Chapter 102 Cough

As Song Youning wished, there was no wedding, no ceremony, and no one was notified.

She completely ripped apart the false appearance of peace and laid her purpose bare in the open—not for love, but simply to advance the so-called plot faster and reach the ending she wanted.

Her cold and sarcastic look crushed Ji Siyun's heart repeatedly.

How could he not know her purpose?

Song Youning also knew it.

She knew very well that his twisted soul longed for her, but she deliberately sprinkled poison in the candy when handing it to him, and handed it to him with a condescending look of contempt.

If I swallow it, my intestines might get ruptured, but... it was given by her.

In his more secret heart, Ji Siyun thought extremely darkly: This world was created by him for her, even if it comes to the so-called ending, as long as he is unwilling to let go, she will not be able to leave.

He would never allow Song Youning to leave.

So after getting the marriage certificate, the invisible chains drew closer.

After Song Youning revealed that he could hear the system's voice, Ji Siyun didn't want to anger Song Youning again, so he never let the system appear again.

Song Youning's next plan is unknown, but she is never the type to sit and wait for death. Ji Siyun can only strengthen the security outside the villa and keep a close eye on her every move.

Song Youning still has some superficial freedom, but no matter where he goes, he is always accompanied by the bodyguards he has arranged.

But Song Youning was like a candidate who had already submitted his final answer sheet and no longer had any attachment to the process.

She hardly ever left the house, and spent most of her time curled up on the sofa on the balcony, staring at the sky all day long, as if waiting for the final judgment to come.

With Ji Siyun, she completely abandoned even the last bit of pretense. Treating him coldly was her norm. She scoffed at his cautious overtures and carefully prepared gifts, even using harsh words to precisely torture his attempts to get closer:

"Who are you doing this for? Don't you find it disgusting?"

"Forget it, you know what I want."

"Don't touch me. The sight of you makes me sick."

Every time, she could accurately hit Ji Siyun's sore spot, instantly extinguishing the faint expectation that had just ignited in his eyes, leaving only twisted pain and violence on the verge of collapse.

But he couldn't bear to be angry with her.

All his anger and violence, upon touching her pale, indifferent face, strangely dissipated, ultimately transforming into deeper pain and powerlessness. He could only forcefully suppress his surging emotions, turn away, and digest the torment that threatened to tear him apart alone.

Only in the dead of night, when everything was silent and he was sure she was fast asleep, did he dare to gently open the door, quietly stand by the bed, and gaze greedily at her sleeping face.

Only when she was unconscious and unable to resist, did he dare to so unscrupulously unleash his surging possessive desire that was enough to burn both of them.

Hate it, it’s okay to hate it.

He thought morbidly that hatred was also a strong emotion, better than indifference. Hatred could also tightly wrap around their names, engraving them in his memory.

Time passed quietly, and it was the end of the year in a blink of an eye.

Song Youning's daily obedience gradually wore away the initial strict guard and vigilance. The servants who were responsible for caring for her, from being cautious and vigilant at first, gradually relaxed their guard after seeing her stay at home for several months, thinking that she was disheartened and her temperament had changed drastically due to the death of her parents and her own serious injuries.

On Christmas Eve, the streets were filled with a festive atmosphere. After a long time, Ji Siyun suggested taking Song Youning out for the first time.

Upon hearing this, Song Youning raised his eyes and looked at him for a moment. His eyes were calm and expressionless, and he could not tell whether he was happy or angry. Finally, he nodded slightly without objection.

Ji Siyun suddenly felt a little cautiously happy.

Considering that she had been weak since recovering from a serious injury and worried that she could not withstand the stress, he did not choose any high-end restaurants that required a long journey, but instead booked a table at a restaurant not far from home with a similarly quiet and elegant atmosphere.

Because the distance was short, Ji Siyun did not call a driver and decided to drive her there himself.

The weather was cold, and before going out, Song Youning stayed in the cloakroom for a while. Ji Siyun waited patiently downstairs and did not urge him.

While waiting for her, Ji Siyun recalled the time when he celebrated the holidays with her a few years ago, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up with a hint of bitterness.

Song Youning slowly came down from upstairs at this time. She was wearing a warm white turtleneck sweater and a long skirt, with a thick cashmere coat on the outside. Her pale face was slightly more lively against the soft white fur, but her eyes were still distant and cold.

Ji Siyun walked forward and wanted to help her tidy up her scarf, but she turned her head slightly to avoid him, tied the scarf herself, and said in a flat voice: "Let's go."

His outstretched hand paused in mid-air, and he finally withdrew it silently. A trace of sadness flashed across his eyes, but he quickly concealed it and picked up the car keys: "The car is outside, very close."

The two walked towards the garage in silence, one in front and one behind. The cold air outside hit them, carrying the unique atmosphere of the festival.

This was the first time in a long time that she had stepped out of this cage-like mansion, but there was no curiosity or fluctuation on her face, as if she was just changing places to continue to daydream.

As usual, Ji Siyun opened the car door for her, helped her sit in the passenger seat, carefully turned up the heater, then walked around to the driver's seat and started the car.

The car smoothly drove out of the garage and merged into the sparse traffic on the street. The warm yellow halo of the streetlights and the twinkling Christmas lights in the shop windows cast flickering light and shadows on her calm profile through the car window.

Ji Siyun held the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes focused on the road ahead that was blurred by snow and fog, trying to find some topics to break the suffocating silence.

