However, before Cheng Qingchong could say anything, Song Qingchun, who had been listening to her quietly, suddenly shrugged her hand off and rushed toward the entrance.

  Cheng Qingchong’s grip on Song Qingchun had lessened since the other woman had quietened down earlier. The sudden action from Song Qingchun caught her by surprise. Cheng Qingchong, whose focus was completely on convincing Song Qingchun, was startled by the sudden shove, which sent her teetering back a few steps.

  Cheng Qingchong was wearing thin heels. She knocked into the chair behind her, which unsteadied her balance, causing her to collapse to the floor.

  When the waiter helped her get up, Song Qingchun had already run out of the coffee shop.

  Ignoring the pain radiating from her ankle, she limped toward the entrance, but the road was empty, and Song Qingchun was nowhere to be seen. Cheng Qingchong pulled out her phone to give Song Qingchun a call. It was hung up the moment it was picked up. She tried calling again, but the number was busy. Cheng Qingchong knew Song Qingchun had blocked her.

  Even after I’ve revealed so much, I’m unable to change her mind? She still insists on marrying Mr. Qin? Or is she too shocked by the many revelations? Perhaps, I shouldn’t have unloaded so many things on her in one go; I should have given her time to digest it all. After all, there is still one more week until CEO Su’s departure……

  Cheng Qingchong thought about it before walking to the roadside to hail a cab and leave……

  It was not until Cheng Qingchong’s cab disappeared round the corner that Song Qingchun walked out from a dark alley next to the Starbucks. She stood by the road for a long time before turning around to head home.

  Back in her bedroom, she changed into her pajamas, turned off the light, crawled into bed, and closed her eyes to sleep. Her expression was as still as water like the short incident with Cheng Qingchong did not even happen.

  Song Qingchun maintained this attitude until the next morning. She still followed her normal routine; she woke up on time, went downstairs to have breakfast, went to work, and visited Song Menghwa at the hospital after work. Her lifestyle remained the same.

  However, Qin Yinan knew her well and noticed her tendency to space out over the following two days. For example, when the two of them were inside the car, they would be in the middle of the conversation when the girl would turn her head to the window, and her concentration would flutter.

  For another example, they would be at dinner, and when he was about to ask her what she was going to have, he would find her staring expressionlessly at the white walls of the restaurant.

  There was even this one time when she excused herself to use the bathroom but stayed in there for about twenty minutes. The door to the bathroom was open, and when Qin Yinan went to check up on her, he saw the girl standing before the sink, staring dumbly at her reflection in the mirror.

  However, he was unable to tell what was troubling her. Her expression did not give anything away. Her face was flat and unaffected; there was no sadness or joy. It was like she was thinking about something or nothing at all.

  As the wedding date drew closer, Song Menghwa’s condition got better.

  The first day Song Menghwa was allowed to leave the hospital was a weekend. Song Qingchun did not have work that day and arrived at the hospital early in the morning to collect the stuff that the family had brought to the hospital over the period Song Menghwa had been in hospital.