Disobedience To Control chapter 22
Blood Gash
Song Siheng didn’t spend the night in the suite for the first time. Instead, after dressing neatly in the early hours, he left.
“Hey? Hey! Are you just going to leave me like this?” Yang Xiaobei watched his departing figure and shouted.
But Song Siheng didn’t even look back.
“I’m about to explode—” Yang Xiaobei’s voice disappeared behind the closed door.
In the end, he didn’t untie the tie that bound Yang Xiaobei;s wrists. As for how Yang Xiaobei left later, he had no idea.
Driving through the cold night, the biting wind seeped into the car, and Song Siheng realized that he had lost control tonight. He didn’t need to quarrel with this person in the first place.
Song Siheng decided to attribute his loss of control to his recent too-close interactions with Yang Xiaobei. If he continued to indulge like this, the bomb might explode again at any time.
Fortunately, not everything recently was heart-wrenching.
Just back at the company, Li Ke brought good news. The general office of a medical technology company in North City has loosened its stance and was willing to negotiate the details of cooperation with Sicheng. Although there hadn’t been any substantial progress yet, it still put Song Siheng in a great mood.
Over the next two weeks, Song Siheng didn’t initiate contact with Yang Xiaobei again. The only weekend during this period, when Yang Xiaobei rushed to the hotel, he was informed by the front desk that there was no reservation for that night.
After that, Yang Xiaobei sent him some messages, all of them simple greetings without much substance. Song Siheng only replied to two of them, with very short and perfunctory responses. Eventually, the frequency of Yang Xiaobei’s messages decreased.
The dinner that was originally scheduled with Fu Xuehua at the beginning of the month didn’t happen until the end of the month.
According to his plan, the end-of-quarter wrap-up work was basically finished, so there was no need to be as busy as before, and they could have finished this dinner early. But unfortunately, Fu Xuehua had an emergency with a critically ill patient, so the dinner was postponed again and again. It was finally arranged for New Year’s Eve.
For such an arrangement, Fu Xuehua was the most satisfied. After all, it was rare for the family to sit together to welcome the New Year.
This “reunion dinner” was arranged at a well-known old restaurant in Jiangcheng, owned by Fu Xuehua’s old classmate. It was usually difficult to book a table at this restaurant, especially on New Year’s Eve. However, Fu Xuehua attached great importance to this gathering and insisted that her old classmate reserve a private room for them no matter what.
Song Ping and Fu Xuehua valued this dinner for another reason, as Song Qin’s blind date Miss Yu would also be coming. The significance of her willingness to have dinner together on New Year’s Eve was self-evident.
At 7:15 in the evening, well past the agreed time for the family to meet. That day, Li Ke didn’t come, and there was traffic congestion on New Year’s Eve, so Song Siheng took over half an hour to reach the destination.
He pushed open the door of the private room, and Song Ping and Fu Xuehua were already seated at the main seats. There was a young woman in a beige coat sitting next to Fu Xuehua, with a beautiful face and a gentle demeanor.
She greeted Song Siheng as he entered the room. Song Siheng nodded politely in return.
Fu Xuehua stood up from behind the table and scolded in a soft voice, “You guys, why are you all so late? Is there anything more important than a family reunion? Miss Yu has been here for twenty minutes already.”
“It’s okay, Auntie. My workplace is nearby, so it’s only natural for me to come early.” Miss Yu smiled and didn’t take it to heart.
Song Siheng was never fond of this kind of family dinner, and now with an outsider added, he didn’t want to initiate conversation. He dragged a chair furthest away from Song Ping and sat down.
The four of them looked at each other, with only occasional exchanges of conversation between Fu Xuehua and Miss Yu breaking the silence.
During the conversation, Song Siheng roughly learned that Miss Yu was also a medical student, and her parents also worked in the hospital. She was currently engaged in research just like Song Qin. In terms of qualifications, they were indeed a perfect match.
“Why hasn’t Song Qin arrived yet?” Song Siheng glanced at his watch, and it was almost 7:30.
