She dragged her exhausted body to her doorstep, only to discover the lock had been changed when she tried to insert her key.
Suppressing her distress, Ji Liao called her uncle who lived inside. The phone rang several times with no answer. She tried calling others, but the result was the same.
Sitting alone on the steps under gloomy skies, a hollow thunderclap echoed as drizzling rain fell from the eaves, soaking her. As if unaware of the cold, she suddenly laughed.
Perhaps this was retribution.
Yu Nanzhi was determined to make her a despised pest, leaving her to die alone somewhere—how cruel.
Penniless and aimless, she wandered the streets with nowhere to go or hide. The icy rain battered her indiscriminately, yet she felt no cold.
When the police found her, she was curled up sleeping under a bridge, drenched and filthy, bearing no resemblance to the vibrant beauty she once was.
A stray dog of indistinguishable color guarded her side. Breadcrumbs and canned food lay on the ground—perhaps scavenged by the dog from trash piles, as no one dared help her under Yu Nanzhi’s warnings.
“Woof!”
As the police approached, the stray dog positioned itself in front of Ji Liao, issuing a first warning.
“What’s wrong? Cough…” Her voice was hoarse, breathing labored, as Ji Liao habitually raised a hand to soothe the dog.
The officers couldn’t describe their feelings—seeing the once-envied delicate woman reduced to such wretched filth.
“Woof! Woof!!”
“Don’t hurt anyone…” Ji Liao was ill, having caught a severe cold from days in the rain. Her head throbbed dully, her voice nearly gone.
“Miss Ji, you are suspected of murdering Miss Cheng Shuangshuang. Please come with us.” The policeman’s voice cut sharply through the bridge’s hollow.
Ji Liao managed to sit up, leaning against the grimy makeshift den as she squinted dazedly at the figures before her. After a long pause, she murmured, “Ah, I almost forgot I’m a criminal.”
“Yes, Miss Ji. Come with us!”
“Woof! Woof!!” The stray dog bared its teeth, blocking the police. Ji Liao continued soothing it softly, “Don’t be afraid. They’re here to take me away, Cha Cha… From now on, be careful on your own. Don’t be as blind and foolish as I was, failing to distinguish humans from beasts, ending up abandoned by all.”
“Woof?”
“Good girl…” Too weak from starvation and illness, Ji Liao leaned heavily against the wall to stand, but collapsed after barely two steps.
Her face hit the ground again, yet she felt no pain.
When she awoke, her clothes were clean and fresh. A gaunt woman stood beside her.
Holding a bowl of foul-smelling liquid, the woman offered it with three words: “Fever reducer.”
Every part of Ji Liao’s body ached, immobilizing her—even blinking felt strenuous.
Without a word, the woman propped her up, pressed the bowl to her lips, and stated, “Drink. Then you won’t die.”
But who knew? Ji Liao had long stopped wanting to live.
When she refused to open her mouth, the woman pried it open and forced the liquid down. Bitter medicine flooded her mouth, jolting her back to awareness.
The woman was rough and swift. Ji Liao choked and gulped simultaneously, excess medicine dribbling from her lips and nostrils.
It hurt. It was unbearable.
Half of the medicinal brew was wasted, but at least some had made its way into her system.
The woman set down the bowl and brought over a large portion of fragrant food. The aroma made Ji Liao’s stomach growl with hunger.
It had been so long since she’d had a proper meal, and the woman’s timing coincided with a slight return of her strength.
“Eat. It was sent from the canteen.”
Ji Liao’s trembling hands accepted the bowl. She took a small sip of the broth—it was rich and delicious.
“Would you like some?” Ji Liao used the medicine bowl to scoop half the meat, offering it to the woman.
The woman paused, as if remembering something, then shook her head. “No, you eat it.”
“Mm.Ji Liao was truly starving and began eating without restraint, yet despite her disheveled circumstances, her manners remained refined.
After finishing the bowl of meat soup, she regained some strength and became aware of her surroundings.
“Was it delicious, Miss Ji?”
Just as she set down the bowl, that unmistakable male voice reached her ears. Ji Liao froze, then sharply lifted her head to see the man she never wanted to lay eyes on again in this lifetime—Yu Nanzhi.
Even upon seeing him, she refused to address him properly, her voice cold as she stated, “I didn’t kill Cheng Shuangshuang. As for the outcome you want, I’ll give it to you because I admit defeat. But remember—you’re the one who wronged me. This confession isn’t given willingly.”
Yu Nanzhi stood outside the cell door. The guard opened it, and he strode toward her with measured steps, closing the distance in moments. Like a malevolent spirit, he radiated a chilling aura.
Ji Liao shrank back on the bed, silently reminding herself not to fear or panic, to forever remember that this man was the one who had falsely accused her.
“Ji Liao, no amount of excuses will save you from legal punishment. One day, I’ll make you pay with your life for Shuangshuang!”
Ji Liao had been sentenced to just five years in prison because Yu Nanzhi lacked direct evidence proving she was Cheng Shuangshuang’s murderer. The testimonies of those thugs required further investigation, and the court wouldn’t lightly condemn anyone to death.
Suddenly, Ji Liao let out a light laugh. Her thin face lifted fearlessly as she suppressed her panic and feigned composure. “Is that so? Then I’ll wait for that day to come. Though I wonder whether your retribution will arrive first, or my execution day.”
Her words were brave, but her trembling body betrayed the terror she felt facing Yu Nanzhi.
He took in every detail, and seeing her put on such a defiant front made him want to crush her arrogance immediately.
With lightning speed, Yu Nanzhi gripped her chin.
“Ah!!” His merciless hand felt like an instrument of torture, as if intent on crushing her jaw.
The pressure was immense—his nails nearly digging into her flesh. The pain brought tears to Ji Liao’s eyes.
He seemed oblivious to her suffering, increasing the pressure as his expression darkened with displeasure.
“Your words are as vicious as your actions—utterly despicable.”
“I’m innocent!” Ji Liao protested, her face pale with pain. “Otherwise, why would the court allow me to live?”
Yu Nanzhi sneered, each word dripping with cruel malice like Satan’s breath. “Their allowing you to live suits me perfectly. I’ll make you wish you were dead. Do you know what kind of meat that was?”
“What?” She didn’t know, only that it came from the canteen.
Yu Nanzhi rubbed his rough thumb across her lips, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “That was meat from one named ‘Cha Cha.’ Its flesh was fragrant, the broth pure—wasn’t it?”
As if a demon stood beside her, Ji Liao trembled all over and angrily demanded, “You killed it!”
Yu Nanzhi said ruthlessly, “It couldn’t understand human language and helped someone it shouldn’t have. You should thank me for letting you reunite with that beast at the last moment.”