Whoever Falls in Love First is the Dog - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Family? Sis, I don’t even know her name.

Chen Yanxing didn’t want to argue any further with Xia Jihe. She sat in silence, staring out the window, her mind replaying everything Xia Jihe had just said.

In truth, she had no memory of her early childhood. She only remembered falling gravely ill and then waking up in the Chen family.

From then on, all her memories were tied to the Chens.

Xia Jihe said that when she was five years old, she and Xia Lingxuan got into a car accident. Xia Lingxuan injured her leg, and Chen Yanxing disappeared.

It had been raining that day. Xia Lingxuan was rushing home and decided to take a shortcut.

The road was full of potholes and already hard to drive on. The rain was too heavy and obscured her vision. A large vehicle suddenly rushed out at an intersection. Xia Lingxuan didn’t see it in time and crashed.

At the time, Xia Lingxuan protected the child and got seriously injured. She lost consciousness on the spot, and the driver fled. No one helped her.

When Xia Lingxuan was finally found, the child was already gone.

After that, she went frantic trying to find her. They combed through all the surveillance footage in the area and tracked down the hit-and-run driver. But he had assumed Xia Lingxuan had died on the spot and had been too scared to check further. He didn’t even notice there was a child.

There hadn’t been many surveillance cameras around back then, and none had captured footage of Chen Yanxing. Just like that, 19 years passed.

She also said that Chen Yanxing’s original name was Xia Xinxin.

Chen Yanxing closed her eyes. Deep down, she believed it. She had long noticed the way Chen Zhiyu treated her differently—but she didn’t want to believe it.

She had finally made up her mind to leave the Chen family, only to suddenly be pulled into the Xia family.

But compared to the Chens, wasn’t the Xia family even less familiar…?

She didn’t really need a family anymore.

Suddenly, a ringtone interrupted her thoughts. Chen Yanxing slightly turned her head and listened as Xia Jihe answered her phone.

“Hello?”

“Xia Jihe, you’re in Yun City?”

The voice on the other end was loud enough for Chen Yanxing to catch bits of it even without speakerphone.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Xia Jihe replied without any attempt to hide the conversation.

“I’m in Yun City too! On that boat—I saw you. Why didn’t you call me? I thought you’d come see me!”

The person sounded more and more upset, almost on the verge of tears.

Xia Jihe paused, then asked, “Weren’t you in Jiangcheng…?”

“I’m in Yun City filming! Xia Jihe, is this how you treat someone you want to marry?”

Upon hearing that, Chen Yanxing’s eyelashes trembled. She suddenly lifted her eyes, stared out at a roadside sign, and slightly tilted her head to better hear the conversation.

Xia Jihe chuckled. “You only told me you were going to Jiangcheng. So? Any progress?”

“Yes, but the evidence isn’t solid yet. I need to lure them out. You…”

SCREECH—BANG!

Suddenly, silence.

A deafening, unnatural silence.

Chen Yanxing’s body jolted forward uncontrollably. Her head slammed into something, and a warm liquid trickled into her eyes.

A piercing, high-pitched ringing filled her ears. Everything was painted red. She couldn’t see a thing.

Her body felt soft, limp—trapped. She couldn’t move at all.

A hand touched her body. She heard the panicked voice from the still-connected phone:

“Xia Jihe!”

“There was a car crash.”

After a long silence, Shen Mengke stared at the smoke rising from a distant intersection and murmured,

“What?”

Shu Yun turned and followed her gaze, frowning. “Let’s take a detour. I don’t want to get stuck in traffic.”

“Okay.”

The driver responded and quickly turned around.

The smoke slowly faded from Shen Mengke’s view, but her heart began pounding uncontrollably.

It hurt. A crushing, stifling pain—like her heart had been struck with a sledgehammer.

The luxury van twisted through narrow turns until it entered a tight alleyway.

This part of Yun City’s old town was packed with houses. Roads had shrunk to mere walking paths.

The car stopped at the entrance. Shu Yun stepped out first.

She stood at the door, looking at Shen Mengke. “We’re already here. Want to take a look?”

Shen Mengke didn’t respond. She kept her back turned, eyes still on the window.

Her memories of this place were vague. As a child, the sun always scorched the roads golden. Few people walked the streets. Every afternoon, she’d pass a little store across the street and always glance at the freezer full of popsicles.

Just one look—then she’d slip into the shaded alley and head home.

Now, that shop was shuttered and falling apart. The rolling door barely closed anymore.

Her gaze swept over the street. Not many families lived here anymore. She couldn’t imagine why anyone still would.

“Shen Mengke,” Shu Yun called her name, standing behind her. “Are you really going to keep running forever?”

Shen Mengke suddenly turned, her eyes red. “What gives you the right to make decisions for me?”

