Chapter 49: Gossip Can’t Kill

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Gossip Can’t Kill

She had understood for a long time.

’In this world, some people were born with backers, while others had to be careful with every breath they took.’

’When a person has nothing, when even their life is worthless, morality is just a rope others use to leash your neck!’

’It looks like it’s teaching you how to be a decent person, but really, it’s just making you obediently toe the line.’

’If you don’t play by their rules, they say you’re crazy, you’re broken, you’re degenerate.’

’But who worries about how you’ll scrape together three meals a day?’

’Who cares if you have a warm blanket in winter?’

’If I don’t follow the rules, then you can’t do anything to me, can you?’

’Her own birth mother wished she would just die. Why should she care about dignity?’

Even if the entirety of Beijing pointed at her and cursed her tomorrow, so what?

At most, they would just whisper a few things behind her back. No one would actually dare to lay a hand on her.

And she wasn’t afraid of pain anymore.

Compared to the torment of those years, these superficial wounds were nothing.

Gossip can’t kill, but hunger and cold really can.

Fighting tooth and nail to stay alive—that was the only thing that mattered.

Everything else was just noise.

Soon, the room was cleaned up. Yao Yuzhen and Shen Shuangshuang were sent to another room to have their wounds treated.

Gauze was wrapped around both their heads, their faces were pale, and they needed help to walk.

After an examination, the doctor said no bones were broken, which was a stroke of luck.

However, Yao Yuzhen kept complaining about a headache and demanded to be hospitalized for observation.

Shen Shuangshuang, meanwhile, sobbed quietly, saying she was terrified and never wanted to see Song Yao again.

The people accompanying them offered endless comfort, handing them hot water and towels.

As they left, they glanced back in Song Yao’s direction with complicated expressions.

Song Yao had also registered. A nurse cleaned her wounds and applied a medicinal plaster.

She had a few bruises on her arm, and the doctor suggested getting an X-ray, but she shook her head and refused.

On his way back to the hospital, Xiao Li heard people on the street chattering away.

They were saying that the goddaughter Mr. Shen brought back had struck Mrs. Shen, and that even Shen Shuangshuang hadn’t been spared.

But unlike everyone else, Xiao Li’s first thought was, ’The young mistress must have been backed into a corner again!’

He knew her situation all too well, and he was keenly aware of the pressure she faced in the Shen Family.

"Hey."

As soon as he pushed the door open, Song Yao grinned at him.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through an old magazine. When she saw him enter, she casually tossed it aside.

Xiao Li’s gaze swept over her, looking her up and down.

He noticed her right hand resting on her knee; the knuckles were slightly red.

And of course, he didn’t miss the fresh scratch on her face.

The wound wasn’t deep, but it was jarring to see.

His heart sank.

"I’m sorry. If I had just come back a little earlier..."

’If he’d been there, maybe he could have blocked that slap, or at least spared her some of the humiliation.’

It didn’t matter if others believed it or not; Xiao Li was absolutely convinced.

’This woman before him was Mr. Shen’s biological daughter.’

’The look in her eyes, the way she walked—it was all exactly the same as a young Mr. Shen.’

’But just a moment ago, the young mistress had been forced to fight back, to strike the very person who gave birth to her...’

"The cafeteria was packed. How could it be your fault?"

Song Yao laughed and tapped the rim of her bowl with her chopsticks.

Xiao Li didn’t say anything, just handed her the food container.

Song Yao took it and muttered.

"Perfect timing, perfect timing. I just fought two hard battles, and I’m so hungry my stomach’s touching my spine."

As she spoke, she picked up some food with her chopsticks and shoved it into her mouth, eating with gusto.

Xiao Li suddenly spoke.

"Young Mistress, this wasn’t your fault."

Song Yao’s chopsticks froze, her movement stiffening for half a second.

But she didn’t respond to his comment, asking instead,

"That thing I asked you to do—the one I told you about before we left Yunhai City—are the people settled?"

Xiao Li lowered his head.

"It’s done. They arrived in Beijing this morning. I’ve already made the arrangements."

"Thanks."

Song Yao nodded and went back to burying her head in her food.

’In truth, her mind hadn’t stopped racing.’

’She’d hit Yao Yuzhen and slapped Shen Shuangshuang. There was no way something like that would just be over and done with.’

’She was waiting for them to make a move, so she could counter it as it came.’

’As long as she held the initiative, she wouldn’t have to fear their tricks.’

But unexpectedly, Yao Yuzhen and Shen Shuangshuang actually quieted down.

Three days passed. They didn’t come to cause more trouble, they didn’t send people to demand an explanation, and they didn’t leak the story to the public.

Xiao Li, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief.

"See? Mrs. Shen isn’t completely unreasonable."

Today was the day of Song Yao’s discharge from the hospital.

He couldn’t help but remark on the peace and quiet of the past three days as he packed her luggage.

While doing so, he muttered,

"In the past, a little thing like this would have spread through half the military compound by now, but this time, not a single person has even asked about it."

Song Yao understood what he meant.

She sat on the edge of her hospital bed, a payment slip in her hand, her thoughts drifting further back, to the confrontation three days ago.

Yao Yuzhen’s face had been ashen, her mouth spewing unspeakably foul curses.

She knew then that this storm wouldn’t pass so quickly.

The current silence felt more like the calm before the storm.

"So you think that even though Yao Yuzhen talks tough, she’s actually wavering inside, and that’s why she hasn’t continued to come after me?"

Xiao Li answered honestly.

"Young Mistress, Mrs. Shen can definitely tell in her heart which one of you—you or Shen Shuangshuang—is her biological child. But if there wasn’t some other reason holding her back, she wouldn’t be protecting Shen Shuangshuang so desperately."

He snapped the latches on the suitcase shut, straightened up, and lowered his voice slightly.

"There have been some rumors circulating about the things Shen Shuangshuang has done over the years. If Mrs. Shen really doted on her that much, she should have disciplined her long ago. But not only does she not discipline her, she steps in to defend her time and again. That doesn’t seem right."

Song Yao raised an eyebrow.

"You actually hit the nail on the head?"

To be honest, she had only reached this same conclusion after mulling it over for the past three days.

It was only by combining it with events from her past life and observing Yao Yuzhen’s words and actions in this one that she had slowly pieced it all together.

But Xiao Li, who looked so stoic and dull, had a surprisingly quick mind, which caught her a little off guard.

Xiao Li glanced at her and gave a wry smile.

"Mrs. Shen and Shen Shuangshuang look like they were carved from the same mold, yet her attitude towards you two is so absurdly biased. Even an idiot could see something’s wrong here."

He paused before adding,

"You stand next to them, and you don’t even have the same surname, nor do you look anything alike. Mrs. Shen looks at you like you’re her mortal enemy, but she protects Shen Shuangshuang at every turn. Outsiders might not say anything, but how could anyone on the inside not see something strange is going on?"

Song Yao was genuinely speechless.

Xiao Li’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, instantly clearing her mind.

She had indeed been trapped in the memories of her past for too long.

Every time she saw Yao Yuzhen targeting her, she immediately assumed the woman was deliberately trying to harm her, never considering that there might be more complex motives at play.

Perhaps because she was so deeply entangled in the situation, her own mind had become a bit muddled.

Her judgment was always clouded by emotion, especially when it came to matters of family and betrayal.

But now, it seemed there might be a greater secret hidden behind those actions.

Song Yao reminded herself.

’I can’t keep relying on the experiences from my memories to make decisions.’

’The Yao Yuzhen of this life might be different from the one in my past life, and the circumstances are changing too.’

’I need more evidence and a more meticulous plan, not just a head-on collision fueled by resentment.’