HGG - 20

At first, when Song Yi learned that the person pursuing Zhou Shuhua was Zhan Heqing, she outright rejected the idea.

There were two reasons for this.

The first was that being pressured by him at work was one thing, but having to spend a three-day, two-night holiday with him? She couldn’t even imagine how much she’d be bossed around once they got up the mountain.

Zhan Heqing wasn’t a bad person—he was generous when it came to paying wages—but dealing with him seriously was extremely troublesome. No wonder Chi Zhao had blocked him.

The second reason stemmed from Song Yi’s survival instincts.

When someone invites the person they like out, they usually want to be alone. What did it mean to bring along a third wheel?

What if Zhan Heqing got angry and their relationship broke down? That would be disastrous.

However, on the day she finished work, Song Yi ran into Li Mei on her way home.

Ever since being threatened with a water gun last time, Song Zuo had never come to bother Song Yi again. Every month, she regularly transferred money over, occasionally checking in on the situation at home through neighbors.

Song Zuo and Li Mei were still the same—completely immersed in gambling.

But this day, Li Mei actually sought her out.

She clearly did her homework, knowing where Song Yi commuted from and to. When Song Yi saw her mother on the road, she reflexively nodded as a form of greeting.

Her relationship with her mother wasn’t warm. In Song Yi’s memory, Li Mei was often absent. Even when she returned late at night or early in the morning, muttering complaints about losing at gambling, she’d collapse into bed without saying much to her daughter.

During elementary school, there was a parent-teacher meeting that required paying miscellaneous fees. At that time, Song Zuo hadn’t yet fallen so low; he often picked up extra tutoring shifts for overtime pay. Li Mei took the money and accompanied Song Yi to school.

It was summer, and Li Mei bent down to ask Song Yi: “Do you want to eat shaved ice?”

Their family’s financial situation wasn’t good, and Song Yi didn’t have pocket money. Strawberry shaved ice was popular among her classmates, but she could only watch others eat it.

Hearing her mother say this, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

“Mom will go buy it for you,” Li Mei immediately turned around without asking what flavor she wanted.

On that summer afternoon, cicadas chirped incessantly like waves crashing, dappled sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scorching and bright, burning Song Yi’s eyes.

She waited on the way to school, watching other classmates and their parents pass by one after another.

She stood there until evening.

When the moon rose, Song Yi tilted her head upward. Song Zuo, who had just finished his overtime shift, rushed over upon hearing the situation.

As he crossed the intersection, he happened to see this scene: a tall but slender little girl looking up at the sky.

Song Zuo’s heart ached, and he immediately ran to Song Yi. He hugged her tightly, painfully furrowing his brows and saying through clenched teeth: “Song Yi, it’s all Dad and Mom’s fault!”

Caught off guard and falling into her father’s embrace, Song Yi remained motionless. After a long while, she gently struggled a bit. In a calm and measured tone, she said: “Dad, let’s go talk to the teacher about paying the fees in installments.”

Her voice was unexpectedly composed, completely devoid of a child’s usual immaturity.

Song Zuo was astonished as he released her. Then he noticed that Song Yi’s face showed no tears, her eyes dry. She hadn’t cried, not even the slightest hint of vulnerability.

“The scholarship I applied for last semester should be approved this month. Let’s use that to cover it,” Song Yi continued speaking one sentence after another, her expression devoid of warmth. “We don’t need to order milk anymore; use that money to pay for lunch. Adding it all up, we’re still short by a few hundred. I already bought the largest size uniform before, so I don’t need a new one…”

She felt no frustration or sadness, merely seeking solutions, resembling a machine programmed solely to execute commands.

Song Zuo looked back and forth at his twelve-year-old daughter, unable to figure out what had turned her into this.

Even now, more than ten years later, Song Yi still wore that same expression as she faced Li Mei.

Cold, calm, and resolute.

“Mom,” she called out to Li Mei, addressing her like a stranger named “Mom.” “What do you need from me?”

Deep down, she already knew.

