After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Song Zhi didn’t let He Rong follow her, entering the private room alone.

The hotel and the restaurant were close. Song Zhi had left half an hour early, but she underestimated the power of the capital city’s rush hour traffic, getting stuck for over ten minutes. She thought the client would have already arrived, but when she pushed the door open, the room was empty.

Song Zhi raised an eyebrow at the vacant room but sat down first. After about four or five minutes, the latecomer finally opened the door.

“I apologize, I was late because of traffic.”

A familiar voice entered her ears along with the sound of the door opening. Song Zhi slowly looked up, meeting the eyes of the person who walked in. Unluckily, it was an acquaintance: Guang Yuan.

Upon seeing her, Guang Yuan was startled. Losing all composure, she violently shut the door, took several deep breaths, and then pushed the door open to peek inside again. The person inside was holding a wine glass and subtly raised an eyebrow at her. Two shallow dimples graced her lips, suggesting she was in excellent spirits.

Guang Yuan, who had just mentally prepared herself, abruptly shut the door again.

Five years ago, the news of Song Zhi’s apparent death in a car crash was well-known, including to Guang Yuan, who had attended the banquet. Yet, the person sitting inside was clearly alive.

The secretary trailing her was confused. “General Manager Guan, what’s wrong?”

Guang Yuan, having finally collected herself, quietly said: “Nothing. You don’t need to come in.”

With that, she pushed the door and entered the private room.

Song Zhi, seated inside, smiled faintly: “Long time no see.”

The moment she spoke, the string of vigilance in Guang Yuan’s heart tightened to its peak.

Whether she truly died or faked it, five years ago, Song Zhi was forced to abandon the Song family, live under an assumed identity for years, and only now returned. Regardless of whether their conflict was as severe as the Gangcheng reporters rumored, there was definitely bad blood between them. Now that that person (Shen Ying) was on the verge of becoming the Song family’s sole head, Song Zhi had returned.

Why did she come back? Why did she seek out her instead of her close friend Xie Chu, or the two people she had grudges with? Guang Yuan believed she had no personal grievance with Song Zhi; their only prior interaction was when Song Zhi and that person went to the laboratory. At the time, she certainly had unspoken feelings for that person, but years had passed, and she wasn’t a child living in a fairy tale anymore. The dreams she needed to wake up from had passed.

After much deliberation, Guang Yuan cautiously probed: “The feud you had five years ago is well known. Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Shen Ying that you’re showing up here so openly?”

Song Zhi rotated the glass in her hand, simply smiling faintly: “Go ahead and tell her.” When she smiled, the two shallow dimples immediately appeared, but her eyes were very cold. Her overall demeanor was stable and composed, layered with the calculated relaxation she exuded.

This made Guang Yuan look closer at Song Zhi. She hadn’t noticed it before, but now, looking at Song Zhi, she felt an inexplicable familiarity—not that she had met this person before. She had met Song Zhi before, but the previous Song Zhi had all her emotions written on her face, and even her smiles felt obviously awkward or forced. This person’s emotions were all contained within her composed demeanor.

This only deepened Guang Yuan’s suspicion. Remembering that the two Song family figures were at a critical juncture in splitting power, she spoke cautiously: “I’m not close to either of them. You should give up.”

At this, Song Zhi slightly raised an eyebrow, the outer corners of her round eyes lifting. Song Zhi looked genuinely confused: “We’re here to discuss our business. What does that have to do with them?”

Business? Guang Yuan wondered. Just business? How is that possible? But looking into Song Zhi’s eyes, she felt that it might actually be true.

Guang Yuan chuckled softly: “Are you that confident? If I tell her that I have information on the person she’s been searching for for five years, wouldn’t the final signatory for this contract be the Guan family and the Song family?”

Song Zhi leaned back slightly against the chair, smiling: “As far as I know, Shen Ying is completely focused on Song Medical right now. She can’t afford to take this contract on. And the conflict between her and Song Qin is already irreconcilable.” Taking advantage of Guang Yuan’s moment of thought, she added: “We’re all business people. You should know what choice to make. So…”

Guang Yuan understood her meaning: “Then this cooperation has to give us one more point in the agreement.” This was why Guang Yuan had held back, insisting on talking directly with the decision-maker. This was a massive contract with large potential profits, and it was Guang Yuan’s first independently managed project. She wanted a successful result to silence her critics.

Song Zhi was prepared: “0.5.”

Guang Yuan immediately raised her glass and clinked it against Song Zhi’s, smiling: “Cheers to a successful partnership.”

Song Zhi: “Cheers to a successful partnership.”

Shen Ying: “You have one last chance to renegotiate the terms.”

The middle-aged man sitting opposite her was filled with resentment: “Shen Ying, you are too much! These shares in Song Medical would sell for at least 200 million if fully divested. You want to take them for less than half the price. That’s absurd!”

