It was Zheng Zhiyi’s trick!

Song Ning had just stepped into the entryway when she saw Zheng Zhiyi sitting on the living room sofa, her brows tightly furrowed.

It seemed she’d heard Song Ning’s footsteps. Zheng Zhiyi looked up, saw who it was, and immediately stood.

“Song sister… you, you’re back.”

Song Ning gave a soft hum. “Chengcheng… hasn’t caused any more trouble, right?”

She glanced curiously at Zheng Zhiyi, who looked uneasy and flustered.

Zheng Zhiyi drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to build up emotion. Her acting had always been poor, but…

To keep herself alive, she had to make it flawless.

The girl suddenly bowed deeply to Song Ning, biting down hard on her tongue until tears instantly welled up at the corners of her eyes.

“Song sister, I’m sorry! Actually…”

Song Ning looked at the apologetic girl in surprise.

“Ah? Wh–what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly apologizing?”

“Don’t do this. Get up.”

She reached forward to help Zheng Zhiyi up, staring at her with heavy suspicion.

But Zheng Zhiyi’s tears kept pouring.

It hurts so much… ugh… I overdid it!

But the effect was good—at least Song Ning didn’t see through her.

“Song sister… I… I’ve been thinking for a long time… and I feel I have to tell you something…”

Zheng Zhiyi choked out the words through tears.

“Ah? What is it that you need to apologize for?” Song Ning asked in astonishment.

Zheng Zhiyi continued, “Song sister, if I say it… please promise me you won’t get too upset, okay?”

Song Ning grew even more curious. Her mood was already following Zheng Zhiyi’s lead.

“Go ahead. I won’t.” Song Ning answered without hesitation.

Hearing this, Zheng Zhiyi let out a sad, bitter laugh, fresh tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

“Actually… those things I said before—that Ping Chengcheng was a mutant, that she might kill me, and all that…”

“All of it was a lie!”

Song Ning froze, staring at Zheng Zhiyi.

“Ah?”

Truthfully, Song Ning had indeed noticed some things off about Ping Chengcheng lately, but hearing Zheng Zhiyi say this left her confused.

“Then why did you do it?” Song Ning frowned, her heart sinking.

“I… ugh…” Thinking of the excuse Ping Chengcheng told her to use, Zheng Zhiyi found it hard to speak.

She sobbed and whimpered for quite a while, but luckily the fierce bite to her tongue left no flaw in her act.

“Calm down first, then continue,” Song Ning said, her own thoughts growing chaotic again. What on earth was going on?

“I… it’s because I like Song sister… I wanted you to break up with Chengcheng, so that’s why I said those things!”

“I’m sorry, Song sister! After Chengcheng apologized to me today, I’ve been feeling so guilty… so, so I…”

“In short, it’s all my fault. Song sister, you’ve wrongly blamed Chengcheng.”

Song Ning was left speechless. Wasn’t this a bit far-fetched? From what she remembered, this girl’s acting was terrible.

But watching Zheng Zhiyi cry like this… it didn’t look fake at all.

Could it be true?

“Are you telling the truth?”

If it was true, then all those things Song Ning thought Chengcheng was hiding from her… were they false too?

Right… Even though Chengcheng was unusually calm sometimes, this was the apocalypse! Such composure was obviously the result of forcing herself to grow up so she wouldn’t drag Song Ning down.

Yet Song Ning had doubted her…

Think about Wu Sheng—that guy trusted Chengcheng so much. And her? She was always suspicious of this and that, even though she was the girl’s lover!

Song Ning’s mind was in turmoil. Zheng Zhiyi snuck a glance at her expression and knew the performance had worked.

“Song sister… I’m sorry… I… I’ll go now!” Zheng Zhiyi turned with a sob, paused deliberately to look even sadder, then quickly ran out of the villa.

Song Ning was left standing there, deep in thought.

She couldn’t quite tell—was Zheng Zhiyi telling the truth or not?

What kind of girl was Ping Chengcheng really…

She was obedient and adorable, gentle and considerate, calm in danger and decisive under threat.

But no matter what kind of girl she was, she liked Song Ning, had never done anything bad to her, and had even saved her.

With such a sweet, well-behaved appearance, she probably wouldn’t harm Zheng Zhiyi for no reason… maybe it really was just what Zheng Zhiyi said… but why hadn’t Chengcheng told her?

Though doubts still lingered, guilt now outweighed them.

She really might have wronged Chengcheng.

Song Ning went upstairs, stopped in front of the master bedroom door, hand on the knob, just about to turn it—when she froze. There was sound coming from inside.

She pressed her ear lightly to the door and listened.

Before long, Song Ning’s heart grew heavy. She seemed to hear Chengcheng crying inside.

Was it because of her misunderstanding?

Should she apologize properly?

But why hadn’t Chengcheng told her the truth herself?

With a sigh, Song Ning pushed the door open.

The crying stopped abruptly.

“Chengcheng, what happened just now?”

The girl buried her head under the quilt, her voice muffled as though suppressing something. “Sister, I’m fine…” Then she gave a little sniffly hum, sounding so cute that Song Ning only felt more guilty.

Song Ning sat by the window, gently pinched the edge of the quilt, wanting to pull it down to see Chengcheng’s face.

But the girl clutched the blanket tightly.

“Chengcheng… um…”

“I misunderstood you before… Just now, Zheng Zhiyi told me what really happened.”

Hearing this, the girl showed no reaction, still hiding under the quilt.

Song Ning sighed and continued, “It’s just… I don’t understand why you didn’t simply tell me the truth yourself.”

After that question, both fell silent for a while. The room was so quiet it made Song Ning uneasy, and the harsh white light of the ceiling lamp left her feeling irritable.

After two full minutes, Chengcheng finally pulled the quilt down herself, revealing her small, adorable head. Her eyes were still red.

“Sister…”

Her voice was hoarse, probably from crying too long.

“Chengcheng…” Looking at the girl’s pitiful expression, most of Song Ning’s doubts melted away. Since she seemed so upset, maybe it was best to just let it go.

She gathered the girl into her arms, gently patting her back like comforting a baby.

“Sister… what did you mean, saying Zheng sister told you the truth? And what’s this about me not telling you anything?”

Song Ning blinked. “What do you mean? She said… she…”

“Liked me, and tried to drive a wedge between us…”

“I didn’t expect it either. She actually… actually likes me? That’s absurd… I only comforted her once.”

She remembered that time before they entered S City Base.

But Chengcheng asked in surprise, “Sister, you didn’t know?”

Song Ning was baffled. How could she have known?

Chengcheng quickly explained.

“Sister, do you remember the night we entered S City Base?”

“That night, Zheng sister told me she confessed to you… She said you neither rejected her nor agreed… I got scared… so yes, I did threaten her…”

Song Ning’s mouth opened in shock, and at the same time, her heart filled with disgust toward Zheng Zhiyi.

Forget it. Since she’s already apologized and the misunderstanding’s cleared up, there’s no need to pursue it.

Let it go.