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  Atlas Studios

  Qiao Jiuyin warily stared at Qiao Jiusheng but did not walk over to her.

  Qiao Jiusheng continued, “Are you curious why I suddenly escaped from the hospital—”


  Before Qiao Jiusheng could finish, Qiao Jiuyin walked toward her. She pressed her face against Qiao Jiusheng’s and asked, “Why?” This was a question that she had been also puzzled about.

  “Come closer, I’ll tell you.”


  Qiao Jiuyin remained silent for a moment before leaning over to her.

  Just as she leaned her head over, Qiao Jiusheng suddenly stretched out her free right hand and pressed on Qiao Jiuyin’s head. Then, she bit Qiao Jiuyin’s ear.

  “Ah—”


  Qiao Jiuyin desperately struggled, screaming in pain.

  At this moment, Qiao Jiusheng curled her index and middle fingers and reached for Qiao Jiuyin’s eyes.

  “Ah!” Qiao Jiuyin covered her eyes and howled in pain.

  Qiao Jiuyin’s scream went through the roof and tore a hole in the sky. When Qiao Jiusheng heard Qiao Jiuyin’s scream, she became afraid, but she did not dare to let go.

  When it was time to be ruthless, Qiao Jiusheng would not be soft-hearted.

  Qiao Jiuyin frantically struggled, punching and kicking. Qiao Jiusheng was afraid that the children in her stomach would be hit, so she retracted her hand.

  Blood flowed from Qiao Jiuyin’s eyes and landed on her aqua blue gauze dress, staining the fabric red. Qiao Jiuyin could feel the blood flowing out, but she could not see anything. She only felt pain, so much pain that she could not bear it.

  “Ah…


  “My eyes!” Qiao Jiuyin almost fainted from the pain.

  Her words were filled with despair, just like how Qiao Jiusheng had lost her tongue in her previous life and could only look at her with despair in her eyes.

  Qiao Jiusheng sat on the small bed and used her blood-red eyes to look at Qiao Jiuyin, who had a twisted face and was screaming non-stop.

  She suddenly smiled.

  Tears fell as she smiled.

  “Twenty-six years…” Qiao Jiusheng’s voice was hoarse. “For twenty-six years, you locked me up in that small house. I couldn’t eat enough or get enough warmth. In the summer, I was so hot that my body smelled. In the winter, I was so cold that my bones were chilly.”


  Back then, in the house, the dilapidated toilet was always smelly.

  In winter, cold wind would often pour in from the broken window. Qiao Jiuyin was too harsh to Qiao Jiusheng; she could not bear to give her an extra jacket to ward off the cold. It was so cold that Qiao Jiusheng’s joints hurt.

  Qiao Jiusheng could never eat enough and was always hungry. Her long-term hunger had led to malnutrition. She had been only 49, yet almost all of her hair had fallen out. She was no longer young and beautiful. Her hands were as old as those of an old woman in her seventies or eighties. They were ancient and ugly. Her body was so thin that only her bones were left, and her skin and flesh were no longer tight…


  Qiao Jiusheng had watched herself become uglier and older day by day.

  She had wanted to die.

  She had heard that people would die if they hit a wall. Therefore, she had knocked into the walls in front of her countless times, but all she got in return was scars on her forehead.

  She had been struggling at death’s door, but she could not die even if she wanted to. No one could understand Qiao Jiusheng’s despair.

  “I watched you marry the man who said that he would marry me. I watched you walk toward me like a proud princess and show off that you’re pregnant with his child! You thought that locking me up was not enough, so you actually ruthlessly cut off my tongue!

  “Qiao Jiuyin, you’re in pain now, right?” Qiao Jiusheng smiled with tears streaming down her face. “Let me tell you, I’ve been in such pain before too!

  “Just like how I can’t understand the feeling of you being neglected by our family, you can’t understand the pain of me being tortured by you until I wished I was dead instead!”


