The cafe was very quiet.
Shen Yanhe stared blankly at the stunning beauty before her, who was slightly different from the one in her memory, and stayed silent for a long while without speaking.
Song Shiwei blinked and smiled shyly, then lightly coughed and softened her voice, "Cough cough, sorry, my cellmate was from the Northeast, and she rubbed off on me."
Resting one hand on her chin, she grinned and waved the other hand in front of Shen Yanhe, "Alright then, little Yanhe, snap out of it~"
Shen Yanhe's eyes reddened instantly, and she reached out to grasp her delicate fingers firmly, glaring at her with what might be called 'ferocity', yet her voice betrayed a sort of choked emotion, "Song Shiwei! You scumbag!"
"When did you get out? Why didn't you look for me after getting out? Do you not consider me a friend anymore?"
"Tell me!" Shen Yanhe wiped away tears while glaring at her fiercely, "Do you have other dogs now?"
Although she looked very fierce, her round, slightly upturned cat-like eyes were brimming with tears, tinged with a hint of red, making her seem pitiful.
As if she had been harshly mistreated.
Song Shiwei, normally very composed, panicked the moment she saw her friend cry after not seeing her for two years.
She clumsily pulled out some paper and handed it to her, coaxing her with a gentle voice, "I don't, it's just, I was afraid of troubling you..."
She was no longer the so-called pearl of Haicheng, the young Miss of the Song family.
She was an ex-convict, with a criminal record, and even finding a job was difficult.
She knew that little Yanhe had not had it easy these past few years; she herself had able hands and feet and could work to support herself. Why trouble her friend?
But she hadn't expected to bump into little Yanhe, by such a coincidence, at the MX underground ring, nor to inadvertently help her out.
Song Shiwei couldn't stand to see her tears. She felt a painful twinge in her heart that made her soften her voice even more, coaxing her, "Don't cry, whatever you want to know, I'll tell you, okay?"
Shen Yanhe's tears, which had been falling steadily, instantly stopped. She used a tissue to wipe away the remaining tears, "You promised, no lying to me."
Witnessing her swift change of expression, Song Shiwei thought, "..."
Ah...
Two years had gone by, and not only had she changed, but little Yanhe had also changed quite a bit.
"When were you released from prison?" Shen Yanhe asked seriously, "And back then, what exactly happened that got you incarcerated?"
The Song family's downfall had been too sudden.
It was so hasty that by the time she received the news, the Song family had already left Haicheng for abroad.
Gone without a trace.
It was as if an invisible hand had completely knocked down the Song family from behind.
By the time she went looking for Song Shiwei, she found out that Song Shiwei had admitted guilt and was sent to prison, beyond her ability to bail her out.
"I was released a year ago," Song Shiwei leaned back in her chair and took a sip from the lemon water on the table, her attractive peach blossom eyes narrowing slightly, lips curved into a casual smile, "I was well-behaved in prison, and my sentence was reduced."
"I didn't intentionally avoid you. After getting out, I found that things had changed a lot outside. With a criminal record, jobs were hard to come by, so I went to the MX underground ring to apply for a cleaning job."
Song Shiwei, biting her straw, gazed with curved eyes, "I didn't expect to be able to help little Yanhe. It was quite nice."
Shen Yanhe choked up, couldn't help but clenched her fists tightly.
She knew that back in Haicheng, Song Shiwei had been hailed as a pearl, spoilt by her family, and had everything she desired.
But now, she had fallen to the point of taking a cleaning job at an underground boxing ring.
The next second, Shen Yanhe saw Song Shiwei's expression suddenly turn serious. She put down her lemon water on the table and looked at her earnestly, "But little Yanhe, as law-abiding citizens, we can't engage in illegal activities."
"I suspect that the underground ring is operating illegally for profit. I had already anonymously reported it to the police before I brought you out. The authorities will certainly deal with those who troubled you."
"..."
Shen Yanhe's sadness disappeared instantly, and she looked at Song Shiwei with a very complicated gaze.
Thanks so much.
You've just shut down a source of income for me.
-
Meanwhile, at the MX underground boxing ring.
Two policemen, exuding an air of authority, stopped Fang Zhi, who was about to do some cleanup, "Hello, we've received an anonymous tip about illegal profiteering at the MX ring and underground fighting. Please present your business license."
Fang Zhi's smile froze, utterly bewildered, "???"
What the hell?
Illegal profiteering?
-
Back at the cafe.
Shen Yanhe covertly sent a message to Fang Zhi before, turning her phone face down on the table, she frowned and asked, "What about back then? Why were you imprisoned back then?"
