She gritted her teeth and snatched the money from Gu Elena’s hands, leaving only a handful of coins that she tossed at her as if bestowing alms.

"This money is enough for you to get home. If a woman travels with this much money, it’s easy to attract the wrong kind of attention. I’ll look after the rest for you; I’ll give it back when you return."

Gu Elena did not doubt her. Clutching the small change, she hurried to the station and bought a ticket home under the disdainful glare of the ticket clerk.

Julian wanted to go with her, but he was blocked by an invisible wall.

Chapter 36

"Gu Elena! Gu Elena!"

Julian shouted anxiously, his fists hammering against the invisible wall, his heart burning with fire.

He had always known that Gu Elena cared deeply for her mother.

But now she was so quiet, not a hint of sorrow showing on the outside—yet the surging undercurrents beneath such dead water were the most worrisome.

Even in a dream, he wanted to be with her.

Or rather, only in dreams could he be with her like this.

But Gu Elena’s back gradually disappeared from his sight. He turned his head away forlornly, watching Xu Rou stuff the money she had snatched from Gu Elena into her own bag.

His gaze darkened, but he didn't feel surprised; after all, he already knew exactly what kind of person Xu Rou was.

But the Julian inside the dream was different.

He didn't seem surprised when he returned to see Xu Rou; instead, he asked with concern: "You came back without saying a word. I would have come to pick you up."

Having said that, he looked around the room, frowned, and asked: "Where is Gu Elena?"

Xu Rou backed away, hands behind her back, stammering.

Julian’s hands clenched unconsciously; then he let out a breath, his smile bitter: "She left?"

"Yes." Xu Rou sighed, a hint of self-reproach on her face.

"I’m sorry, Brother Julian. Elena really wouldn't listen to advice. As soon as she heard you wanted a divorce, she went home, packed her things, and left. I tried to persuade her to reconsider, but she said... she said..."

Julian took a deep breath and asked: "What did she say?"

"She said that she couldn't climb any higher than you in the capital anyway, so she might as well go back to the village and be with Wang Ge. Once she said that, she... she took the money and ran."

Julian didn't speak again; he only silently lit a cigarette.

"You actually believed that?" Julian watched his dream-self sitting on the sofa smoking, a cold snort escaping his nose, filled with frustration at his own foolishness.

The scarlet embers burned down to the filter, and Julian extinguished it as if waking from a dream.

"If she wants to go, let her go."

Hearing this, a flash of triumph crossed Xu Rou’s face.

Not long after Julian left, she packed her things and went out. This time, the wall of air blocking the doorway had vanished.

Seeing that she had also gone to the train station to buy a ticket to the village, Julian’s brow furrowed tightly. He didn't think Xu Rou following Gu Elena could be a good thing.

Sure enough.

When they arrived at the village, it was in the cellar that Julian found Gu Elena.

She was tied hand and foot, unconscious, with a visible wound on her forehead. His heart tightened violently, and he hurriedly tried to wake her, but no matter what he did, Gu Elena could not perceive him.

He could only be a powerless bystander, watching everything happen.

Xu Rou looked down at Wang Qiang, who was crouching on the ground smoking his dry tobacco, and asked: "Where is she?"

Wang Qiang puffed on his mouthpiece and pointed toward the cellar, indifferent: "Half-dead. Locked inside."

"Is that guy surnamed Cheng really not caring about her anymore?"

Wang Qiang squinted at Xu Rou, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"I’ve always told him that Gu Elena is cunning, lazy, and gluttonous; she’s hell-bent on climbing the social ladder. Not only that, she has a childhood sweetheart here in the village."

"For such a devious, unchaste woman, even if someone like Julian really liked her, he wouldn't show it."

"Furthermore, didn't you beat her mother to death? No one is protecting her anymore, so do whatever you want."

"Fine!" Wang Qiang grinned, revealing his full set of yellow teeth, and stood up from the ground, dusting himself off.

