Chapter 31: Softhearted

At ten o'clock the next morning, in the hospital ward, Assistant Lin was reporting to Song Mi, "...Zhou Tianxun has a preliminary diagnosis record of moderate depression, dated last May."

Upon hearing this, Song Mi's eyes flickered.

Once Shen Mei steps forward to question the possibility of Shen Ye's suicide, public opinion will surge. Before the autopsy report is released, this medical information about Shen Ye's boyfriend, Zhou Tianxun—the other deceased—will be highly exploitable.

Yet, both professionally and personally, she hoped matters would not reach that point.

Now that she had abandoned the Shen Mei angle, she needed to focus her efforts on the Zhou family. "Notify Xu Yu that by tonight at the latest, I want to see the signed compensation agreement with the Zhou family."

"Understood."

Afterward, Assistant Lin spent fifteen minutes briefing her on the situation in Jinzhou. Once Song Mi had given her instructions, he closed his notebook and rose to leave. "Please rest well!"

She truly needed rest.

Around ten o'clock last night, Lin Shen suffered a sudden intracranial infection, with vital signs plummeting. At the most critical moment, doctors even resorted to electric defibrillation.

She had waited outside the emergency room until three in the morning.

During that time, Lin Shen's sister, Lin Qian, fainted from crying.

Song Mi immediately sought help from Housekeeper Zhou, summoning the most renowned neurology experts from the capital overnight. It had taken great effort to save Lin Shen's life.

Physical exhaustion was the lesser concern.

The crux was, Song Mi felt her heart had softened.

She had survived an elevator malfunction before, and now a car accident. If she were to perish in either, she doubted anyone would weep for her.

The Shen family members all wished her gone; they’d probably rejoice at her demise.

Oh, there was Qiao Weiwei.

But they had never truly confided in each other. Qiao Weiwei might grieve for her a few days, but soon she would be forgotten.

She blamed no one; it was all her choice.

She didn't even consider it a transaction—for Old Master Shen, she was never the only candidate.

So, even knowing this path led to the abyss, she embraced it willingly. Her so-called softening heart had nothing to do with this path, nor with the choice.

In these few hours, standing at death’s threshold, she felt more like a gambler than ever before.

And once again, she had won the bet.

Yet, she also felt a void more profound than ever—a living person’s life could never be equated to a heap of cold numbers.

What about the one in her womb?

Elevator malfunction, falling down stairs, fever to the point of unconsciousness, car accident... If any had gone slightly awry, it would never have survived in her body.

Unable to shake off her softened heart, Song Mi absurdly wondered: was it truly impossible for this tenacious accident to exist in any form?

...

Meanwhile, Wen Yanli had rushed overnight to a small town called Zhou Village at the southernmost tip of the neighboring city.

Early that morning, he met Shen Ye’s bedridden sister, Shen Mei. After a long and earnest conversation, he finally obtained her personally signed letter of authorization.

Speeding back, just as he exited the highway, he received a call from Pei Qiuyang. “Brother Li, have you seen Mi’er?”

He had sensed something already, but only replied, “I’m not in Jinzhou.”

“I know.” It made little sense, and men rarely believed in intuition, but Pei Qiuyang felt the man on the other end knew things he himself did not. “I took the early flight to the capital, just left the airport!”

“If you see Mi’er, or know which hotel she’s staying at, let me know.” Then he added, “That shouldn’t count as leaking the whereabouts of the parties involved, right?”

Wen Yanli pressed his lips in silence.

After waiting a moment, Pei Qiuyang spoke again, “Is it really inconvenient?”