The blood was warm, very warm. It spilled down Su Li's hands no matter how hard she pressed against the wound on her chest, running between her fingers, soaking the floor beneath her.
Her legs shook, but she forced herself to look up.
And there he was.
The man she had loved for ten years. The man she thought she would grow old with.
"Lin… Hao…" Her voice cracked, barely a whisper. "Why? Tell me… why?"
He didn't even flinch. His expression was calm, detached, as if he were discussing business, not watching her die. He pulled out a white handkerchief and carefully wiped away a smear of her blood from his wrist with a face full of disgust.
"Why?" He finally glanced down at her, his lips curling in a cold half-smile. "Because you've outlived your usefulness. You gave me your company shares, you handed over your father's connections, you kept me afloat when I was nothing. Now?" He shrugged. "Now, you're just a burden I no longer wish to bear"
Her chest tightened more than the knife wound ever could.
A burden?
She remembered the nights she stayed awake, working until her eyes burned, just to pay off his debts. She remembered kneeling before her father, begging him to give Lin Hao another chance. She remembered telling herself over and over that he would change that love could change him.
And yet…
She stared at him through the blur of her tears, her lips trembling. "I gave you everything. I—"
"Exactly."
The voice that cut her off wasn't his. It was softer, smoother, almost playful with a hint of seduction.
Su Li turned her head slowly, every movement burning with agony, and saw her.
Zhou Qian.
Her best friend, her sister in all but blood. The person who had sworn to protect her secrets, wipe away her tears, and stand with her through everything.
She was standing there in a red dress, her arm hooked lazily around Lin Hao's. Her eyes glittered with amusement, as if Su Li's dying body was the punchline to a joke.
"You gave him everything," Zhou Qian said sweetly, crouching down so her painted lips were level with Su Li's ear. "Your money, your family, your heart. Tell me, Li, what else did you expect him to take? Your life?" She laughed softly, the sound like shards of glass. "Oh wait he already did."
Su Li's stomach churned. Her mind screamed at her to deny it, to shout that it wasn't true, that this was a nightmare, but the sight of Lin Hao's hand resting possessively around Zhou Qian's waist tore through her like another knife.
Her heart cracked open, spilling memories like shattered glass. Every smile, every touch, every whispered promise all lies.
"So… all this time…" Her lips trembled. "You were both… laughing at me?"
Lin Hao finally met her eyes, his expression sharp with irritation, as though her dying words were a nuisance. "You were never more than a stepping stone. Don't flatter yourself."
Something inside Su Li broke. Completely, utterly broke.
Her chest heaved with ragged breaths, the copper taste of blood filling her mouth. I was such a fool, she thought, a bitter laugh scraping her throat. I wasted my life on them. I destroyed myself… for them.
Regret filled her heart. Regret for every time she believed their lies. Regret for every humiliation she endured. Regret for never walking away.
Her body grew heavy. Cold crept into her fingers, her vision tunneling into darkness.
But even as death dragged her down, one last thought burned like fire in her mind.
If there's another life… if heaven dares to give me another chance… I'll never be weak again. I'll never love blindly again. I'll make them pay.
Her hand twitched once against her the soaked floor, then she stilled.
And then everything went dark.
When her eyes opened again, the first thing she felt was… warmth.
No pain in her chest.
Sunlight warm and soft
It streamed through the thin curtains onto her skin. She blinked rapidly, her heart hammering in panic. She was lying on a bed, not a pool of blood. The faint smell of detergent and cheap instant noodles lingered in the air.
Her gaze darted around, and her stomach dropped.
The desk, the calendar on the wall. The cracked lamp, the posters.
This… this was her university dorm room.
Her chest tightened, fear prickling down her spine.
"No… this isn't real. This can't be real…" she whispered to herself.
She scrambled out of bed, rushed to the mirror on the wall and froze.
A younger face stared back. Smooth skin, chubby cheeks and bright , unscarred lively eyes.
Her hands shook as she touched her reflection. "No. This isn't me. I'm… I'm dead. I—"
Her breaths came fast and shallow, panic overwhelming her core.
Maybe this was a dream. A hallucination before death. Maybe she had gone insane.
But the mirror was cold beneath her palm. The floor was solid under her bare feet. The calendar on the wall read five years ago.
And when her phone buzzed on the desk, the name flashing on the screen made her blood run colder than the knife that killed her.
Lin Hao.
Her throat tightened.
If it was before, she would have answered immediately, desperate to hear his voice.
Now, she stared at the phone until the ringing stopped, her chest rising and falling in sharp bursts.
"This… this isn't possible," she whispered to herself, clutching her head. "I'm dead. I should be dead."
But deep down, beneath the panic and disbelief, a spark flickered.
If this was real if somehow she really was here again then fate had given her the very thing she begged for with her dying breath.
A second chance.