Return to before death

"Then, what about the strange sound?" Sheng Xuanling accurately grasped every word Yan Ran said, without missing a single detail.

It's obvious that the real estate developers wouldn't seal off the entire floor just because someone died in apartment 1503; there must be other reasons why they would give up their profits.

And that eerie sound is very likely the key.

“I heard it from the residents near that building, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s true.” After Yan Ran finished speaking, she looked at Sheng Xuanling and continued after receiving his affirmative look. “The person who died was named Ye Ning. She got along very well with the neighbors and had a very good temper. However, her death was extremely tragic, so those people believed that Ye Ning turned into a vengeful ghost after her death and remained in that room to take revenge on the person who killed her.”

“I also went to the fifteenth floor. Whether going up or down, you can see wooden boards sealing the fifteenth floor, and some talismans.” Originally, Yan Ran did not believe in ghosts and gods, but after she got that talisman, she suddenly felt that anything was possible.

“There can’t be ghosts in this world. It can only be that people are causing trouble. Otherwise, how would the murderer dare to commit the crime in room 1503?” Sheng Xuanling immediately denied Yan Ran’s idea, and her words were a wake-up call.

Yes, if room 1503 really is haunted by a vengeful ghost as rumored, then how did the murderer commit the crime?

Judging from the time and place of the attack, and the series of actions they took after arriving, it felt like everything was planned by the other side.

With such perfect calculations, the murderer certainly couldn't have come up with them in just a day or two. If he were really a vengeful ghost, wouldn't he have torn him to pieces long ago if he just stayed there openly?

He looked up at Yan Ran and asked, "Why do you think the murderer killed Ye Ting?"

Yan Ran didn't rush to answer the question, unsure of what to do.

"Did you find what we're looking for in Ye Ting's house?" Yan Ran asked softly after a moment's thought, referring naturally to Zhang Xinyi's blood.

They had their entire conversation with Ye Ting in a coffee shop, a public place, and she was murdered the next day, so she always suspected that Ye Ting was being targeted because of this.

If the killer is indeed as she suspects, then what she needs, the killer will also be nervous about: Zhang Xinyi's blood being destroyed or disappearing...

"No," Sheng Xuanling replied firmly.

When he arrived after receiving the call, he specifically instructed Qin Zhiyuan to search the entire room thoroughly, but they still couldn't find the blood Ye Ting had mentioned.

However, the possibility that Ye Ting hid it elsewhere cannot be ruled out.

"I understand." Yan Ran looked at Sheng Xuanling thoughtfully.

For some reason, she always felt that he was hiding something from her.

She stared intently into his eyes but found nothing unusual.

Maybe she's overthinking it; she's been too tired lately and is having these kinds of illusions.

She got up and placed the soup on the table beside her.

"I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first." Yan Ran said goodbye to Sheng Xuanling, picked up her bag, and walked towards the door.

Did she overlook something?

She carefully recalled everything that had happened, from Zong Zhengqing being assassinated by a man who suddenly appeared, all the way to Ye Ting's death. Everything seemed unrelated, but in fact, they were all connected.

As Yan Ran was thinking, she suddenly bumped into something hard. When she looked up, she saw that it was Zong Zhengqing!

"What are you doing here?" Yan Ran asked instinctively, nearly biting her tongue off the next second.

What is he doing here? This is the Zong family's hospital; it's perfectly natural for him to be here!

It seems I've been really tired lately; even my thinking has become much slower.

"Ranran..." His voice became much weaker, and his expression was noticeably more somber than before. He hadn't even shaved off the stubble on his face.

A fleeting pang of heartache crossed Yan Ran's eyes; it seemed her departure had been a great blow to him.

However, once spoken, words are like spilled water; they can never be taken back.

"Is there something you need?" she asked curtly.

"I missed you." Zong Zhengqing reached out and hugged her.

Although he didn't use much force, Yan Ran struggled but couldn't break free and could only let him hold her.

This is the last time, she warned herself.

Enjoy his tenderness one last time.

"Please come back. I've been thinking about you these past few days. I don't know how I'd go on without you." He gently rested his head on Yan Ran's head and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Ranran, I love you. I can't lose you."

Yan Ran was slightly stunned. This was the man she had always loved. How could she bear to do this?

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling like a sky full of stars.

Then, there was no more light.

“We can’t go back to the past.” She gently pushed him away, laughing self-deprecatingly. “When you abandoned Tangtang, did you consider my feelings? When you sent me to your brother’s bed, did you think of me? When you pushed me out to take a knife for you, did you think I would be scared too? No, you didn’t think of any of these things, so what do you take me for?”

Zong Zhengqing lowered his head, not daring to look at Yan Ran's expression.

I realized that I had unknowingly done so many things to hurt her.

But he gave up on Tangtang because he didn't want to lose her. Sending her to his brother's bed was also a last resort. He couldn't let the Zong family line die out, and he couldn't let her discover the secret—his infertility.

As for him pushing her out to shield her from the knife, that was... that was an instinctive action of his; he didn't mean to do it.

When he came to his senses, he wanted to slap himself.

"Ranran, let me explain..."

He was interrupted by Yan Ran before he could finish speaking.

"I just want to know, what do you take me for?"

Yan Ran stared straight into his eyes, as if she wouldn't let go until she got a satisfactory answer.

"Of course I consider you my wife," Zong Zhengqing paused, then continued, "the woman I love most."

Wife? The woman I love most?

Is that right?

Yan Ran lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes obscuring her expression.

After a long while, she finally raised her head again and looked at Zong Zhengqing, saying slowly and deliberately, "You don't love me. You only ever love yourself."

That's right. No matter what happens, his first thought is always himself, not others.

What a selfish person!

Zong Zhengqing's pupils suddenly contracted, and he staggered back a step.

No, he's not like that.

He opened his mouth to explain, but couldn't find any words to refute it.

He reached out to pull Yan Ran, but she turned around and dodged him.

"Let's get a divorce sometime, so we can avoid this endless entanglement."

As Yan Ran walked past him, she casually uttered a sentence.

It drifted into his ears on the wind.

Zong Zhengqing stood there helplessly, not even having the courage to turn his head back, let alone try to stop him.

Qin Zhiyuan moved to the side, watching Yan Ran's departing figure thoughtfully.