Every time they were together, it always had to be at night. And on some nights, Qian Meigui would be distant. Song Sheng figured it wasn"t because she was having doubts about their relations.h.i.+p, but because she was feeling guilty. They kept it a secret behind their family"s backs, and it was difficult to express themselves around in public.
They would see people on the streets, during the day, displaying their affection for many others to see, not giving a d.a.m.n about who was watching. But with them, it was different. They had to take steps apart, keep their distance with a wide gap, no matter how much they craved each other"s touch.
It hurt him to see her sad. But whenever Qian Meigui turned to him, she would flash a cheerful smile, not telling him how she truly felt — not revealing any of the pain she shouldered and endured.
As they took a stroll through the quiet s.p.a.ces of a festival—a place they decided to stop by, but didn"t plan to attend—Song Sheng bought her food because he knew it would cheer her up. She quickly ate her meal, and her tense expression softened.
Afterwards, they decided to sit on top of a hill, overlooking the festivities and all the people that filled the streets.
Amid their gazing. Song Sheng called out to her, "Mei." She turned to face him, but she wasn"t smiling.
"Can I tell you something?" he asked her. Qian Meigui"s lips curled. "Anything," she responded.
"I want you to know that I don"t have any regrets because I love you," Song Sheng admitted. "If I had to pretend to be single for the rest of my life, I would, if that"s what it takes being with you, Mei."
Qian Meigui looked at him with shock, her mouth slightly opened. Relief flooded her eyes. Perhaps, she was worried about what he thought.
She leaned over his shoulder, watching the families below. "To be honest, I don"t care if we keep us a secret. But I can"t help but feel anxious about our family. What if they found out?" She asked.
There it was, Song Sheng thought. She was afraid of losing her family when she already lost one. Song Sheng realized he was selfish. Qian Meigui cared about them. Regardless if they were lovers, they were still family with Song Ren, the twins, Song Rui and Yang Rei, even Yang Minzhe and all the rest.
"They might understand," he said at last. But she didn"t feel rea.s.sured.
Song Sheng invited her to stay at his apartment for the night. He waited until she fell asleep deeply in his arms to leave.
It was midnight when he went to Song Mansion.
In the study room, Song Rui was still awake. He rarely slept. He was wearing gla.s.ses, sitting on his chair, startled by Song Sheng"s sudden arrival.
Skipping the greetings and formalities, Song Sheng went straight to it.
"What happened to Mei"s parents?" he asked him.
Song Rui"s reserved face softened into something grim and heavy as if he carried many grievances. He removed his gla.s.ses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Song Rui exhaled deeply. For once in a long time, he looked like a father.
And so Song Rui leaned back on his chair and told Song Sheng everything.
"Qian Shanyuan, Mei"s father, was a good friend of mine. A best friend. A great lawyer. But his wife, Aiguo, was a genius in the field of medicine, like me. Those two met because of me. I worked with Aiguo in the field while Shanyuan was my childhood friend. When they met, they clicked instantly. Later, I was the best man at their wedding, and when Qian Meigui was born; they made me her guardian if anything were to happen to them. Of course, at the time, nothing was wrong. Nothing was out of sorts," Song Rui paused.
"But then they began to become distant. It was difficult to see Shanyuan and Aiguo; they wouldn"t contact me back whenever I tried. They then began to send me cryptic emails under different aliases and names. I tried to decipher them, but it was difficult; I was not good at code. But I asked a friend to help me, and he did." Song Rui rose from his chair to walk towards the window, looking out at night.
"I knew Qian Aiguo was developing a new drug that had the potential to save many people"s lives. Shanyuan and I were very proud of her. Because she was my subordinate, not many people knew who she was, and under my name, we would bring this drug to our shelves. I gave her all the credit, but it was my mistake for announcing it too soon." Song Rui glanced at Song Sheng gravely.
"Many people weren"t happy. Other companies weren"t happy. If she developed it, then it would bring many corporations in debt, or out of business because Qian Aiguo was developing cures, not medicine. And once people cure their diseases, they no longer need to buy countless boxes or bottles of medicines, nor they need intense treatments. In the end, many companies are motivated by the interest of money and not the people. Which is why I raised you guys to consider the people of China and not yourselves."
Song Sheng listened to him carefully. "What does this have to with Mei?" he asked him curiously.
Song Rui exhaled deeply again. His voice tightened. "She was there when her parent"s died. She saw who killed them. She told me what happened. Claimed that the people who killed them staged it as an accident. Whoever they are, are people that are even bigger than me. They hired trained killers. They staged everything," his voice rose.
Song Rui still seemed to be grieving his friends. "Xiao Mei doesn"t know who they are, but she knows what they look like. And all this time, she has been looking for them. For the names of those faces."
"But how did she survive then?" Song Sheng asked his father.
Song Rui chuckled coldly. "You should have seen it. Poor girl, she drenched herself in their blood, pretending she was dead. But I don"t think it was her idea. I think it was her mother"s idea." His father then retook his seat. "You see, I feel guilty. For a long time, I felt like it was my fault. So when they died, I knew I was her legal guardian so I couldn"t abandon her. Even if she reminded me of them."
Song Sheng tried to keep his composure, the horror she"s been through, and yet he felt terrible for not being there the day of the "accident." It had been days after that he met her.
Finally, he asked him a question he"s asked many times before but has never been given a definite answer. "Is she in danger?" Song Sheng asked.
Song Rui looked grim. "I hope not," he began. "But these people don"t know she"s alive. But they know her name. That"s the difference between the game Qian Meigui has been playing. I"m sure she"s keeping you in the dark about it."
Song Sheng sighed. He knew that Qian Meigui was always smart, but her most strategic tactic was pretending she wasn"t. But Song Sheng knew that; he wasn"t surprised. He also knew that she kept things from him, but he never wanted her to feel obligated to tell him. And he knew that she did not want to worry him.
"So, Mei knows what they look like?" he asked his father.
Song Rui nodded.
Song Sheng now understood. If Qian Meigui can identify them to the police, the ones behind them, whether it was some ma.s.sive corporation or mafia, would be after her.
"Wouldn"t they check if she was dead, based on their graves?" Song Sheng blurted out.
"They are buried in the same graveyard as most of the Song family. No one is allowed unless they are escorted in by a Song family member," Song Rui reminded him.
Song Rui stood up once more. He poured himself a drink of scotch and pa.s.sed one to Song Sheng. They both downed it instantly.
"I know that you"re seeing Mei," Song Rui blurted out. Song Sheng stilled. "Romantically. That is."