Darkness before the dawn

In his sleep, Cheng Zihao seemed to hear a burst of pleading sounds, as weak as a newborn kitten.

　　He awoke with a jolt to find the darkened room so quiet that only the sound of his own heavy breathing remained. The window was dark, and the luminous pendant clock on the wall was pointing to one-thirty.

　　Cheng Zihao had always been a light sleeper and woke up in the middle of the night with insomnia. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of lukewarm water, leaning over the dining table to take small sips as a pale but persistent face flashed through his mind.

　　Putting down his water cup, he couldn't help but walk towards the room where Gu Xijun was. Her room was located at the end of the corridor, with an open view and the best soundproofing.

　　Standing outside the door, Cheng Zihao was hesitant to knock on the door when suddenly a faint scream came from inside.

　　Gu Xijun, are you still awake? Cheng Zihao knocked on the door of the room, but never got a response.

　　The sound grew louder and louder, Cheng Zihao remembered the woman's pale face in the morning, and the only remaining hint of revengeful pleasure in his heart inexplicably dispersed, and was replaced by a vague worry.

　　His palm landed on the door handle and pushed hard, only to find that the door was locked. Gu Xijun, open the door!

　　The room was dead silent, while low, agonized voices went on and on.

　　Cheng Zihao's mood was so disturbed that he hardly hesitated any longer and quickly ran back to his room, rummaging through the drawer for his keys.

　　When the lights came on, he looked at Gu Xijun, who was curled up in the corner, and the worry in his heart eventually turned into an indescribable panic.

　　What's wrong with you? Cheng Zihao picked the woman up from the comforter and found that her body was trembling terribly, her pale lips had been bitten through the skin long ago, and the oozing blood had solidified into clots.

　　Icy fingers clutched Cheng Zihao's wrist, and Gu Xijun slowly opened her eyes, the helplessness and pain in the bottom of her eyes piercing his eyes.

　　In an almost desperate tone, she broke off, I promise you...you'll help me find stomach pills...

　　Hearing the words stomach medicine, Cheng Zihao was obviously relieved. His intention was only to teach Gu Xijun a lesson about her capriciousness and to rush her to the end of her life, and his cold tone couldn't hide his inner worry: Okay, I'll be right back.

　　In a daze, Gu Xijun felt her body being picked up by a pair of strong arms and slammed into a warm embrace. Someone fed her medicine and warm water, fed her some white porridge, then stuffed a warm bag into her arms and helped her cover up before leaving.

　　The medicine finally took effect in the second half of the night, and Gu Xijun felt the pain in her stomach gradually dissipate. The warm water bag was at a moderate temperature, like her mother's hands caressing her weak body, as well as her wounded heart.

　　When she was awake, she rolled over and saw a glass of water resting on the bedside table, presumably set aside when Cheng Zihao fed him the medicine.

　　The incident at Half Moon Bay had once repeatedly surged through Gu Xijun's mind over and over again over the past four months.

　　She believes in the cycle of karma, and that the bad consequences planted in the past have always ushered in a day that cannot be avoided. Since the breakup of her relationXip with Gu Weiye, she has matured a lot, and is no longer the willful and arbitrary daughter of the Gu family.

　　The cruel reality was constantly reminding her that Gu Xijun was nothing more than a small person struggling at the bottom, and from the day she decided to take revenge on Gu Weiye, she was doomed to the hardXips she would face next.

　　It wasn't until midday, when Gu Xijun felt that the pain in her stomach had dissipated, that she slowly got up and began to change her clothes and freshen up. When she left the room, she seemed to have made a great determination to walk in the direction of the dining room as she had done when she had left the Gu family, without a second thought.