I woke up as a lioness, with three little cubs already nestled in my belly. To raise my kids, I hid the fact that I was married and a mom, then joined a pride. The pride was migrating, and I was utterly exhausted, rushing through the night, clutching my cubs in my jaws. I clung to the group like a lifeline, terrified of falling behind. The Lion King looked like he had something to say, then finally blurted, “You’re moving so fast, aren’t you afraid of losing your cubs?” I prayed the cubs wouldn’t be born too soon. At least not during the dry season. But fate had other plans. I gave birth on the scorching sand, under a blazing sun. Three fluffy little cubs crawled around. All I could see was dry, yellow earth. It hadn’t rained for five months. “Mom, brother scratched me!” “I didn’t scratch her! I just touched her. The rock was hot on my paw, so I shifted.” My cubs bickering was a common occurrence. I lay on the ground, my paws acting as cushions. “Mommy, there’s a mommy over there too.” What was this kid talking about? I followed his gaze and saw a musk ox leading her calf across the plains. “Oh my god, such a big ox! Run, kids!” I shot up instantly, snatched the smallest cub in my jaws, and bolted. I huffed and puffed, charging forward, my cubs struggling to keep up. The more I thought about it, the more something felt off. I slowly started to slow down. I smacked myself on the head. I’m a lion now! I should be hunting that musk ox! By the time I regretted it and looked back, the musk ox mom had already led her calf to safety.

My head was spinning from hunger. My cubs were also wobbly on their feet, lacking milk. The vast, scorching grassland stretched endlessly under the blazing sun. A sudden wave of dread washed over me. If we continued to starve, it would only take one day and night for this land to claim us. I had no choice but to learn to hunt like the lions I’d seen in animal documentaries. I gritted my teeth, enduring the hunger, and trekked dozens of miles. Finally, I caught two voles. They were barely a snack, but at least I had milk now. I rushed back without stopping, eager to feed my cubs, but then I saw three fluffy heads peeking out from behind a dune. “Mommy, look! So many lions.” Kai, the second cub, looked envious. “If we follow them, we’ll definitely get enough to eat.” “Don’t say that!” Finn, the eldest, gave him a small swat with his paw. “We won’t starve with Mom, either.” *Rumble…* Finn’s little belly inconveniently growled. I stood on the dune, gazing into the distance. Across the wide plains, a massive pride was slowly moving. Behind them, the boundless land stretched, and an orange sunset hung in the distant sky. I knew deep down that my cubs had no chance of survival with just me. I clenched my paw and slammed it against the ground. I’m going all in!

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After our werewolf father passed away, my mother couldn’t afford to raise my sister and me alone. She made us choose. “Human or wolf?” In my last life, my younger sister, Chloe, chose to be a wolf. She later died miserably, bullied and brutalized by the pack in a wildlife park. I, on the other hand, stayed with our mother, blending into human society. I briefly tasted luxury, only to die later from rabies, a cruel fate dealt by her own bite during one of my visits. Reborn. Now, Chloe glared at me, her eyes spitting venom, and snatched the first slip. “I want to be human!” I watched her, my gaze dropping, my entire body trembling with a strange relief. My dear sister, the cost of being human is far, far greater than anything a wolf faces. My mother held two slips of paper in her hand, one long, one short. She said whoever drew the long one would be human, and the short one, a wolf. In my last life, I was the older sister; I reached out first. The moment I clutched that slip, a mix of desperate hope and gnawing guilt seeped through my fingertips. —I drew the long one. I became human. This time, Chloe shoved me aside, rushing forward, her voice thick with unconcealed eagerness. “Mom, I’m first!” My mother hesitated, glancing at me. “Maybe… let your sister go first?” My eyelashes fluttered, and that dull ache in my heart resurfaced. She always played favorites with Chloe, knowing what it truly meant to be human. Besides, the cruel truth was, both slips were identical – both long. It was always about who chose first, who would be “human.” Before I could even respond, Chloe had already lunged, her fingers clamping tightly around one slip. She yanked it out with a triumphant cry! The next moment, she burst into my room, overturning all the dresses and jewelry my mother had prepared for me, scattering them everywhere. Amidst the crashing sounds, she proudly declared, “These are all mine now!” I watched her in silence. My ears felt hot, and I composed myself, making the subtle throb in my ear cartilage subside. The closer we got to the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the more my beastly nature, my wolf form, stirred within me. Either completely excise that wildness and live as human. Or surrender to instinct and become a wolf. This was a tradition of our wolf clan. Chloe glided past me, a sneer twisting her lips. “Sister, you look just like a stray dog right now.” “Don’t look at me like that. You’ll have to rely on me to support you from now on. Without me – even if you roll over and beg in the pack, you’ll never eat your fill. Those animals, they have no feelings, tsk.” It was also a wolf clan tradition: the one who chose to be human would enjoy life, but also bear the responsibility of supporting the entire family.

Chloe’s hatred for me had taken root in our previous lives. Back then, when she was sent to the wildlife park, she couldn’t adapt to life there at all. There was no sweet chocolate, no cold ice cream. In that isolated place, food had to be hunted personally. Though we paid caretakers to look after her regularly, it was still a world away from her former life of ease and luxury. I felt so bad for Chloe back then. Every time Mom allowed me to visit, I tried my best to bring her the finest food. But she wouldn’t even look at it. Her ears would flatten, her nose wrinkle, and she’d glare fiercely at my dresses, my long gloves. Her eyes screamed disgust at my pretense. But she didn’t know that those long gloves and dresses concealed injuries. Every time I’d been there for barely ten minutes, Mom’s call would inevitably come through. “Time’s up, darling. The smell in there will ruin your perfume. Our new clients won’t appreciate that scent. Come out.” Each time Chloe saw me about to leave, she’d bare her teeth, whimpering and snarling. I could only softly comfort her, “Just a little longer, bear with me. After some time, I’ll take you with me.” My only reply was her wolf howl and a rigidly drooping tail. Until I visited her after a surgery. She saw the injuries on my hand and my weakened state. Suddenly, she became remarkably docile. She slowly brought her head closer, resting it in my palm. My heart softened, aching with both tenderness and sorrow. “Being human is truly agonizing.” She lowered her head, licking the bruised wounds on my arm. Then she abruptly looked up and bit me, hard. Immediately after, another scrawny wolf rushed out from the shadows. I was torn, dragged, and injured by them. Later, I contracted rabies. The fear of people grew, along with a new terror of light and water. I died a month later, in the spring. The look in Chloe’s eyes now was exactly the same as when she bit me then. I was absolutely certain: she had been reborn too. Now, she wanted my life. But my dear sister, I knew everything about your past. Are you truly sure you want to step into my life this time?

After the choice was made, my mother barely paid any attention to me. Now, her eyes were solely on Chloe. She poured all her remaining money and resources into Chloe. The ten servants and the butler in the villa were all replaced according to Chloe’s preferences. Her diet, décor, clothes, entertainment, and even her education were custom-designed by the most exclusive professionals, ensuring everything pleased her. To ensure her skin was perfect during shedding, she wasn’t allowed to hold anything heavier than a single towel. I looked at her seemingly familiar class schedule and couldn’t help but suggest, “Actually, you could add more physical training or self-defense classes.” Chloe scoffed, her eyes full of disdain. “Me? Need those? You’re the one who needs them, aren’t you?” She glanced at the simple vegetables on my plate, a mocking smile playing on her lips. “In such a hurry to eat that?” She dragged out her words. “You’ll have plenty of time to eat these later. If I were you, I’d be thinking about how to deal with those disgusting animals in the wolf pack.” She was talking about the one-eyed Alpha wolf and those several wolf pups. I knew, of course, but I wasn’t worried. In my last life, I had told Chloe about the weaknesses of each of those wolves, urging her to pull herself together, to be brave, to carve out her own place in the wolf clan. But she just thought I was making fun of her. In the end, she refused to grow strong on her own. She only chose a low-ranking wolf that was utterly subservient to her. Then, for harming a young cub in the pack, she was driven out.

Right now, Chloe had her feet propped up, lounging in the sofa, leisurely flipping through a magazine. The male models and pretty boys on the glossy pages were all as exquisite as display figures in a shop window. She smirked casually, her finger tracing across page after page. “This one, this one, and this one… they all look pretty good, no worse than that popular guy, or your class president, whatever… too bad—” She looked up at me, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction. “My dear sister, you won’t have that chance, will you?” I said nothing. My agonizing experiences from the previous life had already instilled in me a bottomless fear of most people. A beautiful exterior didn’t necessarily hide a human. And beneath those rough, heavy exteriors, lay something even more terrifying. My fingertips unconsciously curled, and I even instinctively touched my neck – it should have had a collar there, but now it was empty. Chloe scoffed again. “Make sure you clean up your room properly. I’m a germaphobe, I hate shedding things.” “What about shedding men?” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Heh. Mom said she’d choose the most excellent partner for me. In the future, I’ll live the life of luxury that should rightfully be mine.” She didn’t even look up, opening her mouth, and an attentive deaf servant promptly delivered a small piece of fruit to her lips. A single such aide, with an average monthly salary of eight thousand, and there were ten of them, plus the butler. Monthly property management, pool and garden maintenance, utilities, meal expenses. Car fuel, maintenance, and facility upkeep. This money was a huge expense, and none of it would just fall from the sky. This money had to be earned by the one who chose to be human.

Meanwhile, I suddenly noticed that a small structure was still being built at the very back of the villa’s garden. From the foundation, it looked sealed off and narrow, and the spare materials were steel pipes for a cage. I cautiously asked my mother. “Mom, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is soon, should we go see the Safari Park ahead of time?” This was a tradition of our wolf clan. My mother quickly closed the book in her hand, placing it behind her back, and looked up with a radiant smile. “Why go there? The adoption fees are so expensive. You’ll stay home, free and safe. We can look after you anytime.” My heart turned cold. In the last life, for Chloe, she had gone to great lengths to choose the best ecological wildlife park, ensuring Chloe lived without a care. This time, she intended to trap me in that narrow, dark room. Just then, Chloe urged from behind that she would be late for school. Mom immediately rose to greet her. A business card fluttered from the book. She quickly snatched it up. But I, with my heightened senses, sharply caught a glimpse of the title on it.

