CHAPTER 517: 468 OIL RUNS OUT, THE LAMP GOES OUT_3

Song Jiayu confessed.

This made Zhuo Ting pause, "You didn’t agree?"

"Not only did I not agree, I was even strongly opposed. But... I couldn’t resist Xiangqiao’s personality, let alone Lerong who was standing by Xiangqiao’s side."

"..."

"Come to think of it, when I was unaware of what Xiangqiao had done to Lili in the past, the real rift between me and Lerong was over your affair with Xiangqiao."

Zhuo Ting’s hands stayed clasped behind him.

"Maybe I’m too conservative, but how could I, as a father, happily accept my daughter in her prime twenties deciding to marry a man nearly fifty years old?"

"To be honest, I couldn’t accept it."

"But at that time, Lerong said that an older man with a younger wife was fairly common and not something to make a fuss about, and told me to respect the feelings between you and Xiangqiao."

Song Jiayu shrugged his shoulders and snorted,

"When did Lerong become so open-minded? The more I think about it, it must be because of you, Zhuo Ting, holding the position of the Vice President."

"..."

"When Xiangqiao first offended Wen Nian, I was completely unaware, it was only later that I found out. Xiangqiao turned to you hoping you would protect her."

Zhuo Ting’s gaze also fell on Song Xiangqiao lying on the hospital bed,

"I knew all the reasons she came to me. An excellent and smart girl like her, standing there, you could tell at a glance that she had high standards, as she floated with her glass of red wine through parties big and small."

"She always became the hot topic of the elite social circle."

"If she really wanted to climb up the social ladder so quickly, why not set her sights directly on Wen Nian instead of me, a man twice her age? So... I had to investigate her intentions."

"So, you knew her intentions but still agreed to date her, and even marry her?"

"Yes, I knew. But I only knew that she had offended Wen Nian, not the specifics. She was a good girl, young, beautiful, smart, and charming. And me, I’m getting older by the day, I don’t have children, and the older people get, the more they yearn for offspring. When I was young, not having children didn’t seem like such a troubling thing, but as you get old, you think about it more and more."

"So you only wanted Xiao Qiao to bear you children?"

Song Jiayu said this with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I liked her too."

"..."

"I liked that at such a young age she was very scheming, watching her naively thinking she could control everything, fun and childish, and also liked to see her rack her brain and give her all when thinking about something, which would fill me with vigor and vitality."

"If you liked her, why did you let her go to jail for you at that time, why did you pin those charges on her?"

Zhuo Ting’s lips curled up,

"I liked her... but not that much. Compared to the power and position that the Vice Presidency could bring, Song Xiangqiao really counted for nothing..."

"..."

Song Jiayu furrowed his brow once more, about to rebuke Zhuo Ting’s remarks, when he saw murky tears streaming down Zhuo Ting’s face.

His eyes fixed on the person lying on the hospital bed...

Eyes filled with red blood vessels.

The words Song Jiayu wanted to say were swallowed back down.

"Drip, drip, drip, drip—"

The once-normal EKG had turned into a flat line at some point...

By the time Song Jiayu came back to his senses, his heart had already reached his throat, his eyes wide with shock as the alarm sounded again...

"Doctor! Nurses!"

The hospital room descended into chaos once more, and Zhuo Ting just stood quietly aside watching.

————

Song Lili and Wen Nian had just returned to the President Mansion when they got a call from Song Jiayu,

"Xiao Qiao... is gone."

Song Lili was silent for quite a while upon receiving the news, then looked up and told Wen Nian.

Wen Nian responded with an acknowledgment.

They both knew that Song Xiangqiao wouldn’t live long after jumping from such a height while carrying such a big belly, surviving that fall was already a mercy from heaven.

"Later on, I’ll discuss with dad how to handle my sister’s funeral arrangements."

"...Okay."

Song Lili acknowledged with a sound.

Death is like a light going out; all sins vanish with it.

Song Lili would not cling too much to the sins of a dead person.

On the family registry, Song Xiangqiao was just her sister, Song Lili, nothing more.