Jiang Jixian seemed to age many years in an instant.

He even lost the strength to visit Jiang Ren in the hospital. Fearing Jiang Ren would be upset, Meng Ting gently kissed him. Although she had no father, her mother’s love was complete.

Jiang Ren smiled and rested his forehead against hers. “Why have you become so clingy?”

“The world owes you love, and I’ll make it up to you from now on, okay?”

He curved his lips, not telling her that she was his world.

It couldn’t be said that he hated Jiang Jixian much. Perhaps he had hatred before, but now he only felt pity for him. If Meng Ting didn’t love him, he couldn’t imagine whether he would live in endless anticipation for a false “next life.” He probably wouldn’t. He wasn’t Jiang Jixian; from the incident of his wife eloping with someone else, he wouldn’t have made the same compromising choices as Jiang Jixian.

If she were to die, it could only be in his arms.

He would follow her soon after.

His embrace could give her all the world’s fervor and warmth, or accompany her in coldness and rigidity.

As long as Jiang Ren lived, no one else could possess her.

On Christmas Eve, snow began to fall. The northern city was blanketed in heavy snow, unlike the gentle snowfall in the south. The world turned silver-white.

Meng Ting still had to return to school for an evening study session.

She lowered her gaze, watching Jiang Ren put socks on her feet.

The room was warm with the air conditioning on, despite the heavy snow outside.

The man held her delicate ankle, lowering his gaze as he finished putting on one sock and then the other.

Her feet were also dainty and cute. Fearing she might be cold, he had warmed them beforehand.

He had recovered well after the surgery.

Meng Ting had been obediently keeping him company.

But she suddenly remembered that in this life, only her mother had put socks on her before she was five. After that, she always did it herself.

He truly doted on her.

After putting on her socks, she didn’t put on her shoes but instead gently rubbed his thigh with her warm, fuzzy Christmas socks.

The man grabbed her foot. “Do you want to die?”

He looked up with a headache to see her eyes sparkling with laughter.

Jiang Ren wanted to ravish her.

She laughed and prepared to run.

Only those who are loved can play and be mischievous. Jiang Ren grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. “If you want to step on me, step a bit higher. I’ll give you credit if you step there.”

Her cheeks turned bright red as she looked at him.

She seemed to be asking, do you want to try?

He cursed under his breath and fixed her hair. “Go to class. I’ll deal with you when you get back tonight. It’s your birthday today, go see what gifts your classmates have prepared for you.”

“You’re not that much older than me, how come you’re so mature?”

She couldn’t stop laughing. He cared about her studies and even said “go see what gifts your classmates have prepared for you,” just like an older knight looking after a little princess.

Meng Ting went out holding an umbrella, waiting for the driver to bring the car around.

Her boots sank slightly into the snow, and the snowflakes dancing in the lamplight were exceptionally beautiful.

The silence of the night made her a bit uneasy. Footsteps crunched in the snow, and she turned to see if it was the driver. Suddenly, a handkerchief covered her mouth and nose.

Meng Ting’s heart raced. A strange smell came through, and she instinctively held her breath, trying to pry the hand away.

However, she had already inhaled some of the drug. She was dragged into a van.

The vehicle drove for a while before stopping.

Meng Ting struggled to open her eyes and found herself facing a somewhat distorted face.

Her heart rate quickened. She leaned weakly against the driver’s seat, with little strength in her body, looking at Wen Rui.

“You’re truly beautiful. I thought so the first time I saw you,” he lit a cigarette. The smoke in the enclosed car, combined with the effects of the drug, made Meng Ting feel nauseous. “Much prettier than my sister in my memory.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Do you know? The first time I saw Wen Man, she was standing next to that artist. They came to the orphanage to sponsor. It was the first time I saw such a beautiful and cleanly dressed woman, and also the first time I hoped to be adopted. The artist said I looked quiet and delicate, a bit like him when he was young. That’s when Wen Man looked at me.”

Meng Ting could see that Wen Rui, who had been evading capture these past few days, was not in a good mental state.

“It was for such a ridiculous reason that I was adopted. But I also learned how to please Wen Man. I observed the artist’s behavior and mannerisms – elegant, artistic, gentle – and I tried hard to become like that. Later, Wen Man indeed treated me well.” He blew a puff of smoke in her face. Meng Ting didn’t dare provoke him and listened quietly.

The driver must have noticed she was missing by now. She needed to save herself before help arrived. Wen Rui was at his wit’s end, probably just wanting to take someone down with him.

“You’re truly captivating,” he sighed. “If you were Wen Man, I probably wouldn’t be like this. Wen Man didn’t like anyone, only that artist.”

“Later, that little wolf cub Jiang Ren was born. Do you know how happy Jiang Jixian was? It was the first time I understood that I was nothing to them, and if I didn’t fight for myself, I was destined to have nothing. Fortunately, he was born sick and cried non-stop. Wen Man was already desperate during her pregnancy, how could she like him?”

“The more I resembled the artist, the less Wen Man saw her son. But Wen Man was useless, she died, and I lost my support. Jiang Ren, however, still had his. Once Jiang Jixian dies, I’ll just be that beggar from the orphanage who couldn’t eat his fill again. Tell me, why are some people born with silver spoons in their mouths, while others’ lives are as cheap as weeds?”

