After I died, they cried in the live studio

Chapter 38: Uneasy in the Night
Jiang Ci Mu looked at the panic and anxiety in Sang Shu Wan's eyes, feeling pity for her. He raised his hand and gently stroked her messy hair, saying softly, "Shu Wan, don't be afraid, I'm here." Seeing that she was still biting her lower lip and her expression was tense, Jiang Ci Mu sighed softly, took her slightly cold hand, and led her to the bed.

"Just sleep here tonight and don't think about anything." Jiang Cimu held her arm and helped her sit down on the bed. He then squatted down and took off her shoes for her, his movements gentle and patient. He stood up, pulled the quilt over, and carefully covered Sang Shuwan, tucking in the corners to make sure it was tight.

Sang Shuwan grabbed the quilt, looked up at him, and whispered: "Ci Mu, then you..." Jiang Ci Mu interrupted her with a smile, and tapped her nose with his fingertips: "I'm going to sleep in the study, you just sleep soundly, have a good dream, and forget all the bad things tonight. If you are scared at night or have a nightmare, call me at any time, I'm next door and will come right over."

After that, Jiang Cimu leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then turned off the desk lamp, and walked out of the bedroom quietly with the dim light coming in from the window, not forgetting to close the door behind him, moving slowly and silently, for fear of disturbing her. After entering the study, he took out a thin quilt from the closet, spread it on the sofa, lay down with his clothes on, opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, secretly thinking about his plan to deal with Chu Ling in the future, and was determined to protect Sang Shuwan.

In the dim room, the lights were flickering, Sang Jiuyue was terrified, her back was tense, and her body was trembling slightly, like a frightened quail. She secretly raised her eyes and saw the iron tower-like figure of the gangster blocking the door, and several of his men beside him were full of hostility. Her heart "skipped" and an ominous premonition surged.

The gangster crossed his arms, his broad chest heaving violently, the tattoo on his neck looked like a vicious beast that would choose its prey. At this moment, his face was twisted and red like a ripe tomato due to his rage, and he yelled at the top of his voice: "Sang Jiuyue, what can you do! How dare you provoke Chu Ling? Do you think you have a long life?"

Sang Jiuyue's eyes were red, and she tried to defend herself, gesticulating with her hands. "How could I know that things would turn out like this? I just wanted to use the fact that Sang Shuwan looked like his ex-girlfriend to stir up some trouble and trip her up. Who could have expected Chu Ling to turn hostile on the spot and not buy into my trick at all!"

The gangster boss frowned and took a step forward, staring down at Sang Jiuyue. He raised his hand and poked her shoulder, spitting on her face. "You idiot! Who is Chu Ling? He's a tough guy in the business world who can make the ground tremble with his stomping feet. Do you want to drag your brothers to be buried with you by provoking him?"

Sang Jiuyue staggered after being poked, her face turning pale and blue, but she still refused to give up and raised her voice to retort: "The opportunity was rare at that time, and I only wanted to bring down Sang Shuwan, so I didn't care about anything else! Besides, the thing has already happened, what's the point of you just scolding me, why don't you think of a solution."

With a crisp "slap" sound, the gangster swung his arm and slapped Sang Jiuyue in the face. Her cheeks instantly became red and swollen, and blood flowed from the corners of her mouth. The gangster's eyes were wide open: "Think of a solution? You are the one who caused this mess, and you still want me to think of a solution? If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't learn your lesson!" After that, he raised his leg and kicked her in the stomach.

Sang Jiuyue screamed in pain, holding her stomach with both hands and curled up on the ground, sweating profusely, with messy hair on her face. The gangster boss was still not satisfied, so he pulled her head up by her hair and gnashed his teeth and said, "Within three days, you have to apologize to Chu Ling and make up for this. If you can't do it, the brothers will not forgive you. Do you understand?"

Sang Jiyue burst into tears and nodded tremblingly: "Understand... Understood." The black boss snorted coldly, shook off his hand, and walked away with his men. Only Sang Jiyue was left in the room, collapsed on the ground, with resentful eyes and surging hatred, and kept muttering: "Chu Ling, Sang Shuwan, you wait, I will settle this account sooner or later."

The dim light flickered in the cramped rental house, as if it would be swallowed by the thick darkness in the next second. Sang Jiuyue's hair was messy, with a few strands hanging on her tear-stained cheeks. Her eyes were swollen with anger and bloodshot, like two balls of burning anger, staring at the mottled wall in front of her. She clenched her fists, raised them high above her head, and smashed them hard against the wall. With a dull "bang", the lime fell down, raising a small cloud of dust.

"It's all that damn Sang Shuwan!" Sang Jiuyue screamed hysterically, her voice was already hoarse and cracked, the veins on her neck bulged and twisted, "Why? Ah? Why do all the men in the world revolve around her!" She screamed and stomped her feet back and forth in the room like crazy, her worn-out slippers flew out, and she was barefoot and didn't even notice, every step she took was with the ferocity of stomping through the floor, "When I was in school, those boys gave her love letters and helped her move things, leaving me aside; after working, her boss favored her, and she was promoted and raised like a rocket, and all the good projects were stuffed into her hands!"

Just as she was venting her anger, she heard the impatient grumble of her neighbor outside the door: "Why are you making so much noise at night? Can't you just shut up?" Then there was a heavy knock on the door. Sang Jiuyue froze, and the anger on her face instantly turned fierce. She turned around abruptly, rushed to the door in her slippers, and opened the door with a "clatter". She glared at her neighbor with her eyes wide open: "Why are you knocking? Are you going to stop?"

