GV – Chapter 96

Ye Yuhuan got ready at a record pace, making sure she looked radiant. She wanted to have at least a little confidence if Song Zhiqing accused her of stealing her “Song Zhiqing.”

Even if I’m not as beautiful as “Song Zhiqing,” I’m still beautiful.

Yes, Ye Yuhuan didn’t have high hopes for this meeting. She was over thirty now; she would no longer naively fantasize that love, once felt, was love that would last forever.

She had lied to Song Zhiqing too much. Although most of it was for the sake of her treatment, they didn’t actually need to have a relationship for that treatment to work.

In the end, it was all because of her own selfish desires.

Ye Yuhuan took a few deep breaths, slipped on her high heels, and walked out the door.

When Si Zhen learned that Ye Yuhuan was going to see Song Zhiqing, she let out three long sighs to the heavens and waved her hand weakly. “Fine, go. You need some kind of resolution.”

What kind of resolution would it be?

When Ye Yuhuan saw Song Zhiqing downstairs holding a bouquet of roses, an answer suddenly popped into her head: This will be a good resolution.

Song Zhiqing gave the flowers to Ye Yuhuan, their hands brushing against the deep green stems for a fleeting moment before parting.

She smiled and explained, “It seems impolite to meet someone without bringing anything.”

Then she took a step back, quickly scanning Ye Yuhuan from head to toe, and praised, “You look so beautiful.”

If this were a date, the whole exchange would have been perfectly acceptable.

But they weren’t on a date.

Ye Yuhuan found it strange.

Song Zhiqing was acting far too familiar. They were, at least in real life, merely acquaintances. Even if Song Zhiqing knew the truth, how could she switch roles so quickly?

It was very strange.

So strange that even the flowers in her hands began to feel heavy.

This sense of strangeness peaked when Song Zhiqing leaned over to fasten her seatbelt. Ye Yuhuan raised a hand and gently refused, “It’s okay, I can do it myself.”

Song Zhiqing retreated to the driver’s seat, not without a hint of regret.

It was too strange.

Before Song Zhiqing started the car, Ye Yuhuan finally couldn’t help but ask, “How can you be so natural about this?”

“Huh?” Song Zhiqing’s eyebrows trembled, and she looked quite flustered.

“I’m not.”

Unfortunately, her eyebrows had already given her away.

She had to admit, “I hoped to make you more comfortable.”

Ye Yuhuan turned her head to look out the window. “Just be how you would normally be.”

Annoying. It’s fake, after all.

“Oh, really?” Song Zhiqing seemed a little nervous.

Hah, nervous my ass. I’m not that fragile.

“Can I hold your hand, then?”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t refuse, I’ll take that as a yes.”

Song Zhiqing very quickly took Ye Yuhuan’s hand, a satisfied smile spreading across her lips. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”

Ye Yuhuan was a bit dizzy from the situation. No, seriously, had Song Zhiqing’s identity switch really happened this fast?

She couldn’t help but emphasize, “I’m Ye Yuhuan.”

“I know.”

Song Zhiqing squeezed Ye Yuhuan’s hand as she spoke.

“Look at me. I’m not ‘Song Zhiqing’.”

Song Zhiqing looked at her seriously for a few seconds, squeezing her hand again during the pause.

Then she told her, “Actually, I don’t remember what ‘Song Zhiqing’ looks like anymore.”

Hearing this, Ye Yuhuan abruptly pulled her hand back and said coldly, “So you’re saying that even if it wasn’t me, if any random person came up to you and said she was ‘Song Zhiqing’, you’d act the same way you are now?”

Song Zhiqing shook her head repeatedly and earnestly took Ye Yuhuan’s hand again. “No, I wouldn’t. I have comprehensive evidence that proves you are ‘Song Zhiqing’.”

How strange, Song Zhiqing thought. I feel so strange. Just a moment ago, she had been agonizing over how to break the ice, but now that she was here, she couldn’t think about any of that.

