“Big sister, I don’t wish to die.”

“I won’t have many days left if I can’t get a suitable heart. I will die.” Despite already bearing a child, the thirty-year-old Mu Qiu was as youthful and lovely as ever. She looked like a radiant young lady.

As she spoke those words, she looked incredibly delicate and fragile.

Standing by Mu Qiu’s bed was a tall, slender woman. If Mu Qiu was a pure lily flower, then this woman was a regal desert rose. Her features were classically beautiful as she stood there, quiet and elegant.

Song Ci looked at Mu Qiu, who was two years younger than her. Pain shot through her heart as she thought of her innocent, adorable little sister dying.

“Qiu-er, don’t lose hope. We will find a heart suitable for you.” Song Ci’s encouragement felt rather lackluster. Since Mu Qiu had a rare blood type, there was a low chance of finding a donor heart in a short time.

Mu Qiu didn’t respond to Song Ci’s words of comfort and instead looked at Song Ci’s familiar face. Even though she had seen this face for so many years, she still felt a sense of jealousy whenever she gazed upon those perfect features.

Song Ci was the Mu Family’s adopted daughter.

When Song Ci was 14 years of age, an earthquake killed her parents and left her elder sister Song Fei in a comatose state.

Luckily, Mu Qiu’s father, Mu Qian, had been a volunteer at the scene of the earthquake. And being the kind-hearted man that he was, he adopted Song Ci and shouldered Song Fei’s medical fees. All these years, the Mu family took good care of Song Ci, who had since blossomed into a lovely and elegant desert rose.

But then, a terrible fire broke out at the convalescent hospital ten years ago, which unfortunately caused Song Ci’s sister Song Fei to perish in the flames.

Having lived with the Mu Family for so many years, Mu Mian and his wife treated Song Ci as if she was their daughter. Whatever Mu Qiu had, Song Ci had it too. Song Ci could never repay the Mu Family for their kindness in raising her.

Thinking of how good the Mu Family had been to her, Song Ci racked her brains on how to comfort Mu Qiu. But then, an unexpected chuckle rang inside the ward. Puzzled, Song Ci turned toward the source of the laughter. It was Mu Qiu.

What was she laughing about?

Mu Qiu’s laughter was brief. She stopped smiling and lowered her eyes. “A suitable heart... there is one.”

“Have you found one?” Song Ci, in her surprise, excitedly asked Mu Qiu. She then grabbed Mu Qiu’s hands and asked once more, “Where? When can we schedule the surgery?”

Mu Qiu pulled her right hand out of Song Ci’s grip and instead pressed her fingers gently on Song Ci’s chest.

Song Ci gazed down at Mu Qiu’s lovely hand. It was like a piece of jade, long and slender. Anyone could tell it was the hand of an exceptionally well-cultivated person. She asked Mu Qiu, “What is it?”

Mu Qiu looked up at Song Ci, and a strange smile spread across her lips.

“Qiu-er...” Song Ci’s heart gave a sudden jolt when she saw Mu Qiu’s strange smile. Her lips pursed tightly together, giving her an austere expression. Song Ci’s throat tightened, which made her voice sound raspy. “What are you trying to say?”

Mu Qiu’s strange grin widened. “Big sister, where do you think that heart is?” Mu Qiu’s eyes drifted over to Song Ci’s chest.

Under that ample chest was a vibrant, beating heart full of life.

Observing Mu Qiu’s creepy expression, Song Ci finally understood what Mu Qiu meant. Both of them had the same rare blood type! So, did Mu Qiu want her heart?

Song Ci’s face lost all color at that thought.

“Big sister, can you give me your heart?” Mu Qiu’s voice was as melodious as ever. But the hairs on Song Ci’s back stood on end when she heard it.

Pressed against Song Ci’s chest, Mu Qiu’s slender fingers now looked like five cold, venomous snakes. It was so cold that Song Ci felt all her four limbs freeze.

Song Ci swept the lady’s hand aside and took two steps back in panic. Standing at the foot of the bed, Song Ci stared at Mu Qiu in disbelief. It was like she was staring at a stranger.

