After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 21.1

Chapter 21.1: Nostalgia

◎She unceremoniously opened the passenger door: “To Nongdong Road.”◎

The lawyer clutched his heart, which felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, suspecting that this might be his last day, that he might die young.

Song Zhi smiled, mouthing each word distinctly: “O-pen the door.”

The lawyer instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror before raising the divider and unlocking the passenger door from the side.

Song Zhi got into the car in high spirits. She had to admit that the bodyguards were smart to lock the car when they left, but they’d made a mistake by leaving one person inside.

She unceremoniously opened the passenger door: “To Nongdong Road.”

The lawyer meekly moved to the driver’s seat. At her words, he glanced at the rearview mirror as if waiting for a command.

Song Zhi found it odd: “Why do you keep looking back?”

The divider behind her was up, so she couldn’t see anything in the rearview mirror, which is why she voiced her confusion.

A male voice came from the back of the car: “What do you think he’s looking at?”

The divider slowly lowered, and a pair of eyes gradually appeared in the rearview mirror.

The eyes were lined with fine wrinkles at the corners. The deep-set eyes gave him a cold and sinister look.

It was Song Guan.

Song Guan sat motionless in the back seat, dressed in a well-tailored, expensive suit. No one knew how long he had been there.

Song Zhi’s smile vanished instantly. She kept a cold face and said nothing. In that moment, all her laughter and vivacity disappeared.

Song Guan waved a hand at the lawyer, who immediately understood and called the bodyguards.

After the bodyguards returned, they took over the lawyer’s position. The lawyer got into one of the trailing escort vehicles, and several unremarkable black cars quickly merged into the dense traffic.

Song Zhi looked out the dark tinted window.

The pedestrians outside seemed to be covered in a cold filter. Under the distorted colors, they came and went in a hurry, with neither sorrow nor joy.

Song Zhi looked at her reflection in the car window and curled her lips.

The reflection showed a woman with full, light-colored lips curved slightly, but her clear, almond-shaped eyes were filled with cold indifference. The dark tint of the car window made her severe indifference even more pronounced. In this moment, she watched everything outside the window, as if a film separated her from it all, and it slowly drifted away.

She felt as though she were separated from sound, smell, and color by a film. She once again clearly perceived one thing, which might be the last of her senses—she was being forcibly deprived of the rights of a normal person.

“Do you know you were wrong?”

Song Guan leaned his head back slightly, looking up at the standing Song Zhi. His gaze was calm, yet it carried an inherent authority from his long time in a high position. At the same time, his peaceful expression and well-tailored suit gave him an air of refinement.

Song Zhi, however, knew just how disgusting the true face hidden beneath this skin and disguise was.

The better he pretended to be in front of everyone, the more she wanted to tear off that facade.

She met Song Guan’s gaze directly, then curled her lips into a smile: “Chairman, you know better than I do.”

Song Guan didn’t reply to her. After all, no matter what she did, she couldn’t cause too much trouble, at most a scandal like today’s, which would cause Song’s stock price to plummet.

Song Guan: “Take Miss to the ‘quiet room’.”

The so-called quiet room was a small, secluded room in the basement of the villa. It was pitch black, with no windows, no lights, and no sound. The only thing a person inside could hear was their own heartbeat.

This was the place Song Guan always used to discipline people, but only those he was related to by blood.

Her relationship with Song Guan was complicated. Her mother came from an old-money family in Yanjing, while Song Guan’s family was just nouveau riche.

To win over her mother, Song Guan had gone to great lengths to please her and had even become a live-in son-in-law. With the support of the old family, he had successfully entered the ranks of the Hong Kong elite.

Because this past was a humiliation for Song Guan, and Song Zhi was a symbol of that humiliation, she had been sent to this room more than anyone else.

The bodyguard who always stayed close to Song Zhi stepped forward and asked: “Chairman, for how many days?”

Song Guan’s eyes fell on this person for a moment, then he turned and motioned for the female bodyguard who was also always with Song Zhi to come forward.

The female bodyguard didn’t ask anything and stepped forward, ready to lead Song Zhi away.

Song Guan said to his bodyguard: “Pick out a new personal bodyguard for Miss later.”

