Song Ren sat up from the bed after a long night of partying and celebrating. She glanced at the occupied s.p.a.ce next to her, where Su Feng was sleeping peacefully, flat on his stomach, his golden locks spilling over his eyes. A pillow propped his head; he rested arms stretched underneath the pillow. Song Ren could see the beauty marks on the skin of his back. She smiled to herself as she rose out of bed to put on clothes.
After she finished changing, she left the room quickly, not trying to wake him. She still had to talk to her father, privately.
Song Ren called the house in advance. Her mother informed her that Song Rui was home playing badminton with a few of his friends from the neighbourhood at the yard behind the pool.
By the time she arrived, Song Rui was sitting on a pool chair, wearing casual clothing and sipping on Baijiu from a c.o.c.ktail gla.s.s.
Song Ren approached him, sitting on the available chair next to him.
"Father," she called out to him.
Song Rui faced her, his expression gentle despite the harsh lines of his face.
"Ren," he answered by calling out her name. "What"s the matter?" He continued.
Song Ren looked at her father, smugly. "Su Feng re-gained his position and control of Sun Group."
Song Rui looked at her, both their golden-brown eyes met before he nodded. "I see," he responded.
Song Ren waited for him to say something more, but she knew that he had more pride than he wanted to admit. "I am going to marry him," she said.
Song Rui raised a brow. "Is that so?"
Song Ren grew impatient. "I will marry him whether you dislike it or not. I wanted to remind you that you wanted us to be together in the first place."
Song Rui"s lips thinned into a tight line. "That was before—"
"Before what?" Song Ren didn"t let him finish. "Before you found out he was illegitimate? Does that even matter?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing.
"I"m only doing what"s best for you. You"re my biggest girl," he said.
Song Ren"s face softened despite being slightly upset. "But if you cared for me, then you will allow me to be happy," she said.
"And does he make you happy?" Song Rui asked her.
Song Ren smiled softly, looking at the soft ripples of the pool from the wind. "Yes, he does," she responded.
Song Rui"s expression changed into something sincere that she rarely witnessed before. He took a sip of his drink from the c.o.c.ktail gla.s.s before he said, "Then I permit you to marry him," he said.
Song Ren glanced at him with a slightly shocked and hopeful expression. Song Rui smirked, "and you can have the role back. I kept your seat warm for you."
Song Ren smiled with gleaming teeth, approaching her father abruptly, embracing him. "Thank you," she whispered. It caught him off guard, but slowly, he patted her back. When they parted, he said again, "I only want what"s best for you."
"I know," she said with a smile.
Song Ren was about to leave when Song Rui said, "Wait. I need you to do something for me." He pulled out his keys were there was a USB drive attached to it. He removed the USB from his keys, pa.s.sing it to her.
"What is this?" she asked him.
"This is something an old friend of mine was working on. I want you to synthesize this research and apply it to your future medical practices," he responded.
Song Ren"s lips parted open. "You trust me with this?" she asked.
Song Rui chuckled. "Who can do it better than you, Song Ren?"
Song Ren"s lips curled before she turned walking away with the USB drive in her hand. The first thing she did with it was to hook up the data into her private computer at work. It took a few hours to download, but when she returned to it after working on other projects, she opened the files.
Her eyes gaped when she realized it was the research of Qian Aiguo, one of the brilliant scientists her father worked with; and she was also the mother of Qian Meigui. Song Ren felt like she took a blast into the past. She had not heard that name in years, and she even grew accustomed to Qian Meigui being a Song, that she forgot she came from another family.
As Song Ren continued to observe the data, she remembered Qian Meigui telling her that her parents were killed. But Song Ren didn"t believe her because Song Rui told her it was an accident. She wondered why the thought occurred to her suddenly, but as she continued to look, there was some cryptic pattern within the files. Song Ren felt puzzled and uneasy. So she decided that she would keep looking through it for however long it takes, and get Su Feng to help her since he"s better at deciphering computer code.
Qian Meigui finished her school exams when Song Sheng picked her up. He took her to eat at a restaurant where they ate and enjoyed themselves.
They decided to take a stroll in the mid-afternoon down to the pier of the ocean where they sold seafood at the market stands. On their way, some fans stop Song Sheng to take a photo with him.
Qian Meigui helped to take the photos. When they continued their stroll, she overheard them talking about how handsome and kind he is. Qian Meigui chuckled.
They were in public together because they could be. It was nothing unusual for siblings to hang out or go shopping together. But they had to restrain themselves from affection; it was the only way. But she didn"t particularly mind; just spending time with him made her happy.
Song Sheng stopped by one of the stands buying fish and crab tails from an older woman. He thanked her, and they walked away with some fried squid the lady placed in his hand. He gave some to her, and they devoured it before walking away.
"Why did she give you some fried squid?" she asked Song Sheng.
Song Sheng smiled. "She said that we make a lovely couple," he said.
Qian Meigui smiled, and she was reminded of something suddenly.
"What did that lady from that time we went grocery shopping months ago, tell you?" She asked him curiously.
Song Sheng chuckled. "She told me that you had feelings for me. She said that she could tell. And that the reason why you denied it was most likely because I haven"t told you how I felt."
Qian Meigui felt amazed. That woman was indeed something. She remembered that woman called them a handsome couple, but they weren"t dating, nor did they confess. It was a time of complicated and confusing feelings. But they were sure now that all they wanted was each other.
After shopping at the seafood market, Song Sheng took Qian Meigui to pick out a dress for Song Ren"s upcoming engagement party. She was surprised that the shop owner was none other than Xue Guangli.
Xue Guangli provided her many options and left the two of them alone in a private fitting at Song Sheng"s request. Xue Guangli didn"t think of anything from it, so she walked away and continued to do work elsewhere. But within the large fitting inside where there were chairs to sit on, Qian Meigui put on a show for him. Dressing and undressing in front of him without being shy, until he picked the right one that suited best for her.
Song Sheng purchased the dress when Xue Guangli asked, "what"s the occasion?" Most clerks would ask that to make conversation with their clients. "My sister"s engagement party," said Qian Meigui.
Xue Guangli smiled. Afterwards, they left the shop when Qian Meigui spotted a lovely flared lace white wedding dress. She glanced at it quickly before she frowned slightly, walking away. Song Sheng noticed.