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My Mom’s Secret Sugar Baby An hour before my college entrance exam, I stumbled upon my mom’s secret dating Ins account: “Sending my little boyfriend off for his final exams feels so new~~” “Dropped off my boyfriend, now my son. Being a woman is tough, isn’t it?” “Attached: A handsome photo of my boyfriend.” I watched Mom rush toward me, wearing a stunning dress, and my eyes locked on the half-face of my scholarship student roommate in the Ins photo. In that instant, my entire world shattered. “Don’t be nervous. Just relax once you get into the exam hall. If it doesn’t work out, we can always go study abroad. I’ll even sponsor Jason to go with you, so you two can look out for each other.” If I hadn’t seen Mom’s secret dating account, I would have been so touched by her thoughtful generosity. But now, I felt waves of nausea. Jason wasn’t just anyone; he was my scholarship student roommate – the other main character on my mom’s secret dating account. Seeing my troubled expression, Mom looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong? Still feeling stressed?” Dad stood a short distance away, his face etched with worry too. Dad was always busy with work, rarely taking a day off to provide for our family. It was truly rare for him to take time off just to personally send me to my exams. I almost blurted out everything I’d just seen, ready to confront Mom right there and then. But my mouth opened and closed, and still, no words came out. With the exams so close, exposing everything now and causing a scene would not only disrupt a major life event. All the family’s finances were currently in Mom’s hands. If I ripped off the band-aid, Dad and I might even end up on the streets. I forced out a strained smile. “Nothing, just a bit nervous. I’ll head into the exam hall now.” “Alright, son, go get ’em! I believe in you!” I suppressed the shock and disgust churning inside me, walking into the exam hall without looking back. Facing the stacks of test papers, I fought back the chaotic emotions, forcing myself to calm down and answer carefully. For two days straight, I managed to act as if nothing had happened in front of Mom and Dad. After the exams finished, my parents suggested we go out for a celebratory meal. I had survived the college entrance exams and was moving on to a new stage in life. But what I didn’t expect was for Mom to think of her little boyfriend again at that moment. “It’s just the three of us, that’s too quiet. Caleb, why don’t you invite your roommate along?” “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dad said, a little hesitant. “They probably have their own celebrations. How would it look to invite them?” “Well, what if we just invite Jason then? His family is from a rural area far away and can’t come to be with him. It would be really sad to leave him all alone in the dorm.”

Jason, who was supposedly “all alone in the dorm and quite pitiful,” showed up in the restaurant’s private dining room five minutes after Mom suggested inviting my roommate. It was then I realized they had planned this all along. Watching Dad gleefully order all of Mom’s favorite dishes from the menu, then happily push the menu towards us, my heart ached even more. All these years, he had wronged no one. I still remembered when I was little, he was afraid Mom would be scared alone at home in the dark, so he’d commute for hours every day just to come home and sleep beside her. He was afraid Mom would get too tired looking after me at home, so he’d always take me to his office to watch me, saying Mom deserved to have her own life. For the first eighteen years of my life, I truly believed my parents were the best in the world—a loving couple, a perfect family. But reality slapped me hard across the face. I started wondering, when exactly did Mom and Jason get together? Was it when Mom constantly worried I wasn’t eating well at school and brought me lunch? Or was it that month, a year when our dorm was being renovated, and the fumes were too strong to live in, so I enthusiastically brought Jason home to stay with us? No matter what, it was my fault. I gave Jason the opportunity to destroy my family. I still remembered a conversation we once had in our dorm. Jason’s eyes glowed with an intense heat. “What’s the point of studying in this day and age? Why not just sleep with a rich woman and get everything you want?” At the time, I just thought that his impoverished background made his views overly extreme. But I never imagined that one day, his predatory claws would reach directly into my home. Right in front of my dad, Jason and my mom started exchanging glances and flirting. “Your makeup today is just stunning, Auntie Victoria. If I didn’t know you were Caleb’s mom, I’d think you were his middle school sister!” Mom’s face immediately bloomed into a radiant smile. “Oh, you smooth talker! How old do you think I am? How could I possibly look like a middle schooler?” “I’m telling the truth! Don’t you believe me? Ask Caleb! Caleb, tell us, doesn’t your mom look like a middle schooler?” I chuckled. “Jason, are you just practicing your lines on my mom now?” “Practicing? What are you talking about?” Dad asked curiously. “You guys don’t know, Jason used to tell us his dream was to sweet-talk a bunch of rich women, make them spend money on him, and just live a happy life being a kept man. So, he’s gotta practice those sweet-talk lines, right?”

Mom, who had been smiling so brightly, instantly lost all cheer. Jason’s face turned awkward. “You… what are you talking about? I just said that casually, you’re not taking it seriously, are you?” I looked innocent. “Casually? No way. You said it more than once. You said your life’s goal was to manipulate naive rich women, making them think you truly loved them, when in reality, it was just for their money.” Jason’s face turned pale. He nervously glanced at Mom’s expression. “That’s all nonsense, all nonsense! Don’t take it seriously! Why isn’t the food here yet? I’ll go check on it!” He didn’t return to the private room until Dad looked at me with a complicated expression. “What’s up with your roommate? His values are messed up. Stay away from people like that in the future.” I said, pointedly, “He and I are just roommates. We won’t have much to do with each other after this. It’s those rich women he’s deceiving who are truly pitiful.” Dad scoffed. “I can’t control others, but you’re my son. I can control you. Stay far away from people like that from now on.” I looked up at Mom. “Mom, you’re a real rich woman. Why don’t you offer your opinion?” Mom flinched. “Opinion? Oh, opinion. I don’t have an opinion. Maybe he’s just a kid, talking nonsense.” Dad frowned, about to say something else. But at that moment, Jason pushed the door open and returned to the private room. “There’s a small jewelry vendor outside. Auntie Victoria, do you need anything? I can go with you to take a look.” I sneered, “Why would you go with her? My dad’s right here. Let my dad go.” Jason looked annoyed. “I just thought Uncle David might be bored.” “You don’t feel bored accompanying someone else’s wife, but my dad would be bored accompanying his own wife?” Mom couldn’t listen anymore. “Alright, Caleb, watch your tone! I’m not in the mood for jewelry. Let’s just eat, let’s just eat.”

After dinner, we all walked out of the private room. Dad went to pay the bill. The moment I turned my head, I realized Jason and my mom had disappeared. Dad came directly up to me after paying. “Let’s go first. Your mom said your roommate looked pitiful and wanted to take him to buy some clothes.” I looked at Dad in disbelief. “And you agreed to that?” Dad looked bewildered. “What’s wrong with buying a few clothes? You don’t think your mom and that young classmate of yours would have anything going on, do you? No way. Your mom and I have such a strong bond. She would never betray me.” Seeing Dad’s confident expression, I found it even harder to reveal the cruel truth. I even hoped Mom and Jason would just end things then and there. My parents could go back to living their lives happily at home, and this whole thing could be forgotten. But I was disappointed. Not long after, Mom’s secret dating account updated. “How could life be the same with anyone? It was only when I met you that I felt my heart truly stir. Only when I met you did I know what love was.” The attached picture showed her and Jason sweetly embracing and kissing, each holding a bubble tea. Even though she had blurred herself out, how could I not recognize my own mother? Back home, I paced restlessly in my bedroom. Mom was completely fixated on Jason now. How could I make her choose to return to her own family? A commotion erupted outside my door. I went out to see. Mom was back. And Jason was following right behind her! Seeing my astonished gaze, Jason actually gave me a challenging smirk. “Sorry, Caleb, I told Auntie Vicky the school dorms aren’t allowing residents right now, so she just let me stay at your place.” Seeing my shocked expression, Mom seemed a little nervous. “After all, you’re classmates; you should look out for each other. Maybe you’ll even go abroad together someday.”

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My brother and I both had high fevers at the same time. My parents gave me the last three fever reducers, and he turned into a slow, unresponsive kid. When he was bullied, he retaliated against his classmates. When he was ignored, he hurt our parents. Reborn, I shoved all the fever reducers into his mouth. The thick stench of blood clung to my nostrils. In the dim living room, two cold bodies lay still. It was my mom and dad! They had been murdered! They lay on the floor, eyes wide open in death, a sight that sent shivers down my spine. But I was pinned down on the bed, held tight. My hands and feet were tied, leaving me completely immobile. A large, grayish-blue hand gripped my throat, making it hard to breathe. A sharp dagger dripped with blood, wet and cold against the pulse point in my neck. “Sis… Sis…” The person on top of me let out a low, pained sound. Stuttering, broken. This person was my younger brother. Ten years ago, he and I both had persistent high fevers, our temperatures soaring past 104°F. Medicine was scarce back then, almost impossible to find on the market. Our family only had three fever reducers left. After much agonizing, my parents decided to give them to me. My thirteen-year-old brother, after that fever, became what everyone called an “idiot.” He became a target for bullying at school and a transparent, ignored presence at home. And that led to this grim outcome… He’d killed Mom and Dad, and now, he was coming for me. Why was he looking so hurt right now? The man’s hand tightened, and I slowly lost my breath, unable to respond. “Sister,” he called me again, slowly. Perhaps from years of not speaking, he could barely form full words anymore. His voice sounded like it was squeezed from his throat, tinged with a manic eeriness. “Everyone who bullied me at school… I killed them all.” He slowly lowered his head, his warm breath ghosting over my face, raising goosebumps all over my skin. Meeting his bloodshot eyes, I painfully squeezed mine shut. “These two people, I killed them too.” He continued to utter chilling words. I knew he was talking about Mom and Dad. Suddenly, the large hand on my neck loosened slightly. He pressed the knife deeper into my skin. A jolt of pain shot through my neck. With every breath, an icy chill pierced me. He had slit my throat.

He gently rubbed his face against mine, whimpering, “I gave you all the fever reducers. Why did you have to get married?” So, he still remembered what happened ten years ago. Because of a high fever, the clever and lively boy he once was became clumsy and blank. He had lost his promising life. I owed him for that. But he shouldn’t… he shouldn’t have… killed so many people, and he definitely shouldn’t have acted like a monster and murdered our parents. I didn’t quite understand the second part of his sentence. After graduating from college, because of his condition, I worried he wouldn’t be able to take care of our parents in the future. So, I chose to stay by Mom and Dad, marry a gentle man, and together, we’d take care of them and him. I had planned out our whole family’s future… I’d met a decent guy through a setup, and we were getting married next week. “Sister, after you die, I’ll kill him and then come join you.” “Don’t worry.” At this moment, he spoke more than usual, no longer like the silent, slow kid he used to be. I knew he was talking about my fiancé. Tears blurred my vision, and I could only shake my head in agony. As my consciousness faded, I could feel him holding me tightly. And his pained whimpers, like a trapped beast. He must be in pain too, right? Unable to control himself? It shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have ended like this. I seemed to see glimpses of our happy family of four from when I was little. If only, back then, I had given him the fever reducers. If only, back then, I had known his classmates were bullying him, and I had helped him. If only, back then, I had shown him more care at home. Would things not have turned out like this? But alas, it was too late. He killed everyone. And I died too.

