Si Zhiyong vomited blood and fell into a coma, and was sent to the hospital by Shen Wangshu.
To show a bit of “filial piety,” Shen Wangshu even had the doctor order a whole series of tests.
Holding Si Zhiyong’s phone, Shen Wangshu didn’t immediately go to pay the fees. Instead, she stood by the elevator entrance and waited for a moment.
One minute later.
A swarm of entertainment reporters, carrying their long guns and short cannons, broke through the hospital’s security and rushed in.
Just then, the descending elevator doors opened.
Jia Xiaoyu, with gauze wrapped around her neck, appeared inside the elevator. She wore a mask and sunglasses, covering herself up completely.
She seemed startled.
It wasn’t until her manager patted her on the back that she slowly snapped out of it.
She was to follow the company’s arrangements—play the victim a little, make the fans feel sorry for her, and boost her popularity at the same time.
Her manager stepped forward at the right moment: “The doctor said Xiao Yu’s condition is very bad. All of you, move aside. Don’t disturb Xiao Yu.”
Even though the reporters hadn’t crowded into the elevator, the manager, in her fluster, managed to knock off both Jia Xiaoyu’s mask and sunglasses.
This directly exposed Jia Xiaoyu’s pale little face. With her delicate features, silent tears streaming down, and her shoulders trembling slightly, she looked so pitiful that she seemed about to faint at any moment.
Good! What a face—one that inspired tender affection.
The noisy entertainment reporters suddenly deflated like punctured balloons, their voices unconsciously lowering.
“Xiao Yu, will your throat affect your singing in the future?”
“Xiao Yu, Xuanyue said you have an older sister who is three months older than you. Is that true?”
“Is it true that you bullied your sister and drove her to attempt suicide?”
Hearing these words, Jia Xiaoyu bit her lip hard. If it weren’t for the cameras, she would have thrown a tantrum.
She hated Tao Ke to death.
She’d been dead for so long already.
And she still had to hear that name.
It made her sick.
“Xiao Yu.”
Suddenly, Jia Xiaoyu heard a timid, cowardly voice from behind her.
Her entire body stiffened.
Her manager was still dealing with the reporters and didn’t notice anything wrong with Jia Xiaoyu.
“Xiao Yu, it’s so good that you can still see me.”
All the color drained from Jia Xiaoyu’s face. The world was noisy, but she felt as if she’d been sealed inside a Barrier.
In this Barrier, there were only her and Tao Ke.
She saw Tao Ke, like a hallucination.
The Tao Ke before her was still the fifteen-year-old version of herself—wearing a white school uniform, black-rimmed glasses, and smiling shyly.
Jia Xiaoyu even thought she was having auditory hallucinations.
Tao Ke said, “Xiao Yu, don’t you recognize me?”
“Hehehe, I’m Tao Ke. You said the grudges of the previous life wouldn’t affect us. You said we’d be best sisters forever.”
“But why did you want to harm me? It was the person you liked, the love letter you wrote, yet you framed me for writing it to him.”
“Xiao Yu, do you know? Wearing wet clothes in winter is so cold. Getting slapped hurts so much. Being pinned down by many people is so disgusting.”
In an instant, she became a bloody mess.
Blood splattered everywhere along with bits of flesh and brain matter.
Jia Xiaoyu could even smell the thick stench of blood.
She covered her ears, ignoring the wound on her neck, and screamed: “Why won’t you let me go even after you’re dead?”
Her throat had been stabbed with a fork, so her voice came out hoarse, broken, and ugly.
Jia Xiaoyu’s manager widened her eyes and tried to step forward to cover Jia Xiaoyu’s mouth.
But she didn’t know where Jia Xiaoyu found the strength, but she shoved her manager into the corner.
The manager watched helplessly as Jia Xiaoyu sprayed blood while raging at the air with that hoarse, ugly voice.
“Who wants to be best sisters with you for life? If your mother hadn’t secretly given birth to you behind my dad’s back, I would have had a happy family. My mom wouldn’t have been so angry that she fell ill and left lasting health problems.”
“Dad even gave you the heirloom bracelet. Do you deserve it?”
“You’ve been dead for so many years and you still won’t rest. Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
“For the past ten years, I’ve had enough of your torment. I’m going to dig up your grave and scatter your ashes to the wind.”
“I hate you.”
The bloody, mangled Tao Ke transformed back into the Tao Ke in the white school uniform. She looked at Jia Xiaoyu with a complex yet relieved expression.
When Jia Xiaoyu came back to her senses, she was faced with countless cameras, her mouth full of bright red blood.
She met her manager’s ashen gaze, then her head dropped forward, and she fainted.
Everyone felt a gust of yin wind blow past.
Shen Wangshu, standing at the edge of the crowd, opened her coat pocket. After the gust of yin wind subsided, she gently patted her pocket.
Vengeful spirits manifesting in the world consumed a lot of Yin Energy.
Shen Wangshu turned and walked toward the payment counter.
Not long after Shen Wangshu left, a shaven-headed youth carrying a canvas bag rushed into the crowd of reporters.
Despite how crowded it was, he moved through like a fish in water, squeezing in with ease.
He looked at Jia Xiaoyu, who had fainted inside the elevator car, then sniffed the air. He grabbed at the air with his hand.
He pulled out a compass, its needle spinning wildly.
The excited gleam in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.