The lovely and graceful Mu Qiu was like a pristine lily. Even though she had just asked for a living person’s healthy heart, she still looked pure and innocent as an angel.

But she was a demoness!

Mu Qiu scared Song Ci.

“You want my heart?” Song Ci asked Mu Qiu in a trembling voice. “I will die if I give you my heart! Mu Qiu, how can you be so selfish?”

A strange glint surfaced in Mu Qiu’s eyes when she heard Song Ci’s rebuke. She stared at Song Ci for several seconds and stated matter-of-factly, “The Mu Family raised you. It’s only appropriate that you give me your heart, right?”

Song Ci was dumbstruck.

She was about to retort when Mu Qiu spoke again. “Why do you think my father adopted you? Do you think he is such a kind-hearted philanthropist? That he just wanted to do a kind deed?” Mu Qiu’s smile remained as pure and innocent as ever as she continued, “My father took you and your sister in just to cultivate your hearts for me!”

There was an unpleasant buzzing sound that rang inside Song Ci’s ears.

She didn’t want to believe it was true!

“Impossible!” Song Ci felt that Mu Qiu was lying to her. She wanted to dismiss her claims, but a small voice deep within her heart told her, ‘It’s true! It’s all true!’

A hint of pity surfaced on Mu Qiu’s face when she saw that Song Ci still refused to see the truth even as death beckoned her.

“All this time, and you still didn’t know?” Mu Qiu looked at Song Ci like she was a pitiful little bug. “Big sister, the heart that is beating inside me now...” Mu Qiu admired the increasingly distressed expression on Song Ci’s face. With a light tone of voice, she completed her sentence, “It is Song Fei’s.”

Song Ci’s eyes widened in shock!

“What did you say?!”

Song Ci’s voice turned strident. “Mu Qiu, this joke you are making is not funny.”

Mu Qiu pitied Song Ci. “Big sister, you are so stupid.”

Mu Qiu continued, “That fire was not an accident. That same year, my condition had turned grave. Since we couldn’t find a suitable heart, my father had no choice but to give Song Fei’s heart to me. She was in a vegetative state, anyway, and she already had no chance of waking up. To keep it under the radar, father set a fire in the middle of the night to dispose of Song Fei’s body.”

The buzzing continued in Song Ci’s head as she heard Mu Qiu’s words. She felt like something had sucked all her energy out of her body, that she struggled to remain standing straight.

Had they caused her elder sister’s death?

Looking at Mu Qiu’s innocent front and then thinking of her sister’s sudden death, Song Ci suddenly felt a spurt of rage.

“Die!”

Song Ci picked up a vase from the table behind her and lifted it to smash it into Mu Qiu’s head. But before she could do so, a powerful hand gripped her wrist.

Pain shot through her wrist.

Song Ci turned around in anger, and a black, erect figure reflected in her bloodshot eyes.

Mu Mian stood behind Song Ci. In her eyes, his handsome, gentle face no longer held its usual warmth and pleasantries. Instead, it looked detestable.

“Song Ci, give me the vase.” Mu Mian’s tone was malevolent and thick with a warning.

As she looked at Mu Mian, Song Ci recalled all the efforts he had put into taking good care of her. She felt both aggrieved and pained. Tears streamed down her face as she clenched her fists. She questioned Mu Mian, “Everything that Mu Qiu said—is it true?”

Mu Mian glanced at the bedridden Mu Qiu.

Mu Qiu calmly spoke, “Father, I told her everything.”

Mu Mian frowned as if rebuking Mu Qiu for acting out of turn. Feeling his daughter struggling in his grip, Mu Mian turned back to look at Song Ci.

His lips quivered lightly as he stared at Song Ci’s tear-stained face.

Having raised this child for nearly twenty years, Mu Mian did possess some feelings for her. But Mu Mian steeled his resolve at the thought that his biological daughter would die if she didn’t get a new heart soon.

Mu Mian and his wife, Du Tingting, only had one daughter. His wife passed away seven years ago, so Mu Qiu was his sole responsibility.

