After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Shen Ying slightly tilted her head, the multitude of colors reflecting perfectly in her light-colored pupils.

In the pitch-black night sky, grand flowers bloomed rapidly, from budding to magnificent opening, and then to their final demise in a short span of time.

The sheer scale of the blossoms illuminated half the night sky over the river opposite, making it seem like day.

The fireworks were being set off from a long river that encircled the entire outer district. On one side of the river stood towering buildings and leisured wealthy people; on the other side were narrow, crowded alleys and the numb crowds who spent their days drifting through the streets.

These were supposed to be two distinctly separated places, two different groups of people, but today, the fireworks, burning with great fanfare in the middle of the river and clearly visible to both sides, shattered that boundary.

She watched the fireworks outside the window. In her peripheral vision, Song Zhi’s tense profile came into view. She pursed her lips, deciding not to speak first.

Song Zhi looked genuinely happy. Shen Ying almost didn’t have the heart to break her joy.

She regretted it. Everyone was unique. Song Zhi was an individual, and she shouldn’t displace her anger.

Shen Ying watched the fireworks; Song Zhi watched her. She saw Shen Ying’s slender cheek illuminated by the multi-colored light, saw her look out the window with a cold, clear, and quiet expression that held an inexplicable attraction.

Song Zhi opened her mouth several times to rehearse, but only managed to make her tongue tremble inside her mouth. Yet, she didn’t feel nervous. After several attempts, her tongue finally made peace with her teeth, no longer fighting for the limited space in her mouth.

The fireworks were continuous, one after another. They had been going on for over ten minutes with no sign of stopping.

The vast fireworks became a backdrop. Song Zhi stood with her back to the window. In the splendor behind her, she smiled at Shen Ying, her two small dimples faintly visible at the corners of her lips.

“Shen Ying.” She said with solemnity: “I…”

Shen Ying interrupted her first: “Did you arrange the fireworks?”

In the previous second, her eyes had reflected the gorgeous fireworks, but in this moment, they held only darkness. Her emotionless, cold expression was like the Venus statue at the gate of an art academy.

A huge surge of panic rushed into Song Zhi. She forced out the smile she habitually used in front of Shen Ying: “Yes, I…”

Being interrupted made it hard to continue with the momentum. She paused, and her heart suddenly began to pound, like rain falling on a drum, chaotic and utterly unsettling. At this moment, she belatedly realized what nervousness felt like.

Shen Ying looked at her, her eyes slightly lifted at the corners, asking: “What were you going to say?”

She looked almost aggressive.

Song Zhi looked back at her in a panic. Song Zhi was taller than her. From this angle, the vivid red mole on the beautifully curved eyelid was exposed.

Song Zhi grew even more flustered: “Do you… that, do you like me?”

Shen Ying raised an eyebrow, her gaze seeming to ask: “?”

Song Zhi’s scattered, drumming heart finally dropped back into her stomach. She quickly recovered and corrected herself: “Because I like you, so I wanted to ask if you like me first.”

After speaking, her teeth were still slightly chattering. She quietly let out a breath.

It was a good thing she managed to save the conversation. Otherwise, it would have been too embarrassing.

She silently began to pre-plan what should happen next.

This was difficult for Song Zhi, who usually acted on impulse and never planned. She simply couldn’t imagine what she should do next.

In the end, she only told herself:

Cross the bridge when you come to it, and even if the sky falls, you should continue to eat and drink as usual. If you try to pre-plan everything that might happen, won’t you just die of anxiety like the Man of Qi?

Her heart was settled now, but she was still as nervous as she should be before the result came out.

She slightly bent her knees, looking up at Shen Ying eagerly: “I’m serious, truly. I like you, and I will be good to you.”

Shen Ying’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Everything before her became a silent film. She saw Song Zhi’s mouth open and close, saw the fireworks raging in the distance, yet her ears were completely silent. She heard nothing.

She said: I will be good to you.

The mother of the cat she and Song Zhi encountered was the first cat she had ever adopted. She thought she could keep it forever, but the cat mother died. She didn’t know when; it was very sudden.

On a certain morning, when she didn’t see the shriveled, thin mother cat shake its tail and lightly jump onto her knee as it always had, she knew it was dead.

Before the cat died, she also thought she had been extremely good to it.

Just for one last night.

Shen Ying looked at Song Zhi. Song Zhi was looking up at her, and in Shen Ying’s eyes, she looked like a rose covered by a glass bell, always separated by a hazy mist.

Finally, she found a trace of reluctance in some forgotten corner of her heart.

Just let her have a good night’s sleep tonight.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.” This was her own voice.

Song Zhi’s bright eyes dimmed. She let out a soft “oh.” She tried to fight for one last chance: “I have to go home for dinner tomorrow. We won’t see each other.”

Shen Ying listened quietly: “When are you leaving?”

Song Zhi: “Before dawn.”

Shen Ying: “I’ll send you a message.”

