Chapter 1: At the end you killed me...

"Sister, I have thrilling news for you," a woman's electrifying voice pierced the oppressive silence surrounding Yinlan. The words reverberated through the cold, damp air, causing Yinlan's eyes to widen and her body to involuntarily shudder.

Struggling to rise, Yinlan peered towards the door of the room, a prison she had endured for three agonizing years. Darkness clung to the air, saturated with the stench of mold and dust. No windows adorned this subterranean abyss, leaving Yinlan in the shadows, struggling to identify the source of the voice that promised both excitement and dread.

Despite the absence of visual confirmation, Yinlan recognized the voice as that of her younger sister. A lifetime of shared experiences had etched that voice deep into her memory, creating an unbreakable bond. As Yinlan straightened, a disdainful sneer echoed in her ears, accompanied by the rhythmic click-clack of high-heeled footsteps approaching.

The room's dim light revealed her sister standing before her, a silhouette of malice. Yinlan lowered her gaze, succumbing to the fear coursing through her. Infuriated by this display of weakness, the woman's face contorted into a sharp frown.

Yanking Yinlan's chin upwards with brutal force, the woman demanded, "Do you wish to hear what I have to say?" Her nails dug into Yinlan's skin, yet Yinlan remained stoic, seemingly impervious to the pain.

The lack of reaction only fueled the woman's irritation, prompting a signal to her guards. With a commanding gesture, she ordered, "Even as you ignore your dear sister, I know what you desire most."

"Bring it in and let her witness the gift I've prepared," she declared. Guards stepped forward, presenting an open box, bathed in the room's unforgiving light.

Yinlan's eyes flickered in response to the sudden brightness, fear pulsating within her. Shivering from the potent medication coursing through her veins, she resisted the guards' attempts to open the box.

"No!" Yinlan screamed as the lifeless form of a child met her horrified gaze. It was then that her attention shifted to her sister's face.

"Xui Nuying, you're healed," Yinlan stammered in astonishment, observing the absence of wrinkles that had marred her sister's face weeks before. Healing from a mysterious virus was nothing short of miraculous, and Yinlan's teeth clenched in frustration.

"Now you pay attention," Xui Nuying retorted childishly, seating herself arrogantly in front of Yinlan.

"But it's impossible," Yinlan's words faltered. A deadly virus had plagued the world, claiming victims within a month. Yet, Yinlan, immune to its effects, questioned the fairness of her survival.

"Why impossible, sister?" Xui Nuying scoffed, Anger emanated visibly from her countenance as she continued," Did you not get infected with that virus and survive this long? Do you think it is fair for you to live? Isn't it unfair of me to die at this age just because of some small virus that we can't even see? Don't be selfish, sister." 

The use of the word 'sister' grated on Yinlan's nerves, intensifying her irritation.

Breathing erratically, Yinlan snapped, "Stop calling me sister. We're not real sisters."

"That's the problem with you, sister. Every effort I exert to please you results in your domineering demeanor. Yet, you must fathom, sister, despite you being elder than me, you lack the capacity to exhibit anger before me. You need to understand that you are nothing but trash in front of me," she declared with a derisive smile curling her lips.

Xui Nuying's gaze brimmed with various shades of contempt, conveying that a mere three-year incarceration was insufficient punishment. Her fervent desire was to witness Yinlan crumble and plead before her. 

Suddenly, a twisted expression contorted her face as her attention shifted to the box before her. A devilish smile played upon her lips as she inquired, "By the way, did you like my gift?" Her tone dripped with satisfaction, emphasizing the sinister pleasure derived from the impending revelation.

"Only a person like you can give someone a gift like that," YinLan squeezed her voice out of her teeth. Her bloodshot eyes were full of endless anger, pain, and regret, without any hope.

Yinlan once considered Xui Nuying a real sister, betrayed by a family she believed in. The pain reflected in her darkened eyes, now devoid of hope.

