Chapter 38: Things I dare not do

“… Mingshan, roll over… spread the quilt…”

Whose voice was that?

My consciousness, which had been drowning in the dark, deep water, gradually surfaced.

I heard a call—a soft, feminine voice.

“Xia…”

“… Hmm?”

No, it wasn’t Su Xixia.

This voice was trying hard to sound anxious, yet it remained weak, just like An Zhi’s.

But I knew it was impossible for her to appear, so I dismissed it as an auditory hallucination, even as my heart yearned for her presence.

*Thud!*

My head seemed to hit something hard.

It hurt!

“Wow… Are you okay? What should I do… I’ll spread half first…”

‘Would an auditory hallucination feel this real?’

My head throbbed.

Just as my consciousness was about to break the surface, my brain refused to fully wake up.

I was just one step away.

I used all my strength to lift my eyelids just a fraction.

Through the veil of my eyelashes, I saw a slender, beautiful figure in front of me.

‘An Zhi? Impossible. Is it a visual hallucination? If not…’

No, I was sinking again.

I couldn’t control it —

My consciousness dove back into the deep water, enveloped by darkness.

***

One day ago, inside Sucheng West Railway Station, An Zhi sat quietly in the VIP Waiting Room, waiting for the ticket check to begin.

The sun was shining brightly that day, and the sunlight spilling through the window felt very warm.

Jiang Lulan sat beside An Zhi, gently stroking her back to comfort her.

After all, An Zhi had just finished crying; her expression was vacant, and her eyes were dazed.

“Li Mingshan is actually a good man. He only urged you to come back because he was thinking of your future. He’s very considerate of you! Sorry~ I just wanted to test him. I didn’t really want to steal your man, right?”

“… Mm.”

An Zhi nodded slightly, looking a bit dazed.

“Haha, did you forgive me?”

An Zhi shook her head again.

“One year, one year…” she muttered.

“Right, there’s still one year left on the Employment Contract, but I feel like the company will want you to renew. After all, they’ve invested so many resources to make you famous; they won’t give up easily. I need you too, or else I’ll be out of a job~”

Jiang Lulan rambled on.

She had a habit of feeling uncomfortable if she didn’t finish everything she wanted to say.

“I want to go to the bathroom.”

An Zhi stood up, her body swaying as she walked toward the restroom.

“Wait, I’ll go with you~”

“No… it’s disgusting.”

“Ugh — “

Jiang Lulan’s heart took a hit.

She let out a tragic cry, clutching her chest as she sank back into her seat.

“Hated by the Princess? This is karma. It was like this back then too, sigh — “

An Zhi reached the corridor and walked toward a small door marked “VIP Area,” which was in the opposite direction of the bathrooms located deep within the section.

She carefully pulled the door open.

The crowded waiting hall was filled with the noisy sounds of the crowd, with piles of luggage and children running around everywhere.

“Hello, honored guest. Where are you going?”

The receptionist by the door asked.

“Ah! It’s nothing, just… walking…”

Startled, An Zhi took a step back and hurriedly escaped into the hall.

Once she was here, very few people would notice her.

‘I will wait for you!’

Li Mingshan’s voice still echoed in her mind.

His trembling body and abnormal temperature made An Zhi very worried.

‘I’m going to break the contract. I’m going to find him.’

The thought made her small heart pound wildly.

‘I like you!’

Recalling that confession, strength seemed to surge through her body again, urging her to quicken her pace toward the security exit.

‘Mingshan didn’t truly want to persuade me to go back. He wanted me to stay with him. Otherwise, why would he suddenly say he liked me? He just wanted me to stay!’

‘He was lying to himself. He said before that I could follow my own thoughts and freely do what I wanted to do. So, he wouldn’t actually urge me to leave. It must be that!’

An Zhi reorganized her thoughts as she stepped onto the escalator, pulling down the hood of her sweatshirt to hide her face.

‘What I truly want to do is the same as him. I want to stay too, and I don’t need to care about other people or things for that! He dared to take such a big risk to find me, so I can’t lose either.’

‘Being blindly obedient won’t bring freedom… I’ll only be imprisoned, always waiting for someone else to save me.’

‘I, An Zhi, am going to be brave — !’

She whispered to herself.

Following the escalator to the ground floor, she stood behind the railway station entrance.

Long lines still snaked there.

