Song Qiaoan noticed her small movements but kept a calm expression. “What, doesn’t it fit?”
“Huh? No, no, it fits perfectly.”
After walking out of the room, she touched the pocket again there was indeed nothing inside.
Strange… why did it feel like something was missing? Could it be just her imagination?
That afternoon, Song Qiaoan and Zhang Meilan went to the bank to open a passbook, and Song Weiwei insisted on tagging along.
There was no flashy sign at the bank entrance just a faded slogan pasted above the doorway: “Serve the People.”
“Sister, it’s dangerous for a girl like you to carry so much money,” Song Weiwei said softly.
“Indeed easy to attract the jealousy of certain poor people.”
Song Qiaoan rolled her eyes at her. Her gaze fell on Song Weiwei’s pink earrings, swaying so much they were almost dazzling.
“I was just kindly reminding you, do you have to” Song Weiwei flushed red with anger and tried to retort, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
As if she had seen something, her expression stiffened, and she quickly lowered her head and shrank toward the wall.
Song Qiaoan found it baffling. “What’s wrong? Seen a ghost?”
Just as she finished speaking, she overheard a conversation from a couple nearby.
“A Hao, to celebrate my promotion, let’s go out for dinner tonight?”
The woman, dressed in a sharp little suit, held onto the man’s arm as they chatted and laughed while passing by Song Qiaoan.
“Not tonight I have to… work overtime.”
Seeing his girlfriend’s disappointed expression, Zhang Hao hurried to coax her. “My fault. I’ve been too busy with work lately and haven’t had time to be with you.”
As he spoke, his gaze accidentally swept over Song Weiwei. His expression cracked for a split second before returning to normal.
He turned with his girlfriend and gradually walked away.
Song Qiaoan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Song Weiwei, deep in thought.
Something was off. Those two were definitely acting strange.
She poked Song Weiwei’s shoulder and deliberately said, “That couple looks really well-matched talented man, beautiful woman. So enviable, don’t you think, Weiwei?”
Song Weiwei’s lips twitched slightly. “Mm,” she replied perfunctorily.
Suspicious. Could Song Weiwei know that man? And if she did, why did she look so guilty?
What kind of relationship could they have?
Just as she was thinking, Zhang Meilan returned after finishing the passbook.
“This is something valuable. It’s not safe for you to hold onto it. How about I keep it for you and give it back when you get married?”
“Forget it. It’s even less safe with you.” Song Qiaoan snatched it back, checked it carefully, and then put it into her bag.
What a joke letting her keep the passbook was like letting a mouse guard grain.
Zhang Meilan couldn’t keep face and rolled her eyes. “Then you’d better keep a close eye on it. If it gets stolen, our family won’t have a second dowry for you.”
“That works out. I don’t even want to get married anyway whoever steals the money can go marry in my place.”
Zhang Meilan’s face flushed red with anger, and she was about to curse when Song Weiwei quickly changed the subject.
“Alright, Mom, we still need to accompany Sister to handle the divorce. Let’s not delay.”
That reminder made Zhang Meilan recall it. “Right, right, I almost forgot. If we go too late, the Civil Affairs Bureau will close.”
She reached out to grab Song Qiaoan’s arm, but Song Qiaoan shook her off coldly.
“No need for you to come. I’ll go by myself.”
“How can that be? Auntie won’t feel at ease.” Zhang Meilan looked suspicious. What was this girl planning to do secretly now?
“For something this embarrassing, if both of you follow me and someone sees us, and it gets to Wang Shichang, then am I still getting married or not?”
“Well… that’s true…”
Zhang Meilan hesitated, having to admit that Song Qiaoan made sense. If they accidentally ruined the marriage, the loss would outweigh the gain.
“Alright, go by yourself then. Wear your scarf and cover your face well.”
After giving her instructions, Song Qiaoan left, but Song Weiwei was still uneasy.
“Mom, is it okay to let her go alone? What if she tricks us?”
“She’s about to get married what tricks can she pull? If she dares to mess around and Wang Shichang finds out, she’ll be the one who suffers!”
Zhang Meilan had long heard that although Wang Shichang appeared gentle and polite on the surface, he was actually a sadist.
It might be hereditary every few generations, the Wang family produced someone mentally unstable, and Wang Shichang was one of them.
She had even learned some unspeakable secrets.
“His ex-girlfriend was often abused by him. She reported it to the police, but it was useless. In the end, one of her eyes was beaten blind, and she was thrown into a mental hospital. I heard she’s still locked up there.”
“Tsk, how miserable.” Zhang Meilan imagined Song Qiaoan being beaten and felt a hint of schadenfreude.
“I also heard one of Wang Shichang’s relatives caused a death apparently raped a girl and then stabbed her to death.”
“Something like that happened?” Even Song Weiwei felt a chill hearing such horrifying news.
“No idea how it ended, but it must’ve been covered up. Otherwise, would his uncle still be working in his unit?” Zhang Meilan sneered.
With such a ruthless family, could Song Qiaoan possibly have a good life after marrying in?
If she didn’t die, she’d at least be half-dead!
If she couldn’t deal with that wretched girl herself, someone else would do it for her. Let’s see how long she could stay arrogant.
“If Sister learns to behave sooner, she might suffer less in the future,” Song Weiwei said in a tone of pity but as she spoke, she couldn’t help laughing.
At the thought of Song Qiaoan’s impending misfortune, she felt delighted, and even her earlier irritation about the passbook vanished.
Meanwhile, Song Qiaoan stood at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, quietly staring at the marriage certificate in her hand, lost in thought.
In her previous life, although the reason she married Fu Chen wasn’t honorable, the man had shown no dissatisfaction and never pursued the matter.
In less than half a year of marriage, their relationship had remained distant. Fu Chen was indifferent and quiet aside from being like a mad dog in bed, always bullying her, he was as cold as ice the rest of the time.
After something happened to the Fu family, when he learned that Song Qiaoan was leaving, he said nothing. He handed all his savings to her, packed her belongings, and silently watched her go.
Who could have expected that their parting would become a permanent separation between life and death?
Song Qiaoan had never imagined she would die so early.
It had hurt so much…
Perhaps her resentment had been too deep. After death, she didn’t dissipate, but became a wandering spirit, drifting in the human world for decades.
Only at the cost of her life did she see her family’s true faces. And she realized that the only person she could trust was Fu Chen.
That was why, after being reborn, her first thought was to go to the countryside and reconcile with him.
But now, she couldn’t help hesitating again.
They hadn’t fallen in love freely. There was no emotional foundation just like this marriage certificate, a relationship in name only, practically meaningless.
Thinking back on their brief married life, she could hardly find any trace of love. Fu Chen treated her well even indulgently but had never said he loved her.
If he didn’t love her, then if she went to him rashly now… would he even be willing?
Would he dislike her?
After all, she was the one who left first. Would he hate her?