch her cheek, her face still flushed, "No... just now... after taking off the sheets, I felt a little hot."
The two people who had been frantically turning around to look for a thermometer and medicine stopped and breathed a sigh of relief. "We thought you weren't feeling well."
With the changing seasons, colds and fevers are becoming more common. The two of them reminded her to bring more warm clothes when she went to Shanghai, as they heard that the temperature there has started to drop recently.
Xie Qingci agreed, fanned the heat from her face, and turned to pick up the changed sheets to wash.
-
The night before she was to leave for Shanghai, Xie Qingci packed her luggage in her dormitory. The trip would last four days, and she didn't need to bring many things.
Just as they were almost finished tidying up, Ke Meng, who was sitting at the table drinking milk tea and scrolling through Weibo, suddenly burst out laughing, "Are these newspapers crazy?! They even issue official announcements and publicly punish employees for their actions, and they're all being issued around the same time. What did these people do that they had to be punished at the same time?"
Duan Siyu, who was applying a face mask, heard the noise and went over to look. She then burst into laughter as well, "Really? How could this be?"
Xie Qingci closed her suitcase, pushed it to the corner, and casually asked, "The newspaper?"
Ke Meng glanced at his phone. "Pioneer, Bit, Deep Dive, Yuanchuan, these four companies, damn it, I'm laughing my head off. Tell the people in the media sector not to go to these newspapers. If they make a mistake, they should be publicly punished in the official media."
Xie Qingci asked casually, and after asking, she was about to grab her clothes to take a shower when she heard the names of several newspapers. She suddenly stopped and turned back.
Ke Meng, seeing that she was also interested, pointed out the official media outlets of the four media outlets one by one to show her.
The notice did not explain why these individuals were being punished, only stating that measures such as salary reduction and demotion were being implemented, and that they would be dismissed if they committed the offense again.
Ke Meng was still laughing, "This is the first time I've seen an official media report on a mistake."
Xie Qingci's gaze lingered on the several disciplinary notices for a moment, then she turned and picked up her phone to send a message to Liang Jingzhuo: "Those newspapers, were they your doing?"
He was probably busy, and replied a few minutes later: "Yes, a small punishment."
This level of punishment is already quite lenient.
Xie Qingci recalled the Hong Kong media outlet that had been sued to the point of bankruptcy by the Liang family's legal department; this was indeed a minor punishment.
She rarely joked with him: "What about that media outlet you sued and brought down last time? What was that, a big punishment?"
There was a few seconds of silence in the chat box, then, "No."
They also spread rumors in the newspaper that I used medication and was impotent.
"..."
-
The next day, Zhou Mingzhen came to the school to pick up Xie Qingci and they went to the airport to fly to Shanghai. Xie Mulin was on a business trip in Singapore and would go directly to Shanghai to meet them after returning the next day.
When the plane landed in Shanghai, the Zhou family's butler was already waiting at the airport, and happily welcomed them into the car.
The Zhou residence is located in the western suburbs. It's a short walk after you get off the elevated highway. When we arrived at the Zhou residence, Old Master Zhou was playing golf with several of his uncles in the backyard.
The weather in Shanghai was nice after autumn arrived, so a few people decided to have a meal together.
Xie Qingci followed Zhou Mingzhen to the backyard and greeted the elders.
The aunts and uncles sitting around the sidelines chatting and drinking tea called her over to talk, saying they hadn't seen her in a long time and praising her for becoming more and more beautiful.
On the other side, her older cousin laughed and said, "Auntie, Yao Yao is married now, why are you still praising her like a child?"
The aunt, who had been given a hint, took Xie Qingci's hand and laughed, "That doesn't matter, Yaoyao will always be our treasure! Whether it's the Liang family, the Wang family, or the Zhang family... she's our Zhou family's princess."
Everyone laughed, agreeing that what he said was true.
After chatting with the elders in the backyard for a while, Xie Qingci went back inside.
Zhou Mingzhen was talking to the old nanny of the Zhou family. After the old lady Zhou passed away, the only memories she could see from the old nanny who had been by her side for many years were in her old nanny.
When Xie Qingci entered, the two looked over.
When the old nanny saw her, she immediately went up to her affectionately, looked her up and down, and then asked her with concern, "Nannan, have you lost weight? You looked a bit plumper when you came back for the New Year."
Xie Qingci would return to Shanghai for a period of time every winter and summer vacation. This summer, she was busy with her art exhibition, so she did not come back. More than ten months have passed since she returned for the Spring Festival.
She laughed, "No, I was wearing thick clothes then, you couldn't tell!"
The old nanny sighed, "If the old lady saw this, she would be heartbroken."
At this point, there was a moment of silence. The sudden passing of Old Mrs. Zhou was a story that the family still couldn't help but shed tears when they talked about it.
Seeing this, the old nanny looked up, composed herself, and said, "Oh dear, look at me, I won't say anything more."
The deceased are gone, leaving only sorrow.
