After I died, they cried in the live studio

Chapter 36 Undercurrent surging
It was late at night, the moonlight outside the window was dim, and the dark clouds were pressing down heavily, as if to swallow up the last ray of light. Chu Ling sat alone in the dim room, the surroundings were as quiet as death, and only the wall clock made a monotonous "ticking" sound.

He held tightly in his hand an old bracelet that his girlfriend had worn on their first date. The pearls were warm and the silver chain was shining, but at this moment it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Chu Ling's eyes were out of focus, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the past.

I still remember that in the warm spring sun, they strolled in the sea of flowers. His girlfriend's hair was flying, and she reached out to catch the falling petals. She turned her head and smiled sweetly at him with shining stars in her eyes. In the summer, a rainstorm suddenly hit, and the two were trapped in a street shop. They ate a bowl of hot noodle soup together. The hot steam blurred each other's faces, but it couldn't hide their loving smiles. On the streets in autumn, his girlfriend asked him to help her pick chestnuts. After peeling the soft, sweet chestnuts, she always put the first one into his mouth.

But who could have expected that on that ordinary winter morning, when he woke up, his girlfriend had disappeared without a warning. Her laughter and warmth were gone from the room, leaving only the coldness. Chu Ling searched everywhere like crazy, making countless phone calls, but all he heard was a busy tone.

At this moment, memories were like sharp blades, cutting his heart again and again, and the pain surged. Chu Ling's eyes were red, his body was shaking slightly, and he murmured to himself: "Where did you go? We agreed to stay together forever..." Tears burst out of his eyes and dripped onto the bracelet. He curled up in a corner of the sofa, as if he was abandoned by the whole world, trapped in the quagmire of pain, unable to extricate himself.

The rain outside the window stopped at some point, the dark clouds quietly dispersed, and a few rays of moonlight came in with difficulty, sprinkling on Chu Ling's tear-stained face. He was still stuck in the quagmire of memories, clutching the old bracelet, his knuckles turning white from the force, until his assistant's gentle reminder, he woke up as if from a dream and got up to go to the banquet hall.

Entering the venue, the crystal chandelier made people dizzy, and laughter and joy were heard everywhere. Chu Ling absentmindedly dealt with the greetings, and when his eyes wandered casually, they suddenly stopped - in the crowd, Sang Shuwan was wearing a white dress and smiling, and her face was exactly the same as his girlfriend's! In an instant, Chu Ling's breathing stagnated, and the blood in his body seemed to flow backwards, and his eyes instantly turned red.

The past sweetness and despair came to his mind all at once, and the bracelet in his hand almost slipped off. He stood there in a daze, his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, and his mind was filled with only that familiar yet unfamiliar face. The hustle and bustle around him completely disappeared, and it seemed that the whole world was left with only him and Sang Shuwan in front of him.

After a long time, Chu Ling recovered, hope rekindled in his eyes, and he walked towards her in big strides, anxious and flustered, fearing that this was just a fragile dream. When he got closer, he saw her holding Jiang Cimu intimately, smiling gently, and Chu Ling's steps stopped abruptly, hope was instantly mixed with bitterness, and jealousy burned: "How could she be so close to Jiang Cimu? No, I will never allow it..." Clenching his fists, he secretly vowed to figure out the relationship between the two, keep Sang Shuwan by his side, and regain the warmth of the past.

Sang Jiuyue came running with a grievance in her heart, her high heels tapping on the smooth floor. She saw the fierce anger emanating from Chu Ling, his fists clenched, his chest heaving violently, and thought he was angry because Sang Shuwan had bullied her at the banquet that day, and she couldn't help but feel a little happy.

"Master Chu, are you angry because that bitch Sang Shuwan bullied me too much? Don't worry, I, Sang Jiuyue, am no pushover. From now on..." Before she could finish her words, Chu Ling turned his head abruptly, his eyes like sharp blades, filled with rage, and without saying a word, he kicked her.

Sang Jiuyue had no time to dodge, and she flew several meters away like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground. Her skirt was flying, and she looked very embarrassed. Her elbow was scraped, and blood oozed out, which was very painful. She widened her eyes, her face full of surprise and confusion: "Master Chu, why...why did you kick me?"

Chu Ling snorted coldly and strode closer, looking down at her and uttering through gritted teeth: "Don't be so conceited. My anger has nothing to do with you. Stop getting in the way and get out of here!" After that, he didn't even look at her again and turned around, searching for Sang Shuwan's figure again.

Sang Jiuyue slumped on the ground, her eyes red, shame, anger, and grievance surging in her heart. She bit her lower lip until the bloody taste spread in her mouth, and secretly clenched her fists: "You Chu Ling, you made a fool of me! Sang Shuwan, and you, I will remember this account. If I don't avenge this, I will not be a human being!" Although she said the harsh words, at this moment, she could only get up dejectedly, dragging her injured body to hide in the dark, and planning the next revenge plan.

