22

Cen Lingqiu left.

Before leaving, she said, "Tomorrow, I will give you a birthday gift."

"This is my promise to you."

Yu Mingjiao covered her face with her hands, overwhelmed by an immense hatred that consumed her. Her eyes were already red with tears.

She hated Cen Lingqiu's silence.

She hated her hypocrisy.

She hated her mockery.

This hatred was different from the anger she felt toward her in the past. She couldn't explain the source of this hatred. What did it resemble? It felt like the twisted struggle of a child abandoned by someone they loved.

Cen Lingqiu had promised Yu Mingjiao a birthday gift. Even though Yu Mingjiao might no longer accept anything from her, she was determined to fulfill her promise.

December 22nd, Winter Solstice.

This was Yu Mingjiao's birthday.

Cen Lingqiu traveled to an ancient town in the suburbs, following the route provided by the system until she arrived at a particular house.

She knocked on the door.

After a long wait, the door finally opened.

"Who are you?" a graceful and gentle woman asked.

Cen Lingqiu nodded politely. "Hello, Aunt Shen. I'm a friend of Yu Mingjiao."

This woman was a close friend of Yu Mingjiao's mother. After Yu Mingjiao's mother passed away, and with both of her parents already deceased, this woman, upon hearing of her friend's suicide, went to Yu Lianyi's house and took all of her friend's belongings.

Among those belongings was a diary.

This diary was exactly what Cen Lingqiu was searching for.

In the original plot, the male lead had obtained the diary from this woman to make the female lead happy, leading her to soften her attitude towards him.

Cen Lingqiu knew that this diary was important to the female lead, so she intended to give it to Yu Mingjiao as a gift.

After hearing Cen Lingqiu's request, the woman took a slow sip of tea, pondering for a long time before finally speaking. "Is that child doing okay?"

Cen Lingqiu's tone was humble. "Not very well. She fell from a building when she was seventeen and, unfortunately, her legs were paralyzed."

The woman's hand trembled. "What happened?"

Cen Lingqiu recounted Yu Mingjiao's life to the woman.

The woman remained silent for a long time, her gaze distant, before finally sighing.

"Two unfortunate souls."

The woman stood up and went to the study, returning with a box.

"Her mother's diary is in here, along with some other things."

There were deep wrinkles on the woman's face, and her voice was tinged with bitterness. "When her mother passed away, I always felt that the child's birth was what caused her death, so I didn't want any of her things to be connected with that child. That's why I took everything away."

"Ah, in the end, they were both just unfortunate souls."

The woman let out a bitter laugh. "When you give it to her, please tell her that I'm sorry."

The woman chatted with Cen Lingqiu for a while, asking about Yu Mingjiao's recent situation.

Cen Lingqiu shared some details with her.

By the time Cen Lingqiu was ready to leave, it was already dark.

After saying goodbye to the woman, Cen Lingqiu started driving back.

The mountain road from the ancient town was remote and sparsely populated. Because there had been some snowfall earlier in the day, the road was slippery, so she drove cautiously.

She glanced at her phone. It was 7:00 PM.

She should be able to deliver the gift before midnight.

Cen Lingqiu wondered how Yu Mingjiao would react to receiving the gift. Would she be disgusted? After all, the child no longer trusted her.

Yu Mingjiao was probably hating her right now.

After today, she would leave this world.

The thought felt surreal.

Sigh.

Who would have thought their farewell would be so unpleasant?

Cen Lingqiu mused idly.

Suddenly, a car came speeding towards her on the wrong side of the road. Seeing that a collision was imminent, Cen Lingqiu swerved sharply, but the other car still clipped her vehicle, sending her car careening towards the cliff!

Because of the snow, the tires skidded, and no matter how much she turned the wheel, she couldn't control the car's direction.

Crash—

Cen Lingqiu's eyes widened in horror as the car smashed through the guardrail, and in the next moment, the car was tumbling down the cliff!

All she could feel was a nauseating dizziness and excruciating pain. Cen Lingqiu had no time to understand what was happening, her ears filled with the deafening sound of the crash, making it impossible to keep her eyes open.

