Chapter 17 Don’t Cry in Front of Your Mom

Song Li returned home, an old nine-story building on Dongmei Road, Tianyun District.

The nine-story villa built in the 1960s and 1970s is now showing its age, and most people have moved out. This is also the outer ring of Yuancheng, and the medical and educational resources are not connected. Few young people will choose to continue living here.

Her home is on the fifth floor and there is no elevator. Because of the pain in her knees, she had to stop several times before she could continue climbing the stairs.

Just as she was about to take out her key to open the door, Song Youran opened it from the inside and called her happily, "Sister!"

"You Ran..." Song Li was still a little short of breath, but she was very pleased to see her sister greet her with a smile on her face. It seemed that she was in a good mood today. Soothing music could be faintly heard from the room.

"How do you know it's my sister?"

Song Youran pointed at Fan Wuju, who was cooking in the kitchen, and said in a slow tone, "Mom said so."

Fan Wuju turned and walked towards the living room. "I saw you downstairs from a distance. Why did it take you so long to go upstairs?"

"I just got a call." Song Li didn't want to talk about her hardship anymore, so she continued to pull Song Youran along. "Tell me, what song are you listening to?"

"BDR's piano performance." Song Youran sat upright, her eyes always fixed on the speakers, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Her beloved piano used to be where the speakers were. After she was diagnosed with mental disorder by the hospital, she sought medical treatment everywhere. As her family's financial resources became even tighter, she sold her piano. Her condition fluctuated, and no one could predict what she would do next.

Before Song Youran's accident, she was an exceptional piano player, a standout at school. She was even recommended to major performances several times, and even took on multiple tutoring gigs, all of which were highly praised...

Song Li's little tricks were also forced upon her by the naughty Song Youran.

Because of Song Youran's excellence, Song Li felt pity and heartache every time he saw her. It was as if he had harmed her because of him...

Three years ago, Song Li had planned to leave Qiliang, but was discovered by He Qian. He was so angry that he locked her up in Ciyun Pavilion for several days and threatened to let her know the consequences of running away!

It was at that time that Song Youran's incident happened. She was raped by two scumbags in turn and illegally detained and tortured for three days and three nights. One of them was a well-known rich second-generation man in Yuancheng.

At the time, she wasn't sure if this was He Qian's order, or if it was to punish her and warn her not to think about leaving Qi Liang, until...

Song Li called the police and hired a lawyer, but before the trial, she found out that it was Qi Liang’s legal team that was helping the scumbag Luo Songjiang to clear his name!

Song Li begged He Qian desperately, asking him not to take action, not to help Luo Songjiang, and let that scumbag be punished by law! How could He Qian listen to her? The more she begged for mercy, the more excited he became!

In the end, the lawsuit was lost. The fact that Song Youran was raped did not exist. Even the mental disorder appraisal report issued was falsely accused by the other party as a forgery in order to defraud Luo Songjiang of his money!

Song Youran, once a lively and generous woman, shone like gold wherever she went. But now, she is no longer like that. She is now a stagnant figure, sometimes silent, sometimes mad, sometimes mumbling to herself, sometimes even hurting herself...

Song Li didn't stay at home for too long. After having dinner and cutting Song Youran's hair, he prepared to leave.

The information on P-n58 is still incomplete. She has to find a way to find Du Zhanrong to collect some more data. Otherwise, she won't have time to make money until this task is completed.

Before leaving, Fan Wuju took out a small bag that had been packed long ago and said, "Li'er, take this back first. You never know when you'll be free to come back next time!"

Song Li took the bag and peered inside. There were three boxes of the plasters she'd been using on her knees. Her mother knew an old Chinese doctor, and she'd been using them non-stop since her knee pain had gotten worse over the years. There was also a small packet of finely chopped kudzu root, which her mother had given her for hangovers. But since she'd lost her sense of taste, she'd had trouble controlling her drinking. She'd always end up nearly fainting, and she had no energy left to make a kudzu root soup.

But the mother, who was unaware of the situation, was still careful. Her nose felt sore, and she quickly turned around, opened the door, and didn't dare to look back.

Fan Wuju chased out the door and whispered, "If you're tired, go home. If you can't find time to come back, call more often! Don't worry, Youran and Mom, take care of yourself!"

