Chapter Sixteen
Liang Yuheng paused, and the scenes from last night uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he calmly asked, "You heard that?"
It's actually true!
But Liang Yuheng clearly took a shower after he got home last night, so why did he take another shower in the middle of the night?
"No, I heard it from Mom this morning." Shi Qing couldn't help but ask, looking down at her fingers, "Is it because you're not used to me sleeping with you? Maybe I should move back."
Liang Yuheng's gaze lingered on Shi Qing's face for a second, then he suddenly raised his lips.
Seeing Shi Qing looking like she had made a mistake, Liang Yuheng felt inexplicably guilty.
He cleared his throat and said, "No, I just had a nightmare. I'm going to take a shower to calm down."
After hearing this, Shi Qing said "Oh," and, believing it to be true, asked, "Do you often have nightmares at night?"
Liang Yuheng: "I didn't have this problem before, maybe I've been a bit tired lately."
Shi Qing noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes and looked quite tired.
Come to think of it, Liang Yuheng must be under a lot of pressure managing such a large company.
Money really isn't easy to earn.
However, she couldn't help him with his work, so Shi Qing thought she would try her best to help him deal with Xia Mingqiu so that he wouldn't have to worry about it.
Shi Qing: "Then you can just go home and rest after get off work these days, you don't need to pick me up."
"It's fine, it's on the way anyway. Otherwise, if I go back by myself, my mom will blame me," Liang Yuheng said with a slight smile.
Shi Qing thought that what he said made sense, and since Xia Mingqiu wouldn't be staying for very long anyway, she would trouble him for a few more days.
The driver dropped Shi Qing off not far from the mall and then drove towards the company.
Shi Qing arrived at the store early today. Because of her hand injury, she couldn't train on her own, so she took out her phone to watch online training videos.
Soon after, Luo Luo, the receptionist, arrived. Upon seeing Shi Qing, she exclaimed in surprise, "Qingqing, isn't that outfit you're wearing from that store downstairs? Why are you treating yourself so much lately?"
Just then, Zhao Xiaoxue and Wang Senran arrived and both glanced at Shi Qing.
This morning, Shi Qing casually grabbed a white sleeveless dress from the walk-in closet. It didn't have any obvious logo on it, but her colleagues still noticed.
Luo Luo comes from a well-off family and is quite knowledgeable about luxury goods. Shi Qing was worried that Luo Luo might not believe her if she said she bought a high-quality replica, so she could only say, "A friend of mine gave it to me."
Luo Luo's eyes sparkled: "Wow, your friend must be very rich!"
Shi Qing: "Hmm, it's alright."
Luo Luo: "I envy you so much for having such a good friend."
Zhao Xiaoxue and Wang Senran clearly didn't believe it and disdainfully linked arms with each other to go to the dressing room to change clothes.
Wang Senran scoffed, "Look at her. She's just wearing a nice dress, and she wants the whole world to know about it."
Zhao Xiaoxue snorted, "Never seen anything good before, huh? Who knows where those clothes came from? A friend gave them to you, do you believe that?"
Wang Senran curled her lip: "Where would someone like her make rich friends? She's kidding me."
"It might not be a woman. I saw her flirting with my client's husband yesterday. Do you think she might have already..." Zhao Xiaoxue winked, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
Wang Senran: "Which client are you referring to?"
Zhao Xiaoxue: "She's the wife of that senior executive at Keyu. Her husband is always adding people on WeChat in the break room. I didn't realize he was such a generous person."
A barely perceptible trace appeared on Wang Senran's face, but she still feigned surprise: "Really? I thought their relationship was pretty good!"
Zhao Xiaoxue: "Men are good at pretending. Maybe the couple are each doing their own thing."
After someone came in, the two changed the subject.
After finishing a group class, Shi Qing came out and heard arguing at the front desk, so she went over to investigate.
As soon as Feng Ningning saw Shi Qing, she pulled her over: "Coach Shi, you're here. Mom, this is the coach I have."
Shi Qing was unaware of the current situation, but seeing that Zhao Xiaoxue and store manager Darnell were both there, she politely greeted Feng Ningning's mother.
