When it was time to clock out, Liang Yurou called again, asking when she would be home, as if she were terrified Song Yunsheng wouldn’t return.
In the past, at times like this, Song Yunsheng didn’t want to argue with her mother but was also unwilling to put down her work; she usually left the refusals to Sang Yu, or they would simply say the two of them wanted some time alone.
But now… no excuse worked anymore. Song Yunsheng could only bite the bullet and head back alone, but the moment she arrived home, she regretted it.
As soon as she entered, the old butler looked at her with a hesitant expression. Accustomed to this look, Song Yunsheng frowned and asked calmly, “Who was here? Is Mother still angry?”
The old butler nodded and sighed, “It’s about that Miss Su… Miss, why don’t you head back first? I’ll try to persuade the Master and Madam again—”
Before he could finish, Liang Yurou, having heard the commotion inside, came marching out. She glared unhappily at the butler, the original softness on her face vanishing, and greeted Song Yunsheng with a reproachful remark: “Why are you only getting here now!”
Knowing her mother was in a bad mood, Song Yunsheng pursed her lips and said nothing. Her father, Song Wentao, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, also walked out and said coldly, “Alright, that’s enough from both of you.”
He looked at Song Yunsheng, his expression softening slightly. “Today is Yunsheng’s birthday. Why are you, as a mother, picking a fight on this day?”
“Do you think I want to fight?!”
Liang Yurou’s voice suddenly spiked. She glared intensely at Song Wentao, her eyes filled with both resentment and indignation, completely unconcerned that Song Yunsheng was standing right there.
She opened her mouth and let out a long tirade: “If you weren’t still in contact with that little slut, would I be angry with you? Haven’t I worked like a dog for you all these years, cooking and cleaning every single day?? Song Wentao! Are you just waiting to bring that little slut back here?! Let me tell you, forget it!”
The woman’s shrill voice was as unpleasant as nails scraping a blackboard. Song Yunsheng stood there silently like a statue, but Liang Yurou was clearly dissatisfied that her daughter wasn’t taking her side.
Thus, Liang Yurou turned and shouted at Song Yunsheng, “And you! I simply don’t understand why you signed that little slut’s daughter!!”
“—Enough! Yunsheng has her own considerations. Why are you interfering in her affairs? Just focus on being the Madam of the Song family!”
Song Wentao was clearly displeased that Liang Yurou was involving the children in these matters, but his words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. Liang Yurou’s tears fell instantly, and she sobbed that the father and daughter were bullying her, an outsider with a different surname.
The massive mansion echoed with the woman’s crying, accompanied by the man’s angry accusations and the butler’s attempts to console them…
Perhaps her own silence should be added to the mix; everything was exactly as it had been during all the days Song Yunsheng had experienced before.
A headache that hadn’t flared up in a long time returned, feeling as though her head were being sawed open. In a daze, Song Yunsheng suddenly remembered the early days of her marriage, when Sang Yu first learned of her migraines and clumsily massaged her shoulders and temples.
Sang Yu was a beginner, but under her supervision, Song Yunsheng’s routine had become much healthier. As for now…
Song Yunsheng had no way to intervene in her parents’ war. She waited in silence for them to finish arguing, and then waited for Liang Yurou, who had regained her persona of a loving mother, to bring over a personally prepared soup, watching her intently until she finished every drop.
Whenever this happened, Song Yunsheng felt a strong sense of eeriness and discomfort, though she couldn’t quite put it into words.
Because the moment she paused, Liang Yurou would gently ask: “What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?”
This gentle Liang Yurou and the hysterical woman from moments ago were practically two different people. Song Yunsheng didn’t know how to speak up, so she could only force a smile, shake her head, and finish the soup without leaving a drop.
Seeing this, Liang Yurou held her hand appreciatively and said, sentence by sentence: “Sheng’er, Mama only has you. You must do well and keep a firm grip on the Song family assets; you absolutely cannot let that cheap woman benefit. And that Su Miao—why must you protect her so much? A maid’s daughter, just as cheap as her mother…”
“Mom, stop it.” Song Yunsheng interrupted her, saying helplessly: “She did save my life, after all. Don’t worry, I won’t let her come before you to annoy you.”
At this point, intense conflict usually erupted between mother and daughter, but as it happened more frequently, only silence remained.
Song Yunsheng understood her mother’s hatred. Su Miao’s mother had once been a maid in the Song household but had an affair with her father. However, she could not treat Su Miao the same way.
For as long as she could remember, she had been alone. Her parents were rarely home. Aside from the servants, the only person accompanying her was Su Miao, who lived at their house. They grew up together, and the girl in her memory was always the one softly calling her “Sister Yunsheng,” the same girl who later sustained severe injuries to save her.