Shen Ying said nonchalantly: “Then wait until you find someone who is willing to buy all those shares. I won’t be accompanying you.” With that, she stood up to leave. The man instinctively rose. Despite the cold winter, beads of cold sweat constantly broke out on his temples. If he could truly wait for someone to buy all those shares at once, why would he be so eager to divest them now? Moreover, the intense rivalry between Shen Ying and Song Qin had caused the value of various shares related to the Song Group to rapidly decline. The shares in his hand were already worth very little.

But if he just waits a bit longer, these shares will surely rebound. But can he truly afford to wait that long? Maybe if he talks further, Shen Ying will offer a slightly better price.

Shen Ying turned to walk out: “If you’re unwilling to part with them, then forget it.”

The man panicked. Seeing Shen Ying already at the door and the assistant pulling the door open, his mind went blank. He closed his eyes and yelled: “Fine!”

The quick-witted secretary standing beside him immediately placed a contract in front of the man.

Secretary: “This is the share transfer contract. Please take a look.”

The man nervously picked up the contract, stammering: “I-I need to look again.”

Shen Ying stood silently at the doorway, giving her tacit approval.

A person beside the man, who was trying to be helpful, said: “It’s quite cold outside, General Manager Shen. Why don’t you come in and have some food to warm up?”

Shen Ying said faintly: “No need.”

At the same time, Song Zhi, walking along the hallway, abruptly turned her head. Her heart quietly began to beat faster, as if anticipating something. After a long moment, the only sound she heard was the quiet of the highly private space.

He Rong asked confusedly: “What are you looking at?”

Song Zhi turned back, suppressing her thoughts. She actually thought she heard Shen Ying’s voice just now. How is that possible?

Song Zhi smiled: “Nothing. I need to use the restroom. You can wait for me in the parking lot.”

He Rong said “Oh,” nodded, and walked toward the parking lot, still confused.

Shen Ying stared at the hallway outside the room. She should have been focused on the contract, the thing she had been dreaming of, but her eyes were involuntarily drawn to the hallway. It seemed to possess some kind of magic; she couldn’t help but look. At that moment, she had an intuition—a quiet voice in her heart was urging her to go. It felt as if if she didn’t go, she would lose something forever.

The secretary inside was persistently calling her. Shen Ying’s foundation was shallow, and her identity was illegitimate. She had always been extremely cautious in her dealings because of these two points. Logically, given that the opposing party had conceded, she should sit down at the table.

“Manager Qian,” Shen Ying said faintly.

Manager Qian was delighted, thinking Shen Ying was willing to sit down. If she sat down, it meant there was still room for negotiation. He was secretly pleased, having heard that while General Manager Shen was aloof, she was gentle in business dealings, afraid of offending people.

But Shen Ying said coldly: “I’m going to the restroom.”

Manager Qian was stunned. Before he could say anything, Shen Ying had already stepped out. Regular rules aside, today she had a strange intuition that if she didn’t go, she would regret it.

The attendant standing by the door immediately approached: “Ma’am, the restroom is that way.”

It was the opposite direction from where Shen Ying was going. Shen Ying ignored the people in the private room, said “No need,” and hurried toward the turn in the hallway ahead. This restaurant was famous for its privacy, and its most famous feature was the crisscrossing hallways that ran up and down. Anyone unfamiliar with the layout would quickly get lost.

Shen Ying had just reached the turn when a back view disappeared around the next corner of the hallway. The person was quite tall, slender, and dressed brightly. Shen Ying’s heart fiercely pounded in that instant. She quickened her pace. Luckily, the person was walking slowly. After she rounded the corner, the person was still in the hallway.

Shen Ying’s heart hammered like a drum. She couldn’t remain calm, her eyes fixed on that figure. The figure began walking extremely fast, about to turn the corner again. Shen Ying took a large step forward, successfully grabbing the person’s hand just as the figure was turning the corner.

“Are you sick?”

A sharp voice and an unfamiliar face accosted her simultaneously.

Shen Ying froze. She immediately let go and said: “I’m sorry, I recognized the wrong person.” The woman’s angry expression vanished instantly when she clearly saw the person who grabbed her hand.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I forgive you. You’re in such a rush; anyone would think you were trying to catch someone.”

Shen Ying ignored her teasing, merely nodded faintly, turned, and walked away.

Watching Shen Ying’s figure disappear around the corner, Song Zhi stepped out from the gap beside a large vase. Cold sweat broke out on her back. If Shen Ying had taken one more step, the gap where the large vase was placed would have contained her.

He Rong quickly took off her coat and handed it to Song Zhi. She asked curiously: “General Manager Song, who was that? She was quite good-looking.”

Song Zhi raised her hand, refusing the coat: “It’s yours. Throw it away if you don’t like it. As for her…”

He Rong happily retracted her hand, perked up her ears, and adopted an eager listening posture.

Song Zhi said faintly: “If you like her, you can resign.”

He Rong shrunk her neck, not daring to speak.

Song Zhi suddenly smiled: “Let’s go.”

He Rong had just nodded when a voice very close by was heard.

“Ma’am, where are you going? Would you like me to guide you?”

An even closer, but cold, voice replied: “No need.”

Based on the voice, it was clearly the woman Song Zhi had just been hiding from. He Rong looked helplessly at Song Zhi.