"Ningning, Ningning, no, no, no..."
As soon as the prop finished its function, Mu Sheng suddenly woke up.
He had just opened his eyes when he saw Tang Ning, who had been in his arms, sitting on the edge of the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. As if she had noticed that he was awake, she subconsciously looked up at him.
It was only then that Mu Sheng noticed that her lips were already covered with mottled marks from being bitten by herself, and her eyes were empty and lifeless.
"School doctor, you dreamt about me, didn't you? I heard you talking in your sleep, but why would you have such a dream?"
As she said this, Tang Ning frowned in confusion. "That shouldn't be possible. That was in my past life. How could you dream about it?"
Upon hearing the words "past life," Mu Sheng's pupils involuntarily contracted sharply.
Seeing his reaction, Tang Ning immediately gave him a sweet smile. "Oh, what's wrong? You didn't know? For you, it may have been a dream, but for me, it was all my own personal experience!"
"Yes, now I've climbed up from hell to find you..."
Tang Ning smiled gently.
"Well, just like you said in your sleep, after you watched me get kidnapped, because I was of good quality, I was quickly sold by those people for 5,000 yuan. Then I was forced to have children. I think the first one was a girl. That place is very sexist. The little red bundle was suffocated to death by that stinky old woman right after I was born, and then I don't know where she threw me. After that, I was a little luckier and had a boy. Life finally got a little better, and they released me from the cellar. By then, it had been a full year, nine months, and thirteen days since I saw the sunlight again. It was then that I learned that people who have lived in places where they haven't seen the sunlight for a long time can go blind when they suddenly see it again! I was blind for a whole week. Even after I could see the light again, my eyes were always covered with a white film, and everything was blurry..."
"What were you all doing back then? I bet all four of you were doing everything you could to make Yin Yuqing happy, right? What a stark contrast! Tell me, why do I hate you so much?"
As she spoke, Tang Ning couldn't help but chuckle softly. Then, when she caught a glimpse of Mu Sheng's bloodshot eyes out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly covered her mouth and exclaimed dramatically, "Oh dear, I forgot! Our great school doctor, Mu, I heard he has a severe case of mysophobia! What am I going to do? You actually fell in love with me, even when I was so dirty, and even kissed me like this again and again. Now, do you feel like throwing up whenever you think about the intimate contact we had..."
Before Tang Ning could even finish speaking, Mu Sheng suddenly pulled her close, supporting the back of her head with force, and pressed his lips against her blood-stained lips, kissing her deeply.
After a moment of stunned silence, Tang Ning immediately began to struggle frantically and in defiance.
"Mmm..."
But how could her strength compare to Mu Sheng's, who had trained for many years? Seeing that she couldn't break free from his grip, Tang Ning opened her mouth without hesitation and bit his lip hard. With one bite, the taste of blood filled the air between their lips.
Even so, Mu Sheng still did not let go.
Overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and grievance, Tang Ning, who had been biting fiercely, lost control and burst into desperate and helpless sobs.
The more she cried, the more desperate her voice became; the more she cried, the more uncontrollable her tears became.
Hearing her cries, Mu Sheng, who was holding her, also had red eyes. He slowly released his hands that were supporting the back of her head and pulled her into his arms, holding her tighter and tighter, his body even trembling slightly.
Ningning, Ningning, his Ningning...
Just then, their door was suddenly knocked on from the outside.
Upon hearing this sound, Tang Ning stopped crying. She took a deep breath, blinked, and wiped away the tears on her face.
"What's up?"
Mu Sheng's voice had a strong nasal tone.
"Lance, those three Chinese men who secretly landed on the island yesterday seem to be acting strangely when they woke up this morning. They seem to be crying their eyes out..."
Upon hearing the words "weeping bitterly," before Mu Sheng could say anything, Tang Ning chuckled softly.
"No way? What kind of auspicious place is this Ouran Island? Don't tell me they had the same dream as you last night?"
The word "dream" immediately struck a nerve with Mu Sheng.
He frowned deeply. "Ignore them. Keep a close eye on them and don't let them escape. I'll interrogate them later."
"No, why wait a little longer? It's been a long time since I've seen my dear brother, fiancé, and classmate. Let's invite them over and catch up!"
Tang Ning said this in a cold voice.
After hearing her words, Mu Sheng turned and stared at her for a long time before closing his eyes briefly. "Okay, Matthew, bring the three people who secretly went to the island last night to the lobby. I'll be down in a bit."
