Shen Yujing's sudden display of weakness and submission made Song Yi furrow her brows.
No, she couldn't understand what this was all about.
Could this be some kind of trick?
Song Yi extended her hand, pressing her index finger against Shen Yujing's forehead, forcing him to look up.
With confusion in her eyes, the young girl asked, "Why are you suddenly apologizing?"
"It's... it's..."
Shen Yujing pressed his lips together, saying with difficulty, "It's about what you said at noon, about not wanting me to be nice to you."
Song Yi laughed, looking at Shen Yujing with interest, "Did you suddenly come to your senses?"
"Because they can't hurt me, but they might hurt you," Shen Yujing said, then stared intently at Song Yi, asking, "Right?"
Looking at how serious Shen Yujing was while saying this, Song Yi suddenly felt touched.
The feeling was complex, like having the most mischievous dog at home that breaks things every day, and just when you've become numb to it, it suddenly starts behaving well?
This was truly unbelievable!
So Song Yi's hand touched Shen Yujing again, this time resting on his forehead.
Shen Yujing asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Song Yi then placed her hand on her own forehead, muttering, "No fever either."
Shen Yujing was speechless - just how much did Song Yi distrust him!?
Shen Yujing awkwardly turned his head away, "So will you accept my apology or not?"
"I was never angry with you," Song Yi looked at him, her eyes curving into a smile. "Although you're indeed quite annoying, your words aren't very pleasant, and anyone who sees you would easily get angry, but actually... you're much better than I expected."
Indeed, compared to the Mary Sue setting of the demon prince in the original plot, while Shen Yujing was still foolish, he clearly wasn't evil, and he would even take the initiative to apologize to her...
Wait, something's not right.
Shen Yujing taking the initiative to apologize? That's what wasn't right!
A passage from the original plot suddenly floated through Song Yi's mind.
[Shen Yujing stood at the doorway, looking at the girl sulking with her head on the desk, regret filling his heart. He didn't want her to be sad, but as the demon prince, he had never bowed to anyone, and had never said sorry in his life]
Now she finally understood what was wrong.
Shen Yujing's character setting was that of a demon prince, and how could a demon apologize?
Seeing Song Yi's smile suddenly stiffen, Shen Yujing immediately sensed something was wrong.
He quickly asked nervously, "You said you weren't angry with me, you're not going to change your mind, are you?"
Song Yi tried hard to keep a straight face, looking at him expressionlessly, "Hmm, unless you apologize to me one more time."
Shen Yujing responded without hesitation, "I'm sorry! I'll say it as many times as you want as long as you're not angry."
Song Yi: "..."
That was way too easy, he should at least struggle a little?
Shen Yujing looked at Song Yi, waving his hand in front of her, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Song Yi shook her head and started walking back.
Shen Yujing followed behind Song Yi but stopped at the doorway when she re-entered the ballroom.
The moonlight shone on the young man, his arm still draped with the suit jacket Song Yi had just returned to him.
He stood at the doorway, repeatedly checking his phone, and only turned to re-enter the hall after five minutes had passed.
*
At this moment, at the Hang residence.
Hang Feng sat at his desk, a bottle of strawberry milk placed on it.
Quite some time had passed, but his heart was still racing, unable to calm down.
Hang Feng grew up in darkness as a child, living with his mother, so poor that they couldn't afford to turn on the lights at night.
Eventually, he got used to it, and his vision in the dark became better than most people's.
So earlier at the ball, during that moment when the lights went out.
Despicable thoughts crawled into the young man's mind, desire and greed sprouting like malicious vines that wrapped around his entire heart, urging him to abandon his dance partner and walk towards Song Yi.
He didn't really know why he did it, but a voice in his heart kept telling him that he craved her warmth and her touch.
Yes, it was shameless.
It was just an embrace that lasted for a moment in the darkness, his fingertips barely lingering, yet it somehow gave him a bit of courage.
The courage to return to that house and face those people again.
Hang Feng didn't want to go back, but it had indeed been too long since he'd seen that person.
And today, Xu Che had actually come to Saint Slee.
