However, apart from Song Yueyue, no one else in the Song family knew about this.
Not even Xia Beiji, who had been at her beck and call.
"My name is Song Qingyi."
Song Qingyi's gaze swept rapidly over the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Song and Xia Beiji.
Taking advantage of the moment when all three of them were stunned, she quickly introduced herself.
"I am the Song family's daughter who was lost for eighteen years. I was found three years ago, but some unexpected events occurred right before my college entrance exams."
She had figured out her current situation.
She might not have to take the fall for Song Yueyue, but prison time would likely follow.
After all, the only value in Song Julan bringing her out was to act as a scapegoat for Song Yueyue.
That being the case, she had to seize every possible chance to leave the Song family.
She wanted to live—to live freely.
"Qingyi hasn't had dinner yet, has she?"
Zhao Suihua snapped out of it, smiling at Xia Beiji. "Beiji, take Qingyi to get something to eat first. We'll start the banquet once Yueyue arrives."
"I'm not hungry yet." Almost the exact moment Zhao Suihua finished speaking, Song Qingyi piped up.
Abandoning her usual timid posture, she stepped out from between Song Yecheng and Xia Beiji.
"Auntie, Father, this is Mr. Tang's first time visiting our home, isn't it? How about I show Mr. Tang around?" Song Qingyi clenched her hands tightly behind her back, maintaining a polite smile on her face even as her fingernails dug into her palms.
The expressions on Zhao Suihua and Song Yecheng's faces turned rather ugly.
Xia Beiji's gaze inadvertently landed on Song Qingyi's trembling hands behind her back.
Tang Zhiwei and Gu Mingfeng fixed their gazes on the thin girl before them, whose face was pale despite her makeup.
Fang Yu blurted out in confusion, "We're here for a birthday banquet, we shouldn't need a tour..."
Before he could finish, Gu Mingfeng gave him a hard pinch on the rear.
Fang Yu instantly shut his mouth and glared back at him.
The surrounding guests noticed the unusual atmosphere and stopped talking to glance over.
"Haha, good daughter, there's no need to tour guests around the birthday banquet. Go see if your big brother is back." Song Yecheng's expression returned to normal.
He looked apologetically at Tang Zhiwei and Gu Li. "Qingyi hasn't spent much time at home, please excuse us for making a spectacle in front of you all."
"Qingyi, go call your big brother," Zhao Suihua said to Song Qingyi with her usual composure.
"It's fine." Tang Zhiwei looked away from Song Qingyi.
Song Qingyi's clenched hands finally relaxed when Tang Zhiwei looked away.
It was over...
She was going to be sent back to prison...
With the stigma of a murderer hanging over her, she had no way of catching the interest of the people before her.
Not a single person in the entire reception hall could help her.
In a daze, Song Qingyi turned and walked out of the reception hall.
Xia Beiji did not follow.
Song Qingyi was not surprised.
To them, she had completely lost her value. For all she knew, once tonight's birthday banquet was over, they would send her right back to prison.
Xie Wan's death stood like a wall between them; no matter what she did, they would never accept her.
Even if Xie Wan hadn't died in the first place, she would have always been an outsider.
So why did they even bother bringing her back to the Song family in the beginning?
Just because she carried the blood of the Song family?
Song Qingyi couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it.
The evening breeze was slightly cool, and the moonlight was lovely.
She went out to the balcony to admire the starry sky, finally sighed, and turned on her phone.
[Auntie is asking when you'll be back]
After sending this message to Song Julan, Song Qingyi stared blankly at the night sky once more.
So... why not run away now while nobody was paying attention to her?
But what about Grandma...?
Song Qingyi thought of the old woman lying unconscious in the hospital room.
Grandma was the person she worried about most.
If not for Grandma still being in the hospital, she might have committed suicide in prison long ago.
"Qingyi."
Xia Beiji's voice came from behind.
She didn't hear him.
So Xia Beiji walked up to her side.
"Qingyi, do you want to go see your grandma?"
The scapegoat plan had failed.
Xia Beiji knew very well what awaited Song Qingyi next.
Though he couldn't bear to watch them send her back to prison, there was nothing he could do.
He still struggled to stand on his own in the Xia family.
"Isn't the banquet about to start?" Song Qingyi didn't understand what Xia Beiji meant by his question.
If she left, the Song family would notice very quickly.
"Yueyue has come down, you won't be noticed." Xia Beiji lowered his gaze, staring at the distance between himself and Song Qingyi.
Hearing his words, Song Qingyi froze, then gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
Right, Song Yueyue was back; who would care whether she was there or not?
Song Qingyi unclasped the pearl necklace from her neck and threw it to Xia Beiji.
"It's Song Yueyue's. Don't say I stole her things—her mother was the one who forced it on me."
With those words, Song Qingyi left.
Xia Beiji gripped the pearl necklace, which still retained her warmth, his eyes dark and deep.
The distance between him and Qingyi seemed to be growing wider and wider...
Give him a little more time, and he would definitely bring her back to his side.
——
There were no buses running at night.
Song Qingyi didn't have enough money for a taxi, so she had no choice but to leave on foot.
After walking for two hours, she finally made it out of the villa district and reached the outskirts in the countryside.
Song Qingyi lowered her head to check the time on her phone.
Eleven-forty-nine.
The birthday banquet should be over by now.
Once Song Yueyue went back this time, she probably wouldn't need to leave again.
After all, she was the deeply cherished daughter of the Song family.
The night wind in the countryside was even chillier.
It blew against Song Qingyi, making her shiver uncontrollably.
"I should have changed into another clothes before leaving," Song Qingyi muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.
A car sped past, kicking up an even stronger gust of wind that battered Song Qingyi.
Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Moments later, another car approached from behind.
This time, the car wasn't going as fast as the previous one, and its high beams remained on, stretching Song Qingyi's shadow infinitely long.
As it drew closer, Song Qingyi's shadow began to shrink.
Just as it shrank to the point of nearly vanishing, Song Qingyi noticed something wrong with the car.
It was following her.
Realizing this, Song Qingyi turned her head to look.
The car behind her was a very ordinary sedan.
Because she was facing the glare of the lights, Song Qingyi couldn't see the driver or the license plate.
Just as she squinted hard, trying to make out the license plate, the headlights abruptly clicked off.
The next instant—it rushed straight toward Song Qingyi at high speed.
"!"
The second before she was hit, Song Qingyi swerved and ran toward the side of the road.
Yet her speed was still too slow, and the car sent her flying with a single impact.
"It hurts..." Song Qingyi landed in the middle of the road and rolled a few times.
A bone-shattering pain came from her left leg. She glanced down hurriedly; her left leg was twisted out of shape—it was broken, most likely.
The high beams flashed back on.
Sensing mortal danger, Song Qingyi used both hands to crawl toward the roadside bushes.
Bang—
Just as Song Qingyi struggled to stand on her twisted left leg, the car struck her again.