Song Zhi had always had two personal bodyguards. Song Guan’s sudden remark, only mentioning one, clearly didn’t mean he was adding a third. Businessmen in Hong Kong loved feng shui; two was a good omen, and one was bad. Normal people would avoid the number one, let alone Song Guan.

Song Guan’s bodyguard looked at the other man with a hint of sympathy.

He was going to be replaced, and since Song Guan had said it himself, there was no room for negotiation.

Song Zhi followed the female bodyguard with a blank expression, preparing to enter the so-called quiet room.

A voice of discontent came from the spiral staircase: “Dad, are you just going to let her off the hook like that?”

Then, footsteps clattered from far away to close by.

The female bodyguard tactfully stood behind Song Zhi, waiting for further developments.

A boy of about eighteen or nineteen ran down from upstairs. He glared fiercely at Song Zhi as he passed, then sat down next to Song Guan with a face full of smiles.

The boy had big eyes, a high nose, and a surprisingly sharp chin. If he hadn’t spoken, no one would have doubted he was a boy.

He pointed to his forehead, also signaling for Song Guan to look at his head, so he’d know how much he was still hurting.

Song Zhi smiled at this half-brother, born to her stepmother: “Out of the hospital already?”

Song Qin stood up abruptly and strode toward her, only to be stopped by the bodyguard standing in front of her.

Song Zhi looked at the female bodyguard with some surprise.

Song Zhi didn’t take him seriously at all. With a twinkle in her eyes, she asked with a smile: “Doesn’t your head hurt anymore? You’re walking so fast.”

Anyone who didn’t know them would think they were close siblings, full of mutual concern.

Song Qin, whose wound was just poked, flew into a rage: “You speak like a demon. Just like your bitch of a mother.”

The smile on Song Zhi’s face vanished instantly. Before Song Qin could react, she picked up the large vase next to her, which came up to her thigh, and cleanly smashed it onto his head.

Song Qin’s vision went black from the blow. In his daze, he felt a warm liquid flowing down his head. He raised his hand dazedly and saw the bright red liquid on it. He realized it wasn’t just a feeling.

In the last second before he fainted, he saw Song Zhi’s cold expression.

Song Zhi asked: “Why don’t you ever learn your lesson, little brother?”

Her brother’s vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground. No matter how hard he tried to open his eyes, he could only see darkness mixed with occasional flashes of white light.

As soon as Song Qin fell, the female bodyguard who had been standing beside her stepped forward and blocked her with her hand: “Miss, we should go.”

Song Zhi looked at this person deeply.

She hadn’t expected her to be so in tune.

Although she was in a bad mood today, the last action had vented her frustration. She was always easy to placate. When she was in a good mood, she was naturally easy to talk to, so she walked calmly toward the quiet room.

This scene naturally fell into the eyes of Song Guan, who had been sitting comfortably on the sofa, watching the two of them.

He never interfered when they fought at home. Sometimes, he would even secretly escalate their conflicts. He believed that only those with spirit and ambition deserved to be his children. Everyone else was unworthy.

Song Qin angrily pushed the bodyguard’s hand away and got up from the ground, clutching his head. Blood slowly flowed from the corner of his forehead down to his eyes. Due to the excessive blood loss, his vision was intermittently black, but that didn’t stop him from seeing Song Zhi walking away with long strides.

In fact, watching her brisk steps, he felt as if she was gloating after hitting him.

Thinking this, his anger intensified. He spoke to Song Guan with a look of injustice: “Dad! This is the second time she’s been so out of control. Are you just going to let it go this time?”

Song Zhi grinned, showing her pearly white teeth: “Then you’d better remember, as long as you’re here, I’ll be this out of control.”

Having just learned his lesson, Song Qin didn’t dare to say anything more to her. He only looked at Song Guan with an expectant gaze. He had already been hit by two vases. Any more and he might end up brain damaged.

Song Guan’s usual cold gaze was surprisingly amiable in this situation. His voice even held a hint of a smile: “So, what do you want?”