It hurt. My head hurt. My whole body ached. My eyes refused to open. In a hazy state, I couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality. It felt like I was being cooked in hot water, excruciatingly uncomfortable. A cool hand pressed against my forehead, followed by the cold beep of a device. Then, a woman’s anxious cry: “What are we going to do? Avery’s temperature is already 104°F!” Hurried footsteps echoed in the room. “Leo’s at 104°F too! We can’t buy medicine, and the neighbors don’t have any to lend. This won’t do!” “Let’s go to the hospital!” “It’s on lockdown! How long will it take to get approval? Plus, with the special circumstances, there might not even be beds at the hospital!” “Why do my children have such a hard life…” A familiar male voice declared decisively, “There are only three fever reducers left. Give them to Avery? She can’t be harmed! Otherwise, we’d never forgive ourselves…” These words felt like they came from another lifetime, instantly clearing my hazy mind. Like someone struggling for survival, I burst out of a steaming cauldron. I opened my eyes! Startling the man and woman in the room, who then erupted in joyful surprise. “Oh, my sweet Avery, you’re finally awake! You scared Mom half to death!” Two much younger faces leaned over me, two living, breathing people, bringing tears to my eyes. My hands trembling, I touched my neck. It was perfectly fine! I shot up, ignoring the damp sweat on the bedsheets. Due to the high fever, my voice was hoarse. “What year is it?” Mom and Dad exchanged glances, their worry evident. “Oh no, the fever made her confused.” “It’s 2022. You and Leo are on winter break. Avery, just take the medicine…” I suppressed my pounding heart, snatched the three fever reducers from Mom’s hand, and jumped out of bed, rushing towards Leo’s room.

When I burst through the door, the young boy on the bed had his eyes tightly shut, his face flushed red, muttering in pain, “Dad… Mom… Sister…” I finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. There was still time. It was good, I’d been reborn, and I had a chance to choose again. I tore open the medicine packet and immediately threw myself onto Leo’s bed, forcefully prying open his mouth. I cried, muttering, “This time you eat it, you eat it! Just take it down…” Perhaps my frantic actions scared Mom and Dad, they rushed over to pull me away. “Avery…” But I yelled, “Don’t move!” I turned to them, my eyes blurry with tears, my voice firm. “Give the medicine to my brother.” Just then, my hand was gently licked, and I froze. Looking down, I met a pair of dark, weak eyes. As if crossing a long decade, and countless bloody, cruel moments, they converged into this handsome young boy before me. “Sister.” He called me. My body stiffened. I didn’t know what expression to show. The terrifying scene before my death made it impossible for me to face him calmly. This was the future killer… Could I really change everything? Thinking of Mom and Dad behind me, I gritted my teeth, making up my mind. This life, I absolutely couldn’t let him feel hurt or ignored. I had to make him happy, had to soothe him. I forced a strained smile, popped the medicine into his mouth, and said softly, “Good boy, Leo. Take your medicine, and you’ll feel better soon.” Mom and Dad behind me seemed to hesitate, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, they just sighed and said no more. Leo blinked his dark eyes, then suddenly smiled, innocent and harmless, his voice hoarse, “Mommy said there were only three left. Sister, you take them.” I didn’t care about anything else, tears streaming down, I clumsily kept shoving the medicine into his mouth. “You take it, you take it…” If you don’t take it, we’ll all die ten years from now. He frowned, reaching out to stop me, and forcibly pulled out two pills, weakly offering them to me. His gaze was calm, his voice still holding the clear tone of a young boy: “Then I’ll take one, and Sister will take two.” I couldn’t refuse again. Because his eyes were terrifyingly bright. Just like they were when he cut my throat. Even though, in this year, he was only thirteen. Perhaps the fever reducers really worked. I don’t know how long I slept in a daze, but when I finally opened my eyes, I was startled.

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When my wife went to shower, I accidentally saw a message from her weight-loss nutritionist. [My ‘protein boost’ was all for you today. Come back tomorrow, let me check those curves.] I initially thought “protein boost” was just some diet jargon. But the next second, I saw a photo from the nutritionist that shattered my whole world. 0 Chloe and I had been married for three blissful years. Our relationship was incredibly strong. We met in college and got married right after graduation. I started my business, and she became a full-time homemaker, even giving birth to our sweet, lively son, Leo. Earlier this year, Chloe, who’d never really cared much about her figure, suddenly told me she wanted to lose weight. She was a little under 5’3″ and weighed almost 190 pounds, so she was definitely overweight. But she’d put on that weight to nurture our child, and I never held it against her. Still, if she wanted to lose weight, I was all for it. She found a dedicated weight-loss nutritionist and communicated with him daily about her meals. As their contact grew more frequent, I admit, I felt a knot of unease in my stomach. But for Chloe’s health, I forced myself to swallow it. After all, it was working; she’d already dropped about 20 to 30 pounds. Then came that day. Chloe went into the bathroom to shower, and her phone, lying on the table, suddenly lit up. I glanced over, and a message popped up. It was from her weight-loss nutritionist. [My ‘protein boost’ was all for you today. Come back tomorrow, let me check those curves.] I just thought they were talking about some new diet protein, so I picked up Chloe’s phone to reply for her. But to my horror, the nutritionist sent another photo, a sickening one. My wife, her face flushed and her eyes dazed with pleasure. And standing in front of her was another man! My mind exploded. My heart hammered against my ribs, and a wave of nausea washed over me. “Chloe, get out here!” I yelled. “What’s wrong? I’m showering,” she called back. “Get out here right now! What is this?” Chloe clearly hated my tone, muttering as she stormed out of the bathroom. “Are you just looking for a fight tonight, Liam?” I held up her phone, pointing at the photo. “Explain this. What is going on?” Chloe leaned in, and when she saw the image on the screen, her face drained of all color. “Why are you messing with my phone? It’s just some harassment text. Give it back!” “Harassment text? Is that not *you* in the picture?” I hated that she was still trying to lie to me, trying to gloss over it. “Liam, listen to me.” “Listen to you? How do you plan to explain this? I’m not blind!” 0

Chloe burst into a torrent of sobs. “No, it’s… I got drunk a few days ago, and he took advantage, he… he did something to me… And since then, he’s been sending me photos, threatening me. I had no choice but to go along with it. I didn’t want to, Liam, but he said if I didn’t cooperate, he’d send the photos to you… I didn’t want to lose you… sniffle, sniffle…” My heart was still pounding. My head felt like it would split open. “If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Chloe clung to me, weeping loudly. “I was afraid you’d despise me if you knew. I love you too much, I care about you too much. How could I risk telling you something like that?” But seeing her dissolved in tears and snot, I took several deep breaths, then sighed, feeling tears well up in my own eyes. If Chloe was telling the truth… then she was the victim. After all these years, how could I blame her for being a victim? I offered to go with her to the police. After all, a nutritionist is a profession built on trust, someone clients share very personal details with. If someone like that was allowed to get away with this, more women would surely be harmed. But Chloe adamantly refused. She said if word got out, her reputation would be completely ruined. She absolutely couldn’t bear to let this matter become public. In the end, we both compromised. We reported the unethical nutritionist to the agency he worked for. Chloe also got a refund and left that agency, completely severing ties with him. 0

Even though I had forgiven my wife, I was a man. That photo, that image, haunted me relentlessly. It was constantly there, a bitter taste in my mouth. The seed of suspicion had taken root deep in my heart. I couldn’t help but guess… I knew it was wrong, but I simply couldn’t control myself. Every time my wife answered a call, I unconsciously perked up my ears. If she smiled while chatting on her phone, I immediately felt paranoid, wanting to peek. I knew this was the severe psychological shadow left by what had happened, and it would likely take a very, very long time to overcome. Perhaps it was just my paranoia, but Chloe’s behavior seemed to grow stranger. Our son, Leo, was barely two years old. Usually, two nannies cared for him, with Chloe supervising to make sure they were diligent. But lately, Chloe kept leaving Leo with the nannies and frequently running out. Several times, I came home from work and didn’t see her. She explained that after the last incident, she felt terrible and wanted to make it up to me. So she decided to find a job, earn some money, and buy me a gift as an apology. I was touched. I couldn’t believe my wife, who’d never lifted a finger around the house before, was now working so hard to save our family. Compared to her efforts, my earlier suspicions felt truly pathetic. I had to get rid of this distrustful habit; it wasn’t fair to Chloe. However. Just a few days later, my good friend Jake suddenly texted me: [Bro, is Chloe home right now?] [Why? Do you need my wife for something? Can’t you just tell me?] I asked, curious. Jake took a long time to reply: [I saw a woman outside, and I swear she looked just like Chloe. Bro, maybe you should take a look too?] [Really? Where? Send me a picture. Let’s see how much she looks like her.] Jake quickly sent a slightly blurry photo. It showed a woman passionately kissing a man in front of her. I recognized her instantly. The woman in the photo was none other than my wife, Chloe! The bracelet she wore was the Valentine’s Day gift I’d just given her. The bag on her chair was custom-made by the brand, the only one in the world. My breath hitched, and I nearly blacked out, seeing stars. [Where are you right now? Send me the address.] Jake also realized the seriousness of the situation and didn’t dare delay, immediately sending me the address. It was a coffee shop not far from my house. My legs trembling, I stumbled downstairs. In my state, I couldn’t drive, so I frantically hailed a cab to the destination. 0 My mind was a chaotic mess the whole way there, churning with dread, unsure what I would do or say once I arrived. I never dreamed that Chloe, who told me she was working to save our family, had betrayed me.