As time passed, Song Yunsheng vaguely felt that Su Miao was somewhat different from when she was a child, but she didn’t want to dwell on it. To avoid further conflict with her mother, she found an excuse to leave early.
When she got home, it was already dark. As expected, Sang Yu had not returned. She sat on the sofa and let herself sink into it.
Because there was no sound, the voice-activated lights soon went out, and the surroundings turned dark.
She didn’t know how long she waited before she finally heard the door open. She watched silently, wondering how Sang Yu would explain her absence.
As for Sang Yu… she was startled.
After a hard day’s work, coming home to see a living person suddenly appear on the sofa the moment the lights turned on would give anyone a fright. Sang Yu blinked, secretly rolling her eyes.
Though she didn’t know what kind of fit Song Yunsheng was throwing, Sang Yu currently just wanted to go to her room, take a shower, and have a good sleep.
So, she forced a small smile at the expressionless Song Yunsheng and gave a casual greeting: “You’re not asleep yet.”
After saying that, Sang Yu turned to head upstairs.
This caused Song Yunsheng to lose her composure. Beneath her calm facade, she was already on the verge of a breakdown. She had thought that Sang Yu would at least say “Happy Birthday.”
But she just ignored it like that? Did she not even remember what day it was? Song Yunsheng was unwilling to let it go. She took a few steps to block Sang Yu, reminding her with a dark face: “Today is my birthday.”
Sang Yu blinked again, looking at Song Yunsheng’s eyes, which seemed to carry a hint of expectation.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she was too tired and hallucinating.
Was Song Yunsheng asking her to show some kind of gesture?
The woman lacked nothing. Previously, when Sang Yu had meticulously chosen gifts, Song Yunsheng’s reactions had been lukewarm. Consequently, Sang Yu felt no psychological burden now as she casually said “Happy Birthday” and bypassed Song Yunsheng to continue walking.
Even though she had felt that even a “Happy Birthday” from Sang Yu would suffice, now that her “wish had come true,” Song Yunsheng didn’t feel the slightest bit of happiness.
Her long-suppressed anger erupted. Song Yunsheng grabbed Sang Yu and accused her angrily: “You’re brushing me off with just a ‘Happy Birthday’? I am your Omega, we are legal partners! Is this how you treat your partner, with such perfunctoriness?”
At a moment like this, it seemed Sang Yu should have been nervous, but as she looked at Song Yunsheng’s somewhat distorted expression, she thought to herself…
She really seems angry.
So she can get this angry, too?
So Song Yunsheng actually knows that special days require a sense of ceremony?
Sang Yu found it ironic, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She calmly pulled her hand back from Song Yunsheng’s grip, recited a few clauses from the marriage agreement, and then said: “You should be aware that the agreement only stipulates the fulfillment of obligations. I didn’t see anything in there stating that celebrating the other’s birthday is one of the terms.”
Could this be considered shooting oneself in the foot? Previously, Song Yunsheng loved to bring up marital obligations from the agreement and complain that Sang Yu was too demanding; now, Sang Yu was using it herself.
Sang Yu even gave a calm smile and said placidly: “Just like in the past, when you didn’t come back for our wedding anniversary. These things are actually quite normal. Before, I was too bored and liked to make a fuss over nothing. Now I’ve realized that everyone is busy, so let’s not bother with these superficial things. Don’t you agree?”
Sang Yu seemed excessively rational.
This resulted in Song Yunsheng not realizing the significance of Sang Yu specifically mentioning the wedding anniversary. She only felt that Sang Yu was threatening her, implying “we don’t need to celebrate anniversaries in the future either.”
Song Yunsheng didn’t understand how things had come to this. She was so infuriated by Sang Yu’s words that she couldn’t speak, finally shouting in a fit of rage: “Fine! These are your true thoughts, right? Sang Yu, don’t you regret this!”
She slammed the door and left, the door vibrating from the impact, but Sang Yu had no expression on her face and had no intention of chasing after her.
After all, Song Yunsheng was an adult and not someone she needed to worry about. Sang Yu calmly went upstairs to her room and started the water in the bathroom.
The sound of the splashing water somehow stirred many thoughts. Sang Yu stared blankly, lost in a daze, remembering the birthday gifts she had meticulously prepared for Song Yunsheng over the years.
In their three years of marriage, Song Yunsheng always felt they were only married by agreement, and time and again, Sang Yu’s warm advances were met with a cold shoulder.
