The Taihu Lake in deep winter is vast and misty. It also seems to be sparkling with a mysterious silver light during the night. There is a layer of light mist floating on the lake, which has turned to a bit of a crystalline form due to the low temperature these days. When the wind blows, though cold to some, it is still as refreshing as raindrops.
When Ling Qingyu fell from the boat and into the lake, she was jolted awake from her hangover by the sudden feeling of cold water enveloping her body. She wanted to stretch her body and swim to safety, but found that she could not move at all.
Not only did she lose control of her body movements, but her limbs also began to cramp as they continue to be soaked in the frozen lake water. As her body continued to sink and her lungs started to feel pain from the gradual suffocation, fragments of events began to flash before her eyes.
The past thirty years or so of her life quickly faded back in time as if everything seemed to be on rewind before her eyes. She was starting to get dizzy but it was a good thing that it finally stopped. When she looked around, she found myself in a reception area after the funeral of her father.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that there was a beautiful woman leaning on her husband's arms and laughing softly. That woman's husband looked surprised why the woman was laughing yet he had a relaxed expression on his face. This scene was totally out of place if we keep in mind that this was supposed to be someone's funeral.
Having just completed all the divorce procedures, she saw herself celebrating. She is finally regaining her freedom in life but after all the things she did to be free, is it really going to end just like this?
Ling Qingyu kept her silence, feeling hopelessness and death creep in but inside, she suddenly felt totally unwilling and reluctant to leave this world.
She suddenly heard someone calling out and frantically looking for her, "Yuyu~ Yuer~~"
She immediately recognized it as her mom's voice. She wanted to respond but she couldn't. She finally remembered and screamed in her mind, "Mom! What will I do without my mom?"
Ling Qingyu began to struggle, wanting to go back to the woman she loved the most in this world but the stiffness of her body made her sink even faster towards the bottom of the lake.
She wanted to go back. She did not want to leave her mother alone in this world. She screamed in her mind, "No! Mother!"
A sudden call came from far away yet at the same time, it seemed to come from just beside her. In a flash, her body left the cold lake water.
Ling Qingyu found herself transported in a space where everything was surrounded by white. She quickly realized that sure enough, she was dead. The next question was: Was this heaven after death? Or maybe hell?
"Mother..." She heard that faint calling voice again. Ling Qingyu groped her way towards where the sound was coming from and saw a young girl lying on the ground, crying hear heart out.
"It's you?" The girl raised her head and asked. On her plump face, a pair of swollen eyes can be seen due to crying for a long time. Though looking sad, those eyes somewhat still radiate light.
"It's me." Ling Qingyu found herself replying unconsciously to the little girl. She somewhat felt a little annoyed and confused after what happened.
She asked herself, "What kind of conversation is this? Why does this little girl's face look so familiar to me?" She couldn't help but look at the little girl's figure, roaming her eyes to her pancake-like face, her stilted buttocks and her breasts that have begun to grow a little...
Suddenly, the image of a middle school student who had just fought someone in front of a night snack stall came to mind. It was surely a near-death memory that appeared in front of her eyes as a another fragment. Then she realized, "Shit! This little girl is actually me!"
She started to think that everything is getting weirder. Why is this girl (the other me) wearing an ancient long skirt and looking so frail?
The girl suddenly spoke "I was murdered by a villain. I fell into the Taihu Lake and died."
The girl stood up shakily and continued, "My father and brother were also murdered by a villain but I am powerless to avenge them. I am here only to ask that you take good care of my mother and avenge our family for the sake of us being one and the same person."
As soon as the little girl finished speaking, she pounced on the other girl. The older Ling Qingyu was knocked down by the little girl. Just then, the ground she was laying on suddenly disappeared. With a "swoosh", Ling Qingyu felt that she had fallen inside a container. It was the followed by a lot of noisy shouting drilling into her ears.