chapter 1

On a rainy night when I was five years old, I ate a small cake given to me by my mother’s best friend, Fang Xue. Suddenly, I started vomiting and having diarrhea, and soon developed a high fever.

My mother was very anxious. The driver happened to be away that day, so she braved the heavy rain and drove me to the hospital herself.

On the most remote stretch of road, a large truck crashed directly into our car, flipping it over.

Two people got out of the truck-a man and a woman.

The man was my father, and the woman was Fang Xue.

Fang Xue had been my mother’s best friend in college. After divorcing her ex-husband, she said she had nowhere to live with her son, and my mother kindly took them in.

Back then, Fang Xue cried with gratitude, clutching my mother’s hand and saying, “Wu Man, you are the best person to me in the whole world.”

But now, Fang Xue leaned into our car, checked for a moment, and then said in the coldest voice, “Wu Man is completely dead.”

My father stood by, naturally timid, his face pale as he muttered to himself, “Good… She’s dead, now we can be together…”

Fang Xue was about to agree with my father when she suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, “Hey, that little brat isn’t in the car!”

My father was startled. He and Fang Xue peered through the car window, realizing I was nowhere to be seen inside.

A dozen steps away, hidden in the bushes, I pressed my mouth tightly shut, not daring to make a sound.

Just moments ago, my mother, with her last breath, had pushed me out through the shattered car window and told me, “Jiaojiao, run.”

Now, my father’s voice came through the pouring rain: “Jiaojiao is still young. Why not let her live?”

Fang Xue replied firmly, “No. We must pull up the roots-five-year-olds understand everything. Do you want her to report us both?

“Chase her. The kid is sick, she can’t get far.”

The white beam of a flashlight shone from behind, and I crawled forward with all my strength.

The cold rain pelted my feverish body like stones, branches in the bushes scratched my skin, and I had only one thought.

I must survive.

Only by surviving can I avenge my mother.

I crawled for what felt like forever, until I reached the surging river.

Behind me, Fang Xue screamed, “Found her! There are traces where she crawled! Let’s follow…”

There was no other way.

I plunged into the river.