Chapter 2: How Could It Be Her?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“What did you say?!”
Song Ci’s voice turned strident. “Mu Qiu, this joke you are making is not funny.”
Mu Qiu pitied Song Ci. “Big sister, you are so stupid.”
Mu Qiu continued, “That fire was not an accident. That same year, my condition had turned grave. Since we couldn’t find a suitable heart, my father had no choice but to give Song Fei’s heart to me. She was in a vegetative state, anyway, and she already had no chance of waking up. To keep it under the radar, father set a fire in the middle of the night to dispose of Song Fei’s body.”
The buzzing continued in Song Ci’s head as she heard Mu Qiu’s words. She felt like something had sucked all her energy out of her body, that she struggled to remain standing straight.
Had they caused her elder sister’s death?
Looking at Mu Qiu’s innocent front and then thinking of her sister’s sudden death, Song Ci suddenly felt a spurt of rage.
“Die!”
Song Ci picked up a vase from the table behind her and lifted it to smash it into Mu Qiu’s head. But before she could do so, a powerful hand gripped her wrist.
Pain shot through her wrist.
Song Ci turned around in anger, and a black, erect figure reflected in her bloodshot eyes.
Mu Mian stood behind Song Ci. In her eyes, his handsome, gentle face no longer held its usual warmth and pleasantries. Instead, it looked detestable.
“Song Ci, give me the vase.” Mu Mian’s tone was malevolent and thick with a warning.
As she looked at Mu Mian, Song Ci recalled all the efforts he had put into taking good care of her. She felt both aggrieved and pained. Tears streamed down her face as she clenched her fists. She questioned Mu Mian, “Everything that Mu Qiu said—is it true?”
Mu Mian glanced at the bedridden Mu Qiu.
Mu Qiu calmly spoke, “Father, I told her everything.”
Mu Mian frowned as if rebuking Mu Qiu for acting out of turn. Feeling his daughter struggling in his grip, Mu Mian turned back to look at Song Ci.
His lips quivered lightly as he stared at Song Ci’s tear-stained face.
Having raised this child for nearly twenty years, Mu Mian did possess some feelings for her. But Mu Mian steeled his resolve at the thought that his biological daughter would die if she didn’t get a new heart soon.
Mu Mian and his wife, Du Tingting, only had one daughter. His wife passed away seven years ago, so Mu Qiu was his sole responsibility.
He could not lose his one and only family.
“I am sorry, Song Ci. I cannot stand by and watch Qiu-er die.”
The vase fell from Song Ci’s grasp, shattering into a million pieces on the floor.
Song Ci hollered at Mu Mian, “Did my elder sister deserve to die just because your daughter needs to live?”
Mu Mian explained in a low voice, “She was in a vegetative state. The doctors were very sure that she would never wake up again...”
“Did that mean you could just carve her open and dig out her heart?!”
Mu Mian remained silent.
There was nothing he could say. It was the truth.
Song Ci glared at Mu Mian. She then gave a despondent smile as she pressed her chest. With tears still streaming down her face, she asked Mu Mian, “So now, you are also going to take my heart to save Mu Qiu, right?”
Mu Mian lowered his head. Half a second later, he said through clenched jaws, “I am sorry...”
Mu Mian’s apology chilled Song Ci’s heart.
Everything Mu Qiu said was true. Mu Mian wanted to take her heart to save his biological daughter. Mu Mian murdered her elder sister!
Song Ci suddenly remembered something.
When she was twenty-years-old, Mu Mian was suddenly interested in organ donation. He even went to visit Wangdong City’s Red Cross Society and came back with an application form to be an organ donor after death.
Song Ci had inadvertently come across that form on Mu Mian’s desk.
After that earthquake, the Crisis Group managed to rescue Song Ci and the Mu Family eventually adopted her. Since then, Song Ci harbored deep gratitude for her new lease in life. And since she had always wanted to contribute to society, she wanted to become an organ donor upon seeing that application form on Mu Mian’s desk.
Subsequently, she went to get a form and applied to be an organ donor so she could save a stranger’s life.
Recalling that incident, she realized that there was no way Mu Mian would be such a magnanimous person. It was just a ploy to lure her into signing that organ donor form so he could take her heart after her death for Mu Qiu!
Song Ci felt like her heart had been cut into pieces. Fresh blood spurted out of her mouth.
She staggered backward and leaned against the wall. She fixed her eyes on Mu Mian, a malevolent aura enshrouding her entire body. “Mu Mian, Mu Qiu, you two will get your retribution!”
Song Ci swore to the heavens. “Even if I die and become a ghost, I will seek you out and take your lives!”
Mu Mian frowned as he reached out and smacked Song Ci unconscious.
...
Four days later.
“Mr. Han, your newly transplanted cornea will be very sensitive to bright lights for now. Please open your eyes slowly.”
Hearing the hospital director’s instructions, Han Zhan gave a slight nod.
The man’s lashes quivered a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. Those grey-blue pupils held a profound glint. Clear and mesmerizing, they were like two endless and bewitching whirlpools.
Han Zhan looked at the orange bush lily sitting on the windowsill. Over the past year, he only saw darkness. Now that he had finally regained his sight, Han Zhan felt rather dazed as he observed the colorful world before him.
The hospital director looked worried when he saw Han Zhan staring at the windowsill with an impassive gaze. Holding his breath, he asked in a small voice, “Mr. Han, are you... still unable to see?”
“No, I can see very well now.” Han Zhan shook his head. He could see clearer than before he lost his sight.
The hospital director heaved a sigh of relief and left after being assured that the surgery had been successful.
The hospital director had just left when Li Li entered. “The surgery was a success. Congratulations boss on regaining your sight.”
Han Zhan asked, “Where’s the information?”
“Here.” Li Li handed an information package to Han Zhan.
Han Zhan lowered his head to read the information package as Li Li continued to talk. “The person who donated her corneas was a girl called Song Ci. She was 32 years old and a citizen of Wangdong City. She died three days ago in a car crash. While she was still alive, she signed up to be an organ donor. As a result, you received her corneas.”
Li Li noticed that his boss looked somewhat distressed.
Shocked, he stopped his narration and asked Han Zhan worriedly, “What’s the matter? Boss?”
Han Zhan lifted his head and stared at Li Li. “What did you say her name was?”
Li Li answered with uncertainty, “Song Ci.”
Pain shot through Han Zhan’s heart.
How could it be her?