He was just about to head to the cellar when Xu Rou grabbed him.

"Hey, Uncle Wang, don't be in such a hurry to do the deed. What about the five hundred yuan reward money you promised me?"

"Reward money?" Wang Qiang swiped her hand away, his eyes bulging with rage: "When did I ever promise you a reward!"

"Three years ago! You said if I brought Gu Elena to you, you’d give me five hundred yuan. You can’t go back on your word on this!"

"Go to hell! That was three years ago! She’s married now, a piece of used trash that’s been slept with! Five hundred yuan? She’s not worth a damn cent!"

Chapter 37

The conversation outside woke Gu Elena. She opened her eyes, feeling dizzy, and bumped straight into Wang Qiang, who was walking into the cellar.

Her eyes cleared instantly. She immediately tried to crawl backward using her stiff hands and feet, but in the narrow cellar, there was nowhere to escape.

Rrrrip—

Her clothes were torn open, exposing large patches of her fair, delicate skin.

Gu Elena cried out and struggled frantically, but it was to no avail. Annoyed by her noise, Wang Qiang slapped her hard across the face. Her head was knocked to the side, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Julian felt as if his heart were burning, but he couldn't help her at all.

Wang Qiang impatiently untied the rope around Gu Elena’s legs and placed his dirty hands on her waist. Gu Elena, finding strength from who knows where, shoved Wang Qiang away and scrambled toward the ladder.

"Damn it!" Wang Qiang cursed, lunging to grab her ankle, but she kicked him off.

She crawled out!

Just as Gu Elena saw the light of day again, a club struck her in the back. The person who did it was Xu Rou.

Gu Elena collapsed to the ground, struggling to crawl toward the door, tears streaming down her face as she kept calling out, "Mom... Mommy..."

Xu Rou was furious. She kicked Gu Elena in the back, viciously grabbed her hair, and seeing her in such a wretched state, she finally laughed from the bottom of her heart.

"Do you even know why Julian hates you so much?"

She stared fixedly into Gu Elena’s eyes like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, but Gu Elena’s vision was a blur of bloody mist; she couldn't see anything clearly.

"Because the person he likes is me. Once I return from studying abroad, he will marry me. Oh, right, you didn't know, did you? Actually, the person who originally got into college was you—I took your place."

As she spoke, Wang Qiang crawled out of the cellar.

He was carrying a hammer, limping toward them with a ferocious look in his eyes.

"Stop!"

Sensing Wang Qiang’s intent, Julian shouted and lunged forward, trying to shield Gu Elena, but the hammer passed straight through his body and slammed into Gu Elena’s lower back.

"Ah!"

She let out a cry of pain and nearly lost consciousness.

Just then, the sound of a jeep engine approached from outside the compound. Xu Rou immediately gave Wang Qiang a vigilant signal to stop.

Wang Qiang understood; he dragged Gu Elena to the edge of the cellar and kicked her down.

"Gu Elena, Gu Elena, hold on. Someone is coming from outside; you’ll be fine..."

"Elena, don't sleep, don't sleep..."

Julian kept trying to talk to Gu Elena, but her presence grew weaker and weaker. Gradually, her breathing was drowned out by the roar of the jeep, her pupils dilated, and she stopped breathing.

Later, the Julian in the dream discovered the blood on the floor and found the lifeless body in the cellar, but it was all too late.

Julian had never hated himself so much.

He looked at the man kneeling in the cellar, weeping over Gu Elena’s corpse, and suddenly felt a moment of vertigo. Is this really a dream?

Is this really just a dream?

Why is he so sad? His heart ached as if it were about to shatter.

...

Wang Qiang and Xu Rou were handed over to the police station, and Julian finally saw the "childhood sweetheart" Xu Rou had mentioned—an idiot who couldn't even control his own bowels.

He suddenly realized how absurd the years of misplacing his trust in Xu Rou had been.