Twenty-one

Zhang Nianqing received the lawyer at home; accompanying him was a middle-aged female accountant. The two of them, wearing impeccably professional smiles, spoke with her for a long time, patiently and meticulously explaining the inevitability of divorce and the benefits that would follow. Only then did they leave, thoroughly satisfied. Yet Zhang Nianqing’s mind remained utterly blank.

One sentence echoed relentlessly through her memory and reason: “We have sufficient evidence to prove the illegality of this marriage. If you persist in your obstinacy and we are forced to resolve this through legal means, you will not gain a single advantage.”

The leather sofa was cold even in the lingering warmth of late summer—uncompromisingly so. Just like that man: cold and unhesitating in his ruthlessness.

A chill suddenly swept over Zhang Nianqing. All she could see was Xiang Zuo’s handsome yet cruel face. She didn’t know how long she sat there in a stupor, but when the pressure and grievance inside her could no longer be contained, she sprang up, sweeping everything off the coffee table onto the floor! Chaos—only chaos could bring her heart some measure of peace.

But what use was it? What good did it do? She loved him so deeply, yet he wasn’t even willing to look at her! He had once entered her life with such romance, and now he turned his back without a second thought, treating her worse than a stranger. Everything traced back to those eight months she spent unconscious. Why hadn’t she simply died? Zhang Momo should have finished her off back then, and none of this pain would exist now.

At this thought, the image of Momo lying pale and vacant in a hospital bed suddenly surfaced in her mind—so repellent! That expression, so innocent it was almost idiotic, why was it so detestable? Zhang Nianqing bit her lip hard, paused for several minutes, and when she stepped out of her room again, her mind was clear. She was Momo’s only family—yes, her only family, that was her!

When Xiang Zuo received Dong Fei’s call, he was in a meeting. The moment he saw the caller ID, his brow furrowed ever so slightly. He left the conference room, abandoning everyone inside.

He knew that unless something truly important had happened, that young woman would never call him directly.

“President Xiang…” Dong Fei, clutching her phone, crept to the stairwell at the end of the hospital corridor, glancing furtively around like a thief. She wasn’t sure if she was betraying Momo by doing this, but after all, she was drawing a hefty salary from President Xiang—one couldn’t just take the money and do nothing! “Sister Nianqing came to take President Zhang out of the hospital…”

“With her leg in that condition, how can she be discharged?!” Xiang Zuo, suddenly anxious, his tone turned sharp. The force of it made Dong Fei’s already uneasy heart freeze over; her throat tightened as she swallowed, face full of distress. “They’re sisters—I’m an outsider, what right do I have to intervene? As soon as Sister Nianqing arrived, she sent me out of the room. I could only stand outside and hear their laughter and tears, talking for ages. Finally, I caught one clear sentence: Sister Nianqing said that once you divorce her, she’ll move abroad with President Zhang! And President Zhang said, if her sister goes, of course she’ll follow…”

Dong Fei was at her wits’ end, desperately stalling as she packed and repacked a few simple things, praying Xiang Zuo would arrive soon! With the patient’s own sister coming for her, and the patient herself docile as a lamb, following every instruction, Dong Fei—just a hired hand and an almost invisible friend—could hardly object, even though she knew the discharge was a bad idea.

So when the door opened and she saw who entered, Dong Fei almost wanted to throw herself at him in relief.

“What’s going on here?” Song Jiakai stood at the door, eyebrows raised, holding a large bouquet of vibrant yellow roses.

Only then did Zhang Momo seem to come alive, as if awoken from a trance; her face instantly lit up. Looking at Song Jiakai, she broke into a broad smile. “Who brings yellow roses to a patient?” she teased, taking the flowers and cradling them in her arms, counting each one.

Song Jiakai, suddenly empty-handed, felt a pang of jealousy. These were just ordinary yellow roses—was there any need to be so delighted? Yet for all his disdain, he couldn’t conceal his pleasure. He nodded at Zhang Nianqing with a smile, took the wheelchair’s handle, and offered, “Would you like to go for a walk? I’ll push you.”

“Mr. Song,” Zhang Nianqing said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, but Momo is being discharged.”

The light that had just risen in Zhang Momo’s eyes instantly dimmed. She looked at Song Jiakai, innocent and apologetic. “Oh, right. What a shame—I won’t have time to walk with you.” Her tone was tinged with disappointment, yet she still managed a proper, grateful smile.

In that instant, Song Jiakai felt an odd sense of bitterness in her smile, an unspoken helplessness. Most heartbreaking of all was her “Thank you”—it sounded almost like “farewell.” Acting on instinct, he stiffened, adopting the posture of a true boyfriend. “What discharge? Your leg hasn’t healed.”

