After the Fake Heiress Died, She Was Filled with Regret - Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Goodbye, Little Dolphin…

Xia Shinan watched her phone being snatched away, remaining silent.

As the car drove onto the main road, Tang Yin’s call came through, but before she could answer, Xia Tong quickly grabbed the phone and hung up.

“Let my dear niece wait a moment.”

Xia Shinan pursed her lips. Tang Yin would certainly be worried, but she had no way to let Tang Yin know she was safe. What should she do?

She looked at Xia Tong, a bad feeling rising in her heart, but she couldn’t articulate it. The car doors were locked, and jumping out wasn’t a smart choice, so communication had to come first.

“The police investigated me, trying to find evidence that I murdered Xia Shentu, but in the end, they had to release me.” Xia Tong looked straight ahead, driving and speaking in a light, casual tone.

But Xia Shinan noticed that her fingers were tightly gripping the steering wheel, knuckles prominent. Sure enough, the next sentence began to sound increasingly erratic.

“You guys are still too young. Did you think that alone could bring me down? I’ve been struggling for so many years; where wouldn’t I have some connections? Without concrete evidence, the police can’t convict me! Just wait. I’ve only stumbled temporarily, but I will certainly make a comeback!”

Xia Shinan looked at the woman, whose eyes were full of wrinkles, her smile almost manic, and her heart grew heavier.

She recalled her childhood, when the woman would secretly take her out to eat all the forbidden foods Xie Wan never allowed, and to amusement parks Xie Wan never took her to, letting her be the carefree Xia Shinan, happy all day.

The first person who made Xia Shinan feel freedom was actually Xia Tong.

Even though she would be reprimanded by Xie Wan upon returning, locked in the house for reflection, forced to play the piano for seven or eight hours, and sometimes even forbidden to eat… she still loved Xia Tong, this aunt who was completely different from the rest of the Xia family.

But when did she start to change? Xia Shinan posed the question, then immediately gave herself an answer.

Perhaps Xia Tong had never changed; she was just too good at hiding it, so good that everyone believed she was a very kind aunt.

She was too young and too trusting back then and never saw clearly.

For instance, every time Xia Tong took her out, she probably knew better than anyone that it would incur Xie Wan’s displeasure, yet she did it anyway.

Afterward, she would just say: “Shinan, don’t cry. Next time, Auntie will take you to see dolphins. Dolphins are angels of the ocean, mankind’s best friends! Just like you, you are a little angel…”

These words of comfort made Xia Shinan believe that the world was beautiful after all. She just had an overly strict mother, and it was no big deal.

But later, Xia Tong didn’t keep her promise; she was assigned to work in another city. Xia Shinan remembered how sad she was when her aunt left, crying all night.

The woman in her memory and the vicious-looking woman before her now intertwined. Xia Shinan blinked, took a deep breath. She stopped dwelling on the past and spoke calmly: “So, where are you taking me now?”

Xia Tong scoffed. “Tang Yin hid you too well, and you’ve been avoiding me. It’s too hard to catch up with you two.”

“Just catching up?” Xia Shinan tilted her head and looked at her. “Then pull over, find a quiet place, and we can catch up slowly.”

Xia Tong smirked. “I’m taking you to my old house. No one knows about it. We can catch up slowly there… Shinan, you were never foolish. In fact, you’re a very smart girl. I underestimated you before, thinking you were just like those delicate young ladies from wealthy families, with no pursuits beyond jewelry and handbags. Even becoming an artist was just for fame and fortune. After all… once you’re used to a luxurious life, it’s hard to go back to ordinary days.”

“But I found that you’ve changed, or perhaps I never truly recognized you! You are completely out of my control, just like Tang Yin… I hate people I can’t control the most. If you two had just been obedient and listened, why would we be in this situation! This is all your fault!”

She became increasingly agitated: “If you had just stayed in Singapore obediently, none of this would have happened!”

Xia Shinan laughed sarcastically at this. “Why should we be obedient? Are we your pets? You wanted me to stay in Singapore so you could use me to manipulate Tang Yin, didn’t you?”

“Besides… we have our own minds and things we want to do.” She paused, then looked at Xia Tong. “And we won’t forget everything you’ve done to us.”

Xia Tong’s eyes were bloodshot. “To be honest, I harbor resentment too. If Dad hadn’t abandoned me back then, I could have had a good life! How else would I…”

…end up like this.

“Why should the next generation bear the burden of your hatred?” Xia Shinan looked at her. “If you hadn’t swapped Tang Yin and me, we would have had our own lives!”

“Lives? What lives could you have had?” Xia Tong sneered. “Xia Shinan, you should be thanking me! Because of me, you lived the life of a rich young lady for twenty years. Otherwise, all the suffering Tang Yin went through would have been yours!”

“Logically, you should be on my side, taking everything Tang Yin has!”