He could not lose his one and only family.

“I am sorry, Song Ci. I cannot stand by and watch Qiu-er die.”

The vase fell from Song Ci’s grasp, shattering into a million pieces on the floor.

Song Ci hollered at Mu Mian, “Did my elder sister deserve to die just because your daughter needs to live?”

Mu Mian explained in a low voice, “She was in a vegetative state. The doctors were very sure that she would never wake up again...”

“Did that mean you could just carve her open and dig out her heart?!”

Mu Mian remained silent.

There was nothing he could say. It was the truth.

Song Ci glared at Mu Mian. She then gave a despondent smile as she pressed her chest. With tears still streaming down her face, she asked Mu Mian, “So now, you are also going to take my heart to save Mu Qiu, right?”

Mu Mian lowered his head. Half a second later, he said through clenched jaws, “I am sorry...”

Mu Mian’s apology chilled Song Ci’s heart.

Everything Mu Qiu said was true. Mu Mian wanted to take her heart to save his biological daughter. Mu Mian murdered her elder sister!

Song Ci suddenly remembered something.

When she was twenty-years-old, Mu Mian was suddenly interested in organ donation. He even went to visit Wangdong City’s Red Cross Society and came back with an application form to be an organ donor after death.

Song Ci had inadvertently come across that form on Mu Mian’s desk.

After that earthquake, the Crisis Group managed to rescue Song Ci and the Mu Family eventually adopted her. Since then, Song Ci harbored deep gratitude for her new lease in life. And since she had always wanted to contribute to society, she wanted to become an organ donor upon seeing that application form on Mu Mian’s desk.

Subsequently, she went to get a form and applied to be an organ donor so she could save a stranger’s life.

Recalling that incident, she realized that there was no way Mu Mian would be such a magnanimous person. It was just a ploy to lure her into signing that organ donor form so he could take her heart after her death for Mu Qiu!

Song Ci felt like her heart had been cut into pieces. Fresh blood spurted out of her mouth.

She staggered backward and leaned against the wall. She fixed her eyes on Mu Mian, a malevolent aura enshrouding her entire body. “Mu Mian, Mu Qiu, you two will get your retribution!”

Song Ci swore to the heavens. “Even if I die and become a ghost, I will seek you out and take your lives!”

Mu Mian frowned as he reached out and smacked Song Ci unconscious.

...

Four days later.

“Mr. Han, your newly transplanted cornea will be very sensitive to bright lights for now. Please open your eyes slowly.”

Hearing the hospital director’s instructions, Han Zhan gave a slight nod.

The man’s lashes quivered a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. Those grey-blue pupils held a profound glint. Clear and mesmerizing, they were like two endless and bewitching whirlpools.

Han Zhan looked at the orange bush lily sitting on the windowsill. Over the past year, he only saw darkness. Now that he had finally regained his sight, Han Zhan felt rather dazed as he observed the colorful world before him.

The hospital director looked worried when he saw Han Zhan staring at the windowsill with an impassive gaze. Holding his breath, he asked in a small voice, “Mr. Han, are you... still unable to see?”

“No, I can see very well now.” Han Zhan shook his head. He could see clearer than before he lost his sight.

The hospital director heaved a sigh of relief and left after being assured that the surgery had been successful.

The hospital director had just left when Li Li entered. “The surgery was a success. Congratulations boss on regaining your sight.”

Han Zhan asked, “Where’s the information?”

“Here.” Li Li handed an information package to Han Zhan.

Han Zhan lowered his head to read the information package as Li Li continued to talk. “The person who donated her corneas was a girl called Song Ci. She was 32 years old and a citizen of Wangdong City. She died three days ago in a car crash. While she was still alive, she signed up to be an organ donor. As a result, you received her corneas.”

Li Li noticed that his boss looked somewhat distressed.

Shocked, he stopped his narration and asked Han Zhan worriedly, “What’s the matter? Boss?”

Han Zhan lifted his head and stared at Li Li. “What did you say her name was?”

