Watching his wife take out the gift Mrs. Li had given him years ago, Mr. Nangong let out a long sigh. He looked around the room filled with moving boxes and thought that he hadn't made the wrong decision after all; the woman before him, tormented beyond human recognition, was indeed the very Xiao Linghua from the past.

“And then what?” Mrs. Nangong, having admired the rare, exquisite necklace, gently placed it back in its box and urged Mr. Nangong to continue the story from that morning.

Mr. Nangong was overcome with emotion. He glanced at his watch; it was already four in the morning, and the moving truck would arrive in an hour. Several months prior, he had set his sights on a villa in the countryside. He had wanted to buy it several times but felt too embarrassed to bring it up with his wife. Ever since they stopped receiving income from caring for Xiao Shu, money had been tight. Although the countryside villa was relatively inexpensive because it lacked full title deeds, it was still a significant expenditure for their household. Yesterday morning, after learning the truth, he had impulsively called the owner, saying he was moving there immediately to rent for a while, intending to purchase it formally if it suited them. The owner figured this was just a tactic from a picky buyer; as long as the buyer was sincere, whether they rented or bought made little difference. Thus, the agreement was reached quickly. In a little while, the moving truck would take them to that very villa in the country.

“Then,” Mr. Nangong continued, “I remembered the pearl necklace and gave up on trying to open the door. I sat down on the floor about two meters away from her, determined to sort out this problem in minute detail. So, I stopped getting angry and began speaking to her in a gentle tone, saying, ‘I remember this. If you truly are Mrs. Li, can you tell me where you have been all these years? And why have you ended up looking like this?’” Seeing that I was starting to believe her, she cracked her dry lips into a smile. Perhaps she still believed she was the beautiful, youthful Xiao Linghua of yesteryear. But to me, that smile was more terrifying than any horror movie.

“After smiling, she said, ‘When I left home, I was already pregnant with twins. Because Li Tai-zheng instructed me not to tell anyone until the children were safely born, I didn’t share this news with you. However, Mrs. Nangong’s stomach was already quite large by then. I wonder if you later had a boy or a girl?’ I replied, ‘A girl! Her name is Nangong Ying. She was raised, along with the abandoned infant Mr. Li brought home, by my wife.’ ‘Abandoned infant?’ Hearing the word ‘abandoned infant,’ she frowned with distaste, her thin lips puckering like those of an old woman of seventy or eighty. She said, ‘A spineless man. He dares to claim I disappeared but won’t admit that child is his own flesh and blood.’”

“I became more confused the more she spoke and grew impatient. ‘Madam, may I address you with such formality? Mr. Li was deeply kind to our entire family; I truly do not wish to hear anyone speak ill of him!’ ‘Yes,’ she nodded, continuing, ‘Li Tai-zheng was also deeply kind to me back then. Look at what I have become now! You all are being kept like cattle and sheep by others, yet you aren't afraid for your own future. Only when it comes to the point where men hold the knives will you regret trusting the wrong person.’”

“I didn’t understand what she meant, simply concluding that my luck today was exceptionally bad—I had run into a lunatic and gotten locked in a morgue. I sullenly stopped talking. But the woman ignored my expression and carried on: ‘I bet your daughter is hopelessly devoted to Li Tai-zheng’s son. The two of them grew up together, their bond as sweet as malt candy.’ ‘You got that one right,’ I conceded with a nod. Just as I was feeling proud of the deep affection between Yingzi and Xiao Shu, she raised her left arm, thin as kindling, and pointed with her right hand to the circle of bite marks and bruises wrapped around it, telling me, ‘Look closely at my arm. That is what your daughter’s future looks like.’”