After the downpour had been falling for a long time, Chang Nian heard heavy footsteps and startled awake from her stupor.
Three days and nights of rest had done little for her injuries. With her face deathly pale and swollen, she stared at the raindrops battering the glass.
The world was shattering. Multicolored light twisted and struggled, looking hideously repulsive.
Chang Nian struggled twice before she managed to push aside the heavy covers. Beads of sweat rolled down her temples.
She braced her right arm against the bedside table, knocking over the lamp. Horrific bruises covered her fair skin, and blood from a ghastly gash seeped through her sweat-soaked bandages.
Yet she stubbornly turned her head toward the guest room door. Across the soft, silent carpet, footsteps approached from afar, unbearably heavy, as though burdened by hesitation and tangled feelings.
Chang Nian's lips were pale and cracked. Her swollen face trembled unnaturally, and her heart raced for no discernible reason.
After her severe injuries and blood loss, repeated bouts of unconsciousness had left her with little time awake. Even the onset of the downpour had failed to rouse her.
Yet those distant footsteps in the stairwell had startled her awake, as though she had sensed something through them.
It's almost time, isn't it...
That was what Chang Nian thought. She was angry, but above all, her heart ached.
She had waited three days. Her injuries had not improved but steadily worsened, and at last, the one she had waited for had returned.
That matter truly needed an ending.
Once Tong Guan was free of the burden on his heart, she had resolved never again to interfere in his affairs with Ji Li. All she wanted was for them to be all right—for the two of them, husband and wife, to