Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I was sitting on a small plastic stool by the roadside, waiting for my fried rice, when I saw the video announcing Zhu Yuan’s death.

The vendor swung his heavy iron ladle, ready to get to work, when I suddenly cut him off.

“Boss, can you make it fried noodles instead?”

He slammed the ladle against the side of the wok. “Little girl, you should’ve said something sooner. I almost threw the rice in.”

I couldn’t hear what he was saying anymore. My entire being was focused on Zhu Yuan in the video.

She looked very thin, her skin still pale.

It wasn’t the beautiful, milky-white complexion she used to have; it was a bloodless, ghostly white.

Before long, the fried noodles were set down in front of me.

“It has to be fake, right?” I murmured to myself.

“What’s fake? The ham is right there in the noodles. It’s the good brand, too.”

Suddenly, I lost my appetite.

I poked at the food through the plastic bag lining the plate, my eyes stinging with a bitter warmth.

I only hated her. How could she just die?
After forcing down a few bites, I headed to the hospital to bring my adoptive mother her keys.

The nurses in the ward were chatting. “That poor child. Her parents abandoned her, just left her here to wait for the end.”

“Her arm is necrotic, completely hollowed out. Seeing her in that much pain makes me want to cry.”

I handed the keys to my adoptive mother.

She snatched them away. “What took you so long? If you didn’t want to come, just say so.”

On my way back to the elevator, I scrolled past a video showing the location of Zhu Yuan’s third gift.

The video was from three days ago.

I took a step back and looked closer.

It was this very hospital. It was even on this floor.

In the video, Zhu Yuan’s face filled the frame as she leaned toward the lens. “Is this camera on?”

Xiao Qin’s voice came from off-camera. “Is it? Let me see.”

Another face filled the screen.

The camera shifted as Xiao Qin took over the filming, pointing it at Zhu Yuan.

Zhu Yuan was holding a small box, which she tucked into a corner of the stairwell.

“I’ve been to this hospital many, many times. This is the only time I hope people don’t go out of their way to find the gift.

“Aside from the medical staff, the people here are either in a lot of physical pain or a lot of emotional pain.

“Let’s give this gift to one of them, okay? In exchange, I’ll sing you a song.

“Remember, at exactly three o’clock, the gift will appear.”

Zhu Yuan actually started singing.

Xiao Qin’s voice rang out, “Sister Zhu Yuan, your singing is terrible.”

After a brief, out-of-tune melody, the video cut off abruptly.

When I reached the stairwell, it was 3:01 PM.

Following a faint sound, I saw a thin, small girl heading down the stairs below me.

The gift was sitting right there. I picked it up.

I opened it to find a palm-sized music box.

It was so ordinary.

I snapped a photo of the gift and posted it in the comments section.

Then I paused to wonder: was I someone in physical pain, or someone in emotional pain?

I looked at the ward directly across from me.

A girl was sitting blankly on one of the beds.

I pressed the music box into her hands.

She looked at me in bewilderment. “Sister, you gave this to the wrong person.”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. Zhu Yuan said this was for you.”

Because you look like you’re in so much pain.