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

Gu Qinghan's fingers were still trembling when she put down her phone.

The phone hit the wooden surface of the bedside table with a dull thud, which was particularly clear in the quiet hospital room.

Su Xiaoyue lay on the hospital bed, her wrist wrapped in snow-white gauze, with a faint red tinge showing through the gauze.

Her face was whiter than gauze, almost transparent, and her lips were dry, cracked, and chapped, devoid of any color.

Her eyes were closed, and her long eyelashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.

Her breathing was so light that if you didn't look closely, you would almost think she was gone.

Gu Qinghan sat on the bedside chair, having sat there all night. Her tailbone ached as if it had been repeatedly struck with a blunt object.

But she never left. From the moment she rushed into the ward until now, she has been sitting in this chair, holding Su Xiaoyue's cold hand, watching the IV drip slowly drip down.

She didn't know what she was thinking.

My mind is a mess, so messed up that I can't make sense of anything.

Zhao Jianmin's phone call made her feel like she had been thrown into a blender, all her thoughts were mashed into a sticky, murky mess with no clear boundaries.

She asked Zhao Jianmin to arrest Jiang Miaomiao, but Zhao Jianmin, in his cleverness, also arrested Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi signed a confession.

No, it's not "signed", it's "was signed by someone".

She knew all too well how those "confessions" came about.

Zhao Jianmin unplugged the camera, turning the interrogation room into a private torture chamber. Then, he took out a pre-written confession and made a young man, who had been up all night and was on the verge of a mental breakdown, sign it.

If they don't sign, then we'll just have to keep waiting.

If he doesn't sign, we'll threaten him with his sister.

He will sign. Anyone would sign in that situation.

Gu Qinghan closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands.

She thought of Xia Anmian.

Thinking back on the more than ten years since they met in junior high school, every kindness Xia Anmian showed her, every instance of trust, and every time she stood by her side when others didn't understand her.

She recalled Xia Anmian's tone when she said, "You are my best friend," calm and understated, as if stating a fact that needed no proof.

Xia Anmian never expresses her feelings verbally, but every action she takes says: I care about you.

Similarly, as Xia Anmian's first man, Gu Qinghan didn't think that Jiang Yi would ruin their relationship based on this alone.

It's their business how two lovers make trouble. No matter what, Xia Anmian will definitely protect Jiang Yi in the end.

But now it's all been ruined by an idiot.

Her best friend's boyfriend was forced to sign a confession because of her.

If Xia Anmian knew about this, what would she think?

She didn't even dare to think about it.

She raised her head from between her fingers and looked at Su Xiaoyue on the hospital bed.

Su Xiaoyue kept her eyes closed quietly, her breathing even and weak, like someone trapped in a very, very far place who couldn't come back for the time being.

"Xiaoyue," Gu Qinghan called softly, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Su Xiaoyue did not react.

Gu Qinghan reached out and touched Su Xiaoyue's hand, which was sticking out of the blanket, with his fingertips.

That hand was as cold as ice, with thin, pale, bluish veins faintly visible beneath the skin.

Seeing Su Xiaoyue's outcome.

Gu Qinghan felt even more guilty.

"Xiaoyue, I'm sorry." Her voice was very soft, as soft as a feather about to fall.

"I should have found out sooner. I should have investigated when you told me 'he's very good to me'."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

"I forgot that from childhood to adulthood, no one has ever been kind to you."

So when someone pretends to be nice to you, you simply don't know whether it's genuine or not.

"This isn't your fault. It's my fault. I failed to protect you."

Within a few days, two of my good friends experienced this.

She had absolutely no idea what to do.

Tears finally slid down her cheeks, landing drop by drop on the back of Su Xiaoyue's pale hand, spreading small, warm water stains on that thin layer of skin.

Su Xiaoyue's finger twitched.

A very slight, almost imperceptible movement.

But Gu Qinghan sensed it.

She suddenly raised her head and looked at Su Xiaoyue's face.

Su Xiaoyue kept her eyes closed, her breathing still slow and weak, but her lips moved slightly, as if she were saying something, or calling someone's name.

Gu Qinghan leaned closer, his ear close to Su Xiaoyue's lips.

"husband……"

Su Xiaoyue's voice was very soft, so soft that it was like a wisp of wind that might dissipate at any moment.

Gu Qinghan's body stiffened.

She straightened up and looked at Su Xiaoyue's pale, almost transparent face. It felt like someone was cutting her heart with a dull knife, and the pain made her tremble all over.

Even in her condition, she was still calling out to that person.

……

Su Xiaoyue had no idea where she was.

The surroundings were white, a softer white, like cotton cloth dried in the sun.

She stood in a corridor, which was not long. At the end of the corridor was a door, which was half open and let in a warm yellow light.

She walked toward the door.

My feet made no sound when they stepped on the ground; it felt like stepping on a thick layer of cotton.

She opened the door.

Behind the door is a living room.

The apartment has three bedrooms and one living room; it's not large, but it's very clean.

The sofa was light gray, with a few cushions scattered on it. On the coffee table sat an open magazine and a half-empty water glass. Several potted plants sat on the TV cabinet, thriving with glossy green leaves.

Several pieces of clothing were hanging on the balcony: a man's shirt, a woman's dress, and a very small T-shirt with a cartoon print.

Su Xiaoyue stood in the middle of the living room, looking around, her mind blank.

She didn't know where she was, why she was there, or even who she was.

She looked down at her hands.

Her fingers were slender with distinct knuckles, and her nails were painted with a light pink nail polish.

Is this her hand?

Her hands were always plain, never painted with nail polish. But now, these hands seemed to be part of her body, as if they were meant to be there.

"Mother!"

A voice came from behind, a clear, childlike sound, like a little bell.

Su Xiaoyue suddenly turned around.

A little boy, about four or five years old, stood at the entrance of the corridor, wearing a light blue T-shirt and khaki shorts, with small sandals on his feet.

His hair was soft and a bit long, with his bangs almost covering his eyes.

His features are exquisite, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, a straight nose, and slightly pursed lips. When he smiles, the corners of his mouth curve into a beautiful arc.

Su Xiaoyue stared at that face, her heart feeling as if it had been suddenly gripped.

The child's eyebrows and eyes looked exactly like someone else's.

The person's name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't remember it no matter what she did.