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Ten years after my college classmate died, I was dragged into a group chat. The group announcement read: Thirty days from now, welcome back to our alma mater for the class reunion. 1. Please attend with a black rose. 2. Anyone who tries to leave this city will die. 3. Anyone who doesn’t come will die. 4. Anyone who loses their rose will die. Thirty days later would be Rosalie’s tenth death anniversary. **1** I picked up my phone, staring at the cryptic group chat. I figured it was some old classmate’s prank and tried to type a question, only to find that all members were muted. I tapped on the black rose profile picture. “Cannot add user as friend.” I tried to leave the group. “Cannot exit.” What… what kind of tech was this? *Ding-dong.* The doorbell rang. I walked out of my study, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the gate of my mansion. Someone was here, this late? I checked the security feed. At the tall iron gate, a single black rose lay on the ground. “Please attend with a black rose.” The group announcement flashed in my mind. *Beep beep~* A private message popped up. I checked it. It was Marcus Green, that old buddy—he was the only one who still kept in touch with me. He was in the group, too. “Alex, what’s going on with that group?” “Did you get that flower too?” “Is it… is she back for revenge?” He sent a string of frantic voice messages, clearly terrified. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t overthink it. It’s probably just a prank.” I didn’t take it too seriously, casually arranging my collectible tea set. “Just chill. Let’s see how it plays out.” After a moment’s thought, I called my housekeeper to bring the rose inside. My busy life continued. My company had several big deals to close, so I didn’t have time to focus excessively on this. The group remained silent. None of the busy “elites” seemed to take it seriously either. **2** Ten days later, Marcus suddenly called me, his voice trembling with terror. “Alex, this is bad! Really bad! Liam White is dead!” I frowned, trying to pull up his name from my mental Rolodex of contacts. “Liam White? How did he die?” “He was on a business trip to another city. On his way to the airport, he was hit head-on by a huge truck and died instantly. They say… his head was severed on impact, flying dozens of feet.” This was the first one. Someone who died for trying to leave the city. “Anyone who tries to leave this city will die.” Maybe it was a coincidence. I tried to reassure Marcus, and myself. I opened the group chat. One person was missing—the count went from 21 to 20. Liam White was gone. **3** The next week showed me this wasn’t just a coincidence. Two more people died in the group. A female classmate, Sarah Miller, whose father was critically ill back home and wanted to see her one last time. She definitely had to go back. But as she was heading to the elevator with her suitcase, the elevator malfunctioned and plunged 28 floors. She died instantly. Another male classmate, Kevin Baker, whose mischievous daughter played with the black rose and then presumably lost it. He was electrocuted in the shower at home. The group count dropped from 21 to 18. My irritation flared. I drove back to my mansion, placed the black rose in a safe, and told my secretary to cancel all my business trips. **4** Marcus came over to my place. He was terrified. He wanted to stay with me for the next two weeks, and I didn’t refuse. “Alex! Wow! I knew you were doing well, but I had no idea you were *this* successful!” He parked his car on my private driveway and gaped in amazement. I humbly replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. Everyone’s doing great.” It was true. Everyone pulled into that group chat was now a successful professional in their respective fields. That evening, we drank red wine and talked about old times. “Alex, maybe we should call the police?” Marcus’s dark eyes stared at me intently. I pondered for a moment, then shook my head. “No. If we call the police, they’ll reopen the investigation into what happened ten years ago.” Marcus took a sip of wine and chuckled. “Right. It would be a hassle, especially since Rosalie’s death is linked to all of us…” “Shut up!” I snapped, completely unlike my usual nice-guy persona, cutting him off. Rosalie. She was our classmate who died ten years ago. She was a girl as bright and beautiful as a rose. **5** For the next few days, no one else disappeared from the group, meaning no one else died. Every time I came back to the mansion after work, I saw Marcus on the phone, seemingly contacting the others in the group. Well, he was always a social butterfly back in college. The next day, I saw a petite figure in my mansion—my ex-girlfriend, Valerie Reed. She was in the group too. But we hadn’t had any contact since graduating college. “Alex, Marcus called me. I saw the group, and people dying, I was so scared… Don’t get the wrong idea.” She looked at me with that pitiable expression, a look both familiar and strange. My mansion had plenty of rooms, and having one more person for a few days was no big deal. I shrugged indifferently. Soon, it was time for the reunion at our alma mater. But before we left, my safe was gone—the safe containing the black rose. **6** We had to leave soon, there was no time to check the security footage. I looked at Marcus’s fawning face and Valerie’s gentle smile, a chill running through me. Someone was setting me up. They wanted me dead. **截断点** “Alex, what’s wrong?” Seeing my grim face, Marcus asked with concern. I glared at them both. “My rose is gone. The one in the safe.” “What? Oh no, what are we going to do?” Valerie also sounded agitated. I gritted my teeth. “Let’s just go.” Going would mean death, but so would not going. Might as well go and find out what was going on. The three of us walked towards the parking area. Suddenly, a massive shadow plunged down… “Ah!” Marcus, who was walking behind us, let out a short, sharp cry of pain, then fell silent. The scent of blood filled the air. I turned my head. A thick lamppost had fallen, landing squarely on Marcus. His head was crushed. He died instantly… The mansion’s security quickly ran over, calling the police. I staggered back two steps. It should have been me who died. “Alex, you should thank me. Last night, Marcus stole your safe. Luckily, I found out in advance and swapped his rose into your safe. So, what he threw into the furnace to burn was his own flower.” Valerie smiled, as if seeking praise, her eyes curving sweetly. She casually pulled two flowers from her large bag and handed one to me. **7** There were 17 people left in the group, including the group admin. Valerie and I returned to our alma mater. It was summer break, so the school was empty. Strangely, the main gate was open, and there were no security guards. Having witnessed Marcus’s death, my mood was heavy. “Those four people who died, they all did something terrible to Rosalie, didn’t they? Alex, who do you think is next?” Valerie asked softly, sending a shiver down my arm. This was a revenge plot. Today was Rosalie’s death anniversary. When we arrived at the classroom, it was already full of people. Marcus’s death had delayed us a bit. Dozens of eyes stared at us from the doorway, filled with fear, exhaustion, surprise, or indifference. *Beep beep beep…* Countless phones suddenly chimed. The black rose profile picture appeared. A group message. “Welcome, 16 classmates, to this year’s class reunion, on time.” “Next, let’s play a game of Truth or Dare.” “Each student must confess a wicked deed they committed against Rosalie during college, and others will vote by raising their hands. The person with the least severe offense will die.” 1. Do not lie. 2. Do not attempt to leave. 3. Do not disrupt the game. This was terrifying! We had to tell the truth, confess our gravest sins, and then be judged by others! The person at the bottom, the one whose mistake was deemed the least severe, would pay with their life! Who among us wasn’t someone important, someone with a reputation?! Now, everyone would be forced to confess their absolute worst sins… This was a test of human nature. Who exactly was behind this black rose profile picture? **8** “I’m not playing! I’m not playing! I’m going home!” A skinny guy, Mitch Evans, suddenly stood up and ran wildly out of the classroom. As soon as he ran out the door, a tortured shriek echoed. His throat seemed to be clutched by something unseen. We rushed to the doorway to look. He was writhing, kneeling in the hallway, his hands desperately clutching his own throat, eyes bulging. He actually strangled himself to death! “Ah!” The more timid female classmates screamed. Valerie clung to my arm, trembling all over. Now, no one dared to leave. There were 16 people left in the group. **9** “Are we just going to leave Mitch there?” Back in the classroom, a man with thick brows, Julian North, questioned us unhappily.

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I dated my university girlfriend for four years. It wasn’t until graduation day, the day we broke up, that we finally had our first time. In the throes of our passion, I couldn’t hold back my bitter words. “What is this, Scarlett? Is this your pitiful compensation for four years of my life?” Her eyes welled up with tears, and she shook her head frantically. “You’ll marry me, won’t you?” The next day, I was just about to leave with a ring and flowers. But the police came and took me in. In the interrogation room: “Alright, tell us. What was your motive for killing your girlfriend?” I froze, tears instantly streaming down my face. I stared at them in disbelief. “You suspect *me* of murder?” “I was the one who loved her most in this world, I would have given my life for her! And you suspect me?” “Look at these flowers and this ring I’m holding! I was going to propose to her today! How could I possibly kill her?” The more I spoke, the more agitated I became, my interrogation chair shaking as if it would fall apart at any moment. “What are you yelling about? Do you think we’d arrest you without evidence?” With that, Captain Miller slammed a stack of evidence onto the table in front of me. “1. Your girlfriend died in the hotel room you booked. It was a perfect locked-room mystery. No one else entered or exited that room except the two of you.” “2. Your DNA was found inside your girlfriend, your skin tissue under her fingernails, and your fingerprints covered her body.” “3. Her body was covered in bruises and injuries.” “4. Her cause of death was asphyxiation. The towel, used as the murder weapon, was found nearby. It only had your fingerprints and the victim’s DNA.” “If you’re not the killer, how do you explain all of this?” “You did such a brutal thing to her, yet you claim to deeply love her? You’re a monster!” Captain Miller lost his composure too, pounding the table and shouting at me. “I didn’t! I didn’t!” Under his aggressive interrogation, my mind was on the verge of collapsing. “Then why was your phone off the whole time? It only turned back on right before we caught you?” “My phone battery died. I only realized it when I woke up this morning…” My body suddenly stiffened. Holding those files in my hands, as a crime scene investigator myself, I started trembling. Isn’t this a perfect, closed chain of evidence? With all this undeniable evidence stacked against me. I was the one who killed my girlfriend!

But I wasn’t the killer! I had left the hotel much earlier that day. After that, I never went back. Who knows what could have happened during that long period? Today, Scarlett and I had planned for me to go to her stepfather’s house to announce our relationship. And to propose to her right then and there. I left the hotel to first tell my parents about our relationship. Then, I planned to prepare everything for going to her house today. But instead, she died in the hotel. I was filled with regret. If only I hadn’t left that day. Perhaps this tragedy wouldn’t have happened. Scarlett was dead, and I was in agony. But I had to put my grief aside for now. The police had already prejudged me as the killer. If I sank into my sorrow right now… If I couldn’t defend myself. Then I would become the scapegoat for her murder. And the real killer would walk free! So, I forced myself to suppress my pain, reading through the information on the files, word by painful word. According to the crime scene report: Scarlett’s time of death was between 5 PM and 7 PM yesterday, and the location was the apartment-style hotel where she and I had checked in. The police investigated the hotel’s front desk records and the hallway surveillance footage. From 4:30 PM, when we entered the room together, until 5:30 PM, when I left the room alone. No one else had entered or exited the room during that time. It wasn’t until 5 AM today, when Scarlett’s stepfather, seeing she hadn’t returned all night, showed up. He found the hotel, inquired at the front desk, and, accompanied by the front desk attendant, went to the room. He found the door unlocked, and after calling out with no reply, he entered the room. That’s when he discovered my girlfriend, completely naked, dead on the bed in a strange, contorted position. Based on the crime scene investigation and the autopsy report, the police quickly reached a conclusion. Scarlett died from mechanical asphyxiation. She had been sexually assaulted before her death. The fresh bruises on her body were clearly not from a normal lovers’ encounter. Moreover, her body was in a peculiar position, her limbs bound. … Seeing this, My heart skipped a beat. Because the information described in the report. It perfectly matched what Scarlett and I had done that day. But when I left, I had clearly untied her. If no one entered or exited the room afterward, then who bound her again?

