Chapter 53 - 52: What Is Shi Changying’s Identity to Have a Night Meeting With Xie Qingshi?
Chapter 53: Chapter 52: What Is Shi Changying’s Identity to Have a Night Meeting With Xie Qingshi?
The moment this name was spoken, the entire living room fell dead silent.
Even Xu Shuyu, who was never interested in entertainment gossip, couldn’t help but look up. "Are you talking about Xie Lin, with the characters for ’gratitude’ and ’facing the wind’?"
"Who is Maestro Xie Lin? How could he possibly be messing around with you at two in the morning?" Old Madam Xu was furious. "How dare you lie to me! Bring the whip!"
Housekeeper Xu was just about to move, but he froze abruptly in place. Clearly, he had remembered the stinging pain of the whip lashing his own body on the day he first met Shi Changying.
Shi Changying, however, looked right at him. "Are you deaf? Go get it."
Housekeeper Xu shuddered. Unable to read Shi Changying’s attitude, he hesitated before walking toward the storage room where the whip was kept. His legs were stiff, and he walked very slowly.
Xu Zhao Yu’s expression grew subtle. After all, she had married Meng Baizhou and moved into the Meng family twenty years ago, only returning to the Xu family during holidays. Even though she had grown somewhat distant from the family after her marriage, she had still lived with them for over two decades. How many days had Shi Changying been back? Not even ten. Yet Housekeeper Xu was already starting to obey her? Xu Zhao Yu felt a sudden tightness in her chest.
"Not only are your words full of lies, but you’ve repeatedly disrespected your elders." Old Madam Xu trembled with anger. "You have absolutely no sense of hierarchy or respect for seniority!"
Shi Changying acted as if she had heard something hilarious. Looking down at Old Madam Xu, she said, "The only reason you can spout those clichés is because you’re inferior to me. All you can do is use the words of our ancestors to lecture me."
During her first year on the imperial throne, those were the words she had heard the most. Respect for seniority? A sense of hierarchy? That all depended on what kind of elder she was dealing with.
Old Madam Xu flew into a rage. "How dare you talk back! Where is the whip?!"
Housekeeper Xu brought the whip over, his body reacting subconsciously before his brain could even process it. Under Xu Zhao Yu’s astonished gaze, the whip was handed directly to Shi Changying.
Shi Changying finally smiled, looking down at him condescendingly. "So obedient."
"Housekeeper Xu, what are you doing?" Old Madam Xu nearly choked on her own breath. "Are you trying to rebel, too?"
Housekeeper Xu jolted. When he realized what he had just done, his face turned deathly pale. "Old Madam, I..."
Did he actually want to get beaten? But the whip was already in Shi Changying’s hands, and getting her to hand it over was simply impossible.
"Changying, Dad brought you some food, you—" Ming Chengli’s voice abruptly cut off.
Moving with lightning speed, he pulled Shi Changying behind him and assumed a defensive stance. It was obvious he had done this many times before.
"Mom, what are you trying to do this time?" Ming Chengli looked at Old Madam Xu warily. "Are you trying to whip her again?"
Looking at him, Old Madam Xu’s heart ached. It felt as though a breath was caught in her chest, refusing to go up or down. Choking back her emotions, she said, "Chengli, Mom is doing this for your own good! She... Do you even know what she did?"
She recounted the whole story, trembling with anger once more. Whether they were from prestigious families or humble households, no daughter acted like Shi Changying!
Ming Chengli frowned. "Then why don’t you believe Changying? She said she only went out for a midnight snack and didn’t run into any bad people."
"Fourth Brother, I’m afraid you don’t know who Xie Lin is," Xu Zhao Yu said with a slight smile. "He’s a musician. He’s only twenty-six this year, yet he has already taken the international stage. He’s capable of representing Jiuzhou to compete for international music awards."
Even the major families were scrambling to invite him. With Shi Changying’s status, how could she possibly have a late-night rendezvous with him?
Hearing Xie Lin’s name again, Ming Chengli paused for a moment. "Oh, a descendant of Xie Qingshi."
"Xie... Xie Qingshi?" For the first time, Xu Zhao Yu’s smile froze on her face. She felt a frustrating sense of having thrown a punch that completely missed its mark.
Xu Shuyu calmly pointed out Ming Chengli’s mistake. "Maestro Xie Lin is not a descendant of Xie Qingshi. Experts have already verified this."
