Struggle in the Rainy Night
In the dead of night, amidst a torrential downpour, Lin Wanqing stood alone on the edge of the hospital rooftop. Large raindrops pelted her relentlessly, soaking her completely. The medical record in her hand was blurred by the rain, a reflection of her life, utterly chaotic and tumultuous. The neon lights of the distant city, distorted into fragmented spots in the pouring rain, mirrored the shattered state of her heart at that moment.
"Miss Lin, it's time to go." A bodyguard's deliberately hushed voice came from behind, weak yet undeniably authoritative amidst the raging storm. Lin Wanqing slowly turned around, the antidepressant bottle hidden in her sleeve making a soft rustling sound with her movement. Though the sound was faint, it felt as if it struck her heart heavily. This was the third time she had tried to stop taking the medication. Each time, it was like trying to sever the last invisible bond between her and that man—Gu Yanting. In the past three years of utter darkness, that small bottle seemed to be her only remaining connection to the outside world, or perhaps a hidden thread through which Gu Yanting controlled her.
She dragged her heavy steps, following the bodyguard to the underground parking garage. The black van sat there quietly, its engine emitting a low rumble, as if telling of the unknown journey about to begin. Sitting in the car, Lin Wanqing looked through the window at Gu Yanting's private hospital gradually blurring in the rain, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she abruptly reached out and pressed her hand on the driver's shoulder, her voice firm and unwavering: "To the Cloud Top Villa District."
The shocking change at the reunion
The security system of the villa area seemed utterly vulnerable in the sudden downpour; the malfunctioning alarms sounded intermittently in the wind and rain, like feeble cries of despair. Lin Wanqing got out of the car, her bare feet stepping over the shattered glass. Sharp shards pierced her soles, the excruciating pain not deterring her from continuing her steps. All she wanted was to see those two people as soon as possible—Ah Yu and Zhong Hua.
When she reached the entryway, the sight before her made her heart skip a beat. Ah Yu was holding a blood-stained wrench, her eyes glazed over, seemingly still immersed in the horrific events she had just experienced. Zhong Hua, on the other hand, was curled up on the sofa, his body trembling uncontrollably. Both of them still bore clear bruises from the kidnapping, those bruises like grotesque monsters, silently telling of the pain they had suffered.
"Wanqing?" Ah Yu looked up when he heard the sound, and the moment he saw Lin Wanqing, the wrench in his hand clattered to the ground. His eyes were full of surprise and confusion, as if he couldn't believe that Lin Wanqing would appear here at this time.
Lin Wanqing didn't speak, but threw herself into A Yu's arms. Her body, still warm from the rain, was alarmingly hot, as if she wanted to release all the emotions she had suppressed for years. She greedily inhaled the scent of gunpowder mixed with disinfectant emanating from A Yu, a scent that had been the only pillar of her spirit during those three dark years. In those days of imprisonment and torture, just thinking of A Yu gave her a sliver of strength to persevere through despair.
"Listen to me." After a long while, Lin Wanqing slowly took half a step back, her fingertips gently tracing the newly added scar on Ah Yu's brow bone, her eyes filled with heartache and determination. "I will be at the police station entrance at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
The shock of the truth
Zhong Hua, still reeling from the shock, abruptly stood up upon hearing Lin Wanqing's words. This sudden movement caused the hot coffee table to be knocked over, spilling brown liquid onto the carpet and creating an unsightly stain, mirroring the chaotic state of their lives at that moment.
"Are you crazy? He'll kill you!" Zhong Hua's voice was filled with fear and anger. She knew Gu Yanting's ruthlessness and decisiveness. Lin Wanqing's surrender was like a lamb being led into the tiger's den.
Lin Wanqing slowly turned around, gazing at the woman she had once considered an enemy. She noticed that Zhong Hua's dark circles were deeper than her own, marks left by long-term fear, worry, and exhaustion. "You think these days aren't torture?" Lin Wanqing's voice carried a bitter smile. She pulled a stack of documents from her bag and slammed them onto the coffee table. "This is evidence of Gu Yanting's crimes over the years, including the fire three years ago."
Ah Yu's hands trembled slightly as he slowly picked up the document. When he saw the scene in the yellowed photo—the surveillance footage from his father's office—where Lin Wanqing was spraying gasoline onto a fire hydrant, his face instantly turned deathly pale.
“I was injected with an overdose of sedatives that day.” Lin Wanqing’s fingertips gently traced the needle marks on her neck. Although the marks had gradually faded, each touch seemed to take her back to that terrible night. “But I remember him saying that he would make me taste what it’s like to lose a loved one.”
A deafening clap of thunder roared outside the window, as if tearing the world apart. Zhong Hua's body trembled violently. She suddenly remembered the fire report in the old document, and her mother's dying words echoed in her ears: "Be careful of women wearing red dresses..." It turned out that everything was inextricably linked to Gu Yanting, that devil.
A painful choice
"So you're going to turn yourself in?" Ah Yu's emotions exploded instantly. He suddenly grabbed Lin Wanqing's wrist, his eyes filled with pain and reluctance. "Will you spend the rest of your life paying for his crimes?"
Lin Wanqing looked down at the crisscrossing scars on Ah Yu's hand, the marks from when she was burned with cigarette butts by the kidnappers while saving her yesterday. A sharp pain pierced her heart at the sight of those scars. "Do you remember what we said in the basement?" she asked softly, her voice as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind. "If living is a punishment, then wouldn't death be a release?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Hua felt a surge of panic. She suddenly grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table, pressed it against her throat, and the blade trembled, drawing tiny beads of blood from her skin. "If you dare to die, I'll die with you!" Zhong Hua's voice was resolute; she would not allow Lin Wanqing to go and die like this.
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