Xu Che looked at him, repeating the same nonsense from their last phone call.
Saying that his father was dying, saying that no matter how much he hated him, he should at least see him one last time.
Hang Feng knew that Xu Che wouldn't lie about something like this.
Even though he felt it was karma, a sense of sadness still emerged from the depths of his heart.
His hand fell on the photo album on the desk, where a woman in the photo held a young child with a gentle smile, but the photo had been abruptly torn in half.
The missing half of the photo should have shown his father, but the photo had been torn for so long that he had almost forgotten what that man looked like.
If he didn't go this time, would their next meeting be at the funeral?
This was something he had been looking forward to for a long time, hadn't it? He used to dream about his so-called father dying soon.
But now that this dream was actually coming true, he couldn't help but ask himself—
If it really happened this way, would he have regrets?
Not regret about his death, but regret that he hadn't paid any price.
How could he die so easily? He was getting off too lightly.
He picked up the strawberry milk in front of him, the sweetness entering his mouth through the straw, but he couldn't suppress the bitterness rising in his heart.
He was still hesitant.
*
The Saint Slee Academy's anniversary celebration had ended, but the forum posts were still discussing this event, until—
[How many lies can vanity make a person tell? Let's expose Lu Qingqing, Shen Yujing's "childhood friend"]
Post 1: As we all know, Lu Qingqing and Shen Yujing have a good relationship, Lu Qingqing's father is Boss Shen's assistant, and the two families have always been close. And Lu Qingqing's mother, haven't we all received snacks that her "mother" brought back from abroad? But have you noticed something? Lu Qingqing always gives vague answers about her mother's questions and deliberately leads us to believe that her mother is a rich heiress from City A. But in reality, her mother works as a nurse at a tertiary hospital in our city, and I heard she's quite capable at her job, about to be promoted to head nurse next year. There's no intention here to look down on medical staff, but isn't it laughable that the daughter of an ordinary nurse and Boss Shen's secretary has been pretending to be from a wealthy family at Saint Slee for so long?
Post 2: To add more, Shen Yujing himself has denied having a close relationship with Lu Qingqing. The invitations to the Shen family's banquets were just Boss Shen's "favor" to his secretary. They're not actually close at all, and they're definitely not childhood friends as Lu Qingqing claims.
Post 3: ???
Post 6: This is shocking my whole family.
Post 12: Is this real? I heard her mother's family was in real estate, and because of strict property regulations in recent years, they just didn't want to talk about it much.
Post 19: Oh my, she appears so gentle and kind, but is she actually so calculating? This is terrifying when you think about it.
Post 31: If you don't have the family background, don't try to put on airs. What a waste that this acting talent isn't in the entertainment industry.
Post 46: I can't believe I envied her for being Shen Yujing's childhood friend for so long... turns out it was all lies.
Post 57: I was Lu Qingqing's middle school classmate, and I always thought she was close with Shen Yujing. After telling these lies for so many years, has she started believing them herself?
Post 61: Why say so much? Get this liar out of Saint Slee!!!
...
Lu Qingqing curled up alone in a corner, hugging herself tightly.
The online abuse cut into her like knives, hurting so much she wanted to cry.
She wanted to refute these people, wanted to say no, it wasn't like that.
But her trembling hands fell on the screen, and along with her tears, she cried until the screen was almost blurred.
She didn't know how to refute because those people were right.
She was exactly that kind of person, vain and hypocritical, utterly terrible.
When her disguise was torn away and all lies were exposed, the remaining shreds of self-respect and shame left her in unbearable pain.
Her phone screen kept lighting up with messages from her former "best friends."
[Is what they're saying on the forum true?]
[Why haven't you come to school? Are you scared? Don't know how to face us, right?]
[I never thought you were this kind of person. Don't say you know me at school anymore. I'm embarrassed to have been your friend.]
[Qingqing, I'm saying this for your own good. Things have gotten so bad, maybe you should transfer schools.]
Lu Qingqing violently threw her phone to the ground and broke down crying.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and Lu's father stormed in, fuming with anger.
