Chapter 117 Can You Let Go?
His gaze swept over her face, her neck, and her wrists.
A chill crept up her spine, making her teeth chatter.
"Oh."
He suddenly burst out laughing.
"Now you know how to use my dad to intimidate me?"
"You think complaining will do any good? In my father's eyes, what are you? An adopted daughter from another family, not even qualified to be listed in the family genealogy."
Song Zhiwei turned her head away, her fingers gripping her phone tightly.
Zhou Yunsheng slowly straightened his suit and tie.
He didn't say another word the whole way.
The car slowly came to a stop downstairs at the hospital.
She stared through the car window at the entrance of the inpatient department, hesitating for a few seconds.
In the end, I opened the car door and turned into the convenience store next door.
When she arrived at the ward, she was about to knock on the door when Zhou Yunsheng kicked it open.
He leaned casually against the doorframe and shouted.
"Dad, Auntie, Zhiwei is here!"
Song Zhiwei followed closely behind and immediately saw Xie Lingling lying on the hospital bed.
His face was as pale as paper, his eyes were sunken, and his cheeks were so thin they were hollow.
Her once full figure is now nothing but a bony silhouette.
Reluctantly, she went over and placed the fruit basket on the table beside the bed.
"Uncle...Mom."
"It's good that you're here. Please sit down."
Zhou Huaiqing sat in the chair, his tone as calm as still water.
Song Zhiwei silently walked to the bedside, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Xie Lingling slowly turned her head to look at her, her eyes red-rimmed.
"You silly girl, is your heart made of stone? You didn't even make a phone call. I'm so sick, and you don't care? Do you know how much pain I'm in? Do you know how much I want to see you?"
Song Zhiwei lowered her head and didn't say anything.
If it weren't for Zhou Huaiqing's phone call, she might never have stepped through that door in her entire life.
Zhou Huaiqing glanced at the mother and daughter.
Finally, he sighed, stood up, and said to Zhou Yunsheng.
"Yun Sheng, come out with me, I have something to tell you."
Zhou Yunsheng gave a lazy reply and silently followed him out.
Once the door closed, only the two of them remained in the ward.
Xie Lingling suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Just because of that trivial matter, you blocked me for so long? Three whole years, not a single word of greeting! Can you really... be so heartless? I'm your mother!"
Song Zhiwei frowned, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes.
“Ms. Qin, I’ve already made it clear that we have nothing to do with each other anymore. Don’t try to tie me down with family ties; I won’t fall for that.”
What do you mean by that?
Xie Lingling opened her eyes wide and her voice suddenly rose.
"You still blame me even now? I'm lying here, can't you let go?"
She originally thought that she came because she had softened her heart.
Unexpectedly, she was still so cold and hard.
Song Zhiwei gave a cold laugh.
"You chose Zhou Yunhan back then, ruining my reputation. What are you pretending to be innocent for now?"
Sometimes she really wanted to peel back her own flesh and blood and take a closer look.
Did she really crawl out of Xie Lingling's stomach?
Is the blood she sheds truly from the same source as hers?
Or perhaps, she was just an outsider forced into this family by fate.
A scapegoat who can be sacrificed and abandoned at any time.
"I had no other choice!"
Xie Lingling's voice suddenly cracked, carrying a hint of sobbing.
"Do you really think I'm living a comfortable life? I live like I'm walking on a knife's edge every day in the Zhou family!"
"How many times have I begged you to spend more time with Yun Sheng and comfort Yun Han? Why won't you listen?"
Song Zhiwei felt a tightness in her chest upon hearing this.
Her throat tightened, her chest heaved violently, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Over the years, she has suffered injustices but never cried or made a fuss.
She was afraid of making things difficult for her, afraid of bothering her, so she didn't dare to utter a single complaint.
But what about her?
Her understanding and maturity were taken for granted by Xie Lingling.
Song Zhiwei finally couldn't hold back anymore, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"You think I don't want to please them? From the day I entered the Zhou family, I've been kneeling and begging them to be happy! But how have they treated me?"
She paused, her voice growing colder with each passing moment.
"In the dead of winter, they tricked me into going to the toilet, and then poured a bucket of ice water over my head."
"It was below zero degrees Celsius. I was wearing a soaked down jacket and shuffling home step by step. My hands were so cold that they cracked and bled."
"After school, they locked me in the classroom and had people take turns slapping me. If my uncle hadn't come to pick me up over the wall in the middle of the night, I would be dead."
"Now you're blaming me for not building good relationships? Then tell me, how am I supposed to live? Die?"
Xie Lingling was taken aback, her lips trembling slightly.
"Yun Han and Yun Sheng... did they treat you like this before?"
Song Zhiwei bit her lip until it bled.
A sweet, metallic taste quickly spread in her mouth, but she didn't even flinch.
She didn't want to reopen old wounds for others to see.
I'm afraid that if I speak up, I'll not get heartache, but rather even harsher reproach.
"You know perfectly well that you've never believed me."
But in that instant, she lost control.
The emotions that had been building up for far too long could no longer be contained.
Xie Lingling grabbed her hand.
"These things... why have you never mentioned them before?"
Song Zhiwei turned her face to the window, not daring to look into her eyes.
"What's the point of saying it?"
She asked softly.
"You've never been on my side."
Moreover, she simply did not believe that Xie Lingling really knew nothing about these things.
She dragged her injured body home countless times.
His arms were bruised, his knees were scraped, and there were handprints on his face.
Xie Lingling clearly saw it all.
But when Zhou Yunhan said, "She accidentally fell down," Xie Lingling immediately nodded in agreement.
Why do you walk so clumsily?
Even if she cared even a little, it wouldn't be enough to push her so far away time and time again.
Xie Lingling opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
She wanted to deny it, she wanted to defend herself.
I want to say, "I didn't mean it; I was doing it for your own good."
"I really didn't know they would treat you like this."
But even she herself didn't believe these words.
"If you had told me sooner... I would have definitely..."
Her voice lowered.
"I will definitely go and have a proper talk with them."
Upon hearing this, Song Zhiwei felt it was absurd.
Want to chat?
She didn't complain about anything they did to her.
Now, you think you can just turn the page with a simple "let's chat"?
Forget it.
The fact that she didn't publicly sever ties with the family is the greatest act of kindness she can show.
She withdrew her hand, wiped her eyes, and stood up.
"You're sick, so you should rest well. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
She didn't want to hear any more explanations, nor did she need any so-called "motherly love."
Those belated expressions of concern will only cause her more pain.
Xie Lingling couldn't help but speak up.
"Zhiwei, I really didn't know about this. But I'm your mother, how could I not have feelings for you?"
"You can't put all the blame on me just because I don't understand you well enough."
She paused, then continued.
"But Mom can make it up to you. I bought a villa near your company, you can just go and complete the transfer of ownership another day."
"No."
Song Zhiwei only uttered these three words before turning and walking away.
Accepting those things is tantamount to handing over your entire future.
Marriage, work...
She knew that Xie Lingling would always find a reason to interfere.
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