1.31

Pain throbbed in my head as I staggered forward, too panicked to care about the danger to myself by entering. I needed to know Meilin was okay.

"Careful, I'll do my best to suppress your presence," System nagged as I gripped onto the door handle, pushing it forward slowly.

Inside the room, that was a mirror image of the one I'd just exited, bodies lay in the small clearing in the middle of the cubicles. Men wearing black encircled the very people I'd been searching for, threatening to make more dead bodies with guns pointed.

Crouching to slip behind a cubicle, I peeped around the edge of the cubicle wall, wondering where James was.

Meilin stood behind Dr. Wu, who was trying to shield her. The Wu Grandparents were both on the floor before him, blood pooling under them.

Grandfather Fu sat on a chair, clutching at his chest, where blood seeped through his shirt. Jianyu took off his suit jacket to press against the wound. Looks like he'd taken the last shot.

My grandpa Mo held the gun, still directed at Jianyu and Grandfather Fu.

The scene brought pain to my head and chest. The image of when Zhiyue's childhood had truly ended, the moment she witnessed him standing over Zhiyue's grandmother's body haunted my mind. Finally, I became aware of the memories she'd suppressed earlier.

"It's him," I almost spoke out loud. Recalling Zhiyue's tiny, trembling self peeking through the door crack. He had killed his own family just to silence them when they had attempted to flee instead of retaliating.

But why was he now killing off the other clan members?

"Why?" Meilin sobbed, clutching onto the back of Dr. Wu's jacket.

"It's unfortunate it's come to this," Grandpa Mo sighed heavily, "you still chose to side with them?"

"Daddy?" Meilin ignored him, turning to her father who was protectively standing in front of his wife.

"Lin'er, clan first," he replied sternly, though I could sense the resentment in his voice. He must have picked a side on a whim.

What I wanted to know was why there was infighting, to begin with, surely this wasn't all just because my grandfather wanted to silence me?

"Even if he's the one who killed Grandma, your own mother?" Meilin screamed, still being held back by a silent, but scary-looking Dr. Wu.

The gun in Mo Lingyun's hand trembled, then turned to his father.

"Father?" His face twisted in anguish.

"Bitch shouldn't have been unfaithful," gone was the frail old man. He stood tall, the cane in his hand dropping to the floor. This was the man Zhiyue remembered. The cold-blooded monster.

The sharp pain floored me, making my vision blur into darkness.

***

The room was dark, I had woken in the night to the sounds of arguing. Worried for my grandparents I crept through the halls barefoot in just a thin nightie.

Breathless I stumbled to their bedroom door. Grandfather was supposed to be on a business trip, yet I could hear his voice through the door.

"Qianfan, how could you?" I heard my grandmother sob through the door. I peeked through, and seeing her face I saw the resemblance to my father, who took after her, unlike my uncle who took more after my grandfather. Because of this, I'd always been much closer to my grandmother.

"How long?" he asked. I noticed there was a man on the bed, sleeping despite all the noise.

"No longer than you," she spat back, "I won't forgive you for this."

My grandfather shrugged then lifted his arm, pointing his gun at my grandmother. My entire body froze.

"Qianfan," she called out as the gunshot echoed around the room. Soon blood pooled between my grandmother's shocked eyes. I stumbled back, quiet as a mouse, then ran back to my room, hiding under the covers. It was just a dream, just a dream.

***

A gunshot pulled me out of my vivid memory, I saw both grandpa Mo and Mo Lingyun had fallen to the floor when I gingerly peeked my head out again.

"Daddy," Meilin screamed. Dr. Wu held her firmly in his arms, stopping her from rushing over.

The bullet hitting grandpa Mo had gone directly through his temple, killing him instantly.

Mo Lingyun, however, was not dead but lay with a knife sticking out his back, not a gunshot wound.

"Ah Xing," he groaned, trying to push himself back up. The heavily pregnant woman scoffed, stepping on his back to push him back down, her face cold.

"Pathetic," she scoffed, it was then I noticed the gun in her hand. It had not been Mo Lingyun who had killed grandpa Mo.

Whilst everyone's attention was drawn to Li Chao-Xing, so I moved to a cubicle behind a man who had his gun aimed at Jianyu, noticing I was not the only one moving around in the darkness.

A hand gripped my arm, my dagger rose to their neck. I only paused last minute when I recognised Lex's face. He raised a finger to my lips, the anger at my entrance obvious on his face.

I lowered the blade and shrugged. Some darker part of me still wanted to stab him.

"Mother please, stop" Meilin was hysterical, her legs limp, and Dr. Wu's arms were all that held her up.

The gun fired again, shooting Mo Lingyun repeatedly in the back as Meilin screamed and tried to break out of Dr. Wu's arms.

"Stay put," Lex whispered into my ear and moved closer to Li Chao-Xing.

I held my breath, trying my best to process what had happened. Wasn't she carrying his baby? She'd been such a sweet aunty and stepmother, what had changed?

"Stop please," Meilin screeched, managing to get out of Dr. Wu's grasp as she ran toward Li Chao-Xing.

Instinct took over as I lunged out from behind the cubicle, pressing her under my body as multiple gunshots rang out. Her panicked expression under me was the last thing I saw as Wei/Mo Zhiyue.