I quickly flipped through the crime scene investigation report. I only remembered there was a window in the room, but Scarlett had drawn the curtains as soon as we entered. I was too nervous throughout the whole process. So I hadn’t paid any attention to what the window looked like. Now, looking at the crime scene photos, the window was entirely covered with security bars. Though there was an escape hatch in the bars, it was firmly sealed with a rusted-shut lock. The room had a window-mounted AC unit, so there were no ventilation shafts either. That meant, to enter or exit this room, assuming no forced entry, the only way was through the main door. But a camera was positioned just down the hallway, directly facing my room. After reviewing the camera footage, the police concluded that no one had entered or exited. All of this was far too bizarre. Two words suddenly jumped out at me: Locked-room! A perfect locked-room mystery. Unlike the plots in other crime novels… This locked-room case pointed all the evidence directly at me. I looked up at Captain Miller and the others. “Captain Miller, don’t you think this is highly unusual? If I were really the killer, why would I leave so many clues?” Captain Miller had regained his calm. “You think there’s a problem? Perhaps it was just a crime of passion? You mentioned earlier that it was your first time together.” “But our autopsy found that your girlfriend was not a virgin. You dated for four years, and she always presented herself as pure and untouched before you, yet she wasn’t. So, in a moment of twisted rage, you brutally murdered her.” “But it was your first time killing, and in your panic, you didn’t think to cover your tracks, fleeing the scene in a hurry.” I was speechless for a moment. “Captain Miller, according to your theory, I fled in panic, so why did I just wait at home for you to come and arrest me?” “I’m a crime fiction expert. If I really killed her, I would have committed a perfect crime, not this shoddy, amateurish job, riddled with holes.” “And besides, I already knew my girlfriend wasn’t a virgin. What kind of era is this? Do I really care about that anymore?” “Moreover, you’re prejudging me as the killer based solely on crime scene photos and my girlfriend’s autopsy! Do you even know what truly happened that day?”

My emotions flared up again. But this time, Captain Miller didn’t interrupt me. Instead, he watched me carefully, seeming genuinely ready to listen. I decided to continue. I even took a moment to steady myself, knowing that when emotions run high, it’s easy to say the wrong thing. That day, Scarlett and I had arranged to go back to the university to pick up our diplomas. For a long-awaited reunion, and to put a definitive end to our four-year relationship. After all, from the moment we started dating, our relationship was different from ordinary couples. What she showed me was more a dependence on an older brother figure. Or, to put it more bluntly, she was seeking the comfort of a father’s love from me. In high school, I was obsessed with writing crime fiction and neglected my studies. I failed to get into university for five consecutive years. In the sixth year, my dad smashed my computer and tablet, burned my manuscripts. He swore that if I didn’t get into university this time, he’d send me to a mental hospital. It was only then, after a year of hellish cramming, that I finally got into this average university. So, compared to Scarlett and her peers, being five years older, I was much more mature than them. The first time I saw Scarlett, a sense of familiarity washed over me. My usually calm heart skipped a beat for her. We were drawn to each other and quickly became a couple. Our bond was something sacred, a mix of profound love, a sibling-like connection, and a deep, almost paternal affection. How could such a bond be fixated on mere physical pleasure? We cared more about a high level of spiritual compatibility. But what would happen to our relationship once we left the campus? Society would ultimately define relationships between men and women by those physical acts. How could our sacred and pure bond be defiled by such things? After discussing it many times, we decided that on the day we picked up our diplomas: we would break up. After getting our diplomas, we walked out of school, holding hands one last time. I was waiting for her to say goodbye. Because those two words, coming from me, would hurt her too much. It wasn’t until we walked out of school that she turned around, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at me steadily. I took a deep breath, waiting for her to deliver the final verdict. But, to my surprise, what she said was… “Jax, could you… could you take me? Just once?” “You were enraged that she defiled your sacred bond, so you killed her afterward, didn’t you?” Captain Miller suddenly interrupted me, a look of insight on his face.

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When I got my second chance at life, the first thing I did was scatter my husband’s ashes. In my last life, he faked his death, leaving his ‘orphan’—his younger brother’s son—in my care. He told me to treat his family, a supposedly widowed sister-in-law and her nephew, well. I worried my daughter, Lily, wasn’t sharp enough to make her own way, and I thought maybe the nephew could look out for her if she couldn’t find a partner. So, I agreed to his dying wish. For Kyle, I gave up the secure job I’d worked hard and paid so much to get, and I emptied out our family savings to help Kyle and his wife settle in the city. Years passed. They rose through the ranks to become high-ranking officials. I took Lily, hoping they’d give her a stable job. But Dean, my supposedly dead husband, appeared at their office. He ordered Kyle to kick my daughter to the ground. “I thought you’d changed,” he sneered. “That you weren’t the desperate village woman who clung to me for a chance to move to the city anymore. But no, you’re still the same, trying to scheme for that worthless dead weight!” He instantly had us thrown out. To keep up his good name, he even forced Lily into a remote, abusive marriage as a second wife to Old Man Riley, deep in the mountains. I was so enraged, my old illness flared up, and I collapsed and died right there on the street. When I opened my eyes again, I was back—the day Dean faked his death.

“Oh, Dean, what are Lily and I going to do without you?” I dragged Lily, and we scattered all the ashes into the river. I turned to see Melody, teeth clenched, panting with barely controlled fury. She’d been waiting at the hospital for ages, expecting me to take the ashes to a proper burial site. She never thought I’d just come straight to the river, not even letting her see Dean one last time. “Big Brother Dean died because of you! How could you just throw his ashes into the river like that?!” Those were her *ex-husband’s* ashes! Melody had dug them up just to trick me, wanting me to re-bury them. But I’d just tossed them away, and she was livid. Still, she managed to rein in her anger and dragged out her son, Kyle. “Big Brother Dean always said you were such a good wife, but you’d do something like this, throwing his ashes away? How can I possibly trust you with my child?!” Dean hadn’t been able to entrust Kyle to me, so she had to step up herself. She pulled out a will from her pocket and tried to shove it into my hand. I immediately slapped it away. “I can’t read. And Dean never mentioned having any kids while he was alive. Don’t try to play your dirty tricks on me.” I turned to leave, but Melody panicked. She lunged, grabbing a fistful of my hair. “I’m Big Brother Dean’s sister-in-law! And Kyle is the only male heir to the family name! How dare you refuse to care for him? Get out of Big Brother Dean’s house, now!” “Who are you telling to get out? Say that again, I dare you!” Without another word, I rolled up my sleeves, ready to settle all the scores from my past life. But Leo, the man who’d brought Melody to find me, stepped in front of me. “No one jokes about a dead man, Jade,” he said. “Melody really is Dean’s distant sister-in-law. Everyone at the hospital and the factory knows it. Dean didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to be burdened.” Leo had saved my life once. In my last life, I listened to his every suggestion, raising Kyle by hand until he was an adult. But I never knew he and Dean had been deceiving me for twenty-eight years! “Distant sister-in-law or not, I’m not raising anyone!” I yelled. “I’m a widow just trying to keep my daughter fed, waiting for a job assignment from the county. I don’t have time to babysit some dead man’s dead weight!” Melody’s face went scarlet. “Who are you calling dead weight? I’m a city girl from a sophisticated background! How dare you call me dead weight?!” Just as we were about to start fighting again, Leo pointed a finger at me, scolding, “Jade! You and Dean were married! No matter how tough things are, you can’t let his sister-in-law suffer!” He dragged me to the river, making me look at the ashes I’d just scattered. “Factory Manager Dean always cherished you above all else,” he said, his voice softening. “He’d worked so hard to get those special holiday dessert tickets, but he didn’t keep a single one for himself, making sure you and Lily had all the treats. And every month, he handed over every penny of his hundred-dollar salary the moment he got it. Now that Dean is gone, it’s only right that you look after his sister-in-law.” Leo gently patted my shoulder, speaking earnestly. “I know you adore Lily, but no matter how well you treat her, she’s still a girl. She’ll marry into another family one day. Melody has brought a boy, a son, into your life. If you take good care of him, you’ll honor Dean’s memory and ensure you have someone to rely on in your old age.” Suddenly, a dull thud came from behind me. I spun around to see Kyle squeezing Lily’s throat, his hands wrapped tightly around her neck. “You worthless dead weight! You money pit!” “While you and your mom were hauling sewage on a barge, my mommy, daddy, and I were eating mooncakes on a pleasure cruise! Do you even know what a mooncake is, you pathetic bumpkin who’s never even seen a movie!” I’d worked on boats for years, always slow to hear news from the county. If Leo hadn’t let it slip, I would have spent my whole life never knowing the truth. Dean had told me the factory was struggling, but for years, he’d actually been the factory manager, earning ten of the largest bills every single month. Ten of the largest bills. That money could have kept Lily from going to bed hungry. It could have saved me from wearing rags on the boat, freezing to death in the damp wind. All these years, through two lifetimes, he never told me the truth. Thinking of those days of meticulously budgeting every five dollars, I delivered a stinging slap across Melody’s face.

“Kyle is your and my husband’s bastard, isn’t he?! You shameless homewrecker, you stole my husband’s money and then you have the nerve to ask me to raise your child?! You’ve got some nerve!” I swore I would rip their smug faces apart, but Leo stopped me again. “Jade, Jade, calm down.” I wouldn’t listen. “Give me back my money! That’s my money, and my daughter’s money!” “Dean ate my food, drank my water. I even had to borrow money to buy him underwear fabric! How dare he give all his money to Melody?!” “When my daughter was burning with fever and turned stupid because I couldn’t afford her medicine, that vixen was probably cozying up in the same bed with Dean, you heartless monster! Why didn’t you just die with him?!” The grievances of two lifetimes finally erupted in that single scream. I couldn’t help but sob, expecting Leo to help me get my revenge. Instead, he raised his hand and slapped me twice. “Try cursing Melody again, I dare you!” he spat. “To say such filthy things over a bit of money—how could Factory Manager Dean have married such a selfish lunatic like you?!” Leo’s disgusted tone shocked me. He and I had worked on boats together. Since I was fifteen, he had been my most respected mentor. What was Melody to him? How dare Leo, like Dean, treat me this way for some stranger?! Leo’s face showed no hint of remorse. He turned, picked up Kyle, and placed him in the three-wheeled cart. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. Dean was my good brother. If this ungrateful wretch Jade won’t help, I’ll look after you for Factory Manager Dean!” Melody smiled and thanked him. Leo helped her into the cart. Before leaving, he tossed a bundle of miscellaneous vouchers and ration coupons down the embankment. “If you won’t even help a dead man, don’t ever call me master again! I don’t have a cold-blooded apprentice like you!” He had thrown away the money and vouchers I’d given him to help me find a job. The official job placement letter he’d secured for me was tucked into Melody’s pocket. He looked at her with doting eyes. “This is the best factory in our county. Dean and I used to work there. If you need anything, everyone will be happy to help.” His words struck me. I suddenly realized that everyone knew. The doctors at the health clinic, the workers at Dean’s old factory—they all knew. They knew Dean was cheating, they knew his death was suspicious, yet they turned a blind eye. Not one of them told me the truth. And here I was, foolishly crying over his death, willing to sell my own blood, just to protect his belongings. Kyle, whom I had raised by hand in my previous life, sat in the cart, laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach as he watched Lily chase after the scattering vouchers, stumbling down the hillside. Melody’s face beamed with triumph. “Trash is trash, no matter how hard they try to climb. You and your daughter, you’ll always be beneath us.” I picked up stones and hurled them at the three-wheeled cart, screaming, “Dean’s crappy factory won’t last! Your worthless son will never amount to anything!” “Melody, just you wait! You and those two monsters from the family—none of you will have a good ending!” “One day, I’ll make you beg me, on your knees, to pick up every single one of those vouchers you threw away today!” I cried, hugging Lily tightly, watching yet another one of my closest friends abandon me. My heart was ripped to shreds. Lily wiped the fresh scrapes on her knees and carefully handed me each retrieved voucher. “I’m here, Mama. Don’t be scared. I’ll never leave you.” Her bright eyes reflected all my cowardice. I held my daughter close, vowing that this would be my last hysterical cry before I succeeded.