Between Li Mei and Song Yi, the bond of blood was less important than the bond of money.

True enough, Li Mei opened her mouth with that word: “Do you have money?”

Song Yi didn’t rush to open her handbag. Instead, she asked first: “How much?”

“100,000.”

“100,000?” Song Yi had been regularly sending money home, but suddenly demanding such a large amount meant something must have gone wrong. “I don’t have 100,000.”

“Go borrow it!” Li Mei couldn’t contain her impatience, taking a step forward. “Without this money, you, me, and your dad are all screwed!”

Seeing her approach, Song Yi immediately stepped back. She roughly guessed the situation: “You gambled alone, didn’t you?”

“You better give me the money now!” Li Mei evaded the question. “Do you know they’re going to chop off my hand?! Song Yi, if you still consider me your mom, go get the money for me right now!”

Song Yi retreated a few more steps. After a brief silence, she gritted her teeth as if making a firm decision: “Then let them chop it off.”

“What?”

“If chopping off your hand can teach you a lesson, then let them do it. This is all the money I have.” Song Yi exhaled deeply, pulling out the little over a thousand yuan she had and throwing it on the ground. “How many times have you pulled this stunt already?”

“You wretch!” Li Mei was furious, lunging at her with claws bared, ready to fight. But as she passed the scattered money on the ground, she hesitated and bent down to pick it up.

However, it wasn’t long before the people who got out of the van subdued her to the ground.

Song Yi, on the other hand, was already prepared. She turned and ran, leaving them far behind.

From a young age, Song Yi had worked hard at everything and excelled in most things.

But the one thing she truly felt she was good at was running.

In the end, she observed from a supermarket in the neighborhood for a while, confirming that no one was following her, before panting heavily as she ran back to her apartment. She didn’t even greet Chi Yu, rushing into her home and slamming the door shut.

Song Yi leaned against the door, breathing heavily as she crouched down.

What made her flee so desperately was not Li Mei.

Having lived with gambling-addicted family members for a long time, she was very familiar with certain tricks that ordinary people wouldn’t understand.

Li Mei coming to ask for money alone, choosing a public street as the location, was strange in itself. While negotiating with Li Mei, Song Yi carefully observed her surroundings and sure enough spotted a suspiciously parked van by the roadside.

If her guess was correct, Li Mei had been forced to come and demand money from her.

If they found her address, it would be even more troublesome. Fortunately, this area had always been safe.

Song Yi collapsed onto the floor, tilting her head back as she caught her breath. She wasn’t panicked, just calmly calculating how to resolve the situation.

What a hassle.

Only at the very end did she have a heartfelt thought: Troublesome to death.

Packing for the mountain trip wasn’t difficult.

If hearing that Zhou Shuhua’s pursuer was Zhan Heqing initially made Song Yi reluctant, then after Li Mei took that money, she had no way out.

After all, this trip’s goal was essentially a month’s worth of meals, plus colleagues being present—it was almost like working, so she might as well take it seriously.

Song Yi studied survival guides for the mountains and notes on spring outings. She woke up early in the morning, even bought breakfast, and immediately went downstairs when the call came.

To fit the spring outing atmosphere, Zhan Heqing drove a modified convertible. Zhou Shuhua was already in the car. Even dressed in sportswear, she still exuded an ethereal aura.

Upon seeing Song Yi arrive, Zhan Heqing didn’t seem unhappy. He even asked about her experience living in the employee apartments, his words filled with cheerfulness.

Therefore, Song Yi also relaxed a bit. But the car didn’t head towards the mountains right away.

He stopped at an address Song Yi recognized.

When Chi Zhao had a fever last time, Xia Fan had given her a series of his residential coordinates. This was one of them.

Chi Zhao came out expressionless, directly raising his hand to support himself on the car frame, flipping over the convertible door, and sitting in the front passenger seat.

Zhan Heqing personally invited him, and Song Yi was overly familiar with Chi Zhao, so the only person surprised was Zhou Shuhua.

No wonder Zhan Heqing didn’t mind Zhou Shuhua bringing a third wheel—because he brought one too.

