Sixty

In less than a moment, the sound of quarreling erupted from the study on the second floor. Zhang Momo chased after them to the doorway, hesitating only for a second before Song Jiakai’s clear, cutting rebuke reached her ears without missing a word.

“Mom, what did you promise me? And now what are you saying to her?”

“Jiakai!” This time, it was Song’s father, his stern voice tinged with anger that flared instantly. “Is that how you speak to your mother?”

“How am I speaking? It was you who said Momo should come here for the New Year! Now you’re forcing her out—it’s you again! Just how am I supposed to talk to you? If I’d known it would end like this, I’d have taken her out for the holiday instead…”

“Shut up!”

The shout, trembling with emotion, sent a chill straight through Zhang Momo’s heart. She could no longer care for decorum; she pushed the door open and rushed inside. Grabbing the indignant, stiff-necked Song Jiakai, she pulled him back, glancing desperately from one to the other, not sure who she should explain to first. “No, please, let me speak—Auntie didn’t say anything to me…” As she said this, her back was to Song Jiakai, but after a moment’s thought, she turned around. “Calm down, please. This really has nothing to do with anyone else—it’s all me.”

A cold, mocking laugh sounded behind her, and the heart Zhang Momo had nearly burned with anxiety turned icy cold. She turned to see Song’s mother’s gaze, filled with bitter sarcasm and resentment, fixed tightly on her face. “Such skillful tactics at your young age! I can’t believe I ever misjudged you.”

With that, the last warmth in Zhang Momo’s heart froze solid. She stood there, dazed and motionless, her mind a tangled mess, unable to piece together a convincing explanation. Song’s mother’s gaze slid from her face to fix, hard as steel, on Song Jiakai.

“Very well, Jiakai, let me be clear now. Your father and I will absolutely not allow Zhang Momo to enter the Song family’s doors!” As she spoke, she pointed a rigid finger at Zhang Momo. “Bringing a woman like this home—aren’t you afraid people will talk about you for the rest of your life? She was never good enough for you, and now she’s playing tricks…”

“Mom!” Song Jiakai’s face had gone livid. The truth hovered on his lips, yet he could not speak it, the pressure building inside him until his chest felt ready to explode, his breathing ragged with anger and frustration. Zhang Momo tried to pull him out, but he wouldn’t budge. Instead, unexpectedly, he turned and drew her to his side. “How could you say that? Even if it’s like this, can’t you see she’s innocent? She’s a victim too!”

“Victim?” Song’s mother gave a cold glance at the flustered Zhang Momo. “If she’s a victim, it’s her own doing! Have you ever seen a proper girl get herself drunk alone in a bar? Would any decent young lady behave like that?”

The sharpness of this question left not only Zhang Momo suspended in the air, but even Song Jiakai was struck speechless for a moment. The radiance in his eyes was shadowed by pain and gravity. He mustered his courage several times, wanting to tell his mother, “That wasn’t Momo in the photo,” but he couldn’t say it! Momo, standing beside him, looking at him with sorrowful eyes—he couldn’t say it, for her sake! If his parents learned the whole truth, their dislike for Momo would only deepen, not lessen—what good would it do to speak?

He gripped her hand so tightly it trembled. Zhang Momo truly couldn’t understand how things had come to this. She had already caused trouble for him and his family—wasn’t that enough? Now, even the harmony in this family was being shattered because of her!

“Enough!” Zhang Momo wrenched her hand free from Song Jiakai’s grasp. “No one say another word—I won’t appear here again.”

She ran out of the Song house, heedless and desperate, darting into the street to flag down a taxi. She had barely managed to say “Yongning Estate” before tears spilled down her cheeks.

Why was it impossible for her life to escape such helpless setbacks? Mistake after mistake, harming others every time; another mistake, and someone else paid the price; mistakes continued, dragging more people into the mire…

She was like a cockroach, existing in this world only to disgust others! Truly, she should never have dared to imagine she could live a normal life. Not happiness, but just an ordinary existence—even one that could be lost at any moment—she had no right to expect it. As for Song Jiakai, she had known he was fickle, known he never took anything seriously—that was why she’d dared to accept him without reserve. Even if he lost interest the very next day, even if their normal relationship could only last a day, she simply wanted a boyfriend, just to make her life look normal for once. But what happened? She had thrown a once carefree man’s life into chaos.

Now Zhang Momo finally understood Nianqing’s wisdom! Months ago, when her leg had just healed, she should have gone abroad. If Nianqing wouldn’t go, she could have gone alone! To some deep mountain wilderness without cars, without the internet, best if there wasn’t even phone service—glaciers, oceans, anywhere at all!

“Driver, I’m not going to Yongning Estate anymore—I want to go abroad.”

The middle-aged driver in front looked back at her in surprise. “Which country? Are you hiring me for a long-distance trip?”

Zhang Momo fell into despair. “Just take me to the nearest airline ticket office.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

The crew-cut driver jerked his chin toward the left window. “That car behind us has been following me for a while. This time, I really…” As he spoke, there was a screech of brakes and the taxi came to a halt at the roadside, slantwise. In front of them, Song Jiakai’s car blocked half the lane. The driver sighed, raising his brows. “…I can’t shake him—he’s got a better car, this has nothing to do with skill!”