He moved closer to her, his tone strangely gentle.

Meng Ting pressed her lips together, not answering. Suddenly, Wen Rui grabbed her chin and shouted uncontrollably, “I’m asking you a question, answer me!”

She had no choice but to placate him and agree, “Yes, from the very beginning, everyone’s birth is unfair.”

Wen Rui stared at her expressionlessly, as if trying to determine whether she was telling the truth or lying.

After a while, he smiled, “Are you trying to buy time?”

Meng Ting’s heart skipped a beat.

“But it’s useless,” Wen Rui said. He adjusted the camera in the car, “If he doesn’t give me a way out, I don’t plan to give him one either. Do you know what kind of monster he is? Isolated, beaten, bleeding all over, he wouldn’t even cry. He cried so much when he was born, but grew up without tears. He’s sick, so he loses control when provoked, but in this life, he only cares about you.”

Wen Rui pointed the camera at her face, gently stroking her cheek, “He took Aunt Lan away, but I’m not interested in that old woman. Even if I killed that old woman, he’d only be sad for a few years. But you’re different.” He looked at her with a mixture of obsession and excitement, “Hurting you is like stabbing his heart, a wound that will never heal for the rest of his life.”

Meng Ting turned her head, avoiding his hand. She said weakly, “You’re committing a crime. If you stop now, you can still have a long life ahead of you.”

“As a beggar!” He laughed loudly, “I don’t care for that.”

He secured the camera and then moved to remove her clothes.

It was freezing outside.

His grotesque, excited expression forced her to stay calm.

“Do you think he’ll go mad when he sees this video?”

He would.

Meng Ting knew better than anyone that Jiang Ren couldn’t bear it.

The man pressed down on her, removing her coat. Then he lowered his head to unbuckle his belt. He had been injured by Jiang Ren once before and could no longer perform that act, but looking at her extremely beautiful face and thinking about ruining him, his body started to have a faint reaction again.

Meng Ting’s palms were cold, but she was both clear-headed and calm.

While he was talking for so long, she had been observing her surroundings.

Wen Rui didn’t plan to live on; he wanted Jiang Ren to die too.

He had parked the car half-suspended on the edge of a hillside, with half a wheel over the edge.

He planned to finish filming, send it to Jiang Ren, then start the car and die together with her.

But she couldn’t let Jiang Ren see such a video.

In November of this year, she finally understood what Jiang Ren had done in her previous life.

Jiang Ren had completely lost his mind then.

As Wen Rui was removing her inner clothes, he suddenly became enraged, “Why aren’t you crying? Cry for me!” He slapped her face.

Meng Ting didn’t cry. She said, “Call him. If the car falls while you’re halfway through, you won’t have time to send the video.”

Wen Rui smiled, “Alright, then let’s turn on the camera. It’ll leave just as deep an impression on him.”

The moment the camera connected.

Meng Ting looked up and met a pair of bloodshot eyes in the camera. He called out in a trembling voice, “Ting Ting, Ting Ting…”

“I’m fine,” she looked at the camera, smiling gently at him.

Jiang Ren had been frantically searching for her, even though he hadn’t fully recovered from his surgery. But when he learned that Wen Rui had most likely taken Meng Ting away, he rushed out regardless.

His fingers touched the screen, veins bulging on his forehead.

Seeing this, her eyes filled with tears. Her young man hadn’t had an episode for so long.

Today was supposed to be her birthday. Not long ago, he had gently put socks on her feet.

Jiang Ren said, “Wait for me, I’ll be there soon…”

Wen Rui tore open her clothes, revealing the color of her bra underneath. Meng Ting heard a voice from the camera break in fury, “Ah!”

Jiang Ren couldn’t complete a sentence, he was nearly insane.

Meng Ting knew Jiang Ren wouldn’t arrive in time to save her.

Protecting someone is difficult, but hurting someone is easy.

She struggled to raise both hands, preventing Wen Rui from touching her.

Meng Ting looked at the camera, smiling calmly, “I’ve never told you how much I love you. It’s not sympathy, nor anything else, just a woman loving a man, the feeling of my heart fluttering for you. Jiang Ren, meeting you has always made me happy and content. Don’t be sick anymore, become an excellent entrepreneur, you must be well.”

She took one last look at him. He had grown up.

Just as she had hoped, and even better than she had hoped.

Living a lifetime, loving him once, was worth it.

Jiang Ren, don’t watch anymore. They say you’re a monster who doesn’t cry, don’t cry.

She had been gathering strength for a long time. She tore down the camera. Desperately, she rammed the car forward. Wen Rui turned pale. She had been unusually quiet before, and this sudden desperate move caught him off guard, causing him to fall back against the rear of the driver’s seat.

The weight of two people, the wheels slippery in the snow.

The car began to slide slowly at first, then plummeted down the hillside at high speed.

Amid the tumultuous shaking, she thought sadly that the twists and turns of fate had given her the same death as in her previous life.

Just before losing consciousness, time seemed to slow for a moment. She seemed to see the man in handcuffs from her previous life, amid wind and snow.

Under police escort, he gently brushed away the snow and dust from the tombstone.

He lowered his head, his thin lips kissing the cold tombstone.

He said hoarsely, “What a pity, I never had the chance to teach you to love me.”

In that instant, her tears flowed uncontrollably.