After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Was She Crying?

The first thing she thought of after getting the money was to buy her clothes.

What kind of person would treat a stranger this way?

Song Zhi felt that she hadn’t done anything to deserve it, and accepting so much kindness for nothing made her feel guilty. Even if she could pay it back later, the hardship that Shen Ying was facing because of her was real.

Song Zhi smiled. “Let’s just go see the movie. You don’t need to buy clothes. I have enough to wear.”

She decided to be a little better to Shen Ying, because she didn’t want to make Shen Ying sad now, or ever.

She pulled Shen Ying toward the ticket counter. “Which movie do you want to watch? A new one that came out recently is pretty good.”

Actually, no matter what she bought, she couldn’t get anything to wear. Song Zhi was allergic to synthetic fabrics, and natural ones were always expensive. Shen Ying would definitely not be able to afford the cost. Besides, how could she let Shen Ying bear this expense?

Shen Ying said, “I’m here with you, so anything is fine.”

Song Zhi said, “Since you’re with me, then let’s pick a good one. I like them all. What do you prefer?”

Shen Ying didn’t even glance at the tickets. She just looked at her very intently. “I’ve never seen one. You can choose.”

Song Zhi thought, Why are you looking at me? I don’t really like these things either. But if Shen Ying had never seen one, then she would choose carefully.

She was still a bit curious. Movies had been around since the last century. Even if the new projection systems made them a bit more expensive, when it was still old black-and-white, they should have been considered a good deal.

Shen Ying seemed to know what she was thinking. Shen Ying always seemed to know what others were thinking. Song Zhi felt this was a special ability, although she also always seemed to know what others were thinking, but that was because their words would always reveal their intentions.

No one approached her without an ulterior motive, not even Xie Chu.

That was why they thought Song Zhi was terrifying, that she was cold-blooded and unfeeling.

Song Zhi didn’t have much contact with people to begin with, and the West wasn’t a very relationship-oriented society. After these incidents, she became even more of a loner.

What could she say? She just couldn’t tolerate dishonesty.

She just heard Shen Ying say flatly, “When I was at home, only my grandmother liked me.”

Song Zhi, with her quick wits, stopped the topic. Only her grandmother liking her meant her parents didn’t, and if she had siblings, they didn’t either. Although she didn’t think there was anything wrong with not being liked—after all, her father didn’t like her either—she was afraid Shen Ying would care. Shen Ying had a cold exterior but a warm heart.

She closed her mouth, but Shen Ying continued, “That’s when I learned to cook. I had to cook for Grandma, and I had to cook for them.”

In the always dim room, she would often come back from class at noon to cook, and then run to the hospital to deliver food.

She had to do everything fast, faster, and even faster.

Otherwise, when the two of them came back, they would definitely beat her, warn her not to take care of the old woman in the hospital anymore, and very likely lock her up.

Pain was commonplace for Shen Ying. She wasn’t afraid of it. She was afraid of being locked up, because then she wouldn’t be able to go to the hospital.

If she didn’t go, what would Grandma do?

The two of them took the tickets and walked into the movie theater in silence. She felt that the silence was a bit stifling, and she was truly a bit curious. “Then why do you hate Song Zhi?”

If Shen Ying disliked someone else, then based on her understanding of Shen Ying, that person must have done something out of line. But Song Zhi didn’t think she had.

And it seemed the two of them didn’t even know each other.

Shen Ying said, “I don’t hate her.”

Song Zhi: “?”

“I just simply don’t like her. Don’t mention her name in front of me.”

She disliked her so much that hearing her name would give her nightmares at night. She would dream of a hospital under a clear blue sky, of blood on the pristine white walls.

And those hands like withered branches, falling limply in front of her. She could only sadly hold that hand, which had long since turned cold.

She used to have these dreams often. They got better as she grew up, but as soon as she heard the name of someone from the Song family, the nightmares would return at night.

This was like a relentless torment.

The conversation had failed. Song Zhi immediately shut up. If Shen Ying could give a reason, then there would be room for maneuver, but Shen Ying just simply disliked her.

This made her start to reflect. Was it because she had beaten someone into a paraplegic back in the West that Shen Ying disliked her? Or was it because she had sent her brother to the hospital after she came back?

Speaking of which, Song Qin should have been discharged by now.

In the end, she could only silently pull her jacket back closed against the wind.

Before she found the reason, it was better not to let Shen Ying know her identity. If Shen Ying hated her then, she wouldn’t even know how to make her feel better. She considered them friends now.

She turned to look at Shen Ying, who was focused on what was in front of her. Her brows were high and her eyes were deep, her nose was narrow and straight, and her thin lips always had a faint color.

Shen Ying was very focused when she was doing something. She seemed to not notice Song Zhi’s gaze at all, and just kept walking forward.

So Song Zhi stared at her without any restraint, until Shen Ying suddenly stopped and turned around.

Song Zhi quickly averted her gaze, but Shen Ying was too fast and it was a sudden move. She was not prepared at all. They met eyes in that instant. Shen Ying blinked under her gaze, her light-colored pupils covered by her eyelids.

Only then did Song Zhi notice there was a small red mole under her eyelid.

It was tiny and red, in the deep curve of her double eyelid.

All of her coldness seemed to dissipate because of this mole. When Song Zhi looked at her now, the only word that came to mind was “alluring.”

That mole was like a seductive wisp of smoke, lazily drifting in front of Song Zhi’s eyes, as if to entice her to do something.