Xia Shinan looked at her coldly. “You hate Grandpa, so you want to take out your revenge on the Xia family on Tang Yin and me. By doing this, you’ve made Tang Yin and me hate you completely.”

In Xia Tong’s life philosophy, everyone else was wrong, and only she held the truth. Everyone else was to blame for her current state.

“Yes, what goes around comes around!” Xia Tong’s smile was somewhat desolate. “Didn’t Tang Yin strike back at me too? I’m just fighting back now!”

Xia Shinan asked her again: “What exactly do you want to do?”

Xia Tong looked at the sunset on the distant horizon, feeling that no matter how beautiful the scenery was, it couldn’t warm her heart.

“The Xia Corporation is finished. I’m bankrupt now. But Tang Yin still won’t let me go, constantly attacking me, leaving me no way out. To make a comeback, Tang Yin has to step aside for me! And… I want Tang Yin to give me a share of SN’s equity! At least 20%!”

Xia Shinan’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”

“I’ve been crazy for a long time!” Xia Tong laughed maniacally, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes as she looked at Xia Shinan: “If Tang Yin doesn’t agree, she can just wait to collect your corpse!”

Collect the corpse…

Xia Shinan’s heart sank, and she couldn’t help but panic. She looked around and realized the car was now on the highway. She took a deep breath, burying her nervousness, trying to keep herself composed and calm.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to talk to Tang Yin? How can you talk to her if you take me away from Haicheng? Give me back my phone. I’ll call Tang Yin and tell her to agree to your terms.”

Xia Tong looked at her scornfully. “You’ll help me?”

Xia Shinan smiled faintly. “Of course. I know better than anyone that being alive is the most important thing. After all, it wasn’t easy for Heaven to give me a chance to live. Besides, I owe you a life. If you hadn’t given me the ticket to Singapore back then, I might have died on that flight. I’ll help you, and you let me out of the car. Can we do that?”

“Hahahaha! Xia Shinan, it’s rare to hear those words from you,” Xia Tong laughed savagely, then shook her head. “Fine, but not now.”

Xia Shinan clutched the seatbelt. “Then drive slower. I get carsick.”

Xia Tong frowned, but she eased off the gas pedal slightly. “Behave. My people have already gone to find Tang Yin with the documents. Once I settle things with Tang Yin, I will naturally let you go.”

Xia Shinan watched the sky turn blood-red from the sunset. Where would this coastal highway lead? Xia Shinan didn’t know. Her anxiety grew stronger, and she was very afraid.

“I’m a bit hungry. How about we stop at a service area to rest and grab something to eat before continuing?” Xia Shinan continued to try and open a dialogue.

“Don’t push your luck!” Xia Tong refused without hesitation. “If you’re hungry, suck it up!” No sooner had she spoken than her gaze quickly fixed on a black sedan closely following behind.

“Being followed?! Is it Tang Yin?”

Xia Shinan was startled, and her eyes followed to the car behind. The black sedan was tailing them tightly, not keeping a safe distance, almost deliberately following so closely.

“It’s not Tang Yin.”

Xia Shinan immediately judged.

Xia Tong pursed her lips, stepped on the gas to speed up, trying to shake off the car behind. But quickly, that car also accelerated, even changing lanes from behind to drive parallel with them.

“What the hell does this car want! Is he trying to die?” Xia Tong cursed, turning her head for a look. Her face changed color. “Is that… Lin Yu?!”

Lin Yu?

Xia Shinan immediately turned to look. It really was him! After many years, the man’s hateful face was now incredibly vicious, glaring at them with a hint of malice.

Xia Shinan looked at Xia Tong and asked, “Why is Lin Yu following us? No, he’s following you!”

Xia Tong gripped the steering wheel tightly. While trying to shake off Lin Yu, she said fiercely: “That idiot! It’s his own fault for being so stupid. He believed my few words and rushed to find someone to cause the car accident to harm Tang Yin. Now he’s being pursued by the police and is on the run, and he blames me for it!”

“The Lin family has abandoned him. He expects me to take responsibility! What an imbecile!”

Xia Shinan held the seatbelt tightly and couldn’t help but say, “Can’t you two sit down and talk about your feud! It’s too dangerous on the highway! Drive slower, pull over at the next service area!”

“Shut up…” Xia Tong only felt annoyed. Seeing that Lin Yu wouldn’t back down, she instinctively stepped on the gas to accelerate, trying to change lanes and overtake Lin Yu.

But just then, Lin Yu’s car suddenly swerved violently, crashing into their car. Xia Shinan screamed. She thought she saw Lin Yu telling them: “Go to hell!”

Immediately afterward, there was a deafening crash.

The car flipped, falling over the highway guardrail and plunging into the sea, creating a massive splash, like a beast opening its mouth and swallowing them and the car whole.

