It had been a long time since anyone recognized her. Hearing a stranger call out to her like that, Ji Liao was utterly shocked. A chill spread from the depths of her heart to every limb, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
“You were once Yu Nanzhi’s wife, weren’t you?”
Hearing the name “Yu Nanzhi” from someone else’s lips again felt like the sky was collapsing, filling her with terror.
Just by observing how frightened she appeared, Li Chengru was certain that the woman before him was the once-celebrated Ji Liao. He hadn’t mistaken her identity.
But Ji Liao denied it, “I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person.”
Li Chengru didn’t press further. Seeing the girl who had come out of the supermarket approach her, he hid nearby and watched them for a while. Only after they hailed a taxi and left did he take out his phone and send a text to his old friend.
Li Chengru: Bro, I saw a woman who looks exactly like your wife. Does Ji Liao have an older or younger sister?
Yu Nanzhi happened to be free and saw Li Chengru’s message. He picked up his phone and stared at it for a long while before finally typing a reply: Ji Liao only has an older brother, no sisters.
Li Chengru sent over the photos he had just taken—one of Ji Liao’s face and another full-body shot he had secretly taken earlier when she was buying lemon tea.
She was wearing an apricot-colored dress, standing gracefully at the entrance of the milk tea shop with her blind cane in hand. Her neatly trimmed hair was gently lifted by the breeze, and her profile looked as delicate as a doll’s.
Just seconds after the photos were sent, Yu Nanzhi’s number flashed on the phone screen.
Li Chengru pressed the answer button and was immediately bombarded by Yu Nanzhi’s anxious voice, “Where did you see her?”
“Near the supermarket by the amusement park!” Li Chengru provided the exact location. On the other end of the line, Yu Nanzhi immediately hung up, leaned back in his office chair, and stared at the computer screen, gripping his phone so tightly it was unclear whether he was excited or furious.
His expression was unreadable. His gaze shifted to the photo frame beside his computer, and he suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Ji Liao, I’ve finally found you again.”
Five years had passed. He knew about her eye injury but had no idea where she was hiding. To think she was living a comfortable and happy life—it made his blood boil.
After Lu Chengqing brought Ji Liao home, she sprawled out on the sofa, unmoving. When Ji Liao suggested she take some time to retrieve the car, Lu Chengqing couldn’t even muster the energy to respond.
Ji Liao shook her head helplessly and felt her way upstairs. Just then, the doorbell rang.
They had played too hard today and were exhausted. Lu Chengqing pretended not to hear the doorbell and continued lying motionless. “It’s probably a salesperson, Liao-jie. Can you go turn them away?”
With that, she rolled over and continued lying still.
Left with no choice, Ji Liao made her way to the door. “Hello, we don’t need any sales pitches here.”
The moment the door opened and they stood face to face, Yu Nanzhi’s expression shifted dramatically.
He never expected her to be the one to answer the door. Nor did he expect that, even after five years of imprisonment, her voice would remain as soft and melodious as ever, and her face would still be as exquisitely beautiful as before.
He had assumed that when Ji Liao saw him, she would be shocked and cold, or perhaps consumed with hatred. But he never imagined that her eyes would fail to reflect his image at all.
Ji Liao waited for a while, but no one spoke. A sudden fear gripped her—could it be that a thief had broken in?
When she came to her senses, she slammed the door shut and turned around in a panic, shouting, “Qing’er, Qing’er, check if there’s a thief who came in!”
Lu Chengqing sat up drowsily and looked around. “Sis, it’s just you and me here.”
“I opened the door but no one answered. Could it be someone knocking on the wrong door?”
Lu Chengqing lay back down and responded dismissively, “If no one outside is saying anything, then it must be the wrong door. Or maybe it’s that kid next door playing a prank.”
Right at that moment, the doorbell rang again. Ji Liao called out for Qing’er a few more times, but Lu Chengqing pretended not to hear, mumbling drowsily, “Sis, I stayed up all last night and went out again today. I’m exhausted, so I’m going to sleep now. Just ignore whatever’s outside.”
Ji Liao wanted to ignore it, but the person outside was relentless and annoyingly persistent. Unable to resist the internal struggle, she opened the door again. “Who are you looking for?”
Her innocent and harmless appearance instantly infuriated Yu Nanzhi, and so, the scene from five years ago repeated itself.
He simply pulled her out from behind the door and, with lightning speed, gripped her delicate, smooth chin.
The move startled Ji Liao, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat. Her back pressed against the wall, she clutched his wrist tightly with both hands, her face filled with fear and unease as she demanded, “Who are you? What do you want?”
Yu Nanzhi sneered, “What? Have you forgotten me so quickly after just five years?”
A faint scent of mint drifted through the air and into her nostrils. Ji Liao snapped awake instantly. This scent, this voice—she would never forget them, even in death. This man was Yu Nanzhi!
Realizing it was him, Ji Liao couldn’t suppress the violent trembling that overtook her. Fear crawled through her heart, her breathing grew rapid, and she wanted to call out for Lu Chengqing, but though her mouth opened, no sound emerged.
Yu Nanzhi’s thumb pressed against her lips again, heavy and forceful, just as it had been back then.
He was furious, for in Ji Liao’s dim pupils, he saw the deep-seated fear and pain emanating from her very soul, which only fueled his anger further.
“You’re just the same as before, with that harmless, innocent look. It’s truly disgusting.”
The scornful words, laced with anger, pierced her ears and echoed in her mind. Ji Liao trembled all over, even forgetting to breathe.
Five years—she had endured 1,825 days and nights in torment. She had finally served her sentence and escaped that hell, finally found a family who cherished and loved her, and thought she could live out the rest of her life in peace. But fate, it seemed, was ultimately cruel.
“It’s been so long. Don’t you want to catch up with me?” His fingers dug heavily into her face, making her gasp in pain.
“What else is there for us to say?” Ji Liao’s face was pale as she struggled to suppress the surging fear inside, trying her best to appear calm. Yet every move she made, even her innermost thoughts, were already laid bare to the man towering over her.
“The siblings who took you in are truly kind-hearted. Are they uneducated or disconnected from the internet?”
This was nothing less than a warning. Instinctively panicked, Ji Liao’s eyes widened abruptly as she looked up pleadingly, hoping he would understand she was watching him. “No one took me in. Please don’t hurt them.”
Yu Nanzhi raised an eyebrow, a faint, indifferent smile curling his lips. “I haven’t said anything yet. What are you afraid of? Do you really see me as some irredeemable villain in your eyes?”
Isn’t it true?
He never believed in her innocence until his dying breath, causing her to suffer five years of wrongful imprisonment for no reason and destroying all the brightness in her life. Is that what a good person does?
No, rather—can such a being even be called human?