“Yes, exactly!” Dong Fei, left on the sidelines, finally found an ally and was almost moved to tears. “Sister Nianqing, Momo’s leg can’t move; this hospital is so good—others would kill for a room here…”

“Enough!” Zhang Nianqing, though she dared not lash out at Song Jiakai, had never regarded Dong Fei as worthy of attention. “Just do your job. I asked you to pack a few clothes and you still haven’t finished.”

That remark truly infuriated Dong Fei; after all, her paycheck came from Zhang Momo and Xiang Zuo, never from Zhang Nianqing. She tossed her bag down and plopped herself onto the hospital bed. “My boss is not herself right now. When President Zhang is back to normal, I’ll be the first to support her discharge!”

“You—” Zhang Nianqing had never been dismissed by a mere employee before, and, unaccustomed to verbal sparring, her face flushed red with frustration. “What business is it of yours? I say she’s not staying, so she’s not staying.”

Sitting in her wheelchair, Zhang Momo had just begun to breathe in the fresh air that Song Jiakai brought, only for it to dissipate in the tense standoff between Nianqing and Dong Fei. She couldn’t say a word, quietly turned her face away, and closed her eyes, pretending to be deaf. But a piercing shout shattered her illusion.

“She’s not leaving this hospital until her leg’s healed,” Song Jiakai said coolly, sweeping a stern glance across the room. Today he’d already missed a ball game with his friends, and he still hadn’t settled the score from last time when she’d tricked him. He’d come here purely to amuse himself, but now found himself burning with outrage over the unfair treatment of “his woman.”

He’d never let his friends be taken advantage of—not even in passing!

With a cold snort, Song Jiakai glanced sarcastically at the bewildered Zhang Nianqing. “Is your President Xiang so broke he can’t even pay for his sister-in-law’s medical bills? I’ll cover Momo’s hospitalization.”

Zhang Momo looked up sharply, moved by the rare seriousness in Song Jiakai’s expression. His large hand pressed down on hers, radiating an unfamiliar warmth. While she hesitated, Dong Fei leapt off the bed, dashed to Song Jiakai’s side, and formed a united front.

“It’s not just about discharging her. Sister Nianqing even said she’d take President Zhang abroad to live.” Dong Fei, quick to sense the wind’s direction, fanned the flames with practiced skill. Zhang Momo shot her a glare, her headache worsening. Song Jiakai caught Dong Fei’s eye and smiled knowingly, but now that the situation was in motion, there was no turning back.

“My, aren’t you an interesting sister,” he said directly to Zhang Nianqing, his eyes both mocking and appraising. “Dragging a cripple overseas—hoping to snag some foreign charity?”

Zhang Nianqing flushed crimson, utterly speechless. Zhang Momo, meanwhile, was more anxious than ever. One Nianqing was hard enough to handle; add a trouble-stirring Dong Fei and a fearless, irreverent Song Jiakai, and she felt too exhausted even for a bitter smile. Faced with such sincere, beautiful eyes, all she wanted was to sigh, “Please, just stop making things worse,” but the words wouldn’t come.

“Song Jiakai, this has nothing to do with you!”

With the hospital room door suddenly flung open, a cold voice pierced the air. Zhang Momo wanted to cheer—someone had finally voiced her thoughts! But when she looked up, she wilted completely: Xiang Zuo, travel-worn and with a face as cold as ice, stood at the threshold.

Song Jiakai turned and greeted Xiang Zuo with a dazzling grin, full of icy sarcasm. “President Xiang, you’re not bankrupt, are you? Can’t even cover your sister-in-law’s hospital bills?” Xiang Zuo didn’t respond, brushing past him to dump the packed suitcase onto the bed and spill out all the clothes. “Momo will stay here until her leg is healed.”

Already humiliated by Dong Fei and infuriated by Song Jiakai’s meddling, Zhang Nianqing now found the true object of her resentment. All her grievances and sorrows exploded into anger. “This is our family affair—please don’t interfere. Momo doesn’t object, so who are you to say anything?” With that, she pulled out a stack of papers and tossed them at Xiang Zuo. “This is the divorce agreement. I’ve signed it; whenever you sign, we’ll go abroad…”

“Zhang Nianqing!” Xiang Zuo seized her raised wrist, his face growing even paler with rage. “Have you not caused enough trouble?”

The room fell silent.

