Jiang Ran’s expression was serious, but her voice was naturally soft.
Coupled with her sickly appearance, her words didn’t sound like a firm refusal; they sounded more like the hesitant buildup before an inevitable surrender.
In Su Nian’s eyes, this didn’t constitute a threat at all.
Su Nian licked her pink lips. Leaning in, she whispered in Jiang Ran’s ear in a voice so low it was meant only for the two of them:
“And what if I told you the debt is far more than just that figure?”
Su Nian shifted her posture, blocking the sunlight that had been hitting Jiang Ran’s eyes.
A shadow fell across the girl’s face.
Jiang Ran’s gaze went blank for a moment.
Soon, clarity returned to her eyes, and she lowered her head slightly, shaking it slowly.
“Then… I really can’t pay it back…”
Jiang Ran’s voice felt caught in her throat.
The weight of the debt Su Nian mentioned was suffocating.
Forget future bills—she couldn’t even produce the seventy thousand yuan required right now.
“Can’t pay it back just like that? Your old man owes a staggering amount. If this continues, you’ll never be able to turn back.”
Jiang Ran bit her lip, her back hunching lower and lower.
Her meager resistance couldn’t even stir a ripple.
Her ink-black hair draped loosely over her shoulders, sweat-slicked strands clinging to her neck.
The area beneath her chest binder felt faint waves of heat; every breath she took seemed to increase the feverish restlessness of her body.
Although Jiang Ran desperately wanted to resist, this body seemed to act on its own, instinctively trembling with fear—as if it were truly terrified by Su Nian’s words.
Su Nian remained in her seat, poised and elegant, but the previous tenderness on her face had vanished, replaced by a perfectly measured, professional smile.
Jiang Ran instinctively shrank her neck, looking like a snow mouse that had ventured out out of hunger, only to look up from its scrap of food and find itself staring into the eyes of a fox with its claws extended.
Squeezing her restless little hands together, Jiang Ran opened her mouth to speak, but a document and a pen were already being handed over.
“This is?”
“A parental consent form. Don’t worry about the red tape; even if your father comes around to cause trouble, I have my ways. However, my family has rules. That thicker stack is our house code—how to behave and handle matters. Once you’ve learned them and passed my assessment, I’ll take you home. Until then, you’ll stay in an apartment outside. As for your old place, I suggest you contact the landlord to terminate the lease as soon as possible. Everything there no longer concerns you. Of course, if you insist on staying there, I won’t stop you.”
“Aren’t you afraid I won’t sign?”
Jiang Ran hadn’t expected Su Nian to move so quickly.
It was as if the woman had seen through every one of her thoughts.
Just as Jiang Ran was about to ask for details, Su Nian had pre-empted her, pushing the prepared documents forward.
Her every micro-expression was caught by the other woman’s eyes.
Was this the intuition of a high-level businesswoman?
In other words… she had no choice.
To an outsider, becoming the daughter of a wealthy merchant was like a peasant finally getting to sing the song of liberation.
But the remnants of Jiang Ran’s logic told her that the most expensive things in life are always free.
Moreover, this was all happening far too suddenly and smoothly.
Ever since she arrived in this strange world, every decision felt like it had been rehearsed, pushing her forward without allowing for a word of protest.
And even now, Jiang Ran had no idea who the yandere target was supposed to be.
Her finger rested on the consent form.
The ballpoint pen rolled right up against her palm.
To sign or not to sign was a split-second decision, yet Jiang Ran still wanted to resist.
Just like in a video game where everyone habitually turns right, she always preferred to explore the map in the opposite direction—even if the price was a quick First Blood for the enemy.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.
Her body grew increasingly weary; prolonged thinking was ravaging her meager stamina.
Jiang Ran felt a surge of frustration.
Has my head started aching just from thinking about something this simple?
Clutching her head, she realized her body was becoming exhausted and her vision was blurring.
This body was clearly not suited for intense mental labor.
“You don’t look well. Should I call a nurse?”
“No… no need. I want to see how my father agreed to sell me. Can I?”
Knowing her body was failing, Jiang Ran intended to stall for more time to think.
“Fine.”
Su Nian agreed readily.
She saw the trace of bewilderment in the girl’s eyes—a confusion much stronger than when she had first arrived in the ward.
