Chapter 21 Are you okay?

By rights, a bone injury takes a hundred days to heal.
At this point, Kang Ying should still be in the hospital—
or at the very least, resting quietly at home.

For the past two days, Song Yiyi had been staying with her parents.
During meals, Gu Chengze had casually mentioned that when Kang Ying caused a scene in the compound threatening to jump, the incident had such a bad influence that Cen Bowen had to give a public self-criticism in a meeting.
Not only him—her uncle by marriage, Battalion Commander Wang, also got dragged into it.
Since Kang Ying counted as a military dependent from his household, Battalion Commander Wang nearly got a demerit on his record.
It was said that Cen Bowen had privately gone to his own little uncle to plead for leniency, which got the punishment reduced from a demerit to a verbal warning.

Because of this, Battalion Commander Wang took out his anger on Kang Ying’s aunt.
Rumor had it that the couple fought at home—whether it was one-sided or mutual blows, no one knew.
He also strictly ordered that Kang Ying was not to enter the family compound again.

Yet here she was anyway.

Song Yiyi stepped out of the main room and saw Kang Ying limping toward her.
She stopped in front of the door and didn’t move.
“Do you need something?”

Her cold tone made Kang Ying feel deeply displeased.
Why was this lifetime’s Song Yiyi so cold-blooded?
She didn’t have time to think it over and forced a smile.
“Yiyi, I have something to say to you. Can you help me inside?”

At the time, Cen Bowen had dropped her off.
He hadn’t felt comfortable coming in, using the excuse of army business to leave.

Kang Ying was clinging to the wall, looking unsteady on her feet.

Cai Mengjun and Song Minghui were cooking in the kitchen,
but when they heard the noise, they came out.

“Yiyi, your friend?” Song Minghui asked. “Invite her in to sit.”

Song Yiyi didn’t move a muscle.
“No. She’s Cen Bowen’s childhood friend—Kang Ying, the one who tried to jump.”

At those words, both Song Minghui’s and Cai Mengjun’s faces changed.
Their eyes toward Kang Ying were filled with scrutiny and dislike.
After all, who would like someone who tried to steal their daughter’s man?

Kang Ying acted as if she hadn’t noticed. She greeted them brightly:
“Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie. I’m Yiyi’s friend too! When Yiyi first came to the compound,
if Bowen was busy, I was the one taking her out to have fun.”

Her skin was indeed thick.

She probably thought Song Yiyi was too embarrassed to tell her parents the truth—
since no one had ever directly spelled it out, mentioning it would seem unreasonable.
And besides, the jump incident was her own family matter; she saw herself as the victim,
so Song Yiyi had no right to comment.

But when she finished speaking, Song Minghui’s expression grew colder.
Cai Mengjun simply shook her head, turned, and went back to the kitchen.
On her way out, she pulled Song Minghui along.
“Old Song, come help me.”

Kang Ying’s face almost cracked, but she shook her head and remembered she had serious business today.
Forcing a smile, she turned back to Song Yiyi.
“Yiyi, can I come in? The doctor said I can’t stand for long with my leg like this.”

Song Yiyi gave her no face at all.
“No.”

Kang Ying’s composure faltered.
“You—!”

“Yiyi, dinner’s ready.” Song Minghui’s voice came from the kitchen.

Kang Ying nearly exploded with anger.
This whole family was ignoring her!
No wonder Song Yiyi was so rude—clearly, she’d been raised wrong from the root!

Song Yiyi turned to go inside,
but Kang Ying, setting aside her fury, quickly called after her.
“Yiyi!”

Song Yiyi looked back.

Kang Ying pasted on a smile, forcing down the fire in her chest.
“How about this—we talk outside. Just a few minutes of your time.”
Before Song Yiyi could reply, she added,
“If you don’t agree, I’ll keep coming back! I only have a few things to say, and I promise I’ll leave once I’m done.”

“Dad, Mom, you two go ahead and eat. I’ll be right back,” Song Yiyi said,
then walked straight out.

