Chapter 654: Difficult Moments

After hurrying and rushing, Binshi finally returned to Fudan University in the drizzle.

Pulling out an umbrella from the car, Li Heng walked along the cobblestone path into the alley, his mind still preoccupied with Song Yu.

The closer he got to the alley’s end, the stranger today’s events felt—he wondered silently: Could this be a chess game Song Yu set for me?

“Li Heng! Li Heng!”

Just around the bend, he was pulled from his thoughts—he looked up to see Wei Xiaozhu and Bai Wanying calling out to him.

The two girls stood at the gate of Building 27, and upon seeing him, they came forward.

Clearly, they had been waiting here for a long time.

“I knew you’d come back from the airport right around dinnertime,” Bai Wanying declared with certainty the moment they met.

It sounded like an ordinary remark, but carried a meaning only those in the know would understand.

Li Heng paused, asking: “You knew I went to the airport?”

“Of course—you were picking up Song Yu,” Bai Wanying replied with a teasing tone.

Li Heng snapped his head up toward Building 26 and asked: “Has Song Yu already arrived?”

Since Bai Wanying knew about Song Yu, there was only one possibility: Song Yu was already here.

Wei Xiaozhu interjected: “At your place.”

Li Heng’s heart surged—he asked quickly: “When did she get here?”

Wei Xiaozhu said: “I didn’t check the time, but she’s been here for at least an hour.”

Bai Wanying nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, his thoughts flew straight to Song Yu—he hurried past the two girls to leave.

But Bai Wanying’s next words pinned him in place.

“Shihe is hosting Song Yu for you,” Bai Wanying said.

Li Heng froze, turned, and stared at the two girls.

The two girls stared back without blinking.

After a moment, Li Heng sighed and asked: “Comrade Wan Ying, when did you figure it out?”

The question came out of nowhere, but the two girls understood exactly what he meant.

He was asking Bai Wanying: When did you realize my relationship with Zhou Shihé?

Bai Wanying smiled: “Maybe because I’m disabled, I’m more patient than most, observe people and events around me more carefully, and—yes—more sensitive.”

Seeing he said nothing, Bai Wanying added: “Your relationship with Shihe—aside from me and Xiaozhu—no one else has found out yet.”

Li Heng didn’t deny it; he murmured: “Comrade Bai, if you ever recover fully, you’ll become a legendary woman.”

Bai Wanying said: “Thank you for the compliment. What are you planning to do about this situation?”

Li Heng looked again toward his home and asked: “Has Shihe not come down yet?”

Both girls shook their heads. “No.”

Li Heng asked: “Is anyone else in my house?”

Wei Xiaozhu replied: “Only Shihe and Song Yu.”

This was precisely what the two girls feared most. In the past, Shihe would never have held out so stubbornly.

But now, she’s ignored even her mother, her aunt, her little aunt, and her little uncle—she’s staying in Building 26 to host Song Yu. Clearly, something unusual is happening.

Clearly, Zhou Shihe has locked horns with Song Yu.

That’s exactly why Bai Wanying and Wei Xiaozhu waited here for him to return.

The same thoughts occurred to Li Heng.

Realizing Song Yu and Zhou Shihe had been alone together in his home for over an hour, Li Heng’s insides trembled—he furrowed his brow deeply.

Logically, this shouldn’t happen. Song Yu’s detached nature makes it impossible for her to clash with Shihe on first meeting.

Unless…

Unless something triggered Song Yu’s nerves?

Something that made her abandon her usual reserve and pride to confront Shihe?

He couldn’t think of any other possibility. Two women meeting for the first time, alone under the same roof for over an hour—could they possibly be chatting pleasantly? More likely, they’ve clashed.

Damn it all—where exactly did things go wrong?

In fact, he’d guessed right—he’d hit the nail on the head.

Song Yu’s nature made it unlikely she’d quarrel with a stranger on first meeting.

But everyone has two sides; most people show only one—until their hidden trigger is pulled, then the other side surges out.

Today, Song Yu was exactly such an exception.

Before leaving Beijing, she had weighed every possible outcome, anticipated every scenario, and prepared contingency plans.

But man plans, heaven laughs. Her preparations meant nothing against the overwhelming strength of her opponent.

At Jing’an Temple, as she stared at the words “May I alone win one heart,” she fell into deep silence.

From those six characters, she read the ambition and boldness of Zhou Shihe—the stranger who had become her rival.

“May I alone win one heart!”

What audacity! What arrogance! What confidence!