When everything finally quieted down, she was in too much pain to move.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Just like when she died alone in a cluttered room at the age of eighteen.

Her eyelids were half-open, her body paralyzed, feeling the coldness rapidly draining away.

So cold.

She dimly thought, If only Yu Mingjiao were here.

She was so cold and wanted to be close to Yu Mingjiao's warmth.

Oh.

The gift.

She hadn't given it yet.

Cen Lingqiu's breath came in shallow gasps, her gaze empty.

The snowy night was eerily quiet, the only sound being the ticking of the clock.

Cen Lingqiu's eyes slowly fluttered as she blinked, and in the midst of the sharp pain, she finally closed her eyes.

On Yu Mingjiao's birthday, she spent the day alone. Cen Lingqiu never came.

She sat silently on the balcony, from morning until night.

At the stroke of midnight, it began to snow.

Heavy snow, as if it could bury a person alive.

Her birthday had come to an end.

Her twentieth birthday was just like every birthday before it.

She pulled her gaze away and left the balcony.

After that day, she never saw Cen Lingqiu again.

Yu Mingjiao didn't care because she didn't want to see her anyway.

She continued with her routine, going to school and preparing for exams. But she started neglecting her meals again, surviving on just a piece of bread a day.

After school, her eyes would unconsciously drift to the large sycamore tree by the street.

That was where Cen Lingqiu used to wait for her.

"Mingjiao, what are you looking at?" An Wu asked, following her gaze. "Are you waiting for someone?"

Yu Mingjiao responded coolly, "No."

An Wu continued, "By the way, Mingjiao, why hasn't that sister come to pick you up these days?"

Yu Mingjiao's face turned cold. "She won't be coming anymore."

Noticing the change in her mood, An Wu pressed her lips together and fell silent.

On the day Yu Mingjiao passed her final exam, she returned home to find a strange man standing outside Cen Lingqiu's door.

Yu Mingjiao glanced at him briefly and was about to enter her own apartment when the man stood up, walked over, and called out to her, "Hey, young lady—"

Yu Mingjiao turned around, staring at him quietly.

The man scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Do you know the lady who lives here? A woman named Lin Qiu."

Despite his smile, the man had a long scar on his face, a tall frame, and an air of thuggish insolence.

Yu Mingjiao narrowed her eyes slightly. "What do you want with her?"

Seeing that she knew Lin Qiu, the man stepped closer. "Well, that lady… she owes us a bit of money. I've been trying to reach her, but I can't get through on the phone. Can you help me get in touch with her?"

Yu Mingjiao considered ignoring the man. After all, that woman's affairs were no longer her concern, and whatever happened to her had nothing to do with her.

But her body seemed to resist moving away, as if it had no intention of turning around.

Her intuition told her that this man had some kind of business relationship with Cen Lingqiu.

But why would that woman know someone like him and even owe him money?

Someone like her, a spoiled heiress, couldn't possibly owe anyone money.

Even if she didn't want to admit it, Yu Mingjiao was still deeply curious about anything related to Cen Lingqiu.

In a calm voice, Yu Mingjiao said, "I'm her friend. She's been busy recently, so I can help pay off her debt—"

The man's eyes lit up.

Then Yu Mingjiao added, "But first, you need to tell me why she owes you money."

The man hesitated.

Seeing his reluctance, Yu Mingjiao spoke in a harmless tone, "I'm just concerned about her since I'm her friend."

The young girl before him seemed harmless, her eyes clear and innocent. She was disabled and even willing to help Cen Lingqiu pay off her debts—she must be simple-minded.

Since she was willing to pay, it meant they were close, so it didn't seem like a big deal to tell her the truth.

The scarred man thought it over and, in the interest of getting the money, decided to be honest with her.

The man explained that he was the brother of one of the loan sharks. His brother had been hired by Cen Lingqiu to lure a man into gambling with them. After getting the man to take out a high-interest loan, they used his inability to repay it as an excuse to beat him up.

During the beating, the man had managed to grab a knife and stab his brother, though it wasn't serious. Now, he wanted to ask Cen Lingqiu for medical expenses and some compensation, treating it as a work-related injury.

