Chapter 111 Madness

Only a small, warm yellow light was on in the study, and the light fell on Yun Zhan, making the fabric of her pajamas appear even softer.

Yun Zhan had just taken a shower with Wen Sixue. Her hair, which had been blown dry, was fluffy and clung to her cheeks, still slightly damp. She was wearing loungewear and looked completely relaxed, as if she belonged to this house.

Shi Mingyue sat in the chair opposite her, her fingertips gripping the armrest so tightly that her nails almost dug into the wood grain.

At first, she managed to keep a straight face, but as soon as her gaze fell on Yun Zhan's pajamas, she could no longer suppress the sob in her throat.

Tears fell like beads from a broken string, large drops hitting the floor. They didn't make a loud noise, but they felt like heavy hammer blows, striking her heart again and again.

"you……"

As soon as Shi Mingyue opened her mouth, her voice broke into fragments, and her breathing became rapid. Her chest felt as if something was blocking it, causing a dull ache.

"After you came out of the illusion, you... have been living together ever since?"

Yun Zhan fell silent, lowering his head without responding.

No one answered, but the scent emanating from Yun Zhan and the faint fragrance of Wen Sixue lingering in the study silently confirmed it.

Images kept popping into Shi Mingyue's mind uncontrollably.

They cooked together, showered together, and lay in the same bed together, sharing every intimate moment like any close couple.

These images were like red-hot needles, piercing her heart.

The person she longed for day and night, the person she waited for again and again in her illusion, the person she thought she could keep as long as she persisted, now belongs completely to someone else.

"No……"

Shi Mingyue shook her head, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders trembling violently: "I don't believe it... You clearly said you would consider me..."

The voice grew softer and softer, until it finally turned into a series of sobs: "How could you... how could you live with her..."

The oppressive feeling in her chest grew heavier and heavier, and Shi Mingyue even began to have trouble breathing. She put her hands on her knees, pressed her head against her palms, and curled up into a ball.

The expensive coat was still dripping wet, the cold fabric clinging to her body, but she felt no cold at all. Instead, she felt as if her heart was being torn apart, the pain almost driving her to the brink of collapse.

“Yun Zhan…”

Shi Mingyue choked back tears, lifting her tear-streaked face, her eyes filled with utter despair: "What about me? What am I going to do... I can't find you..."

The air in the study was like cotton soaked in water, so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Seeing Shi Mingyue's devastated state, Yun Zhan's fingers twitched, and finally, he could only utter a low, hoarse "I'm sorry."

“It’s my fault… I hadn’t thought about dating before, and I didn’t face my feelings in time.”

Yun Zhan lowered his head even further.

She knew that those three words were too light and couldn't compare to Shi Mingyue's anticipation these past few days.

But Shi Mingyue seemed not to hear her, and suddenly grabbed Yun Zhan's hand, her fingertips icy cold and hard, almost digging into her flesh.

Shi Mingyue's eyes were unfocused, and she murmured to herself, as if talking to Yun Zhan, or perhaps recalling: "The Lantern Festival... when we first met, you stared at me for a long time, and I knew then that you were smitten..."

Shi Mingyue's voice rose and fell, trembling with sobs: "Later, when I was injured, I took you to Wen Yuan's place, and you even came to my house to change my bandages yourself. That night, you came to my house, we shared a bed, and you clearly said I was fine..."

When she said the word "very good", Shi Mingyue suddenly stopped, and tears welled up and fell onto the back of their clasped hands.

"I thought... I thought that with my family background and my talent, I could keep you here..."

She looked at Yun Zhan, but her gaze seemed to pass right through her, landing on a distant place.

“Every day I think that when you wake up, we can be like before… But you chose Wen Sixue… After you came out, you didn’t even call me once…”

"Do you know how devastated I was when I found out you were with Wen Sixue?!"

