Suppressing the urge to touch Tang Yu, Du Yuqing closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes again, the complicated emotions that previously resided in the depths of her gaze vanished.
Du Yuqing carefully leaned down and gently kissed the top of Tang Yu's hair, even slowing down her breath. She behaved as if Tang Yu truly belonged to her.
Du Yuqing's eyes dimmed momentarily, and she carefully got up and left the room, not wanting to disturb Tang Yu, who had finally fallen asleep.
…
In the dim room, everything Du Yuqing did was displayed on the screen and seen by a pair of light brown eyes. Four clenched her fists, completely unaware that her nails had sunken into the soft flesh of her palm, causing tiny bloodshot lines to appear.
…
On the other side, Yin Zhao-an didn't follow the small sedan that Tang Yu's kidnappers had driven away in. Or, more specifically, she didn't get to follow it as the scene changed abruptly.
In the blink of an eye, Yi Zhao-an found herself in a cold and damp basement, with Tang Yu barely clinging to life before her.
Tang Yu had many wounds on her body, and her breathing gradually weakened. Her pale, bleeding lips opened and closed, looking like she was murmuring something.
Yin Zhao-an leaned in to listen, and she could only hear Tang Yu repeating two syllables:
"An-An…"
An inexplicable anger rose in Yin Zhao-an's heart. She also couldn't understand why, despite "Yin Zhao-an" clearly not knowing how to cherish her, Tang Yu would still think of "Yin Zhao-an" at a time like this.
Suddenly, Yin Zhao-an noticed Tang Yu staring straight at her while struggling to raise an arm in her direction. Then, a faint smile of happiness appeared on Tang Yu's face as she said, "An-An... You... You've come."
Yin Zhao-an looked around in confusion. Besides herself and Tang Yu, nobody else was in the room. Could it be that Tang Yu was experiencing an illusion?
But Tang Yu's eyes were clearly looking in her direction!
Yin Zhao-an suppressed her startled feelings and walked slowly toward Tang Yu, wondering if Tang Yu truly could see her.
Crouching down, Yin Zhao-an held Tang Yu's pale and frail hand, immediately feeling a chill coming from the hand. At the same time, a tear rolled down Tang Yu's face.
"You really...came to find me."
Even though Yin Zhao-an knew everything here was but an illusion, her heart still involuntarily constricted. She felt as if Tang Yu truly was about to leave her.
Tang Yu struggled on the ground, seemingly trying to get up. Yin Zhao-an reached out and embraced Tang Yu's waist, pulling her into her arms. Then, she saw Tang Yu weakly smiling while tears streamed down her face.
"How wonderful... An-An has never been this gentle with me..." Tang Yu said, her growing weaker with each passing syllable. "But... I really like you..."
"An-An... would never look at me with such tender heartache... You are not her..." Tang Yu forced a bitter smile, her pupils gradually dilating. "You are not her..."
Tang Yu sensed a sudden warm sensation on her lips, but she couldn't respond to it. With the last bit of strength in her body, all she managed was to say two words.
"Thank you..."
Tears began to ooze out of Yin Zhao-an's eyes when she felt the person in her embrace taking her last breath. In the dark and silent room, her figure looked lonely and desolate.
Yin Zhao-an continued to hold Tang Yu for a long time, a bitter feeling overwhelming her heart. Her throat felt tight, so tight that she could barely breathe.
The next moment, the environment changed once again. Before Yin Zhao-an could fully recover from witnessing Tang Yu's life slipping away, she saw the person who shared the same face as she did—the "Yin Zhao-an" of this world.
Clenching her fists, Yin Zhao-an strode forward and subconsciously threw a punch at "Yin Zhao-an's" face. She had expected her fist to pass through "Yin Zhao-an's" face, but to her surprise, the punch landed solidly on the bewildered "Yin Zhao-an's" face.
"What the hell! Are you crazy?" "Yin Zhao-an" had just gotten up from the computer, so she couldn't help but curse out loud when she was abruptly greeted with a punch that sent her brain spinning.
However, when "Yin Zhao-an" got a better look at the person in front of her, her eyes widened in astonishment. She nearly shouted out of reflex, but her mental composure prevented her from embarrassing herself like that.
In front of her stood someone who looked exactly like herself. There was no way such a situation could be real. She must have started hallucinating after sitting at the computer for too long.
"Who are you?!" "Yin Zhao-an" demanded.
Initially, "Yin Zhao-an" had thought of putting up a struggle. However, the following three words that came out of the party's mouth struck her like a lightning bolt, keeping her rooted to the spot.
"Yin Zhao-an."
Seeing her other self's reaction, Yin Zhao-an suddenly felt apathetic. She didn't understand why someone like this deserved to share her name and her face. This person didn't deserve Tang Yu's affection in the slightest.
"Tang Yu is dead. You're on your own," Yin Zhao-an coldly stated. Then, without bothering to look at the person frozen in place, she turned around and walked away.
How boring, Yin Zhao-an thought. Why was this dream so long? When would she wake up from this strange dream? She missed her Tang-Tang.
The reason Yin Zhao-an didn't lose control of herself too much was because she knew everything here was fake. She had taken great care of Tang Yu, and the Tang Yu she knew was nowhere as pale and weak as the "Tang Yu" of this world. They slept together instead of sleeping in separate rooms. Her Tang Yu was adorable and would act coquettishly, not as submissive as she was here. As for the "Yin Zhao-an" of this world, although Yin Zhao-an couldn't stand this version of herself, the other party deserved to face the news of "Tang Yu's" death, and she deserved to live a lifetime of guilt and pain.
