The dull beeping of the heart monitor echoed in the sterile hospital room. Jiang Xianyu lay on the bed, her once vibrant face now pale and streaked with sweat. Blood stained the edge of her lips as she struggled to breathe, her hand trembling as she reached for a handkerchief.
The door creaked open.
In stepped Chu Wexin, dressed in a luxurious designer coat, heels clicking sharply against the tiles. Her red lips curled into a venomous smile as her cold eyes settled on the dying girl.
"Still alive?" she drawled, her voice sugar-coated with mock concern. "That's impressive. I thought the poison would've finished you off by now."
Jiang Xianyu's eyes widened. She coughed again, a fresh spurt of blood staining her trembling fingers. "You… it was you…"
Chu Wexin laughed softly, almost pityingly. "Oh Xianyu, don't look so surprised. You weren't supposed to find out. But you just had to dig, didn't you?"
Xianyu's voice was hoarse, but her spirit hadn't given up. "Why…? I never did anything to you. I didn't even know you before all this…"
Wexin's gaze sharpened. "Exactly. And yet, you ruined everything."
She stepped closer, the scent of her perfume sickly sweet, suffocating. Her tone turned bitter. "Because of the Jiang family, my entire world crumbled. My parents—dead. My childhood—shattered. Do you know what it feels like to lose everything and watch your enemies thrive?"
"I didn't know…" Jiang Xianyu whispered, her heart pounding weakly. "I only warned them… because you planned to murder them."
"You betrayed me," Wexin snapped. "You told your brother. You tried to stop me. You, of all people—their long-lost, biological daughter—should've stood with me."
"I was trying to save lives!" Xianyu cried, tears mixing with blood on her lips. "Even if they were cruel, they didn't deserve to die!"
Chu Wexin tilted her head, almost curiously. "You think they didn't deserve to die? The same family that tossed you away like garbage for eighteen years? That only took you back because your replacement turned out to be someone else's child?"She scoffed. "You were a pawn. A symbol. Not a daughter. And still, you warned them. Pathetic."
Jiang Xianyu's lips trembled. "I thought… maybe if I protected them… they'd see me as family."
"Foolish to the end," Wexin whispered, drawing closer. She glanced at the machines beeping around the bed. "Let me give you a favor—mercy, if you will. Maybe in your next life, don't be born into a bloodsucking nest like the Jiangs. And don't stand in my way."
With a smooth flick of her fingers, she yanked the wires from the machines. The room filled with a panicked alarm. Xianyu's body convulsed, coughing up more blood as her vision blurred.
"I trusted them…" she murmured, her breath shallow. "Warned them… but they helped you poison me…"
Chu Wexin knelt down, lips near Xianyu's ear.
"They gave me the vial," she whispered. "You were never one of them. Not truly."
And with that final blow of cruelty, Chu Wexin stood and walked out, her heels echoing like a death march.
Jiang Xianyu's eyes fluttered shut, a single tear tracing down her cheek.
Her last thought wasn't of revenge— It was regret.
For ever hoping the Jiang family would choose her over their pride.
"I really hope she wasn't our daughter. Why couldn't Yuxin have been the one I gave birth to?"Mrs. Jiang's cold voice rang out, sharp and bitter, echoing through the lavish living room.
Jiang Xianyu's eyelids fluttered.
Her body felt stiff, her breathing shallow. The faint scent of fresh roses and expensive polish tickled her nose. The texture of leather beneath her fingers felt unfamiliar yet strangely vivid.
She blinked again.
A golden chandelier glittered above her. Familiar walls. Familiar couch. Familiar voices.
Wasn't I… dead?
Her eyes darted around the room, disoriented. The last thing she remembered was coughing blood, the life support machine screaming, and Chu Wexin's face hovering over her like a demon.
Now she was… here?
Before she could even sit up, a soft voice chimed in, laced with false concern.
"Mom, don't say that," Jiang Yuxin said gently, seated elegantly near the center table. Her voice was sweet, like always, and her expression carried a hint of sorrow."Sister will feel bad if she hears you. She is your biological daughter, after all."
Xianyu's gaze slowly shifted to her.
Her fingers twitched. Her throat burned. She stared at Yuxin as if seeing a ghost in daylight. The words didn't make sense—not entirely. Her ears rang, her head was spinning, and her chest felt… tight.
What is this...? A dream? A hallucination before death?
Then came a scoff—sharp and bitter.
"Tch. Sister? Don't make me laugh," Jiang Wenyan snapped as he leaned against the back of a chair, arms crossed."If my friends found out I had a sister who grew up in the countryside, they'd laugh me out of school. I feel ashamed just thinking about it."
And it was in that moment, like a dam breaking—
Jiang Xianyu's eyes widened.
Her gaze fell to her hands. Smooth. Unscarred. No IV marks. No sign of the tubes that had once kept her alive.
[F*ck] she screamed.
The hall went silent.
Mrs. Jiang frowned as she scolded, " Why are using bad words"
" Mom, she is from countryside she grew up learning them." Jiang Wenyan snapped.
The servants looked at each other and one of them said, " Madam, Young Miss didn't spoke anything."
[Even if I didn't spoke. Mrs. Jiang wouldn't spare a thought before scolding me]
Hearing this, Mrs. Jiang widened her eyes, " Y...ou..... You...."
"What happened mother" Jiang Xianyu blinked her eyes and asked innocently.
Jiang Yuxin, Jiang Wenyan and Mrs. Jiang looked at each other.
Jiang Yuxin pulled her mom and said in her ear, " Mom, I think we can hear her inner voice just like in novels."
Jiang Wenyan snapped, " How could be this real? Is she that powerful?"
Mrs. Jiang quickly composed herself, " don't let her know we hear her thoughts."