Chapter 19: The Secret Hidden for Many Years is Revealed!

Xu Qin’s face instantly changed when she heard those words. She angrily sat up from the bed.

Furious, she glared at Chen Yang, her face flushed, and gritted her teeth, saying, “Chen Yang, have you already forgotten how your father died? If it wasn’t for that black-hearted boss, Song Zhiming, how could your father have ended up cornered and jumped to his death? How could we, a mother and son, have suffered through these many years of hardship?”

“But what does this have to do with Song Qiao?”

Chen Yang had actually wanted to ask this question for a while. He hadn’t asked earlier because he didn’t want to upset her, but now he knew that if Xu Qin continued to act this way, he might soon lose Song Qiao.

Xu Qin immediately furrowed her brows, raised her hand, and pointed at Chen Yang, her lips trembling with rage as she asked, “Chen Yang, tell me, have you fallen in love with her?”

Chen Yang lowered his head, silent.

Xu Qin immediately understood, her chest heaving violently with emotion. Struggling to contain her anger, her eyes reddened, and she spoke with bitterness:

“Chen Yang, you’re truly the son I’ve painstakingly raised. You graduated from a prestigious university, and I know that if you marry Song Qiao, you’ll enjoy endless wealth and glory. Song Zhiming only has Song Qiao as his daughter—who knows, maybe the entire Song Group will one day be yours. Compared to these temptations, what am I, your mother who will only hold you back, and what is your deceased father?”

Seeing that Chen Yang still had his head lowered, indifferent to her words, she immediately upped the ante, saying, “In that case, I might as well not live and be a burden to you. I’ll go join your father right now.”

After saying that, she pulled the needle out of her hand, quickly got up, and ran towards the window of the hospital room, crying.

Seeing this, Chen Yang immediately rushed forward and hugged her. He knew her purpose and sighed, red-eyed, in resignation, “Mom, I was wrong. Please stop, I’ll listen to you from now on, okay?”

Xu Qin’s expression softened immediately, and she stopped causing a scene.

Turning around, she looked at Chen Yang, tearfully saying, “Son, it’s not that I want to pressure you, but the Song family has ruined us. How could I bear to see them living happily while we suffer? Only when they pay the same painful price as we did will your father rest in peace. And Shiyu, she has always been devoted to you. You must never disappoint her, or I won’t be able to face anyone back home.”

Chen Yang nodded gravely, as if accepting her words.

---

After work, Shen Yao rushed to visit Song Qiao. Just before entering, she accidentally noticed a thermal flask in the trash. It wasn’t that she had sharp eyes; it was just that this brand was Alfi’s.

She had seen this brand on the official website for a long time and knew that even the most basic version of their thermal flasks cost over 2000 yuan, which was why she always added it to her cart but never bought it.

Now, she saw this thermal flask casually thrown into the trash, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity, muttering, “What a waste. Even if you’re rich, you shouldn’t just throw things away like this.”

After feeling sorry for a few seconds, she entered with the fruit basket. Seeing Song Qiao asleep, she carefully placed the basket on the table, only to notice a pile of sanitary pads, which made her remark, “The president is really over the top.”

At this moment, Song Qiao stirred and opened her eyes, groggily waking up. When she saw Shen Yao, she immediately became more alert. She felt extremely weak, with no strength left in her body, and struggled to sit up.

Shen Yao quickly stopped her from sitting up, gently helping her back down, adjusting the blanket, and then sitting beside her. She casually asked, “Qiao Qiao, where’s Chen Yang?”

When Song Qiao heard his name, a trace of disappointment appeared on her face. “He went to accompany Xu Qin.”

“He’s just going to leave you here alone?” Shen Yao asked angrily.

Song Qiao bit her lip, remaining silent.

Shen Yao placed her hands on her hips and frowned. “Qiao Qiao, did he see you kill someone? I really don’t know what you want with such a fiancé. Is he just for decoration? Or have all the men in the world died?”

Song Qiao tightly pressed her lips together. “Yao Yao, don’t get too worked up. I plan to think things through carefully about the wedding.”