Mrs. Feng looked unhappy and said to Darnell, "I originally wanted to come for a trial class with Coach Shi today. You just said that Coach Zhao was available and insisted that I try it. But after the trial, I felt that Coach Zhao's style was not suitable for me, so I still want to sign up for Coach Shi."
Although Madam Feng's words were quite tactful, everyone could still tell that she did not acknowledge Zhao Xiaoxue's abilities.
Judging from the way Feng's mother dressed when she came today, her family must be very well-off. Of course, Zhao Xiaoxue wanted to get this lucrative job.
Being directly asked to change coaches made Zhao Xiaoxue feel as if she had been slapped in the face. She looked at Darnell with a wronged expression.
Darnell gave Mrs. Feng a professional fake smile and said, "It's like this, Coach Shi recently injured her hand, so we thought it would be less strenuous for her to come in. Besides, Coach Zhao is one of our shop's top coaches, and she's very experienced in body sculpting."
Ms. Feng's attitude was firm: "I have made it very clear that if Coach Shi does not have time, then I will not sign up for the course for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Darnell quickly smiled and said, "I have time, I have time. Coach Shi is also a very good coach. Thank you very much for your trust. How about this, I'll give you a trial lesson with Coach Shi when you have time another day."
After hearing this, Feng's mother felt a little relieved and then arranged a class time with Shi Qing.
Zhao Xiaoxue couldn't make a scene in front of the customers, so she went directly to Shi Qing after they left.
"Shi Qing, what do you mean? Are you trying to monopolize all the customers in the store?!"
Shi Qing turned to look at her: "I don't understand what you mean either. Mrs. Feng asked to take my class herself."
Zhao Xiaoxue crossed her arms and said angrily, "If you hadn't told her daughter not to enroll in other people's classes, why would she only recognize you?"
Shi Qing took out a thermos from the cabinet and said calmly, "Instead of wasting your time, you should think about why people don't want to attend your classes."
Zhao Xiaoxue was furious and embarrassed: "What do you mean! Explain yourself today!"
After saying that, Shi Qing went to the training room: "Literally, I have a customer. I haven't forgotten what the store manager criticized me for last time, and I don't want to argue with you."
Zhao Xiaoxue was so angry that she went to Darnell's office.
Darnell glanced nervously at the door, then immediately closed it and whispered a reprimand: "Your behavior is too obvious. Don't come looking for me unless it's absolutely necessary."
"What? You've had your fun and now you're going to deny it?" Zhao Xiaoxue's expression changed upon hearing this.
Darnell: "What nonsense are you talking about? Keep your voice down!"
Zhao Xiaoxue: "Why should that person be given to Shi Qing! She has more members than I do now, and they are all very loyal. She's only been here for six months. Why should she be given that opportunity?!"
Darnell: "There's no denying she's talented."
Zhao Xiaoxue frowned: "You actually praised her? Are you planning to give her the assistant store manager position as well?"
Darnell was worried that if he really angered Zhao Xiaoxue, she would expose their affair, and besides, he hadn't had enough fun yet.
He's been arguing with his wife a lot lately, so having a young and pretty lover in the office to comfort each other isn't bad.
Darnell softened his expression and gently coaxed, "How could that be? It must be yours. I've already reported it to my superiors."
Zhao Xiaoxue finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
She came out of Darnell's office and saw Shi Qing teaching a class. The two exchanged a glance.
Zhao Xiaoxue mouthed to her, "We'll see."
Shi Qing pretended not to see it and continued the lesson.
At noon, Shi Qing had just finished her last class and was about to go to the bar to get some water when Luo Luo at the front desk waved her over.
"Qingqing, your mom brought you food! She's in the break room!"
Shi Qing was stunned for a moment before she remembered that Xia Mingqiu had said he would bring her food that morning.
Luo Luo: "Your mom treats you so well, I'm so envious of you. My mom has never brought me food."
Shi Qingxin said that she didn't have a biological mother either.
"I'm quite envious of mine," Shi Qing joked. "I'll talk to you later, I'm going to get some water."
