Fifty-Four Frames

Qiao Ranran bared her teeth and clutched her face. "I just wanted to help! I wasn't running away! Really!"

"Weren't you just saying you were useless? What were you going to help with? Throw a few more elixirs like practical jokes?" Pei Ling flicked Qiao Ranran's forehead. As a red mark slowly appeared there, his gaze trembled. "Can you honestly say you don't have a Poison Pill on you?"

"I..." Qiao Ranran couldn't decide whether to cover her face or her forehead. All she could do was say pitifully, "No..."

"Why won't you use it?" Pei Ling's expression turned cold. "What exactly are you afraid of?"

"I..." She was still bound by an invisible set of rules. She had grown up under the red flag, and her values were very different. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She was afraid that once she did, she would lose herself.

"Qiao Ranran, have you ever thought that if you don't strike, you'll be the one who dies?"

She had. But...

"Are you planning to fight back only when you have no other choice? Have you thought about whether your opponent will give you the chance?"

Qiao Ranran thought of how her last life had ended, and her eyes dimmed. She had never done anything to offend heaven or harm others. She had even worked hard to use what she knew to help and save people. Yet she had still died, and even now, she didn't know why.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth and gave Pei Ling an ugly smile. "I really am useless after all." Before Pei Ling could say anything in a burst of anger, she laughed, tears nearly spilling from her eyes. "But I think, with your help, Junior Brother Pei, I've become a lot more