"yes."
In order to meet those three people, Tang Ning dressed up specially, changed into a backless wine-red haute couture dress that Mu Sheng had prepared for her, and even did her makeup to match before slowly walking downstairs.
Almost as soon as she appeared at the top of the stairs, she saw the three people in the lobby below, who were tightly bound with ropes, all looking at her with a mixture of greed and sorrow.
Upon seeing their expressions, Tang Ning, who had just come down, immediately burst out laughing. "Don't tell me that the three of you had the same dream as the school doctor. In the dream, you guys caused me so much suffering that I couldn't live or die."
As she spoke, her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a coquettish, reproachful expression. "Oh dear, this really isn't fun anymore. I was so lucky to have been given a second chance by fate, to relive those deep and painful memories. I... I haven't had enough fun yet, and now I know everything. This is no fun. Alright, there's no more fun now!"
She shrugged, her expression seemingly somewhat regretful.
"Tang Ning..."
Upon hearing her admit that she had been reborn from such a painful life, Xu Xingbo called out to her with a sorrowful look in his eyes.
Hearing his call, Tang Ning turned to look at Xu Xingbo, whose face was pale and eyes were red. She then walked slowly to him, lifted his chin with her index finger, and slightly curled her lips. "I said, really? Don't tell me you still like me! You should have seen it in your dream too. I wasn't the one who saved you at first. I saved you before Yin Yuqing to make you fall for me, and then I followed you to save you after you were captured by the local bullies. You didn't fall for me just like that, did you?"
"And what about your little angel Yuqing? Didn't you threaten me in the bathroom, grabbing my neck and saying you'd kill me if my Yuqing ever showed even the slightest unhappy expression? Oh dear, what am I going to do? I've not only made her unhappy, but I've also accidentally disfigured her and left her with nothing. So, it seems you'll have to tear me to pieces to get revenge for your Yuqing? Hehehe..."
After saying that, Tang Ning couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Then she watched as Xu Xingbai's tears fell drop by drop from his red and swollen eyes.
Xu Xingbo's current favorability rating: 100.
The moment the sound of falling gold coins rang out, Tang Ning's smile vanished, she released her grip, and lightly wiped her fingertips on the boy's clothes.
She then walked over to Ye Jinyan, who was standing next to Xu Xingbai, and sweetly called him "brother." She then whispered in his ear, "You don't really think I don't know who kissed me after the power outage that night at the school anniversary celebration, do you? Do I look that naive and innocent? Too bad, a coward is a coward. A coward in front of Yin Yuqing, and an even bigger coward in front of me, except for that one stab—it was swift and decisive..."
Upon hearing Tang Ning's words, Ye Jinyan's pupils immediately contracted, and soon, his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Ye Jinyan's current favorability rating: 100.
Upon hearing the sound of gold coins falling again, Tang Ning stood up with a smile, glanced at Jiang Yao beside her, let out a low chuckle, and then walked towards the sofa.
The truth is, as soon as the dream ended last night, Jiang Yao's favorability rating had already reached 100.
She really didn't want to say another word to him.
Just then, the group suddenly heard a booming sound coming from the west side of the island, which even made the ground tremble twice. Almost simultaneously, the walkie-talkie that Mu Sheng always kept on his waist, which was used by the people on the island to communicate with each other, suddenly sounded an urgent report after a few crackling sounds.
"Lance, something bad has happened! I don't know how Laura and her people found out the location of Sakura Island, but now she has gathered a large group of people and is attacking Sakura Island directly. She's a madwoman. Her own son is dead, and she doesn't even care about her own life. She just wants you to be buried with her!"
Having just heard the report, Mu Sheng looked at Tang Ning, his eyes narrowed, and he immediately rushed forward and tackled Tang Ning, who was not far from him, to the ground.
The next second, a loud bang rang in their ears.
He hurriedly helped Tang Ning up, gripped her hand tightly, then took a samurai sword from the wall on one side, dragged Tang Ning to Ye Jinyan and the others in front of him, and with a swift stroke, cut the knots binding them.
At this moment, the noise outside the villa grew even louder.
"You lot, good luck to yourselves."
After saying that, he grabbed Tang Ning's hand tightly and ran outside with her.
He ran to a storage room not far from the villa, pushed Tang Ning inside, and then lifted the clutter in the storage room to reveal an underground passage.
It was only then that Tang Ning noticed that Mu Sheng's shoulder had been stained with blood sometime earlier, possibly in the villa, and even his back and chest were covered in blood.
