The moment she pushed open the door to the private room, Song Ruannin’s fingers turned ice-cold, and she tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand.
Song Ruannin never expected to see Zhai Yu again.
Once, she was the daughter of a high-ranking official, lofty and untouchable, while he was a poor student relying on scholarships to get by.
Now, she struggled to make ends meet with her six-year-old daughter, while the aloof and distinguished man before her had become the heir to the Zhai family in Yancheng.
Six years had passed. After he was taken back to the Zhai family back then, didn’t he go abroad?
Had he returned now?
The man sat in the center of the private room, his black silk shirt accentuating his refined elegance.
His long legs were crossed, and his face was cast in blurred shadows under the overhead light, yet it couldn’t conceal his striking bone structure.
The platinum watch on his wrist dazzled Song Ruannin’s eyes.
Song Ruannin lowered her gaze, burying her face in her scarf.
“It’s Sister-in-law, right?” Han Xu walked over.
Before Song Ruannin could refute, Han Xu shouted toward the private room, “Shen Yi, your wife is here to pick you up.”
The drunken man lifted his head, and everyone in the room turned to look.
The woman at the door wore a faded blue coat, her figure tall and slender, with a child beside her.
Song Ruannin noticed an exceptionally cold gaze, so icy it seemed to freeze her in place.
She took a deep breath, entered the private room, and walked past that gaze.
Lifting Shen Yi’s arm over her shoulder, she said, “Shen Yi, let’s go.”
Shen Yi glanced sideways, catching sight of the woman’s delicate face, and sobered up considerably. “Ning… Ning.”
Song Ruannin supported the man as they walked out.
A pair of long legs blocked her path.
Zhai Yu’s legs were propped on the coffee table, his gaze coldly fixed on their faces.
Bai Yuwei, sitting beside him, paled instantly upon seeing the woman’s face.
Covering her mouth in disbelief, she exclaimed, “You’re Song Ruannin?”
Several people in the room who had attended Yanda University were stunned.
Who at Yanda didn’t know Song Ruannin?
The daughter of Song Sixun, the mayor’s secretary. After Song Sixun was brought down for corruption and bribery, he died in a car accident on the spot.
Song Ruannin dropped out of school because of this and vanished without a trace afterward.
Back then, the largest scholarship fund at Yanda was established by her father.
Song Ruannin was beautiful and came from a prominent family, making her a prominent figure at Yanda in her time.
And… she had once dated Zhai Yu.
Back then, Song Ruannin pursued Zhai Yu for a long time, and later, for some unknown reason, he agreed.
Several people glanced at Zhai Yu.
The lighting in the private room was dim, making it hard to see the man’s expression. His legs remained unmoving.
Song Ruannin instinctively bit her lip, feeling the weight of the man leaning on her grow heavier.
“Sorry, please move aside.”
The man remained unmoved until the little girl at the door weakly called out, “Mom.”
He paused, then retracted his long legs.
Song Ruannin seized the opportunity as if finding a lifeline and quickly fled the scene.
After she left, the room fell into an eerie silence, except for Han Xu.
He hadn’t attended Yanda and, like Zhai Yu, had just returned from abroad.
“Brother Yu, Shen Yi’s wife is quite pretty. That guy never says anything, but he’s got a lovely wife and such a big daughter hidden at home.”
Han Xu chuckled carelessly, oblivious to the others’ gazes.
Bai Yuwei fumed, “Their daughter is already that old. Those two must have gotten together long ago.”
“And I heard she even stole her sister’s man.”
Zhai Yu picked up his glass and downed a large gulp, slamming it back onto the table with a thud.
Bai Yuwei was startled.
Biting her lip, she whispered, “Brother Yu…”
Zhai Yu stood up, grabbed his coat, and left without a word.
Bai Yuwei’s eyes burned with anger.
Song Ruannin is nothing but a shameless woman who will stop at nothing. If she hadn’t threatened Yu Ge back then, how could he possibly have been with her?
She and Zhai Yu grew up together for so many years, calling each other brother and sister, yet Zhai Yu never once looked her way.
How could a latecomer like Song Ruannin get everything?
She refused to accept it.
She stood up, grabbed her things, and said, “Yu Ge, wait for me.”
Once in Zhai Yu’s car, the man remained as cold and distant as ever.
Bai Yuwei bit her lip. “Yu Ge, you don’t still like her, do you?”
The man’s dark, deep eyes remained calm as he let out a cold snort.
“I never liked her. Back then, it was just an act, a way to vent my desires.”
Hearing this answer, Bai Yuwei felt relieved, her cheeks flushing slightly as she wrapped her arm around Zhai Yu’s.
“Brother, do you want to go see Mom and Dad? They’ve missed you every day since you went abroad.” Bai Yuwei smiled sweetly.
When Zhai Yu was twelve, due to his unusual fate, the Zhai family sent him to be fostered by the Bai family, their stewards. It wasn’t until he was twenty-four that he was recognized and brought back to the Zhai family.
Zhai Yu gave a faint hum in response, stepped on the accelerator, and drove away.
By the time she sent Shen Yi home, it was already evening.
Ruannin held her daughter’s hand as they walked down the street, lining up to buy date cakes.
The winter in Yancheng was bitterly cold, but Song Ruannin felt today was especially frigid.
She buried her face in her scarf, closed her eyes, and Zhai Yu’s face flooded her mind.
Six years had passed, yet he hadn’t changed much. Aside from the sharper edges in his brow, he was just the same as before.
Still cold, still arrogant, still unapproachable.
Yancheng was so big, with dozens of streets—how had she run into him again?
The vibration of her phone in her hand snapped Song Ruannin out of her thoughts.
“Hello.”
“Ruannin, I’m sorry for troubling you today. I… didn’t think it through.” Shen Yi sounded deeply apologetic.
With Zhai Yu there today, he shouldn’t have called Song Ruannin to pick him up, but he was drunk and hadn’t realized it.
“It’s fine. We’re friends, and you’ve helped me a lot too.”
Over the phone, Shen Yi kept apologizing, but Song Ruannin didn’t think much of it.
If it weren’t for Shen Yi’s company hiring her as a receptionist without caring about her educational background back then, she wouldn’t even have a job now.
Shen Yi had grown up with her and was the only one who hadn’t kicked her when she was down after her family’s decline.
After hanging up, Song Ruannin went to pay for her daughter’s treats.
Mother and daughter ate their date cakes together.
“Mom, do you think Auntie will like the gift I made for her?”
Song Ruannin stroked her daughter’s head. “Auntie will love it. She told me in a dream last night.”
“Okay!” Song Ziyan’s spirits lifted.
When they arrived at the hospital and pushed open the door to the ward, a woman who bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Song Ruannin lay in the pristine white room.
The woman’s eyes were closed, her breathing steady.
Ruannin led her daughter to sit beside the bed. Song Ziyan happily showed the little craft she had made at school to the person lying there, chattering away before settling down to play by herself.
Song Ruannin gently touched Song Zhirou’s hair.
“Sister, I’m doing fine.”
She glanced at Song Ziyan playing nearby and whispered into her ear, “Your daughter is doing well too.”
Looking at Song Zhirou’s peaceful profile, Ruannin’s eyes suddenly grew moist, and her heart began to crumble.
“Sis, I’m so tired. Please wake up soon.”
She leaned over the bed, not wanting Song Ziyan to see her in such a fragile state.
Seeing Zhai Yu today had brought back memories from years ago.
Emotions surged, and memories washed over her like a tide.
Six years ago, if her sister hadn’t gone to the airport to pick her up, her sister wouldn’t have ended up like this, and she wouldn’t have lost her own child.