(Consumption guide: Fiction set in an unspecified era, please do not match characters to real people)

*****

Gu Qiaoqiao stood on the edge of a cliff.

The sky in September seemed unusually clear.

The sunlight was radiant and bright.

Despite such sunlight, it still could not penetrate the gloom filling Gu Qiaoqiao's heart.

She could no longer go on living.

The only reason she had held on until now was because her younger brother, her only family, was still in prison.

She needed to wait for him to get out.

But just last month, on this very day, her brother had suffered a heart attack and died.

Her parents had passed away eight years ago one after another, and her sister had shortly thereafter taken her own life.

After taking care of her brother's funeral and settling other matters, there was no longer anyone or anything in this world she could cling to.

The mountain wind fiercely blew her white hair, yet she was only twenty-nine years old.

Her throat had been scorched by coal, she didn't even have the right to question the heavens.

She clenched her teeth, her sunken eyes long devoid of tears.

Her lifeless eyes watched a wisp of cloud in the sky silently changing its shape.

It was as if she saw a seventeen-year-old girl shyly saying to a handsome young man beside her, "Grandfather, I want to marry him."

Her wish was granted.

She thought that from then on, she would live a happy life.

But this was the beginning of her nightmare.

At that time, she did not know that Qin Yize was the designated heir of the first noble family of the Imperial Capital, the Qin Family, or that he was a young genius medical doctor adored by many noble ladies in high society.

She didn't know his childhood sweetheart secretly cherished feelings for him.

By the time she realized it, she had been sold into the mountains by human traffickers, and from then on, fate was exceptionally cruel to her.

She dared not reminisce, as each recollection brought heart-wrenching pain.

Gu Qiaoqiao took one last glance at the blue sky and the cloud, whimpered a few times, closed her eyes, and leaped forward, like a butterfly with broken wings fluttering into the deep pool below the cliff.

When the terrifying suffocation hit, a smile unexpectedly formed on her lips.

From then on, she would suffer no more.

As she sank into darkness, she thought, if there is a next life, she must stay far away from Qin Yize.

...

"Grandma, you are just too kind. She sought her own death, why did you save her?" a girl's crisp voice said.

"After all, it's a life, and she's your sister-in-law, and during the New Year holidays too, oh..."

An elderly person sighed as they spoke.

Gu Qiaoqiao's headache was severe, she struggled to open her eyes, but despite trying hard, she couldn't.

Who is talking?

Could it be that she wasn't dead and had been rescued?

"She even made my mother faint from anger, and you still give her water?" the girl's voice rose angrily.

"Xiao Yu, go and see if your mom's feeling better?"

Then there were rustling sounds, and suddenly, there was a moist sensation near her mouth.

Gu Qiaoqiao trembled her lips, gathering all her strength, and suddenly opened her eyes.

"Qiaoqiao, you're awake?" the elderly person said with surprise.

Gu Qiaoqiao stared blankly at the elderly lady in front of her, holding a porcelain bowl and spoon, her face kind and smiling. Suddenly, her heart pounded like thunder.

All her blood seemed to freeze at once.

Wasn't this Grandma Qin?

But wasn't she dead?

Just eight years ago, on the day her brother had wounded Qin Yize's sister, he suffered a sudden cerebral thrombosis and died.

So, did they meet in the underworld?

"Grandma... Grandma..." Gu Qiaoqiao's lips trembled as she spoke, "I'm sorry..."

But suddenly her whole body stiffened, and she fiercely touched her own throat.

She had been mute for eight years; now that she was dead, could she speak?

At that moment, the door was pushed open.

A girl with a ponytail stormed in, pointing at Gu Qiaoqiao, "My mother was so upset by you that she's shaking and can't get out of bed; you owe my mother!"

Gu Qiaoqiao's eyes widened in shock.

It was Qin Yize's sister, Qin Xiaoyu; she...

Seeming to realize something, Gu Qiaoqiao suddenly sat up, frantically looking around.

On the wall opposite, adorned with elegant wallpaper, hung a picture frame containing a large photo of a sweet-smiling young girl beside a handsome young man who, despite his fine appearance, could not conceal his cold and indifferent demeanor.

It was her and Qin Yize's wedding photo; her mind exploded, and for a moment, went blank.

She bit her lips hard, forcing her gaze away from it.

On the east wall was a row of antique redwood furniture.

It was adorned with large red 'Xi' characters.

She suddenly turned her head; the brilliant sunlight unguardedly stabbed her eyes.

Gu Qiaoqiao grimaced and closed her eyelids; when she opened them again, she saw a young man standing at the door.

He was obviously just back from outside.

His hands, distinct in their knuckle lines, were draped with a dark blue woolen coat. He had great features, with brows like distant mountains and eyes like the autumn waters of a deep pool, but his expression was as indifferent as mountain snow.

Dressed simply in a white shirt, its brand-new collar seemed to carry a hint of chill.

He looked even more tall and straight.

Gu Qiaoqiao's hand suddenly clenched the clothes over her heart, her breathing almost felt suffocated.

Qin Yize!

The man she had loved for four years and hated for eight years.

Eight years ago, after a parting in the mountains, she had never seen him again.

This man, who carried the dreams of her youth and yet looked at her with such cold indifference, was now silently observing her.

His handsome face showed no emotion.

Grandma Qin gave Qin Xiaoyu a look. "Let's go, push Grandma to see your mother. It's almost time to prepare for the New Year's meal..."

"Grandma..." Qin Xiaoyu stomped her foot in frustration.

"Xiao Yu, push Grandma out," Qin Yize said. His voice, melodious as fine strings, was pleasant to hear but carried a chilling aloofness.

Xiao Yu was most afraid of her elder brother.

She glared at Gu Qiaoqiao, who was lying on the bed pale-faced, before pushing Grandma Qin out of the elder brother's bedroom.

Gu Qiaoqiao had not come to her senses yet.

Her body was trembling, and so were her hands; she had to clench her fists tightly.

Her fingertips pressed into her palm, the sharp pain making her bite her lip.

Qin Yize, unhurried, hung his coat and hat on the wardrobe rack and then slowly walked over to Gu Qiaoqiao's bed.

His towering figure stood at the bedside, looking down at Gu Qiaoqiao, bringing an invisible sense of oppression.

At that moment, his lips were pressed into a cold straight line.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, his voice deep, "Do you truly no longer wish to live?"

Gu Qiaoqiao's heart tightened fiercely; her pale lips trembled silently.

She hurriedly lowered her head.

She did not dare meet Qin Yize's gaze, for his piercing eyes seemed to see through everything, making her feel utterly exposed.

And it left her in a very awkward position.

It was just like what she remembered.