When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 152: Chapter 71: The Top Performer of the 1960s Art Troupe (10)

”You just broke up with someone, and the next thing I know, you’re accepting tickets from another man to go to a concert. How did I not know I raised such a shameless, brazen child!”

Xia Zhaoyun fixed her with a cool, detached gaze and let out a soft laugh. ”Aunt Song, I don’t agree with any of that. Are you just going to make these baseless accusations against me without a shred of evidence?”

”Let’s get this straight. First, about the pushing incident. Who in your family actually saw it?”

”Didn’t it happen like this? After we came out, one of us was upstairs and the other was downstairs. Then you heard Song Baozhuo—no, Song Shabao—who had a small cut on her head and blood running down her face, mumbling incoherently that her sister wasn’t to blame?”

”Did she ever say I pushed her? When your second son threatened to call the police and have me arrested, was Song Shabao okay with that? Of course not. She was terrified of being exposed, so she desperately stopped you from calling anyone. That way, she could play the part of the kind, fragile victim while pinning all the blame on me, all while saving face for your Song Family.”

”I’m not stupid. I just couldn’t be bothered to explain.” Xia Zhaoyun continued to sneer. ”Yesterday, plenty of people saw me refuse that man’s concert ticket. And yet, you still question my character.”

”Or did you not hear that my reason for refusing was to remain faithful to Mr. Huo?”

”Yes, I did go to the concert. But the ticket was a first-meeting gift from Brother Hao’s grandparents to their future granddaughter-in-law. Is there a problem with that?”

Aunt Song stared at her in disbelief. Xia Zhaoyun used to be such a closed book, keeping everything bottled up inside. She would swallow any grievance, no matter how great, and suffer in silence.

Xia Zhaoyun gave another soft laugh. ”The Song Family raised me for eighteen years. I don’t suppose I need to remind you what those years were actually like, do I?”

”Don’t try to make me sick with this talk about the ’kindness’ of raising me. You’ll only tarnish the sacred titles of ’mother’ and ’father’!”

Her expression cold, she turned to get food with He Qingran, whispering in her ear, ”The guesthouse was comfortable enough, but it doesn’t feel clean. I have no idea who slept in that bed before me. My skin is crawling. Let’s go to the bathhouse after we eat...”

He Qingran nodded. The weather was just starting to warm up, which meant the season of group trips to the bathhouse had begun.

She and Yunyun were the best of friends, but they had never been to the bathhouse together. ’A friendship isn’t complete without it,’ she thought. This was the perfect chance to fix that!

After their meal, they found the bathhouse wasn’t very crowded in the middle of the day. They had arrived early. Only the sound of two or three scattered showers could be heard, and the air was only faintly humid, not yet thick with steam.

Xia Zhaoyun casually took off her clothes, revealing her fair skin.

He Qingran glanced over and gasped, her eyes instantly widening in shock. ”Yunyun, you...”

Xia Zhaoyun froze, then looked down. Her body, hidden beneath her clothes, was a patchwork of old scars. There were burns from boiling water, from cigarette butts, from hot wax. There were marks from whips, clothes hangers, and bamboo canes. They crisscrossed her skin, and though they had faded as she’d grown, so much so that a careless glance might mistake them for the skin’s natural texture, the fact that they still left such uneven, pitted marks was a testament to the torment she must have once endured.

In the brief moment she stood frozen, a few other girls, drawn by the gasp, wandered over curiously. They probably thought someone was making a fuss over a bug.

As a result, her exquisite body was now on display for all to see.

She lowered her eyelids, clutching a towel to herself in a picture of helplessness. But behind her downcast gaze was a flicker of cold irony.

’Look at me. I’m just a scheming woman, always setting traps for others and looking out for myself, even if it means exploiting a hero’s reputation. I acted all high and mighty, claiming I wouldn’t accept any benefits from him.’

’But those benefits have already permeated every moment of my life and work. In just one day, everything from getting food in the cafeteria to a concert ticket that others couldn’t get even if they begged everyone they knew—it all just fell into my lap.’

’Of course, even the better seat I managed to get yesterday without even asking was the result of my own little scheme.’

’The more polished and beautiful I appear on the outside, the more filthy and calculating I am on the inside!’

With a mortified expression and tears welling in her eyes, Xia Zhaoyun pressed herself against the lockers. ”I... I got these scars when I was a naughty kid...”

He Qingran gritted her teeth, furious. ”Xia Zhaoyun, do you really see yourself as some helpless little cabbage in a field, for anyone to trample on? The Song Family are absolute scum! They’re just so good at keeping up appearances!”

”So that’s why you wanted to come to the bathhouse in the middle of the day! You were trying to avoid people, weren’t you? And even now, you’re still trying to cover for the Song Family? They really have insulted the sacred titles of ’father’ and ’mother’!”