"I sat in front of the monitor and cried and laughed, laughed and cried. If someone hadn't told me they saw you, would I have been fooled by you for the rest of my life?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Mingyue suddenly heard a buzzing sound in her ears, like countless flying insects chirping, which made her head ache.

Yun Zhan in front of her gradually became blurry, and finally was completely covered by tears, and she could see nothing at all.

When she is emotionally agitated, she experiences symptoms similar to auditory hallucinations.

Shi Mingyue grabbed Yun Zhan's hand and began to shake it violently, her expression becoming increasingly unstable, her voice filled with disbelief and madness.

"Why... Yun Zhan, tell me why... We were so good together, how could you change your mind so easily..."

Yun Zhan's wrist ached from being shaken, but he didn't dare to break free.

Seeing the brokenness and madness in Shi Mingyue's eyes, her heart felt heavy and aching, as if it were filled with lead.

Yun Zhan never imagined that his choice would drive this noble and gentle young lady to such a breakdown.

The warm light in the study was so bright it made one dizzy. Yun Zhan's wrist went numb from Shi Mingyue's shaking, but he still managed to steady himself and meet her red eyes.

Yun Zhan took a deep breath, his teeth clenched tightly, but his voice was unusually firm: "Wen Sixue is truly willing to do anything for me."

Yun Zhan paused, her fingertips unconsciously curling up as she recalled how Wen Sixue had dragged her body up so many steps to pull her out of the illusion.

Knee erosion, bloody mess...

In the end, he was even willing to risk his life to get his heart back.

This shouldn't have been Wen Sixue's responsibility.

“She was even willing to give her life for me. I have already let her down once, and I can’t let her suffer again. She is so good, so good that I can’t let go of her hand.”

"Oh……"

Shi Mingyue suddenly chuckled softly, her laughter filled with sorrow, yet her tears fell even more fiercely.

She abruptly released Yun Zhan's hand, then pointed her fingertips intently at her chest, her nails almost digging into the fabric, her eyes filled with a mixture of pain and resentment.

"So...you think I'm unwilling to make sacrifices for you, is that right?"

Shi Mingyue's voice suddenly rose, then quickly softened, trembling with a sob: "Yun Zhan, as long as you speak, as long as you say you need it, I'm even willing to die for you!"

"Did you hear me? I'd die in your place too!"

"Who do you take me for? Do you think I'm the kind of pampered young lady who only knows how to hide in her boudoir and weigh the pros and cons when faced with a problem?"

Shi Mingyue leaned forward, the raindrops on her body brushing against Yun Zhan's pajamas, carrying a chilling sensation: "After you came to see me, my father started arranging a marriage for me. I endured dozens of lashes and told everyone around me... that I only love you and that I want to marry you."

"I will marry no one but you."

“After I was seriously injured, I was in so much pain that I didn’t dare to sleep. At that time, I thought that if my father still objected, I would never give in because of fear. You treated my wounds... So, can’t you see any of this?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she took a sudden step back, as if all her strength had been drained away, and barely managed to stand by holding onto the edge of the table.

The buzzing sound in the study started again, but this time it couldn't drown out the sound of her heart breaking.

Shi Mingyue thought her sincerity was burning hot enough, but she never expected that in Yun Zhan's eyes, she would be seen as someone who was "reserved" and "calculated".

"That's not it... I never thought of you that way." Yun Zhan hurriedly explained, but he didn't notice that Shi Mingyue's face was getting paler and paler.

"I just want to say, I'm sorry... I'm already with Wen Sixue, I... can't be with you anymore."

These words were like a bolt of lightning, shattering all of Shi Mingyue's self-deceptive defenses.

She stared blankly at Yun Zhan, her mind a complete blank, with only the words "I can't be with you anymore" echoing repeatedly in her mind.

Her purpose in coming.

It was the one who took Yun Zhan away…

These words shattered her hopes and expectations for this trip.

…It turns out that from beginning to end, it was all just wishful thinking on her part.