Song Ping’s face darkened, and he took out his phone, “I’ll give him a call.”
Just as Song Ping dialed the phone, the door of the private room was pushed open with a creak.
It was the first time Song Siheng had seen Song Qin like this, with his coat open and his shirt unbuttoned, his hair looking a bit messy.
Song Ping had been waiting for a long time, and seeing Song Qin’s appearance inevitably made him angry.
“What’s wrong with you? Haven’t you learned anything from Song Siheng?” Song Ping’s voice couldn’t contain his anger.
But Song Qin ignored him, took off his coat, draped it over the back of the chair, and sat down.
He turned to Fu Xuehua and Miss Yu and greeted, “There was something going on in the lab, so I came late. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Miss Yu spoke up and smiled at him, “I often work overtime, so I understand.”
Seeing Miss Yu making excuses for him, Song Ping couldn’t help but frown.
Fortunately, the waiter started serving the dishes on time, which eased the tension.
“Miss Yu, try this smoked fish, it’s their specialty. No other restaurant in Jiangcheng can make it so authentic.” Fu Xuehua turned the glass round table, speaking gently.
The four of them sat together, but Song Siheng felt like an outsider. He fiddled with his phone, feeling like the whole world was gathering together while his usually lively chat windows were all silent.
“Siheng.”
Song Siheng was lost in thought but was suddenly called out.
He looked up to see Fu Xuehua calling him, “What’s wrong?”
“Miss Yu heard that your company is developing some intelligent medical devices, and their college might have courses that could collaborate. Could you talk to each other?”
Song Siheng was taken aback for a moment. How did he end up discussing business with his future sister-in-law? Nevertheless, he had to respond first, “Does your college have any procurement needs?”
Miss Yu shook her head, “Not that urgent. We just have a collaborative education project with other colleges, and there are relevant courses. If it’s convenient for you, we can organize students to visit your company for learning?”
Song Siheng realized it was a trivial matter, “Sure, we have an open exhibition hall. If you need it, feel free to contact me anytime.”
Song Qin, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, “Song Siheng.”
Song Siheng turned to look at him.
“How’s the cooperation negotiation going with that company in North City?” Song Qin showed unusual concern for his business.
“It’s going well. Thanks for the referral.” Song Siheng wasn’t used to his concern.
“Well, if your company has any problems in the future, we can chat more.” Song Qin picked up a cup of warm water and took a sip.
Fu Xuehua was also surprised by the rare brotherly affection between them, “Yes, yes, you two brothers rarely get together, so it’s better to chat more when you have time.”
It was past eight o’clock, and some families outside had already started setting off fireworks. That year, Jiangcheng lifted the ban on fireworks, making New Year’s Eve much livelier than previous years.
Seeing the atmosphere easing up, Song Ping once again displayed the demeanor of an elder, “Song Siheng, there are many professional forums in the city. If you’re really interested, you can go listen to them more. It won’t do you any harm.”
Song Siheng chuckled lightly, immediately retorting, “Yes. We should communicate more. If you want to change cars in the future too, just let me know early.”
Song Ping’s face changed drastically upon hearing this, leaving him speechless for a moment, feeling choked up and unsure how to respond.
Miss Yu immediately stepped in to smooth things over, “The industry is changing too fast nowadays. Those of us doing research sometimes can’t keep up with the times.”
Song Qin didn’t say anything more, nor did he pick up his chopsticks. He just drank his warm water sip by sip.
Song Siheng wasn’t good at pretending; halfway through the meal, he made an excuse and left the table. The restaurant was bustling with activity, and as he headed to the restroom to wash his hands, he decided to leave.
There was a large terrace on the top floor where one could overlook the night view of the old city. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur after the fireworks had burned out.
As Song Siheng pushed open the railing of the terrace, he noticed someone standing not far away. It was a woman wearing a beige coat, with long hair draped over her shoulders.
