I immediately felt a chill in the air of the reception room, a cold so biting it involuntarily raised goosebumps on my skin.

"What do you want me to do? What about my sister?" The words Old Shao had spoken echoed in my mind, mentioning the stamp album as a target. Perhaps what he said wasn't just nonsense.

"Don't let him get that album. I will protect your sister."

"Protect her how? She looks like a lifeless statue right now. Can you make her talk?"

Suddenly, my sister wrapped her arms around me from behind. "Xiaoyu, wu wu wu..."

I was too stunned to speak. The sister before me, who moments ago seemed like a wooden carving, was now vividly alive again. Who exactly was this person? What had he done to my sister? What should I do? Should I listen to him, or try to find a way to rescue my sister? In that single second, countless questions flooded my mind, offering no clarity and no answer. What to do, what to do—I kept asking myself, yet I couldn't find a single foolproof solution.

That's it—kill him! No matter who he was, I would act right now; only then would my sister be safe.

Just as I was about to lunge at him, I noticed my sister’s grip tightening, growing so fierce it was suffocating.

"Sis..." Was this really my sister? My sister couldn't even carry a sack of rice before, so how could she suddenly become this strong?

At that precise moment, Wenshu pushed the door open. She stared intently at Li Xiaoshu and said, "Visiting hours are over. Please leave now; the patient needs rest."

Li Xiaoshu frowned slightly. But then, she said calmly, "Very well, that’s all for today. I will take good care of your sister, and you should focus on your recovery."

As the words left her mouth, my sister released her hold.

I straightened my clothes and looked at my sister with a gaze that held more confusion than understanding. She had reverted to that vacant state again. Memories flooded back: just a month before coming to Xiangcheng, we were sitting on the balcony, sharing a single ice cream. Now, less than half a year later, everything had changed beyond recognition. With my parents missing and my sister reduced to someone else's puppet, what meaning was left in my own existence?

Unknowingly, tears streamed down my cheeks. Wenshu gently touched my arm. "Come on, time’s up."

I couldn't bear to look at my sister one more time. Gritting my teeth, I turned and left the reception room.

Back in the ward, I immediately looked for Old Shao. I had changed my mind. Whatever he wanted, I would give it to him, as long as he could find a way for my sister and me to escape this danger.

Old Shao wasn't in the ward. I walked down the hallway to the main hall to continue searching; he wasn't in his usual spot for chess either. At the entrance to the garden, a dense crowd was gathered. I inquired on the edge, and it seemed someone had drowned in the fountain. Pushing through the onlookers, I gasped—lying on the ground was Old Shao.

The police arrived shortly after. The medical examiner ruled it accidental drowning; perhaps he had a sudden cramp while passing the fountain, fell into the pool, and suffocated.

This sudden turn of events left me feeling helpless in a way I had never known. I squatted in a corner, burying my head in my hands, and began to sob uncontrollably. The memories of playing chess with Old Shao, the moments of laughter and play with my sister—they flashed before my eyes, each one stabbing my heart like a steel needle. If there were a potion that could turn a person into a walking corpse, I would swallow it without hesitation.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, followed by dull thunder and the sudden downpour of large raindrops. I remained crouched there, letting the rain wash down from my forehead over my entire body. The happy memories, the painful ones—they swirled in my mind, refusing to dissipate. If someone told me that my life could buy my sister's freedom, I would chop off my own head right there.

"Old Shao has finally found release," a gentle voice sounded above me, and the rain seemed to retreat. I looked up, my vision blurred by the water droplets running down my hair. I roughly wiped the water away and blinked several times, finally seeing clearly that the person standing beside me, holding an umbrella, was Wenshu.

She crouched down to help me up, and I lunged into her embrace, weeping loudly like a child. The umbrella fell onto the wet ground, and we sat huddled together in the heavy rain.