After the Second Playthrough, the CP-Less Female Lead Kneels and Begs Me for Forgiveness [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 20

The next day, Shao Xibei arrived at the hospital driving a bright purple sports car, just in time to run into Song Xiuran, who was out buying breakfast. She hadn’t expected her to still be there.

The sports car pulled up beside Song Xiuran. She was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and looked no different from the Song Xiuran she had seen then—beautiful, to the point of being almost sharp.

The movement nearby caught Song Xiuran’s attention. She stopped and looked over, just as Shao Xibei rolled down the car window.

The early morning sunlight spilled across Shao Xibei’s face. Her slightly wavy, black, shoulder-length hair fell naturally without any styling, and her white shirt seemed a bit loose, revealing a good portion of her elegant collarbones. Her face carried a trace of sleepiness.

So cute. I want to lock her up so I’m the only one who can see her.

“Song Xiuran, morning. How is Song Xin doing?” Shao Xibei greeted her and asked casually.

Song Xiuran’s lips curled up slightly. She said, “My sister is fine; she can be discharged today.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How annoying. Miss Shao asks about my sister as soon as she arrives, but doesn’t show any concern for me.”

Shao Xibei paused, feeling uneasy inside, but she redirected the topic without showing it. “Miss Song, I’m going to park the car first. You go on in.” With that, she quickly rolled up the window and drove away. Through the rearview mirror, Shao Xibei could see a visible look of disappointment on Song Xiuran’s face.

This world was truly strange. In her last life in this world, she really hadn’t had much contact with Song Xiuran, and the original owner of this body hadn’t either.

[System, are these two really not reborn?]

[It’s possible.]

Shao Xibei parked the car and got out with the things she had prepared. [Even if they are reborn, they shouldn’t have this attitude. Whatever, I’ll just do what I’m supposed to do.]

In front of Song Xin’s ward, Song Xiuran pushed open the door and walked in with a smile, carrying breakfast.

Song Xin, who had been staring blankly out the window, snapped back to reality and looked at Song Xiuran’s smiling face with an expressionless gaze.

“What are you still doing here? To disgust me?” Song Xin said rudely.

Song Xiuran smiled without speaking and continued walking toward her.

Song Xin sneered. “What’s with that dead look on your face? It makes me want to vomit.”

Song Xiuran finally replied: “Sister, it really hurts me when you say things like that.” She placed the breakfast on the table and clapped her hands. “I just want to take care of you.”

“Heh.” Their relationship was already poor, and they had completely fallen out yesterday. On top of that, they were rivals in love. “Song Xiuran, you—”

“Song Xin, are you feeling better?” A sudden voice interrupted the words Song Xin was about to say.

The sneer on Song Xin’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of piteous fragility.

“Ahem, A-Xi, you’re here.” She looked at the newcomer with a gaze full of pure kindness, as if this person was her entire world.

Shao Xibei walked in. She approached the hospital bed and, without looking up, said to Song Xiuran: “Song Xiuran, you go out for a moment.”

At that moment, only Song Xin saw it—Song Xiuran’s fists clenched tight.

As she watched Shao Xibei standing there with downcast eyes, Song Xin couldn’t help the smugness rising in her heart. She thought: How can Song Xiuran compete with me? At this point in time, Ah Xi loves me.

Song Xiuran didn’t say much. She smiled and said, “Alright.”

She even considerately closed the door behind her as she left.

Song Xin’s eyes were filled with sorrow as she said, “Ah Xi, I’m so happy you came to see me.”

Shao Xibei gave a faint smile. Looking at Song Xin’s weak and pitiful appearance, she felt no ripple of emotion in her heart.

“Song Xin, I find it very strange.”

She had thought a lot last night and finally realized that instead of overthinking it herself, it was better to confirm things with the person involved.

Song Xin felt a vague, bad premonition. She looked confused. “Ah Xi, what’s strange?”

Shao Xibei didn’t beat around the bush. “In the past, you never cared about me, let alone cooked for me or came looking for me when I was late. And you’re calling me ‘Ah Xi’.”

Song Xin’s expression became visibly distressed. “I just suddenly realized things. Even if we didn’t start off well, I’ve seen your true self clearly during this time, so I want to be with you properly.” No one knew how panicked she was inside. She had been too impatient; she thought the current Shao Xibei would be happy because of her changes.

Shao Xibei pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Song Xin, I’m not a child.”

…

On a chair outside the door, Song Xiuran stared blankly at the ceiling. In her previous life, Shao Xibei already loved Song Xin deeply at this point in time.

The soundproofing of the VIP ward was excellent, so no sound leaked out, but she didn’t want to listen anyway.

Coming here first thing in the morning to ask about Song Xin, and then kicking her out just to be alone with her…

Song Xiuran whispered, “Do I really have no chance? I’m so unwilling to accept this.”

Inside the ward.

Song Xin gripped the fabric over her heart tightly, wrinkling her clothes. She felt as though she were waiting for a final judgment, bracing for Shao Xibei’s next words.

Shao Xibei unfolded the piece of paper she had been holding.

“Song Xin, this is our original contract.”

Song Xin’s pupils shrank. “What… what are you doing with that?”

Shao Xibei didn’t look at her; instead, she looked out the window. A couple of small birds were chirping and hopping around in the trees. She curled her lips into a smile, her eyes curving slightly, her dimples showing.