Turning his head, he saw that Tang Ning's eyes were fixed on his shoulder. Mu Sheng seemed to feel no pain. He grabbed Tang Ning's hand and shoved her into the underground passage, then he followed her in.
The passageway was stuffy, hot, and pitch black. Mu Sheng's movements were so vigorous that he seemed to have accidentally bumped his shoulder, causing him to gasp involuntarily. In the darkness, his already pale face turned even paler.
Even so, he kept groping around on his body. After hearing a metallic clang, he used the handcuffs in his hand to cuff Tang Ning's left wrist, and at the same time, he cuffed the other hand to his right wrist.
What are you doing?
Feeling the cold touch on her wrist, Tang Ning immediately lowered her voice and asked.
"Heh, what are you doing?"
Mu Sheng chuckled softly, "I'm not doing anything, I just want to tell you that even if you hate me to the core, you've provoked me and made me fall in love with you, so even if we die, you'll die with me!"
"madman!"
"A madman? No, I've never been as normal or clear-headed as I am now."
Mu Sheng replied, his face growing paler in the darkness.
Just then, his walkie-talkie rang again. This time, he learned that because too many people wanted him dead, this group had most likely followed Xu Xingbo and his two companions to find their way to Sakura Island. Although no one knew exactly how Xu Xingbo and his group had found their way, they had indeed led Laura and her group, catching them completely off guard. Furthermore, under the combined pressure from the police and Laura's group, his forces had already shrunk considerably. Now, although many of their men had died, his own forces were also nearly wiped out…
At this moment, Mu Sheng suddenly remembered a warning he had given himself after Dream Valley, when Tang Ning was hospitalized—
[...A person like him, once he loses his guard and composure, might not even know how he died...]
Now, the prophecy has indeed come true.
He fell in love with Tang Ning because she had lost all her vigilance and composure, and now he was facing the biggest crisis of his life.
Laura's arrival was due to the death of her son. In the dream, because Tang Ning saved Yin Yuqing, he and Laura never even faced each other directly. So why would she be so crazy about him?
He had no suspicion of Tang Ning. On the contrary, because of his guilt and love, he allowed her to freely enter and leave all parts of Sakura Island. As a result, she anonymously reported all his information to the police.
Based on his experience in the dream, Xu Xingbo is proficient in computers and code. He must have done something to Tang Ning to be able to find Sakura Island so accurately and attract Laura at the same time.
A series of coincidences have combined to create the current precarious situation.
In the darkness, Mu Sheng chuckled self-deprecatingly.
So, are you happy now?
With a smile, he asked Tang Ning, who was beside him, "This is what you mean?"
In the darkness, Tang Ning remained silent.
Apart from the faint sound of breathing, the underground passage was completely silent.
Perhaps darkness makes it easier to see one's own heart clearly, and it also makes it easier to develop feelings of weakness and vulnerability, in addition to the injury on the shoulder.
As his body grew colder, Mu Sheng suddenly spoke softly in the darkness, calling out Tang Ning's name.
“Ningning…”
"Was everything, all of this, for such a long time, just a lie? From our first meeting until now..." Mu Sheng paused slightly, then asked in a low, weak voice,
"Was there not even a single moment when you truly felt anything for me?"
As soon as he finished asking the question, he was met with a deathly silence in the darkness.
Soon, a low laugh rang out, the sound melodious and crisp.
"I know it's dark here, but it's not dark outside yet. So why are you suddenly dreaming? No, I've never..."
Before Tang Ning could utter the remaining hurtful words, her lips were immediately sealed shut.
The man's kiss was fierce, domineering, and suffocating. Not only that, he even bit her newly healed lip hard, and the taste of blood filled the air between their lips and teeth.
The man relentlessly attacked, and due to lack of oxygen and resistance, Tang Ning began to struggle violently.
until--
It felt like ants were biting the back of her neck; the pain was fleeting, followed by a wave of dizziness. Before she could even utter a word, she was already feeling faint.
As her consciousness faded into darkness, she felt Mu Sheng caressing her cheek as if he were touching some priceless treasure.
"You don't like me, that's fine, really fine. Since you don't like me, then just keep disliking me... That way, I can..."
After hearing those few words, Tang Ning felt a warmth between her brows and then completely lost consciousness.
Mu Sheng's current favorability rating: 100.
