The sky was filled with thick black smoke that emitted a pungent smell, and the wood crackled and popped as it was heated.
The scorching red was shaped by the winter wind, its claws outstretched, devouring everything around it, deliberately exuding terror.
However, its ferocity seemed to have no effect, as the girl standing in the center remained calm.
The delicate heel pressed down over the shattered glass, taking another step closer to the explosion site.
Thick layers of burnt ash settled in the enclosed space, trickling down Xu Shiyue's throat like barbs.
Whether it was intimidation or real danger, Xu Shiyue never stopped moving forward.
She knew Lu Shizhen was here, somewhere in this place.
She wanted to take her out, to take her out unharmed.
Thick black smoke billowed and swirled around the bright, flamboyant flames. Xu Shiyue didn't know how long she had walked, but finally found Lu Shizhen's figure amidst the blazing fire.
The bright, clean windowpane reflected the girl's rosy skirt, and a flamboyant yet beautiful bow was tied in her half-gathered long hair.
Xu Shiyue saw no panic on Lu Shizhen's face. The sunlight streaming through the glass behind her made the surrounding firelight seem out of place.
The light, chaotic and illusory, shone on her face from all directions, softening her usually flamboyant features.
This tepid calm seemed to be waiting specifically for him.
Saying goodbye to myself one last time.
Xu Shiyue seemed to realize something, and her pupils trembled slightly.
Unable to accept the thoughts this scene evoked in her, she stopped halfway and struggled to walk towards Lu Shizhen.
But the scalding flames refused to cooperate with her and continued to approach her body.
The sound of the wood cracking was like a sharp, ferocious laugh, clamoring to drag this arrogant person into this desperate disaster.
"Sizzle—"
Just as Xu Shiyue was about to be dragged into the blazing fire, the sound of electricity suddenly rang in her ears.
The sharp sound pierced her left eardrum and exited straight through her right eardrum without mercy, forcing her to open her eyes.
The mechanical instruments hummed emotionlessly, and the girl's suddenly opened eyes were filled with emptiness and confusion.
Xu Shiyue stared at the ceiling, the smell of alcohol disinfectant overpowering the pungent smell of the fire.
Although she found both of these flavors utterly repulsive.
A clean and tidy environment seems to have swept away all the chaos, but in reality, it has only swept it into corners that people cannot see.
Xu Shiyue lay motionless on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, her dark eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness, lost in thought.
It seemed like a long time had passed, or perhaps the second hand had only just completed one revolution.
Their parched lips pressed together as if trying to seal themselves off, only to be ruthlessly torn apart by their owner: "Luo Ji."
Luo Ji, who had just accidentally fallen asleep by the bedside, immediately looked up upon hearing the sound, her eyes filled with surprise and delight: "Miss, you're awake..."
"I have something I need you to do," Xu Shiyue said calmly.
Luo Ji disagreed strongly: "Miss, the doctor said you need to rest now. Is there anything you need to do..."
Xu Shiyue didn't want to waste words, and before Luo Ji could finish speaking, she began to instruct her: "Continue to dig deeper into the things we found before, and find the recipient for every penny in Xu Shouxian's account."
"Miss, these things aren't urgent..."
Luo Ji continued to persuade her, and Xu Shiyue continued to speak incessantly: "You also need to investigate his daughter's academic records, honors, awards, and patents. Even if there are no flaws, you have to fabricate them for me."
Xu Shiyue's voice was so calm, just as calm as before this incident occurred.
Luo Ji felt a strange sense of fear. She didn't know what Xu Shiyue was thinking, and she had no way to stop Xu Shiyue from stopping, so she simply kept quiet and listened to Xu Shiyue's instructions.
Xu Shiyue methodically instructed Luo Ji on each task, and finally said, "Call Li in."
"Yes." Luo Ji nodded, opened the door to the ward, and gestured for Li, who was acting as his bodyguard, to come in.
"Miss." Li walked in quickly with steady steps.
Actually, to be precise, Li had been by Xu Shiyue's side for longer than Luo Ji, and his work style was more in line with Xu Shiyue's wishes.
He knew that Xu Shiyue had called him in to give him instructions, so he simply ignored Xu Shiyue's status as a patient and dutifully reported: "The accident report for the building has just come out. The fire started in the kitchen, and the flaws were easy to find. The culprit has also been caught, but this person has refused to identify the instigator, only saying that it was a conflict with the store owner."
"Then let him keep his stubbornness going. Let him meet his family, and he'll talk," Xu Shiyue said.
She spoke these words softly and calmly, like a benevolent king trying to move her traitor with emotion.
But she is Xu Shiyue.
She was not a benevolent ruler; she was a tyrannical madwoman.
Li quickly grasped Xu Shiyue's words and nodded, saying, "Your subordinate understands."
