In the evening, an inconspicuous black sedan drove into a mid-range residential complex and stopped at the foot of a building.
Song Qingwan got out of the car. She had changed out of her designer dress and into simple jeans and a knit sweater, wearing a hat and a face mask, keeping a very low profile.
She walked briskly into the building, familiarly climbed to the third floor, and knocked on a door.
The door opened quickly, revealing a middle-aged woman.
Her eyes and brows bore a five or six out of ten resemblance to Madam Song, Song Shuhua, but the years had etched more hardship onto her face. Her clothes were far more ordinary, and her demeanor was worlds apart—tinged with weariness.
"Wanwan, why have you come so suddenly?" the woman asked in a hushed voice, looking nervously behind Song Qingwan before quickly pulling her inside.
The door closed, shutting out the outside world.
Song Qingwan took off her hat and mask, revealing a beautiful face that seemed utterly out of place in this plain setting.
The gentle, demure facade she wore in public had vanished, replaced by a suppressed irritation and coldness.
"I'm upset. Came to sit for a while," she said, walking over and sitting down on the sofa, her posture still elegant.
This was the residence of her birth mother, Song Shurou.
It was also the only place deep in her heart where she dared to let her guard down, even just a little.
Song Shurou asked cautiously, "Is it because of Gu Chengyu? I heard the Gu family called off the marriage alliance?"
Song Qingwan let out a cold laugh. "Because of Gu Chengyu? Is he worthy?"
"Aside from being born into a good family and having a sharp mind, what else does he have? Arrogant, conceited, and a philandering playboy."
"And now, for the sake of some little starlet, Su Qianqian, he humiliates the Song family like this, letting his emotions rule him!"
Her words were filled with disdain and anger, as if the esteemed Young Master Gu, whom countless socialites flocked to, was utterly worthless in her eyes.
Song Shurou sighed and sat down beside her. "What on earth is the background of that little starlet? To be able to bewitch Young Master Gu like this?"
At the mention of Su Qianqian, Song Qingwan's expression turned complex.
She was silent for a moment before speaking softly, "An orphan. No real background. She is indeed very pretty, with an ethereal air about her."
She paused, her tone laced with jealousy and a strange sense of bewilderment. "She's not like me."
"It's as if she was born to live in the sunlight—simple, clean."
"She just has to cry, and the most powerful man tramples my, Song Qingwan's, dignity underfoot, laying everything at her feet."
"And me?"
Song Qingwan's voice dropped. "I have to hide and scheme like a rat in the gutter, carefully calculating every step, terrified that one day I'll be exposed and cast back down to where I came from..."
Song Shurou looked at her, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
She remembered the last time she saw Song Qingwan, it was when Gu Chengyu had suddenly stood her up for their arranged meeting.
Back then, Song Qingwan had come running to directly discuss with her how to deal with potential rivals like Shen Nian'an and Lin Shu, her thoughts as venomous and ruthless as Song Shurou had expected.
It was just that later, Lin Shu fell from grace too quickly.
And as for Shen Nian'an, that Shen Que protected his sister very well, personally reviewing all her important schedules, leaving no opportunity to strike.
But this time, she didn't seem purely hateful; it was more like... envy?
Song Shurou deliberately probed, "Wanwan, don't worry. Even if you can't marry into the Gu family, you've been in the Song family for so many years after all..."
Song Qingwan interrupted her, her voice panicked. "That's exactly what I'm worried about! I'm afraid of losing everything I have now, afraid I won't be able to play the piano anymore, afraid of being harassed!"
"Song Qingzhi only has eyes for Song Shuhua. He dotes on her without any principle. If he found out I'm not her biological daughter, but the child you secretly swapped back then, would he even glance at me twice? Would there still be a place for me in the Song family?"
"And Song Shuhua... if she knew my birth mother caused the death of her own daughter, she'd go mad with revenge against me."
"Her love was never for me. It was always for her own biological daughter."
Her voice rose with agitation, revealing the deepest fear and the twisted root of it all.
Her desperate need to marry Gu Chengyu was solely to secure a stable escape route for herself.
Even if the truth came out one day, and she was thrown out of the Song family and faced revenge from Song Qingzhi and Song Shuhua, as long as she was the esteemed Young Madam Gu, her fate wouldn't be too wretched.
On the surface, Song Shurou appeared frightened by her outburst, momentarily speechless, but inwardly, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
Song Qingwan took a deep breath, slowly calming down, her eyes regaining their determination.
She said to herself, "So, my road is still long. Without the Gu family, I'll need to find other options."
