After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Have You Lied to Me?

Shen Ying didn’t answer. She just looked at Song Zhi and said, “I’ve already changed the lock on my door. You can throw away your key. I’ll pay you for your clothes.”

Although Song Zhi was close to her, from such a short distance, Shen Ying’s eyes looked at her like a stranger—or perhaps worse than a stranger, as she wouldn’t look at a stranger with disgust.

It was as if Song Zhi were some disgusting piece of trash.

No pork ribs.

Song Zhi thought.

Nothing else either.

She didn’t know what she had gained, but in this moment, she seemed to have lost a lot, and she had lost something very important.

Shen Ying continued, “You helped me once before. This pays you back. We’re even now. Give me your card number. The phone will be returned to you in a few days.”

Song Zhi’s mind was in a jumble. She thought, “Shen Ying has never been a talkative person, but she said so much today. That’s good; I don’t have to worry about her being reserved anymore.”

Then she thought, “But she said so much just to draw a line between us. That’s not good at all.”

She seemed a little sad.

Song Zhi wanted to say, “Listen to me, you must have misunderstood something.”

But she could only say, “Shen Ying, you don’t need to pay.”

Perhaps she was a coward. Her mother was right; she couldn’t do anything well, and she didn’t know how to do anything. She messed everything up. She could play, laugh, and flirt with Shen Ying as usual, but in this moment, she couldn’t defend herself.

What should she say? Should she say, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you”? “I’m sorry” is easy to say, but if she said it so easily, who would forgive her?

Shen Ying was a little confused.

She had fallen for it. She had been tricked. She had given her heart, she had been scared at the police station, and she had been sad every moment she didn’t see Song Zhi.

Song Zhi had succeeded.

So why did she still look sad?

Shouldn’t she be the one who was sad?

No, maybe she shouldn’t be sad either. It wasn’t the first time she had been deceived, and it was embarrassing to show it.

She was already embarrassed enough. This was enough; there couldn’t be anything else, or even the moon would die.

Shen Ying nodded, still with that cold, expressionless look, which could even be called polite. “Then, goodbye.”

Shen Ying shifted her gaze, looking at the sun far on the horizon. She closed her eyes, cruelly sealing her emotions beneath them.

This was who she was.

Why should she care about others? It was wrong. Song Zhi was the exception, and there shouldn’t be anyone else. She had learned enough lessons.

Song Zhi finally managed to squeeze a sound out of her throat. “No!”

Her throat and mind felt clogged, making her unable to speak. When she opened her mouth, a sour feeling was stuck in her throat, making her eyes sting and her vision blurry. She could only see other things vaguely.

But when she looked at Shen Ying, it was as if she were in a painting.

Shen Ying asked, “If you change your mind, give me your card number.”

Song Zhi’s mouth opened slightly. Her voice was hoarse, and she finally said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

Shen Ying smiled again. “It’s okay, but I don’t forgive you.”

After saying that, she turned and walked away.

Song Zhi subconsciously lifted her foot to follow and then came to her senses after a couple of steps.

She thought she might have been without human contact for too long and had become dependent on people. This was not good; it was not like her.

No one in this world couldn’t live without someone else.

Shen Ying had already given her the last bit of dignity. Didn’t she want it? The two of them were not related. If she really felt guilty, she could just give Shen Ying more money. Why was she acting so desperately?

Who was she? She was Song Zhi.

Song Zhi had her pride. At the very least, she wouldn’t shamelessly follow a woman.

She coldly watched their retreating backs, turned, and walked away.

Zhao Zhongdui said, “She’s gone. Can you agree to be with me now?”

Shen Ying let out a long breath, and a glimmer of clarity appeared in her chaotic mind. “Even if she hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have agreed. Please stay away. We’re not close.”

Zhao Zhongdui was about to pester her more, but his phone rang. When he saw who was calling, his expression instantly changed. After answering the phone, he left in a hurry.

Only when the words “watch over her,” “Grandma,” “don’t worry,” “not going to make it,” and so on gradually faded from Shen Ying’s ears did she slow down.

As she passed the intersection, she looked back.

The golden circle of the sun was rising in the sky, casting a dazzling, shimmering light. Shen Ying gently raised her hand to shield her eyes, and the round sun was instantly missing a piece.

Just like her heart, a part of it in the very center had been taken away.

That was where Song Zhi had just left.

After returning home, Song Zhi slept for an entire day and night until she was woken up by a phone call two days later.

Xie Chu called Song Zhi as soon as she landed. “Miss, do you want to guess where I am right now?”

Song Zhi was still half-asleep. She irritably pulled the blanket away, threw her phone to the side of the bed, and closed her eyes, groaning, “Where?”

Xie Chu was displeased. “Oh, you’re no fun at all. Can’t you just pretend to care a little?”

Song Zhi was a little more awake. She stared at the high white ceiling. “It’s not fun for you. You’re not in the country, anyway.”

Xie Chu said, “Heh, you guessed right. I’m in the country. I’m at the airport in Hong Kong.”

Song Zhi said, “Why did you come back?”