I really want to cuddle.

This was her “Song Zhiqing.”

They hadn’t seen each other in five years.

Well, it wasn’t that they hadn’t seen each other in five years.

It was—they hadn’t cuddled in five years.

Her mind a chaotic mess of thoughts, Song Zhiqing didn’t notice Ye Yuhuan’s expression gradually darkening. She was as pale as if she’d been swept by a harsh wind, and even her vibrant makeup couldn’t hide the desolation in her features. She said, “Song Zhiqing, raise your head and look at me carefully.”

Song Zhiqing did as she was told. Her clear brown pupils distinctly reflected Ye Yuhuan’s face. Then Song Zhiqing said, “May I have a kiss?”

Hah. A cold smile tugged at the corner of Ye Yuhuan’s mouth. “Do whatever you want.”

This couldn’t be more absurd. How could a person change so drastically? Before, in Song Zhiqing’s eyes, she had been less distinct than a shadow, but now she was acting as if Ye Yuhuan was already her lover, simply because she knew she was “Song Zhiqing.”

Even if “Song Zhiqing” could, to some extent, be considered her.

It wasn’t all of her, after all.

Ye Yuhuan felt as if she had become a substitute for something Song Zhiqing desperately wanted but couldn’t have.

At that moment, Song Zhiqing’s passion-filled brain finally sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. Seeing that Ye Yuhuan looked like she was about to cry, she realized she had been too reckless and only placed a light kiss on the corner of her eye.

A soft sigh escaped Song Zhiqing’s throat. The spot she kissed inevitably grew warm, and Ye Yuhuan turned her face away, hearing Song Zhiqing whisper, “Let’s go get breakfast now.”

Song Zhiqing started the car and drove to the Song family home.

When they arrived, Ye Yuhuan didn’t move. Considering Song Zhiqing’s series of requests for physical intimacy, she naturally suspected that this move was made with ill intentions.

Song Zhiqing had already walked around to her side of the car. She reached out to take Ye Yuhuan’s hand and help her out, but was met with Ye Yuhuan’s complex and disappointed gaze.

In that gaze was the confusion and dejection of being jolted awake from a beautiful dream, as if she were the one who had just discovered her lover wasn’t who she thought they were.

Song Zhiqing let out a helpless laugh. When she had decided on the destination, she too had felt it might be inappropriate, but… She glanced down at Ye Yuhuan’s outfit and explained, “The restaurants that would suit this dress don’t serve good breakfast.”

“My home has a nice atmosphere, and my cooking should be to your taste.”

Finally, she said, “Besides, you’ve been to my house many times. I thought you would have stopped me if you didn’t want to come.”

With a hint of embarrassed anger, Ye Yuhuan tugged at her dress. Her outfit really was too over-the-top. Ugh, honestly, what did she mean, I would have stopped you? Who could possibly have figured out where they were going after all those bizarre actions!

She let out a very soft huff, brushed Song Zhiqing’s hand aside, and got out of the car herself.

They had breakfast in the Song family’s garden. Just as Song Zhiqing had said, her cooking was perfectly suited to Ye Yuhuan’s tastes. After all, they had spent years together in the virtual world. If Song Zhiqing couldn’t even master her lover’s preferences, then her years of lovesick pining would seem utterly absurd.

After the meal, the two of them cleared the dishes together. On the way to the kitchen, Ye Yuhuan noticed how unusually empty and quiet the Song residence was. It had been like this on her previous visits, but she had assumed it was just a matter of timing—perhaps Song Zhiqing didn’t like having too many people around and had the staff leave after finishing their work.

But now, it was morning.

And there was still no one else around.

“You don’t have any servants?”

“No. I can’t stand the smell of other people in my house.”

When Song Zhiqing said this, her expression was normal, and her tone was casual, no different from when she had asked about the taste of the food.

“You never told us about this.”