“What a coincidence,” Miss Yu heard the voice behind her and turned to see Song Siheng, offering a greeting.
Song Siheng caught a whiff of smoke and glanced down to see her holding a cigarette between her fingertips, the tip burning with little sparks of light.
“What’s wrong? Feeling upset about dinner with them?” Song Siheng stood beside her and asked.
“Song Qin doesn’t like me,” Miss Yu extinguished the cigarette, her tone calm.
“Is that why you’re upset?”
“Of course not, I just wanted to get some fresh air,” she smiled, her laughter hearty and cheerful, “I knew he wasn’t interested in me a long time ago. Do you think I’m the type to be manipulated by others?”
Song Siheng was somewhat surprised.
“I came to dinner out of respect for your mother,” she continued, extending her hands, fingertips touching, making a closing gesture, “Song Qin, he’s the kind of person whose heart is always closed.”
Song Siheng smiled, thinking that Miss Yu’s assessment was accurate. Over the years, he hadn’t seen Song Qin display any emotions typical of a living person. Sometimes he even wondered if Song Qin was an android implanted with a chip.
“Alright, we’ve been out for too long. Let’s go back,” Miss Yu adjusted her hair and shook her coat, dispersing the smell of smoke.
“Yeah,” Song Siheng nodded.
As they walked halfway, Miss Yu suddenly turned back, “The visit yo your company is settled, I’ll contact you later.”
“No problem,” Song Siheng agreed readily.
However, when the two returned to the private room, only Song Ping and Fu Xuehua were left. Both of them didn’t look too good.
“Where’s Song Qin?” Song Siheng asked.
“He said there was something urgent at school and left,” Fu Xuehua sighed lightly, not saying more.
The atmosphere became awkward again, and Song Siheng didn’t bother to maintain superficial peace, saying, “In that case, I’ll leave too. I’ll cover my share.”
As he was about to leave, he turned back and asked, “Miss Yu, did you drive here? Do you need a ride?”
Miss Yu waved her hand at him, “You go ahead and do what you need to do. I can go back by myself.”
What was supposed to be a good New Year’s Eve dinner ended up as a mess.
After getting in the car, before starting the engine, his phone vibrated.
Surprisingly, it was a call from Song Ping. He guessed it was another round of scolding, so he hung up once. Then the phone rang again. Song Siheng swiped the screen and answered.
“What’s up?” Song Siheng asked.
“…Nothing, just reminding you to drive safely,” Song Ping’s voice was low.
Song Siheng found it inexplicable, “Got it. You should go back and rest soon too.”
As midnight approached, fireworks continued to light up the sky, and the old city was illuminated.
The black sports car drove out of the old city towards the towering skyscrapers of the new city. During a red light, Song Siheng took out his phone, opened the call log, and scrolled through several pages until he found a number.
He hesitated for three seconds before dialing.
Dial tone… dial tone… dial tone…
The dialing screen remained unresponsive for more than ten seconds until a mechanical female voice came from the other end.
“The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later…”
Song Siheng felt annoyed; this person always disappeared when needed.
He pressed the dial button again, still no answer.
It wasn’t until the third attempt that the call was answered, just as the car stopped at the entrance of a suburban park.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone?” There was no preamble; Song Siheng went straight to the point.
The voice on the other end coughed first, then answered quickly, “What’s up? Miss me again?”
The same indifferent tone.
“I’m at the entrance of the suburban park. Come over within half an hour.”
There was a pause on the other end, then a quick agreement.
After the call ended, Song Siheng gripped the steering wheel, his fingers sliding unconsciously on the screen.
In less than twenty minutes, he saw someone waving at him not far from the headlights.
Yang Xiaobei arrived, wrapped up tightly, one hand still supporting his knee, panting.
Song Siheng didn’t get out of the car, but as the person approached, he realized something was wrong.
There was a four to five-centimeter long gash on the right side of Yang Xiaobei’s jawline, not even scabbed over yet.
📢Author’s Note
Boss, your little lamb has gotten into trouble again.