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Creaaak—
In the dilapidated warehouse, the heavy iron door was pushed open, releasing a sharp, grating sound.
Click, clack, click, clack—
The sound of high heels echoed loudly as they approached from a distance, each step shrill and jarring.
Qu Wanwan, covered in blood, had long since lost the pride and arrogance she once carried.
Now, her hands and feet were bound, her eyes no longer shone with their usual brightness, and the scars on her face were shocking to behold.
Shen Man walked step by step toward her. Staring at the utterly disheveled Qu Wanwan, she let out a sneer.
“Qu Wanwan, who would’ve thought you’d end up like this? Betrayed by everyone, abandoned by those you loved. How does it feel?”
Following the sound of her voice, Qu Wanwan grabbed a fistful of Shen Man’s hair and yanked it hard, causing Shen Man to scream in pain.
“Qu Wanwan, are you insane?! Let go of me!”
“Yes, I’m insane. And isn’t that thanks to all of you?” Qu Wanwan gritted her teeth, her voice seething with hatred.
Shen Man struggled free from Qu Wanwan’s grip and finally shoved her to the ground.
She glared viciously at her and spat,
“Qu Wanwan, you’re nothing but a stray dog now. Killing you would be as easy as squashing an ant.”
“Why?” Qu Wanwan questioned, her voice hoarse. “Shen Man, the Qu Family treated you so well. I, Qu Wanwan, treated you like my own sister. Why would you turn on us like this?”
“Hahahahahaha—”
“Treated me well? I was nothing more than a dog at your side. When you were happy, you tossed me a few kind words. When you weren’t, you vented your anger on me. Qu Wanwan, you call that kindness?” Shen Man’s laughter rang out, laced with biting sarcasm.
Qu Wanwan snapped, her voice sharp as a blade. “Shen Man, I found you a job and helped your Shen Family through a crisis—this is how you see me?”
“And why is it that the moment you appeared, you were placed high above everyone else? Why did you hold so many people’s fates in your hands? Why were you the one Fu Ciyu loved? What made you so special?!”
“So that’s it—you were jealous of me? That’s why you teamed up with Lu Yu to bring me down, to destroy the Qu Family?”
Shen Man smoothed her disheveled hair and spoke slowly.
“That’s right. Lu Yu never truly liked you. He pursued you only because of a bet. He just wanted to see if you’d really go so far for him—if you’d dare provoke Fu Ciyu.”
“You all deserve to die—!”
“And your parents, the marriage they chose for you? We sowed discord, manipulated things so you’d grow to loathe Fu Ciyu.”
Qu Wanwan’s mind filled with images of that proud man—again and again, he forgave her willfulness, silently cleaning up the messes she left behind.
“And one more thing—
You probably don’t know this yet, but Fu Ciyu took a slow-acting poison… just to save you.”
“No—”
“That’s impossible. He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t do that!” Qu Wanwan’s eyes widened, her voice trembling with disbelief.
“Qu Wanwan—”
The sudden voice made her freeze.
It was Lu Yu—the man who had ruined everything.
From between clenched teeth, she forced out the words with venom:
“Lu Yu, you lied to me!”
Lu Yu had fair skin and delicate, refined features, with a trace of gentleness in his expression. Yet the smile at the corner of his lips in that moment made it impossible to tell what emotion he was really conveying.
“Wanwan, you were the one who insisted on loving me. I never forced you—did I?”
Lu Yu’s words sent Qu Wanwan’s heart plummeting into an abyss. A wave of fury surged through her, tightening her throat until she could no longer hold it back—a mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
She broke down in sobs. Everything—everything—had been a lie.
She had doomed her Mother and Big Brother. She had ruined that man, the proud and noble man who once stood above all others, dragging him from his pedestal into the dust.
Lifting her head, though the world before her eyes was engulfed in darkness, the hatred burning in her chest shone brighter than ever.
“Lu Yu, Shen Man! I curse you both—you will die wretched deaths!”
