My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

Meanwhile, in Jiang Yi's room.

After Su Xiaoyue went to bed late, Jiang Yi lay there with his eyes open for four hours.

He lay on his side, facing the window, but his gaze was not focused on anything specific.

Su Xiaoyue's breathing came from behind him, even and long; she was still asleep.

He didn't sleep a wink all night.

The things Su Xiaoyue said yesterday still make him feel suffocated.

"Miao Miao said that you instructed her to do it."

"She said those chat scripts were prepared by you and given to her, and the bank account was provided by you."

He rolled over, facing the ceiling. He couldn't see anything in the darkness except for the small green indicator light on the air conditioner panel.

He couldn't figure it out.

Although Jiang Miaomiao was spoiled since childhood, and was willful, playful, and acted without considering the consequences, she was not a bad-hearted child.

She did change later.

After starting university, I spent more and more money on games and had less and less contact with my family.

But every time he called to yell at her, she would just laugh it off and say, "Brother, I know," without ever putting up a fight.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand why Jiang Miaomiao would harm him.

He was locked in the interrogation room for an entire night, and when he was forced to sign that confession, he never thought of blaming her.

That was his younger sister; they came from the same womb. He swallowed all his grievances and bore the burden for her because he believed she was just confused for a moment.

But she recanted her testimony.

He turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

The pillowcase is made of cotton and has a faint scent of laundry detergent; Su Xiaoyue changed it yesterday.

He could feel his breath being blocked by the fabric, stuck in his nasal cavity, with a slightly damp heat.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

But those images kept coming back, replaying over and over again.

drop.

The sound of my phone vibrating came from the bedside table, especially clear in the quiet of the early morning.

Jiang Yi's body moved slightly.

He turned his head and saw that Su Xiaoyue's phone screen lit up, and the vibration caused the phone to move slightly a few millimeters on the wooden table.

Su Xiaoyue did not wake up.

She lay on her side, facing him, one hand resting on the edge of the pillow, her fingers loosely curled.

My phone vibrated again.

Then the third time.

Su Xiaoyue's eyelids twitched, she mumbled an "Mmm," turned over, and groggily fumbled for her phone on the bedside table. She unlocked it with her fingerprint, and the screen's light shone on her face.

"Attorney Li..." Her voice was still hoarse and sleepy from just waking up, "Why are you up so early..."

Su Xiaoyue didn't speak, but listened quietly.

She could feel the phone pressed against her ear, the words leaking out one by one from the receiver and into her ear.

She was dazed at first, even with her eyes half-closed and her brows slightly furrowed, as if she hadn't fully woken up from a dream.

But soon, her eyelashes fluttered once, then a second time.

She propped herself up on the mattress, the blanket slipping off her shoulders to reveal a glimpse of the light pink neckline of her pajamas and the outline of her collarbone.

The phone was still pressed against her ear, but the hand holding it tightened slightly.

"...What did you say?"

Her voice was very low, as if something was blocking her throat.

Jiang Yi noticed the change in her tone.

He suddenly rolled over, facing her.

Su Xiaoyue didn't look at him.

She gripped her phone tightly, her fingers turning white, her knuckles digging into the edge of the phone case as if they were about to break.

Her face was backlit, making her expression impossible to discern.

"...How long ago?" Her voice trembled. "When did this happen?"

There was someone talking on the other end of the phone. The voice was very soft, and Jiang Yi could only hear indistinct syllables from an arm's length away.

Su Xiaoyue did not speak again.

She simply listened as Li Zhenghua, on the other end of the phone, told her the confirmed news in a calm, carefully controlled tone.

"...We just received the notification too."

Li Zhenghua's deep voice came through the receiver.

"The detention center said they discovered it during rounds around 5 a.m. this morning. The forensic doctor's preliminary diagnosis is sudden cardiac arrest, but the specific cause will require further testing."

Su Xiaoyue lowered her hand from her phone.

She didn't hang up; she just took the phone away from her ear and placed it on the blanket. The screen was still lit, and the call was still going on. Li Zhenghua's voice could be faintly heard, as if through a thick layer of water.

"Miss Su? Miss Su, are you still listening?"

Su Xiaoyue did not answer.

She sat on the bed, the morning light shining from behind her, enveloping her in a cold white halo.

Her shoulders were trembling slightly, not much, but enough for Jiang Yi to see clearly.

Jiang Yi sat up, the blanket slipping off him. "Xiaoyue?" His voice was a little hoarse. "What's wrong? Who called?"

Su Xiaoyue slowly turned her head to look at him. Her face was very pale, her lips were almost bloodless, and her eyes reddened instantly.

"husband......"

Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

"Attorney Li said... Jiang Miaomiao... she's dead."