After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

No, it couldn’t be.

A blurry figure appeared in her mind—tall and slender, always smiling softly up at her, and as the figure smiled, it gradually sharpened, with two shallow dimples beside the cheeks. In this moment, she remembered nothing else, only those two small dimples.

She didn’t know how she got out of the car or how she walked to the guardrail. The area beneath the railing was mostly pitch-black, with only a few unburned embers flickering in the night.

Song Qin’s probing gaze fell on Shen Ying’s cold face: “Are you feeling heartbroken?”

She knew what she needed to say, but she simply couldn’t utter the words, even if it meant her plan would fail completely. Just as Song Qin was looking at her suspiciously, a jarring voice exploded in her ear.

“Impossible!”

Xie Chu cried out in disbelief. She rushed to the guardrail, shoving Song Qin aside, and peered down. Beneath them was only a carbonized wreckage, with flickering flames dancing on the dense grass beside it.

Song Qin wasn’t annoyed by being pushed. He shrugged with a smile. Xie Chu’s head was buzzing. She raised her hand to grip the railing, intending to climb down.

Song Qin feigned kindness and reminded her: “My assistant already went down.”

A man stepped out from behind Song Qin. Xie Chu’s blurred vision traced the man from his muddy shoes to his dusty face. His insulated jacket had several blackened holes. Xie Chu had an interest in forensic investigation and had studied it for a while. She immediately recognized the holes in the clothing were caused by flammable materials near an extremely high temperature.

Where was the high-temperature object here? The only obvious high-temperature object was the car below.

“However,” Song Qin’s smug expression vanished, “it’s not confirmed if the person beneath is Song Zhi. At several thousand degrees of high temperature, the bones would have been reduced to ash, making identification quite difficult.”

Xie Chu’s teeth ground with hatred at his words, yet she felt helpless. Then, Song Qin’s tone shifted: “Did you two also hear the noise and rush over? It’s quite a distance from the Xie house. The soundproofing in these mountains must be terrible.”

Xie Chu said coldly: “You don’t need to circle around and be suspicious. I don’t have that much effort to spare, because Song Zhi was still on the phone with me a second before the crash.”

Song Qin’s face instantly went pale. He valued his reputation, especially now that he had money and power seemingly secured. Yet, Xie Chu dared to treat him with this attitude. After a long moment, Song Qin forced a smile: “You were still on the phone just now?” His current status was illegitimate, and he still needed the support of the Xie family. Offending the Xie family for a dead person wasn’t worth it. After all, what did he lack now?

Xie Chu rolled her eyes, folding her arms: “Take your gains and be satisfied. Anyone who didn’t know would think you’re a monkey, trying to climb every pole you see.” She paused, then looked softly down the cliff: “The debt is paid with death. Whatever grudges you had are over now, or don’t blame me for being unkind.”

Song Qin didn’t entirely believe Song Zhi was dead, but as the Xie family’s sole heir, Xie Chu’s words largely represented the Xie family. His foundation was still shaky; again, it wasn’t worth it.

Xie Chu watched them depart in a rush before leaning against the railing exhaustedly. She pinched the bridge of her nose and said: “Let’s go.”

Shen Ying remained in the same posture, standing emotionless at the spot, which further confirmed Xie Chu’s judgment that this person lacked emotion. Xie Chu took two steps forward, but no one followed. She was already upset today, and this person’s behavior was frustrating. Xie Chu turned back impatiently and shouted: “What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving? The police will be here soon.”

But the moment she turned, she fell silent in shock. The person was staring straight down, her light-colored pupils dark and deep, as if something was swirling within. This was completely different from her usual demeanor. While typically aloof, she wasn’t like this—like a hollow wooden shell had replaced her entire being.

Xie Chu shivered involuntarily at the sight of her. She almost thought this person was about to jump.

Shen Ying said coldly: “You go.”

It was as if an invisible membrane had suddenly surrounded her, blurring the sounds of cars and voices into meaningless noise. She heard every word they spoke, yet her brain couldn’t process it. It took a long time before she could finally understand their meaning. Then, she thought coldly, Oh, they’re checking the truth of the matter.

Xie Chu instinctively wanted to ask what she intended to do, but facing her icy stare, the words caught in her throat. She fumed, If it weren’t for her, Song Zhi wouldn’t be in this situation. Song Zhi wouldn’t have been harmed. I shouldn’t be nice to her right now. If it weren’t for her, this whole affair wouldn’t have been exposed, and I, Xie Chu, would still be Song Zhi’s best friend.

Thinking this, she turned and left, rolling her eyes as she walked away, muttering: “If it weren’t for you, Song Zhi wouldn’t have been hurt. What’s with the face now?”

