Xu You had originally only intended to fake a faint, planning to use Song Zhi to escape that chaotic den of family drama.
But as it turned out, a splitting headache caught up with her, and she actually blacked out for real.
This utterly terrified Song Zhi. She hurriedly hailed a taxi to rush her to the hospital, frantically urging the driver to go faster the entire way.
When Xu You was rolled into the emergency room, Song Zhi sat outside, looking completely lost. Only then did she notice that she was drenched in a cold sweat, her face and scalp thoroughly soaked.
During the twenty minutes of emergency treatment, not a single soul came to visit. No one from the Xu family showed up, and Fu Nian was nowhere to be seen.
Footsteps echoed down the quiet hallway. Song Zhi turned her head and saw Song Xian running toward her. With a cold expression, he yanked off his jacket, tossed it over her shoulders, and said crossly, “Dare to take it off and I’ll beat you.”
Song Zhi had no idea just how terrible her own complexion looked at that moment.
The night air was turning chilly, so she obediently wore the jacket.
“You did well tonight,” Song Xian suddenly spoke up.
Song Zhi looked at him, slightly surprised. “I thought…”
Song Xian raised an eyebrow. “Thought I was going to scold you?”
He let out a cold snort. “I’ve been sick of the Xu and Fu families’ ways for a long time. Forcing a marriage like that! heh. Though, it’s not surprising coming from the Xu family.”
Just as Song Zhi opened her mouth to ask why, the doctor emerged from the operating room.
Song Zhi rushed forward, her face full of anxiety. “Doctor, how is she?”
The doctor pulled down his mask. “She’s fine, she just needs plenty of rest. Also, the patient’s body is too weak, she shouldn’t have severe emotional fluctuations. Let her rest well during this period.”
Hearing the doctor’s words, Song Zhi finally felt a slight sense of relief.
Xu You was transferred to a luxury VIP ward. Song Zhi busied herself running back and forth, soaking a clean towel in hot water to wipe Xu You’s face and hands, then gently tucking in the corners of her blanket.
Song Xian stood to the side watching her, finding the whole scene incredibly bizarre. This younger sister of his was practically synonymous with being brainless and pampered, and she was previously notorious for hating Xu You.
What on earth had happened over the past few days to make her change so drastically?
First, she risked clashing with two major families in public for Xu You’s sake, and now she was meticulously taking care of her down to the smallest detail.
Could it be another manipulation? Was she trying to use this chance to plot something bad?
Yet, the worry in Song Zhi’s eyes was genuinely real.
Song Xian had always been someone who said whatever was on his mind. “Hey, talk to your brother. How did you suddenly reform yourself lately?”
Song Zhi knew her massive change in behavior would definitely arouse suspicion, and she had already prepared a cover story. “I just realized Fu Nian is really repulsive. I don’t like him anymore.”
Song Xian chuckled. “Fu Nian is repulsive? To think such words would come out of your mouth one day.”
He asked further, “Then what’s the deal with you and Xu You?”
After asking, Song Xian amused himself by teasing her, spinning a ridiculous narrative on the spot. “Don’t tell me you suddenly realized you never actually liked Fu Nian? That everything you did before, including chasing Fu Nian, was just to get Xu You’s attention? But you ended up tossing her into the hospital, and now you’re filled with deep regret, playing out a ‘chasing your wife at the crematorium’ drama?”
He cracked himself up with his own joke, but when he looked over and saw the expression on Song Zhi’s face as she gazed at Xu You, his smile faltered.
“Whoa, no way… Are you serious?”
He had only said it on a whim, drawing from the melodramatic romance web novels he had been reading lately. It couldn’t possibly be a self-fulfilling prophecy, could it?
Song Zhi gave him a flat look, her tone laced with helplessness, as if finding his theory absurd. “Brother, what are you even thinking…”
So it’s not that. Good, good, just a false alarm. Song Xian breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
But Song Zhi’s next sentence nearly scared him into an early grave to meet their ancestors.
“She doesn’t even like me,” she added.
Her tone sounded incredibly dejected.
Song Xian desperately suppressed his voice. “No way, are you serious?!”
He had just been feeling gratified that his cheap little sister had finally grown up a bit, and now he was nearly sent into cardiac arrest.
Still refusing to give up, he asked, “You really like Xu You?”