Even someone as privileged as Song Yu had never dreamed of monopolizing Li Heng alone.

She knew it was unrealistic—not just because of his other lovers, but because she’d always felt guilty toward Zijin, and could never bring herself to drive away her friend Maisui.

As for Xiao Han…

When she learned Li Heng came to Shanghai to pursue Xiao Han, she quietly understood one truth: Xiao Han had her own strengths—she wasn’t easy to displace.

If not for Li Heng repeatedly visiting his hometown in Dongting Lake, if not for his constant presence in Song family gatherings, if not for his public declaration of love for her at Peking University—leaving her with no retreat, pushing her to the cliff’s edge—Song Yu would never have meddled in his chaotic love life.

At least, for a long time—until graduation—she had no intention of interfering in his personal affairs.

But there are no “what ifs” in life.

Especially not with her grandparents and aunts constantly bombarding her with praise: How wonderful Li Heng is! How talented! How perfect for her! Hearing them endlessly repeat this, Song Yu realized she could not exist as an isolated individual in this world.

She was flesh and blood—she had to accept reality, and consider others’ expectations.

Did she love Li Heng?

Yes.

Deeply. She had fallen for him at first sight.

But until now, because of Chen Zijin’s presence, she had suppressed this love.

Yet before coming to Shanghai, unexpectedly, Chen Zijin had sought her out alone. In the Sihe courtyard on Xila Hutong, the two girls talked all night.

That night, after receiving Zijin’s forgiveness, Song Yu finally let go of some reservations and resolved to bind the increasingly unruly Li Heng with her affection.

Yes—in both Song Yu’s and Chen Zijin’s eyes, Li Heng’s romantic luck had grown so rampant over the years that he was nearly a wild horse running free, causing them deep concern.

Even so, Song Yu had never intended to monopolize Li Heng alone.

But now, a woman had suddenly appeared, revealing her ambition to monopolize Li Heng. If Zhou Shihe succeeded, what would become of her?

How would the Song family face their relatives back in Dongting Lake?

Her grandparents cherished face above all—would they tell their neighbors their beloved granddaughter had been used and discarded by Li Heng?

How could she honor the promise she made to Zijin that night?

Xiao Han was fierce and cunning too, worthy of caution—but in Song Yu’s eyes, Xiao Han lacked the conditions to monopolize Li Heng alone.

But Zhou Shihe was different. At Jing’an Temple, when she read those six characters on the red ribbon, a sudden, overwhelming sense of crisis surged within her.

And in that moment at Lushan Village, when their eyes met, not only did Zhou Shihe secretly marvel at Song Yu’s beauty—Song Yu was equally stunned by her rival’s grace and elegance. In that instant, her sense of crisis exploded.

In that instant, she knew: Zhou Shihe was the kind of woman Li Heng could never resist—the one who could most deeply touch his inner softness.

In that instant, she understood a cruel truth: Zhou Shihe was like a deep, sucking bog—if Li Heng got entangled, he’d never escape.

In the past, Song Yu had remained detached in love not only because of her calm nature, but also because her rivals were weak—they never gave her urgency, never forced her to awaken her sense of crisis.

But from the moment she met Zhou Shihe, Song Yu felt an unprecedented, crushing pressure from this rival.

She immediately understood: if she let herself be overwhelmed in this first encounter, she would never recover—never rise again from under Zhou Shihe’s shadow.

So, despite her usual kindness, Song Yu inexplicably did not stop her best friend Chen Xiaoyu from handing her the knife, nor did she stop Man Ning’s reckless words. Instead, she seized the blade, hesitated only briefly, then plunged it unflinchingly into Zhou Shihe’s “heart.”

As they say, when masters clash, a single moment decides life or death—this moment, Song Yu dared not, could not, show mercy.

Because a woman’s intuition told her: if she softened now, she would never rise again. With Zhou Shihe’s personal and family advantages, Song Yu would spend her entire life crushed beneath her.

This wasn’t fantasy or baseless fear.

Imagine—if she fell, and Zhou Shihe stayed constantly by Li Heng’s side, his musical soulmate, over time, monopolizing him alone would become possible.

And in that very moment of meeting Zhou Shihe, Song Yu finally understood fully why Xiao Han had gone to such lengths to bring her to Shanghai.

The opponent was simply too strong—Xiao Han might not be able to handle her.

So even though she knew she was being used as Xiao Han’s weapon, she had no choice but to take this step—to deliver a crushing blow to Zhou Shihe, shattering her fantasy of monopolizing Li Heng.