Chapter 20: Come With Me

Deling stared at the disconnected call, her back teeth clenched in frustration. Chen Fusheng knew exactly where her weaknesses lay and plunged the knife in without a shred of hesitation, showing no regard for the fact that she was his own flesh and blood.

Shen Qingfeng, the director of Ruihe Hospital, was one of the nation's premier nephrologists. Furthermore, Ruihe was the first hospital in the country to receive firsthand information regarding kidney donors. If she could make a connection with him, perhaps there would be hope for her mother’s illness. She had once considered donating her own kidney, but the cross-matching tests between her and her mother had failed. Deling knew she could not let this opportunity slip by; she had to go.

She started her car and drove to the previous project site to check on its progress. Everything was proceeding smoothly. After delegating the follow-up tasks to Xiao Xiao, the assistant remaining on-site, Deling hurried off to visit several other projects she had yet to finalize. With her collaboration with the Ye family at a standstill, she had to keep pushing forward with these prospects; there was always a chance one of them might succeed.

However, reality was not as pleasant as she had hoped. Over the next few days of visits, the companies she approached were either indecisive, trying to drive a hard bargain, or setting blunt, impossible conditions. In short, she came away with nothing. A week passed in the blink of an eye, and as the summer heat faded, the chill of autumn began to set in.

After a long day at the project site, Deling did not forget the Song family’s cocktail party that weekend and returned home a little early. She bathed, dressed, and applied her makeup before setting out for the Song family villa on Xiangming Mountain, located on the outskirts of the city.

As she wound her way up the mountain road, the sky darkened. Thick forests lined both sides of the path, and dim yellow streetlamps stood silently, failing to illuminate the hollow, gaping void of the night. Deling remembered the night she left the Song residence—penniless, wandering alone to the foot of the mountain without knowing where to go. It was that night she had reached out to Ye Hongxiao. Before then, she had never imagined she would ever dare to provoke a man who stood so high above in the clouds.

She still remembered the low, steady voice that had traveled through the receiver that night, along with his patient, soothing words. Looking back now, she wondered if she had fallen in love with him at that very moment without even realizing it.

As she neared the summit, traffic thickened. The parking spaces along the road were already filled with luxury cars. Deling found an empty spot, parked, and walked toward the villa. She had been delayed by the evening rush hour and arrived late, leaving her anxious about whether Shen Qingfeng was still at the party. With her mind occupied, her pace quickened unconsciously until the gates of the Song mansion loomed before her.

Tonight, the Song residence was brilliantly lit and bustling with activity, yet as Deling stood outside the gate, it felt like a man-eating lair disguised by demons from a legend. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped inside. The butler recognized her and ushered her into the rear garden where the party was being held.

The party grounds extended from the courtyard to the two-story building typically reserved for guests. Returning to this place, a tidal wave of memories surged into her mind. Deling remembered how, as a child, she would secretly hide in that small building whenever she was scolded, staying there until hunger finally forced her to return.

She remembered the night she left the Song family. The air was filled with the sound of Song Chunmei’s shrill, cursing voice directed at Chen Fusheng, and the hideous sight of Song Chunmei calling her a "useless waste of money." Those wretched images felt as if they were playing out before her eyes again.

She remembered standing helpless in the living room as Song Zigui held the hound she had raised, mocking her with a cruel, innocent smile: "Aren't you so capable? Why are you borrowing money from my mother? My mom is right—you really are a useless waste of money! If you're so capable, go ask your real mother for money! Oh, I get it now, your real mother is a pauper, isn't she? She has no money. Hahahahaha..."

She had forgotten exactly when she had lunged at Song Zigui, only remembering that she was eventually slapped twice by Chen Fusheng and driven out of the Song estate.

The final image was of her crouching at the foot of the mountain, Ye Hongxiao’s car slowly pulling up before her. He reached out to her from behind the glare of the headlights and said, "Come with me."