One day, Bingying received a peculiar letter that instantly struck her as strange. It asked, “Do you have a wish you long to fulfill?”
“If so,” the letter continued, “please consume the item enclosed within on [Date] and proceed to [Location] for a ritual.”
‘A wish I long to fulfill?’
Without a moment’s hesitation, the one thing she had always yearned for immediately sprang to mind.
‘I want to restore my untainted body.’
Only then would she have the confidence to stand before him once more.
Looking back, Bingying must have been utterly spellbound then. She swallowed the gem-like object mentioned in the letter without a shred of doubt.
Alone, in the dead of night, she ascended to the peak of Xing Mountain. Before Moonbright Lake, seven individuals, each yearning for their own wish to be granted, gathered alongside her.
Under the guidance of one who appeared to be the ritual’s organizer, they commenced the ceremony.
Bingying could no longer recall the specifics. When her eyes fluttered open, she found herself back home.
A refreshing lightness permeated her body, unlike anything she had ever felt.
‘Could it be…?’ Bingying froze, then dashed to the bathroom, shedding all her clothes.
It was truly gone.
She gazed in disbelief at the beautiful girl reflected in the mirror, struggling to accept that it was her.
‘This is wonderful! If this is true, then I can also…’
Her parents were astonished by her recovery. After several check-ups confirmed she was completely fine, they were overjoyed, despite finding the situation a little strange.
Yet, Bingying remained indifferent; only one thought consumed her.
‘I want to see him again.’
Afterward, her parents arranged her enrollment at Xingjiang Middle School. Her desire to attend that particular school stemmed from a conversation with Yang Mingzhi, her childhood friend.
He had told her, “I’ve recently met a really interesting guy.”
For some inexplicable reason, Bingying harbored a strong premonition that she would undoubtedly encounter him there.
“Classmate Bingying has transferred in during the second semester of her first year due to a prolonged illness,” the teacher announced. “Please make sure to look after her.”
“Okay!” all the students, especially the boys, shouted in unison.
‘How truly sickening.’
‘Humans are such creatures, their behavior altered simply by appearances.’
‘Indeed, only he is special.’
“Hello everyone, I’m Bingying.”
Still unaccustomed to being the center of attention, she suppressed a wave of nausea, anxiously scanning the classroom.
Then she saw him: a young man, slumped asleep in the back row by the door.
He no longer possessed the captivating beauty and intense confidence of his childhood, the kind that had once swayed those around him. Now, he was merely an ordinary high school student, with a common appearance and average grades.
Yet, Bingying was certain she hadn’t mistaken him; he was undeniably *that* person, the one who had rescued her from the abyss.
“Um, hello,” she greeted him, suppressing the surge of excitement within.
“Who are you?” he asked, looking puzzled.
‘No, I can’t waver!’
‘He just doesn’t remember! After all, I’m completely different now from before!’
‘In fact, it’s better if he doesn’t remember! Even if he praised me back then, I still wouldn’t want him to remember my past, ugly appearance.’
‘Yes, from this moment on, with my new self, I’ll build a relationship with him as equals. First, a small goal: start as friends, then, then maybe, maybe I could pursue the position of girlfriend, and then, then, then, perhaps even marriage, marriage, marriage, marriage, marriage, something like that isn’t entirely out of the question…’
“Oh, Luo Tianchen, you’re here!”
‘Huh?’
A girl suddenly appeared beside him, wrapping her arms around his.
“How many times have I told you? In the classroom, please don’t be so close to me, okay?” he sighed. “As the Student Council President, you’re the center of everyone’s attention. Could you please indulge my wish to be an ordinary person?”
“Hehe, but didn’t you say it yourself?” the President chuckled. “I helped you, so I can ask for anything, right?”
“No, I didn’t say *anything*,” Luo Tianchen clarified. “However, if you’re putting it that way, you must have something you want me to do, don’t you? If so, just say it quickly. I don’t like owing people favors for too long.”
“Then, become my Vice President!”
“Huh?”
The two left, chatting and laughing, leaving Bingying sprawled on the floor in an “ORZ” pose.
‘I lost.’
‘Even in my current state, I couldn’t possibly compare to that girl’s beauty. To put it bluntly, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.’
‘A mortal, no matter how high they climb, can never touch the sky. That girl was precisely such a being. Just gazing at her healed one’s soul, much like he used to be.’
