She hastily stuffed both her hands beneath the blanket, making use of whatever little heat present to warm herself and dissipate the pain.
She sniffled softly. All of a sudden, the lump in her throat grew and tears threatened to spill uncontrollably. She dipped her face into the torn blanket, crying alone and choking on her sobs in the dark night. She wondered if she would freeze or starve to death.
However, at the very least, she was still alive. So, she must survive, she definitely had to survive, she must leave this place alive. She had to go back, she desired to return home, she longed to return home alive.
All at once, the water surrounding her swiftly gushed toward her. The water pressure almost squeezed out the little bit of air she had left in her lungs. She could not breathe, and it felt as if someone was strangling her until they had driven out the very last breath of air in her lungs.
She opened her mouth wide, yearning for air, pleading to breathe. However, it was the water full of sand that flooded into her mouth, almost filling her stomach to the brim.
That ice-cold water, laced with sand, along with her tireless struggling, and the air she had ridden of, as well the terrifying sensation of suffocation.
The thought of death flashed through her mind. She thought she was about to die and leave this world. No, she shook her head. She neither wanted to die nor could she die; she wanted to live.
“Argh!!”
Suddenly, she let out a scream. She sprang up into a sitting position, her pale face full of terror and fright as if time had halted at that moment, that nightmare-inducing moment of living hell.
She quivered from the gust of chilly wind blowing in from the window. Her clothes were drenched with sweat, as large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, streaming along her jawline and dripping onto the torn blanket.
From time to time, she inhaled greatly through her mouth. Air – yes, it’s air.
She raised her head and breathed the air greedily. However, blood did not seem to rush back to her face. Her face was still ashen.
The wind was still roaring, surging in until she trembled as if the heat in her body had been swept away. She quickly wrapped herself up with the blanket but her clothes and the blanket were still damp.
I hope today will be a sunny day, she mumbled to herself as she glanced at the distant unlit sky. She had no idea what time it was, perhaps it would be dawn soon. During the winter, the night was prolonged and the day was brief. It could easily be eight o’clock in the morning by the time the sky was fully illuminated.
She laid down once again and curled herself into a ball, trying to keep the warmth from escaping.
It felt ice-cold under the blanket. Her body felt ice-cold too.
So, it was just a dream.
Yes, it was a dream, a horrifying nightmare.
No, that’s not right, she laughed to herself miserably. She dared not weep anymore. She was scared that the blanket would be drenched in tears if she continued crying. She had neither the money nor the power to get herself a clean blanket, so she had to deal with this trashy, ragged blanket. She could barely afford to dream about a new blanket.
She huddled herself up and wriggled underneath the small torn blanket. She could still feel the agony of suffocation and the discomfort of the sandy water filling her stomach.
She could still taste the sand at the back of her throat, the water of the Sea River…
Yes, it was not a dream. It happened in reality. She was that person. She did not lose her memory, she still remembered everything. She remembered her name, remembered everything, and remembered what had happened.
She was Yan Huan, the international best actress ‘Yan Huan’.
However, who would believe that the dignified international best actress, worth more than billions would lead such a torturous life now? She had insufficient clothing, no proper wool blanket. Even the clothes on her now were unwanted clothes donated by kind hearts. Everything in the house she had was unwanted, disposed of by others, and collected by her.
She pressed her face against the cold, hard bed frame, as memories of the day when she was dumped into the river began playing in her mind.
Su Qingdong, you would never have expected this even in your dreams, that Yan Huan’s will to live is so tenacious. Even though you dumped me into the Sea River, what could that have done? I still managed to survive. No matter how challenging it gets, I will survive. I will return to Sea City. I will make sure the Su family pays for your evil deeds – an eye for an eye.
She bit down on her rosy lips, so hard until spots of blood surfaced. She hated the Su family, everything about the Su family. So, she must survive and return. She wanted the Su family to disappear from Sea City; she wanted Su Qingdong to have no daughter accompanying him by his deathbed. In other words, she wanted him to suffer an unpleasant end.
Karma maintains the balance of the world; good will be rewarded with good. If the reward is not forthcoming, it is simply because the time has not arrived yet.
If people could still roam free after committing heinous crimes, then, she would have to take things into her own hands.
She would seek revenge for the ill-treatment she had received. She would never forget who set her up, and whose fault it was.
Outside her window, the sky had brightened up. However, the wind that flurried past was still awfully cold. The weather here was significantly colder compared to that of Sea City. She cupped her hands around her mouth and exhaled a puff of hot air. Despite her effort, they quickly regained their coldness in an instant.
She wondered whether it was snowing outside. She drew the torn blanket off herself, and the familiar piercing cold presented itself to her. It was still freezing even with a blanket. She exceptionally missed the heater and air-conditioner in Sea City, as well as her warm bed and the lightweight duvet alongside Lu Yi’s warmth that had never left her bearing the cold. As her train of thought trailed off, a lump formed in her throat.
She sniffled, fighting back the tears that almost overflowed from her eyes. Perhaps her tears would freeze upon contact with the cold air and hit her hard. At that time, not only would her eyes hurt, but her heart would sting as well.
Relative to bodily pain, that kind of pain was infinite times more unbearable and intolerable.
She huffed a breath of hot air into her palms. Then, she opened the door. Once the door swung ajar, the howling gale poured into her throat, bringing with it a fair amount of snowflakes. Her lips turned purple while her face lost its color due to the harsh weather.
Sure enough, it was snowing.
She hesitated for a while, her frosty fingers trembling. Then, biting hard on her cold lips, she wrapped her clothes around her tightly. With a limp, she trudged forward with her wounded leg dragging behind her.
The heavy windstorm outside swept past her from time to time, and the snow fell gracefully around her. As if she did not sense anything, she squinted slightly and staggered ahead, step by step, with difficulty.
