Night soon fell.
Wang Zizai's wife, having taken the sleeping pills, slowly opened her eyes.
She instinctively struggled, but to her surprise, her arms encountered no resistance, instead stretching out with exceptional ease.
Wang Zizai's wife froze.
She then looked at herself, only to discover that she was no longer bound in any way.
Moreover, her sleeping place had changed from the living room sofa to her bedroom.
"What's going on? Did Zizai finally come to his senses?"
"No, Zizai's stubborn nature means he wouldn't just change his mind. Unless he thinks I've already recovered."
"Then there's only one possibility: that young sir treated me, making Zizai believe I've recovered."
"This is bad. Could that young sir have...?"
Wang Zizai's wife muttered to herself, suddenly sitting up from the bed.
Her face was filled with anxiety.
She looked left and right, repeatedly calling out, "Linlin, Linlin, where are you?"
"Linlin, come out quickly!"
"Linlin, don't scare your mother. Where are you hiding? Come out quickly, Mom is so scared..."
Wang Zizai witnessed his wife's actions in the bedroom.
A flash of heartache crossed his eyes.
Linlin was their daughter.
Since their daughter's accidental death, his wife had been like a madwoman, constantly whispering their daughter's name.
As if their daughter were still alive.
But Wang Zizai wasn't blind; he was the one who took their daughter's body to the funeral home, and the urn was still in their home. How could he not know whether their daughter was dead or alive?
Now, his wife was clearly having an episode again.
Constantly searching the room for the imaginary figure of their daughter.
Finally, after calling out for ten minutes, Wang Zizai's wife hugged a cloth doll from the corner.
This doll was made by their daughter in her own likeness before she died. Wang Zizai had been greatly shocked when he saw it at the time.
He hadn't expected their daughter to have such talent at such a young age.
The doll she made bore a striking six or seven tenths resemblance to their daughter!
So Wang Zizai asked a master to sew it into a cloth doll.
Their daughter had slept with it every day before she died, showing how much she liked it.
"Linlin was hiding here!"
"You scared Mom to death!"
"Mom thought Linlin was killed by that young sir!"
"Oh, so it turns out Linlin was clever and hid inside Mom's body during the attack, escaping unscathed!"
"However, that young sir isn't a bad person. That young sir saved Mom's life! If it weren't for him, Mom might have left Dad and this world."
"Yes, that's good. Just stay away from that young sir in the future, and don't try to tease him."
Wang Zizai's wife said affectionately, holding the doll.
Listening to his wife's ravings, Wang Zizai couldn't help but shed a few tears.
If only their daughter were truly hiding in that doll!
Then his wife wouldn't be acting so erratically, and he wouldn't feel his chest clenching uncontrollably in his dreams at midnight.
"What? You want to leave for a few days? To wait until that young sir is sure he won't come back before you return?"
"Is that young sir that terrifying? Mom thought he seemed nice!"
"You say he can see you? And he was deliberately trying to kill you during the day?"
"Oh, in that case, you really can't stay at home. Your father promised that young sir he would go to work. If your father stays, that young sir might come back."
"Alright, Mom will take you out now! Take you to a safe place!"
"Let Mom think, where is safe? Hmm, how about the place where Mom found you?"
In the room, Wang Zizai's wife held the doll and spoke again.
Her words revealed her intention to take the doll somewhere outside!
Wang Zizai's vigilance immediately heightened, thinking his wife was about to do something foolish.
To his surprise, his wife didn't head for the window as he expected, but walked directly towards the door!
Wang Zizai breathed a sigh of relief, quickly moved away from the door, and sat back on the sofa, feigning sleep.
After his wife opened the door, she glanced at Wang Zizai.
Confirming that Wang Zizai was asleep, she put on a coat and tiptoed out.
She held the cloth doll in her hands the entire time, as if their daughter were truly in her embrace.
*Clang!*
With the sound of the door closing, Wang Zizai immediately opened his eyes and jumped up from the sofa.
While putting on his shoes, he dialed Ying Chen's number: "Hello, Mr. Ying, you were right! Jia Hui just went out holding a cloth doll, saying she was going to take the doll somewhere!"
"I'll turn on location sharing in a moment, and you can follow the map's directions."
"That's all for now. I'll hang up. I need to follow her quickly; it would be terrible if Jia Hui had an accident!"
Wang Zizai hung up and rushed out.
And so, under the night sky, this scene unfolded: a woman walking, talking to herself like a madwoman, holding a doll, and a man tailing her, sneaking and hiding.
They walked for several kilometers like this.
Finally, Wang Zizai's wife stopped beside a road.
Upon seeing this road, Wang Zizai felt as if he had been shot; his entire body shook.
Wang Zizai's daughter had died on this very road!
She had been walking on the road when she was caught under a runaway cement mixer truck.
By the time she was sent to the hospital, she had no pulse or breath!
Although the driver was later sentenced, it couldn't bring Wang Zizai's daughter back to life.
From then on, Wang Zizai tried to avoid this road.
He never expected his wife to bring him to this road again!
"Linlin, you stay here obediently, don't run around."
"Mom will come to pick you up when she's sure that young sir won't come back."
"Look, isn't this little house Mom built for you beautiful? Mom will put you inside, okay?"
Wang Zizai's wife then crouched down and placed the cloth doll inside a shrine built of bricks.
She also used nearby bushes and grass to conceal the shrine.
As if worried their daughter might be exposed to wind or rain.
Seeing this, Wang Zizai, who had been desperately suppressing his emotions, finally couldn't hold back.
He lunged forward, pulled his wife up from the ground, and simultaneously kicked over the shrine.
"Stop being crazy! Linlin is dead, she's not coming back!"
"I know you can't accept Linlin's death, and neither can I! But what can we do?"
"The deceased are gone, the living must go on! Rather than living in this vain fantasy, it's better to break it with a heavy heart!"
"Jia Hui, wake up! Stop dreaming!"
Wang Zizai, tears streaming down his face, roared.
Then he raised his hand and slapped his wife across the face.
He was trying to wake her up.
He didn't want his wife to live in this illusion forever; if that were the case, death would be preferable!
However, Wang Zizai's wife seemed unfazed.
Despite the clear imprint of his palm on her cheek and the very real pain, Wang Zizai's wife showed no reaction.
She only stared intently at Wang Zizai, repeatedly uttering one sentence: "Linlin is alive!"
"Linlin, she's not dead!"