Xu Shiyue trusted Li's abilities and raised her hand, saying, "There's one more thing you need to do for me..."
Yesterday's heavy snowfall enveloped the entire world, with snow accumulating on the bare branches outside the window and piling up on the treetops.
The sunlight slanted in from one side, and the withered branches, as if unable to bear the weight, shook off the accumulated snow.
Li and Luo Ji left the ward one after the other, leaving the already quiet ward unusually deserted.
The pure white snow made the world framed by the window appear exceptionally bright, but the light only made Xu Shiyue's face look pale.
She leaned against the rocking bed, looking at the snow scene outside the window. Her raven-white eyelashes covered most of her eyes, showing no trace of the decisive and ruthless demeanor she had displayed when giving orders to others.
She seemed to have had her entire soul ripped out, sitting there motionless.
The blue and white striped hospital gown she wore was loose and ill-fitting, making her look like a doll whose role had been assigned by its owner.
No one knows if there's a wind-up mechanism behind such a boring doll.
They also wouldn't know how a wind-up key could make her move.
At that moment, the sound of heels tapping on the tiled floor grew louder as it approached, eventually stopping at the door of Xu Shiyue's hospital room.
The windowpane reflected the scene of the door being pushed open from the outside, and Lu Shize walked in.
His tone was unfriendly as he began, "Xu Shiyue, what do you want from me? If you're trying to argue that you weren't the one who indirectly caused Zhenzhen's death, I'm sorry, I'm busy preparing for Zhenzhen's funeral and don't have time to listen to your stories."
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue calmly turned her head, her previously empty and confused eyes now filled with smiles: "Mr. Lu said I'm a murderer, but aren't you one yourself?"
Lu Shize immediately frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Since you don't trust me, why did you hand Lu Shizhen over to me? Since you think I'm not a good person, why didn't you also send someone to protect Lu Shizhen?" Xu Shiyue retorted, her lowered eyelashes slowly lifting towards Lu Shize.
Lu Shize loathed and even hated her, and kept his distance from her from the moment he entered the room.
But Xu Shiyue sat up in bed and leaned over to look at Lu Shize.
Beneath the girl's smiling eyes lurked a sickly malice as she bluntly confronted the man before her: "Lu Shize, admit it, you've already linked me to Lu Shizhen a long time ago, and you've already tacitly acknowledged my relationship with Lu Shizhen."
"If you insist that I am the murderer of Lu Shizhen, then you also have a share of her blood on you."
The smile in Xu Shiyue's eyes had completely vanished, and her dark eyes now revealed a sickly, gleaming darkness.
Her words were calm yet eerie, like a curse that made the listener's heart clench.
Lu Shize's sore spot was exposed, and he suddenly flew into a rage: "Xu Shiyue, do you really think I can't do anything to you?"
“If you want Lu Shizhen to be restless, you can kill me right now.” Xu Shiyue stared at Lu Shize, her raised chin full of blatant coercion, so direct that she had no scruples.
Lu Shize was indeed under duress, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "Xu Shiyue, what exactly do you want?"
"To atone for my sins." Xu Shiyue tilted her head, her frank and cheerful voice reminiscent of Lu Shizhen's past. "If I want to atone for my sins, do you think you can just shirk your responsibility?"
Her physical condition was still not very good, and she was also a little tired from confronting Lu Shize. Her always straight body was carelessly slumped down by its owner, and she ended up kneeling on the bed in a V-shape.
Sunlight streamed through Lu Shize's gaze onto her face, and her upturned chin beamed with a radiant smile, like a cluster of crimson, poisonous poppies: "I need Mr. Lu to give me some of your connections, and it would be best if you could get this done for me today."
The sound of iron gates being opened echoed from afar, and the corridor reverberated with the sound of heels clicking on the floor.
At the far end of these doors sat Xu Shouxian, still wearing the same suit he was taken away from yesterday, with his tie neatly fastened on his shirt. Although his hair was a little disheveled, he still looked quite respectable.
The man's eyes held a calm and even slightly pleased expression as he watched Xu Shiyue walk in: "I didn't expect we'd meet so soon, Shiyue."
Xu Shiyue stopped in front of the table and said, "Yes, we owe it all to Second Uncle."
"You're welcome," Xu Shouxian said, his eyes crinkling with wrinkles.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue's eyes flashed with fury, which then turned into a smile as she said, "Since Second Uncle gave me such an important lesson before he left, I also have a gift to give you."
As she spoke, Xu Shiyue unfolded the documents in her hand and pushed them in front of Xu Shouxian.
Xu Shouxian didn't think it was anything fatal, and calmly began to look through it.
However, slowly, slowly, the person's calm expression crumbled.
The hand gripping the documents tightened, eventually turning into fear on his face: "Where did you get all this stuff?!"
