Gu Zhou saw Lu Zhu off. His expression was dark, as if he were a monster from hell.

  He had investigated the incident five years ago and found that Wang Lin was involved, but Wang Lin had already died by then.

  Could it be that the person who had saved his life was really Wang Lin?

  He had seen photos of Wang Lin. She was a thin and weak girl.

  Gu Zhou sat on the sofa. When he thought of how that small and weak-looking girl had suffered through her pregnancy alone, only to die in despair during childbirth, he found himself unable to breathe.

  She was dead.

  When he thought of this, Gu Zhou’s breathing grew heavier and heavier, and his eyes grew red. His heart felt empty. It was as if he had fallen into the depths of the sea. He found himself enshrouded in suffocation and pain, no longer able to see the light from the surface of the ocean.

  Perhaps he was the one who should have died.

  With this thought in mind, Gu Zhou gave up struggling and obediently sank into the sea.

  When Qiao Nian came in, she saw Gu Zhou lying on the sofa, his face unnaturally pale. She asked worriedly, “Gu Zhou, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”


  The bottom of the sea was so quiet, so very quiet.

  Gu Zhou was watching himself approach Wang Lin on the operating table. Wang Lin was lying there, so skinny that she was all skin and bones. Her eyes, large as round bells, were fixed doggedly on the surgical light above her head.

  Her child was crying its lungs out in a pool of blood.

  He picked up the child and looked at Wang Lin’s pitiful state. His body began shaking uncontrollably.

  Gu Zhou came back to his senses. He was now lying at the bottom of the sea with Wang Lin beside him. At this moment, Wang Lin looked just like how she had looked when she was dying on the operating table.

  At this moment, a gentle voice came from the surface of the ocean, calling out to him.

  “Gu Zhou.”


  “Gu Zhou.”


  …


  The voice grew louder. He was about to respond when he saw a hand reach down from above and grab his hand.

  “I’m here. You’ll be fine.”


  The gentle female voice rang out again, soothing Gu Zhou’s tumultuous and uneasy heart.

  He followed the hand up and up until he resurfaced.

  Light. It shone down on him, almost blinding in its brightness.

  His chest heaved once.

  Gu Zhou’s eyes flew open.

  The first thing that came into his vision was Qiao Nian’s pretty face. She no longer looked as calm as she usually did. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and her hair was plastered to her face.

  Instinctively, Gu Zhou let go of Qiao Nian’s hand, forcibly suppressing his anger. “Get out!”


  Qiao Nian stood up calmly. Stepping to the side, she said, “I told you, as long as I’m still your wife, I won’t leave you behind. I won’t be a widow either.”


  Gu Zhou’s mind was filled with images of Wang Lin’s expression of despair. His eyes grew redder and redder. He sat up and said angrily, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”


  “Good boy, listen to me. You need to rest!” Qiao Nian smiled at Gu Zhou.

  Good boy?

  Gu Zhou’s expression darkened. Breathing heavily, he tried to say something, but he felt a cold, painful sensation at the back of his head. His eyelids grew heavy.

  He lay on the beach, basking in the sun. The sun was so warm and comfortable.

  Qiao Nian carefully laid Gu Zhou on the sofa. She retracted the silver needle she had inserted at the back of his head. After she put it away, her gaze fell on Gu Zhou’s hands.

  There were many marks on his hands, some new, some old.

  When he had flown into that panic attack, he had been clenching his fists tightly, almost as if his life depended on it.

  Was his dream that terrifying?

  Just as Qiao Nian was about to leave, Gu Zhou’s indistinct voice came from the sofa behind her.

  “I’m sorry—”


  Startled, Qiao Nian turned to look at him. He was still frowning, as if he were in a nightmare. His eyelashes were trembling.

  She sat down beside him again to see if he was awake. Suddenly, his hand grasped hers.

  “I’m sorry—”


  Gu Zhou murmured softly.

  Qiao Nian carefully inspected Gu Zhou. If she wasn’t wrong, he was talking in his sleep……