In a panic, Ling Xiao smashed the car window with three punches and opened the door from the inside. After checking and finding no visible injuries and that her heartbeat and breathing were normal, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He carried Liu Yao to the roadside.
“Jinwen, come help me watch my mom.”
Then he hurried over to check on the driver.
There was blood at the corner of the driver’s mouth, and he had already fallen unconscious. The front of the car was badly deformed and jammed shut. Without professional equipment, it would be nearly impossible to rescue him by hand.
Ling Xiao immediately took out his phone. While placing warning triangles on the road to alert approaching vehicles, he called both emergency medical services and rescue personnel.
Xie Jinwen walked over to Liu Yao.
Her face remained expressionless as she lowered her gaze toward the unconscious woman.
Ling Xiao jogged back.
“Jinwen, the rescue team won’t arrive for another ten minutes or so…”
“Ling Xiao, take Auntie to the hospital first,” Xie Jinwen said. “She may have hit her head, which is why she’s unconscious. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the driver.”
Ling Xiao was reluctant to leave her alone by the roadside.
“I…”
Before he could finish, Liu Yao suddenly let out a painful groan.
Ling Xiao immediately panicked.
When it involved someone close to him, he couldn’t stay calm.
Without further hesitation, he picked up Liu Yao, rushed her into the car, and sped toward the nearest hospital.
Watching his car disappear into the distance, Xie Jinwen let out a soft sigh and walked toward the wrecked vehicle.
Dense blood-red misfortune still wrapped around the driver’s head.
He had already been destined for a bloody calamity. Even if he hadn’t lost that strand of luck earlier, he had still violated a taboo by gossiping and speaking ill of someone.
And the person he chose to speak about was her.
Was she really someone who could be slandered so casually?
An evil cause produced an evil result.
Retribution never failed.
More than ten minutes later, rescue personnel arrived.
The driver was rescued and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
At that moment, Ling Xiao called.
“Hello, Jinwen. My mom just finished her examination. The doctor said it’s a concussion. She’s awake now, but she’s badly shaken and can’t be left alone…”
His voice grew softer and softer.
He sounded guilty.
“…I’ve asked a friend to pick you up. Can you wait at home for me?”
Xie Jinwen answered calmly,
“Of course. Take good care of Auntie. I’ll be fine on my own—you know I’m very capable.”
She hung up.
After waiting by the roadside for a while, a car pulled up in front of her.
The driver looked familiar.
He was the same guy from the park who had asked for her contact information and nearly fainted when he discovered the number belonged to Ling Xiao.
Gu Heng stepped out awkwardly.
“Sister-in-law, Brother Xiao asked me to pick you up.”
Xie Jinwen nodded.
“Thank you.”
Then she got into the back seat.
Gu Heng finally relaxed and immediately sent Ling Xiao a message.
Brother Xiao, I’ve picked up Sister-in-law.
When they arrived downstairs at the residential compound, Gu Heng quickly got out and opened the car door for her.
“Sister-in-law, Brother Xiao probably won’t be able to leave for a while. If you need anything, just tell me.”
Without even lifting her eyelids, Xie Jinwen replied,
“I need a bed partner. Are you available?”
Gu Heng nearly jumped out of his skin.
“No! No, absolutely not! Brother Xiao would beat me to death!”
Xie Jinwen snorted.
“Then that’s settled. You can go.”
Any inappropriate thoughts he might have had vanished instantly.
He hurriedly drove away.
After going upstairs, she ran into the chatty neighbor lady who was taking out the trash.
The woman immediately came over.
“Xiao Xie, the person who came today was Captain Ling’s mother, right?”
“Yes, she’s Ling Xiao’s mother.”
The neighbor’s eyes sparkled with gossip.
“Does that mean wedding bells are coming soon? When are you treating us to wedding candy?”
Xie Jinwen simply replied,
“Good things take time.”
Then she went inside and shut the door, leaving the gossip-loving neighbor outside.