Xu Shiyue did not answer, but instead turned the ring on her finger and said as if reminiscing, "Second Uncle, do you still remember the sentence that Grandpa would say every winter? People's bones are brittle in winter and can be broken with a single twist."
Xu Shouxian immediately realized something: "Xu Shiyue, you..."
"What, does Second Uncle think your money is clean just because it's been laundered so many times?" Xu Shiyue said, raising her hand to lift her cheek, her slender fingers rhythmically tapping her face. "I wonder what Sister's reaction would be if she heard that Second Uncle has been using her account to do these things all along?"
After saying this, Xu Shiyue didn't give Xu Shouxian a chance to react and added, "But maybe my sister can't care about these things anymore."
"Didn't she actually create the patent for her independent enrollment during the college entrance examination? Has she used ghostwriters for any of her works over the years? This year, she was specially recruited into the artificial intelligence talent program. How many people did her second uncle bribe and influence in that process? Is the amount enough to constitute bribery and dereliction of duty?"
The girl's originally cool voice took on a hint of innocent arrogance as she bluntly listed all the things she "didn't understand" in front of Xu Shouxian, then simply tore them apart in front of him: "Maybe these things are nothing to Second Uncle, if you are still the same person you were before."
Xu Shouxian gritted his teeth: "Xu Shiyue."
Xu Shiyue completely ignored the man's reaction and continued, "I don't think our field would accept someone who is being investigated for plagiarism or going to the police station for money laundering."
As she said this, she looked up at Xu Shouxian and finally posed a question to him: "Second Uncle, how much tolerance do you think society will have for someone like him?"
Xu Shouxian was furious that Xu Shiyue would dare to mess with Xu Minjun. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, yelling, "Xu Shiyue! Don't go too far!"
This man was furious, his eyes blazing with rage, but Xu Shiyue still rested her chin on her hand and smiled calmly at Xu Shouxian: "Second Uncle, what are you so angry about here?"
A cloud drifted through the narrow window on the high wall, making the already dim room even darker.
The handcuffs and chains jingled frantically as a figure suddenly covered the shadow on the wall.
Xu Shiyue suddenly stood up and grabbed Xu Shouxian by the neck.
She slammed the man's face onto the table without any mercy, her gaze haughty and condescending as she said, "You should look at me like this."
Politeness and smile vanished from Xu Shiyue's face in an instant. She looked at Xu Shouxian with unyielding hatred in her eyes: "Don't worry, I'll bring your daughter in soon."
“I know that your second uncle is very worried about what your family has gone through. I have asked Mr. Lu to apply for a special case for you. Before your sister comes to stay with you, you can see your sister and your second aunt’s daily life every night, just like this. It will be carefully filmed and edited and played for you.”
As she spoke, Xu Shiyue placed her phone in front of Xu Shouxian with one hand.
In the scene, Aunt Xu and Xu Minjun moved into the only dilapidated old house left under Xu Shouxian's name. The house had been forgotten for so long that Xu Shiyue "took pity" and let Li take them in.
The cockroaches, who had long been the masters of this place, were very unhappy with the intruders who had suddenly barged in, and scurried around the two of them, waving their long antennae.
Xu Shouxian watched in disbelief, and soon he heard the sound of his second aunt and Xu Minjun breaking down in tears as they hugged each other.
All he could do was watch.
Xu Shouxian felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.
He originally planned to use Xu Minjun's account to save some of his money, so that when he got out, he could make a comeback and defeat this arrogant little girl.
But now he finally understands.
He couldn't do it; not only could he not do it, but he also angered the man to the point of provocation.
This person will not let them go; she will exterminate them all, leaving them unable to live or die.
He is the culprit who turned Xu Shiyue into this.
Realizing the terrifying demon he had created, Xu Shouxian's body began to tremble.
The breakdown on the other end of the video gradually shattered his composure, and all his plans were ruined.
He will not make a comeback.
His family, because of his indulgence and cruelty, will also fall into hell with him.
The crying in the video grew louder and louder, and Xu Shouxian became increasingly panicked as he was pinned to the table by the people left behind by Xu Shiyue.
Seeing Xu Shiyue about to leave, he shouted in a panic, "Xu Shiyue! What are you trying to do! Don't you know that such heinous acts will be punished!"
"Xu Shiyue, stop right there! I'll give you anything you want, just stop right there!"
His voice changed from arrogant to pleading, and finally to a desperate pleas: "Xu Shiyue... Shiyue, I beg you, please spare your aunt and sister! I really didn't intend for Lu Shizhen to die! It was that person who had a conflict with the dessert shop owner that led to this! That explosion, that explosion wouldn't have caused such a huge fire! I really, really know I was wrong!"