Song Li went downstairs and drove the car a distance before pulling over. She leaned over the steering wheel and started crying uncontrollably...

In the past, if I felt a little wronged, I would just hug my mother and cry to feel better. Now, the place where I cannot cry the most is in front of my mother.

After letting her sadness run rampant for more than ten minutes, Song Li's phone in the driver's seat suddenly vibrated. She glanced at it and saw that it was Du Zhanrong calling. After hesitating for a while, she still didn't pick up the phone. She was in a bad mood and didn't want to see him, even though a lot of data she wanted was imminent.

Du Zhanrong called her twice, but she didn't answer the phone. In distress, she grabbed the wine glass.

He Qian raised his hand to stop him, "Why, you want to drink with your hands still hanging?"

They made a last-minute appointment to meet at the "Fireworks" bar tonight. Du Zhanrong had originally made an appointment with Song Li to have dinner, but she said she was busy, so he asked He Qian to come out and chat.

"A little...worried about her."

"Fill him with more!" He Qian picked up his glass of lemonade and instructed the guy at the bar.

The waiter did not dare to delay and quickly filled his glass of lemonade.

He Qian knew that he had called Song Li twice but couldn't get through, so he turned and went to the bathroom and dialed her number.

"Mr. He." Song Li answered quickly.

He Qian's mouth curled up. She answered his call quickly and was quite satisfied.

"Mr. He?" Seeing that he didn't respond, Song Li called out again. It was not even nine o'clock yet, so it was definitely not the time to get drunk.

"It's nothing." He Qian hung up the phone. He had already gotten the result he wanted.

Returning to his seat, it was obvious that Song Li did not call Du Zhanrong back.

"Let's go. I'll take you home. We'll have a drink together next week when Pu Yan comes back."

Du Zhanrong still sat there without moving, "You go back first, I want to ask Song Li out, I'm a little worried about her."

"What's there to worry about? She's healthy and full of life!" He Qian picked up his phone and prepared to ask the driver to drive to the door, then put it down again. "You're a patient yourself, don't you think you'd stay and drink alone?"

Speaking of health... Du Zhanrong thought of the meal she cooked that day, "Does she have no sense of taste?"

He Qian thought he had misheard, "Who are you talking about?"

"Song Li!" Du Zhanrong said, feeling anxious again. "Have you known her for a long time? How long has she been your secretary at Qiliang? Have you noticed that she seems to have no sense of taste? Or has she ever mentioned this to you?"

"How could she..." No sense of taste!

No sense of taste... He Qian suddenly lost the courage to continue! In recent years, Song Li's alcohol tolerance has greatly increased. He once thought that she had developed a good drinking habit due to too many social events, but he was more suspicious...

Because there were many times when He Qian knew it was strong liquor, but Song Li picked it up and drank it like drinking water, without even a frown! And when it came to the cuisine and restaurants she loved, no matter how much he tortured her, he would occasionally find an excuse to ask her to eat with him, and she would eat with gusto!

But later, the way she ate was so absent-minded that it would not be an exaggeration to say that she was chewing wax.

With her transformation during that period, he really suspected that something had happened to her, or that she was deliberately giving him a hard time, but he never associated it with the loss of her sense of taste!

When did it start?

Du Zhanrong's face was slightly startled and solemn. "It seems she really hasn't told anyone... well, she's too strong-willed, sometimes like a rock!"

As a series of voices reached his ears, He Qian came back to his senses: "Why did you say Song Li has no sense of taste?"

"Last week, she cooked at my place and put sugar in everything. She didn't even notice when she was eating. I thought she just picked up the wrong spice jar..." Du Zhanrong smiled bitterly, savoring the taste of the food he chewed. "Before cooking the second time, I deliberately replaced the salt jar with sugar, but she still didn't notice... There was a table full of vegetables and meat, and she ate it normally, completely unaware that she didn't put salt in it..."

He Qian seemed to be lost in thought. Even though his expression remained unchanged, he was already very restless inside, because he had encountered this kind of thing before... Once, Song Li might have been distracted while cooking and added too much salt a few times. The food was so salty that it tasted bitter in her mouth, but she ate it calmly beside him. He even scolded her at that time, but she just kept silent.

So...was it started at that time?