Chapter 2 "They run fast, though".
Zhu Fan opened her eyes as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds. Her mind was clear, and the countdown to death in her mind had changed to 99 days.
The only sound in my ears was the light breathing of a man in deep sleep after exhausting his energy.
She reacted almost instantly.
Zhu Fan sat up, holding her breath and clutching the blanket.
On the hotel bed, she was on the right, and the man was on the left. There was enough room for another person to lie between them.
The Chu River and the Han border are clearly separated.
She tried hard to suppress the dryness and itchiness in her throat, but in the end, she couldn't help coughing.
Zhu Fan subconsciously looked at the sleeping man.
Upon seeing the man's brow furrow slightly, she quickly clasped her hands together, praying that he would not wake up.
last night--
Several images flashed through Zhu Fan's mind, and a wave of soreness washed over her waist.
She cursed inwardly: That dog of a man, he never seems to tire.
How can someone have such good physical strength?
She gritted her teeth, wishing she could bite off a piece of his flesh.
Zhu Fan slowly and gently lifted the blanket, glancing down at the marks on her body. She felt a sharp, throbbing pain in every crevice of her body. Her legs trembled as she stood on the floor, her gaze catching sight of the trash can out of the corner of her eye, before she looked away as if burned.
She picked up the white shirt and black trousers from the ground and gently placed them aside.
The floor-to-ceiling window with its curtains drawn clearly reflected my surreptitious self.
It's unbearable to look at.
Zhu Fan picked up her crumpled sundress.
The skirt, after being exposed to the cold air overnight, was half-dry and felt damp and cold to the touch.
Forcing herself to put on the wrinkled sundress, her gaze settled on the white shirt.
After putting on the shirt, the goosebumps that had risen on my skin due to the excessively low indoor air conditioning disappeared.
The fabric of the slip dress and the white shirt clung together, making a slight rustling sound with every subtle movement.
Zhu Fan stood there for a while, her back and legs aching, a faint scent lingering around her. It was like mint steeped in ice water, or the scent of grass and trees after a winter rain. Crisp and cool. She sniffed, the scent swirling past her nose before disappearing deeper into her senses.
That scent had permeated every inch of her skin last night as well.
She glanced at the shirt wrapped around her body, shook her head vigorously, and told herself to stop thinking about last night.
Zhu Fan tiptoed slowly toward the bathroom.
After finding the original owner's phone and bag in the bathroom, she first opened the bag and rummaged through it.
She found three hundred-yuan bills hidden under cosmetics and lipstick. As she passed the man's black trousers, she stopped, bent down, and put the three bills into his trouser pocket.
As she bent over, she pulled the money out again.
This skill is worth more than 300.
One hundred, no more than that.
Just as the hotel room door was about to close, Zhu Fan heard her phone ring.
She abruptly let go, and the door slammed shut.
The closed door shut out the outside world.
Zhu Fan let out a breath and quickly walked away.
The man sleeping soundly in the room opened his eyes after a ringing of a bell.
The blinding sunlight made Fang Qizhou raise his arm to shield his eyes.
The curtains were drawn shut.
Fang Qizhou picked up his phone from the carpet, glanced at the caller ID, and tossed it onto the bed without paying any attention.
His gaze lingered on the long, thin black hair left on the white pillow.
"They run fast."
A very faint sweet fragrance lingered in the air.
The white fritillary clover, partially hidden under the pillow, gleamed with a metallic sheen.
Fang Qizhou picked up the bracelet and looked at it for a few moments with an inscrutable expression.
The air conditioning in the room seemed to have gone even colder.
Fang Qizhou picked up the pants from the ground and casually stuffed the bracelet into his pocket.
The man bent down to put on his pants, and with that movement, the black lines of tattoo on his pale neck resembled a very thin necklace, wrapped around his neck like thorns in a wasteland.
The incessantly ringing phone was finally remembered by its owner.
"Qi Zhou, I beg you, please forgive Qi Bai. It's all my fault..."
"Qi Bai has been kneeling in the ancestral hall of the old house for four days already. If you think that's not enough, Auntie will kneel down for you, Auntie will kneel down and apologize to you, begging you to let Qi Bai come home—"
Fang Qizhou remained unmoved by the woman's pleading voice on the phone until her voice began to hoarse, "Fang Qizhou, he's your brother, how could you be so vicious—"
A new call on his phone finally exhausted Fang Qizhou's patience. He swiped his index finger, and the new call overshadowed the woman's voice filled with accusations and hatred.
Fang Qizhou clicked his tongue at the man's cliché opening line on the phone.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. "Qi Zhou, the car you liked the day before yesterday is already in the garage at home."
“You’ve been wronged in this matter. If you want anything else, just ask your father.”
