Over the past ten days or so, Bai Ziyan had visibly wasted away.
Her symptom of anorexia had worsened, becoming increasingly severe.
In reality,
if it were any other girl, after being visited for two consecutive nights by a "vengeful spirit" reeking of a corpse and being presented with four severed hands, to not have completely broken down mentally, but merely developed anorexia due to her潔癖 (germophobia), would have already been quite remarkable.
On the afternoon of the day the vengeful spirit first visited, Bai Ziyan, who never believed in Buddhism, went to Qingshan Temple on Qingshan Mountain.
She donated a large sum of money, praying for Buddha's protection and for Yang Fan to be reincarnated quickly and stop haunting her.
In consideration of the million-yuan donation, Buddha was instantly "pleased," and secretly employed his divine power, ensuring Bai Ziyan was not tormented by the vengeful spirit for the next ten days.
However,
Bai Ziyan's mental state had suffered greatly. Almost every night at midnight, she would jolt awake from bizarre and terrifying dreams.
Upon waking, she would be drenched in cold sweat.
Even...
today at noon, while napping in the company lounge, she began to have nightmares again.
She dreamt she had become a hanged ghost adorned in colorful robes!
This colorful hanged ghost was precisely what she had created out of inspiration, in just half an hour, after hearing the news that Lan Ximing, the CEO of Dashen Real Estate, had been found hanged to death at his son's wedding.
When creating that painting, she had strived for perfection, aiming to capture a certain aura, even going so far as to offer her own eyes to the hanged ghost to enhance the painting's lifelike quality.
She then anonymously uploaded it online, receiving countless praises. Many shared it, proclaiming it to be a work from hell!
For a long time, Bai Ziyan had been quite proud of this.
But who would have thought that she would dream of becoming her own creation!
Originally hanging from a roof beam, she inexplicably ended up attached to the white back of a woman.
Then, the Yang Fan, whom she had killed, appeared.
His face contorted into a sinister, lecherous grin, he stared intensely into her eyes and, with the most savage and brutal movements, performed the act men loved most.
The woman began to babble incoherently—
but Bai Ziyan was screaming in terror!
She wanted to escape!!
But she was trapped, bound to the woman's white back.
Just as Yang Fan reached the critical moment, he lowered his head and bit Bai Ziyan's neck (the woman's back), causing her to scream and wake up abruptly.
In broad daylight, during the hour of highest yang energy, she had experienced such a bizarre and inexplicable nightmare.
Bai Ziyan knew she was finished.
If this continued, she would eventually be adorned in colorful robes and hang herself from a tree!
After death, she would be attached to some woman's white back.
But that was not the fate she desired!
She had to delete that painting, she had to stay strong, and break free from the "vengeful spirit's" entanglement!!
For Bai Ziyan to be strong, she needed to ensure her physical health.
Using her hacking skills, she completely deleted the painting from the entire internet. Afterward, she formulated the most scientific plan for exercise, diet, and sleep.
Her exercise plan included an hour of training at the gym before leaving work.
It had to be said,
jogging was the most effective exercise for relaxing one's mind, muscles, and nerves.
After nearly an hour on the treadmill, Bai Ziyan's feelings of tension, fear, and even anorexia had significantly lessened.
It was far, far better than high-speed driving, which tensed the nerves.
"It really works, I must stick with it."
"Yang Fan, you can't take me!"
"Unless you dare to appear before me in broad daylight."
Bai Ziyan raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, thinking this when she noticed a person standing on the treadmill not far to her left.
She subconsciously looked up.
The moment their eyes met—
*peng!!!*
Bai Ziyan felt her heart pound violently, as if it would explode, causing blood to rush to her head.
Her vision darkened.
Her soul screamed in terror: "Yang Fan is here! He really came for me in broad daylight!"
All her strength drained away at that moment.
She was currently on the treadmill.
As she suddenly stopped, the treadmill belt continued to run at her set speed.
This caused her to first collapse onto the belt and then be thrown onto the ground by it.
Bai Ziyan was completely oblivious.
Her once beautiful face was contorted by extreme fear.
She struggled to breathe!
Instinctively, she reached up and clutched her throat, her mouth opening wide, trying to scream something, but no sound came out.
A foul odor began to permeate the air.
Bai Ziyan had actually wet herself out of sheer terror.
Fortunately, at this moment, the two gym employees had also left. It was just her and Li Qianfan, and the gym equipment by the window blocked the view from the corridor.
Otherwise, if the employees had seen Bai Ziyan in this state, it would have undoubtedly damaged her prestige within the company.
As for Li Qianfan,
he hadn't expected to encounter Bai Ziyan here, the same woman he had scared twice with his ghostly theatrics.
This went against Sister Wujiang's plan for him to "take down" Bai Ziyan.
As early as Su Ziyu had told him they would be staying overnight in the provincial capital, he had been considering whether to pay Bai Ziyan a visit around midnight.
This situation was...
a premature revelation!
Looking at Bai Ziyan, who was slumped on the ground, clutching her throat with both hands and trembling all over, Li Qianfan felt very dejected.
He could have feigned ignorance (there were many people who looked strikingly similar but were strangers).
Instead, with a look of surprise, he helped her up and asked solicitously if she was having an epileptic seizure.
Then he reconsidered.
No!
He was accompanying Su Ziyu today, and Bai Ziyan would certainly know they were together.
Once Bai Ziyan recognized Su Ziyu, she would know who he was and realize that his relationship with Chu Yazhi was not merely that of a boss and secretary.
If Li Qianfan pretended not to know her, she wouldn't be afraid anymore and might even use her hacking skills to target Su Ziyu.
Damn it.
Li Qianfan cursed inwardly, but with a cordial smile, he walked over, turned off the treadmill, casually sat on the belt, and took out a cigarette.
*Click.*
As soon as he lit the cigarette, the trembling Bai Ziyan suddenly knelt before him and pleaded tearfully, "Yang Fan, please, spare me! As long as you let me go, I will do anything you ask, unconditionally!"
"That's possible."
Li Qianfan thought for a moment and asked, "Before you killed me, how many people had you killed?"
"34! 23 men and 11 women."
Bai Ziyan confessed completely without thinking: "Apart from you, everyone else deserved to die! There were bullies, corrupt officials, and women who defrauded men behind their husbands' backs. The girlfriend who forced herself on me multiple times was a human trafficker. I wouldn't have killed the innocent without a reason. Only you."
Only Li Qianfan lacked a sufficient reason for deserving death (at most, he was a gigolo).
But because he had seen through Bai Ziyan's disguise as a "little bad girl" at night, and that she was Chu Yazhi's kept boy, he found him too dirty and had even put his arm around her waist, which had provoked her murderous intent.
"But after killing you, I not only buried the two-piece set with you but also fed you to it as atonement."
As Bai Ziyan wept, her body suddenly trembled.
In unimaginable fear, she smelled the scent of tobacco.
A vengeful spirit—
how could he appear in broad daylight and smoke!?
Her plea abruptly stopped, and she slowly raised her head.
Li Qianfan sat there, looking leisurely, blowing out a smoke ring.
He reached out and patted her head, saying, "Next time you feed me, remember to take a bath."
Bai Ziyan stared at him blankly and stammered, "Are you... human?"
Li Qianfan said impatiently, "Nonsense, if I'm not human, what am I, a ghost?"
Deep within Bai Ziyan's eyes, overwhelming joy surged!
At this moment,
the fear that had tormented her for over ten days vanished like smoke.
The sense of relief that washed over her was indescribable.
She asked foolishly, "You... why aren't you dead?"
Li Qianfan's tone was dismissive: "When I was four, I was already playing hide-and-seek with kraits every day. The venom of a mere krait caused me less harm than a common cold."
Bai Ziyan suddenly understood: "So, you were faking your death."
Li Qianfan gave her a thumbs-up, indicating she was very smart.
Bai Ziyan continued to ask, "Then the corpse was fake."
Li Qianfan truthfully replied: "It was made of pork and lamb. How was it, very realistic?"
"I understand. It's great that you're not dead."
Bai Ziyan took a deep breath and then sternly questioned, "Since you're not dead, why did you come to my house and scare me for two consecutive nights!?"
"Oh my god!"
How bizarre did her mind have to be to ask such a question?
Who decreed that she was allowed to kill indiscriminately, but others were forbidden from scaring her?
Li Wujiang was momentarily stunned by Bai Ziyan's question, and then anger surged, turning into malevolence!
He grabbed her hair and abruptly stood up.
"Ah!"
Bai Ziyan screamed instinctively and reached for his hand.
Li Qianfan's right foot, however, kicked her hard in the abdomen.
"Ugh—"
Bai Ziyan's vision darkened from the pain, and her body went weak.
Li Qianfan dragged her by her hair to a pull-up bar.
Hmm.
This height was suitable.
There were also resistance bands nearby for fitness, perfect for tying a noose on the pull-up bar.
Men of the Li family were fond of hanging people.
Li Qianfan was no exception—
"Go well. In your next life, don't be so quick to kill people and then expect others not to retaliate. Otherwise, you'll still end up being hanged."
Li Qianfan lifted Bai Ziyan and, with practiced ease, hung her in the noose.
He patted her backside, said a few words of comfort, and turned to leave.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh—"
The "Number One Lady of Tian Da" struggled desperately, kicking her feet wildly.