After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The moment Song Qin saw the newcomer, he turned and tried to run, but the person behind him was faster.

The person was none other than Zhao Zhongdui. The accumulated rage in Zhao Zhongdui’s heart exploded the moment he saw Song Qin. Seeing that Song Qin even tried to run only fueled his anger further! He pounced, his hands clamping down on Song Qin’s throat: “F—k! Song Qin, I’ll kill you today!”

Song Qin’s airway was severely constricted, cutting off blood supply immediately. His limbs went weak, and he could only feebly claw at the hands choking his neck, but the grip was immensely strong, and he couldn’t pry them open. In moments, his face turned blue and pale. He gasped out words in fragments from his throat.

“It… it was her seducing me! It has nothing to do with me!”

Zhao Zhongdui’s eyes were bloodshot: “Damn it, Song Qin, I treated you like a brother! How dare you steal my girlfriend!”

Seeing that he couldn’t reason with him, Song Qin frantically looked to the side with his eyes for help: “Save… me.”

Wow. Song Zhi watched the two locked in a stranglehold. That’s why Fu Xin and Zhao Zhongdui were a couple a month ago, but today she’s cozying up to Song Qin. So, that’s what happened.

Song Zhi caught Song Qin’s desperate look, smiled, and asked: “You want me to save you?”

Song Qin quickly and desperately nodded his head down.

Like a snake whose vital spot was being crushed, Song Zhi remembered when she sent Song Qin to the hospital—wasn’t he wearing an Elizabethan collar then? Song Zhi leisurely sat down on the edge of the pavilion, no longer caring about its cleanliness. Her smile brought out both her dimples: “I can help, but you’ll have to trade something for it, right?”

Apart from one word change, Song Zhi’s tone was an exact replica of Song Qin’s just moments before.

Song Qin was about to curse, but the sudden rush of emotion intensified the feeling of suffocation, bringing with it a strong wave of nausea. He realized with terror that he was genuinely about to die.

He struggled to push out the words: “Autopsy! Your maternal grandfather demanded an autopsy!”

Song Zhi tilted her head, not moving to call for help, as if deep in thought. Song Qin inwardly cursed, but if Song Zhi changed her mind and didn’t help him, the people outside definitely wouldn’t hear him. Zhao Zhongdui was beyond reasoning; he didn’t ease up on his grip, pressing down with all his might. He had only one thought: he wanted Song Qin dead.

Zhao Zhongdui: “No one can save you today! I promise you that.”

Song Qin struggled to speak: “Aren’t you afraid of the Song family…”

“The Song family? My Zhao family is not to be trifled with! Your words were plastered all over my company’s entrance! Zhao Corporation’s stock has evaporated over two billion US dollars!”

Song Zhi grew curious. She wanted to pull out her phone to check, but Song Qin really looked like he was about to pass out. He gave up trying to reason and used his rolling, whitened eyes to look at Song Zhi.

Fearing he would die, Song Zhi asked: “How did I not know that? Didn’t my maternal grandfather die the day after my mother?”

Song Qin: “I heard it… clearly… He argued with your maternal grandfather about it that night, only… only to have your maternal grandfather die the next day.”

Song Zhi nodded, stood up, and walked out. Song Qin raised his hand weakly, despair washing over him.

As Song Zhi reached the entrance, she saw the maid still standing there, anxiously watching.

“You haven’t left yet?”

The maid had a fresh, young face: “I’m a little scared.”

Song Zhi recognized her instantly: “How is your sister?”

The maid replied gratefully: “Thank you, your kindness. My sister is better.”

Song Zhi nodded: “After you call for help, you can leave.”

“Huh?”

Song Zhi didn’t explain: “You better hurry, or we’ll be attending Song Qin’s funeral.”

The maid’s eyes widened in horror. She suddenly realized the severity of the situation, turned, and ran quickly outside, shouting loudly for help as she ran.

Song Zhi returned to the house and immediately picked up her phone to make a call. When the old voice answered on the other end, her troubled heart finally calmed slightly.

The voice was very gentle, with the soft, moist quality of a Jiangnan water town, asking: “Who is it?”

Song Zhi replied clearly: “Grandma, it’s me.”

Her grandmother’s voice immediately became joyful: “It’s Nannan.”

Song Zhi, who had been worried about her relapse, instantly relaxed. Her grandmother sounded very clear-headed now. Her voice was soft and gentle, with a slight upward lilt at the end of each word. Her grandmother was from Jiang City, which, being near mountains and water, with clean air, instilled a unique softness found in Jiangnan water towns.

Song Zhi’s tone softened immediately. She adopted the sweet, coaxing tone she’d heard adults use with children on the street: “Yes, it is, it is.”

Her grandmother complained: “Why haven’t you come home? I haven’t seen you in so long.”

Her grandmother had remained in China, and Song Zhi hadn’t returned since middle school. They hadn’t seen each other in over six years. Her grandmother was the only kind relative she had left after her paternal grandmother passed away. Of course, she missed her, but…

Song Zhi said softly: “I’ve been busy.”

Grandma: “Then when are you coming home from school? I made dumplings; do you want some? Your father is awful, always out gambling and disappearing.”

