She said mournfully, "Ever since Brother Hao left, I’ve spent my days and nights in tears. If only I had gathered the courage to fight my family’s arranged marriage and just given him a nod before he left on that business trip."

"Maybe he would have had something to hold on for, a reason to keep breathing..."

"But at the time, I thought I wasn’t good enough for him. I thought it was better to crush his hopes so he could find his own happiness sooner."

"He was the factory director’s son, a graduate from a top university. He was capable and talented. He shouldn’t have had to shoulder the burden of the Song Family for my sake."

"They say when a man remarries, the father becomes a stepfather too. His situation at home was already difficult. I didn’t want him to have to make concessions to his stepmother and the Tong family for my sake."

"I thought it was better for me to bear it all alone. That’s why I agreed to Aunt Song’s arrangement for me to be engaged to Tong Yuanbin, willingly becoming a stepping stone for my father and brother’s future."

"The Song Family raised me, after all. This was my fate!"

"Now, he’s gone from this world forever, and I’ve brutally torn myself away from the Song Family. My right hand is disabled, I can barely hear in my left ear, and my body is covered in scars from over ten years of suffering. Isn’t that enough to repay the Song Family for raising me?"

"How long does a person’s life last, anyway? I don’t want to care about what the world thinks anymore. Even if it means living out the rest of my life just holding onto his name, I would be happy and content!"

"In this world, there’s no one else who would stand in the rain with me in the middle of the night like a fool. No one else who would give me their own breakfast when I was starving. No one else who would mix half a bag of brown sugar with an egg for me when I was on my period. And no one else who would rush all over the Capital City just because I said I wanted a roasted sweet potato..."

"I once had someone who loved me this much right in front of me, but I didn’t cherish him. I was a coward, too timid to do anything but watch him from afar and wish him well. I never knew that all he wanted was to love me and be with me..."

"When he was alive, you all adored him. Now that he’s lying cold in the ground, can’t you let me be selfish for once and just be Huo Tianhao’s wife?"

"If he hadn’t said that his greatest wish in this life was to see me live happily, I would have given up on life long ago..."

Overcome with grief, she collapsed into He Qingran’s arms. Her body trembled, consumed by deep regret and longing.

"Ranran, I miss him so much!"

"I just want to tell him, how could I ever be happy in a world without him?"

"I try so hard to smile every day, so hard to keep living. It’s just so difficult, so tiring..."

"Why do they have to keep pushing me?"

With her words alone, Xia Zhaoyun cast a pall of sorrow over the entire cafeteria.

The people had limited sources of information: the loudspeakers hanging in the air, outdated newspapers, bulletin boards that were slow to be updated, and of course, all sorts of wild gossip.

They loved gossip and fueled it with their own passion, but how much of it did they ever truly take to heart?

Televisions weren’t even common yet!

How could they possibly withstand the power of her performance? The more sensitive women in the crowd were already starting to wipe away tears.

"Is she telling the truth?"

"It can’t be fake, can it? To say all this in front of so many people, after being pushed this far? How could it be fake?"

"Mr. Huo was such an outstanding man; he must have had high standards. And besides her reputation, which may or may not be true, Song Ruoyun really is exceptional. She’s beautiful, a great dancer, always smiling when you see her, and she keeps her distance from the men. If Mr. Huo liked someone, it would have been her, right?"

"I’ve seen the two of them walking together before, one after the other..."

"Song Ruoyun really must not like Tong Yuanbin. Even though Tong Yuanbin is a decent guy, when you saw them together, Song Ruoyun never had that shy look of someone in love..."

"She said all that, tying herself to Mr. Huo’s memory like that. If it weren’t true, could any of you do the same?"

The women all shook their heads. When someone’s dead, they’re gone. They wouldn’t risk their own reputations over it.

The crowd was overwhelmingly on her side.

Huo Sitong’s face was pale with fury. "Song Ruoyun, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t think you can bring up my brother to escape the fact that you pushed Song Zhenbao down the stairs! And don’t even think about using my brother’s name to benefit yourself!"

Xia Zhaoyun forced herself to stand and said, word by word:

"Huo Sitong, I have a score to settle with you about this."

"Brother Hao was a hero, but his memory shouldn’t be exploited by you and the people who turned his father against him. The ones doing whatever they please are you, your mother, and your uncle’s family!"

"He sacrificed himself for the collective and never thought of using it to gain benefits for himself or his family. You disgusting people... I’d thank you just to keep his name out of your mouths."

"As for me pushing Song Zhenbao down the stairs? What evidence do you have? The fact that I’m standing here means I’m not guilty. I’m innocent!"