The neighbor was a middle-aged woman, with her hands on her hips, showing no sign of weakness: "You make such a fuss every day, how can we live? We are all suffering from nervous breakdown!" Sang Jiuyue's face flushed, she was so angry that she was shaking all over, her eyes almost popped out, she hurriedly took out a wad of cash from her pocket and threw it at the neighbor, and the hundred-dollar bills fell in the air. "Isn't it just for money? Here you go! Take it all! Don't whine to me here!" The neighbor was stunned by this sudden move and was speechless for a while. Sang Jiuyue slammed the door with a "clang", leaned against the door and gasped, her chest heaving violently. After a while, the corners of her mouth slowly rose, outlining a sinister smile, raised her hand to wipe her face, straightened her hair, and her eyes flashed with a crazy and determined light.

She walked to the mirror, stroked her cheek lightly with her fingers, and whispered to herself: "Sang Shuwan, you won't be so proud for long. In a few months, I will replace you and firmly occupy the position in Chu Ling's heart. By then, I will make those who look down on me kneel before me and beg for forgiveness." As she spoke, she straightened her clothes and took a deep breath, as if she had seen the dawn of victory. Her eyes became more and more fiery, and the aura of determination to win emanated from her body.

The dark night pressed heavily outside the window, and the room was so quiet that only Sang Shuwan's gentle breathing could be heard. She sank into the soft bed, her brows slightly furrowed, as if being pulled by invisible threads, and beads of sweat oozed from her forehead, obviously she did not sleep well.

In the dream, the scene suddenly emerged like a mirage. Sang Jiuyue was dressed in black, hiding in the dark corner of the street, with a twisted smile on her lips, like a poisoned blade, shining coldly. She was whispering with several burly strangers with hostile faces, gesturing in the air with her hands, her eyes flashing with calculation, and she said viciously: "This time, Sang Shuwan must be completely unable to turn over! I have found out that she is going to attend an important dinner tomorrow night. At that time, we will wait in the parking lot and spread those disgusting photos to see how she can raise her head in front of others. Humph, even if we can't destroy her, we will skin her alive!"

Sang Shuwan suddenly woke up, gasping for breath, and subconsciously grabbed the quilt with both hands, her knuckles turned white, her eyes wide open, full of fear and anger. After a while, she came to her senses, raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, bit her lower lip, and muttered to herself: "Sang Jiyue, you really are haunting me!"

She got out of bed in her slippers, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtains. The faint morning light came in, shining on her slightly pale face, but it couldn't dispel the haze in her eyes. Sang Shuwan crossed her arms, straightened her back, raised her chin slightly, tried to calm down, and said calmly: "I, Sang Shuwan, was not brought up to be scared. No matter what tricks you use, I am not afraid!" But as soon as she finished speaking, her eyes dimmed, her brows frowned again, revealing the worry that she could not hide.

Looking back on the past, Sang Jiuyue's various methods were shown in front of her like slides: she secretly sent anonymous letters to Sang Shuwan's partners, slandering her for her incompetence; she spread false rumors among her friends, causing them to feel resentful; she even asked someone to fake an accident and hit Sang Shuwan's best friend, almost causing a disaster. Every single one of these was carefully planned and unscrupulous.

The night was like thick ink, weighing heavily on her. Sang Shuwan, filled with anxiety and doubt, hurried to Jiang Cimu's study. Along the way, the biting wind lifted her hair, but she had no time to tidy it up. Her mind and eyes were filled with the desire to see Jiang Cimu as soon as possible and discuss with him how to deal with Sang Jiuyue.

Standing in front of the door, Sang Shuwan raised her hand and knocked on the door with trembling fingers. "Dong, dong, dong," the sound was particularly clear in the quiet corridor. She held her breath and listened carefully, but there was no movement inside, dead silence. She frowned, her heart skipped a beat, raised her hand and knocked a few more times, her voice was rapid and loud, and she shouted: "Ci Mu, are you there? It's me, Shuwan." But the only response she got was still empty silence.

After hesitating for a moment, Sang Shuwan bit her lower lip, slowly put her hand on the door handle, and gently twisted it. The door creaked open. The light in the house was dim, and the furniture was neatly arranged, but there was no sign of Jiang Cimu. She stepped into the house, looking around anxiously, muttering softly, "Where is he? He said he would wait for me at home."

Sang Shuwan walked to the desk lightly, her fingers brushed across the tabletop, the touch was warm, the computer screen was still on, the page stopped at an unfinished email about the recent business plan, it seemed that Jiang Cimu was just sitting here busy. She moved to the bedroom, the bed was messy, the quilt was randomly piled in a corner, and there was a shallow indentation on the pillow.

Standing in the middle of the bedroom, Sang Shuwan crossed her arms, her brows twisted into the shape of a "川" character, her face full of confusion and anxiety. She took out her cell phone and quickly dialed Jiang Cimu's number with her fingertips. The receiver was pressed against her ear, and the beeping sound of the phone being connected was more heartbreaking than the last. But for a long time, no one answered the call, and it automatically went to voicemail. Sang Shuwan didn't give up, and dialed again, muttering: "Cimu, where on earth have you been? Answer the phone quickly."

This time, it was still in vain. She held the phone tightly, her knuckles turned white, her eyes slightly red, and the uneasiness in her heart quickly spread and fermented: "He is never like this usually. Did he go out for something? Or did Sang Jiuyue interfere and send him away? No, I have to find a way to find him quickly." Sang Shuwan took a deep breath, calmed herself, turned around and walked out of the room quickly, deciding to contact acquaintances to inquire about the situation first. Her high heels tapped the ground, and every step was full of panic and eagerness.

(End of this chapter)