Chapter 650: Song Yu and Zhou Shihe

Each spent two yuan on red ribbons; Song Yu wrote: May Li Heng enjoy good health and smooth success in his career.

Below the ribbon, write your name and the date.

She wrote this from the heart.

For years, her greatest worry had been Li Heng’s health—he often stayed up late writing, easily wearing himself down.

Chen Xiaoyu wished for love; after writing, she leaned over to peek at her friend’s ribbon and teased, “You came all the way from Jingcheng just for this? Can’t you wish for yourself? Why is it all about your man?”

Song Yu said, “He works hard writing.”

Then she picked up her red ribbon and walked straight toward the pillar Xiao Han had pointed out.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaoyu took her own ribbon and headed to the other end.

First, she tied her own ribbon securely, then quickly scanned the others; since only four months had passed, the new ribbons on the pillar weren’t as numerous as she’d expected, and soon she found Xiao Han’s first.

Xiao Han had written: May the Bodhisattva protect me in defeating Song Yu and other rivals, and grant me a smooth marriage with Li Heng.

The characters filled every inch—the ribbon nearly burst from the sheer volume.

Song Yu was both angry and amused: How much did Xiao Han fear her? She lumped all her rivals into “others,” yet singled out Song Yu by name.

From this ribbon, she finally understood one thing: no wonder Xiao Han went to such lengths to recruit Zijin to fight her, no wonder she schemed to lure Song Yu south to Hushi—Song Yu’s weight in Xiao Han’s mind was immense.

But this “weight” was not a compliment.

She kept flipping and soon found Tian Rune’s ribbon.

Tian Rune had written: May the Bodhisattva bless Li Heng and Xiao Han’s relationship, grant them a long and harmonious union, and bless our Li family with many sons.

Tian Rune’s ribbon was thick, arranged in two neat rows side by side.

Holding the ribbon, Song Yu felt a stir inside, then fell into thought: Clearly, Li Heng’s parents fully accepted Xiao Han; clearly, Xiao Han had, in some form, replaced Zijin as the Li family’s daughter-in-law; Aunt Tian was satisfied with Xiao Han; Aunt Tian favored sons over daughters.

In Song Yu’s analysis:

If Xiao Han hadn’t won Li Heng’s parents’ approval, Aunt Tian would never have written such a ribbon—not even to flatter her, not with Zijin still in Jingcheng.

She believed Xiao Han had already supplanted Zijin’s position as daughter-in-law because she’d kept tabs on her friend’s movements; the Li family had visited Chen’s home not once in nearly two years, and Li Heng hadn’t gone either—this was highly abnormal, and a clear signal.

Song Yu suspected: Li Heng and his family avoided the Chen home because of the fallout three years ago, when Li Heng and Zijin slept together.

At this thought, she felt sorrow for Zijin; though rivals, seeing her once-close friend reduced to this broke her heart.

She knew better than anyone: if the Chen and Li families hadn’t quarreled, Zijin would never have been forced to leave Shao City High.

Had that not happened, none of them—Song Yu, Xiao Han, or Maisui—no matter how beautiful, would have gotten anywhere near Li Heng, let alone tangled emotionally with him.

Following this thread, all three of them owed Zijin a debt—they were all traitors.

Well, this was precisely why, in her past life, Zijin held the key to controlling Song Yu—because Song Yu was kind-hearted, always burdened by guilt toward Zijin.

That’s why, in her past life, Li Heng’s two marriage proposals to Song Yu were both ruined by Zijin.

Try any other woman—try Xiao Han—Zijin’s schemes would’ve been useless; if Li Heng proposed, it would’ve stuck.

But this life is different; now, Song Yu has no retreat, and Zijin has lost her former strength.

This isn’t to say Zijin’s power has weakened—it’s that the situation has shifted drastically. Yu Shuheng has entered the scene; Huang Zhaoyi is his woman; Zhou Shihe is hesitating; alongside Xiao Han and Song Yu, any one of these women alone would be enough to overwhelm Zijin.

