Chapter 34: Fractured

She didn’t know.

Bitten by a dog.

But could she say that?

Would Lin Qingxue from earlier believe her?

Lin Qingxue looked at her like that and clicked her tongue again.

“Troublesome.”

She reached out and grabbed Su Yutao from the ground.

Before Su Yutao could react, she was yanked up in front of her.

That hand gripped her wrist.

The same wrist that was bitten by the dog.

Su Yutao shuddered.

Then—

Crack.

A very soft sound.

But Su Yutao heard it.

The sound of bones dislocating.

Pain.

An excruciating pain.

More painful than the dog bite.

More painful than having her ankle twisted.

Su Yutao’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her entire body convulsed, tears squeezed from her eyes—though they couldn’t fall.

Lin Qingxue let go.

She watched her curl up, her voice still indifferent:

“It’s fixed now.”

Su Yutao’s vision went dark from the pain. She curled up on the ground, clutching her dislocated hand, trembling all over.

Lin Qingxue crouched down and looked at her.

“For this injury, say you fell.”

Su Yutao nodded desperately.

“Fell out of bed, hand hit the floor—makes sense.”

Su Yutao kept nodding.

Pain.

Too much pain.

Lin Qingxue stood up.

Looking down at her.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll reset it.”

Su Yutao was stunned.

Tomorrow night?

It could still be reset?

Lin Qingxue watched her stunned expression and said flatly:

“You won’t die.”

She turned around and picked up the penguin on the bed.

Su Yutao’s heart jumped into her throat.

But the pain made her unable to move.

All she could do was ‘watch’—though she couldn’t see.

Lin Qingxue held the penguin in her hand and squeezed it.

“This thing, you treasure it a lot?”

Su Yutao couldn’t speak.

She could only nod desperately.

Lin Qingxue chuckled softly.

Then she said:

“Then you’d better remember what I just said.”

“If you run off again, cause me more trouble—”

Her hand grabbed one of the penguin’s wings.

Pulled.

*Rip—*

A very soft sound.

The thread snapped.

Qiansui wasn’t in her hand, so Lin Qingxue didn’t know what that sound was.

But Su Yutao knew.

It was the thread on Qiansui.

Snapped.

Su Yutao felt like she’d been electrocuted, wanting to lunge forward.

But her hand hurt too much to move.

All she could do was curl up on the ground, making whining sounds, frantic, pained, terrified.

Lin Qingxue looked at her like that, as if she found it somewhat amusing.

She held the penguin up high, teasing her for a moment.

Then—

Threw it back into her arms.

Su Yutao clutched it tightly.

Trembling all over.

She pressed her face against it, listening for Qiansui’s voice.

Lin Qingxue’s voice came from above, light and indifferent:

“Relax, your crappy little penguin is fine. I just ripped my own clothes.”

Su Yutao was stunned.

She reached out to touch the penguin.

No new tears.

Only the original seams were a bit loose.

Qiansui’s voice sounded in her ear, tearful, small, and aggrieved:

“Wuwuwu… I thought I was going to be torn apart… scared me to death… she’s so scary… what happened to your hand… it must hurt…”

Su Yutao hugged Qiansui tighter.

Tears couldn’t flow out.

But her heart was trembling.

Lin Qingxue had already lain back down on the bed.

That faint voice drifted over:

“Sleep. We have to act again tomorrow.”

The light went out.

Darkness.

Su Yutao curled up on the floor, holding Qiansui, holding her dislocated hand, trembling all over.

Pain.

Cold.

Fear.

Beside her, the breathing was soft and even.

That person was asleep.

But Su Yutao knew.

The one who would wake up tomorrow would be a different her.

That her wouldn’t know anything.

That her would think she had been taking care of her all these days.

Su Yutao hugged Qiansui, huddled on the ground.

Staring into the eternal darkness.

She didn’t sleep all night.

***

Morning.

Sunlight filtered through the curtain crack, falling on the bed.

Lin Qingxue opened her eyes.