Song Zhi pursed her lips. The “father” her grandmother mentioned was obviously not her own father. There was only one possibility: her grandmother mistook her for An Ran when she was still in school, back when her grandfather and mother were still alive. Her grandmother began suffering from senile dementia, academically known as Alzheimer’s, just before Song Zhi went abroad. She often forgot events after An Ran’s marriage, remembering only when An Ran was still a student. This was a significant reason why Song Zhi agreed to go abroad. She needed to protect her grandmother. She still couldn’t meet her face-to-face; Song Guan was watching.

Song Zhi: “I can only come home after the break. Will you cook dumplings for me then?”

Her grandmother’s previously happy voice lowered, sounding muffled: “Okay, you have to remember, though.”

Song Zhi said tenderly: “Okay, I’ll remember. Mom… Grandma, I want to ask you something.”

Her grandmother’s momentary unhappiness vanished: “What do you want to ask, Nannan?”

Song Zhi: “I want to ask…” She paused. If she asked this question, she would have to reveal everything, and her grandmother, at her age, couldn’t handle another huge shock. Song Zhi: “Never mind. In a couple of days, can I send a friend to visit you?”

Grandma: “No, no. I want Ranran to see me. Why would anyone else want to see me?”

Song Zhi: “I want to know if you’re doing well, but I can’t come back now, so I can only ask someone to check on you for me.”

She couldn’t go, but others could. The item could be retrieved anytime.

Song Zhi softly instructed: “Mom, if someone knocks on the door, you must ask me first.”

Her grandmother on the other end promised readily.

Song Zhi: “You can’t just humour me. You have to write it down, okay?”

Her grandmother seemed to concede: “Alright, alright, I’ll write it down. Is that enough?”

Only then did Song Zhi sweetly say goodbye.

As soon as she put down her phone, the door was knocked open: “Come in.”

Her personal bodyguard strode in, stopping in front of Song Zhi and slightly lowering her head: “The banquet is about to start. The Chairman asked us to go ahead.”

Who arrived at the banquet first made no difference to Song Zhi; it simply meant, to others, that the person who went first held a lower status. She acknowledged the message and stood up. The bodyguard placed her phone in her bag and followed behind her. As they rounded a corner in the long hallway, Song Zhi took the small bag, only big enough for a phone, into her own hand.

Song Zhi asked: “Who is the new bodyguard Song Guan arranged?”

Bodyguard: “She is one of ours.”

Song Zhi: “In a few days, take a trip to my grandmother’s place and retrieve something.”

The bodyguard nodded.

As they spoke, they arrived at the parking area. The car’s black paint gleamed with an orange-yellow light under the dim sunset. The four car doors were held open by the maids standing nearby, and the three accompanying escort cars were ready.

After getting into the car, Song Zhi remembered something: “Prepare a card later and load ** one million** onto it. I’ll need it when I return tonight.”

The bodyguard nodded in affirmation.

Song Zhi had already decided: If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain. A “thank you fee” sounded like a perfectly usable excuse.

An hour later, the Rolls-Royce slowly drove into the villa complex built on the mountainside.

Song Zhi considered her arrival late, timing it just as the banquet was about to begin. Typically, everyone who was supposed to be there would have arrived, with only a few people like Song Guan remaining to make a grand entrance. But surprisingly, when she stepped out and looked behind her, the entrance to the Xie family manor was still flooded with cars flowing in. The front six and back six cars were virtually identical, with consecutive license plates. The only difference was the inconspicuous black car parked in the middle.

Xie Chu was standing at the entrance acting as the greeter. Her eyes lit up when she saw Song Zhi: “You finally made it! I’ve been thinking about you for a while.”

Song Zhi raised an eyebrow: “You’ve been thinking about me?”

Xie Chu nodded without guilt: “Yes.”

Song Zhi: “If I think about it, you definitely missed a word.”

Xie Chu: “What?”

Song Zhi: “Your mother misses me.”

Xie Chu: “Fine, you two are telepathic. My mother does miss you. You go on up. I have to wait for someone.” She paused before saying cautiously: “My mother seems to have something to say to you. Whatever she says, please stay calm.”

Song Zhi: “What could my aunt have to say… Is it…?” She realized her mistake mid-sentence and changed her tone: “Is it the one from Yanjing?”

Xie Chu nodded: “The one right behind you. The procession is massive, with over a dozen escort cars. People like us can’t afford to be so ostentatious.”

Song Zhi probably felt there was nothing more to say, so she gave a small smile and walked past: “I’m going up now.”

Xie Chu watched her retreating figure, a strong premonition suddenly rising in her heart. This afternoon, her mother was on the phone when she went upstairs, and her mother immediately yelled at her to leave. In the Xie family, she was the only direct descendant of her generation, so there were no power struggles to rehearse, and usually nothing was kept from her. But her mother’s attitude at noon was very strange. Apart from one thing, nothing else could make her mother act so oddly.

Song Zhi knocked on the half-open door and, after hearing a response from inside, smiled and walked in. The two shallow dimples appeared beside her lips.

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