At that moment, Jiang Nuan remembered an old legend she heard long ago: aborted children have no place to go, cannot be reincarnated, and eventually sink to the bottom of the sea.
With a strength she didn’t know she had, she grabbed the nearest nurse.
Everyone stopped in surprise to look at her.
How could she still be conscious with the full dose of anesthesia?
Jiang Nuan forced out a voice from her throat, “Doctor, please, after you take out the child, give her back to me…”
The doctor, with a tool in hand, nodded at Jiang Nuan.
The anesthesia finally took hold, and Jiang Nuan’s hand slowly dropped.
In the numbness, she felt something being detached from her body.
A faint voice called out in her ear, “Mommy… it hurts…”
Jiang Nuan blinked, a tear rolling down her cheek.
…
Outside the operating room.
Fu Yumo was about to leave when the ‘In Surgery’ light suddenly went off!
A doctor rushed out: “Mr. Fu, the patient has a slight clotting disorder, continuing the surgery might be life-threatening!”
Fu Yumo glanced at the message from Jiang Nuan’s mother on his phone: Yumo, the baby in Nuan Nuan’s belly is a boy, ten million might not be enough.
He sneered, “Continue.”
Chapter 10
When Jiang Nuan woke up again.
The sky outside was dark, rain pouring down.
She turned her head to see a small box on the bedside table.
Her eyes reddened instantly, carefully cradling the box in her hands, murmuring, “Don’t be scared… don’t be scared…”
Ignoring her own pain, Jiang Nuan got up and slowly left the hospital.
On the street, few people were out, the heavy rain beating down on her.
She walked with difficulty, not knowing how long it took, before she finally made it back home.
After standing stiff for a long time, Jiang Nuan took out a large box from the cabinet.
Inside lay a peace charm, a sour plum keychain, and a photo of three people.
The peace charm was given to her by her father the day before his accident, the keychain… marked the beginning of her affection for Fu Yumo.
It was the first time Jiang Nuan realized that having someone she liked could make her heart beat so fast.
And the photo… was taken by Lin Bei after Fu Yumo won a basketball game, showing how happy they were.
The memories still shone brightly, but reality was so cold it was unbearable.
Tears welled up, Jiang Nuan gently touched the photo, found some paper and a pen, and wrote a letter.
— To Lin Bei: My dearest friend, let me call you Bei Bei one last time…
After writing the letter, Jiang Nuan called for a same-day courier, sending the photo and letter together.
Finally, she clutched the small box, took the peace charm and put it in her pocket, leaving only the keychain, and turned to leave the apartment.
…
On the coast of Luocheng, the waves crashed.
A woman stood in the icy, bone-chilling seawater, the salty sea breeze recalling Lin Bei’s favorite summer spot.
She stood there for a long time before taking out her phone to make a call.
After a long ring, Lin Bei’s cold voice came through, “You still dare to call me?”
Jiang Nuan’s lips trembled, her voice hoarse as she slowly spoke, “Bei Bei… I, I’ve sent you a courier, please don’t refuse it.” “What are you up to now?” Lin Bei said with disgust.
The waves crashed against her knees, and Jiang Nuan gripped her phone tightly. “All those rumors in school back then were fake. The only time Zhao Yu and I were alone together was when I was helping you deliver a Christmas gift.”
“Bei Bei, you are one of the most precious people to me. Even if you regret knowing me, I still want to say, meeting you was my greatest fortune…”
Lin Bei on the other end of the phone couldn’t bear to listen anymore and directly snapped, “Jiang Nuan, what are you going crazy about at this hour!”
Jiang Nuan’s heart trembled, but no matter how Lin Bei treated her, in Jiang Nuan’s heart, she was still the girl who had once made birthday cakes for her by hand, brought food to her in the library, and shared all the good and bad moments with her.
Memories swept over her again, and she choked up, “After I’m gone, you must be happy.”
After saying that, Jiang Nuan hung up the phone, tears falling into the sea.
Yes, everyone who was good to her had suffered because of her.
And those she cared about now despised her to the bone!
Perhaps, her very existence was a mistake.
Jiang Nuan stood up, clutching a small box, and walked step by step into the sea.
The cold seawater reached Jiang Nuan’s chin, her voice gentle, “Baby, mommy’s coming to be with you.”
The seabed was too cold, too lonely.
She couldn’t bear to leave him alone.
As the first light broke over the horizon, a wave came, and Jiang Nuan sank into the sea.
Her tears mingled with the seawater, and her aching heart finally felt no pain.
On the other side, Lin Bei stared at the disconnected call, an inexplicable sense of unease rising within her.
She tried calling back, but no one answered.
Listening to the mechanical voice of the phone, Lin Bei clenched her hand, then tossed the phone away in frustration, “What a joke! My happiness was already ruined by you!”
She got up, deliberately putting the incident out of her mind, along with the inexplicable irritation in her heart.
Two days later, she actually received a package from Jiang Nuan.
Inside the package was a letter and a photo.
Lin Bei opened the letter with a cold face, coldly eyeing the somewhat distorted handwriting.
As she read, her breath caught.
—…There’s something I’ve never dared to tell you. Zhao Yu went back into the fire to commit suicide.
He had been tormented by depression for ten years. At the time, I couldn’t understand his choice, but now I understand his feelings…
Lin Bei’s face turned extremely ugly, and she cursed, “A liar full of nonsense! Do you think I’ll believe it?”
In anger, she knocked the package to the floor, sending the photo flying.
The shy smile on Jiang Nuan’s face in the photo pierced Lin Bei’s eyes, leaving her with a sense of panic she couldn’t explain.
Lin Bei crumpled the letter into a ball.
“Don’t think you can deceive me again, Jiang Nuan. I won’t believe it.” She said, yet she didn’t dare to pick up the photo.
“Trying to stop me from getting engaged to Fu Yusen, aren’t you? I’ve seen through you!” Lin Bei forced a mocking smile.
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Jiang Nuan’s number.
Lin Bei felt a slight relief, answering with a cold laugh, “Jiang Nuan, what nonsense do you have to say now?”
On the other end, however, was a stranger’s deep voice, “Hello, this is the Locity Tianxing Street Police Station. Yesterday, we recovered a body from the water. According to the phone data, her last call was to you…”
Chapter 11
Tianxing Street, Police Station Morgue.
Lin Bei stood before a corpse covered with a white sheet.
The policeman beside her spoke solemnly, “Preliminary judgment suggests she died by suicide two days ago…”
Two days ago…
Lin Bei stood there motionless, “Can I uncover it?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Lin Bei said, but made no move, just standing there for a long time.
The policeman noticed her trembling hands and silently stepped back.
Lin Bei looked at the person lying still, feeling like a wooden puppet herself.
The words from the letter suddenly flashed through her mind.
After a long while, she shakily pulled back the sheet.
Jiang Nuan’s pale face instantly filled her vision!
Lin Bei stepped back, seeing the ‘LB’ tattooed on the arm.
She instinctively reached out, the cold touch causing her to collapse instantly!
Tears surged forth!
She fell to the ground, clutching the sheet, sobbing uncontrollably, the ‘JW’ tattoo on her left arm faintly visible.
