Lin Yu found herself trapped in a very strange place. Slowly raising her right hand, she looked at the crescent moon mark that had suddenly appeared on her palm. Her expression was complex—somewhat at a loss, but mostly bewildered.
This place had nothing in it except for a small pool built from stacked stones. In the center of the pool stood a grayish-white stone column, with water dripping drop by drop from its tip into the pool below.
The pool wasn't large, but it had already accumulated quite a bit of water. Having been trapped for so long, Lin Yu was extremely thirsty and finally couldn't resist taking a sip from the pool.
The pool water was sweet and refreshing as it went down, invigorating her heart and mind. However, before Lin Yu could take a second sip, her vision went black and she fell into a deep sleep.
"Mom, please save me! I don't want to marry Xu Mo! The Xu family won't let me go—they'll kill me!" In her dazed state, Lin Yu heard Lin Yiqian's hysterical screaming.
Xu Mo? The Xu family? A flash of insight crossed her mind, and Lin Yu opened her eyes. The piercing shouts immediately disappeared, and what came into view was a familiar ceiling.
She was no longer in that strange place that had trapped her. This was her room in the Lin family home. Confusion arose in her heart, and Lin Yu's first instinct was to look at her right palm. Strangely, the crescent moon mark was still there.
A hallucination? Lin Yu closed her eyes and waited quietly for a moment.
"Yiqian! Of all the people you could have provoked, why did you have to provoke Xu Mo? What is Xu Mo's status? What is the Xu family's position? How could you be so foolish as to walk straight into a dead end? Now that such a thing has happened, how do you expect your parents to help you?" The speaker was Sun Wanting, her tone filled with heartbreak and anguish, mixed with great helplessness and anxiety.
Opening her eyes again, the crescent moon mark remained. However, what surprised Lin Yu was that she seemed to have heard something just now.
Was Sun Wanting speaking? But why couldn't she hear anything suddenly? Uncertainly shaking her head, Lin Yu tried closing her eyes again.
"I really do love Xu Mo! Who knew he wouldn't even look at me? I... I know I was wrong..." Lin Yiqian finally couldn't help but cry out in fear. What should she do? She had caused Xu Mo's car accident that left him in a vegetative state—the Xu family would definitely torture her to death!
"Are you determined not to marry Xu Mo? Do you know that because of the trouble you've caused, the Xu family has already pressured Boyang? Boyang is going to collapse, collapse!" Lin Hongxin shouted angrily, his face dark.
"I won't marry him! He's become a vegetable—what would I marry him for? To be a living widow?" What Lin Yiqian loved was Xu Mo before his accident, not the Xu Mo who now lay motionless in bed!
Hearing this, Lin Yu stubbornly opened her eyes again. Just like before, the voices disappeared once more, as if everything had been her auditory hallucination. But Lin Yu was certain that what she had just heard had actually happened seven years ago.
Could it really be that staying in the mental institution for so long had made her abnormal? Feeling inexplicably panicked, Lin Yu sat up from the bed and got down.
A calendar stood on the desk, showing a date from seven years ago.
Seven years ago, Lin Yu was twenty-two and unmarried. Seven years ago, Lin Yu was still a college student full of hope for the future, with her grandfather having passed away just two years prior. Seven years ago, Lin Yu hadn't yet torn apart her relationship with the Lin Hongxin couple and was still the beloved princess of this household...
For a moment, Lin Yu felt she was experiencing a hallucination—that she was having a beautiful dream of starting over. But the next moment, she sobered up again.
She had only been forced to stay in a mental institution for five years; she hadn't actually gone insane. Even if the whole world didn't believe her and deemed her crazy, she absolutely couldn't let herself be assimilated!
Picking up the phone from the desk, her gaze fixed on the date of July 4th for a long time before Lin Yu walked toward the bathroom.
The girl in the mirror was still young, her slightly innocent face showing none of the madness and collapse of seven years later—pure and beautiful.
July 4th—only three days until July 7th. In three days, she would marry Zhou Quan and begin a seven-year nightmare.
Intense hatred suddenly surged up, and Lin Yu unconsciously clenched her fists. Then, from her right palm... a thin stream of water appeared out of nowhere!
What was happening now? Looking in terror at the continuously flowing water, a struggle flashed in Lin Yu's eyes. In the end, she steeled herself, closed her eyes, and leaned over to take a sip.
"If she won't marry, then she won't! Just let Xiao Yu marry instead, wouldn't that work?" With a matter-of-fact attitude, Sun Wanting's tone was nothing like her usual loving manner, filled with endless malice.
"What nonsense are you talking? Xiao Yu is about to marry Zhou Quan—how could she agree to..." Lin Hongxin's roar stopped abruptly as he looked at Sun Wanting in disbelief.
"You think it's feasible too, don't you? Our family only has two daughters. If she won't marry, do we really have to force Yiqian to marry? I won't agree to that." Without any room for negotiation, Sun Wanting spoke domineeringly.
"Alright then! Let Xiao Yu marry him. When Xiao Yu wakes up later, we'll talk to her about this. Remember, speak nicely—don't let anything slip!" Lin Hongxin sighed lightly and immediately changed his tune. He compromised so quickly—who would believe he hadn't had the same plan in mind beforehand?
With clear voices still reaching her ears and the same sweet taste as the pool water she had drunk before her sleep filling her mouth, an incredible thought flashed through Lin Yu's mind.
Could it be... that this crescent moon mark was connected to that strange place? With a trace of curiosity, Lin Yu pinched the mark that was producing water. Immediately, the water flow stopped, as if nothing had happened.
Was it really like this? Lin Yu stopped clenching her fist and gently pressed the crescent moon mark—no reaction. When she pinched the mark hard, clearly feeling pain, water flowed out again. However, it was much smaller than before.
After several attempts, Lin Yu was absolutely certain that the greater the pain, the larger the water flow. Conversely, without pain sensation or with only slight stinging, no water would flow.
Quietly gazing at her water-soaked right hand, Lin Yu slowly raised her head, stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, and gently curved the corners of her mouth.
Opening the closet, ignoring all the pink or brightly colored clothing, Lin Yu chose a completely black dress to put on. No matter how she had returned, what lay ahead would be her battlefield!