Song Qingyi's voice was very soft, yet extraordinarily firm.
Tang Zhiwei looked into the pair of eyes gazing straight at him. They concealed too much—pain, anger, resentment, endurance, and that near-paranoid will to survive that Tang Zhiwei was familiar with, having once seen it in Fang Yu's eyes.
He leaned forward slightly and stopped what he was doing.
The light from the hospital room cast a shadow across his well-defined facial features, adding a deep, captivating allure to a face that seemed almost miraculous.
"I don't need your repayment, but think carefully: if you leave now, it will be very difficult for you to ever investigate this matter again in the future."
Song Qingyi was taken aback.
How could she not know how much harder it would be to investigate this car accident the longer she waited?
Yet, did she dare investigate? Could she?
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Mr. Tang, but I must leave this place."
She was already utterly meaningless to the Song family. If she didn't leave now, nothing awaited her but life imprisonment.
"Very well. In three days, someone will come to pick you up." Tang Zhiwei operated his wheelchair away from the bedside.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Tang Zhiwei left these words and departed without looking back.
Song Qingyi let out her tension and lay flat.
As long as she could leave, that was enough.
Now Grandma, the only person who had been good to her, had passed away, leaving nothing worth lingering for.
As for the Song family, no one would care about her disappearance.
Song Julan hated her to the bone and wished nothing more than for her to die out there.
Even during the three or four years since she had returned to the Song family, her second brother, Song Jingfu, who shared the same mother, had never once come back to look at her.
Song Yecheng's alienation and disgust, Zhao Suihua's hypocrisy and scheming, Song Yueyue's frame-ups and false accusations, Xia Beiji's betrayal—
Perhaps she should have left long ago.
Her former hopes had already turned into disappointment.
She should have regretted it.
Regretted why she hadn't listened to Grandma and stayed far away from the Song family from the very beginning.
Regretted why, after returning to the Song family, she had continued to try and please them even while clearly feeling their alienation.
And regretted even more that three years ago, when Xie Wan fell from the building, she hadn't reacted immediately to call the police, instead allowing the Song family to sweep the matter under the rug, all because of a few words from Song Yueyue that sent her to prison.
——
Three days later.
Song Qingyi was transferred to the downtown hospital in Furong Town.
That very evening, she was discharged and took a taxi alone in her wheelchair back to the tofu shop where she and Grandma used to live.
Because it had been vacant for a long time, the tofu shop had accumulated a lot of dust and weeds.
Song Qingyi did a simple cleanup and settled in.
She spent half a month recuperating here.
Until today, when Song Qingyi went out to buy groceries as usual and ran into her next-door neighbor, Grandma Zhang.
"Qingyi? You're back?" Grandma Zhang smiled kindly.
She hurried over to Song Qingyi's side with her vegetable basket, and seeing the injuries on her legs, her brows knitted with worry: "Oh dear, what happened to your legs?"
"I had an accidental fall, but they're almost healed," Song Qingyi replied with a faint smile.
"How could you be so careless?" Grandma Zhang said, pulling Song Qingyi toward her house. "Qingyi, why didn't your grandma come back with you? She left some things with me last time that she hasn't picked up yet. Take them back today so you don't forget later."
As she spoke, Grandma Zhang chattered on about her recent situation: "My son is about to take me to the city to live out my old age, and I probably won't be coming back. You might as well take Yifen's things back with you..."
Pushed along in her wheelchair by Grandma Zhang, Song Qingyi followed her to Grandma Zhang's house despite her reluctance to go inside.
Grandma Zhang took an old-fashioned handbag out of the cabinet and shoved it into Song Qingyi's hands.
She chatted with Song Qingyi about everyday matters for a while, and seeing that it was almost lunchtime, she finally let go and sent Song Qingyi back to the tofu shop.
Upon returning home, Song Qingyi opened the handbag and burst into tears the moment she saw what was inside.
Inside the bag lay a letter and a bank card containing all of the little old lady's savings.
"Qingyi, when you read this letter, I may no longer be around.
Grandma kept many things from you, including this money.
My good Qingyi, Grandma knows you didn't have a good life in the Song family, and Grandma knows you were framed and sent to prison.
