Ling Sheng reacted almost instinctively. Her body was one step ahead of her brain, and she instinctively tried to retaliate. However, her hand stopped in front of her, and she could not help but tremble. She retracted her hand and looked at the girl with teary eyes, feeling heartache. She was extremely anxious. “Tell me, what happened?”
“Get lost!” Xiaxia bellowed, her red eyes pushing her away suddenly. Hatred rolled within her as she asked loudly, “Why me? Tell me, Ling Sheng, why me?”
Ling Sheng did not know what had happened. When she was pushed away, she bumped into the corner of the table behind her. The pain made her cry. She did not know what she meant, but her intuition told her that this might have had something to do with her. She tried her best to calm down and asked, “What exactly happened?”
“I told them I was not Ling Sheng. Why didn’t they let me go? Why?” The moment Xiaxia saw her, she broke down instantly. She pointed at her and cried. “It’s all your fault, Ling Sheng! It’s all your fault. They were looking for you. Why me?”
Those people had kept saying that they wanted to find Ling Sheng—they had been looking for Ling Sheng, not her. She had shouted with all her might, telling them that she was not Ling Sheng.
However, no one had believed her. No one had helped her. She had felt despair. Bone-chilling despair. People who had not experienced that kind of despair would not understand what it meant to be disheartened.
She had really wanted someone to save her.
She had thought that those people would believe her.
Xiaxia was on the verge of breaking down. She kept shouting at her, asking her to get lost, throwing things at her, and crying her heart out.
When Lu Xianzhi entered, he saw Xiaxia shouting and scolding Ling Sheng like a lunatic.
Ling Sheng was covered in water, and there was a big red patch on her forehead. Her eyes were red and filled with pain and grief. She only looked at her quietly, allowing her to hit and scold her without moving.
“That’s enough.” Lu Xianzhi stepped forward, grabbed Xiaxia’s arm, and snatched the pillow from her hand. “Stop, this had nothing to do with her.”
“It did!” Xiaxia’s voice was hoarse, and her face was full of tears. She looked up at Lu Xianzhi as though she had found a life-saving straw to clutch. She looked at him tearily and spoke in a sobbing voice as though she wanted to gain his approval. “It was about her. They were looking for her. She should have gotten raped, not me. Why didn’t anyone listen to my explanation? Why didn’t anyone believe me?”
Ling Sheng’s heart was ice-cold, as though it had fallen into a bottomless hole. Every word she said was like the most venomous knife, cutting her until she was covered in blood and pieces of flesh.
A wave of memories that were hidden in the deepest part of her heart—dirty, humiliating, and desperate memories—washed over her as though they had agreed upon this beforehand. Darkness then swallowed her whole.
She knew that this was not her memory, but someone else’s memory. However, when the image came, she was still beaten until she was covered in blood. Her head was in so much pain that it seemed like it would explode.
She should understand.
This body had also experienced something worse than the current situation. How could she not know how it felt? She had experienced bone-chilling hatred, resentment, and despair.
However, what could she do? No matter how much hatred or grief she felt, she had to live on. Despite all the anger and self-loathing, in the end, nothing could change. She would only hurt the people closest to her.
Ling Sheng did not know what she was feeling. Her limbs were cold, and every single cell in her body was trembling uncontrollably. She was filled with darkness and despair. She walked to her friend’s side, wanting to hug her, but when she saw the rolling hatred in her eyes, she only said in a hoarse voice, “I know.”
She knew.
She knew everything.
“What do you know? You don’t know anything!” Xiaxia let out a shrill cry and reached out to grab her.