She blinked, adjusted to the light, then slowly sat up.

Her head was a bit dizzy.

As if she had slept for a long time, yet not well.

She rubbed her temples and looked to the side—

Empty.

She was the only one on the bed.

The blanket was thrown open, the pillow still had the imprint of a head, but the person was gone.

Lin Qingxue was startled:

“Little mute?”

No answer.

She remembered—the little mute couldn’t speak.

She got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom.

In the living room, a person was curled up in the corner of the sofa.

Su Yutao hugged that tattered penguin, huddled into a ball, her face buried in her knees.

Hearing footsteps, she shuddered.

Lin Qingxue walked over and crouched in front of her:

“Why are you up so early? Did you sleep well?”

Su Yutao slowly raised her head.

That small face was pale, eyes red-rimmed, looking utterly exhausted.

Lin Qingxue paused, her gaze falling on her arms—

That penguin.

Plump.

Neatly sewn.

Completely different from the dirty, flattened doll she had seen before.

Lin Qingxue frowned:

“This penguin… how did it change?”

Su Yutao stiffened.

Lin Qingxue reached out and gently touched the penguin’s head:

“Wasn’t it falling apart before? Who sewed it for you?”

Su Yutao was stunned.

She knew this penguin?

She remembered this penguin?

Wasn’t she… not at home?

Su Yutao’s mind was a mess.

Lin Qingxue looked at her stunned expression and chuckled softly:

“It was Nian Nian, right? I remember when she came that day, she was fiddling with a needle and thread on your hand for a long time.”

Su Yutao’s eyes widened slightly—though she couldn’t see, her expression was one of shock.

She remembered Shen Nian coming to sew the penguin?

Wasn’t she… not at home then?

Qiansui whispered in her ear:

“She remembers… the dark personality added memories for her… she thinks she was home at that time…”

A chill ran down Su Yutao’s spine.

So that person’s ‘memory addition’ was real.

She really could make her daytime self believe she had experienced things that never happened.

Lin Qingxue, seeing her still dazed, thought she was in too much pain and reached out to ruffle her hair:

“What’s wrong? Does your hand hurt a lot?”

Su Yutao shook her head.

Then nodded.

Then shook her head again.

Lin Qingxue sighed softly:

“Let me see your hand.”

She pulled Su Yutao’s arm and unwrapped the bandage.

Then she froze.

Under the bandage was a forearm swollen to a shine.

The dog bite had scabbed, but the area around it was swollen.

The part above the wrist was worse—swollen twice as thick as the other side, the skin an abnormal red.

Lin Qingxue’s expression changed:

“What happened?”

Su Yutao kept her head down, not daring to look at her.

Lin Qingxue gently squeezed it.

Su Yutao flinched in pain, letting out a whimper.

Lin Qingxue frowned:

“How did it get this swollen? Wasn’t it fine last night?”

Su Yutao shuddered.

Last night?

She remembered last night?

Lin Qingxue, seeing her reaction, thought it was from pain and softened her voice:

“Don’t be scared, let me look.”

She carefully examined the hand.

Then looked up at Su Yutao:

“Did you fall in the middle of the night?”

Su Yutao was stunned.

Fall in the middle of the night?

Lin Qingxue continued:

“I remember you got up to use the bathroom last night, and I heard you fall in my daze. I was too sleepy to get up and check, didn’t expect it to be this serious…”

Su Yutao’s back turned cold as she listened.

She hadn’t gotten up to use the bathroom last night.

That person had thrown her to the ground.

Twisted her ankle.

Dislocated her wrist.

But in Lin Qingxue’s memory, it was ‘she fell herself.’

Qiansui whispered in her ear:

“She even fabricated that… she added a memory of you falling in the middle of the night…”

Su Yutao didn’t know what to say.

She could only nod.

Lin Qingxue sighed:

“My fault, I should have gotten up to check last night.”

She stood up to get the first aid kit.

Su Yutao curled up on the sofa, holding Qiansui.

Her mind was in chaos.

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