Song Qin: “She should be punished!” To make sure Song Guan agreed, he kept saying: “If she dares to do this to me today, she might dare to do it to you tomorrow! You can’t indulge this kind of behavior!”

Song Guan: “What you said is indeed right. She should be punished.”

Song Qin secretly turned his head and gave Song Zhi a provocative look.

Song Zhi sneered.

Song Qin didn’t know what kind of person Song Guan was, but she did.

Even if he was biased, everything was a means to his own benefit.

Since he hadn’t yet received the trust fund left by Song Zhi’s grandmother, he naturally had to treat them both equally. His interests were paramount, as was the threat from his dying mother. His temporary concession was to prevent the so-called evidence in the trust fund from being exposed.

Sure enough, Song Guan’s next sentence was: “Since Xiao Qin is not satisfied, Song Zhi’s punishment will be doubled.”

Song Qin’s lips curled up, feeling that his suffering had not been in vain.

Song Zhi stood to the side, hugging herself, watching the idiot smirk.

Then she heard Song Guan say: “But since you spoke first, for the sake of fairness, Xiao Qin will be punished too.”

Song Qin turned his head in disbelief: “Dad!”

Song Guan ignored him, waved his hand, and told the bodyguards to take both of them away.

Song Zhi said with a smile: “I told you, Song Guan is the kind of person who would force his own mother to die. How could he abandon his own interests for you? You think too highly of yourself.”

Before her grandmother died, she left her a trust fund. She knew that Song Guan had always disliked Song Zhi and was afraid that once she died, Song Zhi would not survive.

In her last moments, she called her son to her bedside and threatened him, telling him that there was something left in the trust fund.

If Song Zhi successfully graduated, that thing would naturally disappear. But if Song Zhi didn’t live to get the trust fund, everyone would know what was written in the letter.

Song Guan’s calm expression was shattered. He scolded: “Shut up!”

Song Zhi smiled and looked back at him. Only two bodyguards stood between them. The two people with a strong blood relationship were like enemies, attacking each other: “Does the truth scare you?”

Her eyes were full of arrogance and contempt. Her eyes were so bright they made Song Guan feel nervous and afraid. He gave Song Zhi a warning look, but Song Zhi didn’t fall for it and continued to provoke him.

Song Guan slowly stood up. He stared intently at his daughter, walking right up to her. He looked at her closely. His daughter smiled back at him, as if she didn’t care about him at all. Then he suddenly slapped her hard.

Before, when she was abroad, she could only hate and despise him in her heart, repeatedly telling herself to remember, to remember the hatred, to remember death. But now she couldn’t hold back anymore. The person she had hated for so many years was right in front of her, and wearing a human mask, he could forget what he had done and live peacefully, and let everyone else forget.

Why should he get away with it?!

Her anger could no longer be contained today. She had always been a person who saw things as black and white.

Song Zhi’s head was knocked heavily to the side. Her face quickly burned. She must look terrible right now. But then she remembered the ridiculous red color that had been smeared on her face.

Perhaps those ridiculous things were now doing a great job of covering up her shame.

The quiet room was dark. She couldn’t see anything. It was also quiet. She could only hear her heart beating loudly. In this moment, she suddenly thought of the time she had spent at Shen Ying’s house.

At that time, Shen Ying would light a small lamp for her every night.

The light was a soft, warm yellow, shining on the side of her face, allowing her to fall asleep peacefully every night and stay away from the relentless nightmares.

She sat in the pitch-black room. It was so dark that there was no point in installing cameras, so there were none. But she still couldn’t let go of her guard. She propped her legs up against her chest and hugged herself tightly.

She was silent in this way, trying to merge with the darkness.

She remembered someone telling her many years ago.

As long as you become one of them, you won’t have to be afraid anymore.

Since her grandmother had said it, she had always held this saying in high regard. Even now, she still hadn’t become as brave as her grandmother had said. She had already tried so hard to say no loudly, and she had already learned to show her sharp claws to protect herself.

But it still wasn’t enough, and she was still afraid.

Song Guan insisted on locking her up, not because of her fight with Song Qin, or because her incident with the police affected the stock price, but because her heart had gone wild.

Song Guan could ignore everything else about her, but not this. The most frightening thing about anything was having a determined heart.