After sending Lily to the county boarding school, I brought out all of Dean’s clothes, pants, and the mahogany furniture he’d custom-made. “Half-new, plus a sturdy vintage bicycle! Come take a look!” People were drawn in, but before they could ask too many questions, Leo shouted at them. As the new factory manager, he was trying to make a show of support for Melody, inviting everyone to the most expensive restaurant in the county. “What are you doing here? These are Dean’s things! How dare you drag them out into the street to sell?!” Leo frowned, rummaging through my makeshift stall. He stopped cold when he saw a Hero fountain pen. “You’re selling this pen? Don’t you remember it was a gift Dean gave you on his first day assigned to the countryside?” I stared at the crowd pressing around my stall. For some reason, the bum at the back of the line looked suspiciously like Dean, who was supposedly dead. Was he following Melody to the factory, even in his fake death, just to protect her from potential trouble? I scoffed internally. What a devoted husband. “To put food on the table, I even sent Lily away. What’s so precious about a dead man’s belongings that I can’t sell them?” Many county leaders were nearby. If I blurted out that Dean was having an affair with Melody, she could easily accuse me of slander. I had more important things to do. Lying about selling my daughter would also make them less likely to target Lily. “Dean just died, and you’re already rushing to sell your daughter and his things? Even a brothel madam wouldn’t be as heartless as you!” The bum at the back of the line scoffed, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, making everyone around him start to murmur. “Who acts like this as a wife? Factory Manager Dean just died, and she’s already rushing to divide the property. Does she think she won’t live to see tomorrow?” “The new factory manager said she’s just jealous of her husband and his sister-in-law, that’s why she’s doing this to be spiteful. Such a rotten heart, no wonder she could only give birth to a worthless dead weight.” Leo cleared his throat, waiting for the crowd to quiet down. “You can sell them, but you have to give half the money to Melody.” “She came all the way from the city. Dean is gone, so she’s rightfully entitled to half of the things in his house.” “Exactly,” the bum at the back of the line said. “Anyway, you can’t have any more children, so why don’t you just give all the money to Melody? Let her raise her son properly. Maybe he can even become a top scholar for the family name.” I sneered, picking up a teapot and smashing it on the ground. The crowd gasped. I then picked up the fountain pen and threw that down too. “Don’t you all think I’m disloyal for selling my dead husband’s belongings? Fine then! I’ll just smash it all and burn it for Dean, so he’ll remember how good I was to him down there!” The boisterous crowd instantly fell silent. Melody, having enjoyed the show, came out smiling to smooth things over. “Sister-in-law still hasn’t gotten her job assigned, and Big Brother Dean is gone. She finally had a daughter, but even Lily has been sent away.” “She’s tormented herself into looking like an eighty-year-old just to put food on the table. How could I possibly ask her for money?” She placed her almost-empty jar of vanishing cream in my hand, her fair, soft fingers pulling out a brand new, crisp hundred-dollar bill. “I’m sorry, sister-in-law, I don’t have anything smaller.” “Please, help me clean the pen and figure out how much change you owe me.” I heard the bum behind me let out a mocking chuckle. Without a word, I handed her the pen and the bill. Melody, not getting the reaction she wanted, looked disappointed and walked away with Leo. The bum, who had been dogging their every step earlier, stayed behind. He picked up the suit jacket with red embroidery and examined it closely. “You recognized me, didn’t you? How did you know I wasn’t dead?” He pulled down his scarf and, without waiting for my answer, continued, “While the things haven’t been sold yet, take Melody and Kyle home and treat them well. When I’m done with my business and come back, I might even be magnanimous enough to pay you a nanny fee.” “But if you keep being this stingy, haggling over every penny, then your husband will truly be dead. No matter what happens to you and Lily, I won’t come back to look at either of you again!” I snatched a needle from my sewing kit on the table and jabbed it into his palm. Grabbing his arm, I burst out laughing. “You’d better be dead, Dean! Otherwise, I’ll make Melody pay back every single cent of the money you gave her for five years!”

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My fiancé was trapped by hundreds of venomous snakes in the exhibition center. A massive python was coiling around him, tightening its grip with each turn. Its slick scales rubbed against his skin as it constricted, causing his veins to bulge and his breathing to become labored. Several starving king cobras had even brazenly slithered up his legs, attempting to crawl into his waistband. His brother Samuel, red-eyed, pleaded with me: “Rachel, you know better than anyone how dangerous these snakes are! You’re the only one who can control them now. Please, go save him!” My best friend Claire, her eyes also red with panic, cried out: “Rach! Those vipers are deadly! Lucas is your fiancé! For the sake of your future happiness, please go rescue him!” I casually opened a bag of chips and a can of soda, watching my fiancé’s struggle with a cold smirk: “No need to get your panties in a twist. Sit back and enjoy the show.” 1 My words exploded like a bombshell among the crowd. “Is that Rachel woman insane? She’s just standing there doing nothing! Two lives are at stake!” “Now I understand why they say women who handle snakes are heartless! She’s not even human!” “What the hell! Lucas must have been blind to fall for such a vicious woman!” Samuel immediately knelt before me, his eyes brimming with tears: “Rachel! I’m begging you! I’ll kowtow to you! Last year, Lucas almost fell off a cliff while collecting snake venom for you. He even gave up an arranged marriage for you. How can you treat him like this?” I stepped aside, letting him fall flat on his face. “Save your groveling. My family’s ancestors would roll in their graves if I accepted that.” Seeing that I wouldn’t budge, my best friend Claire put on a righteous expression: “Sis! If you won’t do it, I will!” “Even if it costs me my life, I won’t let Lucas be in such danger!” With that, she took a deep breath, pulled out a bamboo flute, and started playing as she walked towards the mass of snakes. Surprisingly, the agitated snakes seemed to calm down under her music. Even the python wrapped around Lucas loosened its grip slightly. [Way to go! Now that’s a true heroine! That Rachel doesn’t even deserve to shine her shoes!] [Now this is a damsel saving her knight in shining armor! I’m falling for her already!] Claire couldn’t help but let a smug smile creep onto her face. But in the next second, a king cobra suddenly reared up, letting out an angry, piercing hiss! As if on cue, the entire mass of snakes erupted into chaos again. Countless serpents frantically slammed against the glass enclosures. The glass was instantly covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering completely and unleashing the snakes onto the crowd! “Ahh—!” People scrambled backwards in panic. “W-what’s happening? Why did the snakes go berserk again? Was the music wrong?” Seeing the king cobra lunging towards her, Claire no longer cared about Lucas. She crawled away from the center of the exhibition, tumbling to a stop at my feet like a dead dog. I set down my soda can and nudged her arm with the tip of my shoe, sneering: “Amateur hour’s over. Stop embarrassing yourself.” Claire’s face instantly turned the color of a ripe tomato. Samuel rushed to help Claire up, then turned to berate me in front of the crowd: “Everyone, look! This is the heiress of the Zhou family animal sanctuary!” “Not only does she refuse to save a life, but she’s also mocking her best friend who tried to help!” “She’s deliberately stalling, wanting Lucas to die! She even wants to let the snakes loose and kill everyone here!” His words ignited the crowd’s fury. [You beast! She’s a psychopath! She won’t save him herself and won’t let others save him either. She wants to drag everyone down with her!] [Someone call the police and arrest her! This is attempted murder!] [Mr. Lucas, you can’t marry a woman like that! I feel dirty just looking at her!] Facing the crowd’s condemnation, I didn’t even bat an eye. I just smirked coldly at Claire on the ground. “You want me to step in and save him? Fine.” “Just kneel down, kowtow to me three times, then slap yourself and shout ‘I’m an ungrateful wretch’ three times.” “Then I’ll go save your dear Lucas.” 2 As soon as I said this, everyone looked at me like I was insane. [Is she crazy?! What kind of demand is that?] [A man’s life is at stake, and she’s making her best friend kneel and kowtow? What kind of grudge is this?] [God, how could Lucas fall in love with such a heartless demon! It’s terrifying!] Samuel was stunned for a moment, then shouted with even more indignation: “Rachel! You’ve gone too far! Claire risked her life to save your husband, and she’s even pregnant! How can you treat her like this? Have you no conscience?” I just smirked and settled back into my lounge chair, opening another bag of chips. “The solution’s right here. Take it or leave it.” Claire glanced at Lucas, who was once again surrounded by the snakes. “Claire, save me!” Lucas cried out, his eyes filled with tears. Finally, she gritted her teeth and put on a long-suffering expression. With a loud thud, her knees hit the tile floor in front of me. Then she bent down, slamming her forehead against the ground. “Thud!” “Thud!” “Thud!” Three loud, heavy kowtows left a purple bruise on her forehead. She then raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face. “Slap!” “I’m an ungrateful wretch! I’ve betrayed Rachel! I don’t deserve her kindness!” “I’m an ungrateful wretch!” “Slap!” “Slap!” Each slap was crisp and loud, filled with humiliation. I watched her swollen cheeks with glee, bending down to pat her face as I laughed so hard tears nearly came to my eyes. “That’s a good girl. See how easy that was?” “If you’d been this obedient from the start, none of this would have happened.” My laughter stung the onlookers, who were furious: [Devil! She’s nothing but a devil!] [I’ve never seen such a vicious woman in my life! Someone record this and post it online! Let everyone see her true colors!] [Mr. Lucas! Listen to us! This woman will ruin you!] But I seemed not to hear their curses. I stood up lazily, stretching and even adjusting my collar. Only then did I put my fingers to my lips and let out a sharp whistle from deep in my throat. “Shhhh—” Instantly, all the frenzied venomous snakes froze in place. A second later, they all turned around, retreating like the tide. In just a few seconds, they cleared a path straight to Lucas. Everyone was stunned speechless by this scene, their mouths hanging open. However, I didn’t even glance at Lucas. I just walked up to Claire, who was still kneeling, and kicked her arm. She stumbled and fell to the ground. Looking down at her, I smirked: “What are you waiting for? Your dear Lucas is scared stiff. Go help him up.” 3 A flash of humiliation crossed Claire’s eyes. Samuel quickly ran over to help her up, glaring at me: “Claire, let’s go! Don’t bother with this narrow-minded bitch! She’s not fit to shine your shoes!” The audience also reacted: [Holy shit! So she could control them all along! She deliberately didn’t step in just to watch her friend kneel and kowtow! ] [That’s disgusting! She had the ability but didn’t use it earlier when lives were at stake. Instead, she used this opportunity to humiliate her own friend! Her heart must be made of stone!] [This kind of woman deserves to be struck by lightning! She’ll meet a bad end!] Claire and Samuel walked into the center of the exhibition hall, humiliated. They supported Lucas on either side and led him out of the venue. Lucas slumped weakly into a chair backstage, his whole body still trembling. Concerned onlookers immediately crowded around, offering water and tissues: [Mr. Lucas, are you alright? Don’t be afraid, we’re all here for you!] [Don’t take it to heart. Marrying a woman like that would ruin your life! You deserve better!] [That’s right! Break up with her immediately! We can all testify today that she’s a complete scumbag!] Lucas shook his head at the crowd, his voice weak but with a hint of magnetism: “Thank you, everyone. Really, thank you all.” “Please don’t blame her. Rachel, she’s… she’s not usually like this…” “She must not be feeling well today, or maybe she was upset seeing Claire rush in, feeling like she lost face…” “She didn’t mean it. She still cares about me deep down.” His “turning the other cheek” attitude further ignited everyone’s anger and sympathy: [Look at that! What a good man!] [Even at a time like this, he’s still defending that vicious woman! Sir, you’re too kind! You’re wasting your love on her!] “It’s not like that, Rachel usually…” Lucas hadn’t finished speaking when Claire beside him let out a sharp scream, her face contorted in pain. Everyone followed his gaze. Large patches of blood were seeping through Claire’s white dress! “My stomach, my baby… my baby…” She went limp, sliding off the chair. The scene instantly descended into chaos. [Oh my God! She’s bleeding! Call an ambulance! It might be too late if we wait!] [She risked her life to save someone while pregnant! If she loses the baby, it’s all that vicious Rachel’s fault!] People scrambled to comfort Claire while Samuel immediately pulled out his phone to call 91

