My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

The first to arrive at the scene was the protection vehicle that was blocked on the main road in the north of the city.

Old Wang ran three red lights along the way. The other security guard in the passenger seat gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white, dialing Old Chen's number again and again. The only response he heard was the same mechanical and cold female voice: "The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."

They knew Old Chen had left before they arrived, but no one thought anything was wrong. It was only a 20-minute drive; what could possibly happen?

As they finally managed to break free from the traffic jam and sped up to catch up along the main road leading to the east of the city, they saw, in the distance, through the increasingly heavy rain, a twisted and deformed black sedan on the road ahead, along with shattered glass scattered all over the ground.

Old Wang slammed on the brakes, and the tires left two long water streaks on the wet road.

When the security guard in the passenger seat pushed open the car door and rushed out, the scene he saw made him freeze in place.

The entire rear of the black sedan was dented, the doors were twisted into irregular shapes, and shards of glass were scattered all over the ground.

The driver, Lao Chen, was slumped over the steering wheel, his forehead cut open, the blood already congealed.

Not far from the car, Su Qing lay on her back in the puddles, covered in blood, the front of her white dress soaked through.

Her eyes were half-open as she gazed at the gray sky, raindrops falling on her face and sliding down her cheeks.

Jiang Ran knelt beside her, soaked to the bone, her hair plastered to her cheeks, and held her hand above Su Qing's face, trying to shield her from the rain.

"Miss! Miss Su!" The security guard rushed over, squatted down, and reached out to touch Su Qing's neck.

His fingers lingered on her cold skin for several seconds before he froze.

He slowly withdrew his hand, looked up at the other side, and saw a woman lying on her back in the puddles a few meters away. There was a hideous wound on her neck, the blood of which had been washed away by the rain. Her eyes were still open, and the whites of her eyes were covered with dense blood vessels.

Old Wang Chao called out, asking what was going on.

The security guard didn't answer, but slowly stood up, picked up his phone, and dialed Jiang Mingchuan's number.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of a private club in the east of the city.

Cui Ying, dressed in a burgundy cheongsam, her hair carefully tied back with a pearl hairpin, stood under the porch, looking around.

The rain was heavy, and a shallow layer of water had accumulated on the lawn outside the porch. The air was filled with the smell of rain-soaked earth.

Jiang Mingyuan came out from inside, draped a light jacket over her shoulders, and told her it was cold outside and to go back inside and wait.

Cui Ying shook her head and said she wanted Xiao Ran to see her as soon as she got out of the car.

Jiang Yi skipped over from the other side of the porch, grinning as she said, "Auntie looks so beautiful today, Xiao Ran will definitely be happy to see you."

Jiang Ren leaned against the Roman column in the porch and sighed helplessly, but the corners of her mouth were turned up. She said that Xiao Yi was right, today was a good day.

Jiang Mingchuan stood to the side, watching the group of people eagerly anticipating the birthday, and remarked that everyone was really looking forward to it, after all, it was Xiao Ran's first birthday since she came to the Jiang family.

His phone rang at that moment.

He answered the phone, a smile still on his face, and casually said, "Old Wang, where are you?"

The person on the other end of the phone said a few words, and his smile instantly froze on his face, his entire face turning deathly pale.

He suddenly raised his voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the porch.

"What did you say?!"

Cui Ying turned to look at him. Jiang Yi's smile was still on his face, but it was slowly fading. Jiang Ren straightened up from the pillar and frowned.

  

Jiang Mingchuan shakily put down his phone, his lips moving several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Miss Su and the others... were in a car accident."

The entrance to the clubhouse was quiet for several seconds.

Rainwater flowed down the eaves and pounded on the steps with a monotonous and dull sound.

The handkerchief in Cui Ying's hand fell to the ground.

When Jiang Ran was taken to the hospital, she was covered in blood.

This wasn't her blood. She only had a small abrasion on her forehead and a few shallow cuts on her arm from broken glass; that blood belonged to Su Qing.

While in the ambulance, the accompanying doctor tried to pull her away from Su Qing so he could perform CPR on Su Qing, but she held onto Su Qing's hand tightly and refused to let go. The doctor tried several times but couldn't pry her fingers open. In the end, he could only let her sit on the stretcher next to him, with her hand still reaching out to hold her sister's hand.

She sat there quietly, without saying a word, her gaze unfocused on Su Qing's pale face.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Su Qing was immediately taken to the emergency room.

Jiang Ran was stopped at the door by the nurse and had to let go of the hand she had been holding the whole way.

The door slowly closed in front of her, and the red "Operation in Progress" light above the door lit up, as glaring as a congealed drop of blood.

When the Jiang family arrived at the hospital, all they saw was that lonely figure at the end of the corridor.

Jiang Ran stood at the door of the emergency room, facing the closed door and with her back to everyone.

She was still wearing the same dress that was mostly soaked in blood, the bloodstains had dried to a dark brown color, the hem of the dress was wrinkled, and one of her shoes had fallen off at some point. She was barefoot on the cold tile floor, with a few small scratches on her feet, but she seemed to feel no pain at all.

Her hair was still wet, with a few strands clinging to her pale cheeks, and water droplets dripping from the ends of her hair onto her shoulders.

Cui Ying walked forward shakily, reaching out to touch her shoulder, calling her Xiao Ran, wanting to ask if she was hurt, and wanting to tell her not to be afraid, that she was there for her.

The moment her hand touched Jiang Ran's shoulder, Jiang Ran abruptly stepped aside and pulled her hand away.

The movement was very light, without pushing or anger, just a very cold and indifferent avoidance.

Then she turned back and continued to stare at the closed door, as if nothing had happened, as if the person standing next to her was not her biological mother, but a stranger she did not know and did not want to know.

The corridor fell into dead silence.

No one dared to speak, no one dared to step forward.

The red light outside the emergency room was still on, like a countdown, each second an agonizing ordeal.

Jiang Mingyuan helped Cui Ying sit down on the bench next to him, supporting her shoulders.

Cui Ying's hands were trembling slightly, and her lips were moving, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Yi huddled in the corner, covering her mouth with her hands, tears streaming silently down her face.

Jiang Ren leaned against the opposite wall, her back very straight, but her fingers gripping her phone were turning white.

Jiang Mingchuan stood at the end of the corridor, constantly making and receiving phone calls, his voice very low, as if he were saying something that the other end of the line couldn't hear.

Then the red light went out.