  Qiao Jiusheng choked and looked at Qiao Jiuyin, who was rolling on the ground. She took a deep breath but could not smile anymore.

  She cried as she said to Qiao Jiuyin, “You’re my sister, my biological sister that came from the same womb as I did! In this world, we should be the closest people, but what about you?

  “You murdered, tortured, and abused me for a man.

  “Qiao Jiuyin, are you human? Wouldn’t your heart hurt if you treat me like that?” Qiao Jiusheng almost roared out the last sentence.

  After shouting, she knelt on the bed as if she had completely lost all her strength.

  She looked at her crazy appearance and kept muttering, “I can’t see. My ears are gone. I’m in so much pain. Save me, Qiao Jiusheng, you’re so vicious…” Qiao Jiuyin also had a miserable and sad smile in her tears.

  Was Qiao Jiusheng happy after taking revenge?

  She only felt pain!

  Sisters killing each other, how ironic was this!

  Qiao Jiuyin did not hear what Qiao Jiusheng was saying. She was in so much pain that she was delirious. She only knew to hug her head and roll on the ground, chanting non-stop, “Xiao Sheng, save me!

  “Xiao Sheng, my eyes hurt. I’m in so much pain. Xiao Sheng, let me go…”


  Qiao Jiusheng looked at Qiao Jiuyin with teary eyes. Even though her heart was in pain, she was indifferent.

  In her previous life, when her tongue had been cut off, she had knelt on the ground and begged Qiao Jiuyin.

  But what about Qiao Jiuyin?

  She had been like a deaf person, pretending to be deaf and mute; neither had she shown any signs of heartache.

  ***

  From the moment Qiao Jiusheng had turned on the GPS, Fang Yusheng had received her location.

  He contacted the police immediately and went to the district displayed on his phone with them.

  They had just parked their car under the building when they heard an earth-shattering scream.

  Qiao Jiusheng’s real voice was not much different from Qiao Jiuyin’s voice. Fang Yusheng could not tell them apart due to his rough hearing. After thinking for a moment, he confirmed that it was Qiao Jiuyin’s voice, feeling relieved.

  There were a total of eight floors in this building and no elevator. Before the group reached the eighth floor, they heard a woman’s cry and another woman’s cry.

  The person crying was Qiao Jiusheng.

  The person calling was Qiao Jiuyin.

  The police opened the door, and a group of people entered the room. When they saw the scene in the house, they all felt uncomfortable. With one look, Fang Yusheng understood what had happened.

  Fang Yusheng’s gaze hurriedly swept across Qiao Jiuyin, who was rolling on the ground in pain. Finally, it landed on Qiao Jiusheng, who was kneeling on the small bed.

  She looked fine and was not tortured. Fang Yusheng especially looked at her legs and did not see any large amounts of blood. He confirmed that the children were safe and felt relieved.

  Fang Yusheng stepped on Qiao Jiuyin’s blood and walked to the small bed, hugging Qiao Jiusheng, who had almost lost her mind from crying.

  “Alright. Ah Sheng, it’s over!” Fang Yusheng tried to keep his voice light.

  Qiao Jiusheng did not seem to hear his voice. She leaned into his embrace and kept saying, “We’re sisters…


  “How could you do this to me?

  “How could that be?”


  Fang Yusheng did not know what Qiao Jiusheng had experienced in his previous life; he thought that she was talking about the accident. His heart ached, and he could not help but hug Qiao Jiusheng even more tightly.

  Even though Qiao Jiuyin was a criminal, the police still called the hospital and sent her there.

  Fang Yusheng carried Qiao Jiusheng downstairs and went to the hospital.

  Qiao Jiuyin’s eyes were naturally incurable.

  She had become blind.

  By the time Qiao Jiusheng arrived at the hospital, she had calmed down a little. Fang Yusheng brought her to the hospitalization department and wet a towel with warm water. Then, he gently wiped the blood from her mouth. Throughout the entire time, Qiao Jiusheng did not make a sound. She only looked at a certain spot and fell into a daze.