"Back then…" Song Shiwei's face showed a trace of irony, "I was lovesick, hopelessly so; after enduring hardships, I've come to my senses."
Shen Yanhe was taken aback and suddenly remembered that at that time, Song Shiwei had sent her a message, telling her she had someone she liked and that she was pursuing him.
In the messages she sent, nine out of ten were about that person.
Shen Yanhe gritted her teeth, her cat-like pupils slightly narrowing, a hint of malice surfacing in her eyes, "Is it that person you used to talk to me about? What did he do to you?"
"Ah… It's nothing, it's all in the past," Song Shiwei mumbled, biting her straw and swiftly changing the subject, "Let's not talk about me anymore. What about you?"
"Little He Miao, how have you been these years? Is Shen Huai's illness getting any better?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanhe knew she didn't want to bring up the past any longer. Her lips tightened slightly as she gave a light snort and didn't ask further, merely answering, "Shen Huai is still the same. As for me, I got married."
Song Shiwei's eyes went wide in an instant, her voice rising despite herself, "What the heck? You got married?"
Isn't little He Miao only 21 years old?
This is still the age of a university student!
How did she end up getting married so young?
Shen Yanhe was rather calm as she nodded her head, "Yes, my partner is the eldest young master of the Fu Family from Haicheng, the one disfigured and crippled."
Song Shiwei suddenly heard the words 'eldest young master of the Fu Family', and before her eyes, the tall and imposing figure appeared, as well as the nightmare that had plagued her night and day for the past two years, from which she could not escape.
He stood towering above her, looking down indifferently at her sitting disheveled in the rain, heartless and cruel, "Serve her prison sentence, and after you're released, I will marry you, as you wish."
"Shiwei?" Shen Yanhe sharply noticed something off about her demeanor, reached out to grab her wrist, and shook it gently, calling out in a lowered voice, "Are you alright?"
Song Shiwei suddenly snapped back to reality, a few beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Meeting Shen Yanhe's concerned gaze, she pressed her lips together, shaking her head slightly, "I'm fine, just a bit tired lately."
Before Shen Yanhe could speak, Song Shiwei frowned and pressed her for an answer, "Little He Miao, how did you end up marrying the eldest young master of the Fu family?"
The reputation of the eldest young master of the Fu Family in Haicheng was not exactly stellar.
His mood was unpredictable, his methods cruel and venomous, and he showed no mercy even to his own trusted followers. She had even seen him cripple the limbs of two women who had intentionally crawled into his bed, and then he threw them out of the Fu residence, covered in blood.
That image of Fu Yanhe looking at her expressionlessly was still fresh in her memory.
Those ink-black eyes, cold and mechanical, didn't seem human; they resembled more a monster wearing human skin.
And he was also that man's good brother.
Shen Yanhe fell silent for a while before slowly saying, "This marriage arrangement was originally my cousin's; I married in her place."
"And I just so happen to have a grudge against a certain person from the Fu Family; you could say it was an accident of fate."
She had originally intended to get close to the Fu Family, but she never expected her aunt would create an opportunity for her—it was like stumbling into it.
However, the eldest young master of the Fu Family wasn't as cruel as the rumors suggested.
He was actually quite reasonable.
Song Shiwei fell silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a light laugh, "What a coincidence, I also have a grudge with a certain person from the Fu Family."
Shen Yanhe's eyebrows raised, and a smile spread slowly across her face.
She smiled beautifully, but a hint of malice emerged in her eyes, "Who is it? Tell me, and I'll help you catch her in a sack tonight."
She would protect her friends.
Moreover, with her abilities, no one inside the Fu Family could stop her now.
"Fu Yu," Song Shiwei said lightly, sarcasm emerging in her eyes, "Fu Yu, his bright moonlight."
"…"
Thinking of the spoiled and domineering Fu Yu, Shen Yanhe's expression became troubled, "Is he blind?"
Back then, Song Shiwei was also brought up spoiled, but she was far more polite than Fu Yu.
And that man regarded Fu Yu as his bright moonlight?
And thinking that Song Shiwei's imprisonment might be related to these two, Shen Yanhe couldn't suppress the malice and anger in her heart, and scoffed, "Trash really pairs well with trash. Just wait, I'll get you some interest tonight."
"As for that man…"
"If I see him, I'll hit him every time!"
Song Shiwei: "…"
Song Shiwei silently watched Shen Yanhe, scooted her chair back a bit, smiled at her and with a playful tone said, "Do you know? Before I was imprisoned, he said he would marry me after I got out."
"Marry you?" Shen Yanhe laughed angrily, slamming her hand down on the table, the coffee on it trembled three times, "He really has a big face."