“As long as you don’t forgive Qi Bai, Dad will not let him appear in front of you.”
Fang Qizhou's lips curled into a mocking smile as he leisurely sat back on the bed: "I want to eat the steamed sea bass that I make."
-
Zhu Fan's phone, which she was holding, had long since run out of battery.
As the elevator descended, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She crouched down, thinking she needed to get a piece of chocolate from the hotel lobby first; given her current sleep deprivation and low blood sugar, she was very likely to faint at any moment.
She had completely digested the messy memories of the original owner of the body in her mind.
She has 99 more days to live.
This news wasn't too bad for her.
Before transmigrating into the book, she had just celebrated her 19th birthday with her friends and made plans to go to France together during the last week of summer vacation.
On my way home, I encountered a madman wielding a knife as soon as I stepped out of the subway station.
The man who suddenly went berserk and stabbed people at the subway entrance caught all passersby off guard.
In the blink of an eye, she only had time to push her friend away.
The memory of having his carotid artery slashed by a knife and the terrified, helpless eyes of his friends made Zhu Fan involuntarily cover his neck with his palm.
The warmth of her slightly sticky, sweaty neck instantly warmed her chilled body.
The city had already awakened in the morning light.
Zhu Fan's thoughts were still wandering.
If she had to do it all over again, she thought, she would still push her friend away.
She was born without knowing who her father was, and was abandoned by her mother, who was focused on pursuing her dreams, and left to her grandmother. Because she inherited her father's congenital heart disease, doctors said she would not live past the age of 24.
Her life, whether before or after transmigrating into the book, seems to be telling her: your life is shorter than others.
"Ava, Ava—"
My arm was suddenly grabbed.
Zhu Fan snapped out of her daze as she was called and pulled.
Ming Yazhi realized she had used too much force, so she quickly let go and apologized several times.
She observed Zhu Fan, who remained calm in the elevator, and whose radiant presence, even in his wrinkled clothes, shone brighter than the morning light, and felt a moment of disorientation.
Ming Yazhi's gaze lingered on the white shirt Zhu Fan was wearing.
She wouldn't be mistaken; Fang Qizhou wore that white shirt in the bar's private room last night.
Zhu Fan actually spent the entire night with Fang Qizhou.
They can even leave the hotel room unscathed.
Ming Yazhi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was filled with jealousy and secret joy because Zhu Fan had actually succeeded. From this day forward, Zhu Fan was no longer the pure and innocent young lady who was untouched by worldly affairs. She had lost her innocence and become Fang Qizhou's plaything.
It was worth all the effort she put into setting up this scheme.
Zhu Fan looked up at the girl in front of him, whose eyes were full of anxiety and worry.
Ming Yazhi quickly squatted down to be at eye level with Zhu Fan, her tone affectionate and ingratiating: "Fan, why are you squatting like that? Are you uncomfortable? Do you know how scared I was to death last night..."
She lowered her voice, her tone carrying a secret tone unique to the two of them: "Is Fang Qizhou gentle with you?"
Zhu Fan paused for a few seconds, then slowly straightened up and pressed the elevator button again. "Do you have any chocolate, or candy?"
Ming Yazhi quickly followed him out of the elevator. "I'll go buy you candy and chocolate right now. Wait for me."
She had become accustomed to centering everything around Zhu Fan. She could not say she understood every glance and every movement of Zhu Fan perfectly, but she could definitely judge her current emotions.
She noticed that Zhu Fan's face was pale and something was wrong. She kept turning back to say, "The car that's here to pick us up is already waiting outside. Wait for me here. I'll be right back after I buy some chocolate and candy."
Zhu Fan ate the chocolate five minutes later.
Ming Yazhi thoughtfully tore off a piece of chocolate with gold leaf and handed it to Zhu Fan, along with a few grape-flavored gummies. "I couldn't get through to you on the phone, and I was worried you'd miss your breakfast time."
Zhu Fan had only been in school for less than a week and didn't go home last night. It was Ming Yazhi who asked her mother to call Zhu's mother and say that she was in a bad mood and wanted Zhu Fan to stay with her for the night.
Today is very important to the Zhu family, as it is the first day that Zhu Fan's long-lost younger sister has returned to the Zhu family.
Last night, Aunt Yin and my mother reminded me to make sure to take Zhu Fan home for breakfast.
Thinking of Aunt Yin's phone call with her own mother, Ming Yazhi always felt that her background was not bad, but people are still never satisfied.
If only such a good thing could happen to her—
Zhu Fan bent down and got into the van.
Ming Yazhi quickly suppressed the unrealistic thoughts in her mind and sat down in the back seat.
She took the phone from Zhu Fan's hand and naturally took out a power bank to charge it.
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