Instinctively sensing danger, Lu Qingqing curled up further into the corner, trembling as she called out, "Dad?"
Lu's father grabbed Lu Qingqing's ankle and dragged her out, "Ungrateful daughter! Get out here! I'm going to teach you a proper lesson today!"
Lu Qingqing struggled desperately, "I can walk by myself! Let go of me! Let go!"
Lu's father released her, only to grab a clothes pole from near the door, then began beating Lu Qingqing mercilessly with it.
He berated her while striking, "Worthless child! How could you be so useless? You dared to offend young master Shen? Don't you know we all depend on Boss Shen? You actually... actually!"
Lu's father stopped speaking, but his strikes grew even harder, venting his fury on his daughter like he was taking revenge.
After what seemed like forever.
The door to the Lu residence closed as Boss Shen's phone call had summoned Lu's father away, finally giving Lu Qingqing a chance to catch her breath.
Lu Qingqing lay on the floor, her body covered in purple bruises from the beating, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.
Her phone lay not far from her.
Through her tear-blurred vision, Lu Qingqing reached out almost as if possessed and picked up her phone.
She dialed a number she hadn't contacted in a long time.
The call was answered after three rings. Both sides were silent at first, then a woman's voice asked hopefully, gently yet cautiously: "Qingqing? Is that you, Qingqing?"
Lu Qingqing cried out, "Mom, I miss you so much..."
*
Almost everyone at Saint Slee was discussing Lu Qingqing's situation, even Class A, which was usually focused solely on studying.
While everyone around was talking about the same thing, creating a boring and noisy atmosphere.
Song Yi lifted her head from her test paper, looking at her perfect score in mathematics with a touched yawn.
Finally! Finally! Heaven rewards those who work hard!
Song Yi truly didn't have much talent for mathematics, so she had given up on all Olympic math competitions and extension problems.
As long as the questions weren't tricky or particularly difficult, she could handle them well enough with her understanding of the basic patterns.
Thinking about this, Song Yi turned her head happily to look out the wind...
Oh no, instead she caught sight of her deskmate.
For some reason, Hang Feng kept staring at her today.
Yet whenever she looked his way, he would lower his head like a guilty thief.
So Song Yi poked Hang Feng's shoulder with her pen and asked, "Do you have something you want to tell me?"
Hang Feng kept his head down in silence.
"Hey, if you have something to say, just say it. It's weird how you keep stealing glances at me," Song Yi said, switching from her pen to her hand and leaning closer to his face. "I've told you so many times that I know you have a crush on me. Don't be shy, if you like me just say it directly. After all, everyone should experience being rejected by a beauty at least once in their life."
Hang Feng looked up at her with a complicated expression.
Song Yi batted her eyes at Hang Feng dramatically and asked, "Why are you staring? Has my beauty stunned you again? Don't tell me you're having impure thoughts about me?"
Hang Feng: "..."
Seeing that Hang Feng was about to turn away again, Song Yi stopped joking and said, "Alright, alright, just tell me what's on your mind. It's really creepy being stared at by you all morning."
Hang Feng pressed his lips together, then took out a bottle of strawberry milk from his pocket and placed it on Song Yi's desk.
Song Yi looked even more confused - unexpected kindness usually meant ulterior motives.
Hang Feng then took out several lollipops from his other pocket and handed them to Song Yi.
When Song Yi took them, she ended up pulling out... a whole string of lollipops from Hang Feng's pocket?
Song Yi: "?"
Song Yi looked at him with both disdain and suspicion, saying, "You didn't specially arrange this, did you?"
So lame, really so lame.
Hang Feng: "...No, they came packaged like this when I bought them."
Song Yi unhesitatingly accepted the string of lollipops and strawberry milk, asking, "Is this payment? Tell me, what do you want me to help you with?"
Hang Feng lowered his eyes and said, "My... father's birthday is tomorrow."
He hesitated but chose to use the word "father" in front of Song Yi to refer to that man.
Song Yi inserted the straw into the milk and took a sip, "So you want me to help you pick out a birthday gift for your father?"
