TIMO - Chapter 78
Chapter 78
Clearly, Shen Caiwei was the most terrifying person of all.
It was even possible that Sheng Yun was the one who had been invited over. Perhaps Shen Caiwei had used some method, struck some deal with Sheng Yun, to have him appear at this exact time and place.
And this time, this place.
It was originally the time and place Shen Caiwei had envisioned for Fu Zhao’s “murder.”
As one of Shi Nan’s most ardent former pursuers, Sheng Yun had a motive and was present at the scene, naturally making him the most suspicious person.
Meanwhile, the married Shen Caiwei, having already cleared herself of suspicion during her first confrontation with Lu Jingmo, was a reasonable and legitimate witness who could have walked away perfectly unscathed.
But she hadn't expected Fu Zhao to be able to resist after being drugged, and even manage to drag her outside, where a team of bodyguards arranged by Shi Nan was waiting.
So Shen Caiwei made a last-ditch effort, deciding to take her down with her.
Because Shen Caiwei knew that once this was exposed, she would be locked up in a cell right alongside Lu Jingmo.
By the time Fu Zhao figured out the whole story, the dust had already settled. There was no turning back.
She didn’t know what kind of drug Shen Caiwei had injected her with, only that her entire body was swollen with pain, as if countless invisible wounds were being soaked in saltwater, the agony piercing straight to her nerves and bone marrow.
The gland on the back of her neck, in particular, was still radiating a scorching heat. Liquid continuously seeped from it, trickling down her neck and dripping onto the ground.
Drop by drop, dripping crimson.
She no longer had the strength she’d had at the beginning. She couldn’t run another step and could only sit down by the roadside, using all her might to keep her heavy eyelids open, watching the people and cars come and go.
Leaning against a tree by the road, she hoped that among the people passing by, or in one of the cars.
Her Shi Nan would be there.
The sky was much darker than before, but she didn’t know if it was because her senses were gradually failing that she perceived the world as dimming.
It was cold.
A desolate, cold wind brushed against her face, completely different from the last time she had died.
It wasn’t this cold last time.
It must be snowing this time.
Icy flecks of snow swirled with the wind, spiraling down, drifting, landing on her face and body, bringing a bone-chilling cold.
Everything before her was veiled in a hazy white gauze of snow. People kept stopping, looking at her with horrified expressions, only to pass by her the next second with blank faces and walk away.
These people were a bit strange. But she no longer had the mind to think about such things.
She just hoped, waited, for her Shi Nan to come quickly.
She still had so much she wanted to say.
Clinging to this hope, she held on with her last bit of strength and waited until a car screeched to a halt by the side of the road.
Her vision was blurry, a field of white, then a vast expanse of black.
A stumbling figure got out of the car and ran toward her, carrying the endlessly falling snowflakes, carrying all her hopes.
Almost at the instant the figure appeared, the breath she had been holding in her chest suddenly released.
And then, somehow, in that moment, a salty, metallic liquid erupted from her throat.
Red blood splattered across the icy, snowy ground before her, mingling with the swirling snowflakes before they both rolled onto the earth together.
An uncontrollable cough, mixed with the mouthfuls of blood she spat out.
Her breathing grew heavy. Inhaling and exhaling both became increasingly difficult.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long.
A cold palm rested on her cheek, its fingertips trembling uncontrollably as they frantically cupped her face.
Warm breath washed over her, choked with sobs, intermittent, leaving the person breathless.
“It’s okay… It’s okay.”
The voice, usually so soft and gentle, was now soaked in tears, wailing so hard she couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
Fu Zhao endured the pain in the back of her neck, took a breath, and used some effort to lift the corners of her lips. She reached out a hand, wanting to wipe away her Shi Nan’s tears.
But the face so close to her, no matter how she reached, remained untouchable.
The tea-brown eyes instantly filled with tears, the rims turning redder and redder. Teardrops, like pearls from a broken string, fell from her overflowing eyes.
One by one, they landed on the back of her hand, which she could no longer lift.
They were so hot they made her own eyes burn.
So hot that the feeling of swelling throughout her body intensified.
Fu Zhao looked at Shi Nan, her hand falling limply. “You’re… crying.”
“Don’t talk.” Shi Nan held her head, letting her lean into her embrace, every word thick with sobs. “I… I’ve already called for an ambulance. We just have to hold on a little longer, just a little longer and it’ll be okay.”
“It’s okay, you’ll be okay.”
Shi Nan repeated this phrase over and over, her tears falling ceaselessly, mixing with the blood on Fu Zhao’s body, staining the snow beneath them a vast expanse of red.
“Mm.”
Fu Zhao managed a smile, gently closing and reopening her eyes. “I actually wanted to say something to cheer you up.”
“But…” Her voice grew fainter as she fought back the tears in her eyes. “I really don’t have the strength.”
“If you don’t have the strength, then don’t talk.” Shi Nan’s voice unconsciously rose, but she immediately softened it upon realizing, hugging her shoulders tightly as if to meld her into her embrace. “Just wait a little longer, just a little longer and it’ll be okay.”
Her vision began to blur, and the pain throughout her body gradually faded.
Fu Zhao really wanted to wait a little longer with Shi Nan, but no matter how much she wanted to, she knew that this time, there was truly no chance.
Trembling, she pulled the small cloth pouch from her pocket but lacked the strength to open it.
“You… you help me open it.”
She gasped out the words, unable to stop herself from coughing. Another surge of blood welled up from her throat, choking off the rest of her words.