If you are able to get out and read this letter, take this money and run—run as far as you can, and never come back.
Qingyi, remember this: the world owes you; you owe no one, not even Grandma. Don't ruin your life for my sake. Leave this place quickly and go live the life you want.
——To my precious A-Yi."
——
That evening, at the Song residence.
"Beiji, what should we do? If Tang Zhiwei really sues me, won't my four years of hard work go to waste?"
Song Yueyue sat on the living room sofa, holding onto Xia Beiji's arm.
"I'll figure something out. I won't let him actually sue you."
"Sigh, you're really working hard for my sake, Beiji. It's so great to have you here."
Song Yueyue put on a spoiled, squeaky voice, resting her head on his shoulder while blinking at Xia Beiji's profile and long eyelashes.
Xia Beiji was checking data on his tablet and didn't respond to Song Yueyue's words.
Seeing that he didn't react, Song Yueyue spoke up again.
"Brother Beiji, are you angry?"
Last night's birthday banquet had ended very unpleasantly.
Because she had accidentally spilled wine on Tang Zhiwei and tripped into his arms, Tang Zhiwei had scolded her.
Her father couldn't stand by and watch, and got into a shouting match with Tang Zhiwei. Then Tang Zhiwei's assistant directly played the video of her seducing Tang Zhiwei right in front of all the guests.
Xia Beiji had seen it too.
Song Yueyue sighed; Brother Beiji must be angry.
She looked at Xia Beiji's profile, lamenting inwardly.
Xia Beiji was very good-looking, but after all, he was just an adopted son of the Xia family.
Tang Zhiwei was different. He was the most capable member of the younger generation of the Tang family. At only twenty-five years old, he had already taken over half of the Tang family's ancestral business. He was a genuine scion of a wealthy family and the future head of the Tang family.
This was the man Song Yueyue wanted to marry.
Song Yueyue raised her hand and gently stroked Xia Beiji's face.
"Brother Beiji, do you still like Sister Qingyi?"
Xia Beiji's movements paused when he heard Song Yueyue's words.
"How could that be? Yueyue, you are my only love." Xia Beiji put down the tablet, caught Song Yueyue's hand, and kissed it lightly.
"Sigh, if it weren't for me, you and Sister Qingyi would probably be married by now..."
"Yueyue, didn't we say not to bring her up anymore? I only love you." Xia Beiji folded her hand against his chest.
"Alright, it's just... Brother Beiji, you're so good, I'm not worthy of you. If you still like my sister, and since she's back anyway, you should go find her..."
"Yueyue, don't say that. How could I possibly like her? You are clearly much better than her."
——
Upstairs in the villa, Zhao Suihua and a servant helped Song Yecheng onto the bed, then left the room under the pretext of taking a shower.
"How was it handled?"
"The person is already dead. No family members came to visit. Should we cremate the body?" A low voice came through the phone.
"Follow the hospital's standard procedure." Zhao Suihua lit a slim women's cigarette and took a slow drag.
"Alright, Madam."
The call was disconnected.
Zhao Suihua slowly exhaled a plume of smoke.
She narrowed her eyes and looked through the haze of smoke at the heavy snow outside.
It's snowing again...
Just as she was thinking this, the phone in her hand suddenly rang.
Zhao Suihua glanced at the caller ID, tilted her head slightly to look behind her, and seeing no one nearby, she pressed answer.
"What is it?"
Heavy breathing came from the other end of the phone.
"The person... the person doesn't seem to be dead."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Suihua frowned.
"I don't know what happened with Old Wang—after he hit her, his car malfunctioned, crashed into a tree, and exploded. The police went, Old Wang died, and the girl you told us to kill is gone."
Hearing this, Zhao Suihua paused the hand flicking her cigarette ash.
"Did the police find anything?"
"No, the snow was too heavy last night and covered up all the traces."
"Cousin, you should have listened to me in the first place and sold her straight to the mountains. Once someone enters a place like that, they'll never get out, not even if the Jade Emperor himself comes..."
Zhao Suihua interrupted the other person from speaking further: "Qi Fucheng, do not call me cousin."
"And, once you've taken the money, don't contact me again."