The Amnesiac Drama Queen Is Crashing the Live Stream - Chapter 13

Since Pei Luoqing left for work, Xia Xingtang hadn’t deigned to speak a single word all morning.

When Xia Qingyue arrived, Xia Xingtang was angrily biting off the rabbit ears from each shrimp dumpling one by one, clearly deeply upset.

All the manners previously instilled with money were discarded, not even a “sister” escaped her lips, just gloomy monosyllables like “ah,” “hmm,” and “oh.”

Xia Qingyue didn’t know the source of this anger, guiltily assuming Xia Xingtang was sulking from being cooped up in the hospital for too long.

Counting the days, it had already been a full half-month.

Double the initial week the doctor had suggested.

Even the driver from the night of the car accident had been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward during this half-month.

It seemed he’d be discharged in a few days.

Xia Qingyue, always sharp in observing Xia Xingtang, noticed her low spirits and worried that keeping her confined might lead to psychological issues. Finally, she relented.

“Tangtang, how about we process your discharge today?”

“Really?”

Xia Xingtang’s eyes lit up instantly, quickly forgetting the morning’s displeasure. “Hurry, hurry, let’s go now.”

Xia Qingyue tapped the back of Xia Xingtang’s head. “Don’t rush.”

Xia Xingtang hissed softly, “Ah Sis, what was that for? Don’t you know the back of my head hasn’t fully healed yet?”

“You know you’re not fully recovered? You can go home, but for the next half-month, you’re not allowed to go out.”

“Fine.” Once Xia Qingyue left, no one would know if she went out anyway.

As if reading her thoughts, Xia Qingyue said calmly, “I’ll tell Yu Feifei. If she dares take you out wandering, I’ll blacklist her in Yuncheng.”

Xia Xingtang’s eyes widened in shock. “Since when do you resort to guilt by association? Aren’t you afraid Uncle Yu will cause trouble for Huanyu?”

“With money, you can do whatever you want,” Xia Qingyue sneered. “Besides, if I really blacklist her in Yuncheng, her parents would probably come thanking me that very night.”

She added leisurely, “Yuncheng’s nightlife has changed over the past seven years, it’s not what you remember. I doubt you’d want to embarrass yourself in front of others.”

She had Xia Xingtang completely figured out.

The proud princess wouldn’t lower herself to explore unfamiliar places without a familiar companion, like Grandma Liu touring the Grand View Garden.

She wouldn’t stoop to providing amusement for others.

Moreover, she was provoked by Xia Qingyue’s “with money, you can do whatever you want.”

Remembering the asset statements Xia Qingyue had compiled for her gave her a headache. Who knew how much she’d lost during her hospital stay?

She needed to focus on making money and building her career. She was busy.

No time for trivial matters.

And certainly no time for idle pleasures.

“Alright, alright, I promise I won’t go out for the next half-month. So, can I be discharged now?” The last few words were nearly gritted out.

Xia Qingyue nodded in satisfaction. “Of course.”

Life back at Blue Bay Mansion didn’t seem much different from the hospital.

Meanwhile, Pei Luoqing had flown to Munich for a week-long business trip to negotiate a deal, leaving Xia Xingtang alone in the empty villa.

But Xia Xingtang didn’t seem to mind.

Especially when she returned home and found no trace of Pei Luoqing in her room, her imagination once again conjured up a dramatic scenario.

She had no idea how she had threatened Pei Luoqing into becoming a live-in daughter-in-law back when they got married, nor how she had irresponsibly gone abroad to enjoy herself after bringing her home.

Since she had ignored her for the past three years, it was only fair to give her some space now, an opportunity for the weak live-in daughter-in-law to grow into a domineering CEO like Long Aotian.

At the same time, Xia Xingtang did not neglect her own career ambitions. After familiarizing herself with the industry documents sent by Xia Qingyue, she grew increasingly silent as she read through them.

It wasn’t just the losses that left her speechless, many of the assets were jointly owned by her and Pei Luoqing as partners and shareholders.

What stood out was that the ventures Pei Luoqing had been involved in seemed to be performing better, in fact, significantly better.

It was as if they were blessed by the heavens, with profits skyrocketing year after year.

Puzzled by this anomaly, she arranged to meet with the professional managers of several representative companies at a café.

But all she got were evasive, bureaucratic responses. Whenever the conversation touched on crucial matters, they would repeatedly say, “It was decided by President Pei.”

Xia Xingtang: “…”

She could easily imagine her 23-year-old self carelessly handing over her assets to a beautiful partner to manage.

Three years, just enough time for Pei Luoqing to cultivate her own influence.

Although, according to the usual tropes of live-in son-in-law stories, Pei Luoqing should have already sidelined her, hollowed out the companies, or transferred the key assets.

Yet, judging by the revenue on the financial statements and the fact that she still held a majority stake, it seemed Pei Luoqing didn’t hold that much resentment toward her.

Or perhaps she hadn’t yet started to completely sideline her, only showing early signs of it.

Since when do professional managers take orders from the second-largest shareholder while being evasive with the majority shareholder!

Xia Xingtang clutched her chest and took a deep breath. Thank goodness she had lost her memory early.

Thank goodness her amnesiac self had realized her mistakes in time.

Otherwise, Pei Luoqing would have truly “killed her wife to prove her Dao.”

Xia Xingtang held it in for several days, but old and new grievances surged within her. Finally, she couldn’t resist venting about Pei Luoqing to Yu Feifei during dinner.

