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Ye Wenyu nodded and asked softly, "How have you been lately?" Deep down, she still cherished and missed the friendship she had shared with Yuanyuan.

Yuan Yuan nodded and smiled, saying, "I'm fine. I've heard about what happened to you. Cai Wenchuan helped you get the status of a student from a poor family in your second year, but then someone reported you and you lost that status. Then Jiang Zhiming helped you get it back."

Ye Wenyu was stunned, and stammered to Yuanyuan, "You know everything?"

Yuan Yuan said smugly, "Of course, I also know that Cai Wenchuan went abroad to pursue a postdoctoral degree because of this incident. In fact, it was the school's punishment for him, and it was also a way for him to escape."

Self-escape?

Ye Wenyu was completely confused. She had a very bad feeling. She, Cai Wenchuan, Jiang Zhiming, Lin Tingfeng and everyone else were acting in a play, and Yuanyuan was the only audience. She knew everything that happened in the play, but the people in the play knew nothing about many things.

For example, Ye Wenyu didn't understand what Yuanyuan meant by Cai Wenchuan's self-escape.

A fog of confusion rose in her heart, her heart clenched into a ball, as if an invisible hand was choking her, making it hard for her to breathe. She vaguely remembered Cai Wenchuan coming to say goodbye the night before she left the country. At that time, she felt that he was acting strangely, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She asked hesitantly, "What does 'self-escape' mean?" Her heart was in her throat, and she pursed her lips tightly, as if her heart might jump out of her throat if she didn't.

Yuan Yuan froze, her smile gradually freezing. She realized she had talked too much, and lightly slapped herself. She said to Ye Wenyu with annoyance, "Uncle Lin told me not to talk nonsense. I can't say too much. You will understand many things in the future."

Ye Wenyu knew she wouldn't get any more information from him. She fell silent. Yuanyuan, who wasn't talkative either, brought her several books and class notes, and sat down to read. Ye Wenyu was worried that she would fall behind in her studies during her hospital stay, so she treasured the class notes and immediately lowered her head to study diligently.

Time flew by. After Yuan Yuan helped her finish dinner, she went back to school. Ye Wenyu stayed alone in the ward, read for a while, but found it boring, so she went to sleep.

As night deepened, a crescent moon, like a moth's eyebrow, hung in the deep blue night sky.

When Lin Tingfeng slowly walked in, Ye Wenyu was already asleep. Her head was tilted to one side, her shiny black hair shone on the white pillow, and she held a book in her hand, looking very cute.

Lin Tingfeng gazed at her for a while, smiled, and slowly walked to her bedside. He found a chair and sat down. Seeing several university textbooks and class notes on the bedside table, he picked them up and looked at them. He found her handwriting to be very delicate and was delighted. He read them carefully several times.

After finishing the book, he looked up at her and noticed that she was even sleeping with a mask on. He was lost in thought, recalling the scene during the day when she frantically reached for her mask, and the smugness and glee in her eyes when she deliberately took off her mask in front of him and said she was an ugly girl when they met in person. Lin Tingfeng became curious. He stared at her face and slowly reached out his hand.

He was standing in front of a huge secret, and he was about to find out the answer. So, should he take the initiative to uncover the answer? Would doing so hurt her self-esteem and make her unhappy?

Lin Tingfeng hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his outstretched hand.

He gave up on actively seeking the answer.

At this moment, Ye Wenyu mumbled in her sleep, frowned, and turned over. Because of her turning over, a corner of her mask fell off. In her sleep, she vaguely reached out and took off the mask, probably because she had a habit of not wearing a mask when she slept.

Lin Tingfeng then saw her face, marred by makeup. At the site of the birthmark, various black and gray pigments were mixed together, some covered with thick gray grime, while others had faded considerably, leaving only gray marks. Next to the gray marks were her snow-white cheeks, as white as a peeled egg.

He stood there, looking down at her. He didn't know how much time had passed before he straightened up, sat down to the side, thought for a while, and then smiled silently.

Perhaps due to a recurrence of her leg injury, Ye Wenyu was in a bad mood, and she began to have nightmares. She dreamt again of her past life, of being with Lin Tingfeng. She finally saw his true colors and resolved to escape, but as she ran outside, she always felt that a wild beast was chasing her. She wasn't sure what kind of animal it was, only that it was man-eating and would not only devour her but also her relatives and friends.

She ran with all her might, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding as if it would burst. All around her was a vast, bleak white mist, obscuring her path and the person who could save her. The world was so vast, yet she was all alone. She could clearly hear the breathing of wild beasts, "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," as if if she slowed down, she would be devoured whole.

So, although she was exhausted and terrified, she ran forward desperately, screaming for help and calling for her parents. But as the gloomy fog dissipated, she found herself finally in a place free of fog, where she saw a green field. Her parents, Lin Tingxuan, and Cai Wenchuan were all standing in front of her, smiling slightly. They were all dressed in white, staring at her blankly, making welcoming gestures. She smiled happily, finally relaxing from exhaustion. As she walked towards them with a radiant smile, she saw blood seeping from their eyes, noses, and mouths—

It turns out they were all dead. They welcomed her with their spirits, hoping that she could be reunited with them in the afterlife, just like them.

Ye Wenyu screamed in terror, her whole body trembling and drenched in sweat. She turned around in agony and saw Lin Tingfeng dressed in black. He was tall, strong, and looked like a demon. He stood not far away, smiling slightly at her. He held a knife in his hand and waved it lightly before approaching her step by step.

"No—" "No—" Lin Tingfeng approached her step by step. Ye Wenyu's face turned pale, her eyes widened, and she pleaded softly, "No, no."

Fear had rendered her unable to speak loudly.

But then, the blade appeared before her eyes, its cold edge piercing her stomach. She screamed in pain and terror, then sat up abruptly, drenched in sweat, trembling violently like a leaf in a storm.