He wanted to rip out her newly grown heart, grind down her claws, and turn her feathers into garbage, so that she would be under his control.

But Song Guan didn’t know that she had a rebellious streak.

She suddenly heard a small, sharp sound. The sound gradually grew louder and sharper. Finally, it roared with a force that threatened to tear her eardrums. Her ears were filled with a sudden ringing.

Song Zhi desperately covered her ears, pressing until the blood on her ears was completely gone, ignoring the pain. After a long time, she realized that it was the sound of her own tinnitus.

A woman in a red dress gently leaned down and took her hands off her ears. Her icy hands gently touched the side of Song Zhi’s ears, which had regained their color.

Her eyes were gentle and compassionate. The way she looked at Song Zhi seemed to be able to contain everything. Her eyes seemed to hold compassion for all things.

Song Zhi also saw compassion for herself in those eyes.

She looked up, staring at the woman blankly, unable to look away. Her cheeks felt wet. It wasn’t until the wetness flowed down her face and into her mouth that she realized tears didn’t taste good at all. She had promised her grandmother that she would never taste this flavor again.

But she had broken her promise again. She would not do it again, she thought.

The woman looked sad. Tears flowed from her eyes as well, in response to Song Zhi’s tears.

Only her tears were two streaks of red on the sides of her face.

Song Zhi wasn’t afraid of her bloody tears. She dazed, raising her hand to wipe them away for her. Her fingertips gently rose, as if she was afraid of startling the woman. But just as her fingertips were about to touch the woman, the woman suddenly disappeared.

She broke apart like a shattered mirror, and then the countless fragments gradually disappeared.

Song Zhi woke up with a start. Her heartbeat was incredibly loud in the silent room. One thud after another. She raised her hand to her face and felt a wetness.

She remembered her hands in the dream, which could never reach the woman’s face, no matter how hard she tried.

Are you still blaming me, Mom?

There was no clock in the room. She didn’t know what time it was.

She could only wait for the next time she was fed to know the time. It could be eight in the morning, twelve noon, or six in the evening.

No one would come into the room while she was locked up. Only at mealtime would the small door at the bottom open, and she would be fed like a dog.

And she was helpless, only able to sit and wait.

But she hated sitting and waiting. She even hated the person who came up with the phrase. The phrase seemed to mock her powerlessness and satirize her uselessness.

She didn’t want to sit and wait, so Song Zhi stood up from the bed with a jolt. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had eaten anything. The moment she stood up, her vision suddenly went black.

At that moment, she heard a rustling sound by the door.

It was the person who brought the food.

The maid felt around in the dark to open the small window at the bottom of the door. She put one hand in first to feel, making sure her fingers touched the ground before she carefully placed the food down. After putting the food down, she immediately felt for the door to close it.

If the person in the quiet room saw light, it wouldn’t be a quiet room anymore. So, the maid had not brought a lamp. She had to do everything in the dark.

The quiet room was chilly. The weather was already cold, and after walking around for so long, she didn’t feel any warmer. Instead, she felt colder, and her goosebumps uncontrollably started to rise.

She suddenly remembered the gossip among the maids about this quiet room. It was said that a person had died here more than a decade ago and was then dragged by the chairman to the highest point of the villa and thrown down, where they were smashed into a pulp to disguise their death as a suicide.

The villa only had five floors, but each floor had a high ceiling, and there was a loft at the very top. From the highest point to the bottom was at least thirty meters.

Why, she wondered.

The Song family was rich. Song Guan was so generous to the maids. Why would that person want to kill themselves?

And that person was said to be—

The hand of the maid, who was about to lock the small door, was suddenly grabbed by an icy hand. She was startled, let out a small scream, and frantically tried to pull her hand back.

She didn’t dare to scream loudly. If she did, she would be fired. The Song family paid well. She had an ordinary education and didn’t know how to do anything. This was the best job she could find, and she couldn’t lose it. Her sister was waiting for the money to save her life.

“Don’t be afraid,” the person inside said softly. “It’s me.”

Her voice, with its echo in the empty space, sounded a little familiar to the maid: “Are you, Miss?”

The first wife.

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