Yu Feifei, who had been thrown into the deep mountains by her agent to film and was bitten by mosquitoes for so long that she was already fuming, immediately sided with Xia Xingtang without even asking for the full story.

Drawing on her experience in the entertainment industry and her talent for arguing with fans on her alternate accounts, Yu Feifei echoed Xia Xingtang’s complaints and harshly criticized Pei Luoqing, successfully smoothing down Xia Xingtang’s ruffled feathers.

Slightly calmer, Xia Xingtang slowly recounted the incident from that night when she had invited Pei Luoqing to stay at the hospital.

After finishing her story, the second young miss of the Xia family thoughtfully summarized: [Thinking she’s so impressive? Hah!]

[Do you think Pei Luoqing has delusional disorder?]

[Which psychiatric department in Yuncheng is more authoritative?]

Yu Feifei silently recalled how Xia Xingtang had once asked her about gynecology. It was hard to believe that in just half a month, things had changed so drastically.

Before, Xia Xingtang had been fiercely protective of Pei Luoqing, refusing to say a word of complaint. Now, her words were filled with nothing but grievances against him.

How novel.

However, after replaying what Xia Xingtang had said in her mind, she silently edited back the snarky comment she had been about to send.

Was Pei Luoqing really bullying Xia Xingtang?

Wasn’t this just flirting?

Damn lesbians, just perish already.

Though she thought this, the message she ended up sending was:

[Our noble princess inviting her is an honor for her.]

[How can Pei Luoqing be so average yet so confident?]

After receiving Yu Feifei’s reply, Xia Xingtang fell silent for three seconds before instinctively defending Pei Luoqing: [Actually… she’s not that average. She’s quite good-looking…]

If it weren’t for that face, how could she have married into the family?

Even if she had been blind at twenty, she wouldn’t have misjudged beauty.

Besides, Pei Luoqing was quite good at making money. Look at all the joint ventures, weren’t they all quite profitable?

Now it was Yu Feifei’s turn to fall silent.

She didn’t know how to respond.

She thought she was quite skilled at scripted comforting, but faced with Xia Xingtang like this, she was at a loss.

These damn couples, you can’t praise them, and you can’t criticize them either. So difficult.

Fortunately, Xia Xingtang only defended Pei Luoqing that one time before launching into a tirade of accusations again:

[She’s been gone for almost a week now, and aside from sending a sticker when transferring my allowance every day, she hasn’t said a single word. Isn’t that a problem?]

[Do you think she’s cheating on me?]

[I’m not even dead yet, and she’s already thinking about having multiple wives and building a harem.]

Yu Feifei quickly joined in with a flurry of complaints, finally managing to soothe Xia Xingtang.

Xia Xingtang was about to say more when Yu Feifei replied: [Your Highness, don’t be angry. There’s a birthday party for one of the male actors in my crew tonight, so I need to go get changed. (cat wagging tail.jpg)]

By the time she put her phone away, the sky outside had already darkened.

Xia Xingtang wasn’t sure if she was full from the coffee or just from anger. Not wanting dinner, she packed a few small cakes and drove her yellow Ferrari toward Blue Bay Mansion.

She had considered retaking her driver’s test, but as soon as she sat in the driver’s seat, her muscle memory kicked in. If she weren’t in the city, she would have taken it for a spin to test its limits.

The evening breeze drifted in gently, and the winding bay outside shimmered with starlight under the moonlight, adding an air of mystery to Blue Bay Mansion.

The fragrance of flowers filled the air, carrying a hint of sweetness, making the entire house feel like a work of art.

But soon, this beautiful scene was shattered by Xia Xingtang herself.

Perhaps it was Yu Feifei’s mention of the birthday party that had stirred a longing in Xia Xingtang’s heart. Or perhaps it was the result of lying in the hospital for so long, living a life of abstinence, that made her nostalgic.

She loved the vibrant colors of the night, the dynamic energy and noise of the dance floor.

The huge house was empty except for her. Out of habit, she turned on the million-dollar sound system in the living room and activated the dazzling rotating lights.

The booming house music filled the entire villa, the soundproof glass trapping all the noise inside. Soon, her unpleasant memories were left behind.

“Oh! Yeah!”

“Ride the waves, shout it out!”

“Dance~ and fly~”

She poured a blue-and-green layered whiskey into a tall glass. The sweet and tangy fruit notes gave way to the rich, mellow taste of the liquor.

She grabbed the sparkling microphone, kicked off her high heels, and jumped onto the sofa, imitating those charismatic DJs. “Friends, tonight’s prize draw is full of surprises! The grand prize winner will have the honor of sharing a dance with Xia Xingtang!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Don’t doubt your ears, tonight is entirely hosted by the Second Miss Xia, and the prizes were personally set by her!”

“Hurry up and draw! It has to be me, please let it be me, aaaaaaah!”

Xia Xingtang bounced up and down on the sofa, waving her hands and blowing kisses as she played different roles. After a few rounds, perhaps the alcohol started to kick in, and she grew more and more enthusiastic.

The booming dance music, combined with her voice, amplified the noise inside the villa.

Finally, after bouncing around until she was nearly out of breath, she announced the lucky winner: “Let’s congratulate the fortunate one who gets to dance with Miss Xia Xingtang tonight… Her name is, Pei! Luoqing!”

Her voice overpowered the music as she spun dramatically on the sofa.

But halfway through the spin,

halfway through, she just… just, froze.

Right in front of her, emerging from the staircase, stood Pei Luoqing.

Her face was dark and gloomy, as if she had just been widowed.