Su Nian’s decision to adopt Jiang Ran was, of course, not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
The conditions she offered would act like silk threads, slowly lifting the girl’s limbs until she became a perfect marionette.
Not just the daughter… even the woman herself had been feeling her illness grow heavier lately.
From every angle, this girl looked like she would be absolutely delicious in the future.
In a split second that Jiang Ran didn’t notice, Su Nian licked her deep-red lips and opened the prepared video.
In the video, the man signed the documents with practiced ease.
Beside him stood a provocatively giggling girl.
Jiang Ran scanned her memories; she didn’t recall such a person ever being in her life.
“Who is she?”
Jiang Ran pointed the tip of her pen at the disheveled woman on the screen.
Her grip tightened slightly, her hand slick with a thin layer of sweat.
“Her? She’s a woman your old man found outside—a veteran from the red-light district. Her goal was to bleed your father’s wallet dry. Incidentally, your father actually wanted to marry her. If things had gone according to your original life path, you would have soon had a stepmother. Your father is a very traditional man; he views daughters as money-losing ventures. He wouldn’t even have waited for you to graduate college—he was planning to sell you to a man offering a 200,000 yuan dowry just to fund his own marriage to that woman.”
As she spoke, the video progress bar stopped exactly where the father was flippantly pulling the woman’s hand, discussing whether she could birth him a big fat son.
The corner of Jiang Ran’s mouth curled unnaturally.
Was there any starting move more disastrous than this?
The images were the final straw.
Numbly, Jiang Ran signed her name.
Su Nian tucked the documents away with satisfaction, handing Jiang Ran a key and a card.
She told her they were the keys and address to the new house and advised her to rest well as her body was still recovering.
Watching Su Nian leave, Jiang Ran felt as if all the blood had been drained from her.
She lay on the bed with hollow eyes.
Once the door was firmly shut, the mocking, playful voice rang out in her head right on cue.
[Hey, Sister, you’ve ignored me for ten minutes now.]
[Heehee, I’m hiding under the bed. Can you feel me?]
[Sister, it’s so dark down here.]
[You said… you would protect me, right?]
!?
Jiang Ran leaned over to look under the bed, but it was empty.
However, there was a crumpled doctor’s coat with faint red stains lying in the corner.
The logo on the chest, though, belonged to a completely different hospital.
Jiang Ran’s heart skipped a beat.
She pulled the coat out from under the bed and saw that the pockets had been shredded.
Inside one sleeve, a small hidden pocket had been sewn in.
She pulled out a slip of paper from inside. It read:
Patient’s vital signs are stable.
Recently showing signs of anorexia.
Dosage can be doubled.
She seems to enjoy sunbathing lately; reduce outdoor time and monitor for “out-of-control” incidents.
Out of control??
Who was out of control?
Sitting back on the bed with lingering fear, Jiang Ran opened her phone.
She noticed a new app in the corner called [Sick Love Manual].
The icon was a heart shape, looking somewhat like a succubus from a Western fantasy.
Jiang Ran had no idea when this app had been installed.
Could that voice from before have come from this?
Curious, she pressed the icon.
In that instant, her five senses became incredibly sharp, as if she had plunged through the surface of water into another world.
She looked toward the window and found that the birds that had been circling outside were frozen in place, like an old photograph.
Jiang Ran’s expression went blank.
She flexed her stiff fingers—only she could move!
Jiang Ran swallowed hard and tentatively looked at the phone screen.
On the snow-white glow of the display, the loading icon slowly advanced.
[Loading Identity…]
[Sick Love Manager: Jiang Ran, currently registering.]
[Matching suitable mission…]
[Error…]
[Error!!!] &（&*）
[Mission template corrupted…]
[Automatically accepting A-Rank Mission.]
[Mission Name: The Broken Her.]
[Description: Due to a medical accident, she gained the ability to peer into hearts. The truth you see… is only what she wants you to see. Try to piece together the real story. Beware of the woman crawling under your bedboards at midnight; she will listen to your heartbeat. Don’t sleep too soundly~]
Knock, knock—
An untimely, urgent knocking sounded at the ward door.
The force was so violent it sounded like someone sawing through hard wood.
The rasping sound sent a shiver through Jiang Ran like an electric current, making her toes curl.
Instinctively, Jiang Ran closed her eyes and dove under the covers.
Just as she lay down, she felt a warm, murmuring breath brush against her eyelid.