How We Used to Be (5)

Before Song Qingchun had the chance to respond, Su Zhinian hung up on her. Song Qingchun's mind was still blurry since she had only just woken up. She allowed her phone's busy tone to continue as she was once more claimed by sleep. It was until two consecutive message alerts came from her phone that Song Qingchun pulled her phone to the front of her face and forced her eyes open to look at it. The messages were sent from the same number that had just called her.

The first message contained six numbers. The second only contained one word: password.

Like the phone call, the messages were short and to the point. Song Qingchun studied the messages for a few seconds as reality slowly dawned on her. She glanced at the date on her phone; it was 1st December, the day her contract with Su Zhinian officially came into effect.

It was only 7 am but Su Zhinian's phone call and messages had completely removed the idea of sleep from Song Qingchun's mind. There were still twelve hours until the dreaded 7 pm, but a miasma of anxiety already filled Song Qingchun's heart.

She thought that when she signed the contract with Su Zhinian, she was already mentally prepared, but when the day really arrived, she realized she was still ideologically and psychologically against it…

Song Qingchun was like a marionette the whole afternoon. During lunch, she was so out of it that she stuck her hand directly into the bowl of soup. Thankfully, the soup had been left out to cool for some time, so it did not scald her.

After lunch, Song Qingchun returned to her room to pack. She initially wanted to pack lightly, but when she finished, she realized that, no matter how simple she wanted it to be, there was still a whole floor of luggage.

It was already 3 pm when she finished packing, in other words, 4 more hours until 7 pm. The Song family's residence was not far from Su Zhinian's bungalow so Song Qingchun was going to stay until the very last minute. To allay the anxiety in her heart, Song Qingchun picked up a drama to pass the time.

The drama was led by Qiao Anhao and it had been making its rounds. The online reviews of it were all good, but Song Qingchun's mind was so stuck on the fact she would have to suffer one hundred nights in the same space as Su Zhinian that she had a hard time getting into the drama. In the end, she tossed her phone aside and stared out the window.

Perhaps it was due to her recent constant interaction with Su Zhinian or perhaps it was her dream from yesterday, Song Qingchun stared absentmindedly out the window and her mind wandered back into the past.

…

Song Qingchun remembered her third day of senior school clearly.

The rain was heavy that day, and she forgot to take the umbrella when she left home, so she was already dripping wet when she got home.

She had thought that her father would achingly berate her like usual saying something like Why would you run home in the rain? Don't you know how to call the driver?

However, that day, when she pushed open the front door, she saw her house that was in contained chaos. Many people crowded the room next to hers; they were busy tossing out an old bed, study table, cabinets, and other furniture as they replaced them with new ones.

She yelled, "I'm home!" a few times with a perplexed frown on her face, but no one seemed to notice her. She ran upstairs in her dripping attire and before she could even meet Song Menghwa, the overreacting housekeeper dragged her to her own bedroom and made her take a warm bath.