‘The only thing that gave me a little confidence was my chest.’
‘Are they a couple? Is that why they’re so intimate? But, even so, even so…’
“Yang Mingzhi!” Bingying shouted loudly.
“At your service!” he quickly abandoned the girl beside him and scurried over to Bingying.
“What’s their relationship?” Bingying demanded, pointing at Luo Tianchen and the President.
“Huh? One’s just a regular high school student, and the other is the Student Council President,” Yang Mingzhi replied. “It looks like she wants him to join the student council?”
“I want to join too.”
“Huh?”
“I said, I want to join the student council!”
And so, Bingying joined the student council, marking the beginning of their irreplaceable three years together as a group of five.
Later, Bingying discovered that the two actually had no romantic relationship. However, relying on her female intuition, she subtly noticed that they likely harbored feelings for each other.
‘How detestable. I don’t want to see him talking with other girls.’
‘Clearly, I was the first to meet him, the first to speak to him.’
‘Is this… jealousy?’
Yet, through their interactions, Bingying and the President became good friends. She realized the President was a truly kind person.
‘What should I do?’
…In the end, Bingying was never able to confess her feelings to him.
‘To him, I must have just been an ordinary classmate.’
‘Still, simply being by his side… perhaps that’s enough.’
“Yesterday, I was confessed to,” Luo Tianchen suddenly said.
Bingying struggled to mask her shock, then calmly asked, “So, what was the outcome?”
“I rejected them in Yang Mingzhi’s style,” he replied.
Bingying breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, while simultaneously feeling disgusted with her own pettiness.
A girl died, brutally murdered.
As Bingying reeled in shock, a trace of unease also stirred within her.
‘I seem to have seen her before. Not at school, but… at that strange ritual.’
Bingying had always avoided recalling that night. While the ritual had indeed healed her body as she wished, could that truly be the end of it?
Her father, a politician, had always told her there was no such thing as a free lunch, so she couldn’t believe it was merely a wish-granting ceremony.
‘Something must have happened, something I’m unaware of.’
‘However, if given the chance to do it again, I would never hesitate.’
‘I want to know the truth.’
****
‘Can the dead truly be resurrected?’
Upon seeing the resurrected Yao Xinchang, Bingying wavered.
Yet, with him behind her, she felt no fear.
****
‘I ran away.’
‘Even though it was his command, I still ran away in fear.’
‘No, this isn’t right. I should have stayed with him.’
‘I don’t want to leave him again.’
****
Bingying heard he was injured, but according to his sister, it wasn’t serious.
‘They’re truly siblings; they resemble each other so much. If he were willing to put some effort into his appearance, he would surely become even more handsome than Yang Mingzhi.’
‘No, that won’t do. If he looked like that, countless girls would flock to him. He might even, out of embarrassment, foolishly fall into some seductress’s trap.’
‘It’s enough that only I know his true self.’
****
Another person died.
Luo Tianlian abruptly fled the classroom, leaving Bingying all alone.
‘I’m so scared.’
‘Something has already set its sights on me.’
‘But this cannot be.’
‘I had already decided after that day that I would live strongly.’
‘Therefore, no matter what awaits me, I must absolutely continue forward.’
****
‘So, this is how it is?’
‘This is the truth.’
The documents she obtained from An Yueyin illuminated everything.
Bingying heard that Luo Tianchen had asked An Yueyin to investigate. ‘He certainly wouldn’t have expected the information to fall into my hands.’
‘I’m sorry, please forgive my selfishness. But this one matter, I want to resolve it myself.’
Bingying confronted the person, informing her that she knew everything and urging her to surrender.
“Oh, so you know about this?” the person sneered. “Are you one of those seven back then too? I’ve pretty much figured out everyone else’s identities, so that means… you’re *that* hideous creature, aren’t you?”
After so many years, Bingying heard that word again.
The other party keenly sensed her unease, chuckling softly. “Interesting. It seems you’re desperate to hide this, aren’t you? Are you really that afraid of others knowing you used to be a hideous creature?”
‘No, stop talking.’
“Let me guess who you don’t want to know about this. Ah, I remember you seemed quite close to a certain boy. What was his name again? Luo… someone?”
‘Enough! Stop!’
