The rain stopped and started again. Hua Zhi drifted off to sleep amid the gentle patter.

She was particular about her sleeping arrangements — whenever she slept in a new bed, she never rested easy. In the fitful back-and-forth, she dreamed of things she had not recalled in a long time.

A car made its way along a winding mountain road. When her phone rang, she glanced at the number, tapped a few things on the screen, and answered.

“Sis, it’s me.”

In the enclosed space, the other person’s voice was as gentle as always.

“Something the matter?”

“Sis, according to your itinerary, you should be on the mountain road by now, shouldn’t you?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“‘Hua Group’s head, Hua Linzhi, dies in solo driving accident while on leisure trip.’ How does that headline sound?”

She pressed the brake. The brake she had used just fine entering the mountain road gave no response whatsoever, exactly as expected.

“No point pressing it. It’s useless. It was all calculated — the brakes were only good until you got onto the mountain road.” The gentle voice had shifted in pitch from excitement. “Hua Linzhi, aren’t you so capable? Show me again — let me watch you find your way out of this dead end!”

“Miss Xu is with you, isn’t she? Thank her for me — for seeing me off on this final stretch.” Miss Xu. Her mother. If she hadn’t booked the plane tickets, hadn’t persuaded her to come out for a holiday, she wouldn’t be here today. Though of course, she had simply made use of the opportunity.

“Oh, and that’s not all. If it weren’t for the two uncles, we wouldn’t have had the nerve. You really should think about it — who wouldn’t covet your position? If you’d just given them a chance to get their cut, we could all have gotten rich together. But no, you had to rotate the department heads in all the profitable divisions every single year. You made it so no one could benefit, and you wonder why the uncles called you heartless. Even if you ran the company like an iron fortress and had countless people singing your praises, not a single relative didn’t hate you for it. Do you have any idea how much we all hated you!”

The hands on the steering wheel tightened — and yet she still held the car perfectly steady. Not a trace of resentment or fury showed on her face. Instead, there was a faint smile. “You said you all hated me — would someone capable really not have noticed?”

Silence on the other end, then a sharp cry: “You knew all along? You didn’t get on the mountain road?”

“I got on.”

“Then why did you—”

“What’s the point of living like this? Exhausting myself making money and keeping a pack of ungrateful wolves fed, only to have people constantly scheming against my life. Better if we all go down together.”

“What do you mean.”

What did she mean? She smiled. “Don’t you know? This is a live broadcast. Premeditated murder of your own sister — Hua Linqi, you’ve confessed in front of everyone. Don’t think anyone will come to pull you out. They have their own troubles. Oh, and I forgot to mention — before I left, I drew up a will. The entire Hua Group is to be donated. Not a single cent kept. Including everything in my name — the apartment you’re living in now, the old family house — all of it is in my name. Everything you schemed so hard to get your hands on… is gone.”

A scream of uncontrolled rage, and then someone else came on the line. “Hua Linzhi! Why don’t you just go ahead and die! Die!”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ve always been obedient. I’m going to die right now.” The car accelerated faster and faster, and the movements of her hands on the wheel grew wider and wider. “Before I go, let me remind you of one thing — that boy toy you’ve been keeping is married. He has a daughter, and now his wife is about to have another one. Congratulations. You’ve been blind again.”

She hung up. She glanced at the live stream, where the viewer count was fast breaking seven figures. She let go of the steering wheel and waved with an air of perfect composure. “Don’t fail like I did.”

Like a spectator watching from the outside, Hua Zhi watched the car roll and tumble off the cliff, bursting into flames.

She had lived her life in full glory and died in spectacular fashion. It hadn’t been a wasted life, she thought wryly. But there was no rain in that scene — where was this loud sound of water coming from?

Water? Hua Zhi’s eyes hadn’t even opened yet, but already she had sprung upright, her mind not yet fully free of the dream.

She crept out of bed barefoot without making a sound. From the sewing basket she took a pair of scissors, held them in hand, and tiptoed around the folding screen. She covered Bao Xia’s mouth and murmured by her ear, “It’s me. Stay quiet.”

Bao Xia, who had very nearly been frightened out of her soul, nodded repeatedly. Though she had no idea what was happening, the moment Hua Zhi released her hand she scrambled out of bed, trying to put herself between the young miss and whatever danger there was.

Hua Zhi patted her shoulder, stepped out from behind her, and stood by the door to listen. There was no more sound from outside, but she was certain she had not imagined what she heard earlier — that kind of water sound was the sound of something heavy falling into water.

At night the estate’s guards patrolled in two shifts, but the rear courtyard had a covered walkway, so the patrol had no need to walk through the rain. Even if someone had slipped and fallen while cutting across, it wouldn’t happen again and again. The people trained by the Hua Family had more discipline than that — unless something had happened.

Hua Zhi eased the door open a crack. By the dim, diffused light of the lanterns under the eaves, she could just make out several dark shapes in the courtyard.

She quietly and carefully surveyed every part of the courtyard within her sight. She could not see any suspicious figures — and the more that was the case, the more alarmed she grew. She would rather face a disorganized gang than a single calm, highly capable assailant.

Her body had been idle for so many years. Whatever she once knew had long since been given back. The only things she could rely on were the intruder’s unfamiliarity with her and her own reasonably calm head.

She closed the door without a sound and let out a quiet breath. Hua Zhi walked to the dressing table and from the jewel case selected two hairpins. One she tucked inside the lapel of her inner garment, then covered it with the outer lapel. The other she slid into the inner sleeve of her right hand, positioned so that a flick of her fingers could bring it to her palm.

These had been made to her own drawn specifications. The design was simple. What made them special was a small spring clip at the tip — in normal use it would not catch in her hair, but when concealed, the clip would hold it in place.

Out of habits formed by her past life, she was always on guard, quietly making small adjustments to the things she used. It was a pity that most of them had been confiscated. The only reason this hairpin had survived was because she had tucked it away in that hidden compartment early on.

She had no confidence at all in her ability to handle whoever was outside. But she could not do nothing. If the intruder worked through the rooms one by one, taking them down and leaving no one standing, then they would all be finished here. Better to take the chance.

She put the scissors back. Just as Bao Xia thought things might be fine after all, she heard the young miss say quietly, “Follow my lead.”

Bao Xia’s face went red with desperation. She wanted to ask what the young miss intended to do, but was afraid of ruining her plan. She pressed down all of it, went back to her small bed behind the folding screen, and sat fidgeting while she strained her ears for the young miss’s instructions.

Hua Zhi sat down on the edge of the bed, closed her eyes, and steadied her breathing. When she spoke again, her voice carried the natural haze of someone half-awake. “Bao Xia.”

Bao Xia gave a startled jolt and pressed a hand to her chest. “Miss, your maid is here.”

As she answered, she rose and walked into the room.

“Light the lamp.” Hua Zhi gave a small yawn. “Has the rain gotten heavier?”

Bao Xia lit the lamp. The young miss pointed at the window, and she understood. Her face went pale. Biting down on her lip, she forced herself to go along with it and walked to the window, pushing it open a little wider. “Your maid thinks it looks a bit lighter than before you went to sleep.”

“Lighter? I thought I just heard the water sound getting louder.”