She watched herself die.
A stranger, herself, plunged a knife into the demon's heart.
Strangely, the demon wore a sorrowful, almost tearful expression.
"Why are you crying?"
"Isn't this what you wanted?"
Shen Yue let out a soft sigh, then embraced the blood-soaked man. Her delicate brows curved slightly as she smiled, tiny tears falling onto his chest.
He wore only a thin shirt. The dampness on his chest, whether it was blood or tears, was unclear.
"I will accompany you."
"Shall we go to hell together?"
Without waiting for the man's reaction, she tiptoed, tilted her head back, and for the first time, initiated a gentle kiss on Lu Jin's tensed jawline.
She tasted it—a hint of salt, a hint of bitterness.
How strange.
Was Lu Jin someone so afraid of pain?
---
The moment Luo Kai pushed open the door, a thick scent of blood assaulted him. Upon seeing the scene inside, his legs grew weak, nearly buckling.
Lu Jin lay with his eyes closed on the bed, the snow-white sheets stained red. Shen Yue was curled in Lu Jin's embrace. Her long, delicate eyelashes were dotted with blood, and her pale face appeared almost transparent against the vivid crimson. Her chest rose and fell minimally, as if she might vanish at any moment.
Luo Kai's fear surged to his throat, his head throbbing as if blood vessels were about to burst. His trembling fingers moved to Shen Yue's nostrils.
A faint breath puffed out; she was still alive.
Luo Kai exhaled as if he had narrowly escaped death, every part of him trembling, his hands and feet turning ice-cold.
He didn't spare Lu Jin a glance. Gently, he attempted to lift Shen Yue.
But the moment his fingers touched Shen Yue, her eyes flew open.
Confusion clouded them at first, then slowly, lucidity returned.
She turned her head to look at Lu Jin, whose breathing was shallow. The strong smell of blood was like a decaying flower.
"He..." Shen Yue's mind was in a fog, lost like a stray child. "I killed someone..."
Her hands were soaked red, her eyes darkening.
Shen Yue was entirely enveloped by the scent of Lu Jin's blood, as if it had seeped into her bones and merged with her own.
It was like Lu Jin's curse.
Even as a ghost, he would not let her go.
Her reaction was delayed. She looked up at Luo Kai, her lips moving, her voice barely a whisper, "I, I killed someone..."
Her head throbbed as if pierced by countless fine needles.
She seemed to recall many things, as if in a dream.
Shen Yue's face was pale, her breathing rapid, her chest heaving.
It felt as if something was blocking and pressing down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Her eyes felt too heavy to lift, her long lashes adorned with precariously hanging beads of moisture.
In a moment of fragmented memories, Shen Yue had a sudden realization.
It turned out she was the one who should have died.
In her bewilderment, someone held her tightly. The embrace was warm, the heart beating rapidly, and a faint scent of laundry detergent, lavender, wafted from the person.
Luo Kai held Shen Yue. It was the first time he had held her so openly. His words still stumbled.
He stammered, "D-don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
With extreme gentleness, he cupped Shen Yue's face. Meeting her water-filled eyes, his resolute, rugged face broke into an awkward smile.
This time, he managed to speak a complete, coherent sentence.
"Yueyue, don't be scared. Leave here, go as far as you can, and never come back. Live happily. Promise me, okay?"
Shen Yue remained expressionless, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her whole body trembled, her mind a blank.
All she could hear was Lu Jin's flamboyant, venom-laced words.
Sensing the trembling of the person in his arms, Luo Kai tightened his grip. He lowered his head and kissed Shen Yue's cold forehead, murmuring softly, "Forget it all, forget everything..."
"Move forward, don't look back."
She couldn't move forward. Ahead lay darkness; behind lay an abyss.
She didn't know which way to go.
Thunderous roars echoed through the sky as fine rain began to fall, escalating into a torrential downpour.
The wail of police sirens drowned out the peals of thunder.
Red and blue lights flashed, almost blinding.
Police officers rushed in and pinned Luo Kai down.
Luo Kai did not resist. As he was led away, he cast a fleeting glance at Shen Yue, who was being comforted by the police.
Her ears were filled with a cacophony of sounds. Shen Yue was being led away.
A female officer beside her held an umbrella, shielding her. The air was damp, yet it couldn't wash away the scent of blood clinging to her.
Gloomy clouds rolled through the sky, accompanied by flashes of lightning like silver serpents. The sound of ambulances and police sirens pierced her eardrums one after another.
Luo Kai's tall figure stood out among the police. He was drenched, his back broad and strong. His head was bowed, and no one could see his current state as he was roughly forced into a police car.
Onlookers pointed and whispered, directing their malice and unfairness towards Luo Kai, burdening him with something that was not his to bear.
Luo Kai's profile was sharp as a blade. The car window was open, his eyes darting around, rainwater stinging them.
He dared not blink, for fear of never seeing again.
Luo Kai seemed to be comforting her.
As if silently saying:
Go, live happily and joyfully.
Shen Yue's fingers slowly tightened, her knuckles turning a faint blue.
She wanted to say, she didn't know where to go.
---
Lu Jin was taken to the ICU. The doctors said he might never wake up.
Lu family members were furious. Lu Jin was their sole heir, and the Lu Corporation was immensely wealthy, holding significant sway in the business world. Silently eliminating an ordinary person was far too easy for them.
Luo Kai was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Shen Yue did not attend the trial.
She had wanted to go, but she had fallen ill that day. The doctors, fearing she might act rashly, confined her to her room.
The room was bare, save for a single window. The doctors gave her medication.
How strange, she wasn't sick, why did she need medicine?
When she refused, the doctors gave her injections.
Shen Yue remained confined, and no matter what she told the doctors, they refused to let her out.
Shen Yue was furious. She refused to eat or take injections. The doctors, having no other recourse, waited until she fell asleep before secretly administering glucose.
On this day, the weather was fine, the sun bright.
An uninvited guest arrived at her room.
Shen Yue stood on tiptoe, gazing at the sun outside the window.
As she turned, she saw Xie Jiangsheng.
Xie Jiangsheng's pupils contracted, his breath momentarily arrested.
He couldn't comprehend why, after only a few days, Shen Yue had become this way.
She wore a hospital gown, her figure thin and gaunt, her cheeks sunken, pale and frail. It was a beauty of extreme decline.
Her porcelain-white face held a crystalline sheen, as if it might shatter at the slightest touch.