Her ears went deaf instantly. Xia Shinan couldn’t hear anything. In her eyes, there was only the sunset, still so warm… Many images flashed through her mind, reminding her of the past, the purest time.

It was also under such a sunset that she and Tang Yin walked on campus, listening to music on the radio, harboring her fondness for Tang Yin but too shy to say it.

And the time they vacationed in the countryside, holding hands while walking by the lake… The subsequent kisses, scene after scene, flashed through her mind, before returning to reality.

Was she going to die? Would she die?

No, she hadn’t lived enough. She and Tang Yin had just started their new life. They still had decades to spend together. If she died, what would Tang Yin do?

Xia Shinan sharply focused her eyes, snapping back to awareness. Only then did she realize the car was slowly sinking into the sea. Looking up, she could just see the sparkling surface of the water. Seawater was continuously pouring in. Any moment now, the car would be completely submerged…

Xia Shinan turned to look at Xia Tong, who was leaning against the driver’s seat, seemingly unconscious. She immediately reached out to pat Xia Tong, trying to wake her up, but Xia Tong didn’t respond.

She tried to open the car door, but it wouldn’t budge. And the window… Xia Tong had locked it earlier. Only the driver’s side could unlock it.

What to do? Xia Shinan felt her mind spinning, but a voice inside told her: Be calm.

The seawater was rising fast. Xia Shinan reached for the car lock near Xia Tong, but her body felt increasingly heavy and weak.

Suddenly, Xia Tong reached out and pressed the window button!

“Let’s get out quickly… cough cough!” After saying just a few words, Xia Shinan choked on the seawater and resorted to gestures, telling Xia Tong to get out through the window.

As long as they weren’t trapped in the car, there was hope for survival.

However, she saw Xia Tong shake her head, her trembling finger pointing at her leg.

She was trapped and couldn’t move.

Then, she pointed at the window again, waving her hand lightly. Her mouth slowly opened and formed two silent words: You go.

Xia Shinan was stunned for two seconds, then immediately scrambled toward the window, struggling to squeeze through the opening.

The car was sinking faster. By the time she squeezed out, she could barely see the surface of the sea. Xia Shinan turned back and saw Xia Tong still looking at her.

“Wait for me…” She tried to speak but couldn’t, then continued swimming toward the surface.

Xia Tong looked at the girl, letting a faint smile appear on her lips. She waved her hand again, then slowly lowered it.

She looked at the deep sea in the distance, feeling as though she heard the lullaby her mother sang to her as a child. A song she later sang to Xia Shinan.

In the beginning, whenever she saw Xia Shinan, a strange sense of guilt would arise. She even confessed at her mother’s grave, wondering if she had been terribly wrong to involve two innocent girls in her revenge.

But she couldn’t turn back, nor could she allow herself to.

When she saw Tang Yin, she was surprised that a girl could be so self-reliant in such a terrible environment. This fiercely ambitious nature earned Xia Tong’s admiration but also a hint of fear.

She worried that she wouldn’t be able to control Tang Yin in the future, worried that the girl would bite back.

And whenever Xia Shinan lived so cautiously in the Xia family, Xia Tong would feel a surge of remorse, taking her to the amusement park and buying her the most delicious ice cream.

But when Xia Shinan was punished by Xie Wan, she would suddenly feel a wicked sense of satisfaction.

She genuinely wanted to help Xia Shinan leave A City and start a new life in Singapore—it was her way of atonement. But seeing Tang Yin’s influence grow, she couldn’t help but see Xia Shinan as a chess piece for future leverage against Tang Yin.

Indeed… everything had its cause and effect.

Xia Tong suddenly felt so tired. She had spent her entire life fighting for revenge and against the injustices of her childhood. Fighting with Xia Shentu, fighting with Xie Wan. When that couple fell, she continued fighting with Tang Yin and Xia Shinan.

Tang Yin had given her a chance to stop, but she was unwilling. She had worked so hard for years, only to be tripped up by a young girl. She felt like a joke! So, she had to keep fighting. That way, she would have a goal to sustain and maintain her…

But what had this life been for? At this moment, Xia Tong was confused.

As her consciousness faded, she didn’t think of the cunning of commercial warfare, nor the satisfaction of toppling Xia Shentu.

Instead, it was the lullaby her mother sang to her in the evening breeze; her mother gently stroking her hair before passing away, telling her to be strong alone;

And… the little girl’s smiling face.

“Auntie, I don’t want you to leave. I love you the most.”

She remembered how she had soothed the little girl back then.

“Be good. Next time, Auntie will take you to see the dolphins. They are mankind’s good friends, just like you—an angel…”

Like her mother, they were both kind and pure people.

Xia Tong looked at Xia Shinan one last time, gazing deeply before slowly closing her eyes. Goodbye, little dolphin.

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