The moment the smile bloomed on her face, at the back of her mind, she thought, You've never met me, and I've never loved you. We'll do it your way, and that is the last thing I'll do for you. We'll pretend that you've never met me and I've never loved you.
…
To prevent Song Menghwa from seeing through her forced levity, Song Qingchun purposely stopped several meters before his room to collect her thoughts. As she took her step forward, before she even reached to open the door, Song Menghwa's voice drifted out from within.
"Ol' Zhang, remember not to reveal the things the doctor said about me not living past another half a year to Qingchun…"
Song Qingchun's hands hung in the air. Not living past half a year… What does he mean?Song Qingchun's mind was blank before it hit her. In less than half a year, my father is going to join my brother and leave me forever?
Her heart followed the thought and squeezed with pain. The pain was not smaller than the one given to her by Su Zhinian that afternoon.
"Old Sir, we can't hide this forever. You have to understand that paper cannot hide a ball of fire… Eventually, the young miss will find out and she will still be saddened by it." This time it was Ol' Zhang who answered. Ol' Zhang was Song family's old butler, and before that he was Song Menghwa's personal assistant.
"Yes, that's true, but it's still better than letting her know now and living the rest of her days in fear. When her mother passed away five years ago, she locked herself up in her room and refused to eat for a whole week. When Song Cheng passed away last year, even could not survive the shock, and what happened to her when I was at the hospital? While I was in a coma, she must have been crying day in and day out, right?"
"Yes, for that period, young miss stayed by your side, but she didn't say a word, like she had gone senile."
"That's why… Just wait until the day I take my last breath. It might be too sudden for her, but she won't be too sad for so long. If she finds out now, she'll definitely start crying asking me not to leave her…"
Ol' Zhang did not say anything but sighed softly."Ol' Zhang, you've known me for years and you know me better than anyone else. If it is really as the doctor said and the most I have is another six months, then you'll have to help me watch over Qingchun… Even though I've talked to Yinan, that kid, to have him take care of her, I still can't help myself from worrying about her."
"Old Sir, don't worry, I will take good care of the young miss."
"Ol' Zhang, thank you. The other girl though, Fang Rou, looks very soft-spoken and gentle on the surface, but something about her strikes me as wrong. Song Cheng has been dead for a year already, but she is still the same, understanding and filial. There is no observable change in her, and that is weird. I believe she's waiting for me to die to get a share of the assets… Sigh, so be it, after all, she was with Song Cheng for so many years. If she is really after the money, liquidize the Song Empire shares that I have currently and give them all to her. Just make sure she doesn't make life too difficult for Qingchun…"