And what does Zijin have?

To ordinary people, Zijin is undeniably a stunning beauty—but her pride in her looks is now a liability, not an advantage, among these women.

Besides, the Chen family has been dragging her down.

Zijin’s only remaining advantage is one: she is Li Heng’s first love, the first woman to be with him. This deep emotional bond is something the others can’t match.

Recently, Zijin’s demand for “Li Heng’s first child”—wasn’t that her acknowledgment of reality? Her recognition of her position? Her graceful exit from the competition? Her reluctant surrender to her rivals?

Had the Chen family supported her even slightly, Zijin wouldn’t have sunk to this.

To be honest, if this were only about competing for Li Heng’s love, the soft-hearted Song Yu would step aside, choose to let Zijin and Li Heng be together—she’d rather retreat, become his mistress.

But reality has no “what ifs”; now, seeing Zijin slowly pushed into retreat by powerful rivals, Song Yu feels far fewer reservations.

She sighed silently for Zijin, then kept searching—she found the ribbon Xiao Han had mentioned with little effort.

This ribbon had only six characters.

But they froze Song Yu in place: May I alone possess one heart.

Alone possess?

One heart?

Even knowing Li Heng favored her, Song Yu had never dared to hope for such a thing.

She looked lower—the name beneath was Zhou Shihe.

Why was Zhou Shihe so confident?

Her beauty? Her talent? Her family background?

Though she’d never met Zhou Shihe in person, Song Yu already had a standard for judging her beauty and talent.

As for Zhou Shihe’s family, she’d heard hints from Zijin and Xiao Han—it might be even stronger than Chen Xiaoyu’s.

Looking at this ribbon, Song Yu felt a deeper emotional surge than from the previous two.

Though only six characters, they carried a different flavor.

Zhou Shihe was supremely confident.

She must be stunning—so beautiful she looked down on all rivals, even Yu Shuheng, a noblewoman of a great family.

The key truth hidden in these six words: Zhou Shihe dared to harbor such ambition only because of Li Heng’s feelings for her.

Song Yu didn’t believe Zhou Shihe was foolish or blind to the situation; her desire to possess Li Heng completely likely stemmed from Li Heng pursuing her—perhaps that was her true source of confidence.

Over the years, the women Li Heng actively pursued were few and far between—Song Yu was one, Xiao Han half.

If Zhou Shihe truly was pursued by him, then given her overall standing, such ambition was plausible.

Song Yu held the ribbon, her emotions complex beyond words.

No wonder!

No wonder Xiao Han felt like she was facing a dire threat.

No wonder Xiao Han had lost her confidence.

No wonder Xiao Han schemed to push Song Yu south—to sit back and watch the battle, to reap the benefits.

Song Yu pondered: Had Xiao Han considered all this? Probably—but she’d concealed many crucial details in her letter.

“Lao Song, why are you staring at this ribbon?” Chen Xiaoyu finished her task and glanced at Song Yu’s ribbon.

“May I alone possess one heart? Hey—is the signature Zhou Shihe? The one who plays piano so well?” Chen Xiaoyu, who’d gotten into Peking University, reacted sharply.

Since she’d brought her friend to Jing’an Temple, Song Yu had no intention of hiding it; she admitted plainly, “Yes, her.”

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoyu leaned closer, staring at the ribbon for a long moment: “This ‘one heart’—it’s Li Heng, right? Zhou Shihe’s in love with your man?”

It was easy to guess.

If it had nothing to do with Li Heng, Song Yu wouldn’t have cared so deeply about Zhou Shihe’s ribbon.

As she spoke, Chen Xiaoyu looked up at her friend, suddenly tense—she felt nervous for her.

She’d always believed Song Yu’s beauty and poise made her unmatched, without rivals—yet here, in Hushi, one had appeared, too soon, too intense.

Song Yu nodded, then shook her head. “It’s Li Heng—but I think it’s Li Heng who’s fallen for her.”

“What?”

