Chapter 391: Everyone was freed

"You say the surveillance video is fake, so are you also going to say the audio is fake?" Xia Xi exited the video, then calmly opened an audio file.

The background noise was a bit noisy, but the conversation between Xia Xi and a male student was very clear—

"Do you know Miao Yijia?"

"What Miao……"

In the middle, Xia Xi threatened the male student to hand over the surveillance video to the police, and only then did the male student explain the true situation of that night—

"How…… how did it get dragged into the police? I and that female student, we had a consensual relationship, there's no problem, right? Moreover, that night she was the one who kissed me first! I asked if she wanted to go upstairs to a private room, and she didn't refuse. We'd both drunk a lot, but not to the point of intoxication. How long ago was all this? She never came to me to say anything."

Miao Yijia couldn't reach Xia Xi's phone, so she could only let the audio play in the ward; everyone present heard it. After surgery, her complexion extremely poor, Miao Yijia's face was almost a pallid white.

Xia Xi looked at her coldly, without a shred of sympathy: "You can deny it, it's fine; I have that male student's contact information, I can call him over to confirm…"

Before her voice even faded, Miao Yijia trembled, clutching the bedside of the hospital bed: "No, I don't want to see him!"

Xia Xi delivered the final blow: "This child, you never intended to keep it, did you? Since you say you're pregnant with Chen Songbai's child and want him to take responsibility, why abort the child?"

Miao Yijia shook her head desperately, feigning ignorance: "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You consulted the doctor that morning when you went to the hospital for a checkup about whether you could abort this child, haven't you forgotten?" Xia Xi said, "Let me help you recall."

Saying this, Xia Xi opened another audio recording.

It was her conversation with the doctor.

"I'm the older sister of Miao Yijia who just spoke; is she pregnant?"

"Yes, but she wants to abort it; family should pay more attention, I see her mood isn't good."

"I understand, thank you, doctor."

After a long while, Xia Xi looked at Miao Yijia again; she couldn't utter a word.

Miao Yijia's parents also had nothing to say, looking at her disappointedly.

Miao Cuixia was merely domineering, not stupid; with all this information before her eyes, plus Miao Yijia's current state, she had an answer in her heart: "Jia Jia, you're carrying someone else's child, pretending it's Songbai's?"

Miao Yijia jerked her head up, not looking at Miao Cuixia, staring fixedly at Chen Songbai; she saw intense anger in his eyes. Miao Yijia would not accept that her painstaking scheme, step by step, had come to naught at the last moment.

"Yes, I spent one night with that man at the bar, but what does it matter? Doesn't the night I spent with Chen Songbai count?" Miao Yijia cried out, questioning, "Doesn't he still need to take responsibility for me?"

Miao Cuixia furrowed her brows, her attitude shifting: "How can you be certain the child in your belly is Songbai's, not that man's?"

Miao Yijia couldn't speak.

Miao Cuixia added: "You want to abort this child, isn't it because you're not even sure whose child it is?"

Miao Yijia flatly denied: "No……" The situation was urgent; she didn't have enough time to think of an excuse, so she said whatever came to mind: "Chen Songbai has made his attitude clear, unwilling to take responsibility for me; if this child were born, it would be a burden, a useless appendage. I couldn't selfishly saddle him with the stigma of an illegitimate child, especially an unwanted one. I can't afford to gamble; I'd rather he never come into this world."

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, hunched over the bed, utterly weak.

Even the fierce Miao Cuixia, hearing this tearful speech, was somewhat moved.

But Chen Songbai spoke up at this moment: "Before that night, you'd already slept with other men; explain how the blood on the sheets came about."

"I…… I……" Miao Yijia's mind was a tangled mess, unable to explain.

"Enough, what are we doing?" Miao Fu, truly feeling sorry for his daughter, seeing a room full of people ganging up on her, put on a stern face and stopped them: "This ends here; the child is already gone, what more is there to say?"

Xia Xi usually respects elders, but now she didn't want to let it go lightly: "The child is gone, but we must clarify how it happened, so my sister isn't smeared with dirty water and burdened with a false accusation of murder."