Li Li answered with uncertainty, “Song Ci.”

Pain shot through Han Zhan’s heart.

How could it be her?

Summers in Wangdong City were especially hot. It was like a big steaming oven, making everyone hot and frustrated. But this year’s summer was exceptionally scorching.

Layers of steam visibly rose in the air, and the limp, withered leaves on the trees seemed hoping for a huge downpour.

Under the white pavilion, a girl napped on a bamboo chair, her curly black hair glossy with sweat. Still dreaming, the teenage girl suddenly raised her arms and gripped the sides of her chair ever so tightly. She shook her head in fright...

“Ah...”

“Save me!”

Swish...

Song Ci suddenly opened her eyes, and she sat straight up.

She was still alive?

Didn’t her adoptive father knocked her down unconscious and then shoved her into a car? And they drove the car straight into the Great Dragon River so both vehicle and body would sink and disappear?

A maid passing by heard her screams and halted. Standing under the corridor, she asked, “Ms. Song, what’s the matter?”

Song Ci took a few deep breaths before looking toward the direction of where the voice came. Noticing the maid, it took a few moments before Song Ci recognized her. “Auntie Zhang, I am fine. Perhaps the weather is too hot, and I got heatstroke.”

“Go into the house to rest, then. I made smoothies for you and the Young Mistress. You are just in time to eat.”

“Alright.”

Song Ci stood up after seeing Auntie Zhang enter the house.

She stood within the pavilion and surveyed the yard. It was the Mu Family garden, planted with decorative shrubs and a deep pond. Song Ci walked to the side of the pond and gazed into the clear water. That painful scenario from her ‘previous life’ surfaced in her mind.

Was that so-called previous life a real experience or just a dream?

Song Ci had no idea and didn’t dare jump to conclusions.

Suddenly, light, dainty footsteps rang around. As it approached closer, Song Ci could detect the faint scent of lilies. Mu Qiu loved the smell of lilies and always used it as her perfume.

“Sister, Auntie Zhang said you were suffering from heatstroke. How are you now?” The teenage girl’s voice was melodious, sounding like freshwater dripping upon a stone plate.

Song Ci turned and looked at the girl beside her. Mu Qiu had black, shoulder-length straight hair; a dainty, egg-shaped face; and a slender, delicate figure. Anyone who saw her would want to protect and dote on her.

Mu Qiu was smiling, and concern filled her eyes—completely different compared to that selfish, heartless woman from her previous life. Would Mu Qiu really kill her and Song Fei to live?

When Song Ci didn’t respond, Mu Qiu grew increasingly worried about her health and those lovely brows furrowed. “Big sister? Why are you keeping silent?”

“I am still feeling a little dizzy,” Song Ci replied, “I am going back to my room to lie down for a bit.”

“Go and rest then. The aircon is still on.”

Song Ci and Mu Qiu’s rooms were side by side on the second floor. But after entering the house, Song Ci could not go back to sleep. She thought of something and circled the house in search of something. Finally, she found her cell phone on the study table.

Song Ci opened it and glanced at the date.

th of July 2020.

Song Ci widened her eyes. The 12th of August 2020 was Song Fei’s death anniversary. There was still a month to go before Song Fei’s death!

Her elder sister was still alive!

Raging with emotions, tears streamed down Song Ci’s face.

She hurriedly wiped off her tears and put down her cell phone. Walking next to the window, Song Ci remembered that a month before her elder sister’s death, Mu Qiu suddenly fainted and was admitted to the hospital. Only then did they find out that her heart was failing, and that she urgently needed a heart transplant.

If it happened like so, she would soon find out whether that ridiculous past life was just a nightmare or the real deal.

If everything in her dreams turned out to be real, then she must do her best to protect her sister in this life!

Song Ci locked herself inside her room for the entire afternoon to reorganize her thoughts and the details from her dream.

When it was almost evening, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Song Ci heard a middle-aged woman’s gentle voice from outside. “Song song, are you awake? I heard from Qiu-er that you got heatstroke today. Auntie Zhang brewed some green bean soup. Do you want to have some?”

