"Ye Shun!" Xia Xiulan looked at the direction of the door, her eyes already teary. But to her surprise, it was not her fiancé who had arrived. It was Wang Jing and there were several men behind him.
"G-grandfather!" Xiulan got up and ran towards him, ready to cling onto him. But just before she could touch the old man, Butler Tang had stepped in.
Wang Jing and the men quickly scoured the house and found Daiyu on the bed. But they were too late.
She was no longer breathing.
Wang Jing slowly approached her. He sat on the bed and gently brushed aside a stray hair.
"Xiao Yu… I'm sorry… grandfather is late again." The old man broke down in a sob. Butler Tang had never seen the old man cry before, let alone breakdown like this.
But he knew why this would weigh heavily on the old man's mind.
Years ago, when Daiyu had gone missing after a horrible car crash that claimed the lives of her parents, Wang Jing gave up looking for her and brought Xiulan into the Wang household instead. She was raised as the Wang heiress before they found little Daiyu three years after. Wang Jing quickly regretted his decision and drove Xiulan away. But the damage had been done. Hate grew deeply in Xiulan's heart and she took it out on the innocent Daiyu.
Now, the child was dead.
Wang Jing held Daiyu close to his chest as he cried, her body still warm from the life that had just left her moments earlier.
Soon, the sound of sirens approaching could be heard in the background.
"Tang Yun."
"Right away, Master Wang."
Butler Tang understood without needing words from his master. He ushered the police inside and reported the incident. They sent Daiyu's body in for autopsy and the private investigators were put to work. Ye Shun soon arrived and took the sobbing Xia Xiulan away.
When only the police and investigators were left, Butler Tang re-entered Daiyu's room. He removed a hanging painting from the wall and a computer device was revealed. After Daiyu was raped, Wang Jing had CCTV cameras installed secretly all over her new home. They were hidden in bookshelves, lampshades, paintings, and even ceiling lights. Butler Tang operated the machine and soon, he took a copy of the night's CCTV footage.
"Master Wang…"
"Who was it?" Wang Jing asked with a cold voice.
"Xia Xiulan."
Wang Jing's clenched his fist tightly.
"Prepare the lawyers… no. Prepare the media first. Sending her to court would be too generous." Rage flickered across the old man's eyes.
---
Daiyu and Liu Jin spent the next few days just talking. They sat side by side on the platform benches and Daiyu recounted to him everything that had happened in her life. She talked about the serious things, such as how Xiulan had schemed against her, and also the mundane things, such as entertainment news, her everyday life, and pretty much anything she could remember.
In the mornings they would stay inside the train station talking. In the afternoons they would laze around and gaze at the clouds or watch the colorful schools of fish swimming beneath them. At night they would follow the train tracks to the next station were lost souls just like them had built a small peaceful town. They would sleep at a cozy inn, wake up to a warm breakfast, and repeat their routine.
Before long, they had lost track of time.
Enclosed in their own peaceful bubble, Daiyu forgot her pain and worries. Soothed by Liu Jin's presence, it was easy for her to fall in love with him again. And before long, they had become intimate.
---
Daiyu laid in Liu Jin's arms, caged by his warmth. They had just spent an intimate night together and they had finally become one.
"Felt good?" He asked.
"Mmm." She nodded shyly. He chuckled.
"Me too. It felt great inside you." He whispered huskily into her ear.
She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. He chuckled.
"Xiao Yu…" He kissed the back of her hands.
"Babe…" He took one of her hands and kissed each fingertip.
Then he looked into her eyes.
"Take the train with me."
"… What?"
"Let's go back to the past." He said with a smile.
Daiyu paused before shaking her head slowly.
"Jin … I'm tired." She smiled bitterly. "I already spent an entire lifetime being angry and unhappy at Xia Xiulan, I don't want to see her again."
She was happy here with Liu Jin. She didn't want to go back and experience pain all over again.
"… Then just forget her."
"Huh?"
"Leave your memories here. Start all over again without the pain of the past. You'll live a new life as if it was your first."
"But what if I repeat the same mistakes?"
"You won't." Liu Jin smiled. "I'll be with you."
She looked at him, confused.
"I'll take care of you… and protect you." He tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Will you trust me?" He asked.
Daiyu looked at him, her eyes starting to water.
"Of course. Of course, I trust you. But Jin… "
She paused.
"If I leave my memories here… I'll forget you."