"No." Hang Feng looked at her seriously and said, "I want you to come home with me to attend his birthday party."
"Pfft—"
Song Yi couldn't help it; she sprayed out a mouthful of milk.
Hang Feng, who was sitting face to face with her: "..."
Song Yi quickly pulled out some napkins from her pocket and reached to wipe Hang Feng's face, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to."
Hang Feng said nothing, just expressionlessly took the napkins from Song Yi's hand and wiped his face clean himself.
Song Yi's mind was filled with just three words: This is bad.
But instinctively, she pushed the half-drunk strawberry milk on the desk back into Hang Feng's hands, along with the string of lollipops, "Take them back, take them back, I can't accept these, I really can't do this."
Why would Hang Feng want to bring her to his father's birthday party? How terrifying!
Unless...
Song Yi asked her previous question again, but this time with more fear, "You're not actually in love with me, are you? Taking me home to meet your parents so soon? This is moving too fast, this won't do, this won't do!"
Hang Feng: "..."
Hang Feng placed the half-drunk strawberry milk back in front of Song Yi, then hung the string of lollipops around her neck.
Song Yi: *frozen.jpg*
Don't dare to move, don't dare to move.
Hang Feng said, "My father doesn't have long to live."
Song Yi quickly responded, "I get it, you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend so he can die peacefully."
That's how it always goes in TV dramas.
Hang Feng was silent for a few seconds, then said, "No, I hope he dies sooner."
Song Yi: "!"
Oh right, the original plot had mentioned that Hang Feng's family background and relationship with his father weren't good, which made sense.
So Song Yi asked, "Then what's my role in this?"
Hang Feng looked at her seriously and said, "After thinking it through, I felt you were the most annoying person I know."
Song Yi frowned - that wasn't exactly a compliment, was it?
So Song Yi said, "Explain in detail."
Hang Feng: "I want to bring you to my father's birthday party. You can act however you want - if you can annoy him to death, that would be best."
Song Yi: "..."
Now she was getting angry, really getting angry.
She took the string of lollipops from around her neck and tied it around Hang Feng's neck, saying expressionlessly, "I might as well strangle you instead."
Hang Feng watched Song Yi's actions without resistance, simply letting her do as she pleased.
Song Yi was the type of person who would get more fired up if others challenged her, but would lose interest if they backed down.
So Song Yi took back the lollipops rather boredly and asked, "You're not serious, are you?"
Hang Feng nodded, "Mm."
Help Hang Feng annoy his father to death?
It sounded absurd, but... it actually seemed really interesting!
Song Yi's mind turned for a moment before she asked Hang Feng for confirmation, "What if he really dies from anger?"
Hang Feng replied calmly, "I'll handle it."
With him there, Song Yi wouldn't have to bear any consequences no matter what happened.
Song Yi understood Hang Feng's meaning and nodded solemnly, "Well, I suppose I'll reluctantly agree!"
*
Saturday morning, at the villa.
Song Yi, wearing a black coat, followed behind Hang Feng as they got out of the car, looking at everything before her with surprise.
Although Hang Feng clearly wasn't some mixed-race noble, he was obviously wealthy or prestigious, just as the original plot had mentioned.
Today, Hang Feng was wearing a black suit, his usually reticent face appearing even more aloof. He simply extended his hand to her and said, "Take my arm."
Song Yi wanted to refuse but noticed that all the couples entering the villa were walking arm in arm.
To avoid standing out, Song Yi reluctantly took Hang Feng's arm and urged him, "Let's go, let's go."
The servant at the entrance was stunned upon seeing Hang Feng, exclaiming in disbelief: "Young Master? You've returned."
Hang Feng didn't respond and simply continued walking inside with Song Yi.
At that moment, other servants who spotted Hang Feng immediately ran inside.
Rather inappropriately, a phrase suddenly popped into Song Yi's mind—
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
The place was decorated festively, with red as the primary color scheme, but it wasn't gaudy. The garden was adorned just right.
To reach the back hall, they needed to cross through this garden.
