The noise in the room was right beside my ears, but I couldn't process a single word.
My mind was completely occupied by the thought that Su Ning'an was pregnant.
My body slowly slid down along the wall. I watched Su Ning'an at the center of the storm, her hand covering her still-flat abdomen.
Almost six weeks... counting back, that would be the night she was in my marital room.
How ironic. I died by an assassin's knife, while the enemy who hired my killer now lies beneath my fiancé, sharing intimacy with him.
They even have a child now.
Over the past month, I thought I had witnessed enough of humanity's ugliness that nothing could pain me further.
But at this moment, I truly understood what it means to be in unbearable agony.
I wailed bitterly, yet not a single tear fell.
I felt as if a knife were twisting in my internal organs. I braced my hands against the floor, wanting to vomit, but nothing came out.
It hurt so much.
This pain was ten times, a hundred times worse than being stabbed through by a knife.
It was as if someone were tearing my body apart. Every part of my soul ached excruciatingly, yet I had no way to change anything.
The pain made me curl my entire body into a ball.
Why did I and my child have to die? Why do the chief culprits get to live on, perfectly fine!
I stared fixedly at Lu Shiyan. He was terrified. If the Su family found out the child was related to him, he wouldn't be able to escape blame.
After all, Lu Shiyan's image in the eyes of outsiders was perfect. This incident would become his biggest stain.
Not just outsiders; even the Su family would struggle to accept it.
His newlywed wife is missing, and he actually has a child with her younger sister? If this got out, Lu Shiyan and Su Ning'an would be nailed to the pillar of shame!
At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else. One hand was in his pocket, gripping his trousers so tightly the fabric deformed. He was nervous.
The Su family didn't suspect him at all, instead continuously pressing Su Ning'an to reveal who the 'wild man' was.
Seeing Su Ning'an wasn't telling the truth, their gazes fell on Lu Shiyan. "Shiyan, this girl is usually close to you. Have you seen that wild man?"
I felt embarrassed for Lu Shiyan. He was that wild man.
But I was very curious how Lu Shiyan would answer?
If he stepped forward, he could at least take on most of the heat for Su Ning'an. If he didn't, Su Ning'an would have to bear the blame entirely.
"How... how would I know about such a thing?" Lu Shiyan replied, suppressing his panic.
Anyone observing closely could see cold sweat beading on his forehead. He was clearly very tense.
The Su family ultimately didn't think him capable of something so sordid.
Su Ning'an chose this moment to intervene and defuse the situation: "Mom, Dad, it's someone you don't know. It was... an accident."
Lu Shiyan looked at her, visibly relieved. He knew Su Ning'an would take all the responsibility upon herself.
Su Ning'an fabricated a story about being violated, eviting the Su family's pity.
"The reason I didn't tell you was because I was afraid you'd worry. All these days, I haven't had a single good night's sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I remember what that person did to me..."
My family immediately forgot their previous suspicions of her and began to comfort her.
How skillful Su Ning'an's methods were! With just a few words, she diverted everyone's attention.
Probably, Lu Shiyan was even feeling grateful to her right now.
So, it was a world where only I got hurt.
But why?! Why should it be like this!!!
I realized that under the intensity of my obsession, a layer of black mist suddenly began to swirl around my originally fading body.
I didn't want reincarnation. I only wanted to remember Su Ning'an's ugly face and Lu Shiyan's hypocritical, cowardly face.
At this moment, my obsession with revenge reached its peak.
My fingers touched the location of my lower abdomen. I wanted to avenge the fetus that never fully formed!
When Lu Shiyan left, the Su family was still discussing when to terminate the pregnancy.
But I knew, given Su Ning'an's character, if she didn't want this child, she would have taken precautions from the start.
She would definitely keep this child!
Lu Shiyan seemed somewhat lost. He stood at the hospital entrance, unsure where to go.
The driver honked the horn, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Lu Shiyan got into the car, his face utterly exhausted.
"President Lu, to the company?"
Lu Shiyan supported his head with his hand. He looked haggard.
Everything he experienced today felt like a dream to him.
As if guided by some unseen force, he named a location: Ling Mountain.
"President Lu, why go to Ling Mountain? By the time we get there, it will probably be dark."
"Just go to Ling Mountain."
On the way, Lu Shiyan found a place to eat his first meal of the day, but he had little appetite and didn't eat much.
By the time he reached the foot of Ling Mountain, it was already past 4 p.m.
Ling Mountain had high altitude. While the city had good weather today, Ling Mountain was experiencing heavy snowfall.
In such weather, there were few visitors, especially with night approaching. The entire mountain was covered in ice and snow, majestic, solemn, and sacred.
On Ling Mountain stood a temple.
Legend had it that the deity enshrined in the temple was very efficacious. If a sincere person kowtowed every three steps and bowed every nine steps along the path all the way to the mountain top, the deity would grant them one wish.
Throughout history, such legends were commonplace.
Every miraculous tree, every miraculous mountain, every miraculous stone came with a mysterious legend.
Many people came because of its fame, and many who were at the end of their rope would devoutly kowtow for the sake of their obsessions.
I had also been to that temple twice, seeking peace talismans.
Once for Lu Shiyan, once for Grandma.
Grandma's health was deteriorating daily, medicine was ineffective, and I had no other options.
At that time, I had just lost my fetus. Grandma was the most important person to me in the world. So, after my postpartum confinement period ended, I went up Ling Mountain to seek a peace talisman for Grandma.
The first time was before Lu Shiyan went on a business trip. I didn't know if my sincerity moved the heavens, but he wasn't seriously injured in that earthquake.
I never expected Lu Shiyan, who never believed in gods or ghosts, would come to Ling Mountain.
His knees bent slightly, kneeling onto the snowy ground.
The driver was startled. "President Lu, you don't mean to kowtow all the way up, do you? Night is about to fall! You could die on the mountain!"
Lu Shiyan looked at the path covered in vast white snow, mumbling to himself, "But in the past, she, just a small woman, kowtowed every three steps and bowed every nine steps all the way up the mountain like this."
The driver couldn't change his mind, so he could only rent a thick cloak for him to wear.
Then, holding an umbrella, he accompanied Lu Shiyan.
I thought Lu Shiyan's heart was only filled with thoughts of the child in Su Ning'an's womb.
A cold wind blew, swirling the snowflakes.
The few remaining pilgrims quickly left the mountain, glancing sideways at Lu Shiyan as they passed.
No one laughed at him. More likely, they pitied him—probably just another poor soul.
Lu Shiyan ignored the looks others gave him. He devoutly pressed his forehead to the snow-covered ground. I heard his low murmur: "May my wife, Su Wan, return safely."
Lu Shiyan, it's already too late.
A dead person cannot come back.