Chapter 1：Twenty-Two (1/2)

Qian Meigui broke out into a sweat during the brisk early dawn.

The dawn chorus of birds sung outside her window, filling the space with peaceful, resonating sounds. She felt the cold mist of the early rain breeze through the slightly parted window.

On most nights, she often suppressed the memories of something she refused to remember—and yet, she would occasionally be reminded as the raw, aching feeling of anguish returns to well inside her.

The police, her adoptive parents, and the media had told her that she conjured some memories—some distinct reality to replace the truth before them. But she knew what the truth was; it was they who refused to believe it. It was an accident, they claimed. It wasn't, she thought.

No one believed her, no one except for Song Sheng, the eldest son of Song Rui, the very man who adopted her not long after the incident.

It had been two years since Song Sheng had gone abroad, and since then, he only contacted through the occasional, brief phone calls and short emails, leaving nothing but a few words.

Before he left the country, Qian Meigui and Song Sheng were close to finding the clues about her parent's deaths, only to find—not a dead-end—but loose ends. Ends that were deep and devoid, and some that did not add up to the time and place of the 'accident.'

Soon after, she had given up, and shortly, Song Sheng left abruptly for business. Qian Meigui supported his decision, the way he always helped her, but he barely contacted anyone, let alone her. But she always knew that Song Sheng might return—as he is the successor of the second-largest Pharmaceutical company in China.

It was her twenty-second birthday. Instead of preparing for the celebration of her birthday, she was feeling melancholic about her past and how much she devastatingly missed him.

Although they weren't bound by blood, she had always admired Song Sheng since they first met. Her adoptive father, Song Rui, claimed to have been a close childhood friend of both her parents when he came to take her in.

Qian Meigui, not knowing anything about the mysterious Song Rui, refused to go with him until he asked his eldest son to see her. Qian Meigui was stubborn, but Song Sheng persisted gently.

He did not express his condolences, and he did not pity her; instead, he gave her the words she wanted to hear.

Reluctantly she went home with them and was welcomed by a large, beautiful-looking family. Song Sheng had three younger siblings close to their age, and Song Rui and his wife welcomed her with gentleness.

She was surprised to learn that their family was warm and inviting for an elite and upper-class family; most weren't.

After a year of adjusting, Song Rui announced to his family of six that he would adopt her. Qian Meigui was both ecstatic and devastated to hear that she would be a new addition to the Song family.

Even though she lost her parents, she had gained new ones along with two brothers and two sisters who did not object to her stay. She felt happy and guilty about it.