Chapter 73 Nightmare

In a dead-end alley not far from Osmanthus Lane, Zhou Yue, who was wrapped up tightly even in the middle of summer with only her eyes showing, was facing off against a short man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face.

The man had shifty eyes, and his intense gaze swept over Zhou Yue's entire body repeatedly, making her feel offended.

It must be said that although Zhou Yue was disfigured, her figure remained unchanged, with graceful curves and beautiful eyes. Being so covered up only aroused a desire to explore her, especially among lewd men.

Zhou Yue suppressed her displeasure, but her voice came out in a hoarse and unpleasant tone, "It seems you don't want to do business anymore, then I'll take my leave."

To avoid being recognized, she deliberately took the same fast-acting cold capsules she had taken before, as they would irritate and inflame her throat.

Although the man was a lecherous man, he loved money even more. He immediately looked away and said, "Sister, let's not mince words. Since you've come to me, you must know what kind of business I do. One price, 300,000!"

Zhou Yue rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but the man immediately grabbed her. "Wait, sis, 350,000!"

Zhou Yue sneered, "In business, both parties need to be sincere for things to go smoothly. 350,000? Ha~ Do you think I'm stupid?"

"400,000! Sister, that really can't be any higher. I'm just a small agent, I can't decide the price. Think carefully about whether you want to do this deal. This is already the maximum amount the higher-ups have given us." The man looked very troubled and distressed. "I won't get any commission at all."

"Great acting skills. Guess how I was able to find you? Did I find out something, like the price?"

The man's expression changed; he could no longer keep up the act.

"The highest price you've offered is 500,000. You only need to run errands and deliver messages to get a 50,000 commission. You're asking for a 200,000 kickback right off the bat. Isn't that a bit too much?"

"You know a lot of information, don't you, sister?" The man's gaze became wary, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes from time to time, as if he was considering whether to get rid of her.

Zhou Yue was a little scared, but her hoarse voice didn't betray her fear. "Don't even think about attacking me. I'm not stupid enough to come here alone. I've said I'm here to do business. If it works out, great. If not, it's best not to ruin things. We all want to continue doing business together."

"Okay, sis, you're amazing. You even managed to find out this." The man straightened up, looking at Zhou Yue seriously. "It is indeed 500,000. The only documents needed are the seller's medical certificate and a vial of blood. After all, they're paying such a high price, they don't want to accept something that's sick."

Zhou Yue nodded, "Okay, I'll get ready. When do you need it?"

"This time next week, still here."

"no problem."

"Then I'll wait for good news."

Zhou Yue nodded slightly and quickly left.

The man, with his hands in his pockets, wandered around the area a few times before swaggering home.

Zhou Yue felt relieved and went home to find Zhou Mu already asleep. She didn't pay any attention to her, cooked herself a bowl of noodles, ate it, and went to sleep.

*

Because of what happened during the day, Yan Songyu slept with Feifei, but she still woke up in the middle of the night. Feeling her mother's warm and reassuring embrace, Feifei snuggled closer to Yan Songyu.

"What's wrong, baby? Did you have a nightmare?" Yan Songyu's voice was a little hoarse. She was a light sleeper and woke up as soon as Feifei moved.

"Hmm~"

Yan Songyu noticed the slight tremor in her voice and hugged her tighter. "Mommy's here. Can you tell Mommy about your dream?"

"I...I dreamt about Li Shuwei."

Feifei was pampered and cared for growing up. This innocent and naive child faced death for the first time, leaving her with psychological trauma.

“She was standing on the podium and said she envied me. I didn’t hear her very clearly at the time, but I just dreamed about it again. I clearly heard her say that she envied me. I didn’t know how to comfort her. Then the scene changed and I saw her lying in a pool of blood, and then I woke up.”

Just as Yan Songyu was about to comfort Feifei, she heard her continue, "At first, she spoke ill of me and even pushed Mumu. I hated her, but after learning about her experiences, I felt that she was actually... quite pitiful. Her mother is just like Mumu's mother. Why do people have mothers like them?"

Feifei has the most complete maternal love and the best mother in the world, so she thinks all mothers are the same. Zhou Yue shattered her perception, and Li Qingxi completely destroyed her illusion.

“Human emotions are complex and changeable, it’s hard to say,” Yan Songyu tried to explain to Feifei in simple terms. “But most emotions are related to experiences.”

“Like Li Qingxi, after her dream of becoming a pianist was shattered, she developed psychological problems and became crazy and paranoid. She imposed her unfulfilled dreams on Li Shuwei. And because Li Shuwei’s talent was not as good as hers, she used a series of harsh and cruel methods to force her to improve.”

"As for Zhou Yue, there are too many possibilities. Even her mother doesn't know. Maybe she couldn't bear the economic and social pressure, so she vented it on Zhou Mu. Maybe it's a cycle of abuse, meaning that she herself experienced abuse when she was a child and did not receive redemption, so she subconsciously continued this abuse on her daughter. Maybe it's because she is an emotionally selfish and cold person who uses her child as a tool for revenge."

Yan Songyu said she didn't know, but what she mentioned were all Zhou Yue's problems. However, Zhou Yue's cycle of abuse was more complicated. She abused Zhou Mu while hoping that Zhou Mu would break through the shackles that she herself had failed to break through. This can be seen in her sending Zhou Mu to school.

"Mom, I feel so happy!" Feifei said in a muffled voice, nestled in Yan Songyu's arms. "I have a mom who loves me, a grandpa who loves me, and many other people who love me."

"Because Feifei is a lovely, kind, smart and likable girl. Only someone who doesn't like you would be crazy."

Feifei fell asleep again with Yan Songyu by her side, but Zhou Mu had no mother to comfort and console her. She had also witnessed the entire incident of Li Shuwei being hit by a car today, and woke up in a cold sweat.

Her dream was filled with blood, and Li Shuwei's final, liberated smile was extremely eerie, her eyes staring straight at her.

Then the scene of her being pushed down by Li Shuwei reappeared, but in the dream, Li Shuwei's arrogant and smug expression after pushing her down gradually turned into that very strange and eerie smile. She pounced on her and grabbed her neck hard.

Just as she was suffocating, Li Shuwei suddenly disappeared again, and the scene returned to the car accident scene. Li's parents were crying their hearts out, and Li Shuwei's soul was watching them from the side, her eyes confused, as if wondering why they looked so sad when they clearly didn't love her.

"Is it worth it, Li Shuwei? Giving up your own life for their cheap regret?" Zhou Mu boldly stepped forward and asked her.

"You can see me?" Li Shuwei was surprised.

"Um."

“I don’t know if it’s worth it. I’m not doing this to make them regret it. I just can’t go on living. I’ve held on for 12 years and I’ve used up all my strength. I can’t hold on any longer.”

“We actually have very similar lives.” Zhou Mu rambled on to Li Shu’s slightly translucent soul as he told his own story, “My mother didn’t love me either.”

"Your mother used you as a tool to achieve her dreams, while my mother used me as a tool for revenge."