Chapter 80: Song Ruoqing

The water ripple wrapped around the base of my left middle finger in a circle, light blue, like a dragon with head meeting tail—a simple version of that.

Its appearance confirmed that my dream from last night was real, and it strengthened my resolve to go to Wangting Mountain.

Tang Tang's finger was still oozing blood, but fortunately it was normal bright red, non-toxic and harmless.

I hurried to help her stop the bleeding, but she didn't care at all and actually used that finger to touch the water ripple.

But this time her movement was swift; a light touch and she immediately pulled back.

At the moment her finger touched it, the point where the water ripple's head met its tail split open, and the dragon's head lunged to bite Tang Tang again.

But Tang Tang pulled back, and it instantly retracted.

Tang Tang acted as if she'd discovered a new continent, continually prodding it with her finger.

The water ripple loosened then closed again, and Tang Tang laughed: 'Junior Sister, what is this thing? Why does it feel timid?'

I said helplessly: 'If I say I just had a dream and it was there when I woke up, and I don't even know what it is, would you believe me?'

'Of course I believe you—why wouldn't I?' Tang Tang said. 'Such things might seem strange to ordinary people, but in the Tang Family it's no big deal; I, as the elder sister, am well‑versed and experienced.'

The wound was tiny; by now the blood had clotted. Tang Tang wiped it with a tissue, then drove the car into the courtyard.

The steward came over to help open the car door, and Tang Tang told him to send someone to deliver the gifts I brought to Tang Ao's place.

Afterward, she pulled me to sit on the leather sofa in the living room, and the steward brought juice and small pastries.

'Hey, Ming Shu.' Tang Tang called the steward over and asked, 'I recall Huicheng has a Wangting Mountain tourist spot, right? Could you make a guide for me? I want to take Xiao Jiu there tomorrow to play.'

Ming Shu thought, then shook his head: 'Miss, if I remember correctly, that tourist spot hasn't been developed; back then that area apparently saw quite a few deaths. You should change venues for Miss Jiang.'

Tang Tang instantly perked up and asked, 'Many people died? Ming Shu, quickly tell me what happened.'

I also hurriedly held my juice, gazing eagerly at Ming Shu.

'I'm not entirely sure of the exact details,' Ming Shu said respectfully. 'I only recall that the tourism project was launched about thirty years ago, when the Song family won the bid.'

'Oh wow, thirty years ago—older than me.' Tang Tang asked, 'Is this the Song family that's the head of Huicheng's Four Great Families?'

Ming Shu nodded: 'Yes, it's that Song family, but back then the Song family couldn't even crack the top ten in Huicheng, and many bigwigs didn't think much of the Wangting Mountain project.'

After the Song family won the bid, something went wrong on the first day of construction: reportedly, an excavator dug up a nest of snakes, and then people kept dying on the site, causing a fuss for a while. Rumors flew everywhere, claiming the Song family had broken ground without worshipping the mountain god, inviting disaster, and that the Song boss's pair of dragon‑phoenix twins also died during that period.

Tang Tang and I were both startled, and Tang Tang quickly asked, 'What happened then? How was this resolved?'

'The Song boss hired an expert,' Ming Shu said. 'The tourism project was halted, and the Song boss spent a lot of money to set up a ritual site in front of Wangting Mountain, placing the twins' tomb on the mountain and refurbishing the pavilion there, with continual incense offerings. After that, the Song family's fortunes rose, and in thirty years they successfully ascended to become Huicheng's foremost clan.'

I don't know why, but hearing about those twins made me feel uneasy.

Tang Tang pondered and said, 'Come to think of it, I used to be classmates with the Song family's Third Miss, Song Ruoqing, but she was rather aloof and we never hung out.'

Ming Shu said, 'Miss, you may not know this, but the Song family's Third Miss has been bedridden with a lingering illness for nearly half a year; a few days ago I heard from a friend that she might not pull through.'

'What?!' Tang Tang almost jumped up from the sofa, 'Ming Shu, you're not lying to me, are you? Song Ruoqing is two months younger than me—how could she…'

Ming Shu's face grew grim: 'Miss, life is unpredictable.'

Tang Tang's mood instantly soured, and she pulled me back to her room.

We lay on her oversized bed; Tang Tang hugged a pillow but rested her head on my thigh, and she murmured, 'Xiao Jiu, you know, actually in high school I got along pretty well with Song Ruoqing.'

I stayed silent, just quietly watching Tang Tang as she spoke.

At this moment, she needed a listener.

'Back then we attended Huicheng's aristocratic school, with small classes of barely over a dozen students, and even fewer girls. Song Ruoqing… she looked like a fairy, it's said her mother was a classic Jiangnan beauty, and she inherited all of her mother's looks—so much that as soon as she entered the classroom, she drew everyone's gaze.'

But her personality was icy; she hardly made friends, studied diligently, and almost always ranked first in exams. As for me, I'm completely different—easygoing, a bit chuunibyou in high school, and I couldn't stand Song Ruoqing's pretentious, white‑lotus act.

Saying this, Tang Tang slapped her own cheek lightly: 'Looking back now, I really ought to die—how could I have thought such things about such a great beauty?'

I asked, 'What happened?'

Tang Tang hummed and continued, 'Song Ruoqing's talent for painting is extraordinary—whether sketching, ink wash, or even oil painting, she can do it effortlessly, but she always paints in secret. Our school has many art proficiency tests and painting contests, yet she never enters them.'

Although she doesn't participate, she follows these contests closely, and she'd quickly produce a painting related to the competition. In the winter of our senior year, a girl in our class stole Song Ruoqing's painting, entered it in the contest, and won first prize.

I exclaimed, 'What then? Did she report it?'

'No! She didn't!' Tang Tang sprang up, indignant. 'Huicheng's winters are bitter, and it snows at year's end. After the art competition results were posted that afternoon, I happened to see Song Ruoqing hiding in a corner of the school playground, crying.'

It was freezing that day, snowflakes falling nonstop. I don't know how long she stood there weeping—she was covered in snow, her cheeks purple from the cold. Afraid she'd freeze solid, I ran over, gave her a shove, and had her run two laps around the playground before we stopped.

That day we became friends; she told me about the painting situation. Given my temperament, could I tolerate it? Of course not—I scolded her and insisted on reporting the matter to the principal's office.

Song Ruoqing stopped me, saying, 'Forget it—I'm not going to pursue art anyway.' Xiao Jiu, you have no idea how angry I was then; my mind was full of upholding Justice, of helping Song Ruoqing get her due.

Yeah, if it had happened to me, I couldn't accept it either.

I asked, 'What happened after that?'

'After that…' Tang Tang's eyes instantly reddened. 'I took it upon myself to blow the whistle; the student who stole the painting got the punishment they deserved, and the authorities cleared Song Ruoqing's name, even awarding her a special‑merit certificate out of turn.'

I breathed a sigh of relief: 'Isn't that a happy ending for everyone?'

Tang Tang shook her head, feeling like she might cry: 'If I could turn back time, I'd rather have endured in silence alongside the Song Ruoqing of back then.'

I puzzled, 'Why?'

Tang Tang said, 'Because from that day on, Song Ruoqing never came back to school. When I found her, she was in the hospital, her right index finger… had been cut off.'