Song Zhi’s eyes brightened again: “Okay!”

Song Zhi saying she would leave before dawn wasn’t solely to gain Shen Ying’s sympathy and make her answer sooner.

Although, in her secret heart, she did harbor a tiny bit of that thought, the main reason was that she had to be home before Song Guan returned.

She couldn’t let Song Guan know about Shen Ying’s existence, or Shen Ying would become her weakness in his eyes.

The Unreliable Ally and the Race

When she walked out of the alley, a red sports car was parked at the intersection, completely blocking the entrance.

The car’s bright, glossy paint reflected the moonlight, strikingly out of place with the dull gray apartment building.

Song Zhi pulled open the car door and said bluntly: “You’re blocking the road.”

Xie Yu howled: “I’ve been squatting here all night, waiting for you. Not only do you not care about me, but you’re complaining about me!”

She drew her gaze back from the window where the two had been standing.

Song Zhi followed suit: “You’ve worked so hard.”

Xie Yu slammed the accelerator: “I have a feeling your little girlfriend looks a bit familiar. By the way, did you succeed?”

Song Zhi: “I don’t know. You think everyone who’s pretty looks familiar.”

Xie Yu teased: “Wow, that’s rare. Something the great Miss Song can’t be completely sure of.”

Song Zhi: “I’ve never been completely sure about anything I do.”

Xie Yu: “? Don’t fool me. Since childhood, what have you failed at? I always thought you only made moves after deep thought and never made mistakes. Now you’re telling me it was just on a whim.”

Song Zhi hummed: “That’s right.”

Xie Yu cursed softly: “Then I’m truly jealous.”

Song Zhi: “I’ve been with you these past few days.”

Xie Yu immediately understood her meaning. She made a confident gesture to Song Zhi: “Song Guan won’t know.”

Xie Yu drove like the wind, finally getting Song Zhi to TenP at half-past three in the morning. Driving her home at four in the morning would be too much of a giveaway.

She pushed a newly mixed Mojito toward Song Zhi: “Try this. A new flavor I developed recently.”

Song Zhi was looking at her phone. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the messaging interface, something she hadn’t used in ages.

Song Zhi didn’t speak, just subtly raised her hand, palm out, back of the hand facing inwards a gesture of refusal.

Xie Yu understood and took the drink back. She spun the glass, got bored, and took a sip.

Looking up, she saw Song Zhi staring at her, her expressionless gaze much like looking at an idiot.

Oh, right.

Xie Yu: “Just one sip. I can still drive you.”

Song Zhi’s mouth twitched: “No, thanks. Let’s abide by the traffic laws, Miss Xie.”

Xie Yu knew she was itching to drive. Since someone else could drive, she was happy to be relaxed. She finished the rest of the drink: “Just kidding. I want to live a few more years.”

At ten in the morning, Song Zhi was in the driver’s seat, letting Xie Yu guide her home.

She parked the car at the main garden gate, making sure to show her face clearly to the butler who came to check.

The butler quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at her again, and waved for someone to open the courtyard gate.

Not far away, the continuous loud roar of a sports car engine vibrated. Song Zhi tilted her head but only saw the lush trees in the distance.

This mountain area covered over ten thousand square meters. The scenery was beautiful, the air was fresh, and only three families lived there. The other areas were empty, and normally, many motorcycle enthusiasts came here to play. She wondered what idiot was revving their engine so early this morning.

The tall courtyard gate slowly began to open. Song Zhi preemptively stepped on the gas. She calculated that once the gate was open, she would immediately accelerate, saving the car’s warm-up time.

The gate finally opened just enough for the sports car to pass through. Song Zhi lightly pressed the accelerator. Just then, a huge roar sounded.

A silver modified supercar zipped past from the rear. It was incredibly fast, rocketing out from behind the trees in less than a second, then driving tightly next to the red sports car toward the courtyard gate.

As the two cars scraped past each other, the silver supercar’s window was slowly lowered. The girl in the passenger seat nervously pulled her neck back to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

The driver turned his head, revealing Song Qin’s face with heavy dark circles. He gave a provocative smile and mouthed a word.

VROOOM!

Song Zhi stomped on the accelerator. The supercar’s speed immediately hit its maximum. The car shot out instantly. In the narrow space of the gate, the red sports car fiercely grazed the silver one as it darted into the courtyard.

The silver sports car behind them reacted quickly, accelerating, trying to overtake and graze the red car again, but the red sports car had already surged into the courtyard in that instant.

Song Zhi eased up on the gas. The silver sports car quickly took advantage and caught up.

As the nose of the silver sports car finally reached the nose of the red sports car, Song Zhi slowly rolled down her window. She gave a cold, hooking smile: “Worthless.”

BOOM!

The red supercar lunged forward a significant distance, then smoothly drove right in front of the silver one, perfectly ejecting a cloud of black exhaust into the face of the car behind.

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