I stood outside the chaos, watching everything unfold with cold eyes. I pulled out the unfinished bag of chips from my pocket and emotionlessly ate another one. As if the woman suffering wasn’t my best friend. Paramedics loaded Claire onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. Samuel immediately started a livestream. The camera focused relentlessly on Claire’s pale face and the blood on her dress. “Everyone, do you see this? Claire might be having a miscarriage!” “It’s all because of that beast Rachel! She deliberately refused to save her own fiancé, forcing Claire to step in. She scared Claire and her baby!” “She’s trying to kill her fiancé and her best friend’s child!” Samuel followed all the way to the hospital, raising his phone in the ward with bloodshot eyes, shoving a miscarriage report in front of the camera. “It’s gone, the baby’s gone…” “The doctor said it was a miscarriage caused by extreme shock to the mother. We got here too late, couldn’t save it…” “Rachel! You don’t deserve to be human!” In an instant, the hashtag #SnakeParkHeiressHeartlesslyCausesFriend’sMiscarriage rocketed to the top trending topic. The entire internet was condemning me. [Scum! Trash! She should be put down!] [Even tigers don’t eat their cubs! This woman is worse than an animal!] [Boycott the Zhou family animal sanctuary! The animals raised by someone like her must be evil too!] [Poor Ms. Claire, poor baby. May there be no pain in heaven, and no such inhuman women either!] [I’m reporting her by name. Relevant authorities must thoroughly investigate! We can’t let such a dangerous person remain in society!] Faced with the torrent of abuse on the screen, I just brushed some chip crumbs off my hands. Then I looked at the camera with a cold smile. “Miscarriage? That’s getting off lightly.” 4 [What the fuck! Did I hear that right? Did she just say she should have killed her best friend and the baby? Is this something a human being can say?] [Viper’s heart! I can’t find words to describe this demon anymore!] [Why doesn’t she just die? This scum living in the world is an insult to all normal people!] [Ban her! Don’t let her appear in public ever again!] Samuel was clearly both shocked and delighted by my self-destructive response. He immediately seized the opportunity, pounding his chest and stomping his feet at the camera: “Everyone, did you hear that? This is her true feelings!” “She doesn’t care at all about Claire and Lucas’s lives! She just wants them dead!” He started frantically tagging various internet celebrities and influencers online, calling for them to come to the hospital. “I call on all righteous friends to come! Use your influence to speak up for poor Claire and the innocent Mr. Lucas!” “We must unite and absolutely cannot let this vicious woman go unpunished!” “What happened to her best friend today could happen to any of us tomorrow!” Soon, a group of influencers wielding selfie sticks rushed to the hospital. They surrounded Claire lying in the hospital bed, with Samuel and Lucas on either side, crying to the camera about my crimes. Lucas held Claire’s hand with a grief-stricken face: “Claire is too kind-hearted. When she rushed in, she was only thinking about saving me, not considering herself or the baby at all…” Samuel had a look of grief and indignation, his fists clenched tight: “My poor sister! She gave her whole heart, but was used by that vicious Rachel, losing her child. I, Samuel, have failed her!” “I truly regret it! I never should have helped Rachel set her up with Lucas!” “If it weren’t for me, Lucas wouldn’t have met a snake-hearted woman like Rachel! Now poor innocent Claire has been dragged into it too!” He finished speaking with tears in his eyes, garnering a wave of sympathy: [Samuel, this isn’t your fault! You’ve been speaking up the whole time! It was that vicious Rachel who stood by and watched!] [That’s right, you just misjudged her character! That witch Rachel was too good at disguising herself. You’re all victims!] “No, it’s all my fault. I failed to protect them. When Lucas was surrounded by snakes and Claire, a frail woman, rushed in, how scared must she have been?” This true brother squeezed out a tear in anguish, while I pushed open the door and walked in. Whoosh—! All the influencers immediately turned their cameras, shoving lenses and microphones in my face. [Rachel! How dare you show your face!] [You murderer! Why did you refuse to save your fiancé?] [Did you plan to kill them all along? Did you want Claire to miscarry?] [Give us an explanation! You owe the whole internet an answer!] Sharp questions flew at me from all sides, but I just smirked: “That’s right, I did hope she’d miscarry.” “Oh my God! Did you all see that? This is her true face. She really did want to kill her own best friend!” Samuel immediately pounced on me like a dog that had caught the scent of blood, while I just picked up the miscarriage report. I smiled, my gaze pointedly sweeping towards Lucas beside her. “I’m very curious.” “Claire, my best friend for ten years, when did you get a boyfriend without me knowing?” “You’re with me every day, not even going on dates. How did you suddenly get two months pregnant?” “This lost child, whose was it really?”

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The soup I made for my beloved snake was stolen and drunk by my fiancée’s male assistant’s mother. The old lady vomited blood and died on the spot. The male assistant screamed like a madman, demanding that I pay with my life. My fiancée brutally skinned the snake I had raised for 20 years, splattering its blood all over my face: “Ethan’s mom dies from drinking a bit of your damn soup, and you resort to murder, you useless coward? This vile creature should have been skinned and cooked long ago. You deserve to be tortured for keeping it!” She forcefully made me drink a hundred bottles of pesticide. But I was immune to all poisons. Though blood poured from my eyes, nose and mouth, I just wouldn’t die. My fiancée flew into a rage and cut off my research funding. She even had my colleagues’ legs crippled and sent them to Africa to work in the mines. To save them, I ventured alone to Serpent Island. The horrific sight of me being devoured by venomous snakes was broadcast globally. When I was covered in bloody holes and nearly dead from the venom… My fiancée finally arrived leisurely by private jet, arm in arm with her male assistant: “For killing his mother, you should be chopped to pieces and fed to snakes! It’s only because Ethan begged me to spare you…” But she didn’t know that those who provoked me always ended up dead. As for the mystical bond linking our hearts, it was about time for it to backfire on her. 0

On Serpent Island, I had been tortured to the brink of death. Olivia kicked me contemptuously, her face full of disgust: “Lucas, stop pretending. Hurry up and beg Ethan for forgiveness! He’s kind enough to forgive you for poisoning his mother. What more do you want?” The venom had long since seeped into my bones. Every movement felt like a thousand arrows piercing my heart. I struggled to my feet, instantly drenched in cold sweat. Gritting my teeth, I said: “I’m not pretending! After being bitten by thousands of venomous snakes for three days and nights, it’s a miracle I’m not dead…” Olivia was momentarily stunned. Just as I foolishly hoped she might feel a shred of sympathy, She suddenly let out a light chuckle, her face utterly indifferent: “It’s good you’re not dead. We need to keep you alive so you can atone to Ethan!” At that moment, her bodyguard opened a tablet. On the screen were horrific images of my research colleagues toiling in African mines. Their legs had been crippled. They could only crawl painfully, dragging their useless lower limbs. Their backs were covered in bloody wounds from repeated whippings. Seeing my friends suffer such injustice because of me, My heart felt like it was being sliced to pieces. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. Olivia’s eyes flashed with cruelty as she sneered: “If you had known they would be implicated, you shouldn’t have tried to murder Ethan’s mother! Everything today is the consequence of your own actions. It’s all because of your vicious heart!” My heart was in agony. No matter how many times I explained, she refused to believe I hadn’t poisoned anyone. Ethan was a boy she had rescued two years ago. At first, she found him weak and clingy. But later, she made him her personal assistant and often scolded me: “He’s just an innocent boy from the countryside. Stop bullying him all the time!” But it was clearly Ethan who deliberately provoked my beloved snake, then threw himself into her arms crying and slandering me. He even took advantage of Olivia’s favor to destroy the research results my team and I had worked on for years. But in Olivia’s eyes, I became the jealous one secretly bullying him. My voice choked with sobs, tinged with a hint of pleading: “Didn’t you promise me that if I survived three days on Serpent Island, you would let them go?” Before Olivia could respond, Ethan emerged from her arms, his face timid and scared: “Brother Lucas, they’re already crippled for life. At least mining gives them three meals a day. If we release them, who knows if they’ll starve to death.” I laughed bitterly, tears flowing uncontrollably. They were top researchers who could have made huge contributions to society. Now they could only eke out a miserable existence in dark mine shafts, like useless invalids. Seeing them like this was more painful than death! I gritted my teeth and spat out each word: “Olivia, don’t make me hate you.” Olivia’s expression flickered. She was about to speak. Ethan’s tears fell on cue, his voice full of grievance: “Brother Lucas, are you blaming me? Fine, it’s all my fault! I should have died from your poison like my mom, so I’ll never bother Sister Olivia again.” Olivia’s eyes filled with heartache as she wiped away his tears. Her gaze turned icy cold when she looked at me: “Lucas, I see you have no intention of repenting at all! Is this how you beg for mercy?” She dialed a number on her phone: “Cut their arms too! Tell them it’s because Lucas wouldn’t cooperate!” My blood surged in an instant. I coughed up mouthfuls of black blood, frantically begging: “No, please don’t— I’ll do anything you want, just let them go!” Ignoring the excruciating pain wracking my body, I crawled to her feet. A flash of satisfaction crossed Ethan’s eyes. He pretended to be considerate and spoke up: “Sister Olivia, doesn’t the company need a human test subject? It’s a critical time now. Why not let Brother Lucas try?” 0

