Ji Liao’s eyes reddened, tears flowing like a breached dam. Facing him, her lips trembled as she spoke in a shaky voice, “Your words, I’ve never dared to forget. Yu Nanzhi, I’ve already become like this—why won’t you let me live?”
He suddenly roared, “Because Cheng Shuangshuang can never come back to life!”
These words pierced Ji Liao’s chest like needles. She smiled bitterly and said, “You’re so loyal, yet so heartless. Yu Nanzhi, if one day you learn the truth, will you regret hurting me?”
“You’re the one who killed Shuangshuang—that is the truth!” Yu Nanzhi wished he could strangle her on the spot, yet he laughed, a terrifying laugh reminiscent of a demon from hell.
Nothing had changed. In that moment, even the sunlight seemed to turn into a cold glare.
Ji Liao knew clearly that the innocence she had desperately longed for had long become an illusion.
Breathing in the dangerous aura emanating from Yu Nanzhi, she knew she could no longer escape the curse.
A’Bao’s words echoed in her mind: If he believes you’re guilty, then you deserve to die a thousand deaths. Even if you jumped into the Yellow River, you could never wash away the suspicion.
“So you came to see me today just to hear me deny once again that I’m not the one who harmed Cheng Shuangshuang, right?”
“I don’t want to discuss this topic anymore. Ji Liao, I’m here to punish you.”
Ji Liao fought back her sobs, facing Yu Nanzhi with numbness. “Haven’t the five years of torment you’ve given me been enough?”
“Only five years, and you can walk out of prison. But what about Shuangshuang? She can never come back to life.”
Ji Liao smiled bitterly, instinctively clenching her hands. “You care so much about her, but do you remember she was someone else’s wife, buried in someone else’s ancestral grave? Does she know about the vile things you’ve done for her? Would she be moved? Would she be happy?”
Yu Nanzhi only stared at her coldly, silent.
Ji Liao continued sarcastically, “Yu Nanzhi, with all the ability you have to bully me, why don’t you have the guts to investigate the truth from back then? Find out why she went to a hotel room even though she was pregnant! And while you’re at it, check whether the child in her womb was yours, her husband’s, or some other man’s!”
Slap! A sharp, clear sound echoed in the hallway.
“Shut up! Don’t you dare slander Shuangshuang!”
Ji Liao took the heavy blow, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She was used to it by now and sneered, “What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve? Remind you that she was that kind of promiscuous woman, didn’t I?”
“I said shut up, did you hear me?” Yu Nanzhi’s large hand moved downward, gripping her neck fiercely as he roared, “After all these years, you’ve grown a sharp tongue and lost your fear of death, haven’t you?”
When had she ever feared death? Back then, if it weren’t for the prison guards’ fear of him, they would never have saved her.
She would rather… rather have died in the pitch-dark prison than see his vicious face again.
“Get away…” Ji Liao reached out to push him, but his sharp eyes instantly widened in shock.
Her ten fingers had no nails…
What happened?!
As if struck by a thought, Yu Nanzhi swung his hand above her eyes. Her eyelids didn’t flinch—she didn’t even try to dodge.
“You… you’re blind!” He couldn’t believe it. What had she gone through all these years in prison?
Furious, Ji Liao’s emotions erupted suddenly. “Yes, I’m blind! Are you satisfied? Are you happy now?”
The scar was torn open, and Ji Liao wept and laughed hysterically, her cries tearing at the heart.
Yu Nanzhi suddenly felt as if his heart had been stabbed, an inexplicable pain washing over him, suffocating him.
He knew what the female inmates in prison had done to her, but he hadn’t known they had been cruel enough to destroy her eyes…
Yet, wasn’t her suffering exactly what he had hoped for? So why, upon seeing her pitiful state, did his heart ache uncontrollably, unbearably…
“Liaoliao-jie, what are you doing outside!” Lu Chengqing rushed out the door, only to be terrified out of her wits by the scene before her.
A man was tightly gripping Ji Liao’s neck. In that instant, driven by an inexplicable surge of courage and strength, she grabbed the baseball bat leaning against the door and charged forward bravely, striking Yu Nanzhi while shouting angrily, “You bastard, let go of Liaoliao-jie!”
“Who’s the one seeking death remains to be seen!”
“Bang!”
In that moment, Lu Chengqing was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing nearby as the surroundings fell into silence.
Ji Liao sensed something was wrong. After Yu Nanzhi released her, she groped her way forward, calling out repeatedly, “Qing’er, Qing’er… where are you?”
Lu Chengqing, kicked in the chest, lay on the ground spitting up blood, unable to get up no matter how hard she tried.
Yu Nanzhi stood cold and unfeeling, just as he had five years ago. He lowered his gaze, his eyes reflecting Ji Liao’s panicked and fearful expression. “She’s two steps ahead of you, about to die.”
Ji Liao knelt and groped around, hating herself for being blind and unable to see. After a while, she finally found Lu Chengqing lying motionless on the ground.
The air was thick with the smell of blood. She touched Lu Chengqing’s mouth and felt the unending wetness, plunging her into an abyss of despair as fear spread throughout her body…
Ji Liao turned her head, facing Yu Nanzhi with disbelief as she accused him, “You killed Qing’er!”
In her dim, lifeless pupils, there was no trace of the former admiration—only boundless hatred, the kind carved deliberately into the marrow of her bones. It surged like a volcanic eruption, roaring and rushing, as if it would leap from her eyes and strike him.
Yu Nanzhi looked at the two of them with brutal honesty and spoke just as frankly, “She was implicated because of you. If she hadn’t charged out, she wouldn’t be in this state now.”
The memories sealed deep within were abruptly torn open, and an endless tide of pain surged forth, drowning her as she lingered on the shore.
All the suffering those people endured in those years was because of her. She was a harbinger of doom, capable only of bringing misfortune to others.
The pain began to flow through her blood, and intense fear spread across her body. She was afraid of the people around her dying, afraid of loss—she didn’t want Qing’er to lose her life…
“I have to save her… I must save her…” Ji Liao frantically crawled on the ground, groping around like a mad, desperate stray dog.
He gave her no chance, stepping on her back from above to halt her progress. “At a time like this, you still think of running away. How heartless.”
Ji Liao struggled and screamed, “I need to call an ambulance! Let me go!”
Yu Nanzhi naturally did not understand just how devastating Ji Liao’s suffering had been during those days. After enduring until her release from prison, it was Lu Chengqing and his sister who gave her sweetness and hope. To her, they were her saviors.
“Do you think I’ll let you have your way?”
“She’s still a child! Why can’t you just let her go!”
“Then who will let Cheng Shuangshuang and her child go!” he nearly roared those words.