Flowy white dress
It was already eight o’clock in the evening when Yu Song stepped outside, just as Yu Daqiang was coming out of the bedroom.
He was heading to the kitchen looking for something to eat.
Seeing Yu Song, he immediately retreated like a turtle hiding into its shell.
Yu Song chuckled to herself.
Could it be that Yu Daqiang, who never went out, was actually scared off by her?
Song Wenya, noticing Yu Daqiang’s sneaky behavior, opened the door and peered out, “You reckless girl, it’s the middle of the night and you’re not sleeping again.
Where do you think you’re going to run off to this time?”
Right from the start, Yu Song shot back with cold sarcasm at Song Wenya.
It was mostly because Song Wenya always treated the original owner so harshly, never holding back any harsh words.
“It’s only eight o’clock. What time zone are you living in that makes it the middle of the night? Don’t worry, the two of you are the people I hate most. I definitely won’t be hanging out with you.”
Song Wenya knew she was the one being accused of “running around” and got even angrier.
She stormed into the living room and scolded, “Song Song, I’m your mother, how can you talk like that?”
“Whose own mother says her daughter is running around? Tomorrow the three of us should go to the hospital for a paternity test. Don’t delay me finding my real dad,” Yu Song shot back.
Song Wenya raised her palm and swung to hit Yu Song.
Yu Song turned around slowly and gave her a cold, indifferent look.
Song Wenya’s hand froze in mid-air, unable to bring it down.
She was shocked, but even more so, flustered.
Although she always treated her daughter like a servant, at the end of the day they were still mother and daughter, and there were moments of closeness between them.
Song Song could always see the mix of fear and longing in her mother’s eyes.
If she smiled at her or praised her a little, Song Song would be happy for days.
What was going on now?
Was it because she had reported her grandfather?
But Song Song was never very close to her grandfather anyway, and besides, he wasn’t really sent to jail — wasn’t he just brought back?
Song Wenya couldn’t understand.
The only person she could control in the family was Song Song, but now this usually obedient daughter was slowly slipping out of control.
The look in her eyes was like she was staring at a stranger.
Yu Song had no time to argue with her, nor did she care about worrying that her mother didn’t love her.
She was, after all, a stranger in this world.
She went downstairs and called for a ride to North River Apartment, a gated community, but it was easy to get in with just a simple registration.
After getting off, Yu Song wrote “Building E, He Zilu” on the visitor registration form at the security booth.
The guard didn’t even look and waved her in directly.
On the ride over, Yu Song had already added He Zilu on WeChat from the group chat.
They had been friends when they first enrolled, but after falling out, they deleted each other.
Now she was able to send a friend request, which meant she wasn’t blocked by He Zilu.
However, there was no response from the other side.
The greenery in North River Apartment was quite nice, and the evening lighting was well done.
Walking along the paths, the night breeze gently brushed past—it was very comfortable.
Yu Song strolled slowly and soon found Building E.
The elevator required a card swipe, so Yu Song found the emergency exit and frowned at the narrow stairwell.
Well, since she arrived, she hadn’t exercised.
Tonight she’d climb the stairs.
Whether physically or mentally, seventeen floors was nothing for Yu Song.
But she had overestimated the original owner’s physical condition and found herself panting heavily by the time she reached the seventeenth floor.
Looks like she needed to work out more.
Once on the seventeenth floor, she looked left and right at the doors as she walked—there were two apartments per floor, so it wasn’t hard to find.
The apartment doors were all the same color and style.
Outside 1701 were two pots of Yulan flowers, only three blossoms open while the rest were still budding.
Outside 1702 was a shoe rack cluttered with shoes of various sizes and colors.
Judging by this, the family was probably a young couple with two kids—a boy the eldest, a girl the youngest.
After observing, Yu Song approached the door of 1701.
Just as she was about to knock, heart-wrenching crying came from inside.
A middle-aged man’s cold voice said, “Zhao Xue, if you don’t want to live, then go die. Don’t waste my time.”
The woman’s voice was hysterical, “He Feng, even if I die, I’ll drag you with me to see King Yama. You won’t get off easy with that fox spirit of yours!”
The man’s tone was light and slightly mocking, “Which fox spirit are you talking about?”
The woman roared angrily and painfully again, “He Feng, don’t you have any shame?!”
Yu Song frowned.
Could these two be He Ziru’s parents?
She’d seen He Ziru acting very happy at school every day, saying her parents were decent people who loved and cared for her, often mocking the original owner.
But it turned out to be a mess. Every family had its own hardships.
Could it be that He Ziru jumped from the building because of her parents’ fighting?
She was already in university—was it really just because of something like this?
Was it necessary?
Yu Song felt it probably wasn’t that simple.
She knocked on the door, and the noise inside immediately stopped.
The man quickly walked over and opened the door.
Yu Song heard him whisper, “I told you not to make a fuss. Your loud voice probably disturbed the neighbors. What a disgrace.”
Because there was a video doorbell downstairs and the elevator required residents’ permission to enter, it was unusual for someone to just show up on the seventeenth floor and knock.
He Feng must have assumed it was a neighbor and opened the door without looking, forcing a smile and apologizing,
“Sorry…”
He stopped halfway when he saw the strange green-haired girl outside and was momentarily stunned.
He didn’t recognize her, but they were the only two families on the floor, and he’d seen the four-member family opposite more than once in the elevator.
