She quickly pushed herself off the ground and slowly sat up.
"Dad..."
She whispered weakly.
"What... what happened to me?"
Just as she was about to continue her act, Song Yao suddenly burst out laughing.
"I’ve really seen it all now. The precious daughter you’ve so carefully raised for nineteen years turns out to be this fragile. Fainting at the drop of a hat, and then just happening to ’wake up’ at the most critical moment."
Shen Shuangshuang’s expression instantly darkened, and her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
She slowly turned to stare at the woman she despised.
But the vicious look in her eyes instantly vanished the moment she met Shen Zhenwu’s gaze.
"Dad!"
Shen Shuangshuang’s voice trembled, and tears welled in her eyes.
"Who... who is she?"
The passersby in the area began to notice the commotion, their heads turning to watch.
Shen Zhenwu stood ramrod straight, making no effort to lower his voice.
"Shuangshuang, I was just about to tell you. I’ve found my biological daughter. It’s her. From now on, she will be your sister."
He gestured toward Song Yao, his tone calm.
’Sister?’
The word exploded in Song Yao’s ears.
She was about to let out a cold laugh when Shen Zhenwu seemed to remember something and added,
"But you need to understand something. She is my own flesh and blood, a true member of the Shen family. You’re different. You’re the one we adopted. So don’t try to compete for everything, because none of this was ever meant to be yours in the first place."
The moment he said that, tears streamed down Shen Shuangshuang’s face.
Her lips trembled, her face a mask of disbelief.
"Dad... are you abandoning me? Mom always said you were being stubborn, that you insisted on bringing this outsider back... But I... I can accept that you have another daughter. How could you hurt me so deeply for her sake?"
She sobbed, gasping for breath, her voice choked and broken.
The hearts of the onlookers went out to her.
Who wouldn’t feel sorry for the poor girl?
She was, after all, the daughter they had raised since she was a baby.
After nineteen years together, you’d feel attached even to a dog, let alone a living, breathing child.
And so, people in the corridor began to stop, gathering around to watch the drama unfold.
One of the female workers couldn’t watch any longer and muttered under her breath.
"Sir, you can’t say things like that. You should be a little more tactful with a young woman. Don’t you see how much you’re hurting her?"
She finished by patting Shen Shuangshuang’s shoulder.
Hearing someone take her side, Shen Shuangshuang began to cry even more hysterically.
She reached out, trying to grab Shen Zhenwu’s sleeve.
But just as her fingertips brushed against the fabric, he sidestepped, pulling away from her touch.
But Song Yao just smiled.
"When we were still in the womb, her birth mother switched us. From that day on, she lived in a grand mansion, ate meat at every meal, and had a color TV and a refrigerator at home. She slept in a fine house and wore new clothes, while her allowance was more than what you make in half a month."
"And what about me? I drank the water used to wash the pots. I wore rags covered in patches on top of patches. I spent the coldest days of winter squatting by the river, scrubbing clothes. I worked 365 days a year with no end in sight. At night, I slept in a drafty woodshed next to the pigsty. And every three years, I was given a single pair of ruined shoes that my toes poked out of."
"You all feel so sorry for her, but what about me? Who’s going to stand up for me?"
When Song Yao finished, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Shen Zhenwu’s eyes turned red, his face contorted with remorse.
He stared at the frail daughter before him, as if truly seeing her for the first time.
"AARGH!"
A roar tore through the air as Shen Zhenwu’s fists clenched, his knuckles cracking.
"Xiao Li! Get the Song couple and drag them here immediately!"
The face of the woman who had spoken up for Shen Shuangshuang flushed bright red. She stammered, at a complete loss.
"I... I had no idea..."
Song Yao gave her a cold look.
"Don’t be so quick to speak if you don’t know the whole story. Otherwise, you might end up helping the villain without even realizing it."
Mortified, the woman nodded haphazardly, grabbed her child, and scurried away.