He turned his head and spoke in the gentlest tone possible: "Your birthday is in a few days. Do you have any gift you want?"

As soon as he said this, Ji Siyun felt a little regretful. He knew that this would most likely bring shame upon himself.

Sure enough, Song Youning didn't even raise his eyelids, still looking indifferently at the street scene passing by quickly outside the window, his voice flat and without a trace of ripples: "You know what I want."

She paused, her tone tinged with obvious sarcasm. "Besides, it wasn't my birthday. To me, it was just a meaningless number on the calendar, an ordinary day."

Ji Siyun's fingers gripping the steering wheel suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning bluish-white. The calm he'd been trying to maintain was suddenly replaced by a gloom and paranoia, like dark clouds rolling before a storm.

"But that day is very important to me." He almost squeezed these words out from between his teeth, his voice low and suppressed, with an unquestionable stubbornness.

Song Youning finally turned around and looked at him, with an extremely cold and disgusted arc on the corner of his mouth: "Is it very important to you?"

She repeated, her tone rising with a sense of absurdity, "So you're just imposing this date on me?"

"Jisiyun, are you disgusting? What do you think of me? A doll that you can label however you like?"

"yes!"

As if completely stung by her disgust, Ji Siyun suddenly interrupted her, and the gloom and madness that had been suppressed for a long time broke out. He glared at her with a terrifying look in his eyes, but a nearly cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "That's the kind of person I am! Haven't you known it all along? A lunatic who used all means to trap you here! A pervert who even wanted to claim your birthday as his own!"

His admission was so blunt and twisted that it left Song Youning speechless for a moment, and then she was filled with even deeper anger and physical nausea. Her emotions suddenly became agitated, and she suddenly wanted to open her mouth to rebuke him, but it triggered a violent coughing fit.

"Cough cough cough... cough..." She covered her chest and coughed heart-wrenchingly. Her pale cheeks instantly flushed abnormally red, and she choked on her tears. She curled up in the seat, looking extremely fragile.

Ever since the car accident, her health condition has deteriorated significantly. She is very prone to catching colds and fevers, but is extremely reluctant to go to the hospital. Every time, Ji Siyun forces the family doctor to come to her home for a consultation.

The violent coughing at this moment made her look as if she would break at any moment, as if she was about to cough out all her internal organs. Song Youning covered her mouth tightly with her hands, and a glaring bright red gradually seeped out between her fingers.

All the paranoia and gloom were completely crushed by the most primitive panic at this moment.

Ji Siyun slammed on the brakes, the tires made a short friction sound on the snowy road, and the car almost stopped on the side of the road.

His voice changed in tone, trembling horribly. He almost pounced on her, trying to pull away her hand covering her mouth with force but carefully, "Miss! Let go of your hand and let me see!"

Song Youning seemed to have exhausted herself from coughing, and her resistance became weak. Ji Siyun easily pried her hand apart - her palm was wet and scarlet, stinging his eyes.

Her face was as pale as paper, and the corners of her mouth were stained with blood. The red against her almost transparent skin looked particularly thrilling. The blood she had just coughed up splashed on Song Youning's pure white coat, like a red plum blossom in the snow, but it only made people feel a chill to the bone.

She leaned weakly in his arms, her breath was weak, her eyes were dull, as if they would go out in the next second.

"How could this happen... Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'll call an ambulance right away. It's okay, it will be okay..." Ji Siyun was completely panicked and his words were incoherent. His heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and the pain was so severe that he couldn't breathe. He frantically reached for his phone, but his fingers were shaking so badly that he could hardly hold it. He tried to unlock the screen several times before he succeeded.

He tried to hold the phone between his shoulder and the side of his face, and used his free hand to clumsily wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. His voice was filled with fear and sobbing: "Hold on, Miss, look at me, don't fall asleep..."

All his attention was consumed by the dying state of the person in his arms. He didn't notice at all that the woman in his arms, who seemed so fragile that she was about to break and was dying, had a pair of originally unfocused eyes that suddenly flashed with a trace of extreme clarity and coldness under her drooping eyelashes.

Now is the time!

While Ji Siyun was concentrating all her attention on calling the emergency number and comforting her, Song Youning suddenly pulled out her hand from her coat pocket and stabbed the tiny needle she had prepared for a long time into the side of Ji Siyun's defenseless neck with precision and determination.

Without any hesitation, he exerted force with his thumb and instantly injected all the transparent liquid in the syringe.

The stinging pain in his neck and the feeling of cold liquid being injected into his neck made Ji Siyun lower his head in disbelief.

He looked at the woman in his arms.

She was still leaning in his arms, her face still pale, with even blood at the corners of her mouth, but the weakness and distraction in her eyes had long since disappeared, replaced by an extreme calmness.

The phone slipped from his suddenly weak hands and fell on the carpet under the car, the screen still showing the undialed emergency number.

"You..." He opened his mouth, but could only utter a broken syllable.

The dizziness that quickly hit him was like a tsunami. Ji Siyun's eyes were filled with incomprehensible despair and brokenness. He stared at her intently, as if trying to find the slightest hesitation or reluctance on her face.

But he only saw her determination.

The sedative took effect quickly. His vision began to blur, and his strength was rapidly drained from his body. His hand, trying to grasp her, slipped away helplessly. Finally, with eyes filled with shock and despair, he slumped heavily into the driver's seat, falling into a forced coma.

The carriage fell into silence again.

All that was left was Song Youning's suppressed cough and the heavy snow still falling outside the window.