He briefly explained the situation to Yu Mingjiao.

As he spoke, the young girl's face suddenly turned pale, her expression darkening.

"What was that man's name?"

The scarred man thought for a moment. "Uh… I think his last name was Yu, but I don't know his full name."

Yu Mingjiao's eyelids trembled violently.

"What about the money…"

Yu Mingjiao handed the man some money, and he left, satisfied.

After the man left, Yu Mingjiao remained outside, not moving for a long time.

She felt like a robot that had been paused, frozen in place.

The man's words had hit her like a ton of bricks, leaving her unable to process what she'd heard.

According to the man, Cen Lingqiu's goal had been to ruin her father.

But why would she do that?

Didn't she still hate her?

Otherwise, why would she give her father money if not to conspire with him and Lin Dong to trap her in their schemes?

Everything was so contradictory.

A sudden wave of fear washed over Yu Mingjiao. She had a nagging feeling that her suspicions might have been wrong all along.

Yu Lianyi.

She needed to find Yu Lianyi and get to the bottom of this.

_

Yu Lianyi lay on the couch, his condition worse since that day he fainted. Now, he didn't even have the strength to make it to the bathroom.

Let alone carry out his plan to deliver Yu Mingjiao to Lin Dong.

It was all that damn girl's fault.

Yu Lianyi seethed with anger.

He shifted his body slightly, wincing in pain as his face twisted.

Suddenly, the door burst open, startling Yu Lianyi.

"What the hell—" His words caught in his throat as he snarled, "You little bitch, how dare you come back."

Yu Mingjiao said nothing. She walked in, grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table, and approached him. One hand pinned down his good arm while the other held the knife to his throat.

Yu Lianyi, terrified by her actions, froze in fear. His eyes widened as he stammered, "W-what are you doing?"

Yu Mingjiao's expression was eerily calm.

"Why did that woman give you money? What did she say to you? Why was Lin Dong's number in your phone? What were you three planning?"

Confronted by his daughter's relentless questioning, Yu Lianyi's fragile masculinity flared up, and he shouted at her, "Is this how you talk to your father? And what's with the knife? Are you crazy, you damn woman?"

He tried to shake her off.

But in his current state, he couldn't even fight off a child.

Yu Mingjiao twisted his broken arm, causing him to scream in pain.

She had no patience left for him. Her gaze darkened, and the knife pressed harder against his neck, drawing a bead of blood.

"Tell me the truth." Beneath her calm exterior was a storm brewing, her dark eyes cold and menacing, like a snake lurking in the shadows.

Yu Lianyi, a coward at heart, quickly lost his bravado under the threat of the knife and shakily confessed the truth.

With a thud, her misguided suspicions finally crumbled, leaving behind a mess of despair and ash.

She had been wrong.

For a moment, Yu Mingjiao felt a strange sense of relief in her heart.

She tossed the knife back into the trash and ignored Yu Lianyi.

The man was a broken shell of his former self, and even if he recovered, the burden of the enormous loan would follow him.

His life was ruined.

Yu Mingjiao rushed back home and stood at Cen Lingqiu's door.

The painful doubts that had tormented her had shattered, and in their place was a faint sense of joy and surprise.

That woman didn't want to harm her after all.

In fact, everything Cen Lingqiu had done was to help her.

Although she didn't know why Cen Lingqiu had kept it from her, it didn't matter. She wouldn't hold it against her anymore.

She had been rude to her, even said some terrible things.

Would she be mad?

If she apologized, would Cen Lingqiu treat her the same as before?

For the first time, Yu Mingjiao felt the weight of having made a mistake.

She didn't know what to do.

Standing outside the door, Yu Mingjiao hesitated, unsure whether to knock.

"What are you doing here?"

Wen Zhi walked over, carrying a bag.

"Where's Lin Qiu?"

Wen Zhi looked at her in disbelief, her expression tinged with pain.

"You don't know?"

A growing sense of unease gnawed at Yu Mingjiao as she frowned.

"Know what?"

"Lin Qiu is dead."