"Daughter, it’s my fault... I’ve wronged you..."
Shen Zhenwu lowered his head, covering his face with his trembling hands.
Song Yao said nothing and simply turned to leave.
’That’s enough drama for now.’
’Pushing it further would be pointless.’
Shen Shuangshuang’s legs felt weak, and her mind was reeling.
’She knew with absolute certainty.’
’From now on, that wild brat would surely walk all over her.’
’It was an outcome she couldn’t accept.’
She looked up at Shen Zhenwu, a final flicker of hope in her eyes.
"Dad..."
The word had barely left her lips when Shen Zhenwu abruptly dropped his hands and roared at her.
"Get out! Get the hell away from me! If you stay here any longer, I’m afraid I’ll lose control!"
Shen Shuangshuang froze, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
’Her heart turned to ice.’
The corner of her mouth twitched into a bleak smile.
"Happy birthday, Dad."
With that, she staggered out of the hospital.
A guard frowned, about to stop her, but she paused, glared at him, and yelled.
"I said, get out of my way!"
The guard hesitated for a moment before stepping aside.
Shen Zhenwu wiped his face, quickly composing himself.
He took a deep breath and gave a direct order: send Shen Shuangshuang back to Beijing.
Then he turned to write up a report.
Though this was a private matter, his superiors would certainly investigate if he took action against the Song Family.
It was better to get ahead of it and explain the situation clearly to avoid unnecessary complications.
The moment Shen Shuangshuang left the hospital, she found a public phone booth on the street.
The night air was cold, and the wind whipped her hair into a mess.
She paid it no mind, her hands trembling as she opened her purse and fumbled for change.
Her hands shook so badly that she had to dial the number several times before it went through.
The call connected, and a familiar, gentle voice came through the line.
"Hello?"
In the background, she could hear the clang of a spatula against a pan and the murmur of a news broadcast on TV.
The sound was all it took for Shen Shuangshuang’s tears to start flowing again.
"Mom!"
She managed to get the one word out before her throat closed up, and she broke down into uncontrollable sobs.
The woman on the other end of the line immediately grew tense.
"Shuangshuang? What is it? What happened?"
Her tone then turned sharp and cold.
"Did Shen Zhenwu do something to you again?!"
The moment she heard his name, Shen Shuangshuang cried even harder.
Her shoulders shook violently as she curled into a ball.
She opened and closed her mouth several times before any sound came out.
"SOB... Mom, Dad doesn’t want me anymore! He said he’s going to claim someone else as his daughter, SOB SOB SOB..."
Yao Yuzhen exploded with rage.
"How dare he! I told him to drop this nonsense, and what does he do? Ignores me completely! Shuangshuang, don’t you worry. Mom has your back. This is not over!"
She slammed the receiver down on the sofa and began pacing back and forth.
Clutching the phone, Shen Shuangshuang poured out all of her grievances in a torrent.
Yao Yuzhen cursed and cajoled in equal measure, comforting her for a long time.
"Don’t you worry, sweetie, Mom’s here. I’d like to see anyone try to bring some girl of questionable origin into our house! Am I supposed to not recognize the daughter I carried for ten months? As long as I don’t agree, if Shen Zhenwu dares to acknowledge that girl as part of the Shen Family, I’ll divorce him!"
She vowed, thumping her chest for emphasis.
She promised that even if they had to go to court, she wouldn’t let Shuangshuang suffer the slightest injustice.
"Mom... SOB... Thank god I still have you... I don’t think I could live without you..."
Shen Shuangshuang’s voice was hoarse, her tears nearly spent.
’But her heart felt full once more.’
’At least for now, she knew there was still one person unconditionally on her side.’
"Alright, alright, stop crying now. Go back to your father for now. If something happens to you out there, that man Shen might not care, but I’ll be heartbroken!"
Yao Yuzhen’s tone softened as she coaxed her gently.