He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

The hospital at that time.

Time passed by, and the fireworks display lasted for a full half hour.

Finally, after the last firework faded into the sky, Song Zhi slowly returned to her hospital room.

As soon as she entered the room, she instinctively took out her phone from her pocket, wanting to send a message to Fu Lu.

But when she turned on the screen, she was startled.

The phone screen showed more than a dozen missed calls, all of which came from the same person.

Zhao Man.

Looking at the missed calls, Song Zhi couldn't help but furrow her brows.

He wondered to himself, "What's wrong with Zhao Man? Why is she suddenly calling me so many times like a madwoman?"

Just then, a familiar cell phone rang again; it was Zhao Man calling once more.

Although Song Zhi was reluctant, considering that the other party was calling her so persistently, there might really be something urgent.

Left with no other option, she took a deep breath, pressed the answer button, and said, "Hello?"

"Did you take your dad away?"

Zhao Man's voice was so sharp it seemed to pierce the air, and it reached Song Zhi's ears through the phone.

Song Zhi frowned and replied impatiently, "Get to the point, or I'm hanging up!"

Zhao Man pressed on, "You said your dad woke up, is that true?"

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

Song Zhi keenly sensed the unusual tone in her mother's voice and a hint of doubt arose in her heart. She tentatively asked, "What? Are you afraid my dad will wake up?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Zhao Man slowly spoke, "How could that be? Has your father woken up or not?" Although she tried her best to hide it, her slightly trembling tone betrayed her true feelings.

"Of course he woke up, Mom. I'm a little curious, Dad has been in a coma for years, but he woke up just a few days after I took him away..."

Before Song Zhi could finish speaking, Zhao Man interrupted her urgently: "Where is he? Which hospital is your dad in now?"

Song Zhi's heart tightened, and she asked warily, "What do you want to do?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Man suddenly became agitated and shouted, "I am your mother and your father's wife. Why are you so wary of me? Would I harm my own husband?"

By the end, her voice even trembled with a hint of sobbing, as if she were on the verge of emotional collapse.

Song Zhi raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

She had only had a slight suspicion at first, but seeing Zhao Man's extreme reaction, she was almost certain that Zhao Man was hiding something.

If Zhao Man really did something to harm her family behind her back, she wouldn't let it go so easily.

Thinking of this, Song Zhi took a deep breath, trying to calm her inner turmoil, and then deliberately pretended to be nonchalant, saying, "Mom, I was just asking casually, why are you reacting so strongly? If someone who didn't know the situation heard this, they might think you were going to kill me to silence me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the other end of the phone fell completely silent.

Song Zhi gripped her phone tightly, her fingers unconsciously tightening and loosening at times, before finally letting out a contemptuous sneer from her nose: "Just kidding. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. My dad's calling me."

Just then, Zhao Man's voice came again, this time much gentler than before: "Zhizhi, which hospital is your father in now? I want to go visit him."

Song Zhi replied expressionlessly, "Wait a few more days. I will contact you when the time is right. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up." With that, she made a move to end the call.

However, Zhao Man hurriedly shouted, "Wait, don't hang up yet, I have something important to tell you!"

Song Zhi asked in astonishment, "What?"

Zhao Man's solemn voice came through: "Regarding your brother, are you really sure he's completely free of problems?"

Song Zhi bit her lip tightly and remained silent.

Seeing that Song Zhi remained silent, Zhao Man continued to explain, "I have already investigated your brother's matter thoroughly."

This was entirely caused by the other party deliberately provoking him. You know our Xiaochen's personality; he's always been so well-behaved and obedient. How could he possibly bully someone for no reason!

Upon hearing Zhao Man's words, Song Zhi frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, and pressed for an answer: "What exactly did you find out?"

Zhao Man took a deep breath and slowly said, "From what I understand, it was when the young master of the Zhou family was bullying a girl that your brother happened to see it."

Your brother, out of a sense of justice, stepped forward to stop it, and as a result, he was resented by the young master of the Zhou family.

Later, this young master of the Zhou family meticulously planned a conspiracy to frame your brother.

"Where's the evidence?"

Zhao Man sighed, "The Zhou family did this on purpose, how could they possibly leave any evidence? Just thinking about your brother being alone in the detention center on New Year's Eve makes my heart ache. He's taking the college entrance exam next year, what are we going to do?"

Zhao Man started crying again on the phone.

Although she was dissatisfied with Zhao Man, Song Zhi still genuinely liked her younger brother Song Jiachen, so she couldn't possibly ignore his life or death.

She was too tired to listen to Zhao Man's hypocritical act any longer, and said coldly, "Alright, I already know all this. Don't worry, I won't abandon Xiao Chen. No matter what, he's still my brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Man's tense heart relaxed slightly, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then you must help your brother, you can't let him just end up like this..."

Before she could finish speaking, Song Zhi interrupted impatiently, "Alright, I know."

"Okay, what about your father?"

Song Zhi said irritably, "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. My dad doesn't want to see you right now. I'll contact you when he does. Bye."

After saying that, Song Zhi didn't give Zhao Man any chance to respond and hung up the phone without hesitation.

In truth, she knew perfectly well that Zhao Man had been trying to make amends with her, but she simply couldn't accept it. After all, she had suffered such deep hurt; how could a few words of appeasement or a simple apology easily erase it?

Those scars are etched into my heart like branding marks; it's impossible to forget them completely.

The old lady, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly noticed that Song Zhi had just hung up the phone. She quickly stepped forward and asked with a worried look, "Was that your mother on the phone?"

Seeing Song Zhi nod slightly in response, the old lady immediately followed up with, "I think I also heard you mention Xiao Chen. Speaking of which, isn't he a senior in high school this year? How is he doing?"

Hearing this, Song Zhi sighed inwardly.

She had no intention of telling the old lady about Song Jiachen being framed and detained in the police station, fearing that the old lady would worry about it.

So she had to make up a reason to get away with it, "Oh, don't worry, he's at home right now, celebrating the New Year with his mother!"

As she said this, Song Zhi subconsciously lowered her head, not daring to meet the old lady's gaze, as if afraid that the other party would see through her guilty conscience.

The old lady nodded: "That's good. This child has been well-behaved since he was little, he will definitely get into a good university."