Era: After foreseeing the future, I changed my fate using spatial abilities.

Chapter 2 Trust, Collapse

"Ningning has been discharged from the hospital?"

"Yes, Deputy Factory Director Xu, why didn't you let Ning stay in the hospital a few more days? The situation was so frightening!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard they were barely breathing when they were rescued."

As soon as the father and daughter entered the residential compound, they were surrounded by a group of elderly men and women who were idly chatting in the sun.

Xu Zixin carried the things in both hands, with his signature refined and easygoing smile on his face. Even when people surrounded him and asked him all sorts of questions, he showed no sign of getting angry.

"Yes, Aunt Liu, the doctor said there's nothing seriously wrong, but the girl keeps insisting on going home. There aren't many days left until the college entrance exam, and she's very anxious."

"Don't worry, Uncle Li, Ningning is doing well."

"Hey, thank you all for your concern! Ningning needs to rest for a few more days, so I'll take her back now."

Su Ning followed behind him with her lips tightly pressed together, and when asked, she simply smiled shyly and reservedly as usual.

Looking at her father, who remained calm and gentle throughout, she felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on her heart, causing a suffocating pain.

How skilled must a person be at disguising themselves, and how deep must their cunning and scheming be, to play a role perfectly for decades without revealing the slightest flaw?

Thinking hard!
"Ningning, Ningning?"

"Huh? What's wrong, Dad?"

Looking up, I unsurprisingly met a pair of eyes full of concern, mixed with obvious worry.

With just one glance, Su Ning immediately looked away from his face, feigning confusion as she murmured softly, "Why haven't I seen Yueyue?"

She knew that she was no match for this old fox, and she understood that in order to prevent the foreseen events from happening prematurely and causing further persecution, she had to be extremely careful not to let him notice any changes.

She pinched the tender flesh in her palm so hard that the stinging pain was what kept her calm.

"Dad, I want to go find Yueyue first."

"now?"

"Hmm, ask her about some things at school, and pick up the things she asked me to bring back."

Looking at the sky, Xu Zixin nodded and instructed, "Don't stay too long. Once you've picked up your things, hurry home for dinner. Even though you've been discharged, we still need to follow the doctor's orders and get plenty of rest, okay?"

"Okay, I'll go home after I get my things."

"Go."

One second they were being affectionate and respectful to each other, but the next second the two turned their backs to each other and both stopped smiling.

Xu Zixin stopped and turned to look at her back again: This girl seems to have been acting strange ever since she first saw him at the hospital.

But that's strange, what exactly is wrong?

……

Su Ning was unaware of his doubts; at that moment, she had only one thought: to find Yueyue!

She had so much on her mind, and if she didn't talk to someone she trusted, she was afraid she would go crazy in a few days.

Although the Xu and He families live in the same residential compound, they are located in opposite directions, and it takes about ten minutes to walk between the two buildings.

Fearing that it would attract excessive concern from well-meaning neighbors, Su Ning jogged along, trying to avoid the crowds, and bumped into He Yue as soon as she got downstairs.

"Ningning? You've been discharged from the hospital? I was just about to visit you today because it's a holiday."

"I just got back, Yueyue..."

Before she could finish speaking, as she excitedly grasped her friend's hand, the scene before her suddenly changed again without warning.

……

[In a cold and damp room.]

He saw himself covered in blood, lying on the ground barely alive. He Yue was crying her eyes out beside him, her hands trembling as she tried to touch him but didn't know if she could, completely at a loss.

"Yueyue, promise me you'll protect it... don't give it to anyone..."

"Fine, I won't give it to you, I won't give it to anyone, waaaaah~ What will happen to Ningning? Don't die!" "Ningning, just hold on a little longer, I'll find someone to save you right away! I'll definitely find someone to save you! Wait for me, you have to wait for me!"

Suddenly jolted awake, He Yue gripped the thing handed to her tightly and stumbled as she ran outside.

Just as He Yue stepped out of the dilapidated and desolate courtyard, the gate was opened from the outside, startling her so much that she instinctively dropped to the ground, hiding herself in the waist-high weeds, too afraid to move.

A very long time has passed.

So long that there was no more sound coming from the room not far behind; so long that the sun had set and the moon had climbed over the wall…

……

The scene shifts again, and in the noisy funeral hall, a black and white photo of her smiling face hangs, while He Yue is being blocked by Xu Zixin at the door of her bedroom.

"So, Yueyue, have you thought it through?"

Xu Zixin's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were bloodshot, as if hiding a bloodthirsty demon.

"Give me the things, and everything in Ningning's room is yours. See those two boxes of jewelry? See those two large wardrobes full of almost brand-new clothes for all four seasons?"

"Not to mention that Ningning has always been self-disciplined and frugal. All the New Year's money and red envelopes she received in previous years are still lying in that drawer. There must be several thousand yuan in it, right?"

"Uncle Xu, I..."

In just one exchange, merely a verbal probe, He Yue had already made the choice that was most advantageous to herself.

……

Looking at the things that belonged to her piled up in He Yue's room, and looking at He Yue holding the jade pendant that she had always said she liked very much and that she had promised to give to her after her coming-of-age ceremony, with a look of both crying and laughing.

Whether out of guilt or something else, her long fingernails dug into her flesh and drew blood quickly.

Strangely, the blood didn't drip down but was instead absorbed by the jade pendant. He Yue was stunned for a long time before suddenly exclaiming to herself with ecstatic joy, "There really is such a treasure in the world!"

"Ningning, I'm so sorry, I was just too scared, I didn't dare... I'm so sorry..."

"Every man for himself, so it's better for this thing to end up in my hands than for it to fall into the hands of that wicked Xu Shanshan, that bitch, right?"

"You're so kind, you'll understand, right?"

“If I hadn’t made the right choice today, Uncle Xu would have killed me too. You wouldn’t want to see me get hurt again, would you?”

"Ningning, don't blame me."

……

"Ningning! Ningning! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Her hand was gripping him so tightly it hurt, and He Yue couldn't help but cry out, "Let go of my hand so I can support you."

"hu~hu~"

Gasping for breath, Su Ning clutched her chest, unable to pinpoint exactly where the pain was, only knowing that it was so intense that she bent over, tears streaming down her face and shattering on the ground.

"Ningning, don't scare me! I, I... I'll go get someone to help right away, wait a minute..."

—When you breathe your last, when you reach the very end, will that glimmer of hope rise again and again, only to turn into deep despair?

Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Su Ning straightened up and looked at her so seriously for the first time. "Yueyue, how long have we known each other?"

"Ten...twelve years, how...how?"

Moist eyes, reddened corners of the eyes, sweet dimples.

The person is still the same, with an innocent and harmless look on their face, so why do their eyes give off such a creepy feeling?
He Yue took a step back fearfully, her voice trembling slightly at the end, "Ningning, what's wrong with you? You know I'm easily scared, please don't frighten me~"

"Please return the things I asked you to bring back from school a couple of days ago. Also, I'm not feeling well these days and will be resting and studying at home. Don't come looking for me unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Okay, okay. I'll go get it for you right away, just a moment..."

Hmm, what does that mean?
Can't we wait even a moment?

"I'll do it right away, immediately!"

Patting her startled heart, He Yue quickly turned and ran home: What's wrong with Su Ning? The way he looked at me was terrifying!
(End of this chapter)