Rebirth
Anna sat at the head of the bed. The old fan broke down again, making a deafening groan.
His thin shirt was soaked through, and the hideous old wounds on his back could be vaguely seen.
Her lifeless eyes turned towards the balcony, the only source of light in the rental house, and then the sound of a bicycle bell entered her cochlea, and she came back to life.
Hunger prompted her to get up and look for food. There was a bag of noodles under the stove. She boiled water in the induction cooker and put some noodles into the pot. While waiting, the dream, like countless times before, faded away without a ripple, and was replaced by Zheng Tong's face.
The secret room has not yet resumed full operation, so she has been staying in the rental house these days. Whenever she has free time, she thinks most about Zheng Tong.
Her feelings towards Zheng Tong are complicated.
She envied Zheng Tong's carefree and unrestrained life, but was also angry at her ignorant and suicidal behavior.
After Zheng Tong's death, Yu Xiaowei insisted that she had killed Zheng Tong. Anna felt deeply powerless in the face of this woman's accusation. She didn't know from which angle to defend herself, as if she deserved to be suspected and accused for such a shameful life.
She always remembered the pain of the beer bottle hitting her head, and she always thought that they would be even if Yu Xiaowei hit her with this blow, but it was obvious that Yu Xiaowei did not want to let her go.
"Why do you think you can replace Zheng Tong and return to the Zheng family? And why do you think uncle and auntie will accept you?"
"Your life is full of stains, and even returning to the Zheng family won't change this fact!"
"Even if Zheng Tong dies, you won't have an easy life!"
"Hiss..." She was distracted and the over-boiling noodles pushed the lid up and overflowed, scalding her hand.
Anna opened the lid, rinsed her hands casually with the faucet, and then looked at these rough, ugly, scarred hands for a long time, and couldn't help but think of Zheng Tong's white, slender, and delicate hands.
"Heh..." Yu Xiaowei was actually not wrong.
Her heart calmed down, and she picked up the noodles with chopsticks while thinking calmly.
If you think about it carefully, only two people have said such words to her. One was before Zheng Tong's death when Peng Yue approached her, and the other was after Zheng Tong's death when Yu Xiaowei was angry and embarrassed after receiving the appraisal report.
Then… she discovered a harsh truth that was hidden by her emotions.
People's resentment, anger, and jealousy are all strong and sharp emotions. Once comparison occurs, all unreasonable emotions will be magnified.
There was a period of time when Peng Yue always sat with her. At that time, she was rather timid. She didn't speak, and Peng Yue didn't speak either.
Peng Yue is good-looking and speaks softly, and can easily get close to others. Before Anna knew that Peng Yue was Zheng Tong's boyfriend, she did have a good impression of Peng Yue.
They had more and more contact, from chatting about the same brand of pens to what they liked to eat and do after class. Those ten days were when Anna talked the most. Several times she almost thought Peng Yue was in love with her. Unfortunately, she never communicated with others, so it was difficult for her to see Peng Yue's true face.
All peaceful and friendly exchanges ended the moment Peng Yue mentioned Zheng Tong for the first time.
She listened to Peng Yue telling her the truth in person, and also listened to Peng Yue slandering Zheng Tong in person.
He said that he felt Zheng Tong was not as sensible and well-behaved as her.
He said that he and Zheng Tong were not suitable for each other and had no common topics.
He said that Zheng Tong always went out with other men behind his back.
He said that if it weren't for Zheng Tong, he would like Anna.
He looked at Anna and coaxed her softly, "She was born into a good family, otherwise how could she be so carefree, dumping whoever she wants and doing whatever she wants."
"I think if you were also a daughter of some rich family, you would definitely be much better than her."
If... I am also a rich girl.
No, it won't.
Anna didn't refute it, but she quickly rejected this possibility in her mind. She hoped that her parents were ordinary people and that they were also suffering because they couldn't find her, instead of being rich and powerful like Zheng Tong's parents. In that case, she would feel abandoned and not valued.
At first, she didn't take Peng Yue's words seriously until he brought the appraisal certificate.
He spread out the papers in front of her and said excitedly, "I discovered the secret of the Zheng family!"
"Zheng Tong is not a child of the Zheng family at all." Peng Yue was happy with his discovery, while Anna on the side widened her eyes, because the other blood sample she left when she went to the hospital to volunteer matched Aunt Zheng's.
"This is impossible! Peng Yue, you lied to me!"
She angrily swept the paper to the ground.
Peng Yue picked them up blankly, "I know it's hard for you to accept, but I can help you find out. I swear I will always stand by your side!"
Later, Peng Yue did help her find out, and she even saw the adoption certificate from the welfare home.
In the dimly lit rental house, Anna clearly saw the signature. Peng Yue took a sip of soup and put down the bowl. "Zheng Tong was brought back from the orphanage by Cao Qianjin to comfort Zheng Shuyu, who had lost her daughter."
“They looked for it again later…”
"No. Anyway, I haven't found any evidence that they have contacted you."
His understatement was the beginning of Anna's heartache.
Warm tears dripped onto the paper without warning, staining it and seeping into it.
She put the information away and broke up with Peng Yue.
This was something Peng Yue had never expected. In his assumption, Anna should have stood up and taken back her wealth and status, but she just let it go?
He couldn't accept it, so he became obsessed with Anna.