Miao Fu looked at her, suppressing his anger: "Then what do you want?"

"This question should be directed at your daughter; she wants what she wants, having caused all this trouble, destroying another family, leaving everyone unrested." Xia Xi said, "My sister's intention is clear: today, we put an end to all of this, and from now on we will have no further contact."

Chen Songbai looked at Xia Xuan with a dejected expression, wondering if she truly didn't want him anymore.

Miao Fu frowned, feeling that as an elder his dignity had been trampled, his tone not pleasant: "You keep saying she destroyed another family; don't you realize my daughter and Songbai's affair was purely accidental? If you insist on saying that, I'll have to speak a fair word: regardless of what my daughter did before, in this matter with Songbai she may be at fault, but she absolutely shouldn't bear the blame."

After a pause, Miao Fu looked at Chen Songbai, speaking with righteous confidence: "I've understood, Xia Xuan wants a divorce—perfect, I and your aunt are here; Songbai, state your position: did you bully my daughter, and do you or don't you intend to take responsibility?"

Chen Songbai caught his meaning, finding it unbelievable—that he, like his own parents, was being told to divorce and marry Miao Yijia.

Finally someone had her back; Miao Yijia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, gaining a bit more confidence.

However, Chen Songbai was a hundred times more obstinate than she imagined; he said: "I've always treated her like a sister; I could never marry her. Uncle, I hope you don't force me. I can compensate her in other ways, rather than give her a marriage destined to be unhappy."

Miao Mu tugged at Miao Fu, signalling him not to be so arbitrary; Miao Fu didn't look at his wife, appearing very resolute: "Then what do you think you could use to compensate my daughter for the physical and psychological harm she's suffered?"

Although Miao Cuixia had some reservations about Miao Yijia's deliberate concealment, compared to that she more wanted her son to divorce Xia Xuan; thus, she leveraged Miao Fu's reproach to also pressure him: "Songbai, your uncle is right; no matter what, the harm Jia Jia suffered is real. As a man, you should take responsibility. Jia Jia is still lying in the hospital bed, so weak—can you bear to do this?"

Miao Fu then said: "Things have come to this point; your wishes no longer matter—this is something you must do."

Wave after wave of pressure bore down; Chen Songbai couldn't endure it, breaking down: "What about Xiao Xuan? Who will make up for the harm she's suffered?"

Xia Xuan pursed her lips, feeling trapped in an inextricable tangle.

After a few seconds of silence, Chenfu spoke: "Songbai, just do as your uncle says! Before your uncle and aunt arrive, I'd already discussed this with them over the phone—hurry up and get the divorce paperwork done, marry Jia Jia. Even though the child is gone, this decision won't change."

Xia Xi looked at the scene before her, akin to a farce, and also had nothing to say. What she feared most was this: even if she produced all the evidence, Miao Yijia would still insist she and Chen Songbai had a relationship.

No one cared anymore whether the child was Chen Songbai's.

After all, what happened that night only she and Chen Songbai knew. Chen Songbai didn't remember; it wasn't just her word.

The matter had completely reached an impasse.

Chen Songbai glanced at his mother, the one who constantly controls his life; then at his father, always silent and stubborn; then at his stern-faced uncle pressing him, his expressionless aunt; Miao Yijia lying in bed feigning frailty; finally he looked at Xia Xuan, whom he viewed as gentle and tranquil, now exhausted.

He wanted to touch Xia Xuan's face, but as soon as he lifted his hand, he realized he didn't deserve to.

"Sorry, Xiao Xuan." Chen Songbai moved his lips.

Xia Xuan's heart sank; this "sorry" signaled that he had made his choice; she slightly lifted the corner of her mouth, giving him a somewhat desolate smile.

This is fine too.

Everyone was freed.

No longer need to be trapped in this tangled mess, struggling and bound, with no way out.

His choice gave each person a path. Only she felt a bit sad.

But life is long; there's nothing one cannot endure.

Her grandmother, mother, and older sisters have all gone through various hardships and made it through; there's no reason she should be weak and incapable, unable to withstand a single blow.