Shen Ying remained rooted to the spot, staring straight down, seemingly having not heard her at all. Xie Chu, happy to be free, drove away.

Shen Ying didn’t know how long she stood there, until the surrounding air grew cold. A voice suddenly spoke:

“If you stand here any longer, I’ll think you’re planning to jump.”

Fu Xin stood by the railing. After waiting for a long time without Shen Ying lifting her head, she realized she wouldn’t get a reaction and didn’t move closer. This person looked like she wanted to freeze everyone to death, and she wasn’t foolish enough to seek trouble.

She glanced around casually, but her eyes eventually settled on the lifeless Shen Ying. She couldn’t help but say: “You have that expression, too. None of us wanted things to turn out this way, right?”

“Think about your grandmother. We were so close to succeeding. Are you just going to stand here and surrender everything we fought so hard for?”

After a minute, Shen Ying finally spoke: “Did you get it?”

Though phrased as a question, her tone was one of certainty. At the mention of this, Fu Xin brightened: “We did, but it’s the same as what we got from the Song family—it’s missing the key evidence. I think we’ll still need your help for that.”

The words reached Shen Ying’s ears as meaningless syllables. She forced herself to mentally repeat the words three or four times until she finally grasped Fu Xin’s meaning. Fu Xin was asking for the data, the goal they had pursued for so long.

They had met at the hospital. Both were without parents, but unlike Shen Ying, Fu Xin’s parents had died in the hospital in a supposed medical accident, just like Shen Ying’s grandmother. Neither of them believed the official story, but as mere ordinary citizens, they were helpless. That is, until Fu Xin met her boyfriend, Zhao Zhongdui. He knew Song Qin—that Song. The two girls, whose lives were barely connected, met secretly night after night because of this discovery. A plan began to form in the minds of the two college students.

They had worked toward this so-called truth all this time, but now, staring at the pitch-black scene below, Shen Ying couldn’t help but wonder: “Are we really doing the right thing?”

A rare doubt crept into her voice. She had always been decisive, never changing course once a decision was made, regardless of the obstacles.

Fu Xin instantly felt something was very wrong. She straightened up and said seriously: “What about your grandmother? Should she have died in vain? The Song family ruined so many lives for profit, yet they got away with it by calling it a ‘medical accident.’ Can they just cover up everything they’ve done?”

Shen Ying’s voice was soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing something: “She was a very good person. We sacrificed her for the greater good.”

Fu Xin countered: “This is not what I wanted, and it’s not what you wanted. You can’t think like this anymore. All you need to do is finish the job and get the final evidence. Bring the guilty criminals to justice.”

Shen Ying didn’t respond to her. She just looked down, and finally said: “I want to go down.”

Fu Xin was exasperated that after everything she had said, Shen Ying was still unresponsive. All her attempts at comforting words vanished. She said coldly: “I don’t know about anything else, but she definitely doesn’t want to see you. You caused her to be in this state. Don’t go down there and cause her more pain.”

It took a long time for Shen Ying to understand her meaning. She gave a desolate smile. Yes, what right did she have to see her again?

Seeing her waver, Fu Xin quickly urged: “Let’s go. The police are coming. If Song Qin finds you here, it will raise his suspicions.”

Shen Ying didn’t speak, her eyes fixed below, her feet seemingly nailed to the ground, unwilling to look away from the cliff.

Fu Xin continued: “She doesn’t want to see you. Staying here might just annoy her more. Why don’t you finish everything and then properly mourn her?”

Shen Ying pressed her lips together and glanced at her.

Seeing the first sign of movement, Fu Xin finally sighed in relief and pressed on: “Walls have ears. You can’t explain anything now. It’s better to finish everything and then apologize to her.”

After a long time, Shen Ying very slowly lifted her feet, which felt glued to the ground.

Despite her harsh words, Xie Chu had left a car for her. As for Shen Ying not knowing how to drive, that was not Xie Chu’s problem. Fu Xin watched Shen Ying step into the car, but just before getting in, she turned, her gaze fixed on the roadside. Fu Xin fiercely urged her to get in, then quickly started the car.

Shen Ying’s indifferent gaze lingered outside the window, moving from the guardrail to the continuous mountain ranges. Finally, she turned her head and stared fixedly behind the car. The broken guardrail had been left far behind, too small to see.

Back at the Song family estate, Shen Ying quickly immersed herself in the tedious work of consolidating shareholders and collecting shares. Song Guan’s death was sudden, and there was no will. Neither she nor Song Qin had a clear, legitimate claim, so they began a covert competition.

Initially, their agreement preserved a facade of civility, but that shattered the moment Shen Ying reached for the largest piece of the pie: Song Corporation Medical. The surface peace between the two was utterly destroyed.

Time flew quickly. Shen Ying spent three years immersed in this frantic work.

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