Volume 1, Chapter 6: Song Min Faints

Back in her room, Song Wei pulled out her phone and dialed Wen Huaiye’s number. After a moment, he answered, his tone gentle, "Weiwei, is something the matter?"

The voice was so familiar, so tender, yet she felt a sudden sense of alienation.

Leaning against the wall, Song Wei clutched her phone. "I returned to the country today. Why didn’t you come to pick me up?"

Wen Huaiye seemed caught off guard by the question. He remained silent for a long time before replying, "Weiwei, I’m sorry."

"I want to know the reason."

Five years. They had been separated for five years. The man who had once sworn to the heavens that he would bring her back home with dignity had not even appeared at the airport on the day of her return.

"I’ve taken charge of a major project at the company recently; it cannot afford any mistakes. Today, a problem arose that required my personal attention." His tone was steady and measured, earnestly explaining. "I can show you the meeting notes from today."

For a project not yet finalized, meeting details were meant to be confidential. Yet, he was willing to show them to her without hesitation. He trusted her.

But that was not the answer Song Wei wanted. "Huaiye, do you... wish for me to return?"

"Of course! Weiwei, of course I want you back. I believe you were innocent regarding what happened back then." He added eagerly, "Don’t worry, Weiwei, I will prove your innocence."

Song Wei cut him off. "Huaiye, I asked, do you wish for me to return?"

Before he could speak, she continued, "Do you want me to come back and fulfill our engagement?"

A brief silence fell over the line.

"Weiwei, given the current situation between our families, it is very difficult to honor the engagement." He tried to say more, but Song Wei had no patience left. She simply said, "I understand," and hung up.

She leaned against the wall, her hand gripping the phone tightly. One minute. Two minutes. Ten minutes. The phone did not ring.

She gave a self-deprecating smile. "Wen Huaiye, are you still the same man?"

A knock sounded at the door. Gathering herself, Song Wei opened it to find Song Min standing there, her expression cold. Dressed in a lotus-pink nightgown, she wordlessly held out her phone to Song Wei.

"Huaiye said your phone was turned off," she stated.

Song Wei glanced at her own phone; it had died from a drained battery. Her heart sank. She took the other phone, and Wen Huaiye’s voice came through, sounding both helpless and anxious. "Weiwei, are you alright?"

"I’m fine."

A sigh of relief came from the other side. His voice was exceedingly gentle. "Weiwei, I certainly want to fulfill our engagement, but it has been delayed due to certain circumstances. Once I resolve these troublesome factors, we will be able to proceed."

Song Wei’s heart softened. But as she looked up, she saw Song Min standing right in front of her. She was close enough that Wen Huaiye’s voice was perfectly audible to her. Song Min’s face turned deathly pale, her body trembling slightly as her hands clenched into fists. A second later, she swayed and collapsed to the floor.

"Song Min!" Song Wei cried out.

From the phone, a voice even more frantic than Song Wei’s rang out: "Song Min! Song Min! Minmin!"

Song Wei’s shout drew Song Siyan, who lived on the same floor. He rushed over, shoved Song Wei aside, and knelt down to look at Song Min with deep concern. "Minmin, Minmin, are you okay?"

Song Siyan roared, "Uncle Qi! Uncle Qi, get the car!" Uncle Qi was the Song family driver.

Within moments, the entire house was in an uproar. Song Siyan picked up Song Min and hurried toward the stairs, too frantic to even change out of his pajamas.

"What happened to Minmin?" Song Lin’an and Jiang Zhiyi ran over.

Reaching the doorway, Song Siyan turned back, glaring fiercely at Song Wei, who stood on the landing. "Song Wei! If anything happens to Minmin, I will make you pay with your life!"

With that, he carried her out to the car.

"What kind of trouble have you caused now?" Song Lin’an strode toward Song Wei, his chest heaving with rage. "Are you incapable of peace? Are you only happy when you’ve torn this family apart?"

"What did Minmin do to provoke you this time?"

Worried about her daughter, Jiang Zhiyi tugged at Song Lin’an’s sleeve. "This isn't the time. Let’s get to the hospital." She looked at the silent Song Wei, her face full of disappointment. "Weiwei, Mother is so disappointed in you! It’s been five years; I thought you had changed, but I never expected..." She shook her head and dragged Song Lin’an away.

Song Wei felt as if someone had doused her with ice water; her blood seemed to freeze in her veins.

She turned stiffly to look at Song Siyan, who was still standing nearby. "Second Brother, this is my bedroom. I was at my door and she was outside; how could I have made her faint?"

Song Siyan approached, his face expressionless, and snatched the phone from her hand. "What is this?"

Song Wei: "..."

"Minmin’s phone—why is it in your hands?"

Song Wei: "She brought it to me. She said Wen Huaiye couldn't reach me..."

Before she could finish, Wen Huaiye’s anxious voice came from the phone: "What happened to Song Min? Why did she faint?"

Hearing the voice, Song Siyan let out a cold, sharp laugh. He stared at Song Wei, pointing at the active call. "Song Wei, you used Minmin’s phone to contact Wen Huaiye? What shameless things did you two say to each other?"

"How exactly did you two provoke her?"

"Do you even know what Wen Huaiye and Minmin..."

"Song Siyan!" Wen Huaiye’s voice came through, filled with warning. "You know what should and should not be said."

Threatened, Song Siyan sneered. He looked at Song Wei and asked, "Do you have no shame? Do you have no sense of decency?"

"If you wanted to make a call, couldn't you have used your own phone?"

"Did you have to use Minmin’s?"

"Did you have to let Minmin hear you two lovebirds chatting?"

"Ha! Song Wei! Eldest Brother once said you were morally bankrupt, that your malice was in your bones. I never wanted to believe it. I thought you were just young and ignorant, that you made mistakes because of your age."

Song Siyan shook his head, his expression a mix of disappointment and fury. "But it’s been five years. You aren’t a child anymore. Don’t you know what should be done and what shouldn’t?"

"Song Siyan, this has nothing to do with Weiwei, it was my—"

"I am disciplining my sister; what right do you have to interrupt!" Song Siyan hung up on him and looked at Song Wei. "If you still want to be our parents' daughter, if you still want to be my sister and the Eldest Brother’s sister, then behave yourself."

He took the phone and turned to leave, leaving Song Wei standing alone in the hallway outside her bedroom.

Mother Yang approached. "Third Miss, shall I arrange a car for you to go to the hospital and check on the Fourth Miss?"

Song Wei looked at the concerned woman and asked, "Mother Yang, is talking to Wen Huaiye such a scandalous thing?"

Mother Yang opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, letting out a soft sigh instead. "Third Miss, you should go to the hospital. The Master, the Mistress, the Eldest Young Master, and the Second Young Master are all very worried about the Fourth Miss. If you don't go, they will only be angrier."

Song Wei: "Even if I go, they will still be angry."

She shook her head. "I’m not going."

She turned and retreated into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Mother Yang stood in the hallway, sighing and shaking her head.