This young girl was clearly not part of their household.
“Who are you?” He Feng became guarded.
Yu Song smiled brightly, “Uncle He Feng, I’m Zilu’s classmate. Is she home?”
He Feng was stunned.
“She’s home. Where else would she be so late?”
Yu Song caught the meaning in his words and smiled, “Uncle, I work part-time during the day and just finished. I have a few things to ask Zilu, won’t take long. If it’s inconvenient, could you call her out? We can talk in the hallway.”
He Feng said “Oh,” and his eyes involuntarily swept over Yu Song’s green hair.
Although he thought Yu Song didn’t seem like a good girl, he couldn’t bring himself to be rude to a smiling person who called him “uncle.”
“No problem, come in.”
Yu Song followed him inside confidently.
A beautiful woman in a light champagne-colored silk nightgown greeted her with a smile, “You’re Zilu’s classmate? Please come in. She rarely brings classmates home. Did you two plan this?”
“Sort of,” Yu Song replied casually, studying He Zilu’s mother carefully.
There were fine wrinkles between her brows and at the corners of her eyes.
Her smile looked relaxed, but just under her eyes, they were moist and red, as if she had just been crying.
Overall, though, her act was pretty convincing.
If Yu Song hadn’t overheard the couple’s earlier quarrel, she would never have believed that angry, resentful roar came from this woman.
“Aunt Zhao, sorry to bother you. You don’t seem to be in a good mood. Did Zilu upset you?”
Zhao Xue’s expression darkened as she glanced at her husband, then said, “No. Xiaolu’s very happy. She’s in her room. I’ll take you to her.”
Yu Song had no intention of mediating their marital discord.
She strongly suspected that someone like He Zilu wouldn’t kill herself just because of her parents fighting or her father having a mistress.
Besides, the dark tutor had guided her here.
He Zilu’s death was definitely related to him.
He Feng had already gone to the study.
Zhao Xue led Yu Song to the south-facing bedroom and knocked on the door.
“Zilu, your classmate is here. Please open the door.”
No one answered.
Zhao Xue awkwardly smiled at Yu Song, “Zilu’s probably wearing headphones. We respect her privacy a lot. We don’t enter her room without permission.”
Yu Song said exaggeratedly, “Wow, you two are model parents. Most parents don’t even let their kids lock their doors at home.”
Zhao Xue’s smile grew even more awkward, and her eyes revealed a trace of bitterness.
Yu Song was pretty good at reading microexpressions and immediately knew they had fought with Zilu over her locking her door before.
Zhao Xue still couldn’t get the door open.
She took out her phone and called her daughter.
A listless Japanese song played for half a verse, but no one answered.
Yu Song grew worried about He Zilu’s fate and pressed her ear against the door, trying to listen to any sound inside.
Zhao Xue frowned at her, “Classmate, she might be in a bad mood today. Why don’t you come back tomorrow? Or arrange something on WeChat, maybe take her out shopping. School’s about to start. Girls should buy some new clothes.”
Yu Song didn’t hear any of it and only grew more worried.
She didn’t want to wait any longer and asked Zhao Xue seriously, “Do you have a spare key?”
“…”
Zhao Xue was a little surprised and annoyed, “What are you trying to do? Zilu often locks herself in her room. She has a bathroom in there and only comes out when she’s hungry. It’s so late, don’t bother her. We can talk tomorrow.”
Yu Song knocked on the door, checked the lock, then pulled Zhao Xue back two steps.
Zhao Xue was getting impatient.
She had been hit hard today and couldn’t care about her daughter’s feelings or be in the mood to soothe her.
“Missy, what’s your name? Zilu never mentioned you. But since you can call my husband by name and know my surname, you must be pretty close to my daughter. That’s just how she is—won’t come out no matter what. If you have something to say, why not talk to her on the phone or leave a message on WeChat? It’s too late today. I’ll have my husband send you home.”
Yu Song let go of her, stepping back another two steps with a serious expression, “Aunt Zhao, stay right there.”
Zhao Xue looked at her in confusion.
Children shouldn’t be given too much freedom.
What kind of friends was Zilu making?
A green-haired girl—that was youth fashion, sure, but why was she so incomprehensible?
“What exactly are you…”
“Aunt Zhao, there’s no bed or desk right behind this door, right? Your place seems pretty spacious, and Zilu’s room looks large. She probably isn’t just sitting behind the door.”
Zhao Xue was dumbfounded.
What was she talking about?
Before she could ask, Yu Song took a few steps forward and raised her long leg to kick the door.
The door wobbled but didn’t give way.
Yu Song was skilled and kicked again, loosening the lock.
The third kick made a dull sound, and finally, the door swung open.
Zhao Xue screamed, terrified, “What exactly do you think you’re doing?!”
He Feng also ran out of the study, staring dumbfounded at the opened door.
Yu Song’s legs were a little numb.
She wanted to look cool by kicking it open, but since she’d never done strength training, and the door was of good quality, it was already impressive to open it in three kicks.
He Zilu’s room was indeed large.
Even with all that noise, it hadn’t drawn her out.
Ignoring the stunned He Feng and Zhao Xue, Yu Song stepped inside quickly.
She saw He Zilu wearing closed-style headphones and a flowing white dress, dancing by the window.
Yu Song breathed a sigh of relief—she hadn’t jumped yet.
But judging by the hollow, confused look on He Zilu’s face, she probably wasn’t far from it.