130 1.3.53: It Begins III

"It's you!" Her voice was very hoarse but she didn't pay any mind to it. Xiao Yunhua pretended to be shocked as she saw the old woman appearing in front of her. "What are you doing here?" Her wide eyes amused Ling Xiu and she walked closer until she stopped in front of Xiao Yunhua. 

"What do you think?" 

As though a lightbulb lit in her head, Xiao Yunhua began to fervently struggle and try to escape. "Let me go or else!"

It seemed like her 'threat' had taken worked to make Ling Xiu angry from her previous amused state. She grabbed Xiao Yunhua's face harshly and flared, "Or else what? You'll tell that bastard? Good, I need him to cooperate either way. You better be careful or else you'll cause me to do something that won't be working in your favor."Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

Her warning rendered Xiao Yunhua silent for a few minutes before she opened her mouth again. However, she wasn't given a chance to respond as Zhou Eldress was already going back.

"Make sure to feed her and get her some water. She can't die yet." The man nodded and followed her outside, where the door was immediately locked afterwards. Approximately an hour later, he returned with a piece of bread and a pitcher of water. Even though Xiao Yunhua was adamant on rebelling, she also had a mission to complete so she couldn't die. So she opened her mouth and ate the bread he gave her.

As for the water, her throat was already very dry. She was very tired and looked—probably was—dehydrated.

"You're looking a bit warm; here, cool down." He proceeded to pour some water on her head, drenching her. She shivered from the cold impact and cursed at him. He only laughed at his joke and gave her a cup of water for real. 

This went on for another 2 days, where she would get the food and water from him, though luckily without any being poured on her. She was still suffering from hotness and coldness, along with self-diagnosed fevers. 

On the eighth day, Ling Xiu came back and winced at the disaster on the chair. "It's only been eight days and she looks like she's already aged another ten years."

"So it looks like I did good." Ling Xiu didn't deny it but only stride forward and glanced at Xiao Yunhua. 

"You know, it's been so long yet your boyfriend doesn't bother finding you. True love indeed."

"You're sick!" Xiao Yunhua shouted, surprising both of them. "Let me go and find some other way to satisfy your psychopathic behavior."

"Still feisty after being here for eight days. A tough nut to crack, but it's not unexpected for his girlfriend. You know, I had given him an ultimatum that he had to give up his inheritance in order to get your location, but he didn't care." That was like a needle etching in her heart but Xiao Yunhua didn't show it on her face. 

"Stop lying to me. As if you would expose yourself."

She rolled her eyes, "As if I keep any persona in front of him. Believe anything you want, but it's the bitter truth."

"Why are you so obsessed? Han Mi—" She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before she was interrupted by the old woman. 

"How do you know that name?" Her eyes were filled with panic at the mention of the name. 

"I..." She cleared her throat, "I am her granddaughter, Han Yunhua." It turned so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even the man was astonished at this revelation. He knew it was his time to leave. He quietly closed the doors and left them alone.

Suddenly, it was like something snapped in Ling Xiu and she burst out laughing. It wasn't a laughter filled with amusement, it was purely a hollow and empty laughter. Contorted from her hatred and all the negative energy that was released. "The little girl that was expelled? I didn't think you'd be that persistent after your grandmother died. Your adoptive one, that is."

"How would you know that I'm adopted?" But how did she know that I was expelled too? 

"Even if the world may think otherwise, only I know the truth. Han Mi never had any other children nor affairs to give her any grandchildren. It was all just a plan to get rid of her anyways."

"Just like the plan to murder her?" Ling Xiu's face lost all color and she roughly grabbed Xiao Yunhua's hair, forcing her to look her in the eyes. 

"How do you know..."

"What matters is that I do."

"Then you must die!" She released her grip on the hair and distanced herself. 

"Why? This life of evil, why do you choose to do it like so? Killing me, killing everyone who is against you. Are you going to kill Zhou Ming too?" 

"I already tried, it did not work. But you would do the same if you were in my shoes. Desiring a man so much, only to watch him marry another woman. I did what I had to do... but as Zhou Eldress, I've had infinite wealth at the tip of my fingertips." She wickedly smiled, "Who would want to give up something they earned after blood, sweat and tears?"

"By the blood of others? You're doing this because Zhou Ming is a threat to your wealth? You're pathetic—" a loud slap resounded in the warehouse and a red handprint was on Xiao Yunhua's cheek. 

Xiao Yunhua didn't give into the pain and continued to provoke her. "Besides, you said it. 'Desire...' you never loved him, you only wanted his money and status!" Another slap came her way but she didn't care. She needed to get it off her chest. All these years, she had wanted to rant to the old woman who was responsible for her grandmother's suffering. 

"Keep talking and you'll die sooner than you're supposed to!" 

Tears swarm in her eyes, not from the pain or the fear, but for her deceased grandmother. "You'll never be a fraction of what she was!"

"Enough!" These words were very harsh to her ears, a reality she had been avoiding for too long. "If Zhou Ming doesn't respond by tomorrow, I'll send your dead body as a present for disobeying me."

The door snapped open and a deep voice interrupted their conversation. "No need to, I'm here."