Unlike the anxious people entering the station, those seeing others off waited outside the iron railings with sorrowful expressions.

Parting was a painful thing.

An Zhi scanned her surroundings from under her hood.

Seeing that no one was watching her, she headed toward the subway entrance.

Just then, “Princess — where are you going!! Hey, come back!”

Jiang Lulan’s urgent shout rang out from the exit above.

“Ah!”

An Zhi almost jumped in fright.

She didn’t care about anything else; she closed her eyes and ran forward at full speed.

“Hey! You can’t run! Think about what’s written in the Employment Contract! We can’t delay any longer! Running away now counts as a breach of contract! You’ll have to pay a fortune — “

Jiang Lulan’s voice gradually faded.

Although An Zhi’s body appeared weak, her leg muscles, trained from years of dancing, allowed her to run very fast.

In the blink of an eye, she reached the street corner.

Seeing that Jiang Lulan had disappeared into the distant crowd, she held her knees and gasped for breath.

‘I did it… I did it. Good job,’ she encouraged herself.

It was too dangerous to go to the subway now.

She had to hurry…

She spotted a taxi parked at the intersection and rushed forward to pull the door open and sit inside.

“Where to, little girl?”

The driver asked.

“That… the Old Urban District…”

“Where in the Old Urban District?”

An Zhi thought for a moment.

Li Mingshan might be at work now, but only Jiang Lulan knew where his company was.

Left with no choice, she gave the address of Li Mingshan’s apartment in the New Urban District, a place she used to visit often.

Upon learning the destination, the driver drove away from the crowded train station and sped along the empty roads of the New Urban District.

An Zhi originally had a key to Li Mingshan’s apartment, but now even that had been confiscated by Jiang Lulan and placed in her suitcase.

She was excited, expectant, and a bit afraid.

‘So, Mingshan came to find me with these kinds of feelings. This feeling… isn’t bad.’

‘It’s almost time. What kind of expression will Mingshan have when he comes home from work and sees me?’

An Zhi fantasized.

“Mingshan, wait for me… I’m coming to find you,” she muttered softly.

The taxi passed through the factory area, and the familiar apartment gate appeared ahead.

The vehicle stopped.

When the driver said, “Please pay the fare,” she was stunned.

The phone she held was the company’s phone, which had no payment function.

Even if there was money in her Bank Card, she had no way to pay.

“Um… er…”

An Zhi’s face turned beet red.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can I… can I go home and get it? Is that okay?”

“Fine, hurry up.”

The driver sighed.

Seeing how pretty An Zhi was, he allowed her to get out of the car.

An Zhi stood in the sunlight.

From a distance, she saw clothes drying on the balcony of the apartment where Li Mingshan lived.

They seemed to be women’s clothes?

Her heart skipped a beat.

‘Mingshan said that the woman staying with him had been living with him all along and even had… that kind of relationship with him. If I knock on the door now, I’ll run into her.’

Thinking of this, she hesitated again, not daring to go over.

What kind of expression and words should she use to face that Su Xixia?

Should she be angry and question why she came to find Li Mingshan?

Or should she acknowledge her for staying with Li Mingshan in her place?

Having fled here in a hurry, An Zhi only now realized she wasn’t prepared.

*Honk — *

The taxi’s horn sounded.

She had no choice but to steel herself and walk into the apartment.

After her small hand hovered in the air for a few seconds, she knocked on the door.

*Clink.*

A metallic clashing sound rang out.

Only then did she notice a key was inserted in the door.

This meant the door couldn’t be opened from the inside.

‘… Locked from the outside?’

She couldn’t understand why.

Then, a voice came from inside.

“Who is it!? Mingshan, have you changed your mind!?”

It was a forceful female voice.

An Zhi didn’t dare to unlock the door casually.

She was now certain that Su Xixia was locked inside and that Li Mingshan had locked her there on purpose.

‘She was the one who actively seduced Mingshan, took possession of his body, took the favors I gave him, and even played a recording of him. I should have countless reasons to hate her.’

But An Zhi also felt curious.

‘How was Mingshan deceived by her? What strengths does she have that allowed her to take his body and nearly steal his heart?’

Just as she was caught in a dilemma, *Honk-honk! Honk — * the taxi’s horn forced her to take this step.

“I’m An Zhi…”

She confessed.