Chapter 5 — The Big Sister Returns

Once you take me to the hospital to treat my wounds, you can punish us however you see fit!

After that, I was hospitalized for three days. Qin Thanh and the others knelt in my hospital room for all three of those days. They even swore that from now on, they would properly discipline their subordinates and never again rely on power to bully others. Only then did I agree to open my mouth and forgive them. I leaned back against the hospital bed. The corner of my mouth required three stitches, my forehead was wrapped in gauze, and my legs were covered in bruises. The sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling window, warm and pleasant. Qin Thanh sat by the bed, peeling an apple. The apple was peeled in jagged, uneven lines, and the skin broke into eight different pieces. Song He Mian stood by the window, reviewing my medical examination reports. He read them over and over again, terrified of missing a single detail. The rest of them looked as though they desperately wished to stay by my side at all times, waiting for any command to pour tea or fetch water. Only Jiang Da sat at the foot of the bed, continuously gazing at the pendant hanging around my neck. It was an old piece of jade polished to a bright gloss, threaded through with a red string tied into a secure knot. He leaned forward and chuckled.

You are wearing my pendant, none of them have it.

This was the very item he had insisted on giving me before I went into seclusion, claiming it was a keepsake from his parents that could bless the wearer with a lifetime of smooth fortune. The remaining seven instantly erupted. The apple in Qin Thanh's hand nearly dropped to the floor.

You gave it to her to wear? When did you give it to her?!

Sister Dan, why are you not wearing my things?! Before you left, I clearly bought a bracelet for you too. Am I really less lovable than Jiang Da?

Song He Mian closed the medical reports.

In Sister Dan's pocket is my peace talisman. I send her a new one every year.

Gu Yun Qi was no longer sleepy, staring at me with an accusatory expression. I laughed helplessly and pulled back a corner of the blanket.

Alright, alright, I will let all of you see.

On my wrist was the ancient coin from Bai Xiao Dao. Around my neck hung Jiang Da's pendant. Inside my pocket rested Song He Mian's peace talisman. Tucked beneath my bracelet was Gu Yun Qi's leather cord. Sewn into the inner lining of my clothes was Qin Thanh's old cufflink. Eight items in total, not a single one missing, kept carefully all over my person.

I am wearing them! I am wearing every single one!

Only then did the eight of them smile with satisfaction. The door to the room was suddenly knocked upon. The person pushing it open was Le Ying Xue... no, Niu Hei Wa. She had grown a size thinner, and the blade wound on her face had crusted over into scabs. Her hair was cut short, and she wore an old jacket that had been washed until the color faded. Clutched tightly in her hand was a crumpled piece of paper, densely covered from top to bottom with the characters for Niu Hei Wa. Word had it that during her livestream, she had wept while writing, prompting netizens to dig up her entire past. She stood outside the threshold, looking toward Qin Thanh and the others, completely lacking the courage to step inside. Her head was lowered, her voice as faint as a buzzing mosquito.

Sister Dan... I have finished writing it.

Qin Thanh did not even raise his head.

Leave it outside the door.

Niu Hei Wa had originally intended to squeeze out a few aggrieved tears, believing that the eight good brothers who had looked after her for five years still held some shred of lingering affection. She had hoped she might still win their pity. Yet never did she expect that after waiting for half a day, not a single one of the eight even glanced at her direction. Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to stoop down, place the paper beside the door, and then silently turn and walk away. After the door closed, the hospital room fell quiet for a moment. Qin Thanh handed the peeled apple to me, his expression gloomy and thoroughly displeased.

Sister Dan, are you really just going to let her off like this?

The rest of them also looked over, their faces filled with indignation and resentment. Song He Mian put down the reports.

She hurt you to this extent!

Just looking at it makes it hurt to death.

The more Qin Thanh spoke, the more choked up his voice became, and he lowered his head to wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

Just seeing the injury at the corner of your mouth has kept me awake for days.

Seeing the rims of his eyes turned red, I laughed helplessly.

Why has this tearful habit of yours still not changed?

He turned his head to the side, refusing to pay me any further attention. I tilted my head slightly toward the window, my gaze falling to the courtyard below. Niu Hei Wa and her parents were walking out of the hospital gates. The three of them shrank into a huddled mass, being driven away by the security guards. Their stooped backs looked exactly the same as they had fifteen years ago.

Naturally, I cannot just let it go like that.

Everyone in the hospital room turned to look at me simultaneously. I withdrew my gaze and instructed in a soft voice:

Send people to follow her.

I am giving her one final chance.

If she obediently returns to her hometown to farm the fields, I will let her go. But if she still insists on playing tricks...

True to form, Niu Hei Wa refused to behave. A few days later, I was kidnapped. I was bound to an old wooden chair, a piece of cloth stuffed tightly into my mouth. The air was thick with dust and the musty stench of damp wood. Niu Hei Wa was no longer dressed in luxury brand clothing; instead, she wore a plain black hoodie. She pulled the hood over her head, trying her best to conceal the scar across her face. In her hand she once again held a livestreaming phone, the screen pointed directly at me.

Sister, do not blame me. You are the one who forced me into this first.