“Shiyue! Shiyue! Have you forgotten? When you were little and sick, it was your second uncle who carried you to the hospital! Shiyue begs you, please begs you…”
Xu Shouxian pleaded and tried to appeal to Xu Shiyue's emotions again, but no matter how much the beautiful memories of the past stirred up, they couldn't make Xu Shiyue stop.
Lu Shize had been listening to all of this outside. He reached out to hand her a handkerchief, but Xu Shiyue refused without even looking at it.
She has nothing to be sad about.
If blood ties alone are enough to define family, then kinship comes far too easily.
She was filled with regret, a regret she had never felt before.
She should have been ruthless long ago. She should have clipped Xu Shouxian's wings and sent people to monitor all his actions.
so……
so……
The desolate corridor of the detention center was cool and cold, and Xu Shiyue's fingertips trembled slightly.
She thought for a long time about what to say at the end, but countless words couldn't form a single sentence in her throat.
The whole world was covered in a blanket of white snow last night, and the red decorations hanging up to mark the arrival of the new year.
Xu Shiyue raised her eyes and looked up, as if she had lost the ability to perceive time, and even the most brilliant colors could not affect her in the slightest.
She turned back into that boring doll.
The road back seemed both long and short. By the time Xu Shiyue came to her senses, she had already arrived at the villa she shared with Lu Shizhen.
Aunt Sun was waiting for her at the door as always, and as soon as she opened it, that familiar voice greeted her: "Jing jing! Aren't you surprised to see me?"
In an instant, Xu Shiyue's eyes rippled violently.
She stood in the entryway and searched the entire room, only to find that the sound was coming from the television screen in the living room.
Lu Shizhen was sitting in her studio on the third floor, with an orange-red sunset oil painting beside her.
She was dressed in a festive manner, with a bright and cheerful smile: "Happy New Year, Xiao En! I didn't know your sister could do some programming! Did you receive your New Year's gift? Do you like it? I wish our Xiao En all the best in your studies in the new year, and that you win many more trophies."
This is a New Year's surprise that Lu Shizhen recorded for her family.
However, this surprise did not bring joy to anyone.
Lu Shi'en's eyes were red and tears were falling in large drops: "I'll be able to win another trophy soon, sister, how can you see it if you don't come back?"
But the people on TV don't react, and what they say is just a pre-recorded video. After a half-second pause, the screen switches to another video.
In this painting, Lu Shizhen has changed into a festive outfit, and the painting beside her has also changed. She clasps her hands together and says, "Wishing you prosperity and good fortune! Give me a red envelope! I wish Ms. Cheng Meiyan a new year as bright and hopeful as this sunrise!"
This is Lu Shizhen's New Year's greeting to Cheng Meiyan.
Meanwhile, Cheng Meiyan, sitting opposite, was already teary-eyed, and her radiant beauty was nowhere to be seen.
A breeze blew through the crack in the door into the entryway, its coolness clinging to everyone's arms and consuming all warmth.
As expected, Lu Shizhen's video was changed to the next one and given to Lu Shize, who had just entered the room.
"Happy New Year, brother! I've finished the drawing you wanted! Wasn't my speed pretty good? But since you're really too arrogant, I drew you a pink sunset!"
As she spoke, Lu Shizhen unveiled the cloth she had specially covered the painting and made a wish as if giving instructions: "I hope that in the new year, brother will not always have a stern face, but smile more, especially when facing us Shiyue. As your teacher, you are not allowed to bully your students."
Lu Shize stood there in the entryway, a tear hanging from his eye, falling across half of his face, as if splitting his heart in two.
The video paused briefly, making the room incredibly quiet. Xu Shiyue could hear her own breathing.
I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also afraid.
For some reason, Xu Shiyue felt a strong urge to escape, but before she could even lift her foot, Lu Shizhen's voice rang out, more lively than in any of the previous videos: "Surprise! Xu Shiyue. Hehe, didn't expect me to suddenly appear, did you? Were you surprised? I do have some programming talent, right? Look here, look here, besides the USB drive in this box, I also had my digital drawing framed! See, it hasn't lost its color, isn't it super beautiful?"
As she was saying this, Lu Shizhen zoomed in on the entire painting in the video.
The stars in the night sky seemed to leap one by one in Xu Shiyue's eyes, and the girl's swaying skirt was even more beautiful than Lu Shizhen had described.
A cool breeze enveloped Xu Shiyue, as if trying to push her into an ice cellar.
But the skin below her left eye seemed to have a flickering flame, burning erratically.
That was a place Lu Shizhen had once touched.
She said she was fortunate that she didn't have a beauty mark under her eye, so she didn't have to suffer or be trapped by love.
Xu Shiyue thought this person was a fraud.
Nothing they said was true.
They say it but they don't do it.
Xu Shiyue thought to herself, then lifted her foot to leave.
Then she heard the liar's voice again.
"Happy New Year, Xu Shiyue! May you always be happy!"
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