The old nanny wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, remembering that she had just stewed some osmanthus and snow pear soup in the kitchen. "It's autumn now, so we need to drink something to moisturize our dryness. When Lao Liu called to say he was picking you up, I stewed it. It should be ready by now. I'll go and bring it over."
After saying that, he turned and went to the kitchen.
Zhou Mingzhen glanced at Xiao Shi's figure behind the pillar, then turned to Xie Qingci beside her, "Did you ask Jing Zhuo? Is he free on Friday?"
Xie Qingci nodded and replied, "Yes, he said he'll come over on Friday."
After pausing for a moment, he continued, "However, it might be a little late."
When she asked him that day, he clearly considered it for a moment, and only said he would come after she told him it was her grandmother's birthday.
I must have been unavailable that day.
He didn't say approximately when he would arrive, but she guessed it wouldn't be too early.
Zhou Mingzhen nodded and said it was fine, as long as they came, it was enough. They had just gotten married, so showing their faces was enough.
In the evening, most of the guests stayed overnight at the Zhou residence. Xie Qingci still stayed in her previous room. The servants regularly cleaned and tidied her room, and when they learned that she was coming today, they changed the bedding that morning.
After taking a shower, I lay down on the bed, scrolled through my phone for a while, trying to find a movie to pass the time.
As I swiped my finger across the movie library, I saw "About Time," a movie that the video app had automatically tagged as "rewatched multiple times."
The finger that was swiping across the screen suddenly stopped, and the user glanced at the time at the top of the screen.
She hasn't been in much contact with Liang Jingzhuo these past two days; he seems very busy.
Her gaze drifted blankly past the phone's frame, landing on the main light on the ceiling, as she hesitated whether to take the initiative to contact him.
But what should we say when we contact each other?
There doesn't seem to be much to say.
In the end, I gave up on the idea.
My gaze returned to the phone screen as I continued browsing the video library. Suddenly, a WeChat video call notification popped up at the top, and my phone vibrated at the same time.
His gaze, which had been lingering over the film library, moved upwards, and then paused.
Liang Jingzhuo.
She first glanced down at her clothes, finding them neat and tidy, then hesitated for a moment before sitting up and pressing the answer button.
When he first answered the call, he didn't look in the direction of the camera; his gaze shifted to one side, and he raised his left arm as if to pick up something.
The camera was positioned low, and he was wearing only a white shirt and a tie. The shirt was slightly fitted, outlining the smooth and shapely lines of his upper body. Even from the low angle, his facial features remained sharp and superior.
Xie Qingci answered the call silently without saying a word.
The light on the other end of the screen was bright, so it seemed they were still in the office.
It's almost 10 o'clock.
When she was in Hong Kong Island, how come she remembered that he always left work on time?
Even the time she spends working in her study after returning home is not very long; she always returns to her room on time when she is ready to sleep.
Liang Jingzhuo was about to leave work when he thought Xie Qingci would answer the call by voice instead of video, just like before.
After grabbing his coat, he glanced down and saw a face with big, blinking eyes looking at him from the other side of the screen.
He paused for a moment, put down his coat, adjusted his phone to a normal position, and sat down in the chair. "Why didn't you say anything after answering?"
Having never chatted like this before, Xie Qingci glanced at his face lightly, then looked away somewhat awkwardly, replying, "I see you're busy."
Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the furnishings behind her. "Have we arrived in Shanghai?"
She nodded. "Yes, I just arrived today."
After replying, both ends of the screen fell silent.
Just then, a subordinate came in and spoke to Liang Jingzhuo. He looked up and saw that the subordinate was speaking in English. He listened carefully for a while and then replied in English in return.
The speaker has a smooth, rounded American accent, with their Adam's apple bobbing up and down and their lips opening and closing gently.
A scene from her memory suddenly resurfaced: glossy lips imprinted on her calf.
Xie Qingci's mind sharpened, and she straightened her shoulders and back, slowly shifting her gaze away.
A short while later, Liang Jingzhuo finished coordinating with his subordinates and returned his gaze to the screen, only to find that there was only a ceiling light on the screen, and the person was nowhere to be seen.
He called out, "Xie Qingci?"
Three seconds later, a figure suddenly crawled up from the bottom of the screen. "Hmm?"
Her neck connected to her cheeks, a blush like that of a ripe peach, a blush that hadn't been there just a moment ago.
He frowned. "What happened to your face?"
Xie Qingci picked up her phone again, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Just now... I was covered up in the blanket."
The person on the other end of the phone frowned even deeper. "Why are you covered up with the blanket?"
He remembered that she didn't seem to have the habit of covering herself with a blanket when she slept.
Xie Qingci glanced down at him, then calmly evaded the question. "Hobbies."
"A habit of hiding under the covers for no reason?"
"Yes."
There was a three-second silence on the phone. Liang Jingzhuo glanced into her eyes and suddenly chuckled softly.
Although she knew he would never guess what was making her blush, Xie Qingci was still momentarily embarrassed by that laugh.
He whispered, "Personal preference, don't laugh..."
Liang Jingzhuo nodded, suppressing the smile on his lips. "Okay."
After saying that, he changed the subject, "I might not arrive in Shanghai until the afternoon of Friday, but I'll try to arrive as early as possible."