Shen Yao’s eyes lit up immediately. She spoke earnestly, “Qiao Qiao, trust me, you’ll never regret it. Chen Yang is not worth you giving your life to.”

Song Qiao didn’t say anything.

Knowing that Song Qiao didn’t want to discuss him, Shen Yao changed the topic. “Qiao Qiao, are you hungry? Do you want me to go buy you something?”

Song Qiao hadn’t eaten much all day. She nodded. “Yao Yao, I can’t eat anything else, and the doctor said I can’t have hard food. Just bring me a bowl of porridge.”

Shen Yao frowned and raised her hand. “Just porridge? How will that be enough nutrition? Don’t worry about it, I’ll go buy it.”

Song Qiao watched as Shen Yao left, feeling a pang of disappointment. Chen Yang hadn’t even asked if she was hungry, and she found herself doubting her choices more and more.

Shen Yao was quick. Not long after, she returned with a variety of food. As she entered the room, she just missed the nurse finishing changing Song Qiao’s IV.

Shen Yao walked up to Song Qiao with the food and asked, “Qiao Qiao, I’ve bought some things. Which one would you like?”

Before Song Qiao could respond, the nurse looked at the items and turned to Song Qiao, warning, “Except for the porridge, everything else is too oily and hard. You have acute gastroenteritis. You can only have liquid food within the next six hours.”

Shen Yao was taken aback but shrugged. “So, she can’t eat anything but porridge?”

The nurse nodded. “Yes, the only thing she can eat from what you bought is the porridge.”

Shen Yao felt defeated, but Song Qiao smiled at her. “Yao Yao, I’ll just have the porridge.”

The nurse had remembered that Xie Yanli had asked her to deliver the thermal flask earlier. He had specifically asked what Song Qiao could eat before bringing it to her. She wondered why Shen Yao had still gone out to buy food.

She wanted to ask something but decided against it and left the room, pushing the medical cart.

When the nurse closed the door behind her, she saw the thermal flask in the trash. She left the room, furious.

---

After leaving Song Qiao’s room, Xie Yanli didn’t leave the hospital. Instead, he leaned against his car window, holding a cigarette in his long fingers, occasionally taking a puff.

The smoke swirled around him as his jaw tightened, his eyes dark with anger.

He smoked one cigarette after another, but the frustration inside him didn’t ease. He thought about Song Qiao, clutching her stomach in pain, and his irritation grew. Finally, he crushed the half-finished cigarette and threw it away.

He decided to give her the thermal flask he’d left in the car earlier. It contained ginger tea he had personally made.

Returning to the hospital, he didn’t want to see Chen Yang again. He went to the nurse’s station and handed the thermal flask to the nurse, asking her to pass it to Song Qiao.

However, the nurse couldn’t bear to see his good intentions go to waste and hesitated before telling him, “When I went to change her IV just now, I saw her throw the thermal flask you gave her into the trash. I think you should stop sending things to her.”

Xie Yanli’s eyes flickered slightly, his fingers clenched into a fist by his side. Angry, he poured the ginger tea into the trash right in front of the nurse.

He placed the flask on the nurse’s desk, looked at her, and said in a low voice, “This thermal flask is new. If you don’t mind it having ginger tea in it, you can keep it. If you mind, just throw it away. And thank you for telling me this.”

The nurse looked down at the flask. It was clearly brand new, and the protective film was still on it. She knew the brand, and she felt quite flattered by the expensive gift from such a handsome and wealthy president. She nodded gratefully and said, “Thank you, sir.”

Without saying another word, Xie Yanli turned and left the nurse’s desk, his face cold. He was a suspicious person, and before leaving the hospital, he couldn’t resist taking one last look.

He walked to Song Qiao’s room, and as expected, he found the thermal flask in the trash outside the door. His lips moved slightly, and self-mockery filled his brow.

Just as he was about to leave, Shen Yao came out, tossing the leftover food. When she saw the tall, handsome man before her, her eyes widened, and she asked, “Are you Xie Yanli?”