Song Zhi nodded. “Yes.”
“Love built over time?”
Song Zhi shook her head. “Love at first sight.”
“Then why did you treat her like that before?!” Song Xian felt his head throbbing.
Song Zhi fell silent, looking thoroughly miserable and pitiable.
What in the absolute CS:GO is this.
Having absorbed far too much shocking information tonight, Song Xian felt his head ache. He rubbed his temples. “You really are something else.”
“Brother.”
Song Zhi pointed toward the sofa, signaling him to sit. She then turned off the lights in Xu You’s room and slid closed the partition door separating the living area from the patient’s bed. Sitting down, she poured a glass of water and pushed it to his hand.
This sudden attentiveness made Song Xian instantly alert. “What are you doing? Let’s get this straight: just because I understand your actions doesn’t mean I’ll plead for mercy to Mom and Dad on your behalf.”
“It’s not about that.” Song Zhi lowered her voice and asked, “What you said earlier, about it not being surprising for the Xu family to do such a thing, why is that?”
Song Xian frowned. “You don’t know?”
Song Zhi shook her head with a sincere expression.
Song Zhi discovered that her brother possessed a major strength, he was incredibly adept at rationalizing things for himself.
“True, you were young back then, and the Xu family suppressed the news afterward. It’s normal that you wouldn’t know,” Song Xian said. “The current Mrs. Xu is actually not Xu Jie’s first wife. She married in later.”
He recalled, “As you can see, Xu You is actually the child of Xu Jie and his first wife. They weren’t wealthy in the beginning, they built the Xu Group from scratch. As the business grew more prosperous, his first wife suddenly passed away from acute leukemia. On the surface, Xu Jie publicly mourned his wife, but in reality, everyone in our circle knew exactly what was going on. He had already hooked up with Xu Xi years prior. Less than a year after Xu Xi took the position, she gave birth to Xu Mingwang.”
At this point, his expression turned disdainful. “It’s a miracle that a man like him could run a business so successfully.”
Song Zhi nodded in agreement. She then asked, “Then brother, can you tell me about Xu You’s childhood?”
Song Xian glanced at her sideways. “What? You claim to like her so much, yet you haven’t even investigated this?”
For the sake of getting information about her future wife, Song Zhi decided to endure the teasing.
Song Xian thought about it and sighed with emotion. “Xu You and I belong to the same generation. She used to be… nothing like how she is now.”
“Back then, she was exceptionally brilliant. She would take first place in all kinds of competitions and tournaments, leaving peers like us hundreds of miles behind. She was proud, vibrant, and confident. A lot of people had secret crushes on her back then.”
Song Zhi asked, “You too?”
Hearing the underlying meaning in her words, Song Xian restrained himself and rolled his eyes. “Put your heart completely at ease, I have zero interest in her.”
He stroked his chin and continued, “During a field military simulation exercise once, an accidental fire broke out. Fu Nian was trapped inside, and it was Xu You who rushed in to save him. After that, he became hopelessly infatuated with her.”
“But Xu You was far too dazzling back then, didn’t even dare to voice his feelings. Later, after Xu You’s mother passed away, she got into a terrible car accident herself and stayed in the ICU for a very long time. After she was discharged… she became incredibly depressed, locking herself away in her room and refusing to go out. Over time, people in the circle gradually forgot about her. Honestly, I’ve always thought it was a huge pity. A genius like her, if it weren’t for that severe illness and being stuck with such a useless father, she would probably be the one ruling our social circle right now.”
Speaking up to this point, Song Xian couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful.
“That’s why when I saw you targeting Xu You before, I was extremely displeased. I really couldn’t understand it, if you liked Fu Nian, you should have just gone after him. Why did you have to target Xu You and use those underhanded, petty tricks?”
Song Zhi silently took the blame, having no intention of defending her past self. Finally, Song Xian said cryptically, “Though, seeing you get hit by your own boomerang now makes me pretty happy. Who told you to bully her so much before?”
Song Zhi: ?
“Alright, I’m leaving. You stay here and take care of her. I doubt anyone from the Xu family will show up anyway.”
Song Xian stood up and straightened his shirt. “As for me, I’ll head home first to test the waters with Mom and Dad, and figure out how to handle your funeral arrangements in the future.”
Song Zhi: ?
Song Zhi: “Just hurry up and leave.”