After Chu Ling left with a wave of his sleeves, Sang Jiuyue struggled to get up from the ground, rubbing her body that was hurt from the fall, and glared at the direction where Chu Ling was going, her teeth chattering. After she recovered, she limped to where Chu Ling had just stood, and her eyes inadvertently fell on the photos placed on the table. The first photo that caught her eye was a photo of Sang Shuwan smiling sweetly. She was radiant and beautiful in the photo. Sang Jiuyue looked at it, and the jealousy in her heart rose again, and her nails pinched into her palms unconsciously. The other photo next to it was a photo of Chu Ling and his ex-girlfriend. The two people in the photo were very close, with happy and sweet smiles on their faces. The girl had a very similar face to Sang Shuwan, and the charm between her eyebrows was exactly the same.

Sang Jiuyue was stunned at first, then a hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes, and she speculated in her heart: "So that's why, no wonder Chu Ling looks at that bitch Sang Shuwan differently, it turns out he treats her as a substitute for his ex-girlfriend. Humph, Sang Shuwan, you are really good at tricks, relying on this face to climb up the social ladder." Thinking of this, Sang Jiuyue's mouth curled up in a sinister arc, she reached out and picked up the two photos, holding them tightly in her hands, as if she wanted to crush the people in the photos.

"Now that I have discovered this secret, I can't let go of this opportunity easily, Sang Shuwan. I will make you fall from the clouds and let Chu Ling see the true face of your substitute. Let's see how you can still be so proud!" Sang Jiuyue whispered with gritted teeth, her eyes full of calculations. She had already planned in her mind how to use this secret to disrupt the situation next, so that she could reap the benefits.

Sang Jiuyue tightly grasped the photo, the corners of her mouth slowly raised, a calculating smile spread wantonly at the corners of her lips, and a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes: "Sang Shuwan, your good days are over." She quickly formed a vicious plan in her mind.

The next day, Sang Jiuyue dressed up carefully and made an appointment with a few socialites who loved to gossip at the most luxurious afternoon tea restaurant in the city. As soon as everyone sat down, Sang Jiuyue pretended to be aggrieved, her eyes were red, and she sobbed a few times, which attracted everyone's concerned eyes. "Sisters, you have to make a decision for me. Sang Shuwan is very dirty. Not only did she steal my limelight, but she also..." As she said, she took out a photo of Chu Ling's ex-girlfriend and deliberately placed it in a conspicuous place, "The young master of the Chu family has always had a white moonlight in his heart. Sang Shuwan, relying on a similar face, deliberately approached and seduced him, hoping to fly up to the tree and become a phoenix."

The ladies stared with wide eyes, whispered to each other, and chattered. Sang Jiuyue struck while the iron was hot, exaggerating Sang Shuwan's various "scheming behaviors" and portraying her as an unscrupulous climber. Within a few days, the rumors spread quickly throughout the upper class circle, adding many unbearable versions, and became more and more outrageous.

When Sang Shuwan attended the event, people around her looked at her strangely and whispered to each other. Someone said to her in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, you are really good at seducing people with just your face." Although Sang Shuwan was confused, she still responded calmly. When Chu Ling heard the rumor, his brows were furrowed and his eyes were terribly gloomy. He knew without thinking that it was Sang Jiuyue who was behind it, and he secretly vowed to make her pay a heavy price.

Sang Jiuyue stood in front of the French window of the luxurious apartment, overlooking the busy city, the neon lights showing the prosperity, but her heart was full of haze and resentment. Her clenched fists were white from the force, her nails were deeply sunken in her palms, and the distorted expression on her face seemed to hide a beast that was ready to eat anyone.

"Why is it that Sang Shuwan has everything going smoothly, has unlimited glory, and even makes Chu Ling fall head over heels for her! Those noble ladies and celebrities only look at me coldly and gossip about me behind my back on weekdays, none of them are good people!" She gritted her teeth, her voice became hoarse due to anger, and her chest rose and fell violently. Recalling the humiliation she suffered at the banquet, Chu Ling's ruthless kick, and the contemptuous sneers of others, hatred was like a surging tide, wave after wave of impact on her already fragile reason.

At this moment, a crazy idea took root in her heart: to make everyone pay the price. She wanted to tear off the mask of Sang Shuwan's "perfect personality" and stir up those rumors even more, so that the business community would distance themselves from her and her relatives and friends would be alienated; as for Chu Ling, she would try to expose his secrets and make him a laughing stock in the upper class circle; and as for those noble ladies who gossiped, Sang Jiuyue was going to secretly collect evidence and wait for the right opportunity to wipe them out, so that they would be ruined and never be able to turn over.

In order to achieve her goal, Sang Jiuyue completely abandoned her bottom line and began to frequently contact all kinds of people, including gangsters and unscrupulous tabloid reporters. She bribed them with money, tempted them with benefits, and used all means to piece together "dirty information", completely ignoring the consequences of her actions, and plunged into the abyss of revenge and destruction, allowing the inner demons to devour her.

(End of this chapter)