Unperturbed, Xui Nuying reveled in Yinlan's suffering, chuckling as she questioned the satisfaction with the gift. Yinlan's defiant reply only fueled Xui Nuying's sadistic pleasure.

A cold expression enveloped Xui Nuying as she revealed the true horror. "So you're not happy with my gift? I thought you'd appreciate seeing your dead son before his burial."

Yinlan's mind reeled at the revelation. "What do you mean, my son? You promised not to harm him," she cried, the betrayal cutting deep. She thought if she did what they had told her then it would please them, and they would not harm her child only a five-year-old child. Then her child would be safe.

So what the hell has she been doing all these years when her child still dies in the end?

All hope has left her eyes, with only despair lingering inside them.

Although Xui Nuying harbored an intense desire to torment Yinlan mercilessly, she found herself restrained by the unyielding strength of Yinlan's mental fortitude. Yinlan's resilience surpassed that of anyone else, making it nearly impossible for Xui Nuying to break her spirit. However, there was one vulnerability that Yinlan couldn't defend against—the thought of her son being harmed.

Anjing reveled in the satisfaction of knowing she had shattered Yinlan's arrogance. She walked inside the room, Slowly twirling her slim and slender body, she turned to face Yinlan, savoring the moment. Yet, her triumph was short-lived as a sudden, excruciating pain stabbed her stomach.

"You," Anjing struggled to articulate her words, cold sweat forming on her brow as her eyes met Yinlan's. She never anticipated that Yinlan would have a concealed knife in her room, now impaling her with formidable force.

"You've tested my patience to its limits. Did you think you could escape retribution for your numerous wrongdoings?" Yinlan asked coldly, gritting her teeth and applying pressure to the knife. Her power was intense since the lifeless corpse of her child kept flashing before her eyes, making Yinlan suffocate even more. Fear was replaced by a resolute killing intent in her eyes.

Yinlan was on the verge of delivering the final blow to Xui Nuying when a man's panicked voice shattered the tension, screaming, "Xui Nuying!" with evident fear.

"Bang!"

In the aftermath of the scream, the room was pierced by the resounding echo of gunfire. Yinlan caught off guard, instinctively turned towards the source of the sound, only to find herself struck by a bullet from the gun wielded by none other than her ex-husband.

A regretful smile played across Yinlan's lips as she uttered, "In the end, you come, but only to kill me," her voice tinged with resignation. Collapsing to the ground, clutching her stomach where the gunshot wound festered, she began to relive the fragments of her life in the fleeting moments before her demise. Images of her husband's serene sleeping face flashed before her eyes—exquisite and well-defined features she had once cherished for a decade. A profound love had bound them, but in the end, what had it yielded? Closing her eyes with a painful ache, she questioned the reasons behind her enduring affection for him. Her vision blurred, and the world around her started to dissolve into haze.

As Yinlan's life hung in the balance, the weight of her sorrow bore down on her. The desire to comprehend why she had endured so much suffering, only to meet her end in this tragic manner, haunted her fading consciousness.

Yinlan regretfully mutters in her last breath, "What a tragic fate! I wonder why I am treated that way. In the end, my pain and suffering were my own, and I had no one by my side to share them with. It would have been nice if someone had at least once acknowledged my anguish and offered consolation." Tears cascade down from the corners of her eyes as she gently closes them, bidding a poignant farewell to a world that failed to embrace her pain.

Her body, meant to crumple to the floor, was cradled in the arms of an unseen presence. Amidst the surrounding chaos, a tear-streaked face gazed down at Yinlan, tenderly embracing her in a warm hug. In her final moments, Yinlan yearned to discern the identity of the person holding her so dearly, but the encroaching darkness claimed her senses, and the revelation eluded her.

Yinlan's pitiful existence concluded in a symphony of remorse. Her life, fraught with hardship and unanswered questions, slipped away as the embrace of death enveloped her. The room, once echoing with the chaos of conflict, fell silent, bearing witness to the poignant end of Yinlan's journey—a tale of love, betrayal, and the inexorable grip of fate.