Chen Xiaoyu was stunned, disbelieving, gesturing wildly: “He’s got you, a beauty like you, and he’s still chasing other women? Doesn’t he fear you divorcing him?”

Song Yu gently shook her head. “I don’t know if he still fears me anymore. Let’s find Li Heng’s ribbon, then head to Lushan Village.”

Chen Xiaoyu asked, “You want to meet Zhou Shihe?”

Song Yu said, “We came all this way—we might as well.”

“Uh… should I say this?” Chen Xiaoyu suddenly stammered.

Song Yu turned her head, watching her.

Chen Xiaoyu pointed at the signature “Zhou Shihe”: “I’ve never met her, but I’ve heard of her. They say she’s the most beautiful in our circle—brilliant and stunning. Even my brother and sister-in-law praised her endlessly.”

Song Yu asked, “Your brother and sister-in-law met her?”

“Of course they did. My brother once went to Yu Hang’s Zhou family on business—he met Zhou Shihe. When he returned to Jingcheng, he joked with friends: Yu Shuheng’s title as the top beauty is up for grabs.” Chen Xiaoyu recalled.

Song Yu caught the detail, asking casually, “Your brother has ties to Yu Shuheng?”

“Ties? More than ties! My brother’s a fool, a hopeless romantic—he chased Yu Shuheng for five or six years, utterly obsessed. She didn’t even look at him. He ended up marrying my current sister-in-law, humiliated.” Mentioning Yu Shuheng, Chen Xiaoyu grew sour, even annoyed.

Even if her brother wasn’t a heartthrob, he was still decent-looking—yet he kept getting rejected by Yu Shuheng. No wonder her sister resented her.

Song Yu had heard Yu Shuheng’s name many times but never met her in person—perhaps this trip to Lushan Village would, as Xiao Han hoped, bring them all together.

She set down the ribbon and said, “Let’s find Li Heng’s.”

Chen Xiaoyu whispered, “Since Zhou Shihe’s your rival, won’t you sneak off and tear down her ribbon and toss it in the trash?”

Song Yu laughed. “This is a sacred Buddhist place—how could I do such a thing?”

Chen Xiaoyu rubbed her hands. “If you’re too shy, I’ll do it for you—I’ll take the blame.”

Seeing her friend reach for the ribbon, Song Yu pulled her away.

They moved to the other side. Song Yu said, “Search this area—look for Li Heng’s signature.”

Chen Xiaoyu asked, “Are you sure it’s here? Not near Zhou Shihe’s?”

Song Yu paused, then shook her head. “I can’t be sure—but it’s likely here.”

Chen Xiaoyu pressed, “Why?”

Song Yu said, “Intuition.”

But it wasn’t intuition.

Song Yu felt: Li Heng’s ribbon would either be with Zhou Shihe’s—or far away. Since Xiao Han hadn’t found it earlier, it wasn’t in that section.

So she decided to try this side first.

Song Yu was lucky; when she flipped the third pillar, she actually found familiar handwriting.

Suddenly, without reason, she felt nervous.

She steadied herself, then carefully pulled the entire red ribbon free from the pile, and stared at it.

It read: May my children with Song Yu live a life free of calamity and illness, healthy and strong.

Below it, the signature: Li Heng.

Song Yu fell silent. She was stunned that Li Heng, who had come to Jing’an Temple with Zhou Shihe, had written something about her—and even more stunned that he had prayed for himself and his daughter.

Sensing her friend’s oddness, Chen Xiaoyu, who had been searching nearby, turned and asked, “Old Song, what’s wrong? Why are you standing like a statue? Did you find something?”

Song Yu snapped back to reality, then gave a slight nod.

Chen Xiaoyu immediately abandoned the thick stack of red ribbons in her hands, stepped over, and gasped: “Wow! Li Heng is thinking way ahead—he’s already imagining your children.”

Then Chen Xiaoyu teased her friend: “Say, Old Song, do you want to have kids with the hottie Li Heng?”

Song Yu smiled calmly, set down the red ribbon, and turned away. “Let’s go to Lushan Village.”