"What experts? How did they verify it?" Shi Changying crossed her arms. "Did they use the triple evidence method? How can they be so certain without it?"
Xu Shuyu hadn’t expected someone to debate academics with her. She paused for a moment, her expression remaining indifferent. "Everything does require evidence. You say the person you met was Xie Lin. Do you have proof?"
"I do." Shi Changying toyed with the whip in her hands. "Don’t you guys read the news? Are you cavemen?"
Old Madam Xu was still on the verge of fury. "What news?"
"Grandma, it’s an entertainment news report from this morning," Xu Shuyu said flatly. "The media photographed Maestro Xie Lin and his friend on Thirteen Street. The time was—"
Her voice abruptly cut off. She looked up at Shi Changying, meeting her indifferent gaze, before forcing out the rest of her sentence: "A little past two in the morning."
The time actually matched. However, the news had lost most of its traction by now, and netizens were all claiming the media had fabricated the story.
"See this? This is my shirt." Shi Changying pulled up a photo on her phone. "The patch of fabric on the back wasn’t originally part of the shirt. My dad found another piece of cloth and sewed it on. Do you still need to see the physical shirt?"
"It really is." Ming Chengli inspected it closely and said with pride, "Dad’s handiwork is still pretty good! Even with a patch, it looks even more stylish now!"
"Yeah," Shi Changying agreed lazily. "My dad can do anything."
Ming Chengli looked even prouder.
Old Madam Xu opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a single word. Her face stung fiercely, as if she had just been slapped. It took her a long time to stammer out, "Was... was it really Maestro Xie Lin?"
"I didn’t expect Changying to have such good luck. So many people want to run into Maestro Xie Lin, yet never get the chance," Xu Zhao Yu interjected smoothly. "Mom, Maestro Xie Lin is naturally a very kind person. He would treat anyone to a meal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so many fans devoted to his good character."
Old Madam Xu remained silent.
Xu Zhao Yu’s expression shifted imperceptibly. She dug her nails into her palms and said in a low voice, "I’m just relieved Changying didn’t run into a dangerous stranger. It’s getting late. I’ll take Shuyu home now."
Only then did Old Madam Xu snap out of her daze. "It’s so late," she said worriedly. "Why don’t you just stay the night?"
Xu Zhao Yu smiled once more. "I’ll listen to you, Mom." But as she watched Ming Chengli take out freshly made steamed dumplings and hand them to Shi Changying, she pursed her lips.
Was Shi Changying’s luck really that good? Meeting Xie Lin was one thing, but there were even media photos to prove it? Xu Zhao Yu exhaled, her chest still feeling uncomfortably tight. For her, this was destined to be another sleepless night.
When she woke up the next day, it was already nine in the morning. Having slept poorly, Xu Zhao Yu had a splitting headache. She rubbed her temples as she headed downstairs.
"Shuangqiao?" Seeing Xu Shuangqiao eating breakfast in the dining room, Xu Zhao Yu was surprised. "When did you get back?"
"Hello, Aunt Zhao Yu," Xu Shuangqiao greeted her. "I got back yesterday. It was too late, so I didn’t go back to the old estate. Did you actually stay over at Grandpa and Grandma’s place last night?"
Xu Zhao Yu knew Xu Shuangqiao was merely asking out of politeness, but she still felt as though she had been exposed. She smiled and said, "I brought your cousin Shuyu back to pick something up yesterday. It got too late, so we stayed over."
Xu Shuangqiao nodded and didn’t ask any further, burying her head back into her food.
"Shuangqiao, what time did you arrive? You probably haven’t met Changying yet, have you?" Xu Zhao Yu sat down opposite her. "Although Changying didn’t grow up in the Xu family, she has quite a personality. If she offends you, you must bear with her."
Before Xu Shuangqiao could speak, the front door opened and someone else returned. It was Xu Yunfan.
Xu Zhao Yu smiled happily. "Second Brother."
Xu Yunfan also sat down at the dining table, looking at the ravenously eating Xu Shuangqiao in amusement. "Why does it look like Shuangqiao hasn’t eaten in ages?"
"Sigh. I was mugged last night. I’m still a bit scared," Xu Shuangqiao said, biting into a fried egg. "If it weren’t for Cousin Changying bravely stepping in to help, I definitely wouldn’t have come back to see you in one piece."