On those special days—be it their anniversary, Song Yunsheng’s birthday, or holidays—Sang Yu was always very thoughtful. Yet Song Yunsheng…
Sang Yu had once wondered if the woman even had a heart.
Otherwise, after all her hard work and the effort she put into preparing ceremonies and gifts, why could Song Yunsheng never see them?
Time and again, Song Yunsheng didn’t take her sincerity seriously. She had even stayed away on these special days more than once for various reasons, or to accompany Su Miao.
At the end of the day, they were only married by agreement; what right did she have to demand a response from Song Yunsheng?
The old Sang Yu had been too greedy; having given love, she wanted a response. But love was never that simple; a one-sided crush was destined to have no result. Sang Yu was glad she had finally woken up.
How ironic. When she had poured her heart and soul out, offering her sincerity, Song Yunsheng had been indifferent.
Now, simply because Sang Yu hadn’t prepared a birthday gift, Song Yunsheng flew into a rage and stormed off. Sang Yu still couldn’t help but feel that Song Yunsheng truly had no heart.
Otherwise, how could she take for granted her right to demand things, as if Sang Yu were born to love her forever? Truly, she was strict with others but lenient with herself.
Sang Yu took a deep breath, stood up, turned off the water, undressed, and stepped into the bathtub.
The moment the gentle water enveloped her body, Sang Yu also calmed down. She thought distantly that Song Yunsheng’s thoughts no longer mattered; as long as she remained determined to work hard and make money, it would be fine.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t live without love; she just liked to do her best for the person she loved, and Song Yunsheng had failed her.
That was all. She was not in the wrong; Song Yunsheng simply wasn’t worthy.
After her shower, Sang Yu didn’t pay any attention to whether Song Yunsheng had returned.
It was very late, and she had been busy all day; she needed to rest, just like every excuse Song Yunsheng had used in the past.
The next day, the two began a cold war.
To say it was a “cold war” wasn’t quite accurate. Sang Yu remained the same, leaving early and returning late. If she needed to go out or participate in a variety show, she would still proactively report her itinerary to Song Yunsheng, but that was the extent of it.
However, Song Yunsheng indeed never replied to her again. She stared at the cold lines of text Sang Yu sent and, in a fit of pique, blocked her.
Song Yunsheng thought this would make Sang Yu realize the consequences, but she clearly didn’t expect that after they stopped communicating, Sang Yu actually became much happier.
Lu Lingxi even used her connections and past relationships to secure many opportunities for her to appear in public.
As for Song Yunsheng, her heart was filled with stifled anger, but she was unwilling to bow or soften, so they remained in this stalemate.
Until one day, Su Miao suddenly came to find Song Yunsheng.
She walked into the lobby, intending to follow the old routine and go straight to the floor of Song Yunsheng’s office, but she was stopped just as she tried to pass.
The receptionist, who was familiar with her, had a slightly awkward expression but spoke up: “Miss Su Miao, the company recently implemented a new policy. Without an appointment, non-main company personnel are not allowed to enter the office building unauthorized.”
Su Miao knit her brows, quite unhappy, but remembering the purpose of her visit, she squeezed out a smile. “Then could I trouble you to make an appointment for me?”
“Of course, it’s just… President Song might not be free.”
The receptionist’s reminder was subtle enough, but Su Miao refused to believe it. The fake smile on her face became even more polite as she said with certainty: “Just go ahead and make the appointment. I believe Sister Yunsheng will definitely see me.”
The receptionist didn’t dare say more and quickly made the call, then informed her: “I’m sorry, President Song is not in. Please wait fifteen minutes.”
The smile on Su Miao’s face became difficult to maintain.
She nodded and looked away. Catching a glimpse of the restaurant outside the company, Su Miao suddenly had an idea. She muttered to herself about how she had forgotten to bring a gift and walked out of the lobby as if she were going to get one.
On the other side, Song Yunsheng wasn’t avoiding her on purpose; she was indeed in a meeting. The moment the meeting ended, her assistant reported the situation.
Song Yunsheng looked thoughtful. The assistant, observing her expression, asked cautiously.
“President Song, shall I decline?”
“No need,” Song Yunsheng snapped out of it, glanced subtly at her phone, and said calmly, “Let her in.”
Actually, since the incident on the film set, Su Miao had behaved much better. She was very clear about the grudge between her mother and Liang Yurou. Now that she was signed under Song Yunsheng, if she annoyed her, there would be no good outcome. This led her to spend these days, much like Sang Yu, following the promotion schedule properly.
After the promotion ended, Su Miao figured the matter had probably passed and it was time to gain some favor with Song Yunsheng. She currently had her eye on a role she wanted, but there had been no news.