He gripped her so tightly that pain shot through her wrist. Yet Zhang Nianqing only bit her lip harder, refusing to show the slightest weakness. Zhang Momo, seeing her sister’s stubborn face and the cruel grip on her wrist, wished she could go blind. Her own knuckles, clenching the wheelchair, were white as bone as she forced herself to relax and look away. Song Jiakai, his fiery spirit doused by this sudden outburst, fell into contemplation, silently reading the expressions of the two sisters and Xiang Zuo.

Dong Fei, ever astute, thought to herself: President Xiang may be a diamond among men, but his temper is something else! Weighing her chances, she decided it wasn’t worth being collateral damage and began to inch toward the door. But before she could slip out, a powerful force from behind shoved her forward, nearly sending her sprawling.

She turned to see the door half-open and Tang Hao entering, holding a large bouquet of pink lilies, his face puzzled.

Dong Fei’s back still ached from the collision, but there were others who suffered even more. At the sight of Tang Hao, Zhang Nianqing’s tears, which had been brimming, finally spilled over. All her helplessness suddenly found its only, most solid support, and she lifted her face bravely. “You want a divorce, don’t you? Sign, and we’ll leave at once! We’ll never appear before you again—isn’t that enough? Wherever my sister and I go, what right do you have to care? I’m Momo’s real sister!”

“Real sister?” Xiang Zuo’s grip tightened. Tang Hao, moved by a pang of sympathy, instinctively stepped forward to pull Nianqing away, but before he could, Xiang Zuo’s low voice cut through the tension. “Is this how a real sister treats her? Forcing her out of the hospital with her leg like this? Dragging her abroad?”

Tang Hao hesitated in disbelief, gazing at Nianqing. He glanced at the divorce agreement in her hand, his brow furrowed and silent for a long while.

At this, Zhang Momo could listen no longer. She clutched the wheelchair, craning her neck as if to escape on her own. But Nianqing caught her attempted movement and grabbed the wheelchair. “Let Momo decide for herself—whether she wants to come with me or stay, let her say it!”

In that instant, every eye in the room bore down on Zhang Momo—she felt as if needles were pricking her back. Her whole body went rigid. Echoing in her mind was Nianqing’s choked, lifeless plea from earlier: “Momo, if he keeps pushing me, I’ll go mad! I’ll die! Save me, you’re all I have left. Let’s leave here…”

“Don’t force her!”

“Nianqing, you—”

Xiang Zuo and Tang Hao both spoke at once. Zhang Nianqing stared at Tang Hao in disbelief, her mouth falling open. “Tang Hao, what did you say?”

A trace of pain flickered across Tang Hao’s face; though he couldn’t bear it, he still tried to reason gently. “Nianqing, it’s not easy for Momo. Please don’t…”

“Tang Hao!” Zhang Nianqing cried out, unable to believe her ears. It was as if her last hope had been cut off. She broke free from Xiang Zuo’s grasp, retreating step by step until she reached the wall. “You’re all blaming me? What did I do wrong? Should I never have woken up? Should I have died with my parents in that crash, just like Zhang Momo wanted?”

Her face turned deathly pale. Zhang Momo’s breath caught; amid the angry shouts of Xiang Zuo and Tang Hao, she watched Nianqing’s contorted face, unable to hear their words—only the sound of her own heart breaking, piece by piece, into fragments.

Tang Hao’s expression turned cold. Before Xiang Zuo could lose his temper, he seized Nianqing and started to lead her from the room. The woman behind him struggled and protested, “Tang Hao, even you treat me like this…”

Xiang Zuo’s fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckles nearly shattered, straining to control his anger. He looked at the woman in the wheelchair, seeing her shoulders tremble—it was as if every tremor stabbed at his heart, causing pain he couldn’t express.

Suddenly, the wheelchair moved. Song Jiakai was pushing Zhang Momo out. Xiang Zuo immediately grabbed the other handle. “Let go!”

“You let go!” Song Jiakai, his usual playful smile gone, wore a grim and angry expression. “How can you all treat a girl like this? She’s a patient! Are you trying to drive her to despair?”

A single tear fell straight onto Zhang Momo’s knee. At his words, she could no longer hold back her tears. She bit her lip so hard it bled, tears streaming silently down her face as the tension between the two men mounted.

She reached down and picked up the divorce agreement from the floor, holding it out to Xiang Zuo with numb resolve. “Please, sign it. Going abroad is my decision, too.”

Xiang Zuo stood frozen, his eyes clouded, staring at her in disbelief. Zhang Momo forced herself to look away, turning to Song Jiakai. “Would you please push me out? I really don’t want to stay here any longer…”