"Worst case scenario between Brother Yinan and me wouldn't be strangers, so I should gather my courage to confess… How about this weekend? Sigh, this weekend it is…"
Song Qingchun shivered from the cold. She hugged her shoulders and ran back into the bedroom. She accidentally used too much force when closing the balcony door, and it slammed close with a loud thump.
Back in the study, Su Zhinian's face as he studied his work document was peaceful as the surface of water, but his hand that gripped the pen was white with force. Finally, the pen snapped in two with a crack.
This was a familiar scene… Ever since Song Qingchun moved in with him, this had happened multiple times already. However, no matter how many times it happened, the pain in his heart never seemed to decrease in intensity.
Like a statue, Su Zhinian stared at the document motionlessly. It wasn't until the witching hours had arrived, the girl next door had fallen asleep, and the dogs in the neighborhood had stopped barking that his lashes flickered once more with activity. He raised his head to look outside at the darkness, his face as dark and desolate as the starless night.
Song Qingchun's plan to confess changed before she went to bed. This happened without fail every time. Whenever she thought about confessing to Qin Yinan, her confidence would flag. However, even though Song Qingchun hadn't prepared completely for her date with Qin Yinan, she still cleared some time to return to the Song family that Sunday.
Song Menghwa had already been discharged from hospital, but his room was still packed with medicine, and the family doctor would come to take his blood every other day.
When Song Qingchun arrived, Song Menghwa was taking his afternoon nap, and her sister-in-law, Fang Rou, was in the kitchen cooking some porridge.
The first to spot Song Qingchun was a recently hired maid. She came from Fang Rou's hometown. She was one year younger than Song Qingchun but had to work as a maid due to poor family conditions back home. However, she was not embittered by life and was a fast learner, so she was well-loved by the family.
"Young Miss, you're home?" The maid greeted Song Qingchun with a smile before turning to yell in the direction of the kitchen, "Madam, the Young Miss is home."
Half a minute later, Fang Rou came out from the kitchen as she reminded the butler to watch over the fire cooking the porridge before smiling at Song Qingchun. "Qingchun, how come you didn't tell us you're coming home."
Song Qingchun greeted her sister-in-law before explaining, "I happened to be in the area and thought about picking something up from my room, so this wasn't planned."
"Have you had dinner?"
"I have."
Fang Rou nodded and scanned Song Qingchun from head to toe. "You look thinner, is it because…" For Song Menghwa's benefit, Fang Rou lowered her voice and whispered into Song Qingchun's ear, "…Su Zhinian isn't treating you well at his place?"
"No, that's not it. He's not been very well recently, so I haven't had time to take care of myself," Song Qingchun explained with a smile. She then pointed at the ceiling and said, "Big Sister, I'm in a hurry, so I'll go grab my stuff first."
Fang Rou smiled. "Go ahead."
As Song Qingchun ran upstairs, she heard Fang Rou's voice coming from behind her. "Careful, don't slip on the stairs."
Even though Song Qingchun had moved out of the Song family house, her room was cleaned every day, so it was clean and tidy.