𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐬. “𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞… 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞… 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭…”

𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 — 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐡.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥, 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐬?” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞. “𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧? 𝐓𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲… 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛*𝐭𝐜𝐡! 𝐖𝐡𝐲?! 𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬! 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 — 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?!”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫. “𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝, 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.”

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧.

𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩. “𝐍𝐨 — 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫! 𝐈 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞… 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐬!”

𝐌𝐮𝐦, 𝐃𝐚𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮, 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.

“𝐌𝐮𝐦! 𝐃𝐚𝐝! 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 — 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞!” 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐲. 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐩 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠.

“𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡!” 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐑𝐮 𝐑𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮!”

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲. “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡… 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐈’𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.”

“𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐮 𝐑𝐮 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬,” 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.”

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦, 𝐮𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝:

[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞?]

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 — 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

“𝐀𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞… 𝐈’𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥.”

[𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧…]

Qiao Yu woke to sunlight spilling soft and bright across her small frame. She gasped, sitting up fast, hands flying to pat her arms, chest, and face — no cold hospital straps, no sharp needles, no biting pain. She was whole. She was really alive.

A wild, breathless laugh bubbled up her throat, then sharpened into something cold and bright. “I’m back. And no one who ever hurt me will live to tell the tale. Hehehe… I was betrayed once. Now you’ll all taste your own poison.”

Her smile turned sharp as broken glass. “I’ll make you cough up every drop of blood you took from me, dig your own graves — and make that white‑lotus b*tch wear a green hat that never fades.” She leaned forward, voice thick with venom: “Your little connections mean nothing. One right man is all I need to burn you all to ash. Steal him from me? That’s not theft — that’s signing your death warrant. I’ll send you straight to Meng Po’s table… and you won’t even get a sip of her soup.”

“System?” she called out softly. “What exactly do these points do?”

[Green Lotus System Online. Host: Qiao Yu. Base Stats: 0. Green Tea Points: 0. Points unlock exclusive skills, perks, and resources for your goals.]

“Perfect,” she grinned. “Then I’ll make my revenge the most magnificent, glorious thing you’ve ever seen.” She tapped her phone awake — the date glowed clear: 2007. “I’m only twenty this year. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Her eyes hardened. “Starting with Qiao Ru… and that eldest brother of mine? I’d rather have a pig for a brother.” She stood slowly, facing the mirror, lifting her chin high. “No one will ever bully me again. I’ll become untouchable.” A wicked smile curved her lips. “Revenge, after all, is best served cold. Hehehe… mess with this auntie, and I’ll make your lives miserable.”

A sudden thought popped into her head. “System — since I’m a total newbie, where’s my starter perk? Like the ability to cry on cue, or speak with perfect, cutting eloquence?”

[All rewards must be earned, Host.]

She clicked her tongue. “Wait — don’t all system novels give newbies gifts? I read Transmigrated with a Ghost System! They hand out everything right away! Are you really that stingy? Have pity on your poor, hard‑done‑by master!”

[System: …]

Her tone flipped instantly, sweet as sugar: “System… I love you to the moon and stars, I swear! The whole sky is my witness — be a dear and give me just one tiny perk?”

[System: You are absolutely shameless. But… Newbie Pack Unlocked.]

She leaned in, eyes sparkling. “What do I get? Infinite wealth? Maxed charm? A line of handsome male models? Or something even more spectacular?”

[System: No. Your Newbie Pack contains: Beginner Acting Skill, and 30 Fate Points.]

She huffed, crossing her arms. “You are such a stingy thing! Can’t you spoil your master just a little?”

[System: The more Green Tea Points you collect, the better rewards you will receive.]

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞. 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐮 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐩.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞.

[𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝]

[𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥]

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐡 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. 𝐁𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐬

𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭

𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮: 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐇𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐡𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑’𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐐𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐘𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝.