Chapter 172 Yes, I like Qingwu too

Xi Qingtong stared at Dong Ning's figure disappearing behind the study door, unable to suppress the anger in her heart.

She lifted her skirt and quickened her pace. Not long after Dong Ning stepped into the study, she followed her in. Seeing that Dong Ning was about to sit on the edge of Song Yunhe's bed to flatter him, she grabbed the back of Dong Ning's collar and pulled her back hard!

"Ah!" Dong Ning was caught off guard and staggered backward. Before she could stand firm, she heard two crisp sounds of "Snap! Snap!" and her face suddenly felt burning with pain.

"Bitch! How dare you challenge me?!"

This series of actions was so fast that no one in the room could react, neither Zhe Gui nor Song Yunhe.

Song Yunhe, who was lying on the bed, was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. Dong Ning had already fallen to the ground with her hands covering her face, while Xi Qingtong stood there condescendingly, with contempt in his eyes.

When she glanced at him, the contempt in her eyes did not retract, as if it was not only directed at Dong Ning, but also at him.

"Xi Qingtong!" Song Yunhe struggled to sit up from the bed, his face livid, and he shouted, calling out his full name, "What are you crazy about?"

Xi Qingtong was genuinely angry and also taking the opportunity to provoke Song Yunhe. She deliberately raised her chin and said in the most contemptuous tone: "What? I taught a bitch a lesson, and you feel bad?"

Song Yunhe's forehead veins popped out, "Dong Ning is my concubine now, can't you see that?"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Dong Ning, who had fallen to the ground, curled her lips slightly. She wanted to stay and watch the joke, but she heard Song Yunhe sternly say to her, "Get out!"

Dong Ning was so frightened by the scolding that she trembled all over and hurriedly retreated. Zhe Gui also immediately followed suit and left. He did not forget to close the door before leaving, and finally stood outside the door, not letting anyone get close.

Suddenly, they were the only two people left in the study. Song Yunhe took a deep breath, suppressed his anger and looked at Xi Qingtong: "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Being questioned by him like this, even though Xi Qingtong was ready to give up Song Yunhe, her eyes couldn't help but turn red. She had been favored for many years, and now that this favor was gone, how could she not be sad?

"I want to ask you, my dear, what do you want? First you had an affair with that lowly maid behind my back, and then you took that lowly maid as your concubine. Have you ever respected me?"

This angered Song Yunhe. He raised his eyes and sneered, "Respect you? Have you ever respected me? Do you still remember that you are a wife of the Song family? Your husband was sick in bed, what did you say?"

"You haven't come back for several days in a row. Is that acceptable? If you are like this, why should I care about your face?"

Song Yunhe was already very tired of arguing about these two things, and his patience with her had completely disappeared a few days ago.

"Xi Qingtong, there is a result, a divorce?"

The man on the bed took a deep breath. He felt his head was getting more and more painful. He just wanted Xi Qingtong to be quiet.

This sentence hit the mark exactly what Xi Qingtong wanted, but she didn't feel too happy. However, she still followed her plan and led the conversation to the exchange.

"What do you mean? Weren't you very happy when you exchanged with Xi Qingwu? Do you regret it now?" Xi Qingtong's voice trembled slightly, and tears flashed in his eyes.

She took a step forward and stared at Song Yunhe's pale face. "Who told me that as long as he could marry me, he would have no regrets in his life? But now you regret it? What's so good about Xi Qingwu? Xiao Ji likes her too...you like her too?!"

At this point, Xi Qingtong's true feelings were already evident. She really wanted to know where she had lost. Of course, the last sentence was just to give Song Yunhe a hat and give her the upper hand, but Xi Qingtong heard—

"Yes, I like Qingwu too."

Song Yunhe closed his eyes, his Adam's apple rolling, and admitted it. If it was before, he really liked Xi Qingtong more, but now that Xi Qingtong was like this, the balance in his heart naturally tilted.

Perhaps out of sincerity, or perhaps to hurt the other person's feelings, Song Yunhe admitted it.

This made Xi Qingtong, who was just thinking about the next sentence, stuck in his throat. These four words stabbed into Xi Qingtong's heart like a knife.

"You... like Xi Qingwu?"

Xi Qingtong's beautiful eyes widened. She had just said it casually, not even a test, so why did Song Yunhe admit it?

Xi Qingtong staggered back a step, her fingers tightly clutching her clothes. She stared at Song Yunhe's eyes, trying to find any trace of lies in them, but in those eyes that were once full of affection, there was now only heartbreaking calmness.

"When... did you start to like her?" Her voice was so soft that it almost floated in the air.

Seeing her so shocked and in pain, Song Yunhe felt happy, as if the heartache of the past few days was offset when he saw her in pain.

Song Yunhe did not answer her question first. Instead, he stood up and walked to the desk and took out the dried flower from the book at the bottom.

The green peony had long since turned yellow, but Xi Qingwu still recognized the flower after staring at it for a moment.

Lin Shanshan mentioned to her that this was thrown by her twin sister when Song Yunhe won the third place in the imperial examination. Song Yunhe pinned it on his hat and finally stepped on it.

Why is this flower still there? Hasn't it been crushed by her?

Xi Qingtong's fingertips trembled uncontrollably. She stared at the yellowed dried peony flower, her voice hoarse.

"You...you picked it up?"

"Yeah...I picked it up."

Song Yunhe gently stroked the dried petals, his eyes so gentle that they stung Xi Qingtong's: "This flower was thrown to me by Qingwu. On that day, I was in great glory, and she was also so beautiful that she didn't seem like an ordinary person..."

"I thought I loved you more, but in fact, that day, Qingwu also lived in my heart."

This is what Song Yunhe realized after recalling it countless midnights. He actually remembered all the kindness Qingwu had shown him, and it had invaded his heart bit by bit. However, at that time he still habitually thought that he loved Xi Qingtong the most.

He raised his eyes, a cruel calmness in them: "So, I subconsciously picked it up and kept it until now. I often take it out to remember it. When I see this flower, it's as if I saw Qingwu."

These words were like a slap in the face, hitting Xi Qingtong hard.

The twin sister who grew up in the countryside and whom she looked down upon had actually quietly snatched away the man who originally loved her?

This made Xi Qingtong even more uncomfortable than Xiao Ji falling in love with Qing Wu. After all, Xi Qingtong always knew that Xiao Ji had no feelings for her, but Song Yunhe was different.

He had been frequenting the Xi family since he was seven or eight years old. They could be considered childhood sweethearts. When she was twelve or thirteen years old, Song Yunhe had developed feelings for her that went beyond siblings. How could the feelings of so many years be taken away by Xi Qingwu?

"It's fake. You're trying to provoke me, right?"

At this moment, Xi Qingtong had already forgotten her purpose and was only concerned with questioning Song Yunhe.

He must have done it to piss her off.