Olivia’s expression turned hesitant: “But that drug is extremely dangerous. Being a test subject could kill him at any moment!” My pupils constricted in fear, but thinking of my colleagues still suffering, I quickly grabbed her pant leg: “Olivia, I’m willing…” Olivia violently shook off my hand, her eyes blazing with even more anger: “Lucas, if you had just apologized and admitted your mistake, I could have forgiven you easily. But you insist on being so stubborn. Don’t back out at the last minute. This concerns the entire company…” My voice was calm, but heavy with resolve: “I won’t regret it!” Because… if I died, you wouldn’t be able to live either, Olivia. And I needed to get away from here to save my friends. I was shackled with an electronic ankle monitor and forced onto the plane. In the spacious cabin, I could only kneel on the floor. Soon, the black blood oozing from my wounds stained the expensive carpet. Olivia sat comfortably in her seat, tenderly cradling Ethan in her arms. She gently fed him milk and cut his steak for him, like a doting girlfriend. The scene stabbed at my eyes, making them burn with pain. A fiery, twisting pain gripped my stomach. My mouth involuntarily filled with saliva. For three days and nights on Serpent Island, I had survived on dew and wild berries, constantly enduring snake bites. Just as I was about to pass out, Ethan suddenly covered his nose. He knocked over the glass of milk, whining pitifully: “Sister Olivia, it stinks so bad. I feel sick…” Olivia turned to glare at me, her eyes full of disgust: “Lucas, you know Ethan has severe eating disorders. How dare you come here all filthy? Are you deliberately trying to make us sick?” My eyes instantly welled up with tears. My voice was weak but filled with resentment: “You threw me onto Serpent Island with nothing, Starving and sleepless, in constant danger of death by snakebite. How can you expect me to be as clean and tidy as you?” Perhaps my gaze was too direct. Olivia turned away, but couldn’t help exploding in rage: “You’re still alive, aren’t you?! How dare you accuse me of being cruel? Think about the heinous, disgusting things you’ve done!” My heart was numb with pain. I said nothing more. Olivia prodded the floor with her high heel, her face haughty: “Lick up the spilled milk, then go kneel in the bathroom.” A few years ago, she had rescued my amnesiac self during riots in a foreign country. She then nursed me devotedly for months, never leaving my side. But now, for Ethan’s sake, she had forgotten all our shared history. I crawled over in humiliation, about to lower my head. Suddenly Olivia stood up and slapped me hard across the face: “Lucas, you’re lower than an animal!” But what was she so angry about? Wasn’t this all her doing? I staggered to my feet, ignoring her fury, and walked towards the bathroom. Ethan chose that moment to faint dramatically, collapsing weakly into her arms: “Sister Olivia, don’t be hard on Brother Lucas. It’s my fault. Just let me starve to death.” After that, Olivia was too busy fussing over Ethan to bother with me. Time passed. Suddenly, the plane hit turbulence. I was thrown to the floor unexpectedly. I saw Olivia clutching Ethan tightly, his clothes in disarray. She tenderly kissed his forehead, cooing softly: “Don’t be scared, Ethan. I’m here.” I clearly saw the challenge in Ethan’s eyes and the kiss marks on his collarbone. I curled up helplessly in the corner, my bloody nails digging deep into the armrest. Having survived riots abroad, I was extremely sensitive to changes in my surroundings. Olivia used to accommodate me by choosing other modes of transport, even if it took much longer. The plane stabilized after a moment. Olivia finally noticed me covered in filthy blood and snapped impatiently: “Get back in the bathroom and stay there. Don’t dirty Ethan’s eyes.” My gaze darkened in despair. I was about to stand up when everything went black and I collapsed. 0

In my hazy state, I seemed to return to my warm, familiar home. I thought I heard Olivia yelling at the doctor by my bedside: “Why isn’t he waking up yet? You’re all useless quacks!” The doctor explained awkwardly: “Mr. Ye may have an unusual constitution, but he’s still human. No one could endure that kind of torture…” There was a loud crash, like something being overturned. But as soon as I opened my eyes, Olivia’s slap left me dazed: “Lucas, why are you so hell-bent on killing yourself?! Pretending to be asleep, are you happy seeing me go crazy?” I was stunned, my whole body aching too much to speak. So she wasn’t happy to see me wake up after all. Just then, Ethan pushed open the door. He was carrying a bowl of porridge, his voice sickeningly fake: “Brother Lucas, you really shouldn’t pretend to be asleep if you don’t want to be a test subject. You know Sister Olivia was worried sick about you. What’s the point in scaring her like that?” Hearing this, Olivia’s chest heaved with anger. She shouted: “Lucas, you useless coward, always putting on an act! You’re going to be the test subject, and that’s final!” With that, she stormed out without a backward glance. Seeing this, Ethan’s face instantly twisted into a vicious sneer. He violently flung the hot porridge in my face. The scalding liquid made me cry out in pain. Gloating, he took out his phone and played a video. In the video, I was completely naked, my face contorted, writhing among countless snakes. My mind exploded. I lunged at him, roaring: “What is this?! Why does this exist?!” Ethan dodged easily, his smile cruel and malicious: “It’s a gift I prepared specially for you, of course~ Let everyone see how you get off with animals!” I knew it was AI-generated, but others wouldn’t know that! And was Olivia behind this too? As if reading my mind, Ethan let out a cold laugh: “That’s right, Sister Olivia knows! A piece of trash like you is only fit to be a lowly lab rat!” Rage boiled up inside me. I tackled Ethan to the ground, heedless of everything else. But he instantly changed his expression, shrieking in terror: “Sister Olivia, Brother Lucas has gone mad! I was just trying to take care of him, but he said he wants to scald himself to death so you’ll send me away!” Olivia rushed in and kicked me hard, sending me sprawling. I tried to explain: “I didn’t, it was Ethan who—” Before I could finish, she slapped me several times, grinding out each word: “You piece of trash, haven’t you had enough?! Can’t you just get along with Ethan?” My numb heart was torn apart once again. I wiped the filth from my face, my eyes dead and lifeless: “Olivia, you’ll regret this.” All I’ve suffered today will be repaid a hundredfold when the heart-linking curse activates. Olivia’s heart clenched suddenly, but she coldly ordered her bodyguards: “Cut their arms immediately!” Tears instantly poured from my eyes. I gritted my teeth so hard I tasted blood: “No, Olivia, don’t hurt them! It was Ethan who provoked me with that naked video of me, and he—” Olivia cut me off coldly: “Enough, Lucas. You’re forcing me to be cruel!” I wanted to argue more, but could only kowtow frantically. My forehead slammed against the floor repeatedly, soon bloody and bruised. But Olivia remained unmoved, her expression icy: “Even if you kowtow until you die, I won’t change my mind. If you don’t learn your lesson this time, who knows how you’ll hurt Ethan next.” My whole body shook with despair as I howled: “Then I’ll leave your world forever. Just let us go, please?” Olivia suddenly gripped my jaw, her eyes as fierce as a wild beast: “Don’t try to manipulate me. I won’t fall for your tricks. You’re not going anywhere!” With that, she flung me aside and left, pulling Ethan along. I was dragged straight to the lab by the bodyguards. They told the staff emotionlessly: “From today on, he’s the new test subject. Mr. Gu said not to hold back.” I struggled desperately, but mechanical arms clamped down on my limbs. Hundreds of needles pierced my veins. The icy drugs made me swell with pain. It felt like my eyeballs would burst. Every vein in my body throbbed wildly. I could barely breathe from the agony. Ethan walked in wearing a white lab coat. He pointed his phone camera at me, gloating: “Right now people are bidding online to buy your blood and eat your flesh. Wouldn’t it be fun if I auctioned off your organs like mystery boxes?” I shook violently with fury, snarling through clenched teeth: “You, you monster, rot in hell!” But Ethan just laughed wildly: “Hahaha, you piece of trash, you’re almost dead while I’m living the good life. I’ll send you off soon, then Sister Olivia will be all mine~” Ethan’s smile grew increasingly twisted and manic. But hearing Olivia’s footsteps, he quickly shoved some pills in my mouth, whining to her: “Brother Lucas is so mean, he just tried to bite me with his venomous fangs. Good thing I dodged in time.” He showed Olivia a non-existent wound. Olivia glared at me, grinding out each word: “I’ll have all his fangs pulled out. That way he can’t hurt you anymore.” Ethan happily kissed her cheek, looking smug: “Sister Olivia, you’re so good to me.” My heart felt like it was being stabbed. Tears flowed freely down my face. I thrashed violently, making muffled sounds: “No, Olivia…” Save me, please save me, this vicious woman wants to kill me!! Olivia gave me a long, deep look. Her voice was uncharacteristically gentle: “Lucas, when you learn to behave, And stop fighting with Ethan, I’ll let you go.” “No, Olivia don’t leave!” I shook like a dying fish, utterly despairing. But she didn’t look at me again. She left arm in arm with Ethan. Late that night, alarms suddenly blared through the lab. The mechanical arms restraining me abruptly released. I stumbled towards the exit, fighting my weakness. But the chaotic footsteps outside made my heart leap into my throat. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. The cold barrel of a gun pressed against my forehead. A mocking voice rang out: “Well hello there, darling. Caught you.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297135”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic