Chapter 1 — The Day Everything Changed (Part 1)
"Xixi, Xixi…" A soft voice called out beside her ear.
Gu Xi frowned, disoriented. The last thing she remembered was Ji Feiyang shoving her down the stairs. Shouldn't she be in pain? But strangely, there was no pain—just an overwhelming sense of weakness. Did she damage a nerve? The thought made her heart clench. She forced herself to move, digging her fingers into her palms as a test.
Pain. Good. She could feel that. Slowly, with great effort, she opened her eyes.
"Xixi?" a familiar voice cried out in relief.
As Gu Xi's eyes fluttered open, a look of pure joy lit up the face of the elegant middle-aged woman leaning over her.
"You're finally awake!" the woman exclaimed.
Gu Xi stared at her, dazed.
"Mom?" she said uncertainly, her voice hoarse.
"Oh, my sweet girl!" Wei Xiangqin grasped her daughter's hand tightly, her eyes shimmering with tears. "You scared me to death! You suddenly collapsed after getting out of bed this morning, and no matter how we called you, you wouldn't wake up. We rushed you to the hospital, but the doctors found nothing serious. Just a mild fever, they said. But you weren't responding to the treatment. I was so afraid..."
"This is... a hospital?" Gu Xi murmured, her thoughts in disarray.
How could she be here? Just before blacking out, she had been in a shouting match with Ji Feiyang and Gu Mingzhu. Then darkness. Now—this?
"Yes! If you hadn't woken up soon, I would've taken you to another hospital," Wei Xiangqin said, wiping her eyes with relief.
Gu Xi looked at the tears on her mother's cheeks—so real, so vivid. Her heart ached.
Her mother, who had been gone for five years, was alive. Sitting right here. Talking to her. Breathing. Smiling.
"Mom…" she choked out, and in the next second, she threw herself into her mother's arms. "Mom, I missed you so much…"
"Silly girl," Wei Xiangqin laughed through her tears, gently stroking Gu Xi's hair. "You were only asleep for a few hours, and you already miss me this much? When did you become so sweet?"
Gu Xi didn't respond. She just clung tighter. Whether it was a dream, an illusion, or something else entirely—if it meant she could see her mother again, even for a little while, she would take it.
For a long moment, they stayed like that—mother and daughter, wrapped in warmth and memories.
When her emotions finally calmed, Wei Xiangqin helped her lie back against the pillows. "You must be starving after sleeping all day. What do you want to eat? Once we get home, I'll cook whatever you like."
"I'm not hungry," Gu Xi said quietly, her mind still racing.
She glanced around the hospital room, then at a calendar pinned to the wall—and froze.
The date. It was wrong. Or rather… terrifyingly familiar.
"Mom, does time feel like it's moving slowly today?" she asked carefully.
"What? You just said yesterday that time was flying and school's starting too soon!"
"Right... school," Gu Xi echoed. "Which school am I going to again?"
Wei Xiangqin gave her a puzzled look and reached over to feel her forehead. "Still running a fever? You go to Jiangcheng University, remember? Sophomore year starts next week. I heard there's military training this time, and you've been whining about it nonstop."
Gu Xi's brain kicked into overdrive. Jiangcheng University. Sophomore year. That would mean… it was the summer break after her freshman year.
Her heart dropped. The timing, the hospital, the calendar—it all pointed to one terrible conclusion.
She flung off the bedsheet and sat up sharply. "Mom, where's Dad?"
Wei Xiangqin looked startled. "Your dad's at the demolition site. He had guests last night and didn't make it home. He doesn't even know you had a fever yet. Xixi, what are you doing? Lie down! You're still weak."
Demolition site. Summer vacation. Freshman year.
Those two phrases echoed like a death knell.
Gu Xi grabbed her mother's wrist tightly. "Mom, what day is it today?"
"It's August 23rd. Why are you acting so strange?"
Gu Xi's face went pale. August 23rd. She would never forget that date. It was the day everything fell apart.
On that day, her father, Gu Changan, was falsely accused of violent demolition that led to a death—and was arrested. And she, just nineteen, had no choice but to seek help from the Gu family in Beijing. That was when her nightmare truly began.