“No.” Shi Nan shook her head, holding back her tears, her lips pressed into a pale line. “Later, when you’re better, you can open it yourself. I won’t help you. Don’t even think about it.”
That was truly a difficult thing to say.
Fu Zhao stared at Shi Nan for a long while, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m afraid… there won’t be another chance.”
Shi Nan looked at her, her stubborn, determined gaze shattering after only a moment. The tears she had been holding back finally fell. She lowered her eyes and said nothing, simply taking the contents out of the small cloth pouch and placing them in Fu Zhao’s open palm.
A pair of rings rested quietly in her palm.
Fu Zhao looked at them for a moment, then smiled. “So you knew?”
“Mm,” Shi Nan answered softly, her embrace tightening. “So if you’re going to propose, wait until you’re better. Now… now…”
She trailed off, unable to continue. Tears streamed from her eyes, her fingertips began to tremble, and her body started to shake uncontrollably. Her voice rose. “Damn it, why isn’t the ambulance here yet?”
“Shi Nan… listen to me.”
Fu Zhao barely managed to lift her eyelids, suppressing the cough in her throat. “If I die-”
The moment the word “die” left her lips, her mouth was covered by a soft palm, carrying a bone-chilling cold and the thick scent of blood.
“You won’t. Don’t say that word.” Shi Nan gritted her teeth, shaking her head, refusing to let her continue. The voice that reached her ears was heart-wrenching. “I won’t lose you again. Absolutely not.”
Fu Zhao couldn’t help but cough. A gush of liquid sprayed onto Shi Nan’s palm, and the pressure of her hand vanished in an instant as she frantically cupped Fu Zhao’s face.
“Why aren’t they here yet?”
Shi Nan was sobbing uncontrollably. She lowered her head, and strands of blood-stained hair fell across Fu Zhao’s face. Snowflakes landed on her hair, carrying a chill. “Why aren’t they here yet? Why?”
“I’ve been thinking for a long time…”
Fu Zhao’s whole body felt sore and swollen. “Why… after I died the first time, I got to start over, to meet you again.”
“I always… always thought it was heaven’s mercy, because it pitied me for losing everything…” she said intermittently, meeting Shi Nan’s dazed eyes. Her breathing grew heavier, and speaking a single sentence became incredibly difficult. “But it wasn’t.”
“It might be because I… I was too unwilling to let go last time. There were so many… so many things I hadn’t done, so many… so many words I hadn’t said.”
“If… if my second chance was because I was unwilling, then next time there probably won’t be… won’t be another chance to start over.”
“That’s good too…”
Another mouthful of blood gushed out, and she almost didn’t finish the sentence.
The sound of the wind grew louder in her ears, and her breathing slowed.
Fu Zhao paused for a moment, then gripped Shi Nan’s wrist. Facing Shi Nan’s tear-streaked face, she used every ounce of her strength to say, “If… if I had to start over again, to experience a death like this again, and to make you experience a parting like this again…”
“I would rather stay in this moment and never start over again.”
“I don’t want you to be with me forever, stuck in this gear that turns but never moves forward. You should… you should have a future that keeps moving forward. Your ending shouldn’t stop… stop here.”
“Maybe… maybe I would blame… that rainy day we first met. The rain hitting my face, it hurt, it was so cold… I would also blame… the timing of our meeting that time. I was in such a sorry state.”
“But I won’t blame you, and I won’t blame myself for being just a Beta… unworthy of being with you.”
“Because… because being able to experience this wonderful time again is already… what I feel is the most perfect… ending.”
After saying that long passage, Fu Zhao had used up every last bit of strength in her body. She couldn’t utter another word.
She could only barely keep her eyes open, wanting to look at Shi Nan for a few more moments.
All her senses were gradually fading. Her vision grew blurrier, and the arms holding her grew looser.
Other than her voice, she could barely feel Shi Nan’s presence.
“Mm… mm, I know… I know.”
The voice that reached her eardrums was choked with sobs, each word distinct. “I’m already lucky… lucky enough.”
“To have the honor… of getting to know you again, to be with you, is… the most worthwhile thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“I love you, Fu Zhao.”
“I really, really love you. You really don’t know… don’t know how much I love you.”
“Because no matter what you think, I always… love you more than you can ever imagine.”
The voice grew fainter, so faint it was almost inaudible.
Having received what felt like a reassuring answer, Fu Zhao could no longer hold on. She closed her eyes, held back the surging liquid in her throat, and responded to Shi Nan one last time.
“I… love you too, always more than you do.”
After she said this, the regret in her heart dissipated, leaving only a reluctance to leave. But no matter how reluctant she was, the heart-wrenching cries in her ears grew more and more distant.
The breathing was so close, yet it felt a world away.
The sensation on her face also began to fade, until she could no longer feel the warmth of the embrace.
She could no longer hold the two rings in her palm. As her arm fell, they seemed to have dropped to the ground.
They made a crisp “ding-” sound.
It was as if it were reminding her that the beautiful time that began that summer had once again come to an abrupt end, that it seemed even with her greatest effort, she couldn’t have the most perfect ending.
But the sound of the waves that early summer was loud, and the cicadas’ song was vibrant.
The timing of their reunion was beautiful.
She would no longer blame Shi Nan, no longer blame herself for not being brave enough, and she would have no more regrets.
Because this time, she was completely willing.
Even if it came to an abrupt end, she felt it was fortunate enough.
Why is my screen so blurry.....
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