Xie Chu said, “Don’t even mention it. Yesterday, a relative on my mom’s side seemed to be dying. I don’t know what important person it is, but I guess they’re from Yanjing. My mom booked me a flight overnight and ordered me to come back. Forget that, we haven’t seen each other in a while. Want to meet up tonight?”

Song Zhi lazily hummed. “As long as you don’t get caught by your mom tonight.”

Xie Chu said, “Don’t worry.”

At that moment, she was walking out of the airport.

She saw a silver extended car parked right in front, its shiny paint quietly reflecting the sunlight.

She smiled and tapped on the car window, then leaned into the car.

Her mother smiled when she saw her. “Don’t act like this at their house later. They’ll kick you out.”

Xie Chu affectionately hooked her arm around her mother’s. “Then that’s great. I’ll go back and play. Oh, it’s just a relative I’m not close to. Why did Dad have to make me come back?”

Her mother lowered her voice. “This is not an ordinary person. The Song family doesn’t even compare to them.”

Then her mother smiled and tapped her head. “I told you, but you wouldn’t understand. You’re probably just thinking about how to have fun right now.”

Xie Chu leaned on her mother’s shoulder. “I’m not. There’s no one from Hong Kong I don’t know. It can only be someone from A City.”

A City was the capital. If there was someone she hadn’t heard of who was more powerful than the Song family, it could only be someone from A City.

Her mother sighed. “They’re from the capital, but they’re also from our Hong Kong. They’ve come back this time because the elder wanted to return to their roots, and they also want to find someone.”

“Find someone?”

Her mother smiled. “Now you’re interested? But this is not something you should be concerned about. Just be careful with what you say later. They supposedly lost a child nineteen years ago.”

After the phone call ended, Song Zhi covered herself with the blanket and went back to sleep. After three minutes, a sense of panic returned to her. She restlessly pulled the blanket away, turned on the small lamp by her bed, and then covered herself with the blanket to sleep again.

She slept until her phone rang, and she looked at the time. She lay in bed without moving, letting the phone ring until the last second and hung up.

She had a bad temper, and no one dared to come and wake her up. She didn’t set an alarm either and usually woke up naturally. Xie Chu probably thought of this, which was why she made a point of calling to remind her.

This person, really, was so worried she would be late.

Song Zhi felt a knot in her stomach recently. She always felt she should be a mermaid, or how else would plastic from ocean pollution have wrapped around her?

And the most infuriating thing was that she couldn’t tear this plastic off. It clung to her quietly like a shadow, waiting for the day it could wrap around her heart.

She carried that feeling with her until she arrived at Tenp, and it was already completely dark.

Tenp was a lounge bar. You couldn’t hear the sounds from inside at the entrance, only see a few groups of people talking in the hall with its vintage layout.

Song Zhi watched a plaque with various colors slowly swaying in the wind in the darkness. She opened the door, went inside, and then hung up the “Closed for Business” sign.

She entered the private room amidst the retro, colorful decor.

The warm air rushed toward her.

“I’m telling you, can’t you put that sign up properly?” Song Zhi unceremoniously took a sip of the drink Xie Chu handed her. “It’s not as good as last time. You should change the bartender.”

She came from outside, wearing only a light blue thin shirt and light brown leather pants. A wave of cold air emanated from her into the room.

Xie Chu shrugged. “The boss can’t be changed. That sign is a creative choice, you know? Besides, you came and closed my shop. Such a grand gesture.”

Tenp was a business they started together during the winter break before their middle school graduation. Back then, lounge bars were only a vague concept, let alone the people who came. The bar managed to survive until now only with the pocket money they continuously put into it.

Song Zhi said, “Then you should thank me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have an excuse for having more staff than customers.”

Xie Chu immediately said, “Miss Song, thank you very much.”

Song Zhi sat upright on the sofa. She had been used to this since she was a child. Even in front of Xie Chu, she found it difficult to completely let her guard down. “I want to move all the businesses in.”

Xie Chu said, “You’ve finally decided to monopolize the family property? That’s great.”

Song Zhi smiled. “I have a premonition that it will be difficult for me to get out. Before Song Guan dies, I’ll put in some effort for him.”

On the surface, Song Zhi still fit the image of a wealthy young lady, with a consistently expressionless face or a face always with a perfectly curved smile.

But what was behind the scenes was the complete opposite of her public persona. Perhaps it was because she was tired of keeping up appearances, but her expressions in private were very casual. She could do whatever she wanted, and aside from things that were too private to be told, she could show herself to others without reservation.

She told everyone she interacted with that this was the kind of person she was.

But this smile was enough to scare Xie Chu thoroughly.

Xie Chu got goosebumps from her smile. “Are you going to…?”

She made a gesture with her hand on her neck.

Song Zhi said, “…What are you thinking? He doesn’t dare to let me leave, and he doesn’t want me to get involved with the Song family. Where would I find such a good thing?”

Xie Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She carefully studied Song Zhi. “Hey, are you in a bad mood?”

Song Zhi drank the clear fruit wine in her glass in one go. “I’m great.”

Xie Chu said, “I don’t believe you. Let me give you some advice. Tell me.”

Song Zhi looked at Xie Chu with a half-smile. “Have you ever lied to me about something?”

Xie Chu’s heart clenched.

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