Many well-dressed people were present, and when they saw Hang Feng, some began whispering among themselves.
Actually, not many people here could recognize Hang Feng's identity at first glance, but there were always some who could.
Song Yi's voice was filled with excitement as she said, "This place is quite beautiful. Later, we'll turn it upside down and make his birthday unforgettable!"
She was eager and ready!
After all, it was Hang Feng's father! Who cares if he gets angry! It's not a big deal!
When they reached the back hall, they saw an unhappy-looking noble lady standing at the entrance.
Upon seeing Hang Feng, the woman sneered, "You dare to set foot here? Just looking at you makes me sick."
Hang Feng looked up at the woman and asked, "Where is he?"
"Have you no manners? Regardless of everything, I'm still your elder. Do you know what respect means? Well, your mother died so early, there was no one to teach you these things." The woman laughed coldly and pointed towards the stairs, "He's in the bedroom."
Song Yi could clearly feel Hang Feng's body stiffen, though he was trying to maintain his composure.
The mention of his mother, especially in such an insulting way, was like deliberately stabbing Hang Feng in the heart.
Song Yi was prepared for Hang Feng to explode, even starting to consider whether she should take action herself.
This woman looked physically weak - one kick to her shin would probably make her fall to her knees.
Just as Song Yi was seriously contemplating this, Hang Feng suddenly withdrew his arm from her grasp.
When Song Yi thought Hang Feng was about to take action himself, he instead grabbed her wrist.
Song Yi: "?"
Feeling confused, Song Yi was pulled upstairs by Hang Feng. She asked, "We're just letting this go? After what she said about you, how can you tolerate this?"
Hang Feng's voice was hoarse, but he still answered, "It's my father's fault. She, like my mother, is just a pitiful person."
His first love was tricked into becoming a mistress, while his legitimate wife discovered her husband's mistress was also pregnant when she was near her due date.
Who was more pitiful? He couldn't say.
In the bedroom.
The door was pushed open, and a man lay on the bed with his eyes half-closed.
Song Yi was somewhat hesitant to enter and asked, "Is he asleep?"
The man lying on the bed gave a light cough, clearly answering Song Yi's question.
Song Yi and Hang Feng walked in side by side.
Hang Feng directly called his father by name, "Xu Yuanguo."
Song Yi looked at Hang Feng with surprise - these father and son were on a first-name basis, such filial piety indeed.
Xu Yuanguo was preparing to get up from the bed to teach his long-absent rebellious son a lesson when he suddenly felt something strange placed on his face.
At that moment, Song Yi had taken out a crushed white chrysanthemum from her suit pocket, placed it on Xu Yuanguo's face, and then gave him a deep bow.
She then turned around and seriously grabbed Hang Feng's hand, "Mr. Hang, please rest assured, I am a professional mortician. I will ensure your father passes on with dignity."
Xu Yuanguo took the foreign object off his face, and upon seeing the chrysanthemum and hearing the woman's nonsense, his hands began trembling with anger.
He threw the white chrysanthemum on the ground and said angrily, "You rebellious child! I'm not dead yet!"
"But you will be soon, right? Just practicing in advance, don't interrupt," Song Yi turned back to look at Xu Yuanguo impatiently, then said to Hang Feng, "Sir, thirty-one times is really the minimum, it can't be any less! Your father was a respectable person in life, we must ensure he leaves this world clean and proper!"
"Hang Feng!" Xu Yuanguo was so angry he called out his son's name directly, getting out of bed and demanding, "Who is she? Get the servants to throw her out immediately!"
Seeing that Xu Yuanguo was about to throw her out himself, Song Yi quickly hid behind Hang Feng, holding onto his arms with both hands and only peeking out her head.
"Uncle, uncle! Please don't be angry, I was just joking, just joking! I know Hang Feng, he brought me here to meet you!"
Xu Yuanguo was trembling with anger but still looked at Hang Feng, "Is this true?"
"Yes." Hang Feng nodded, acknowledging Song Yi's identity, "She's my friend."