Yin Zhao-an didn't know how long she had wandered this dream world. She had wandered to the point where she nearly forgot where she was.
One day, Yin Zhao-an found herself standing in a beautiful hall. Fang Ling, wearing a pretty dress, sat among the guests, playing with an adorable little baby in her arms. A tall man sat silently next to them, watching the mother and child play, his eyes full of affection.
Fang Lang stood on the podium at the front, holding a few procedure cards in his hand, reciting something nervously.
Sitting below the podium was a handsome man with a light tan, seemingly wearing a pair of toy ears on his head and dragging a gray-black tail behind him.
Then, Yin Zhao-an saw the newlyweds coming out from inside the house. The newlyweds turned out to be...Mo Shu and Chen Ci.
Is this their wedding venue?
Yin Zhao-an floated over and took a seat at the front, watching their interactions, watching them exchange vows, exchange rings, and kiss amidst everyone's blessings.
Suddenly, Yin Zhao-an felt a cold sensation on her face. When she reached out to touch it, she found that, without her realizing it, tears had started to fall from her eyes.
Yin Zhao-an had to admit that she was very envious.
…
Tang Yu suddenly woke up from a dream, huddled up for a moment before realizing where she was, and immediately fell back into sadness.
It's been so long… Has An-An still not noticed that I'm missing?
Perhaps because she had already died once, Tang Yu wasn't as afraid to be in her current situation anymore. Not to mention, Du Yuqing hadn't sent anyone to beat her up yet.
While Tang Yu was lost in thought, the door suddenly opened a little, and a plate of exquisite western food was pushed through the gap. Then, the door closed just as quickly as it opened.
On the plate was a serving of cumin steak, a small portion of pizza, and purified water in a paper cup.
After the door closed, Tang Yu heard no further movement. It seemed that whoever delivered her food came to do just that.
To Tang Yu's embarrassment, her stomach grumbled loudly. She had gone out to buy groceries for dinner at the time of her abduction. While she didn't know exactly how much time had passed since then, she was certain it was a long time, so it was only natural for her to be hungry.
Tang Yu carefully moved up to the plate of food and found that the steak had already been cut. No knife and fork were provided for her, only a disposable glove.
Was this to prevent her from self-harming?
Tang Yu suddenly realized that Du Yuqing might really be intending to keep her alive this time.
Caught between starving and satiating herself, Tang Yu didn't hesitate for long. She decisively picked up the plate and shuffled to the edge of the bed, seemingly treating the bed as a safe spot.
It was only natural that Tang Yu would choose to satiate herself. Although she didn't know if there was anything strange added to the food, if she didn't eat, she would only be waiting for death. She might starve to death before Yin Zhao-an even came to find her.
…
When Du Yuqing saw Tang Yu obediently eat her food through the surveillance monitor, her mood brightened. The icy expression that was usually on her face revealed a faint warmth, and her eyes were full of infatuation for that person.
Four stood by Du Yuqing's side, dumbfounded, as she saw an expression she had never seen before on Du Yuqing's face. A tinge of jealousy filled her heart as she curiously turned to watch the person on the screen.
The person on the screen had an extremely cute appearance. If she were to be described as an animal, she would be like a pure white rabbit.
Sure enough, a counterfeit should never appear in front of the genuine article. No matter how much one tried to dress up a fake, it would only be enough to fool oneself. The fake could never become the real deal.
Meanwhile, if there was a choice to be made, one would naturally choose the genuine article without hesitation. Who would care about the presence or absence of a counterfeit? Four laughed at herself, self-deprecatingly acknowledging that she couldn't even properly serve a substitute. She didn't even have one-thousandth of the other person's likeness.
…
When Tang Yu finished eating, the door opened again. Seeing this, she promptly placed the empty plate in the center of the carpet and cautiously retreated to the corner, resembling a frightened rabbit. Meanwhile, the servant who entered the room collected the empty plate and left the room without ever glancing at Tang Yu, behaving entirely like a robot following a program.
When the heavy door closed, Tang Yu started to look around the room curiously, trying to find the surveillance cameras that were monitoring her. However, even though the room had some lighting now, it only served a mild illuminating purpose. The room's corners were still enveloped in darkness, making one wonder if there were lurking monsters within.
Failing to make any noteworthy discoveries, Tang Yu wrapped the thin blanket from the bed around herself and huddled in a corner, secretly surveying the dark corner across the room with a suspicious gaze. Little did she know that she was looking directly at the location of the surveillance camera.
…
Du Yuqing calmly watched the innocent face displayed on the surveillance monitor, laughter coming out of her mouth when she saw Tang Yu peering in the camera's direction suspiciously.
"How adorable."
After saying so, Du Yuqing stood up and walked out of the room. Four, who had been behind her the whole time, lowered her head slightly and followed her mistress out of the room.
Noticing Four's actions, Du Yuqing paused her steps, the gentle glow in her eyes dissipating. Then, she coldly looked at the submissive person behind her and said, "You don't have to follow me, go about your own business."
Four bit her lip and lifted her eyes. There was a thin layer of mist shrouding her gaze, and her originally indifferent expression was stained with an indescribable desire, making her look very enticing.
"Mistress..."
Seeing Four in this state, Du Yuqing immediately understood what the other party had done. Her eyes, lined with sharp eyeliner, narrowed dangerously. Taking a step forward, she gripped Four's chin firmly and said, "You have grown bold. How dare you take medicine without permission?"
Due to her chin being restrained, Four could only tilt her head back, exposing her vulnerable neck. Then, a teardrop slid from the corner of her eye and silently disappeared into the carpet beneath her feet as she pleaded, "Please, Mistress... Take me."