If Kang Ying came to pester her every day, she might end up doing something drastic.
Besides, she thought, she still had plenty of good days ahead,
and she definitely wasn’t going to let this annoying pair mess them up.

There was a tree in the compound with a bench underneath, not far from the Song house.
Song Yiyi walked over and sat down.

Kang Ying slowly hobbled after her.
When she arrived, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat down with difficulty.

Song Yiyi eyed her with open suspicion.
“Did you really break your leg?”

In the cover of night, Kang Ying rolled her eyes, but her voice stayed soft.
“Really.”

Song Yiyi shook her head, clearly unconvinced.
A broken leg, and less than two weeks later she could already walk?

She had no interest in digging deeper.
Once Kang Ying sat, she said immediately,
“Say what you came to say. I’m still waiting to go back and eat my wontons.”

Kang Ying gave an awkward laugh, then turned to her.
“Yiyi, you should make up with Bowen.”

Song Yiyi’s face went blank.
“Are you out of your mind?”

Kang Ying didn’t catch the sarcasm in her tone—
she thought Song Yiyi was concerned about her.
She quickly said,
“I’m fine. As long as you and Bowen are happy, I don’t mind making some sacrifices.
Yiyi, Bowen’s been so sad because of you—every night, he falls asleep by my hospital bed in tears.”

She seemed to get into character fast, her emotions rising.
Her voice even choked with sobs:
“Yiyi, Bowen’s been in so much pain lately.
Because of last time, the army made him write a self-criticism,
and his little uncle is always punishing him.

“That’s nothing—what hurts him most is you ignoring him.
Every night he comes to keep me company, he falls asleep murmuring your name.
Yiyi, you should go to him…”

Song Yiyi couldn’t listen to any more.
What was this nonsense? Was the original novel’s heroine really this warped?
Was there something seriously wrong with her?

“Stop right there!” Song Yiyi cut her off.
“Kang Ying, there’s no one else here—drop the act.
If you have something to say, say it straight.
Those fake, sugary lines? Save them for your Bowen.”

Kang Ying put on a look of hurt.
“Yiyi, every word I said was sincere, I swear!
I truly hope you and Bowen can be happy together.”

Song Yiyi was truly impressed by this kind of performative personality—
even she, a self-proclaimed drama queen, would have to bow down.

She took a deep breath, and her tone instantly turned cold:

“Kang Ying, if you came here just to tell me that Cen Bowen has been staying at the hospital with you recently, then you can save your breath. Because he and I have already broken up. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.

“To put it bluntly, even if you two sleep in the same bed every night, it has nothing to do with me, and I couldn’t care less.

“If you came here to show off, then fine—I wish you and Cen Bowen a long and happy life together, okay?”

With every word Song Yiyi spoke, Kang Ying’s face darkened further.
If not for the cover of night, the black-as-a-pot-bottom expression she wore would have been quite a sight to behold.

A strange feeling rose in Kang Ying’s heart as she looked closely at Song Yiyi.
Only then did she realize that compared to her past life, there was something different about her.

Song Yiyi had just woken up, her loose curls spilling over her shoulders.
In their previous life, she had always dressed plainly—no matter how naturally beautiful she was, she looked dull and understated.

But the woman before her now had clear, bright doe eyes and delicate features imbued with a new kind of poise.
Especially her aura.

In the past, Song Yiyi was obedient and well-mannered in public, but quiet and aloof in private.
Kang Ying remembered that whenever she made sly, cutting remarks in front of Song Yiyi, the latter never fought back—at most, she would furrow her brows and walk away.

But in this life, Song Yiyi radiated a strong sense of aggression.
Her demeanor was more radiant and confident, her whole being vivid and full of life.

Jealousy curdled in Kang Ying’s chest.
Why did Song Yiyi get to have such beauty?
What made her worthy of it?

“Fine, I’ll be honest then.”
Kang Ying’s voice turned rough now that she had dropped the act.
“You think I wanted to come find you? It’s only because you seduced Cen Bowen—he still can’t let go of you!”