“Song Xin, you probably haven’t forgotten how I forced you to sign this back then.” Having said that, she hesitated not a second as she tore the contract in half right in front of Song Xin.

“There are no other copies of this contract; this was the only one. From now on, you are free.”

Song Xin stared blankly at the torn contract, her lips parted as if wanting to say something.

Shao Xibei continued, “The villa is already in your name. Also, a sum of money will be transferred to your card soon. Consider it compensation for your time.”

Internally, Shao Xibei said to the system: [System, I really seem like a heartless, ‘hit-it-and-quit-it’ scumbag right now.]

The system replied with two “Heh-hehs.”

Song Xin asked, her voice trembling slightly, “Why? Is it because I disturbed you last night?”

Shao Xibei shook her head. “Song Xin, I don’t know why you’ve changed so suddenly, but I’ve realized something: I shouldn’t be binding you to me.”

“You don’t like me—you even loathe me. I can actually feel it. I, the second miss of the Shao family, am not so blind that I can’t see that much.”

“No… I… it’s not like that.” Song Xin looked panicked. She wanted to explain, but she found herself speechless because what Shao Xibei said was the truth. If the version of her standing here didn’t have the memories of her past life, the Song Xin of this timeline would indeed have loathed the Shao Xibei who stripped her of her freedom and coerced her into being a lover.

“Song Xin, I am an adult,” Shao Xibei repeated.

“Your disgust was written all over your face; how could I not see it? In the past, I was just deceiving myself. I was unwilling to accept that I couldn’t get you to like me, which is why I pestered you for so long.”

“This sudden change of yours only makes me feel that something is very strange.”

Shao Xibei’s tone was calm, but Song Xin’s heart felt as though it had fallen into an ice cellar—it was painfully cold.

She didn’t think Shao Xibei was acting strangely; rather, she suddenly felt a deep self-loathing.

She had been too impatient. Song Xin stared fixedly at the scrap paper; her only connection to Ah Xi was broken. The suffocating feeling left her unable to speak.

Without that contract, what did she have left to get close to the second miss of the Shao family?

Song Xin took a deep breath, forcing down the dark emotions in her heart. She furrowed her brows, the corners of her eyes turning red as tears finally spilled over.

Her voice carried a sob that naturally elicited pity: “Ah Xi, I just… I just realized my own feelings.”

Shao Xibei didn’t answer the question. Instead, she said, “Get some rest. I should go.”

“Ah Xi!”

Shao Xibei left swiftly and gracefully, her pace never faltering. She pushed the door open and closed it behind her in one fluid motion.

She stopped at the doorway and took a deep breath. Song Xin must have been replaced by a different soul! She would never believe that a simple rebirth could cause such a massive shift in personality.

To go from a cold, ruthless, and calculating career woman obsessed with revenge to such a… such a “white lotus” flower was impossible. Therefore, it was highly likely that Song Xin was a different person entirely!

Shao Xibei felt her theory was very logical, but it didn’t matter. Regardless, they likely wouldn’t have much to do with each other from now on.

Her primary target now was Song Xiuran.

“Miss Shao, you’re out.” A magnetic voice rang out in her ear.

Shao Xibei turned her head and found herself face-to-face with Song Xiuran.

Song Xiuran’s eyes held a hint of a smile, but deep down, there was a trace of gloom. She didn’t know what the two had been doing or saying in the ward for so long, and it made her very unhappy.

Negative emotions almost threatened to consume her, but the moment Shao Xibei stood before her, those bad feelings vanished. Her eyes and heart were filled only with the person in front of her.

Song Xiuran’s gaze was too direct, making Shao Xibei feel a bit flustered. She fiddled with her earring and put on a smile, trying her best to look arrogant and unrestrained.

She didn’t realize that in Song Xiuran’s eyes, she looked like a kitten trying its best to show off its tiny claws—adorable and making one want to “rua” (pet/squish) her.

“Song Xiuran, come with me to grab breakfast,” she said, sounding perfectly entitled.

Song Xiuran glanced toward the ward and agreed without hesitation: “I’d be delighted, Miss Shao.”

Left behind in the ward, Song Xin didn’t hear the movement outside. She gripped the now-void contract tightly with both hands.

She was too weak right now. Only by becoming strong enough could she hold the person she loved in her grasp.

And now, she didn’t even have the right to touch the hem of someone’s clothes. Why couldn’t she have been reborn a bit earlier? Why did she have to wait until Ah Xi was already heartbroken by her attitude before returning?

Moreover, there was now a reborn Song Xiuran to deal with. She remembered that in her previous life, Song Xiuran and Ah Xi had almost no contact.

If Song Xiuran loved Ah Xi, where was she in the last life when Ah Xi jumped off that building?

She suspected Song Xiuran just wanted to steal Ah Xi away to humiliate her.

“Ah Xi, don’t be fooled by her. I am the one who loves you most. Wait for me, okay? I will definitely prove myself.” These last words were barely a whisper.

Song Xin smoothed out the contract and then tore it into even smaller pieces. She threw the scraps into the trash can, her lips curling into a gentle smile, but the obsession in her eyes had reached a point of pathology.

“Hehe… Ah Xi, you will definitely belong to me.”

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