It was Mu Qiu’s mother, Du Tingting. She was a woman who Mu Mian had pampered all his life.

Du Tingting thought that Song Ci was still sleeping and was just about to turn around when Song Ci suddenly opened the door.

Startled, Du Tingting turned towards her. She carefully scanned Song Ci and saw that she appeared rosy and well. She felt relieved and said, “Since you are awake, come down for dinner.”

“Alright.”

Song Ci followed Du Tingting down the stairs.

She gazed at Du Tingting’s back profile. She had wound up her hair in a bun and pinned it with an expensive white jade clip. In her dreams, Du Tingting would pass away three years later because of a cerebral hemorrhage.

When she opened the door and suddenly came face to face with Du Tingting, Song Ci felt a sense of surreality.

Song Ci wasn’t sure whether Du Tingting had anything to do with Song Fei’s murder. On the surface, Du Tingting seemed to love her as her daughter. In her previous life, Song Ci only realized at her point of death how wrong she had been about everyone around her. Whether she was blind or just plain stupid—Song Ci no longer believed in her judgment.

Song Ci and Du Tingting arrived at the dining room together, where Mu Qiu was.

Noticing Song Ci’s arrival, Mu Qiu said, “Cheng Ziang called in the afternoon to ask you to the movies tonight. Big sister, will you be going?”

Before Song Ci could answer, Du Tingting said, “Why didn’t he call your big sister instead?”

Mu Qiu replied, “He did, but his call failed to go through.”

Song Ci had spent the entire afternoon engrossed in her thoughts and had her phone turned off. She explained, “My cell phone was off. I forgot to charge it.”

Mu Qiu looked at Song Ci with gossip-hungry eyes. “So, big sister, are you going?”

“No.”

It was a date that should never happen. She would never go on a date with Cheng Ziang in this life.

Cheng Ziang had an elder half-brother called Cheng Yanmo. They shared the same father but had different mothers. Cheng Yanmo was an exceptionally talented young man, and with such a genius older brother hovering over him, Cheng Ziang led a suppressed life and possessed a terrible character.

At one time, there was a saying amongst the wealthy young men in Wangdong City:

‘If you seek an affair, go after Song Ci. If you seek a wife, marry Mu Qiu.’

Song Ci’s beauty was dazzling and spectacular. She was like a rare jewel, coveted by all. Meanwhile, Mu Qiu was like a brilliant pearl. Gentle, quiet, and virtuous.

Mu Qiu was best fit to be at home as a docile and chaste little wife. Meanwhile, for Song Ci, her beauty destined her to be the center of all attention. No man could conquer her, but then again, every guy dreamt of fooling around with her.

But this female, one who had countless men adoring and obsessing over her, obeyed her adoptive father’s arrangements. She married Cheng Ziang when she was 24 years old.

Cheng Ziang had a mental affliction. Whenever he got nervous, his performance on the bed would drop. Marrying the gorgeous Song Ci for him was like possessing a delicious ripe fruit but unable to eat it. Cheng Ziang was always worried that she would stray that even a month after their wedding, he beat her up just because she smiled at a delivery boy.

After the first incident of domestic abuse, there came a second time. And then a third...

Song Ci tried to leave and file a divorce against Cheng Ziang, but he used the plight of Chao Yang Company to threaten her. During that time, Chao Yang Company was in a mess and had cash flow problems that if not for Chuan Dong Group’s help, Mu Mian would have faced bankruptcy.

Grateful for Mu Mian’s care for her elder sister and herself, Song Ci couldn’t bring herself to divorce Cheng Ziang. But as a result, the two of them tussled with each other for over six years. In the end, Song Ci stabbed Cheng Ziang in the gut, and they divorced subsequently.

Married at 24 years of age and divorced at 30 years of age. Song Ci turned from a regal desert rose into a trampled little weed.

The more she thought about it, the more Song Ci felt very aggrieved for her previous life.

There were plenty of distinguished men in this world. That Cheng Ziang was nothing!