“Us,” of course, referred to the psychologists.

As they spoke, they reached the kitchen. Song Zhiqing set down the plates in her hands, then took the ones from Ye Yuhuan and set them down as well. She leaned one hand against the sink, tilted her head slightly, and admitted freely, “I did hide a few things before. But Miss Ye, you’re not here today as my doctor.”

The sentence carried an unmissable implication. Ye Yuhuan was tired of this guessing game and retorted, not to be outdone, “Then what am I here as?”

Song Zhiqing pulled her hand back from the sink and lightly tapped the bare half of Ye Yuhuan’s shoulder. “A lover, reunited after a long separation.”

Perhaps food really did have healing properties. After a full meal, Ye Yuhuan wasn’t as angry as before, but she still repeated her point. “Song Zhiqing, look at me clearly. I am not your ‘Song Zhiqing’.”

Song Zhiqing’s face wrinkled in frustration. Then she sighed and returned to the original topic. “Let’s talk.”

Clearly, while she had sorted things out, Ye Yuhuan had not.

They returned to the garden. Song Zhiqing brewed a pot of fruit tea and set it aside. The aroma of passion fruit and mango slowly rose, adding a refreshing touch to the morning.

The colorful flowers in the garden reminded Ye Yuhuan of the bouquet of roses she had left in the car. She was now a little worried they might wilt.

Song Zhiqing poured Ye Yuhuan a cup of tea, then said, “I didn’t try to kill myself over love.”

Then she smiled again, teasing, “I really don’t understand why you kept asking me what happened when I was fifteen three years ago. I already told you in the virtual world. It’s somewhat excusable that I didn’t recognize you, but Doctor Ye, didn’t you know who I was the whole time?”

So, what she meant was… Ye Yuhuan immediately thought of “Ye Yuhuan’s” miserable childhood and abruptly severed youth.

“But you don’t have an aunt named Si Shan. And Ms. Gao Yiren and Mr. Song were always called a match made in heaven. After Ms. Gao Yiren passed away, Mr. Song even lost over ten pounds. How could their relationship have been so tense?” Ye Yuhuan replied hurriedly. She couldn’t seem to imagine that the Moon Goddess of War from her memories was, like the real moon, a surface full of craters, desolate and silent.

And, what Ye Yuhuan left unsaid was that everyone had always envied Song Zhiqing’s childhood. An actress for a mother, a tycoon for a father, and both were open-minded, supporting their child’s hobbies. Song Chen even had a widely circulated quote: “My daughter, all she needs to do is grow up happy. Mom and Dad have already built her a castle.”

So much so that when the Song family’s scandal broke later, exposing all the illegal dealings of power, money, and sex behind the scenes, people didn’t suspect that Song Chen had been a wolf from the start. They simply lamented how easily people’s hearts could change.

But based on the hidden meaning in Song Zhiqing’s words, Ye Yuhuan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

“Before I was fifteen, I did live like a carefree princess. But after fifteen, that beautiful bubble burst—my mother was indeed driven to her death by Song Chen, and I, like ‘Ye Yuhuan’, witnessed her death.”

“But my revenge wasn’t as direct and swift as Ye Yuhuan’s.”

Song Zhiqing shrugged and said with a smile, “You see, ‘Ye Yuhuan’ isn’t the real me either. I’m not as capable as ‘Ye Yuhuan’. As Song Zhiqing, I could only quell my grief by hurting myself, and I could only think of dragging the entire Song family into the abyss through my own downfall.”

“Oh, and Si Shan was probably another incarnation of me.”

“After I turned fifteen, I desperately longed for a female relative to be by my side.”

“Also, as my former doctor, now that I’ve said this much, you should be able to tell that Si Shan’s illness is also my illness. It was exaggerated, of course, but if I had continued down that path, I might have ended up like her.”

“So, Miss Ye, the one you fell in love with wasn’t the complete Song Zhiqing, either.”