Regardless of the circumstances, Qin Yinan’s wedding was an occasion worth celebrating. Song Qingchun was happy on his behalf. After she bandaged his head wound, she used a glass of fruit juice in place of a wine to congratulate Qin Yinan sincerely. However, after leaving that dinner, Song Qingchun’s feeling of joy dispersed immediately.
That was because the following day was Friday. She was to meet Su Zhinian to deal with that issue.
Song Qingchun had trouble sleeping that Thursday night. She was tormented by nightmares where she dreamed about a small white thing crawling toward her. When it got closer, she saw that it was a very cute baby. The baby in her dream was of indeterminate sex. The baby had a pair of pretty eyes. They blinked continuously as the eyes stared at her, giving off a sense of innocence. The baby seemed to be afraid of her as it scanned her up and down. Eventually, it slowly climbed up her body. It nestled in her arms and reached out to touch her face and uttered in a babyish language, “Mommy.”
Song Qingchun’s heart melted and hugged the baby closer to her. She toyed with the baby as it giggled continuously. However, out of the nowhere, the baby started to cry. “Mommy, why don’t you want me? Mommy, how can you abandon me?”
Song Qingchun felt her heart squeeze. Her whole body shivered, and her eyes flew open. The first thing she did was touch her stomach. After realizing that she was just dreaming, she sat up to lean against the headboard and gasp hungrily for air.
She glanced at the bedside clock. It was 5:30 am. She tried to go back to sleep, but her mind was fully occupied by the memory of the baby in her dream. Even though she knew it was merely a dream, when she remembered those questions that the baby had asked, she still felt chilled to the core.
Song Qingchun sat in her bed until it was 7 am. She got up and prepared to face the day.
Song Menghwa was still asleep, and Fang Rou was preparing breakfast with the maid in the dining room. Song Qingchun greeted Fang Rou before she turned toward the front door.
“Qingchun, aren’t you going to have breakfast?” Fang Rou asked.
“No, I’m in a hurry; I need to go meet a friend,” Song Qingchun answered as she slipped into her shoes.
“Oh, wait a moment.” Fang Rou seemed to remember something right then. She called for Song Qingchun to wait for her as she rushed upstairs. After sometime, she returned with a purse. She passed it to Song Qingchun. “Haven’t you been wanting this purse? I bought it for you when it was on sale. Here, try it out.”
Song Qingchun thanked her happily. She carried it on her shoulder and twirled in front of the mirror by the front door before tilting her head to ask Fang Rou with a smile, “How does it look?”
“It looks perfect on you,” Fang Rou answered before adding, “Why don’t you take it with you? It matches your outfit nicely.”
Song Qingchun studied it in the mirror and realized that Fang Rou was right. Song Qingchun upended the stuff from her own bag and swept all of it into the new purse. Then she said goodbye to Fang Rou and left the house.
…
When Song Qingchun reached Su Zhinian’s bungalow, it was 7:30 am. She had thought that Su Zhinian would still be in bed, but when she keyed in the front door password and pulled the door open, she saw him walking down the stairs gracefully in a casual outfit.