"Hello? Lao Zhang, it's me, Julian. Do me a favor and go to my building right now. Check if the lights in my living room or bedroom are on. Yes, right now, it's urgent. Call me back as soon as you've checked!"

He spoke extremely fast, his urgency brook no argument.

As soon as he hung up, Macy’s door opened again.

She walked over to Julian and spoke softly:

"Julian, Mom, Dad... don't worry too much. Sister has always been in good health; maybe it's just a minor stomach issue. This time it must be..."

She bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears at just the right moment. She lowered her head, her voice full of self-reproach and guilt. "It must be my fault. My return this time took up too much of Mom, Dad, and Julian's attention. Sister must have felt neglected and unhappy, so she arranged this prank to get everyone's attention."

She lifted her tear-filled eyes to Julian and her parents, her tone becoming even more apologetic: "It's just that Sister took the joke a bit too far this time. How could she choose a time like New Year’s Eve and use something like passing away to scare everyone? Making Mom, Dad, and Julian worry like this... it's all because I came back at the wrong time."

Martha let out a long sigh of relief. Most of the tension on her face vanished, replaced by pity for the "sensible" Macy and dissatisfaction with the "unsensible" Andrea. "Macy, don't take everything on yourself. It's her own lack of sense! She's a grown woman—how could she play such a trick? We'll have to give her a proper talking-to when we get back!"

Arthur also nodded with a frown, clearly leaning toward believing this explanation.

Only Julian’s fingers continued to tremble slightly.

Macy's words brushed past him like a feather, yet they failed to dispel the growing sense of foreboding in his heart.

He remembered the interrupted video call, the faint monotonous drone, Andrea’s final disappearing image, and the calls that wouldn't go through afterward.

Andrea wasn't like that.

She would never joke about "death." Never.

He was about to argue with his mother-in-law when he felt something brush against his pant leg.

Looking down, he saw Macy’s little dog, Snowy. Its head was drooping, and it let out a pained whimper before letting out a retch and vomiting a small puddle of filth.

Chapter 11

"Oh no! Snowy! Why are you vomiting again!" Macy cried out in alarm. She immediately knelt down, picking up the small dog with heartache. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at Julian. "Julian, what should we do? Snowy seems to be getting worse! He was already unwell, and now he’s throwing up again. We’re in a strange city and I don't know which pet hospitals are good. Julian, could you please drive Macy and Snowy to find a clinic? I’m so worried about him."

Andrea’s mother chimed in immediately: "Yes, Julian, drive them quickly! A dog’s life is a life too; we can’t delay! As for Andrea, we’ll talk once she replies! It’s definitely a prank anyway!"

Looking at the small dog in Macy’s arms, Julian felt a surge of absurdity and powerlessness.

He wanted to refuse, to say that the priority was confirming Andrea’s situation, but seeing the anxious faces of his in-laws and Macy, he swallowed his words.

"...Fine," he eventually compromised, his voice dry. "I’ll get the car."

His in-laws, still uneasy, followed them down.

The car pulled out of the hotel parking lot, merging into the sparse traffic of the New Year's early hours.

The atmosphere inside the car was suffocating, broken only by the dog’s occasional whimpers and Macy’s soft comforting.

Sitting in the back seat, Andrea’s mother continued to grumble: "I’m going to give Andrea a piece of my mind when we get back. This is outrageous! Making the whole family run around at midnight on New Year’s for a dog just to find a hospital—what a mess."

Julian gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead without a word.

His heart felt like it was being roasted over a slow fire, burning with anxiety.

His phone sat on the dashboard mount, its screen dark, waiting for that crucial return call.

"Julian, turn right at the intersection ahead. The navigation shows a 24-hour pet clinic over there," Macy said, pointing at her phone.

Julian signaled and prepared to turn.

At the very moment the car's nose was about to enter the right lane—

Ring—!

The piercing ringtone erupted, sounding exceptionally jarring in the quiet cabin.

The car's Bluetooth connected automatically, and his friend Lao Zhang’s voice boomed through the speakers, filled with uncertainty and confusion: "Hello, Julian? I just arrived at your building. Your apartment is completely dark—not a single light is on. I knocked, but is my sister-in-law not home?"

The string of tension in Julian’s mind snapped with a sharp crack.

If it were a prank, why would the house be empty?

If Andrea were only trying to scare them, shouldn't she be at home waiting to see their reaction?

She was unwell; where could she go so late? Unless... unless the hospital was telling the truth.

A massive wave of panic, like an invisible hand, suddenly squeezed his heart, suffocating him instantly.

"Julian? Can you hear me? Julian?" His friend’s voice continued to echo through the speakers.

"Julian! Watch the road! Red light!!" His mother-in-law’s shriek tore through the back seat.

Julian snapped back to reality, his vision focusing on the road ahead.

A blinding red signal! And his car had already crossed the stop line!

Simultaneously, from the left lane, came the piercing scream of brakes.

Crash—

Chapter 12

A violent impact, ear-splitting noise, and then suffocating darkness and pain.

Julian felt as if he were drifting in a boundless deep sea, his consciousness flickering between clarity and fog.

There seemed to be many chaotic sounds nearby—panicked shouting, the sirens of ambulances.

Finally, all the noises faded away, and he fell into a surreal dreamscape.

In the dream, time flowed back to a rainy evening three years ago.

He was driving, searching anxiously, and finally saw a curled-up figure under a familiar bus shelter—it was Andrea.

The rain had soaked her hair and clothes through, clinging to her body and outlining her thin, frail silhouette.

She crouched there with her head buried between her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly like a homeless kitten abandoned in a storm.

The sky was dim, the rain icy, and vehicles splashed past her. She was all alone, as if forgotten by the entire world.

Julian stopped the car and rushed into the rain.

The rain instantly drenched his hair and shoulders, but he didn't care. He took off his coat, wrapped it around Andrea’s cold, shaking body, and pulled her firmly into his arms.

"Andrea, come home with me."

At that moment, the emotions surging in his heart were beyond words.

There was disappointment and a hint of hatred toward Macy, who had left without looking back, taking the family's last bit of money. There was also sympathy and pity for Andrea, who had lost everything overnight yet had to shoulder heavy debts.

He knew Andrea liked him; he had known since they were children. But his heart had always been occupied by the sun-like, dazzling Macy.

To him, Andrea was more like a quiet shadow by his side—familiar, but never truly entering his heart.

Marrying her was out of sympathy, responsibility, and perhaps a bit of spite against Macy’s heartless departure.

Life after marriage was mundane and plain.

Andrea worked tirelessly to pay off the debts, being frugal to the point of harshness.

She rarely complained, suffering everything in silence.

He watched her grow thinner and saw the exhaustion in her eyes. Somewhere along the way, that initial pity and sense of responsibility began to ferment and change.

He grew used to seeing her every day when he returned home, used to the light porridge she brewed for his stomach, used to the warm water she silently handed him when he was tired, and used to her sitting quietly beside him, even if they said nothing.

He would feel heartache at her occasional vulnerability, feel inexplicably irritated when other men looked at her, and stay up all night watching over her when she was sick...

He began to take her for granted in his plans for the future.

He thought life would continue this way, steady and simple. He thought he would slowly forget Macy and truly fall in love with the wife who quietly stayed by his side.

Until that day at the airport.

Among the bustling crowd, he recognized that familiar yet strange figure at a glance—Macy.

Three years hadn't left many marks on her. She was still beautiful, and with a single glance and a smile, she struck a long-buried corner of his heart.

His heart raced uncontrollably. A mixture of excitement, regret, nostalgia, and a secret sense of vengeful pleasure took hold of him.