——
When Tang Ning woke up again and realized that the handcuffs on her hands were gone, she immediately called out Mu Sheng's name.
No one answered her, no one.
She staggered out of the tunnel, only to find the once fine white sand beach now covered in bright red bloodstains and people lying dead on the ground.
She stumbled and rummaged through the crowd, her breathing growing heavier with fear and panic.
For a moment, she even felt as if she were the only person left on the vast Sakura Island.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...
Aside from the sounds of the wind and the waves, all she could hear was her own breathing.
Running and searching...
Just then, Tang Ning, who was like a headless fly, turned her head and saw a shoe that looked very familiar peeking out from behind the wall of a house.
She stopped abruptly and stood there for a long time, until her legs were slightly numb. Only then did she seem to wake up from a dream and stumble towards the spot.
Just around the corner, I saw—
With his head bowed, Mu Sheng had one leg bent and the other straight, leaning against the corner of the wall.
Then there was red, all I could see was red...
Whether it was splashed on the wall, on the man, or gathered beneath him.
Tang Ning had never known that a person could bleed so much.
Looking at Mu Sheng like this, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. Then, she walked step by step to him, squatted down, and casually reached out to touch his hand that was hanging down on his bent knees, without even using much force.
She then saw the man suddenly collapse, powerless.
A jade Buddha stained with blood slid out of his tightly clenched right hand.
Upon seeing the jade Buddha, Tang Ning pursed her lips, then slowly reached out to check the man's breath.
Tang Ning, who had not sensed any presence, finally couldn't help but chuckle, causing the tears that had been welling up in her eyes to splash everywhere.
Just then, her phone, which was in her coat pocket, suddenly vibrated.
Upon hearing the voice, she slowly took out her phone from her pocket, opened it, and was surprised to find that it was a scheduled text message from Mu Sheng.
"Ningning, you should be fast asleep right now after I stabbed you with the tranquilizer dart. If we keep hiding here, Laura and her gang won't let it go, and then neither of us will survive. This life is something I owe you; I should be repaying it. Actually, I still can't understand how I could just watch you get kidnapped. Now, the debt from my past life has to be repaid in this one… Ningning, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you. Perhaps our first meeting was a mistake from the very beginning. If—and I mean if—I can survive this time, let's just let the past be the past, okay? Let's get to know each other again, okay? —Mu Sheng"
After reading the text message, Tang Ning took a deep breath, slightly raised her chin, and tried to keep her eyes open without blinking. However, the tears that had accumulated in her eyes still rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. She looked down at the afterglow of the setting sun shining on Mu Sheng's ashen face, and with trembling hands took the jade Buddha soaked in his blood from his hand, and then slowly put it around her neck.
I tried to stand up, but failed several times because my legs were too weak.
After finally managing to stand up, she turned and walked out.
Unexpectedly, just as she looked up, she saw Xu Xingbai and the other two, whose lives were even more tenacious than cockroaches.
However, the three of them were not in much better shape. Xu Xingbai's hand was still broken, even more severely than when it was broken in the middle of the story. Ye Jinyan was being carried on Jiang Yao's back with his eyes closed. The system had checked and found that something had stabbed him hard in the waist and abdomen. He was now barely breathing. As for Jiang Yao, there was a deep gash in his right eye.
But she seemed not to see anything and walked past them without looking at them.
“Ningning…”
Jiang Yao called out to her subconsciously.
Even after hearing his calls, Tang Ning showed no sign of stopping.
It wasn't until Xu Xingbai's deep voice sounded behind her, "Actually, you weren't reborn early on as you said, were you? Otherwise... why would you have involuntarily shed tears when you saw the dead Mu Sheng? You only... suddenly remembered it not long ago, right? Not much earlier than we know. The reason you said that before was just to deny all the memories between you and us from the beginning after learning about the events of your previous life, right?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning subconsciously stopped and stood with her back to them for a long time before slightly tilting her head. The light of the setting sun shone on her slightly dirty face, revealing an indescribable, unreal beauty.
"Heh, think what you want..."
"All I know is that you people are all affluent, some have lost hands, some have injured their eyes, and Ye Jinyan's abdomen has been pierced, it's uncertain whether he'll survive. Now, you've repaid what you owed me, from now on, we're even, and we'll never have anything to do with each other again..."
She finished speaking softly, then slowly turned her head again and walked forward.
I never imagined that even the sunset could be so dazzling!
Tang Ning sighed softly to herself, her eyes glistening with tears, and the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
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