Anna hid from him for a few days. Apart from meeting in the secret room, they only communicated again after Zheng Tong died.
If the person who killed Zheng Tong was not her, then there is only one possibility left.
The half-eaten noodle soup was casually placed on the stove. Anna picked up a fruit knife from the chopping board and went out.
"Where is Peng Yue?" The receptionist had never seen her before, but seeing that she was coming with a threatening look and holding a knife in her hand, she really didn't dare to provoke her.
Peng Yue often goes to this nightclub. She knows that she dare not call the police for such a place, otherwise it would be to increase the performance of the anti-prostitution campaign.
Anna was terrifyingly calm. Soon a man in formal attire came out to greet her. "Miss, what can I do for you?"
"Where is Peng Yue?"
She repeated kindly.
The manager's lips moved, and after some consideration, he pointed her in the direction, "Box 808."
Anna rushed into Room 808 with a knife in hand. The heavy door slammed open and several women lay on top of Peng Yue. The man had a dazed look in his eyes and seemed to be still immersed in the gentleness of life.
She approached step by step, and the women beside her were scared away. Anna stepped on the sofa with the blade against the other person's neck.
"You killed Zheng Tong."
The other party was not afraid at all, and even stretched his neck forward and said provocatively: "Now you are the suspect."
Anna had prepared herself mentally countless times before coming here, but in the end, she was no match for someone with extraordinary talent, who refused to accept her threats. Even so, she still tried to get more.
"Why kill her?"
"I didn't kill her. I just advised you to return to the Zheng family. I didn't do anything against the law. But why do you always throw dirty water on me? Is it because Yu Xiaowei keeps biting you?"
His mind is definitely not as confused as he appears to be. When it comes to sophistry, Peng Yue is definitely the best.
Anna was instantly at a disadvantage.
Peng Yue pushed the person who was suppressing him away. Anna took a few steps back and dropped the fruit knife to the ground. The person mocked her, saying, "If you don't have the courage, don't try to intimidate others. What if you don't do it right and end up hurting yourself?"
"Yes, private intimidation is not advisable. How about you two come to the police station and talk it out?"
Peng Yue's pupils shrank and his expression turned ugly.
He had seen this policeman before and he was very difficult to deal with.
Unfortunately, the roommate of the difficult policeman was also a difficult guy. When Nan Jiaxu refused Jiang Li's request to take him to rehabilitation for the twentieth time, Nan Jiaxu finally finished a bowl of rice in Jiang Li's hands.
He swallowed the food in his mouth hastily, luckily choking on it. After drinking two sips of water, he said, "Next time, you should not do this kind of work. It's okay for Yangyang to feed me."
Jiang Li hit him lightly, "You forget your friends when you see a beautiful woman!"
The latter recovered and mocked him, "You are the same. A few days ago, you said you would not see each other again, but today you ran to someone's house with melon seeds."
Jiang Li choked and pleaded feebly, "Free stuff is great! Free food, free drinks, and free housing are all good." He handed him the medicine and said, "Or, if you pay me back the one million you owe me, I'll rent a house downtown and live on my own."
After hearing this, the capsule got stuck in his throat and he choked for a while. Jiang Li patted him on the back and said, "Look at you, you can't even pay me back, and you won't let me pursue a better life?"
"I don't have any money... I do..." Nan Jiaxu insisted on speaking, his face turning red.
"Okay, don't say the second half of the sentence."
After his complexion returned to normal, Jiang Li broke off two more pills for him. This time, he was considerate enough not to speak while he was swallowing the pills.
After taking a sip of warm water to wash down the medicine, Nan Jiaxu leaned back against the pillow and suddenly sighed, "You said we were so glorious before, how come it's like this now?"
"I can't even come up with a million."
Seeing his melancholy look, Jiang Li couldn't help but wake him up from his melancholy, "Wake up, there's still money in your card, but we can't use it for the time being."
Nan Jiaxu and Jiang Li had been missing from the organization for quite some time. To avoid being tracked, they had abandoned their electronic devices, IDs, bank cards, and everything else. They rarely moved on the dark web, practically vanishing from the scene. This was unacceptable to the original Second Young Master Nan. He had always lived a life of luxury, spending lavishly, and now being broke was truly... depressing. But when he realized that not having to pay for Qiu Yang's safety made it seem worth it, he felt it was worth it.
Nan Jiaxu stretched out his other uninjured leg. "Although I'm not as rich as before, it feels pretty good to be without anyone watching me."
Jiang Li broke off the disposable iodine and said, "Hand."
A large piece of skin was rubbed off his elbow, some of which were scabby and some were not. Just when Nan Jiaxu thought that this man would treat him gently, Jiang Li pressed the cotton swab on the injured skin without mercy. His technique was so rough that he screamed in pain.
A quick three-minute battle.
"You are seeking revenge!" Nan Jiaxu took two steps back and looked at him warily.
Jiang Li wondered if he had been with Qiu Yang for too long. He seemed incredibly innocent, but this innocence turned into stupidity in his eyes. It was true that love lowered one's intelligence.
He ignored Nan Jiaxu's accusations, picked up his schoolbag and prepared to leave the hospital when Nan Jiaxu suddenly called out to him, "Is this the ordinary life you want?"
He waited for a while, and the only response he heard was the footsteps of the other person leaving the hospital.
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