Shu Yun had never seen her like this before. Her eyes were bloodshot, lips trembling, tears refusing to fall.

Hate—she felt it. But now that the person she hated was dead, who was left to blame?

Helpless. Exhausted.

Shu Yun stared at her for a moment, then grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the car.

“If we stay here too long, someone’s going to recognize us. I don’t want this to end up trending online,” she muttered, slipping sunglasses onto Shen Mengke and leading her into the alley.

“This kind of place? If you look down on it so much, why drag me here? We could’ve just left!”

It was the first time Shen Mengke had raised her voice at Shu Yun. Her chest heaved, her breathing ragged. She violently shook off Shu Yun’s hand and turned to leave.

“Jie!” (Sister!)

A voice called from behind, and Shen Mengke froze.

Shu Yun, about to stop her, paused too and turned. A girl who looked very much like Shen Mengke was walking toward them.

She was shorter and thinner—malnourished, really.

As she came closer, she bowed to Shu Yun. “Thank you, Miss Shu.”

Shu Yun nodded and stepped aside, giving space to the sisters.

Three days ago, Shu Yun’s bodyguard had spotted this girl in a crowd. She’d tried to rush Shen Mengke as she boarded a ship. Mistaking her for a crazed fan, the bodyguards stopped her—until she said she was Shen Mengke’s sister.

Shu Yun had never investigated Shen Mengke’s background. She knew how much Shen Mengke valued boundaries and hated people digging into her private life. Everything Shu Yun knew came from this girl—her real sister.

The girl stood behind Shen Mengke and whispered, “Mom wanted to see you before she died. I tried calling, but…”

She hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry. This was the only way.”

Shen Mengke said nothing.

The girl lowered her head. Tears began falling.

“Jie… You’re all I have now. You’re the only family I’ve got left…”

Shen Mengke sighed. “She’s already dead. What’s the point of me coming back? If that’s all, I’m leaving.”

“Jie…” The girl grabbed her hand. “Please come home. Mom left you something.”

Beneath the sunglasses, Shen Mengke closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, hiding her tears, and slowly turned around, removing her sunglasses.

“You want money, don’t you?” Her voice was ice-cold. Her gaze even colder, like she was looking at a stranger.

“You’re still in school, right? How much do you need? I can pay for it—”

Before she could finish, the girl shook her head. “No! I’m not here for money—I’m married.”

Shen Mengke clenched her hand around the sunglasses until they snapped with a crack.

“She…”

The girl seemed to know what she was about to ask. “No, it wasn’t Mom who made me marry.”

“I didn’t get into college. After high school, I worked at a factory and met him—Tian. He used to be our neighbor. Do you remember him?”

The shock in Shen Mengke’s eyes faded, replaced by ice. She said nothing, just stared at her.

She didn’t remember. She didn’t grow up here.

The girl bit her lip in embarrassment. “We didn’t plan to marry so early… but then Mom got sick and we needed money for treatment, so…”

Shen Mengke laughed coldly. She flung the girl’s hand away. “And? Do you have money now?”

The girl shook her head but quickly said, “I’m not here for money—really. Mom left something for you. Your childhood things. A few bank cards too—everything she saved over the years. She said… she owed you.”

Shen Mengke frowned. “I didn’t grow up here. What could I possibly have left behind?”

“You’re married now. How can I be your only family?” She hesitated, then said coldly, “I have nothing to do with this place. I’ll give you one more chance—if you want money, ask now. After today, I don’t know you.”

The girl shook her head, tears streaming uncontrollably. “I don’t want money—I just wanted you to see home again… The old pear tree bloomed.”

Tears fell faster. Shen Mengke tossed the broken sunglasses away and turned to leave.

The girl rushed forward and dropped to her knees, blocking her path.

Shu Yun, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward and picked up the sunglasses. She patted Shen Mengke’s shoulder. “Just hear her out.”

Shen Mengke slapped her hand away. Her face red with emotion, she said, “Hear what? When Grandma was alive, they never came home—not once. Now that she’s dead, they want to be filial?”

She turned to the girl, grabbed her chin, and forced her to look up.

“Don’t disgust her in the afterlife.”

The girl’s tears dripped onto Shen Mengke’s palm. She immediately let go, disgusted.

“Family? Sis, I don’t even know her name.”

She looked at Shu Yun and said one last thing:

“Don’t ever make decisions for me again.”

With that, she walked out of the alley—ignoring the two women, one standing and one kneeling.

She didn’t get back in Shu Yun’s car. Instead, she walked out of the district and stood at a bus stop—only to find her phone had powered off at some point.

Frustrated to the point of tears, she saw a bus stop in front of her. Afraid Shu Yun might follow, she boarded without even checking its destination.

She had no cash. Her phone was dead. After a moment of hesitation, she took off her earring and dropped it into the coin box.

It was from a sponsor—a real one.