The third floor of Changkang Nursing Home is the vegetative state ward.
In the room at the very west end, there was only a single bed, on which lay a female patient in a deep coma.
Her name was Xu Xingguang, and three years ago she was hit on the head by a falling mirror, becoming a vegetative patient who could only maintain her vital signs with the help of a breathing machine.
All the experts had asserted that the possibility of her awakening was nearly zero.
In fact, the reason Xu Xingguang remained in a coma was that her soul was continually reincarnated into different worlds, experiencing all sorts of incredible lives.
The window was not tightly closed, and the cold winter wind poured into the room, causing the hair on the woman's forehead to dance wildly.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes, which had been closed for three years, began to tremble, albeit very faintly.
With great effort, she opened her eyes but hadn't yet adjusted to her surroundings when a sound of footsteps reached her ears—
Tap, tap, tap.
In the silent night and the cold, gloomy hospital, the deliberately slowed footsteps sounded like the black emissary of death.
The footsteps halted abruptly outside Xu Xingguang's room, but they did not enter immediately.
After ten cycles of reincarnation, Xu Xingguang had developed a keen sense for danger. Realizing the visitor had hostile intentions, she continued to feign sleep, patiently waiting for the visitor to reveal a flaw.
With a creak, the door was pushed open. The person walked straight to the bedside, lowered their head to gaze at Xu Xingguang, but did not speak for a long time.
Who had come?
"...Xingguang." A deep male voice reached Xu Xingguang's ears. The voice was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.
It's Dad!
Xu Xingguang was eager to open her eyes and give her dad a surprise. But before she could do so, she heard Xu Zeqing say, "Xingguang, don't blame Daddy for being ruthless. You're in a vegetative state and living like this is also suffering. It's better to use your death to bring wealth and prosperity to our Xu Family..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xingguang's full heart of joy vanished without a trace.
Her dad actually wanted to use her life to gain wealth and prosperity?
Her father, who appeared gentle and kind, how could he stoop to selling his daughter for glory?
Yet, after ten reincarnations, Xu Xingguang had witnessed too much betrayal and harm; no one understood better than her the weight of the saying 'the human heart is unfathomable.'
The father she saw as kind-hearted might also have an unknown side.
Xu Xingguang quickly regained her composure. She continued to pretend to sleep, curious to see what Xu Zeqing would do next.
When it came to ending his daughter's life, Xu Zeqing hesitated again.
He had never killed anyone, let alone this person who was his own daughter. But considering the dire situation the Xu Family was facing, Xu Zeqing steeled his heart a little more.
"Xingguang, Daddy has no other choice. Blame Jiang Heng, that scoundrel." At the mention of Jiang Heng, Xu Zeqing's tone was filled with undisguised venom.
Jiang Heng?
Before Xu Xingguang could retrieve Jiang Heng's identity from distant memories, she heard Xu Zeqing grinding his teeth as he cursed, "That bastard Jiang didn't love you at all. I always wondered why, being the only son of West Continent City's richest man, he was so head over heels for you. Turns out he was just using those tricks to woo you into marriage so he could control you through matrimony and use your blood to save his true love!"
"That woman was his first love from high school, named Bai Xuan. She suffers from aplastic anemia and can only maintain her life through long-term blood transfusions. Like you, she has the rare P blood type."
"If not for your blood, Jiang Heng would never have looked at someone of modest background like you. After you became a vegetative patient, he pressured us everywhere to agree to let you become that woman's mobile blood bank. Because of him, our company went bankrupt!"
With Xu Zeqing's words, Xu Xingguang finally remembered who Jiang Heng was.
Jiang Heng was her first boyfriend.
Before becoming a vegetative patient, Xu Xingguang was a well-known young writer, and with her stunning face, she was recognized as the most dazzling rose in Yujiang City.
Which man in Yujiang didn't admire her?
Jiang Heng was one of her many suitors.
Jiang Heng wasn't from Yujiang City; he was the eldest son of West Continent City's richest man. West Continent City was the most prosperous capital in southern Xia Country, and as the Crown Prince of West Continent City, Jiang Heng's family background, knowledge, and wealth made him stand out among all the rich young men.
At seventeen, Xu Xingguang met Jiang Heng while acting as a bridesmaid for a senior's wedding he attended.
Jiang Heng fell in love with Xu Xingguang at first sight, and his courting strategies were myriad and classy. Flowers and wine, diamonds and roses, luxury cars and designer bags, everything was at hand.
Even more remarkably, despite being so busy, Jiang Heng insisted on flying his private plane to Yujiang City every week just to have dinner, watch a movie, or attend a concert with Xu Xingguang.
Such was his commitment for two years.
But Xu Xingguang was not a love-struck fool; she was an exceptionally lucid person. She knew she was beautiful and certainly capable of capturing a man's heart, but Jiang Heng was the son of West Continent City's richest man. He had seen all kinds of beautiful women and experienced all kinds of delicacies, so how could he fall for her at first sight so easily?
It was just that his advances were too bold and too intense, so Xu Xingguang, curious about what scheme he was plotting, pretended to accept his courtship.
Unluckily, before she could figure out Jiang Heng's scheme, she was struck into a vegetative state by a falling mirror.
Tut.
Who would have thought Jiang Heng was such a romantic?
But, even if you are a passionate lover, why would you use my blood to show your devotion?
Heh.
If you dare to take my blood, you should be prepared to drain your entire body of blood to atone for it.
When Xu Xingguang learned of Jiang Heng's actions towards the Xu Family, she thought her father wanted to unplug her oxygen because of the unaffordable treatment costs.
Though she felt hurt inside, she could somewhat understand.
But then Xu Zeqing's next words shattered Xu Xingguang's heart again.
"You know about the Huo Family on Divine Concealment Island, right? The sickly young master of the Huo Family suddenly collapsed and might not make it through the night. His mother wants to find a simple-background, chaste girl to marry him."
"Xingguang, you're a young writer, still a virgin, and your beauty is undisputed. You are the perfect candidate for Mrs. Huo. If you were to die the same night as Huo Wen'an, Mrs. Huo would be even more convinced that you and Huo Wen'an are a match made in heaven."
Xu Xingguang: ?
What nonsense?
Arrange a marriage?
If she understood correctly, the reason Xu Zeqing wanted to unplug her oxygen was to let her die tonight and marry her into the Huo Family through a ghost marriage with that sickly young master.
How heartless must Xu Zeqing be to ruthlessly kill his own daughter to marry her off in death!
It seemed she had thought too kindly of this father.