"Go ahead, go ahead, sigh, suddenly I don't find my own takeout appealing anymore."
Shi Qing poured Xia Mingqiu a cup of warm water in a disposable cup, then went to the lounge and called out "Mom".
There were other people in the lounge at that moment, and they all looked over curiously.
Although Xia Mingqiu's clothes were understated, he had a very elegant demeanor and a subtle air of nobility, making him look unlike an ordinary person.
"Qingqing, get out of class is over. Are you hungry? Come and eat." Xia Mingqiu called Shi Qing over.
Shi Qing sat down opposite her and handed her the water: "Mom, when did you get here?"
"I just arrived not long ago." Xia Mingqiu opened the insulated box, which contained four carefully prepared dishes and a soup.
"Let me do it." Shi Qing took the initiative to bring out the food. "Your mom's cooking is really good. The smell makes me so hungry."
Xia Mingqiu said happily, "Then eat more."
Shi Qing nodded: "Mom, did you send any to Aheng?"
Xia Mingqiu: "Don't worry about him, he won't starve at the company. This was made especially for you."
Shi Qing said with a smile, "Mom, you're so good to me."
“I’ve always wanted a daughter, and now that my wish has finally come true, who else would I treat well if not you, my only daughter?” Xia Mingqiu said with a gentle smile as he picked up a lamb rib for Shi Qing.
Shi Qing's nose tingled with emotion: "Mom, thank you."
So this is what it feels like to be loved exclusively.
Xia Mingqiu: "Silly child, there's no need to thank me. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold."
"good."
For a moment, Shi Qing had a thought: why isn't Xia Mingqiu her mother?
Not long after Shi Qing finished eating, Xia Mingqiu chatted with her for a while before going back.
Shi Qing suddenly remembered that Liang Yuheng had said he wanted to meet her parents, so she picked up her phone to call Zhang Mei.
Zhang Mei had completely forgotten about Shi Qing's relationship lately: "You never asked me to bring her before, why are you so eager this time?"
Shi Qing was in a good mood because she had just seen Xia Mingqiu, so she didn't care about Zhang Mei's attitude: "He happens to be free at this time, and he may go on a business trip to another city later."
Zhang Mei wasn't in the mood to arrange this, but remembering that Shi Qing had mentioned Liang Yuheng's family owned a company, she wanted to see him: "When are you coming back?"
Sunday.
"Okay, okay, I got it."
-
Shi Qing's legs ached from standing all day. Because of her right hand injury, she couldn't demonstrate the movements herself, and she'd been talking more than usual these past few days.
The student in the last class asked for leave at the last minute, so she could leave work an hour early and go back to her rented apartment to get some clothes.
Shi Qing originally planned to take a taxi home by herself, but Liang Yuheng said that he was off work and would take her with him.
After leaving the store, Shi Qing waited for Liang Yuheng in the same spot.
At that moment, a car stopped in front of her. Shi Qing originally thought that Liang Yuheng had changed cars today, but when the window rolled down, it turned out to be Shao Guang.
Shao Guang smiled ingratiatingly, "Isn't this Coach Shi? I thought I was seeing things. What a coincidence!"
"Hello." Shi Qing gently raised the corners of her mouth.
"Don't bother taking a taxi, I'll give you a ride." Shao Guang raised his chin at Shi Qing, looking superior.
Shi Qing remained standing upright and said calmly, "No need, someone is coming to pick me up."
Shao Guang thought Shi Qing was making up an excuse, so he got out of the car and opened the passenger door, saying, "Don't be so polite with me. I'm free. Where do you live? I'll give you a ride home."
Shi Qing was speechless. How could this man not understand human language? But because he was her husband, a member of the store, she couldn't lose her temper, so she had to restrain herself and say, "Really, it's not necessary."
Shao Guang tried to add Shi Qing on WeChat last time but failed. He felt embarrassed because Shi Qing kept avoiding his attempts to please her.
But at the same time, I became even more curious about the person in front of me.
Just as he was about to step forward and have a proper "talk" with her, a sharp voice came from behind him: "Are you going to escort my wife?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
