Since her scooter was destroyed, Song Qi Nian had started leaving an hour earlier each morning to catch the subway. The evening commute stretched longer too, but she'd found unexpected pleasure in it. The walk home from the station had become a peaceful ritual – a chance to decompress and take in the neighborhood's quiet charm.
That evening, a small flower shop caught her eye. She stopped, purchasing a delicate bouquet of pink and white baby's breath. A few doors down, the warm glow of a dessert shop drew her in. She emerged with two carefully chosen cakes – a strawberry one for Zhang Qiaoqiao and a matcha for herself.
When she arrived home, Zhang Qiaoqiao's hushed voice greeted her: "Young Madam, Young Master is home." Her face carried the tense expression of someone bracing for impact.
Song Qi Nian gave her a gentle smile. [Don't worry, he won't do anything to you.]
"It's not myself I'm worried about. It's you..." Zhang Qiaoqiao's voice trailed off when she caught the warning in Song Qi Nian's eyes. She knew too well how these evenings typically ended – with the Young Madam nursing fresh wounds, visible or otherwise.
[Don't fret. He hasn't done anything to me. Here, enjoy your cake while I change and put these flowers away.]
"If you're sure..."
As Zhang Qiaoqiao carried the cakes to the dining room, Song Qi Nian headed upstairs – only to find Shen Chi Yan descending. His perfectly tailored dark gray suit, crisp white shirt, and black tie cut an imposing figure. The black tie made her pause. Was his mood as dark as his choice in neckwear?
She felt a flicker of confusion. Hadn't Lin Qiu Tong regained consciousness? Why did he still seem so troubled?
When his eyes fell on the baby's breath in her hands, his expression hardened further. He snatched the flowers from her grip, his cold gaze boring into her.
"Baby's breath," he said, voice sharp with disdain. "Pink and white, no less..."
Not understanding Shen Chi Yan's strange behavior, Song Qi Nian heard his cold voice: "Why did you buy these?"
She wanted flowers to look at - wasn't that simple enough? But since he rarely initiated conversations with her, she made the gesture: [To put in the bedroom.]
"You like pink and white baby's breath?"
Song Qi Nian nodded.
"Why?"
She gestured without thinking: [Because they're pretty.]
Dark anger flashed in Shen Chi Yan's eyes. "That's your only reason?"
His rising temper confused her. Had she said something wrong? The flowers were beautiful - that was why she liked them. Just as she'd fallen for Shen Chi Yan at first sight. Not for some special quality about him, but simply because she found him attractive.
"Answer me!"
His sharp voice made her jump. She quickly nodded yes.
In the next moment, Shen Chi Yan hurled the baby's breath downstairs. The flowers scattered across the first floor.
Song Qi Nian stared at them, her mind going blank for several heartbeats.
Then his cruel, ice-cold words cut through her daze: "Next time you try to imitate someone, do your homework first. And don't think that copying Qiu Tong will make me like you. It's nothing more than pathetic mimicry."
It wasn't until after Shen Chi Yan left that his words sank in.
He thought she was imitating Lin Qiu Tong?
Lin Qiu Tong liked baby's breath too?
She had dared to hope she might be starting to mean something different to him. But now she saw clearly - she'd only been fooling herself.
If Lin Qiu Tong liked baby's breath, then of course her own appreciation would be seen as mere imitation.
What ridiculous logic!
Song Qi Nian gathered up the scattered flowers Shen Chi Yan had thrown, brought them to her room, and arranged them carefully in a vase.
Friday night, a WeChat message from Shen Ke Qin lit up her phone.
‘Sister-in-law! Are you free tomorrow? I know this amazing place. Let's go have some fun!’
Song Qi Nian wasn't really in the mood to go out - she'd rather stay home and draw.
Before she could respond, Shen Ke Qin sent a voice message:
‘I'm so lonely - nobody wants to hang out with me! Please come with me, sister-in-law?’
Shen Ke Qin's wheedling tone was hard to resist, especially given how she'd helped Song Qi Nian before. Unable to say no, Song Qi Nian agreed.
Early Saturday morning, Shen Ke Qin picked her up, and they headed to her promised destination.
The Yan Mountain Resort Center lived up to Shen Ke Qin's praise. While Jinghua City sweltered in the May and June heat, Yan Mountain stayed pleasantly cool.
The resort had everything - swimming pools, horseback riding trails, golf courses, and more entertainment options than you could count.
With Lin Qiu Tong now awake, Shen Ke Qin worried about Song Qi Nian's state of mind. She hoped a weekend of fun might lift her spirits.
"Sister-in-law, let's go wild for two days! Don't worry about money - someone else is paying!"
[We shouldn't waste money, even if it's not ours.]
When Song Qi Nian gestured her response, Shen Ke Qin turned to Jian Mubai. "What did she say?"
Jian Mubai translated for her.
Shen Ke Qin, ever the slacker, rolled her eyes. While academic excellence ran in the Shen family, she'd always been the black sheep, consistently ranking at the bottom of her class.
During college entrance exam season, her family had been beside themselves with worry. They'd even gotten Shen Chi Yan to personally oversee her studies for two weeks.
By some miracle, she'd scraped by and made it into Jinghua University.
Too lazy to learn sign language herself but worried about Song Qi Nian tiring herself out with constant writing and typing, Shen Ke Qin had made Jian Mubai learn all the signs within a week to be their interpreter.
"Don't worry, I'm not spending someone else's money."
Seeing Song Qi Nian's confused look, Shen Ke Qin leaned close and whispered, "I called my brother this morning and told him I wanted to take you out. Asked him for 20,000 yuan."
Song Qi Nian couldn't hide her surprise. [He gave it to you?]
"Of course! I told him if he didn't, I'd go straight to Grandma. The nerve of him - spending money on another woman while keeping her company when you're his wife. Unacceptable!"
Song Qi Nian: [...]
Why did she have the sinking feeling Ke Qin had played her again?
Still, at this point, Shen Chi Yan would probably blame her for putting Ke Qin up to asking for money even if she did nothing. Might as well enjoy herself.
After trying several activities, Shen Ke Qin mentioned a friend waiting at the billiard hall, so they headed there together.
"Xiao Nian Nian..."
The moment they walked in, Guan Ming Xu bounded over to them, his leather casual shirt catching the light.
Shen Ke Qin's face darkened instantly. "Why are you here?"
"Well, if Xiao Nian Nian's here, of course I had to come! Xiao Nian Nian, how have you been?"
The contrast between Guan Ming Xu's treatment of Shen Ke Qin versus Song Qi Nian couldn't have been starker. Watching him fawn over Song Qi Nian like an eager puppy, Shen Ke Qin shot daggers at Xia Gaoyang.
Xia Gaoyang threw up his hands. "He insisted. Nothing I could do."
"Did you tell him my sister-in-law would be here?"
"I swear I didn't!"
"Then how did he..."
Xia Gaoyang rubbed his forehead. "Master Guan called me at dawn, claiming he'd dreamed about Cupid shooting arrows at him all night. Said Cupid told him his true love would be at Yan Mountain today."
Shen Ke Qin: "..."
Watching the usually dignified Guan Ming Xu act like an overexcited puppy, Xia Gaoyang sighed. "These mystical matters are beyond my mortal understanding."
"Well, isn't this quite the gathering!"
An abrasive voice cut through the moment, and everyone turned toward the newcomer...
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