  The doctor came to check on her and confirmed that she was fine. She was just a little surprised, so Fang Yusheng was relieved.

  After the doctor left, Fang Yusheng asked Qiao Jiusheng, “Ah Sheng, what are you thinking about?”


  Qiao Jiusheng’s eyes darted around. She turned her head and worriedly looked at Fang Yusheng.

  She thought about it and said, “I want to brush my teeth.”


  Fang Yusheng was stunned for a moment and nodded.

  “Okay.”


  He got Qi Bufan to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste and mixed them with warm water himself. Then, he watched Qiao Jiusheng brush her teeth over and over again.

  Seeing that her teeth were about to bleed if she continued to brush, Fang Yusheng snatched the toothbrush from her hand and said with a frown, “Alright, you’re not allowed to brush anymore today.”


  Qiao Jiusheng looked up at him with a disgusted gaze. “There’s still blood… disgusting.”


  Fang Yusheng frowned.

  He suddenly held her face and slowly and clearly told her, “Now, your mouth is very clean.” Qiao Jiusheng seemed to finally feel tired. She closed her eyes and fell into his arms.

  Fang Yusheng caught her and carried her to the bed.

  He sighed as he watched her fall asleep.

  When Qiao Jiusheng woke up, the first thing she felt was hunger. She shouted for food. Fang Yusheng got Qi Bufan to buy some food. Qiao Jiusheng saw that there was pig liver in the dish. She looked at the color of the pig liver and thought of something. Suddenly pushing the dining table away, she ran to the washroom to vomit.

  Qi Bufan, who realized he had made a mistake again, quickly slipped away.

  Fang Yusheng’s heart ached for Qiao Jiusheng when he saw that she had vomited everything after only two bites.

  “What do you want to eat?” He looked a little embarrassed and said, “I’ll make it for you.”


  Qiao Jiusheng glanced at him and said, “I want to eat osmanthus glutinous rice lotus roots, egg yolks-baked pumpkins, beef rolls, and another Buddha jumps over the wall.”


  Fang Yusheng broke her beautiful dream with a cold expression and said, “Instant noodles or pan-fried steak. Choose one.”


  This choice was a little cruel.

  Qiao Jiusheng thought about it and said, “Make instant noodles with eggs and vegetables.”


  Fang Yusheng nodded.

  “Sure.”


  Qiao Jiusheng added, “Cook two packs.”


  Fang Yusheng’s gaze landed on Qiao Jiusheng’s lower abdomen and he asked, “Do you want to cook three packs? One for each of the two children, and one for you.”


  “Fang Yusheng, when you’re discharged from the hospital this time, remember to let Qi Bufan build a pigsty.” Qiao Jiusheng pointed at herself and said with a smile, “Pigs should stay in the pigsty.”


  She was mocking Fang Yusheng for treating her like a pig.

  Fang Yusheng touched his nose and felt like laughing.

  “Get some more sleep. I’ll go get you something to eat.”


  Fang Yusheng did not have a fixed residence in Junyang City, so he stayed in a hotel every time he came here. He thought that since Qiao Jiusheng was from this city, he would have more chances to come here in the future. Thus, he asked Qi Bufan to buy a 100-square-meter exquisite apartment in the newly built building. They would also have a place to stay in the future here.

  Qi Bufan went to buy a house, and Fang Yusheng carried the instant noodles back to the hotel.

  There was a kitchen in the hotel. He spent some time preparing the noodles and returned to the hospital with them. At the entrance of the hospital, he bumped into the Qiao family.

  Qiao Sen’s face was dark. When he saw Fang Yusheng, his expression became even more complicated.

  Fang Yusheng nodded at him and carried the noodles into the hospital.

  Qiao Sen watched his back and frowned. He said to Ji Qing beside him, “What the hell is this?”


  Ji Qing remained silent.

  Until now, Qiao Sen was still confused.