"Slap—"
A sudden slap landed on Hang Feng's face. Although it wasn't very hard, it was enough to make him look up at Song Yi in shock.
The previously furious Xu Yuanguo was also stunned, clearly not understanding what was happening.
Song Yi covered her mouth with one hand, stepped back three steps, appearing on the verge of tears.
The next moment, she placed one hand on her belly and pointed at Hang Feng with the other, "Friend? Is that all I am to you? I'm only seventeen! I've already had three abortions because of you! This is my fourth child, and even if you don't love her or look forward to her arrival, I must keep her!"
She then turned to Xu Yuanguo with a pleading expression, "You're his father, right? I'm begging you, please help me keep this child, your future grandchild, please?"
Xu Yuanguo's brows were furrowed so tightly they could have crushed a fly. He looked up at his long-absent son with scrutiny.
He was also wondering if his seventeen-year-old son had really become such a playboy.
This was really...
Seeing Xu Yuanguo's hesitation, Song Yi grabbed the hem of his clothes with one hand, pretending to kneel before him while continuing her dramatic performance with cries and shouts.
"Please save us! If I lose this child, I won't live either! You heartless scoundrel! Going around deceiving women's feelings and using us, then living your own carefree life! You're happy with your lover, but what about me? What do my child and I mean to you?!"
Xu Yuanguo: "..."
Perhaps because this crazy woman was grabbing him and shaking violently, he suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt.
It felt as if the one being scolded wasn't his seventeen-year-old playboy son Hang Feng, but himself.
Just as Song Yi was giving her all to this performance, a cold voice spoke from behind—
"Don't you know very well whether that child is mine or not?"
If possible, Song Yi really wanted to spit out a mouthful of blood. Her hand holding Xu Yuanguo's clothes began trembling uncontrollably.
She suddenly remembered the last thing she had said to Hang Feng before entering the villa: "Watch my performance later, just follow my lead."
She wanted him to imitate! Not surpass her!
Song Yi felt a bit embarrassed, really just a bit.
Suddenly, the bedroom bathroom door opened.
A young man wearing a light white suit walked out, looking at them with a somewhat complex expression, clearly having heard their entire conversation.
Song Yi exclaimed in surprise, "Xu Che?"
Huh? What? Why? She didn't understand.
Why was Xu Che here too? And in Xu Yuanguo's bedroom!
Xu Che, Xu Yuanguo, both surnamed Xu - the answer was actually quite obvious.
Song Yi looked at Xu Che, then at Hang Feng, and suddenly understood something.
How exciting, how dramatic, how interesting!
And so Song Yi's acting impulse suddenly took over. She pointed at Hang Feng, "Since you've already discovered that the child isn't yours, at this point, I don't need to deceive you anymore!"
After saying this, Song Yi turned back to look at Xu Che, crying out hoarsely: "Xu Che, say something, Xu Che!"
Xu Che's brows were furrowed; clearly, it would take any normal person some time to process such an absurd scene before them.
Xu Che's appearance was unexpected to begin with, so Song Yi was just improvising wildly, not really expecting anything from him.
So Song Yi pointed at Xu Yuanguo, preparing to give him a piece of her mind.
She had already decided what to say - she would berate him for his poor parenting, for raising two sons who both turned out to be scoundrels.
Meanwhile, Xu Yuanguo's expression was quite complex - so it turned out that the most promiscuous one wasn't his younger son, but his elder son?
At this moment, Xu Che seemed to finally understand what was happening.
He lifted his head and gave Hang Feng a wicked smile, speaking somewhat vengefully, "So you found out? The child is indeed mine."
"Cough cough!"
Xu Che's sudden dramatic flair caught Song Yi off guard and made her lose her composure.
What was supposed to be a solo performance suddenly turned into an ensemble piece, which was quite unexpected.
Suddenly, there was a heavy thud beside them.
Song Yi turned her head to see that Xu Yuanguo, who had been standing just moments ago, had collapsed.
Evidently, as a father, he had fainted from the shock of witnessing this dramatic scene of brotherly rivalry that violated all normal family ethics.