The project launch ceremony ended late in the morning, and I still had to have lunch with some technical support staff before heading to Shanghai. It should be afternoon by then.
Hsieh Ching-Tzu replied that it was okay: "The ceremony won't end until the afternoon, and my mom said you just need to show your face."
Upon hearing this, Liang Jingzhuo paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you going back to Jingzhao on Friday night?"
Xie Qingci shook her head blankly. "No, I'll go back on Monday. My mommy plans to spend the weekend here."
The person on the other end of the screen pondered for a moment, then nodded and replied, "Okay."
It was getting late, and by the time he got home from the company it would be close to midnight, so Xie Qingci ended the call at the right time. "You should go home now, see you the day after tomorrow."
Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the time; it was indeed almost her usual rest time. She replied, "Okay."
-
The next day, Ms. Zhou and her elders planned out the details of the sacrificial ceremony for the following day. They decided to leave most of the arrangements to a professional team, and the team would only be responsible for preparing the necessary items.
Xie Qingci and the old nanny set out offerings together. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the old nanny couldn't stop talking once she saw her.
The stray cat, Little Orange, who used to frequent our house, recently had a litter of kittens. She mentioned that the pear tree in our yard, which had only flowered but never borne fruit for many years, actually produced a fruit this year. We had planned to give it to her when she came, but she never came, so we had to give it to the neighbor's grandson.
"They say it's incredibly sweet!"
Xie Qingci laughed, "Then next year if you call me again, I'll fly over after class to eat, and then fly back after I'm done."
The old nanny smiled and readily agreed.
After saying that, she remembered that Xie Qingci had just gotten her marriage certificate and asked with concern, "Yaoyao, is your partner treating you well?"
Xie Qingci removed the protective packaging from the offering fruit and put it on a plate. The topic changed so quickly that she didn't react for a moment.
Then, realizing she was referring to Liang Jingzhuo, she smiled and said, "That's fine."
At least for now, no shortcomings have been found in him.
Aside from his mouth being a little annoying sometimes.
The old nanny breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good."
Then, her expression became excited as she said, "That's good! Qianqian showed me that young man's picture the other day, wow, he's really handsome! He and our Yaoyao look so good together!"
Qianqian is a cousin of Zhou's. She is closer to Xie Qingci. She sent her a copy of the photo that Ms. Zhuang took for them before they got their marriage certificate. This photo should be the one she was referring to.
She smiled but didn't say anything.
The old nanny glanced at her, stroked her hair, and smiled kindly, "In the blink of an eye, our Yaoyao is all grown up now."
After pausing for a moment, he ultimately did not continue.
Xie Qingci knew what she was going to say, so she looked up and smiled gently: "As long as you are here, it's as if Grandma is always here, so you must stay healthy."
The elderly nanny, with tears in her eyes, smiled and nodded, saying, "I've been going out for walks a lot lately, and I'm really good at using the exercise equipment in the park! I'll definitely live long enough to look after Yaoyao's little girl!"
Xie Qingci smiled, then looked away and paused for a moment.
Liang Jingzhuo's words from that day resurfaced in my mind.
Love...the fruit of love.
-
After a day of preparation, all the items needed for the ceremony the next day were arranged. Before going to bed, Ms. Zhou was still worried and checked them several times before she was at ease.
There was a slight mishap with Xie Mulin's business trip. He just left Malaysia last night and is estimated to arrive in Shanghai around midnight.
Ms. Zhou told the housekeeper to go and rest first, and that she would drive to pick her up later.
There were still some odd jobs left, which Xie Qingci wanted to help finish, but the old nanny urged her to go upstairs to sleep quickly, as the family would be busy tomorrow and she would have to get up early. She watched TV and did some work, and soon finished.
Fortunately, there wasn't much left to do. Xie Qingci instructed her, "If you get tired, just call me, or ask someone else in the family to do it, okay?"
The old lady's eyes were glued to the television, focused on the plot, and it was unclear whether she was even listening. She responded twice, "Okay! Okay!"
She chuckled helplessly, got up, and went back to her room.
It was already late after she finished showering. She needed to get up early to go to the cemetery tomorrow. After blow-drying her hair and applying skincare products, Xie Qingci prepared to go to sleep.
I had just sat on the bed and was about to take off my shoes and lie down when my phone, which was charging on the bedside table, suddenly vibrated.
She got up again to get it, and it was Liang Jingzhuo again.
He really enjoys calling her after get off work.
This time, however, it wasn't a video call, but a voice call. She answered, "Hello?"
The sound of a car door closing came through the receiver, and his voice, carried on the cool night air, asked, "Are you asleep?"
She sat down on the edge of the bed and replied, "Not yet, I was just about to. Are you off work?"
The footsteps inside the receiver were slow and clear.
The room window was open, and a strange commotion came from downstairs. She subconsciously glanced at the window and then paused for a moment.
At the same moment, a commotion came through the receiver, followed by his voice: "I've arrived."
-----------------------
Author's Note: I'm late! I'm late!!
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