“It looks like you can’t threaten me after all,” she said. “Since we both have leverage over each other, why don’t we find a place and have a proper talk?”
‘I miscalculated. I didn’t expect to be caught by her instead.’
“…Fine,” Bingying conceded. “But I’ll choose the location.”
“Suit yourself,” the other person replied casually.
‘Although she’s a murderer, she seems quite weak. If anything goes wrong, I can definitely subdue her.’
Bingying thought.
****
She was no match at all.
It was like reliving that night, facing those two individuals. Utterly defenseless, Bingying was effortlessly seized and bound.
“Oh my, oh my, I thought you were something special,” the person cackled. “To be defeated so easily, how useless. Did you even properly utilize that witch’s power?”
“The witch’s power? What is that?”
“…What? So you don’t know anything at all,” she said, looking at Bingying with pity. “How pathetic. You’re going to die in such ignorance.”
“Why? Why are you doing this?” Bingying struggled, demanding answers. “If that was your wish, it should have already come true, shouldn’t it? If so, why did you kill Yao Xinchang?”
“Yes, why indeed?” The woman paused, a flicker of sadness seemingly crossing her face before it quickly vanished. “Because this is our destiny.”
“Destiny?”
“To gain something, one must sacrifice something. Since your wish has been granted, now it’s time for you to pay the price.”
“The price… what is that?”
“Slaughter, endless slaughter,” she cackled wildly. “Both you and I are merely the witch’s playthings. Only the last one standing is worthy of survival!”
‘So that’s how it is.’
She suddenly stopped laughing, staring intently at Bingying. “Why, why are you still so calm? You’re about to die! I’m about to kill you!”
“Because I should have died a long time ago,” Bingying said calmly.
‘What does it matter? My worthless life bought me three years of reunion with him. There’s no better deal in the world than that.’
“And even if you kill me, you won’t escape,” Bingying continued. “Because he, he must also know your identity by now. And then, you’ll pay the price for your crimes.”
“…I hate this.”
“Huh?”
“I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!” she shrieked. “Why aren’t you scared? Everyone is afraid of death! You must be faking it! Soon you’ll be crying and begging for mercy! Wahahaha!”
‘Has she gone mad?’
“Ah, I’ve got it!” She stopped twitching, pulling a lighter from somewhere. “You’re afraid of fire, aren’t you?”
The flickering flames awakened the shadows of Bingying’s childhood.
“No, don’t! Take it away!” Bingying frantically tried to recoil, only to find the flame drawing closer.
“Aren’t you unafraid of death? I’ve decided! I’ll burn you to death with fire, and let *him* get a good look at your hideous body!”
“No, don’t! Don’t!”
‘This one thing, I would rather die than let it happen!’
‘I don’t want him to see me like that again.’
“Please, please don’t do this! Anything but this!” Bingying pleaded, weeping.
“Ha, ha, hahahaha!” she cackled. “Where’s your backbone? Where’s your calm? You’re just a mortal after all,” she said coldly. “So, die.”
Flames ignited Bingying’s clothes.
“Ahhhhhh!” Bingying struggled wildly, but it was futile.
Burning heat, searing pain, piercing screams. In a daze, Bingying felt herself transported back to that burning house, surrounded by thick smoke, seeing nothing but the despair engulfed in flames.
Disgust, mockery, indifference, pity… those faces swirled ceaselessly before her eyes.
‘Is this my life flashing before my eyes?’
‘Looking back now, it’s all unpleasant memories. But there were happy times too.’
‘I’m sorry, Luo Tianchen.’
‘If only I had been stronger, I wouldn’t have let you get hurt, nor would I have ended up in this situation.’
‘This must be the gods’ punishment for my arrogance.’
‘I truly long to see you one last time. This time, I absolutely *must* tell you those words.’
‘I… I love you. I’ve loved you since childhood, always.’
‘…Am I even having hallucinations now?’
The face she yearned for drew closer. Even knowing it was an illusion, she couldn’t help but reach out, wanting to touch that unattainable presence.
He moved his lips, seemingly calling out something in distress.
‘So, subconsciously, I also wish for him to grieve for me, to worry for me.’
‘I just don’t want to be forgotten by him.’
‘Huh?’
Her hand seemed to be grasped by something warm.
Then, she heard his voice: “Please, clear your mind, Classmate Bingying!”