She acted like a clown, hysterically venting her emotions in other people's love affairs, exposing her most wretched and pathetic side to Yun Zhan.

"Isn't that ridiculous?"

Shi Mingyue forced a smile, trying to put on a respectable one, but tears rolled down her cheeks first, landing on the cold back of her hand.

"To act so disgracefully in front of someone who has a girlfriend... that's really not the behavior of a young lady at all, is it?"

Shi Mingyue could even imagine what she looked like right now: her hair disheveled, her face streaked with tears, her expensive coat soaked through and clinging to her body, looking like a discarded rag doll.

She once thought she was the high and mighty eldest daughter of the Shi family, whose family background, talent, and appearance were all second to none, and who was worthy of anyone. But in the face of Yun Zhan's "rejection", all her pride was shattered into pieces.

As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp, dull pain suddenly shot through her chest, as if an invisible hand had gripped her heart, making her breathing rapid.

She tried to gasp for breath, but felt she couldn't get enough air; her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, dry and astringent. Then, a tingling sensation began around her mouth, spreading from the corners of her lips to her cheeks, and even the tip of her tongue felt stinging.

My fingertips also felt strange, stiffening and curling up as if frozen, each finger twitching uncontrollably.

Yun Zhan in front of me gradually became a double image, and the warm light in the study became dazzling. I felt extremely dizzy, as if I was about to collapse at any moment.

Shi Mingyue tried to steady herself by holding onto the table next to her, but her legs felt so weak that she collapsed heavily onto the sofa behind her with a thud.

The moment her back hit the sofa armrest, a dull pain shot through her, but she couldn't care less. The convulsions in her limbs grew more and more intense, her fingers gripped the sofa fabric so tightly that her nails almost dug in, and even her toes were curling and trembling.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead, quickly soaking the stray hairs and sticking to my burning skin. I felt both cold and hot all over, as if I had been thrown into an ice cellar and then into a furnace.

"How are you? I'll call an ambulance right away..."

Upon seeing this, Yun Zhan immediately stepped forward to help her, but as soon as his hand touched her arm, Shi Mingyue suddenly flung him away with such force that even she herself staggered.

"Don't touch me!"

Shi Mingyue's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing, and every word was chilling.

She lay on the sofa, her chest heaving violently, each breath trembling, but her bloodshot eyes were fixed on Yun Zhan, like poisoned knives, trying to carve her image into her very bones.

Despair, resentment, and a hint of madness surged in her eyes—she was unwilling, how could she be willing?

She gave so much, yet in the end, she didn't even get a decent ending.

"Yun Zhan... remember this..."

Shi Mingyue was panting heavily, her voice broken: "I will make you remember me for the rest of your life."

Even in this pathetic way, even if it becomes a "regret" she doesn't want to mention, she will never let Yun Zhan easily forget that there was once a person named Shi Mingyue who went crazy, suffered pain, and disregarded everything for her.

She staggered to the sofa and saw Shi Mingyue's curled fingers still twitching slightly, cold sweat streaming down her pale cheeks, and even her lips turning an unnatural bluish-white. She panicked so much that her hands and feet went weak.

After saying this, her consciousness began to fade, and the twitching of her limbs slowed down, but her eyes remained fixed on Yun Zhan until the last glimmer of light faded from her eyes and she was completely plunged into darkness.

"Shi Mingyue! Shi Mingyue, wake up!"

Yun Zhan reached out to check Shi Mingyue's breath, his fingertips touching her cold skin.

"21! Quick, check on her! What's wrong? Why did she suddenly faint?"

The calm, mechanical voice of 21 quickly echoed in my mind: "I examined her body. According to the vital signs monitoring, her heart rate is currently too fast, her breathing rate is abnormal, and she is experiencing twitching in the extremities. It may be... respiratory alkali poisoning."

Yun Zhan's mind was buzzing.

Respiratory alkali poisoning…

She recalled that this situation only occurred when she was overly anxious, panicked, or experiencing hysteria.