Song Zhi didn’t know what it wanted her to do. She was still in a state of ignorant confusion about all of it.

Usually, Song Zhi rarely made eye contact with Shen Ying, because Shen Ying’s eyes were just like her person. And Shen Ying didn’t like to make eye contact with people, so after all this time together, it was only today that she discovered the mole on Shen Ying’s eye.

Shen Ying’s voice was light and cold, like it was floating into her ears through a cloud. “Watch your step.”

Song Zhi was startled to find that they had reached the stairs. As they went down the stairs, her vision instantly grew dim. They could only walk down in the dark.

The movie hadn’t started yet. The people in the seats were still chattering and laughing.

The experience was new to her. She had only ever watched movies in her private theater and had never been in a place with so many people.

It was lively. A happy atmosphere permeated the air.

It turned out that doing something with many people could make you happy.

They bought tickets late, so their seats were in the back. The movie had just started when they found their seats.

She sat on the inside, and Shen Ying sat on the outside. Their legs were pressed tightly together in the cramped space. Their body heat was silently exchanged in the dark theater. After a while, she felt that Shen Ying’s leg, which was pressed against hers, was also gradually getting warmer.

She was actually a little happy.

She didn’t know where this happiness came from. It was noisy, cramped, and stuffy here. Everything was completely different from her previous environment. She should have been uncomfortable and disgusted enough to turn around and leave, but she felt a faint sense of peace.

In reality, she didn’t want anything. She just wanted to live a secluded life in a quiet place, with only her and the people she loved, raising cats and dogs and growing flowers. But Song Guan didn’t believe her. He always forced her, was always wary of her, and guarded her, afraid that she would steal his younger son’s things.

Since that was the case, Song Zhi thought, she was going to steal something for once.

The movie gradually entered the main plot. Song Zhi didn’t think about all that nonsense and just looked at the screen. It was an arthouse film about a young man with cancer.

Song Zhi watched for a while and found that the young man unexpectedly discovered a conspiracy at the hospital and was trying to expose it on his own.

The tone of the story was heavy, and the content was sparse. It was mostly the protagonist struggling to find clues while being tormented by his illness. Song Zhi was starting to feel a little sleepy.

Out of boredom, she secretly turned her head to look at Shen Ying. She was staring at the screen intently, very seriously.

Song Zhi thought that this side of Shen Ying was really cute. She did everything so seriously and carefully, even watching a movie.

The one-and-a-half-hour movie passed quickly. As soon as the credits started rolling, people began to leave their seats, talking as they went. Most of them were discussing the movie they had just seen.

Song Zhi wanted to leave too. But Shen Ying was sitting on the outside, motionless. She was probably waiting for everyone to leave.

There were only the two of them in this row. Shen Ying not moving didn’t affect anyone else, so Song Zhi sat there silently for another ten minutes, with her leg pressed against Shen Ying’s.

When everyone had left, the two of them went out. Their eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness, were hurt by the sudden daylight and blinked furiously. Song Zhi said, “Don’t open your eyes yet. It’s too bright outside.”

Shen Ying didn’t say anything, seeming a bit dazed.

Song Zhi felt that she had already suffered this time, so it was better not to let Shen Ying do it again. Shen Ying should be beautiful and neat, sitting properly on a high platform, undisturbed by the world.

So she reached out to cover Shen Ying’s eyes. Her words and hands were in sync. “Let me cover them for you.”

Shen Ying could only turn her head just as Song Zhi’s hand came down, and she ended up covering them directly.

Song Zhi was afraid that she hadn’t washed her hands and they would be dirty, so she just loosely held her hand in front of Shen Ying’s eyes.

But for some reason, Shen Ying flinched, so she inevitably touched Shen Ying’s eye.

A cold, soft touch flashed under her hand, and also, something wet and slippery.

Was she crying?

Song Zhi was very unsure. Hiding things wasn’t her style, but she was afraid of poking at Shen Ying’s wound again. After much thought, she still didn’t speak.

Song Zhi said, “Then we…”

“Ding-a-ling-a-ling.”

A porcelain bowl with a broken corner was shaken in front of Song Zhi. Coins and paper money clinked and rustled together.

The beggar, who had only one eye, spoke hoarsely. “Spare some change, miss.”

The beggar’s clothes were tattered, and his body was pitch black. He was kneeling on the ground, dragging one leg, which was covered by a cloth. The other pant leg was empty. His voice was weak. Almost the moment Song Zhi made eye contact with him, he weakly raised his bowl again.

Song Zhi felt a pang of sympathy.

She could smash a bottle on the head of the richest person in the city. But she couldn’t throw an empty bottle into a trash can in front of a scavenger.

This was her unique, strange sense of compassion.

Song Guan always said she was cold-blooded and ruthless, but she was exceptionally kind to the pitiable. The charitable foundation she had started in her name had already received over 100 million in donations.

Perhaps her compassion was not for the cold-blooded.

She let out a soft sigh and only found a single coin on her person.

It was the only coin she had left.

An even number was considered lucky, but an odd number was not good to say. Hong Kong City believed in feng shui. Giving an odd-numbered coin to a beggar was like a curse.

Just as she was thinking about how to get some more money, Shen Ying reached out and placed a coin in her palm.

She put the coin into the bowl. The beggar repeatedly thanked her, then dragged his leg and crawled to another spot.

Shen Ying said, “You felt bad?”

Song Zhi blinked her large eyes. “Don’t you?”

Shen Ying’s answer was unexpected. “No, I don’t.”

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