Blood! There was blood everywhere!
Jiao fainted in front of the Prosecutor’s office. Rivulets of blood were continuously running down her legs as Cui Jing knelt by her, crying helplessly. Perhaps, those people in uniforms were too busy, but no one ever looked at them as they callously pa.s.sed through the door. It was as if the two women and those government officials were living in two different worlds.
Luckily, a taxi, happening to pa.s.s by, stopped. The driver swept up the woman on the ground without a word and quickly took them to a hospital.
Jiao was barely conscious. She didn’t know where she was and who was by her side. She could only feel her body shaking. Perhaps, she was on her way to heaven. She couldn’t hear Cui Jing’s crying and naturally had no idea where Jiang Zhengkai was.
She seemed to see an image of her mother, whose face hadn’t changed in three years. Her mother was smiling lovingly to her. “Ziyuan, come! I’ve finished cooking for you. Come! Let’s eat together!”
Then, she saw Tao, pressing down on his wound and speaking calmly in a low voice. “Do not scream! I’m not a villain. I won’t hurt you!”
Next, she saw an older woman dressed in coquettish and tacky clothing. With a strong and stale perfume around her, she walked towards Jiao and looked down at her in disdain. “Sis, you want to die? Give me your stuff. You won’t need them after dying.”
“No! Please! Don’t beat me!” Now, Jiao seemed to hear the screams of a young woman. She was crying for help. “Please! You can have all my money. Please don’t beat me!”
Lastly, there was a policeman observing her from a distance. His eyes were warm and full of love. He handed a banana to her. “Here! Take it!”
It’s him! Wait! But who is this guy? And what’s his name? Why is he so nice to me?
Then the image in front of her changed again and Jiao saw herself cuddling in a room with the man. She could feel the fright and tension in the frantic pounding of her heart. The man held her tightly and comforted her in a soft voice, “Honey, don’t be scared. I’m here for you. Nothing can hurt you!”
A puff of black smoke slowly drifted up from the floor in front of their bed. Oh, right, there was an explosion, thus the smoke. As the smoke drifted towards their bed, it started to circle around them slowly. However, it couldn’t harm them as the man’s body was glowing with golden light. The light was protecting them.
Gradually, the smoke took the form of a woman in a loose black robe. Her chest was so deflated that it seemed like she had no flesh on her. In fact, she resembled a desiccated skeleton. She slowly lifted her head. It’s her? It looks like the woman with thick makeup and stale perfume. No! Wait! It also looks like the woman is asking for help.
“Sister Xiu? Xiaomei?” Jiao was frightened, but still asked hopefully. “Is that… Is this… You?”
The skeleton heard her voice and stopped by the bed. It stared at them with blank eyes and then reached out with its hand. When its fingers were about to touch Jiao’s face, the golden light suddenly grew stronger, and the hand melted away instantly.
“Ah!” The smoke-skeleton screamed in pain. But a new hand quickly grew back. The skeleton retrieved its hand while its face kept s.h.i.+fting between Xiu and Xiaomei repeatedly. Finally, it settled on Xiu’s and slowly spoke, “Jiang Zhengkai, you must die!”
“Okay! You can kill me. But you cannot hurt my girlfriend!” The man replied without any hesitation. “You can take my life, but please spare hers.”
“What? Your girlfriend?” Even though the skeleton’s eyes were blank, they had an incredulous glint. “She is a prost.i.tute! You are a policeman! And yet she’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes! It’s true! Sister Xiu, I love him!” Jiao heard herself yell.
“You love him?” The skeleton stood there in shock. Then the face s.h.i.+fted again. “Sister Jiao, I miss you so much!” Now, it was Xiaomei speaking.
“I miss you, too! Don’t worry about your family. They’re doing well.” Jiao heard herself tell her.
“Really? How’s my brother doing? I think I saw him earlier. He’s a policeman now, right?” The current voice of the skeleton sounded more cheerful than the previous one.
“You saw him? Yes, he’s a policeman now, a recent graduate. Your parents are doing fine as well.”
“That’s good. It’s nice to know that they’re doing well. I…” Before Xiaomei could finish speaking, the face contorted again and changed into Xiu’s. Her blank eyes stared at Jiang Zhengkai, questioning him harshly. “Let me ask you. Do you really love her?”
“Yes!” he answered firmly. “You can kill me, but you cannot hurt her.”
“Stop lying! You are the next to die!” The skeleton roared and flew towards them. When its arm was about to touch their bodies, the face changed again. “Stop! Don’t hurt him! Sister Jiao won’t like this. She’s nice and has helped you before!”
“I saved her once as well!” The face twisted violently. Its body also fell apart and then reformed again. The skeleton turned solid, and then transparent again and again. It seemed that there were two spirits fighting with each other. Finally, the flas.h.i.+ng started to slow down. Perhaps they were tired, or maybe they had reached an agreement.
“Fine, you win.” Half of the face was Xiu’s and the other half was Xiaomei’s. It sounded worn out. “I promise to let you live.”
“Yeah! You should let them live their lives peacefully.” The skeleton was talking to itself now. “I believe that they will bury your body properly.”
“Fine! I’m exhausted. I should rest in peace. You two have to find my body and bury it then. And Xiaomei… I’m sorry for dragging you down here.”
“It’s nothing. You helped me get revenge. I wanted to stay and help you, so I’m actually grateful to you. You’re a nice person and I don’t regret. I mean it. It’s nice to be with you.”
“Haha, I’m not a nice person! I’m a nice ghost.” The mouth of the skeleton widened. The face seemed to be smiling, but in a creepy way.
The skeleton’s opacity started to lessen as its smile gradually vanished. Perhaps, one of the spirits had to leave soon. The man suddenly thought of something. “Wait! I… I have some questions. Can I ask you?”
“Sure, ask away, though I can’t stay long...” the skeleton replied slowly.
Jiao watched them interact. The color of the skeleton was disappearing and it was gradually turning white. She saw Xiaomei’s face become clearer. But, all of a sudden, Jiao heard a baby crying.
A baby? Is there a baby here? While Jiao was searching for the baby, the image in front of her changed once again. The skeleton of Xiu and Xiaomei was gone. It was as if they had never been there.
“Sister Xiu! Xiaomei!” She heard herself crying out. The man holding her had also vanished. Now, she was alone in the darkness.
“Hon… honey!” She remembered how she had addressed him.
“Jiang Zhengkai! Where are you? Don’t you dare leave me!” Finally, she remembered his name. However, silence was the only response. Jiao felt her body grow lighter and felt relieved. She saw a baby smiling at her. What a cute baby! He really takes after my husband and me!
Jiao felt exhausted and decided to sleep next to the baby. His tiny hand was so cute as he grabbed Jiao’s. He is so... so adorable….