The apartment felt cold and empty.
After changing into pajamas, she went straight to the bedroom and lay down.
She tried to clear her mind.
She needed rest.
Recently, both her afternoon naps and nighttime sleep had been excellent because she had Ling Xiao beside her—a human body pillow who made her feel safe.
With him there, all the strange noises couldn’t disturb her.
Without leaving the apartment, Xie Jinwen could sense the karmic threads connecting everyone in the building.
Sometimes knowing too much wasn’t a blessing.
Heaven’s secrets weren’t meant to be casually revealed.
The mortal world wasn’t her playground.
Interfering with fate carried consequences.
Just like now.
The driver hadn’t made his wish because of her intervention.
And the backlash had already arrived.
The phone rang.
“Jinwen, my mom’s condition isn’t very good. I can’t leave her. I won’t be coming back tonight. Can you understand?”
This was Ling Xiao’s second call.
At that point, she had already spent an hour tossing and turning without being able to fall asleep.
She didn’t even need to perform a divination to know Liu Yao’s condition.
A mild concussion.
A bit of shock.
With proper rest, she would recover perfectly fine.
But in front of Ling Xiao, Liu Yao acted as though she were extremely fragile and unable to be left alone for even a moment.
She simply didn’t want Ling Xiao to return.
She didn’t want him spending time with someone she disliked.
The karmic backlash that Xie Jinwen had incurred had manifested through Liu Yao.
Liu Yao had become a huge obstacle standing in her path.
A childhood sweetheart like Yin Ciying.
Plus a blood-related mother like Liu Yao.
Together, they formed an almost unbeatable combination.
“I understand. Stay with Auntie.”
Xie Jinwen hung up.
She gave up trying to sleep.
There would be no peaceful rest for her tonight.
Instead, she got up and began packing.
Everything she owned had been bought by Ling Xiao.
Even her underwear.
Somewhere along the way, she had become too dependent on him.
And now life had punched her in the face to remind her of that fact.
After packing a suitcase that would allow her to leave at any moment, she finally felt tired.
She lay down on the bed and drifted into a light, hazy sleep.
Late that night.
The wind howled outside.
The windows rattled violently.
Xie Jinwen suddenly woke up.
Beyond the window floated a mass of black smoke-like darkness.
Faint, suppressed wails echoed from within.
These were the sins she had committed in her previous life.
Debts that had come to be collected in this life.
They were the innocent people she had killed during that massacre.
A debt had to be repaid.
She got out of bed in the darkness.
Gathering her loose hair into a high ponytail, she stepped onto the balcony.
Without the shelter of walls, she was completely exposed.
The black mist instantly expanded like a giant net, wrapping around her entire body.
It felt like hundreds of sharp-toothed insects gnawing at her flesh.
Xie Jinwen did not struggle.
She allowed the attack to continue.
Instead, she softly sang an ancient tune.
The song could dissolve murderous energy.
It could purify wandering souls.
Gradually, the attacks weakened.
The darkness faded.
The black mist turned white.
Then the wind scattered it completely.
By then, Xie Jinwen’s body was covered in countless bite marks.
Blood stained her skin everywhere.
She was on the verge of collapsing.
With a bitter smile, she murmured,
“Now I should be able to get a good night’s sleep.”
The world went black.
She collapsed onto the balcony floor.
“Jinwen!”
Through her fading consciousness, she thought she heard Ling Xiao’s voice.
Someone seemed to be holding her tightly.
Calling her name again and again.
When Xie Jinwen opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed.
The patient in the next bed was Liu Yao.
Xie Jinwen: “…”
Apparently, Ling Xiao couldn’t stop worrying about her.
After Liu Yao fell asleep that night, he had secretly returned to the residential compound.
There, he discovered Xie Jinwen covered in blood.
So he rushed her to the hospital and arranged for her to stay in the same room as Liu Yao, making it easier for him to care for both of them.
Xie Jinwen thought:
Heh. You’re truly a genius.