Chapter 30: Who Gave You the Right to Cuckold Me

It was unclear how much time had passed. Only when the last patient had finally left did Song Shiyu snap out of his trance, his gaze fixed on the woman as she looked up at him with every subtle expression and movement.

He fought to suppress his racing heart, unaware that his cheeks had long since burned with a feverish heat. Awkwardly, he walked to the table and sat opposite Meng Shuyue, staring at her intently, unable to pull his eyes away.

The woman before him was clearly wearing makeup. He had seen many women made up, but he had never seen anyone look so breathtakingly beautiful. Her composed demeanor reminded him of the most sought-after Hong Kong starlets on television, and when she lifted her gaze, a ripple of inexplicable, heart-stirring agitation washed over him.

If not for the chime of the clock striking ten on the wall, Song Shiyu might have remained lost in that moment forever. He awkwardly withdrew his gaze, his confession—which should have been effortless—stumbling out in fragmented pieces.

"Shuyue, I... I like you. Can you... can you please not like my eldest brother or my second brother? I... I will treat you well!"

Meng Shuyue organized the medical records on the desk, stacking them one by one. Watching him lower his head in bashful silence, she couldn't help but marvel at how good his acting was. It was truly impressive how much effort he was putting into this charade just to avenge his brothers. Since their revenge plot had already begun, her own counter-offensive would now commence as well.

Not wanting the fish to bite too quickly, Meng Shuyue wavered, putting on a look of troubled hesitation. "But my parents like your second brother. He’s a pilot; if I marry him, who knows, maybe he could even fly me up to the sky!"

Song Shiyu’s face darkened instantly. Feeling a suffocating tightness in his chest, he retorted immediately, "I’m going to be an officer just like my uncle! That’s far more prestigious than him!"

"Mmhmm..." Meng Shuyue hummed absentmindedly, secretly laughing at the boy’s arrogance.

Not long after, her parents returned from their errands. Her mother pulled her into a corner, her heart aching. "That new husband of yours, he’s truly something. Leaving right after the wedding, leaving our Yueyue to live like a widow."

Meng Shuyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Mother, I’m pregnant; I’m actually glad he’s not home!"

Her mother tapped her forehead and looked toward Song Shiyu at the door, her expression guarded. "Since you’re already married into the Shen family, stop provoking the Song family. I’m afraid they don't have good intentions!"

"I know, Mother. If they leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone..." Meng Shuyue looked at Song Shiyu waiting by the entrance, and the memory of the three Song brothers plotting to humiliate her filled her with a chilling resolve. "But if they cross me, I will surely strike back!"

She would never let the century-old Meng family clinic be ruined on her watch, nor would she let anyone believe she was a discarded woman. If the three brothers insisted on holding a banquet and using a paternity test to expose her, she would play along until the very end.

*

At the library.

When Song Shiyu brought Meng Shuyue, Song Shixuan had already been standing before the shelves of Chinese medicine books for a very long time. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, he came here daily, hoping to see the girl he had fallen for at first sight. But she seemed to have vanished into thin air, never appearing again.

He had once tried to hire an artist to sketch her likeness, but because he had only seen her once—and his view was obstructed by the light—her image in his mind had become nothing more than a fleeting, beautiful hallucination. Only the initial spark of his heart remained etched in his memory.

Today was the four-hundredth day of waiting. Longing engulfed him like a tide, pulling him back into an abyss of despair and agony. He had even forgotten his appointment with Song Shiyu; even though Shiyu arrived an hour late, Shixuan stood motionless, looking like a wandering ghost.

Song Shiyu pulled Meng Shuyue along and pointed pointedly at the dazed Shixuan, shaking his head with a tsk. "Look, that’s the second brother your parents like. He’s completely obsessed with a woman. He’s been waiting here for a girl he saw once for a whole year. He can’t see any other woman now. You wouldn't be happy married to him!"

"So..." He paused. When Meng Shuyue looked back at him, his eyes were filled with performative longing. "So, could you ask your parents not to let you marry my second brother? Please?"

Disgusted by his sudden display of affection, Meng Shuyue looked away and nodded as if in deep thought. "Fine. I won't marry your second brother. I don't like him anyway."

"Really?" Hearing such a pleasant answer, Song Shiyu felt an inexplicable surge of joy. He continued to murmur, "Then will you marry me?"

"Will you?" He followed Meng Shuyue like a spoiled younger brother, persistently demanding an answer.

But Meng Shuyue didn't answer. She turned and walked out of the library. She hadn't lied; she had only agreed not to marry his second brother. As for marrying Song Shiyu? That was all his own wishful thinking.

On the other side of the bookshelf, Song Shixuan emerged from the shadows. As he looked at the familiar retreating figure at the library entrance, his breath hitched. The familiar heartbeat returned, just as it had the day he first saw her—the feeling of love, like a seed breaking through the soil into a towering tree, reawakened.

He rushed out like a madman, but the passing crowd blocked his path. By the time he reached the library entrance and looked around, the familiar figure was gone. He collapsed to the ground, his heart sinking into the depths of despair.

*

That evening, Meng Shuyue returned to the Shen family courtyard. Seeing the front gate wide open, she hurried inside, fearing a burglary. Instead, she found Song Shijing and Su Yanyan directing workers to move trunk after trunk of wooden cabinets into the room she had been occupying. Her own luggage and clothes had been tossed into the courtyard, being trampled by the workers.

Meng Shuyue was shocked and rushed over to confront them. "Why are you throwing my things around?"

Su Yanyan was busy ordering a worker to smash Meng Shuyue’s dressing mirror onto the ground. It shattered instantly, the shards reflecting Su Yanyan’s triumphant face.

Meng Shuyue stood frozen, blood rushing to her head. That mirror had been custom-made by the best carpenter for her mother to give as part of her dowry. And now, Su Yanyan had just smashed it to pieces.

Looking at the wreckage, Meng Shuyue shouted, "Who let you in? You aren't welcome here! Get out!"

"Is this your house? This belongs to my uncle," Su Yanyan said, arms crossed, her eyes filled with mockery. "I heard you’re only living here because the elder Mr. Shen was afraid of you being a laughingstock for being pregnant out of wedlock at your parents' home. Don't act like you're the mistress here!"

Meng Shuyue let out a cold laugh. She glanced at the silent Song Shijing and sneered, "Then why are you living in your uncle's house? Was it your mother who was afraid of you being pregnant and pointed at for having it done by the three of you?"

"Meng Shuyue!" Song Shijing roared, abandoning his silence. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the room. He slammed the door shut, and before she could react, his large hand clamped firmly around her throat.

"Who gave you the right to cuckold me!"