“Is Mr. Chi also going?” Zhou Shuhua carefully covered her lips coated with lip gloss as she asked.

Chi Zhao looked sleepy, his hair slightly damp, obviously having just washed up casually. But even so, handsome people remained handsome; his pale cheeks radiated a nearly saturated youthful charm.

“Song Yi.” He completely ignored others trying to talk to him, spotting his secretary in the rearview mirror and speaking directly, “Do you have anything to eat?”

She handed him a bag of warm milk and asked around. Zhou Shuhua declined, saying she had eaten nuts in the morning, while Zhan Heqing took the opportunity to accept a sandwich during the stop.

“I’m starting to understand why you’ve managed to stay by Chi Zhao’s side until now,” Zhan Heqing commented after swallowing.

As a result, the previously silent Chi Zhao burst out laughing and said: “Why don’t you hire your own secretary? You can pay their salary yourself.”

Zhan Heqing tapped the steering wheel, rolling his eyes and casually replying: “Isn’t Xia Fan enough for you to boss around? Might as well give Song Yi to me.”

Before Chi Zhao could respond, Song Yi subtly raised her eyes to observe the front seats.

The four in the car suddenly fell into silence over such a question.

After a long while, Chi Zhao casually said: “Do you want to die?”

Song Yi couldn’t see their faces in the front seats, so she could only sense Chi Zhao’s somewhat cold demeanor, his elbow resting on the car frame supporting his head, appearing lazy and carefree.

The car stopped at a roadside rest area, and everyone got out to stretch their legs. Song Yi and Zhou Shuhua went to the restroom.

Zhou Shuhua needed to reapply her makeup, so Song Yi returned to the car first. The sunlight was a bit harsh; unsure if sunscreen would help, she raised her hand to shield her forehead, letting her eyes relax in the shade.

The car door suddenly opened. She thought it was Zhou Shuhua, but it was Chi Zhao.

He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans. As he sat in the back seat, he casually pressed the convertible button on the center console.

The roof slowly rose, driving the sunlight away. Song Yi was able to free her hands. She turned her body, waiting until the soft top was fully closed before Chi Zhao sat back properly.

He crossed his arms, silent, leaning on Song Yi’s shoulder and began to sleep.

Song Yi initially flinched reflexively, but when Chi Zhao actually leaned on her, all movements stopped.

She wasn’t trying to avoid him; she was like a block of ice worried about freezing others.

Chi Zhao frowned, his face filled with barely noticeable fatigue. His voice was hoarse and low: “Don’t move.”

Song Yi cautiously took a deep breath and asked: “Did you work overtime yesterday?”

“Mm, no.” His pronunciation was pleasant, sounding somewhat muffled when tired, giving the illusion of being spoiled. Chi Zhao’s eyelids were still closed, lifeless like a sculpture, yet a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. “I had a phone call with the Korean outsourcing company, and we ended up arguing. It was quite interesting; I’ll tell you…”

He suddenly stopped here.

“Sorry,” Chi Zhao said again, “I’m really exhausted. Can I tell you after I wake up?”

“Mm. Rest well and then tell me.” Song Yi sat there, her feet unconsciously tapping a rhythm, a relaxed expression on her face. “Whenever you want.”

“Thank you.” Chi Zhao quickly replied and then fell asleep.

When Zhan Heqing and Zhou Shuhua got back in the car, this was the scene they saw.

Zhou Shuhua had no choice but to sit in the front passenger seat, waving her hand along the way, smiling and saying: “It’s okay.”

Zhan Heqing, holding his phone, raised an eyebrow, hanging up and said: “Brothers and sisters, to experience nature, I chose this spring outing spot. But just now, the villa manager told me some bad news.”

Both Song Yi and Zhou Shuhua—who were currently awake—looked up at him.

“Sorry,” Zhan Heqing’s gaze swept over everyone, “the residence is in disrepair. Three of the four single bedrooms are leaking, so three people may have to sleep in the living room.”

This holiday was destined to be eventful.