As soon as I saw the man appear, I pushed Lu Yanchen away.
"Wanwan..."
I covered his mouth, feeling guilty. Lu Yanchen followed my gaze, looking at the man.
This area wasn't busy, and the streetlights were relatively sparse. The man, tall and wearing a long down jacket and a hat, walked towards me with his head lowered.
In the dim light, I couldn't see his face clearly.
But his build and height bore a striking resemblance to the man who had murdered me that night.
As he approached, my body subconsciously trembled with nervousness.
I thought back to that snowy night, how cold it was. His knife pierced through me with a single swift thrust, leaving blood all over the ground.
I fled frantically along the riverbank, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Knowing I couldn't escape, he followed me, knife in hand, admiring my final struggle!
He didn't utter a single word from beginning to end. Even now, thinking of that murderous look sends chills down my spine.
The closer he got, the more it felt like the air around me was being sucked out, suffocating.
I trembled with fear, a completely instinctive fear.
My heart pounded, returning to the frantic pace of my last moments.
A thick layer of cold sweat formed on my forehead.
Feeling the wetness of my palm, Lu Yanchen quickly embraced me and whispered in my ear, "Don't be afraid, Wanwan."
How could I not be afraid?
That night, I was so desperate. I gasped for breath, clutching my waist, desperately wanting to escape.
But my blood was running out, and I could only fall helplessly to the ground.
I bit my lip, using the pain to calm myself.
I stared at the man intently. Just seeing his eyes would be enough!
If he was my killer, I would not let him go. We were only fifty meters away when my breathing became increasingly rapid, my fingers gripping Lu Yanchen's clothes even tighter.
The man, wrapped in a long black down jacket, looked like the Grim Reaper.
When he reached the car, he instinctively glanced inside.
The moment our eyes met, I felt like I was dying all over again.
Even though I knew it was privacy glass, I still felt completely exposed to his gaze. My whole body tensed, not daring to breathe.
Boom boom.
My heart felt like it was about to burst from my throat.
It wasn't until the man looked away that I felt like the seal had been lifted, the thin air gradually becoming fuller.
Like a dying fish, I gulped down fresh air.
My body completely limp, collapsing in Lu Yanchen's arms.
"Is there something wrong with him?"
I shook my head. "No."
It wasn't that man.
The two men were similar in build, but the shape of their eyes was distinctly different.
That man had three white sclera in his eyes, and his gaze was menacing.
I looked down and realized I was still clutching Lu Yanchen's hand, squeezing the back of it red.
"Sorry, I was a little nervous just now."
Thankfully, Lu Yanchen didn't ask why I was nervous.
He simply gave me a deep look. "It's okay. Since you're so concerned about the auto repair shop, I'll investigate and give you an answer as soon as possible."
"Yes."
I leaned against him for a long moment, feeling completely exhausted, like someone who'd just escaped death.
"Yanchen, can you let me lean on you for a moment?"
"...Okay."
The car started again after the man left, and I closed my eyes, exhausted.
It wouldn't take that murderer to scare me like this. If I had actually encountered him...
It's the prey's instinctive fear of the hunter.
Even though I've been reborn, the fear of death has long been etched deep within my soul.
That night, I skipped dinner and returned to my room early, feeling a sense of security only when I lay in the warm comforter.
The room was clearly well heated, yet I kept feeling cold. The chill seeped into my bones, a chill that wouldn't go away.
Lu Yanchen had food brought up, but I had no appetite.
"Are you feeling unwell? Do you want a doctor?" He looked at me with concern.
I shook my head. "No, I'm not hungry."
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm not..."
Before I could finish my sentence, a sudden explosion echoed in the distance.
Like a frightened bird, I leaped from the bed and threw myself into Lu Yanchen's arms, trembling.
He hugged me tightly. "Don't be afraid. It's almost New Year's Eve, and some kids are just setting off fireworks."
I watched vibrant flowers bloom in the pitch-black sky, then vanish in an instant as the night sky lit up.
This beautiful thing, however, became a nightmare within me.
The last thing I saw before I died was the fireworks Lu Shiyan had set off specifically for Su Ning'an.
As the fireworks burst, the blood in my body began to drain rapidly. I instinctively clutched my waist, where a large hole once lay.
A chilling wind whipped past, chilling and painful.
"Wanwan, what's wrong?"
I opened my palms; there was no blood.
"Yanchen, close, close the curtains. I don't want to see the fireworks." "Okay, don't be afraid."
He quickly used his voice to turn off the electric curtains and hugged me tightly.
"It's cold, Yanchen, I'm so cold."
"I'll sleep with you tonight, okay?" he soothed gently.
In the past, I would have refused, but I was too scared.
That tall man awakened the most terrifying memory in my heart, a memory I couldn't let go of for a long time.
I closed my eyes, trying to shut myself away.
But the fireworks across the way kept going off, the deafening explosions dragging me back to that terrifying scene over and over again.
I saw myself lying by the water in my wedding dress, covered in blood. The fireworks lit up the sky, illuminating my pale face as well.
At that moment, Lu Shiyan and Su Ning'an kissed beneath the fireworks. A searing pain washed over me, and I couldn't help but cry.
My body was pulled into someone's embrace. Lu Yanchen had fallen asleep beside me without me noticing.
He had just showered, and the fresh scent of shower gel lingered on him.
He soothed me like a child, "Don't be afraid, it's all over."
I leaned into his neck, tears streaming down my face. "Yanchen, it hurts so much, I'm so cold..."
"I'll hold you, and you won't feel cold."
"No, there's wind blowing in from all directions, and snowflakes, heavy snow."
"Wanwan, don't be like this."
Lu Yanchen looked at me worriedly. "This is the Lu family."
The curtains hid the fireworks, but they couldn't block out the sound.
I was a little dazed, unsure if I was Su Wan or Jiang Wanwan.
I kept looking down at my waist. There was no blood there, but I felt as if the bed was covered in blood.
Smelling the incense, my emotions slowly calmed. But even when I fell asleep, he didn't let me go. In my dream, that enormous man walked towards me.
The knife in his hand dripped with my blood, staining the stone red.
I supported myself on the ground and stepped back.
"Don't kill me!" I screamed.