The more Lu Shiyan tried not to think about it, the faster it all slipped away—like sand leaking through tightly clenched fingers.
He watched helplessly as my soul blossomed like fireworks before his eyes, then vanished into the boundless night sky.After that fleeting beauty, only endless desolation remained.
The prayer beads on his wrist were like our love—snapped in two, the beads scattering across the ground.
Lu Shiyan watched me disappear from his arms, his mind breaking under the weight of it.He ran toward the statue, his strength seemingly drained from his body. He fell hard into the snow, but ignored the pain—rolling, crawling, dragging himself toward the sculpture.
"Wanwan! Come back—look at me! Don't leave me!"
It seemed that only Lu Shiyan could see my spirit when I appeared, so to everyone else, his actions looked eerie—like he was possessed or had gone mad.
Father Lu hurried over. "What are you doing?!"
Lu Shiyan looked at him and said, "Dad, I saw Su Wan! Just now—she was standing here. She said the thing she regretted most was meeting me."
"I think you're seriously ill. There's no Su Wan here."
"Mr. Lu," Huang Yu interjected, "please don't interfere with our work. The remains of Miss Su Wan's flesh and blood are inside this statue. We must take it back for examination."
Lu Shiyan, like a madman, threw his arms around the statue."No one can take Su Wan away. She's my wife!"
The scene descended into chaos.My mother had fainted upon hearing the truth; my brother held her, his face filled with disbelief.
Even my father—who had always been quiet and restrained—walked step by step toward the statue. His eyes fixed on that face that looked so much like mine, murmuring, "How… how could this be? How could my daughter be dead?"
Thud.
My father fell to his knees before my statue. His face seemed to age ten years in an instant.Tears streamed down, one drop after another, melting into the snow beneath him.
Bai Lan's face was full of disbelief.She had never liked me much, but even she couldn't accept such a horrifying murder."Who… who could be so cruel?"
Perhaps the saddest of all was the old master Lu.His face was pale and lifeless, as though struck by a blow too great to bear.He said nothing, his eyes empty and lost.
Leaning on his cane, supported by his assistant, he stood trembling—afraid he might collapse at any moment.
He was a man who had weathered many storms, yet now he stood frozen in shock, his voice hoarse and full of despair:"My poor Wan girl…"
In a corner where no one was paying attention sat Lu Yancheng, forgotten in his wheelchair.One of his hands was clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palm, drawing blood—but he didn't even notice.
Red droplets fell from his palm, staining the white snow.
He knew Lu Shiyan wasn't lying—because he too had seen me appear.
In the falling snow, I wore a thin white dress, looking just as I had at seventeen or eighteen—pure and beautiful.Only… even in death, I never looked back at him once before vanishing from this world.
His hands trembled violently, as if he wanted to reach out and touch my statue once more.
My mother regained consciousness, crying and screaming as she ran toward the sculpture.Lu Shiyan was shouting wildly; the entire scene was utter chaos.
No one could accept this outcome.
And just then—With a sudden boom, the statue that had been standing firmly all this time collapsed without warning.
The body of the sculpture shattered into countless fragments—just like the way I had died.
One of the pieces fell at Su Ning'an's feet.Her face turned white with fear, and she fell backward to the ground.