Lu Yu’s expression darkened. Shen Man stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.
A handprint bloomed instantly on Qu Wanwan’s cheek, red and stinging.
She burst into manic laughter.
The scars on her face twisted with the sound, making her laughter all the more eerie and haunting.
A strange emotion stirred in the depths of Lu Yu’s heart. His voice dropped low as he said, “You can’t see now, but for the sake of the two years you spent loving me, I’ll tell you this—Fu Ciyu… for your freedom, he shot himself in the temple.”
Upon hearing this, Qu Wanwan let out a piercing scream.
“Ah—!”
“Fu Ciyu—!”
“Fu Ciyu—!”
She whispered his name over and over, but no matter how many times she called it, it brought her no peace.
How could he?
How could he do that—?!
Shen Man was so frightened she stumbled backward. Lu Yu caught her, his gaze fixed on the broken and bloodied Qu Wanwan before him. That unsettling feeling in his chest only grew stronger.
“Lu Yu,” Qu Wanwan suddenly asked in a calm, almost unnatural voice, “tell me—what Shen Man said… is it true?”
Lu Yu frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You approached me because of a bet with someone. You wanted to drive me away from Fu Ciyu. Is that it?”
Lu Yu turned to look at Shen Man. She said nothing.
“Answer me!”
Qu Wanwan’s voice turned cold, like ice scraping against bone.
Lu Yu replied in a low voice, “Yes. Getting close to you, liking you—it was all fake. I just wanted to see if the almighty Qu Wanwan would really abandon Fu Ciyu for me.”
“Hahahahahaha—”
Qu Wanwan’s despairing laughter echoed through the vast, empty basement.
The sound sent a chill down both Shen Man and Lu Yu’s spines, an unshakable sense of dread creeping in.
“Ah Yu, let’s go,” Shen Man clutched his arm, fear flashing in her eyes. “I don’t want to look at her anymore.”
Even though Qu Wanwan had lost her sight, the expression on her face was terrifying.
Lu Yu waved his hand. Immediately, someone stepped forward—carrying a bucket… of gasoline.
“Qu Wanwan, may you have a smooth journey to the afterlife.”
With that, he turned to leave with Shen Man.
But just as they reached the door, Qu Wanwan’s voice suddenly rang out, cold and clear.
“Shen Man. Lu Yu.”
The two of them halted and turned back in unison to look at her—now eerily calm.
Qu Wanwan staggered to her feet, her clothes torn, hair disheveled, eyes blank and lifeless.
Her voice cut through the air like a blade of ice.
“Lu Yu. Shen Man. I curse you both—may you suffer torment in every lifetime, may you never know peace, not even in death.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Man trembled violently. She instinctively nestled deeper into Lu Yu’s embrace, as if trying to draw a sliver of comfort from his arms.
Lu Yu gently wrapped his arm around her, his gaze flashing with disdain. “Qu Wanwan, your curse means nothing to me. Go on—join them down there.”
As his words fell, a suffocating heaviness filled the basement. The very air turned oppressive, thick with a sense of impending doom.
The man beside the oil drum hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed Lu Yu’s orders. Slowly, he tipped the container, and the cold liquid spilled onto the concrete floor with a menacing hiss.
“Do it,” Lu Yu commanded, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.
But just then, Qu Wanwan spoke again. Miraculously, her voice carried a trace of calm.
“In truth… I never hated you,” she said. “I only hated myself. Hated my own naivety. Hated that I believed in love.”
She paused, then added quietly, “If there is a next life, I hope I’ll be blessed with clear eyes—so I can see through all the lies in this world… and never make the same mistake again.”
In the instant the flames erupted, they cast a brilliant light across Qu Wanwan’s face—eerily serene amidst the chaos.
A familiar visage flashed before her eyes—that man’s finely sculpted features. She reached out toward him, fingers desperate to grasp something that wasn’t there.
“Fu Ciyu… you must hate me now, don’t you…”
“Fu Ciyu… if there’s a next life… please, let me be the one to love you.”